#and she cant exactly go upside and get them herself

[thegreatyin]

vake yearner anon here! that is SO cool (and tragic) tysm for clearing it up :D! in the time between me sending the ask and you answering it, i thought it was because she wanted to go back to the surface, and apparently dying within the neath makes surface travel illegal(?). which reminded me of lark, the guy having an arranged marriage. he's died at least once, right? does he know about the whole no-surface thing?

lark very much knows about the "no surface thing"! it's a little more complicated than surface travel simply being illegal, though... at least not by the standards of humanity.

you've mentioned you're new to fallen london, so i'll omit the finer lore details for the sake of brevity and spoiler avoidance. essentially, dying in the neath means you can no longer come into contact with sunlight- if you do, you burn up and die for good. no slow boat, no second chances, nothing. the minute your body perishes in the neath, you're forced to stay there for the rest of your days. it's why surfacers are relatively rare to find, and why most londoners can't leave no matter how much they want to.

and lark wants to. desperately.

see, lark originally intended for his stay in the neath to last a month or two at maximum. he was planning on going in, committing a few mildly significant acts of robbery, and getting the hell out. he very much did not intend to die, and he very much did not intend to stick around to the extent he has now.

except, well. accidentally falling off the edge of the travertine spiral tends to do pretty significant damage to one's livelihood. and neck. and pretty much every other part of their body.

and thus lark woke up on the shore of london several weeks later with a missing eye, a new acquaintanceship with the boatman, and a complete and utter inability to go home.

forever.

he's. not happy about it!! he's really not happy about it!!! it's a whole thing!!!! he tried to go on a diamond heist (aka started the light fingers ambition) specifically to pay for an egregiously expensive mythical cure-all that could get him the heck out of here!!!!!!!

it has not gone well for him so far. it will continue to not go well for him for a very, very long time.

but yeah, TLDR, if you die in the neath you're eternally stuck in the neath (because sunlight automatically tries to kill you). and while the yearner hasn't necessarily died before... let's just say she's banned from the surface for. Other Reasons. the very same reasons (and forces) that control the no-dying policy. but the relationship between light and law and the sun is a whole other suitcase to unpack. all you need to know is that sunlight is very very very bad for neathly folk and testing your luck by trying to go up once you've died is a very very very VERY bad idea.

she wouldn't want to go back anyway. d█████ has never been a surface kind of creature.

[icarusredwings]

Tw: Rape mentions

*whispers* Wade has canonically (for no fucking reason really like seriously it doesn't add to the plot at all its just because his writers hate him fr) has been molested/ gRaped multiple times in both childhood and adulthood.

In Deadpool second series #13-14 Siryn (Theresa “Terry” Cassidy COUGH the daughter of Banshee COUGH) acted as the angel on Deadpool’s shoulder for a while, trying to steer him in the right direction as we see most heros who actually get to know wade do.

Unfortunately, Typhoid Mary (Ironically nicknamed Virgin Mary) disguised herself as Siryn (tricking him into consenting) and had sex with him, which caused him to have a major emotional breakdown from feeling violated. In a different comic, Wade explains that she laughed at him for it, and it shows him holding his knees to his chest and looking as if he was crying and still horrified by the situation.

We know about kevin, and he makes us not be able to FORGET about kevin. But he doesn't mention Typhoid Mary like ever, and I think it's because it's still a bit too fresh to joke about. How messed up it is is *too* messed up. Sure, he can joke about kevin because deep down, he logically knows it's not his fault. Kids can't consent.

But this time, he *did* consent, and because of his mentality, I believe he would feel as if he has no right to complain because he consented. It wasn't until afterward he felt really bad about it and began to question if those around him are real or not. If they're actually themsleves.

From this, I propose Prove it.

A fic idea where Wade has a panic attack after a really bad, realisitic nightmare about Logan not actually being Logan only to hyperventilate, scream, punch him in the nose, and try his best to explain what happened but just cant seem to get any words out. So he stands there in the corner of the room, shaking like a leaf, staring at him with such wide, scared eyes, threatening him that if he touches him he'll try his damndest to kill him. He then forces Logan to prove it's actually him, shying away and not letting him touch him at all until he fully gains his trust back by proving its him, reciting memories, small, tiny details about wade that no one else would ever pick up or know.

How he always puts exactly 3 pumps of bubbles in the bath because 2 is too little and 4 is too much. How wade absolutely hates eggs in stuff like quiche but often makes eggs sandwhiches in the morning. How wade folds his clothes a certian way and it drives him insane because he does it wrong. How he only has one dimple on his ass and once when he was a kid, in the scouts, he accidently caught himself in a trap and he hung upside down for about half an hour before anyone helped him down... why he keeps his baby knife under his pillow because of what happened later that same day.

He even offers him the baby knife. Telling him go ahead. Cut me if you want. Because a lot of copycats can pretend to have the claws, but almost none of them actually have the healing factor as well as he does. "Im the original baby."

It ends with Wade hugging him so tight that his nails dig into his sides and he sobs so hard that it gives him a headache from dehydration. He blubbers everything to him about Tess and Mary, all the other ones. and while Logan can't understand a single word he's saying, he's glad that he trusts him enough to tell him... er... what ever hes telling him right now.

rolling a whump situation around my mouth like fine wine

what if Stryfe nabbed Wade and gave him the ol' thousand-year-torture-session or whatever blah-di-blah (he's a very convenient Nate-shaped baddie for whump purposes >:3c)

and then Logan eventually finds him and comes to rescue him

Obviously Wade heals up from all the brutality; not a scratch on him. But weeks later, though he's completely fine physically

He's

still

not

talking

just. won't communicate. shakes his head desperately when Logan asks him (begs him) to say something, anything. Seems afraid of what'll happen, if he dares make a sound

and Logan's heart is breaking

[maeshmallo]

so i folded and binge-read lore olympus

im just gonna talk about it cause im bored and there’s stuff i wanna discuss about it. i’ve always been in love with the hades x persephone story (the first version i read was consensual so that’s the one that resonates with me the most) 

im gonna start with the good stuff

- i love the animation! the colours are so fun and cool and i like how captivating they are, and the pink of persephone and blue of hades works well together

- i like that the time frame of olympus and the underworld is expedited compared to the modern world, that’s really neat

- the comedic timing is spot on, both the dialogue and animation can be so great and make me laugh to tears

- hades and persphone’s moments can be so tender and sweet, one scene between them that just sticks with me is when they are cooking together, or the first time she asked the names of his dogs and he lit up. they are so soft for each other and it makes my heart so so warm ;-; and i like their banter too

- i like hermes, and artemis, and eros, and basically everybody who’s become a friend in this series, they’re great (ares is an honourable mention bc he’s funny with amazing character design imo)

- the fact that therapy is a thing here??? pls they all need it omg 

- the exploration of cycles in different extremes (the cycle of fertility goddesses being used for power, having shitty people around you in turn making you shitty to those you love, the fear of becoming one’s parents, etc)

- i like that none of the characters are “good” or “bad”. as it goes with deities, they are as morally grey as you can get especially in regard to mortals. (with the exception of apollo. i hate his character.)

- i appreciate the discussion of boundaries between hades and persephone, letting fluffy moments just be fluffy and sweet

- their relationship in general has very sweet moments and warms my heart a lot of times

- honourable mentions: baby hades being very worrisome for such a small boy, hades with his stars, hades with his crowns and earrings, hades with his little glasses, hades’ scars. hades. 💕 

all in all, it’s a very fun read with many intriguing and cool themes that I love and i’m excited to see how it is concluded

now for critiques 

- why did persephone have to be 19/20??? not 119, not 190, that young compared to everyone around her??? i mean even though on our (mortal) terms, she is legal and perfectly capable of making her own decisions. but the issue within most age gap relationships is not primarily the difference in years itself, but the difference in mindset and stages of life (a relationship between a 14 and 18 year old is vastly different from a relationship between a 30 and 34 year old). there doesnt seem to be a point to make her so young and then pair her with a being literally older than death itself, ya know? but that’s just me 

- not necesarrily the characters, but more so the reactions to them. why is it that hades, modeled to be a capitalist business owner that keeps the dead souls as slaves and does things that are so cruel (i.e tear out some kids eye for a photograph or threaten an employee for asking for ID) is seen as a precious baby that can do no wrong?? now please understand that I love his character, I adore him!!! but he is no baby, and there is nothing stranger than seeing a morally grey character or straight up villain (who doesnt love a good villain every now and again amirite) be coddled and have excuses made for them while their female counterparts are villainized for the same or lesser offenses, which brings me to my next point

- minthe. she is no saint, and i dont like her all that much. she was petty and catty, and an awful and cruel partner towards hades. however, she is complex in that we see her internal monologue and can see that most of these things come from a place of insecurity and deep rooted issues with herself. not to excuse her behaviour because it is all very immature and lame, but i hope to see an arc from her that allows growth and letting go of being forced to see herself as nothing more than a trashy nymph. and learning to apologize properly

- also why was it funny when hecate smacked him across the face like three times but a crime when minthe hit him upside the head. my point is both were bad, but one gets forgotten and forgiven. 

- man why is persephone drawn so mf tiny? i mean it’s cool to be short, but in some frames she’s legit at his waist which is a bit odd since you’re kind of already toeing the line of what is appropriate and what isn’t in their relationship (employer/employee relationship, extreme age difference, somewhat childish nature). i cant lie this feels nitpicky but it’s just so jarring everytime i see it combined with everything else, ya know??

- i dont know if the apollo incident was necessary. i feel the story would have been the same if had just been a pushy jerk trying to marry persephone because she is a fertility goddess for his own advantage. it was just an awful thing that provides very little substance to the plot and made me struggle to read it.

- im still a bit lost on where we are with what’s going on with persephone. when she goes into her “death bringer” state, why does it seem like she’s been possessed instead of it being embraced as who she is? i’d like to see her gain more control of these powers and maybe trained properly by someone so that the next time they are used, they are used with intent and purpose.

- lastly, why is persephone’s growth being stifled? we see her make mistakes, and fall short in certain areas, but i would also like to see her excercise agency and fix things for herself. we only got to see a glimpse of that, but i want more so that she can figure out for herself what and who exactly she is and what she wants without having to think about others and what they need from her. if she is to become the queen of the underworld we want her to be, she doesn’t need to be coddled all the time.

if there is anything more to be added to the conversation, pls feel free too!! i like conversation and this is an interesting topic!

[more-than-a-princess]

I cant put together a clever post but it would be remiss of me if I didnt at the least mention the prospect of Wylan sabotaging a couple things on Sonia's birthday so itd be easier to kidnap and sedate her then leave her 'alone' in a haunted house he had learned about. Yes, he had some help on this front (we talked about how he wins over security). And yes, the monster stalking Sonia is him.

Shes probably not scared of him. Or the monster prospect. But maybe she will indulge a chase scene anyway? Theres no fancy meal at the end just more Wylan. And an evening free of the razz.

Sonia's Birthday 2022! - Accepting asks and/or posts from mutuals

The thing is, this is a clever post, Bear! It's fun to discuss headcanons just as much as IC content. And sometimes, it's just easier on the mun to throw out some ideas: often, that leads to me sending some aesthetics or inspiration for interactions, past/present/future.

Anyway, Sonia would appreciate this effort so much. Her receiving love languages are quality time and acts of service first and foremost, and you're exactly right when thinking she likes a bit of danger and spontaneity in her life. When she so often has to live by many rules, nothing gets her adrenaline going like an adventure!

Or a horror movie.

Or her own personal horror movie that's turned into an adventure.

As I said on discord, she would've gone willingly on such a caper but the fact he put in that much effort to kidnap her? She appreciates it. Even if with at least two past kidnappings, her first instincts would be to fight against it. Though I believe Wylan is very good at what he does, and thus she wouldn't have the skills to retaliate. Oh no! Kidnapped by a charming assassin/stalker whom she loves! Whatever shall she do!?

Well, after she comes to, Sonia gets to work on her bindings. Because he definitely not only kidnapped and sedated her, but he tied her up too Consensually. She enjoys this. It's not Sunday but it's her birthday so Sonia gets a lewd treat.

But does she want to be untied? He's put her in an old, dusty, nearly-falling-to-pieces house. On the upside: staying in her binds means she's less likely to need a Tetanus shot later. On the downside: she wants to explore everything! Especially what's making those floorboards creak. And that growl.

And the fact that, just maybe, much of this isn't as decaying as it looks: it was decorated that way, and so well that she believes the story the house is telling her.

Including that monster.

It takes her a little time (she's dawdling and she'd admit it), but Sonia would free herself from her bonds and become properly acquainted with her new surroundings. Checking the various cobwebs, bits of papers and books left in disarray, flowers that have turned dry, brown, and crumbling in dust-caked vases. She's trying to fully immerse herself in the story of the house and all the horrible events that took place there...

...but that's a bit of a challenge when something is pursuing her. And she's giving it chase, fitting herself into the smallest hiding spaces and controlling her breathing as much as possible.

Unfortunately, she's no match for Monster!Wylan. They have their respective strengths and weaknesses, and no one is better than stalking, and catching his prey, than Wylan.

It's not as if Sonia minds. After some time, she wants him to find her. She's a filthy mess and her heart is beating fast, anticipating for his hands to wrap around her and devour her whole.

They don't need a fancy dinner, but they will need some privacy. And something to sustain them all night long. Sonia will even thank him by cooking a frozen pizza in the oven, if both are available! Cardboard base and all.

Which proves to be the scariest part of the whole ordeal, when you think about it.

[just-a-fangirl13]

Thoughts & Theories about MacGyver 5x10 [MacRiley]

HOLY SHIT! 

This episode was absolutely INSANE. Im writing out my thoughts once and for all because I need to stop thinking about everything that happened (I highly doubt I will be able to but here's to trying)

SPOILERS FOR 5x10 OFCOURSE

Straight off the bat, I was screaming *internally* and yelling at Mac when he showed the diamond to Bozer. I suspected it yesterday when we got the snippet of Murdoc saying the words DIAMOND and RING with extra emphasis..(everyone on twitter said I was jumping to conclusions.. I thought so too honestly) But damn I did NOT expect them to actually do that!

Now here's why I am not mad about it anymore. [this is my interpretation you are free to disagree]

Firstly, when Mac told Bozer he was going to propose he didnt say I’m doing it because I love Desi or I want to spend the rest of our lives together or because she’s the one (doesn't mean he doesnt care for her ofcourse)

He said “Ever since I lost my dad & Jack, I have been thinking about the bigger picture and a commitment to make things work is exactly what Desi and I need right now. A grand romantic gesture.” He wanted to propose for stability so he could finally be on the same page with her. They never really defined their relationship before and this was a way for Mac to final bring it together. A grand romantic gesture is usually something people use to win their partners back which is what Mac was trying to do I guess. It almost sounds like he has to do it so he doesn't lose her again 

(ill get to my second reason in the end)

Then ofcourse Bozer tells Riley about it so she can be prepared. Bozer is such a good friend. He is supportive of Mac AND wants to protect Riley. I love him for it! He really is doing everything to be the best friend he can to both of them. (Leannas death was so painful and I just want to hug him but thankfully Riley had that covered.)

Next we get the BIG REVEAL. The moment all of us had been waiting for. 

The moment that SHOOK Angus MacGyver and CHANGED EVERYTHING!

Rileys Feelings!

“You want me to say it out loud? Fine. Yes I had feelings for Mac. There I said it. and yeah watching him and Desi together was breaking my heart so I moved out of his house. I should have said something to him a long time ago but I didn’t and now its over. ”

I had the opposite of a HEART ATTACK! (my heart rate was through THE ROOF!)

I have to say they really really outdid themselves on this reveal. 

SIDE NOTE: If anyone comes for Riley and tries to call her a slut or a home wrecker? You will have me to deal with. Even after Murdoc played the clip of her confession she still tried to deny it and brush it off so it wouldn't complicate things for Mac and Desi. If Riley had wanted, she could have easily told Mac this to his face while he was dating Desi and then let things happen from there but she DIDNT. She kept that secret buried so deep she herself was in denial.

(also if anyone calls Mac a player or anything like that.. I will end you. He is doing his best to deal with everything that has happened to him and people keep giving him shit for it....)

Anyways, we see Mac’s expression & he is just confused and shocked and clearly not trying to think about it because it changed EVERYTHING for him. 

[Murdoc saying I THINK IM ON TEAM RILEY was a HUGE HIGHLIGHT for me! I love him so damn much!]

Desi took it really well too actually. If they keep going down this road of growth and maturity for her I think I could actually like her again. (Russ too when he apologised to Bozer) 

She didnt throw a hissy fit or say I knew it or look at Riley like she was the villain. She focused on the mission & I respect her for that.

(Riley does say, “the next thing you are going to hear on that recording-” and then gets cut off by Desi.. If this will come into play at some point later on or if it was just her trying to explain herself, remains to be seen.)

Then after the climax, we finally hear Riley say the words to Mac in real time and we get our FIRST MacRiley hug of the season! 

At this point I thought they would agree to be friends and make the friendzone thing clear BUT NOPE. (you have no idea how happy I am about it not going down like that!)

I was also a puddle on the floor. SO

“Mac look-”

“You don’t have to say anything if you dont want to. Really.”

“I want to. Last year in Germany. I realised I was starting to have feelings for you. Real feelings. I didnt want to make anything weird between you and Desi. I didnt want to mess up our work or our friendship so I decided to bury it. Until the feelings passed.”

“Emotions aren’t a science. You can’t control them.”

Gosh they are so perfect together! The way they look at each other and the HUG! OH MY GOD THE HUG! Its just perfection.

Now we also see this from Desi’s POV. Again no anger or jealousy from her. I think it was an understanding. She realised that she and Mac were never going to work.. maybe a little pain but honestly everything that went down with her and Mac was her fault too. The lack of trust and understanding was always a problem for them. Sure, things were going well but she didnt seem like she was ready for a commitment if im being honest. If Mac had proposed I think Desi would have said no.(again nothing wrong with that) 

She didnt want to label their relationship..they haven't said the words I love you to each other and I dont think they even live together. It really was way too sudden.(these are just things im assuming people define how well a relationship is going by.. I have no experience.)

Then ofcourse we have what im calling the goodbye scene. Its the break up before the break up in my opinion.

Desi tells Mac that they should pretend the last 24 hours never happened (that might actually include Mac wanting to propose but make of it what you will..) and that they should have a clean slate. But its very clear from Mac’s face and Desi sees it too that he isnt 100% onboard with it. He cant forget about it.

Which is when Desi says “Look Mac just do whatever you feel is right” and Mac looks confused.

She then gives him a goodbye kiss. 

Look if you have ever watched any show/movie before where the characters are saying goodbye to each other or breaking each others hearts...THERE IS ALWAYS A KISS ON THE CHEEK. A final farewell of sorts. 

That is what it seemed like to me. It was Desi telling Mac to do what he has to. Even if it inevitably leads to their break up.

Again real emotional maturity from Desi here!

Then we get the scene, Monica Macer (the show runner) tweeted about back in December.

Mac knocking on someones door. If im being honest? I thought it was Desi’s place and he was going to propose...

BUT it turned out to be Riley’s.

Mac clearly hasn't stopped thinking about what happened. I wouldnt either if my best friend who has put her life on the line for me and trusts me 100%, now has feelings for me? That would turn my world upside down too.

especially if I had feelings for her that I buried so deep that I never acknowledged them.

Also this is my scenario for how their first kiss goes down just FYI.. (Mac showing up at Rileys doorstep and finally confessing his feelings and kissing her *probably won't happen that way now though, but I still love it*)

Mac hesitates for a second before finally knocking on her door.

“Mac? Everything okay?”

“I can’t pretend like the last 24 hours didnt just happen. They did. So I gotta ask. Did it work?”

“Did what work?”

“Hiding your emotions and letting it pass. Did they go away?”

and I proceeded to pass out. My brain just checked out...

Now initially in all my freaking out I thought Mac was asking Riley about his feelings. If HE buried them deep enough would he still be able to move on with Desi but then I rewatched it and I realised he was asking RILEY if her feelings were still there, if there was still a possibility of something ever happening. 

She never told him its all good now! my feelings are gone and it was a long time ago. She told him she buried it but he needed to know if a future with Riley was something tangible. 

BASICALLY ANGUS MACGYVER ASKED RILEY DAVIS IF SHE WAS STILL IN LOVE WITH HIM. *I think I need to go to a hospital now*

So this was my second reason for not being annoyed about the proposal. The writers used it to show what a huge impact it would have on Mac. How much Rileys feelings would actually mean to him. the GAME CHANGER it would be.

A friend of mine said it was kinda funny and a little jarring but I liked it. (I could have done without the proposal) But I understand why they did it. They couldnt have Mac and Desi break up the same day Riley’s feelings came out because then people would hate Mac. They had to make him want to take the next step with Desi but then drop a bomb on him, that would make him question everything.

Again this is what I took away from it.

BUT GOSH WAS THIS EPISODE AMAZING!

I do get that some people are not happy with this and some said it was too sudden *not like we’ve been waiting since season 1 or anything* but I think after 5x11 things will slow down again. Mac may break up with Desi only at the end of the season when he finally comes to terms with his feelings. (Some people are still cautious and I get it but after everything that just happened I find it hard to believe that Mac and Riley won't end up together after all.. not to mention the leaked script conversation between Mac and Riley from 5x15)

Now I dont know how the final scene ends.. they definitely dont get called away for their solo mission immediately after because Mac’s cheek injury is relatively healed in this stills, which means Riley does answer Mac’s question. She may try to avoid it or deflect but he is standing right there so...who knows.

Next weeks episode is a MacRIley solo mission and lets just say things definitely are heating up a bit..*wink wink*

YUP IM HYPED. 

BRING ON THE SEXUAL TENSION AND THE ANGST!

[descendantofthesparrow]

Bad end rewrite concept - Arwen

-

Fae are a fickle type of being, once they turn 18 they have a yearly “mating” season that lasts from a day to a full week (similar to a period but once a year) only activated once the fae finds their “mate”. in the case of Mal, who is a dark fae and has yet to meet her “mate”, has never had her “mating” season. 

both light, dark, and “regular” fae all have this “mating” season after they turn 18 and find their mate, but unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, FG and Jane were unaware that Jane had found her mate in Gil, so when the young fae turned 18, and that time of the year came around, she wasn't exactly...prepared for what was happening.

FG had explained once about the fae mating season to jane, but...faes usually don't know they’ve found their mate until they reach the once a year “mating season” and her mating season ended up being only just a week after her 18th birthday.

as both Jane and Gil were unprepared for the situation, along with them both being pretty much unknowledgeable about sex.ed and Gil wanting to get rid of the pain Jane was under(less painful more just really uncomfortable), had unprotected sex. and around two months later, Jane noticed her period was late...and she hadn't had one the previous month. panicked she quickly confided in Evie and (y/n), who calmed her down and (y/n) went out to get her friend a pregnancy test.

minutes after Jane took the test, Evie gently showed her the stick, with two pink lines.

Jane was pregnant as a result of the mating season.

while she was terrified of both her mothers and Gils reaction, with the support of her friends she told them both. Gil was ecstatic, but knew that they were both very young and having a child might not be the best idea at the moment. her mother was just as supportive, blaming herself for not properly preparing her daughter for fae mating season.

another month of talking between Jane, Gil, and her mother, the two young adults decided to keep the unborn child that was growing within Jane. FG was ecstatic that she would soon have a grandchild and did her best to help jane through her pregnancy, even though she had never gone through it herself she was a fairy godmother, not just a fairy.

six months later, out came a red cheeked little girl, to which the two new parents named her Arwen. they soon discovered while Arwen looked completely human, she had inherited her mothers fae genes, her eyes, while normally honey brown like her fathers, became iridescent when she was tired, and then when angry, like when they saw Arwen's first temper tantrum, glowed and turned blue with purplish pink magic flowing through her iris, her pupil turning to a thin pink slit. her teeth, specifically her canines and lateral incisors, where fangs, sharp enough to rip through skin if she wanted too. she was a sub-type of fea known as “wild fae” who had connections with nature and life 

her magic burst forth wildly when she was only two months old, Jane staring wide eyed as her ,not even a toddler, child hovered her father upside down in the air in front of her, clapping happily as her father stared at her in shock and awe. it was almost effortless for Arwen, doing things even fully grown faes had trouble with sometimes, such as lifting an entire human into the air with no incantation. 

FG was just as perplexed, in the end only suggesting that those born of true love/between a fae and their mate, had extremely powerful magic. an example being Maleficent herself, while she was a dark fae she had been born from fae mates and therefore had powerful magic, sometimes not even needing a verbal spell to cast her spells. 

content with FGs answer but still in shock, Jane and Gil did their best to raise their magic rampant half fae child.

but one day...a bit more than one year after she had fled Auradon in shame of her failure, Mal returned. with vengeance.

she quickly took control of Auradon and the isle, spelling Jane and killing Gil with the Ember Mal had stolen back from her father, upon learning about Arwen, she ordered the newly spelled Jane to bring her daughter to her, what she would do with it she didn't know, it all depended on how powerful Arwen was. 

Jane obeyed, taking the hardly over a half year old Arwen to Mal. but as she looked into the iridescent eyes of her only child, Jane was freed for a moment, and in that moment she raced off to the other edge of the enchanted forest, and left her child in a bush. in tears she left Arwen in her peach baby blanket with a spell to keep her warm and fed, along with a note.

-to whoever finds Arwen, please please take care of her and protect her. Mal wants her, and i cant bare to let my child into her clutches, i cant let her die. tell Arwen her mother loves her and to be strong.

-thank you, Jane-

just as Jane entered the castle that Mal had taken, the spell Mal had placed on Jane returned. Mal was confused, the baby wasn't with jane, so where was she? Jane took Mal to where she had left Arwen, only for her to be gone.

the two faes stood unaware that a woman that was thought to be dead already had the child, and she vowed that she would protect Arwen with her life.

(y/n) took Arwen away from Auradon and to a nearby country, luckily finding a cabin the middle of a forest, she rebuilt it and raised her friends child alone in that forest, waiting for the day that Auradon and its people would be freed from Mal’s clutches.

four and a half years later, Arwen is 5 years old, she knows her parents loved her very much, she knows her mother was forced to give her up to protect her from the evil Mal, she knows her father died to protect her, she knows that she loves her auntie (y/n).

she knows she is powerful, she knows she controls the forest around her, she knows she commands the animals before her.

she knows one day she will get her mother back and avenge her father. but for now, she is only 5 years old, and her auntie wants her to have a happy childhood before she gives it up to war.

so she will, for now.

-

yep...Arwen! so i posted this concept art for bad end rewrite and with the addition of Arwen, the timeline and story of this concept change. this is the original timeline and story which originally started around the end of D3 and took maybe a couple months for the timeline to run through, but now starts a bit more than a year after D3, and spans over a good couple years, im debating on weather or not to have it go to where Arwen is a teen and fights along side (y/n) and the others or too have her still be 5 when Mal is defeated. depending on what i chose the story will be changed, so ill decide on that later.

her magic is pretty nature like in concept, she can control nature and command animals, and when she was a toddler she “tamed” an entire wolf pack that now waits on hers and (y/n)s command.(her favorites are Artimus and TC)  when she uses more of a...physically? visible? magic it flows like water and smoke, colored like her eyes when she is tired (aka its iridescent) 

again she has very sharp teeth (and at the moment is missing one of her front teeth cuz she's five) and i added a new eye thing for her, when she gets angry, her eyes turn blue with purple/pink glowy stuff and her pupil becomes slanted and glows pink/purple

more of her info can be found on the other concept art i posted of her so ill just stop here  cuz its 5am and im tired~

Again inspired by the Dream smp and @disneyfan50​ “true defender” fic, and also thanks to disneyfan50 for helping me find a name for Arwen 

[keepmeinthedark]

To The Top || A Marauders Band AU

Chapter Three: This Side of Paradise 

Read here on AO3

How did James and Lily go from disliking each other to falling in love?

They spent time together didn't they? That's how most people do it.

In past interviews, James had described his relationship with Lily Evans as "love at first sight."

That's because it was. Just because it started with love doesn't mean that they didn't have their problems in the middle.

Were any of the other boys in relationships at the time?

No, unless you count Frank who at the point was dating Alice, but they hadn't made it official at this point.

And according to Emmeline Vance herself, she was involved in the band during the early days. How did she meet them?

She lived with them. At Maxwells house. She shared a room with James.

//

Emmeline hated sharing a room with James.

He was messy, he was loud, and above all, he was a complete inconvenience whenever she wanted to bring someone home with her.

She always texted him, a quick and simple rabbit emoji, a quick way of saying "I'm about to bring someone into our room who I intend to have sex with. Please clear all of your shit to the side and go sleep on Sirius and Franks floor please."

But did he ever do it? Nope. Never. Not once.

One time he left a framed photo of himself with rose petals and candles on her bed.

Another time he had Sirius and Frank play the loudest least sexy music ever from their room once they had heard Emmeline and their date come in.

Another time James had replaced all of the photos of her friends and family with photos of the Backyardigans with James photoshopped into them. (They don't even know where he found the time for that one.)

And this time James hadn't even bothered to check his phone.

"Jesus Christ James what are you doing?" she asked the lump of blankets on his bed. She turned to her companion, a tall blonde girl with blue eyes, "Im so sorry, I told him to leave."

Her date just shrugged and started to gently kiss Emmeline's neck, "I don't mind so long as he's quiet," she said.

"Please don't," James squeaked from his bed.

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "Could you give us a second please?" She asked the blonde.

After the girl (she couldn't remember her name) left the room, Emmeline stormed over to where James lay. She pulled the sheets from on top of him and folded their arms. "What are you playing at?" she hissed.

James didn't answer, just mumbled a bit and waved his arms about.

"Are you drunk?"

"Nurr."

"Are you sure?"

"Nurr."

Emmeline uncrossed her arms, "What's this about, James?" she asked, their voice much softer than it was before.

James sat up, "It's nothing it's just... nothing. I'm sorry I didn't see your text I'll leave." He began to get out of bed.

"Hang on a sec. Wait up," Emmeline held their hand out and James sat back. "What's going on?"

James sighed and opened his mouth to answer when Sirius and Frank entered the room. "Why is there a lesbian in the hallway?" Sirius asked.

Emmeline gave him a look, "Nevermind about her, why is Potter depressed."

"I'm not depressed."

Emmeline's look was pleading.

Sirius sighed, "You remember that girl that he met at Christmas?"

"Dark red hair that reached her chest, emerald green eyes, plus size, has a smile that glows, exactly a head smaller, three piercings, a tattoo of a wolf behind her ear and wearing white Doc Martens?" She nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"She was at the gig we played today and she rejected him."

"Well bloody hell is that all?" Emmeline sounded offended. "I thought someone had died or something but you're cockblocking me just because you couldn't get laid yourself. That is low Potter."

Emmeline could hear Frank trying to hold in his laughter and James looked up at her with a shocked expression.

"I didn't see your text!"

"I sent you fifteen rabbits! Fifteen! If that wasn't enough indication that the girl I was bringing back was important-"

"I DIDN'T SEE IT!"

"YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO NOT CHECK!"

"Alright! Alright, inside voices both of you," Sirius got between them. He turned to Emmeline. "Emme. What's so important about the lesbian in the hallway?"

They shrugged, "First fuck of the year ain't it?"

Behind her, Frank started laughing. In front of her, James looked like he was about to kill them.

"All of this for some random lesbian you found off the street?" Frank wheezed.

Emmeline's face scrunched up in disgust. "Alright let's get some things straight," she said, wagging her figure at each of them. "Firstly, it's the first day of the year I need a good start. Secondly, she's bisexual, and thirdly I didn't find her on the street she was at a house party that I just came from."

"So all of this for some random bisexual that you found at a house party?"

"To start this new fucking year off right! Can't forget about that!" Sirius chimed in.

Emmeline had never wanted to hit them more.

"Are we done?" James asked. "I'm a bit over talking about this."

"Oh, I'm sorry your highness are we bothering your coming of age moment?" Frank asked sarcastically.

"Yes, you are ruining my coming of age moment." James hissed. "Now if you don't mind, I prefer to be depressed alone, not with you lot and a bisexual from a house party!" He pulled his covers back over himself.

"Aww come on mate don't be like that. So you don't reject for once in your life it happens to everyone. Doesn't it guys?" Frank said turning to Sirius and Emmeline for support.

"Yeah, the amount of times I've flirted with straight dudes is embarrassing," Sirius said the same time Emmeline said, "Ah not really I'm a catch."

This got a smile from James.

"Ay, there's a smile!" Frank beamed. "C'mon, well go to the pub. Turn that frown upside down."

James' smiled grew and he nodded, finally getting out of bed. Emmeline, Sirius, and Frank cheered.

"Wait!" Emmeline said, "What are we going to do about the bisexual?" she whispered as if she could hear them from the other side of the door.

Frank shrugged, "Bring her along!"

They cheered again and made their way out of the bedroom door. Only to find that the girl Emmeline had brought back was no longer there.

"Ahh fuck her," James said when he noticed Emmelines disappointed face. "She would've brought the mood down anyway."

The Leaky Caldron was the quietest any of them had seen it. It was past 1 am by the time they had gotten there and most of their company were about to do their last rounds.

Sirius preferred it like this. It was easier to get a drink, it was easier to hear your friends and it was easier to actually move around. He was never fond of really crowded places like that.

Emmeline had gotten them all the first round and James got the second, by the time they were on the third Sirius noticed three guys walk into the pub. He immediately recognized one of them as Lily Evans' friend.

He opened his mouth to tell the others but Frank jumped in before he could. "Hey, those guys were at the gig today," he said subtly pointing at them.

James went pale, "Yeah, and one of them was talking to Lily when I went up to talk to her," he muttered.

Emmeline hit Frank's arm, "See what you've done," she hissed. "Don't worry Potter, Ill go throw my drink over him. Now, which one was it?"

"Emme, we've talked about this you cant just throw drinks over anyone you like," Sirius told her and slapped her hand away from her drink.

Sirius expected them to make some snarky come back, but instead they just stared at him and raised an eyebrow. Sirius was about to ask her what the hell she was doing when she threw her arms up and gave him a disapproving look.

"Really Sirius?" she asked. "Out of all the people for you to fancy it has to be one of them?"

Sirius went bright red, "I haven't got a clue what you're talking about," he lied.

"Don't lie to me."

"Well, I can't help it can I?"

"Oh my god, Sirius. Right, which one is it? I'll throw my drink over him instead."

Sirius nearly jumped out of his seat, "Why do you have to throw your drink on anyone?"

Emmeline gave him a judging look. "You can't date the friend of the girl who broke your poor mate's heart, Sirius."

"Yeah Sirius," Frank said in a mocking tone. "You can't break girl code."

Emmeline side-eyed him but ignored his comment. "Let's say you two date, and you falling love and get married and James is your best man while whats her name-"

"Lily Evans"

"- Lily Evans, is his best woman. And those two have to help plan your wedding, but they can't agree on anything because James holds grudges and your wedding is ruined. Do you really want your wedding to be ruined?"

James raised his eyebrows. "That's why this is bad? Not because of my feelings or anything?"

"I was getting to that."

"No, you weren't!"

"It was implied!"

Sirius downed what remained of his drink. "Alright, alright," he intervened before they could get any more annoying. "I just won't date him, you don't have to throw your drink over someone every time we go drinking Emme. We'll just continue our lives and never see each other ever again." Although if Sirius was being honest, he didn't really like the idea of never seeing his mystery boy again. "It's not like we talked or he took any notice of me anyway."

"Emme, get your drink ready," Frank said suddenly. "One of thems coming over here."

Sirius" head shot into the direction where Frank was looking. Unfortunately, it was not the scarred boy but rather the oldest of the group. Sirius wouldn't be surprised if he was the other three boys' father, as it was obvious that they were all related somehow.

Meanwhile, James had to steal Emmeline's drink before she could get her hands on it.

The man noticed that he was being watched and gave the group a small smile. "So sorry to bother you," he said as he got closer, "But were you by any chance the band that played at the fate earlier today?"

Nobody answered for a moment, each one of them was waiting for someone else to take one for the team and talk, in the end, it was Frank.

"Yeah, we were," he told him. "Were you there?"

The man shook his head but smiled. "No, but my sons were," he said pointing to the table where the three boys sat. Upon realizing that the group was now looking at them, each boy quickly turned their head to make it look like they weren't watching. All of them seemed embarrassed. The man laughed.

"They seem to have this problem when they see someone they know and their first reaction is to hide rather than say hello."

The four of them laughed awkwardly as if they weren't the exact same.

"Anyways, I just wanted to come here to prove a point," he said with a friendly smile. He turned to leave but backtracked on himself and pulled a card from his pocket. "Actually, if you guys ever need somewhere to play there is this club that likes to play small bands. Give them a call if you like."

Emmeline immediately reached for the card and took it from him, before any of the boys could tell him that "they're not a small band."

"Thank you, much appreciated," she said with a smile and the four of them watched as the man walked away.

Frank took the card from Emmeline and read it over a few times, then he and Emmeline began talking about if it would be worth giving them a call. James stayed silent and finished his drink, only giving his thoughts every now and then. Sirius on the other hand hadn't taken his eyes off the scarred boy, who was now interrogating his dad, along with his brothers. For a split second his eyes shifted and locked with Sirius'. He gave him a smile - that one that you give to random people on the street - and looked down at his drink.

Shit, Sirius thought. There is no way that I'm never seeing him again.

[thesaunatest]

MY HUGE THEORY ON EL’S PLOTLINE IN S4

before you guys even start, YES I know that 99.9% of what I say is going to be wrong but this is literally just for fun.

its march 1986, middle of the school year and el HATES school

when we left her she was barely literate and had just started getting accostomed to speaking full sentences, NOWHERE NEAR a 9th grade level, so shes struggling in her classes to say the least

on top of that, she barely knows how to socialize with other people, so shes evidently getting picked on

with joyce and jonathan both working to keep the family afloat, will and el get left alone alot

but outside of the party, they socially have nothing in common

in fact, will is adapting to the new town a whole lot better than el. he fit right in with all the creative kids he met in class, but el didnt mesh with that crowd

anyway, our girl is sturggling

the only time she really has fun is when she visits hawkins, or when someone from the party visits them

which leads us to spring break

mike obviously comes to visit, and el doesnt want them to waste a single second so she begs mike and will to come explore the town with her

at this point joyce is already in her detective mode, hatching a rescue plan for hopper so she doesnt notice theyre gone

and jonathan is battling the heartbreak of nancy ghosting him when she was supposed to come visit

so the trio goes off on an adventure without anyone noticing.......... or so they think

because brenner is back, and he knows el is with the byers, but he cant go and snatch her because he doesnt have the resources all the way in california

in fact, he doesnt have the resources at all. his numbers experiment is seen as a catastrophic failure that lead to the deaths of hundreds of lab employees

the only way for him to redeem himself in the community, and gain his funding back is to present his peers with proof that the project can work, so he needs to get one of his numbers back

el is the only one he can track down, but he doesnt think he can do it himself. if she saw him, she could just kill him with her powers, he assumes because he doesnt know she lost them

so who does he employ to get el back to hawkins? lonnie byers

its almost too easy. it doesnt take much to bribe lonnie, and hey, its not like its his kid. so lonnie accepts the bribe, and goes all the way out to california to find el

he shows up at the byers house..... only to find it completely deserted. so he waits

and the trio finds him there after their day out (why are you here? what do you want? where are mom and jonathan?)

and lonnie, being as crafty as he is, comes up with a good excuse on the fly (hes craftier than i am because i genuinely have no idea what he would say)

anyway, he gets them in his car and on their way back to hawkins

jonathan shows up after theyve already left, and is too stoned tired to think anything of the empty house

and joyce is already halfway to russia

will knows his father. he knows that his father doesnt give a shit about him, the family, or anything about hawkins. he knows that his father wouldnt get involved in anything unless he had something to gain. so hes wraking his brain

maybe.... lonnie pulls over to take a suspicious phone call? maybe will figures out an inconsistency in his story? either way, the gang is onto lonnie and figures that they gotta get away from him and get back to joyce and jonathan

they tuck and roll out of the car. idk. all that matters is that they get out of there

as theyre rolling out of the car, el bonks her head a little and has a quick flashback to her time in the lab

since her intuition is always spot on, she takes this as a cue the breener is back and lonnie is working for him

she tells the boys it isnt safe to go back to california or hawkins, so they come up w an alternative plan, somewhere neither brenner nor lonnie would think to look for them

and while theyre on the road, they stop at a diner to eat (dont ask me where they got the money) and we get will leaving an emotional voicemail home, probably sobbing to jonathan about how much he means to will, which gives el an idea

because who has the resources to help her, as well as a desire for vengeance on brenner? kali

el uses her superb hitchiking skills to get them to chicago

maybe she just has some hints of her powers left, but it isnt too hard for el to find kali

she explains everything thats happened, and lets kali know that if she want revenge, the opportunity is hers

unfortunately, lonnie was hot on their trail, and called for reinforcements

theyre ambushed by the few employees brenner has working for him. initially, everyone is hiding, assisted by kali’s powers

but el knows they arent leaving empty handed, and would rather get taken away then have kali’s freedom taken from her

so el reveals herself, followed by mike because he wont leave her, followed by will because he wont leave mike

all three get taken away, back to hawkins lab, but now kali is even more motivated to bring down the lab once and for all

so kali and her gang get to hawkins, almost simultaniously with jonathan, who has been looking for his family in a frenzy since the morning he woke up to find eveyone gone, without even a note or a phone call, as well as argyle, who came along for the ride

the video store is being used as home base this season, so thats the first place they go, where they find steve, shortstaffed and not knowing whats going on because the whole team ditched him

they catch him up to speed on how EVERYONES GONE and steve catches them up to speed on how EVERYONE IS GETTING MURDERED

meanwhile, brenner has three predicaments

1) no matter what he does to el, what kind of torture he inflicts, she isnt using her powers because she doesnt have them. she tells him this several times. he refuses to believe it

2) lonnie byers is demanding his payment, which he didnt recieve because the deal was that he bring el to them, and he couldnt even do that

3) he has to find a way to dispose of mike and will, who he had no intention of bringing into the lab but theyre here and they know everything

and this is the moment where mike screws up by letting them know that people know theyre in the lab and people know about all the experiments and any second now, someones gonna come banging that door down to save us. nancy, jonathan, steve, robin max, lucas, dustin, kali-

and the second mike says her name he knows he screwed up

brenner decides in that moment that all he can do is round up everyone involved and get rid of them. conveniently, the string of murders occurring will serve as a good cover for what happened to them

and this is the part where joyce, murray, and hopper get back to hawkins

this is also the part where nancy and robin and the gang get back to hawkins

so nancy and robin immediately go to the video store armed with all the new information they learned from victor creel

..... and are met with jonathan, argyle, kali, and steve in pandemonium

they close the store for the day, and get ready to storm the lab

they realize that they need something from the school, so they head there to pick it up

and soon after arriving, theyre met with the all to familiar hawkins lab vans

they make a hasty escape, taking out some of the goons but they need to find a way to get the rest off their trail

they head for the woods, hoping to hide out in the cabin

meanwhile, the russia crew has taken the mostly demolished cabin as their haven to recover from whatever injuries they sustained

theyre all running through the woods, but they realize the people from the lab are closing in on them

and then nancy and jonathan pass a very familiar tree

they use whatever weapon they have on them to break through the bark, and head into the upside down

the lab people keep going into the woods, eventually finding hopper’s cabin

epic showdown between the russia crew and the lab people, joyce, murray and hopper win, they realize the lab is back, immediately head there realizing theyre gonna have to rescue someone

nancy and robin use the info they learned from victor creel to keep the gang alive in the upside down, max, argyle and eddie are freaking out because omg we’re in another dimention, we get some big reveal about the truth about the upside down and the gang makes their way out and head to the lab

and while this is all happening,we get some super emotional monologue between brenner and el (ala-the last 10 minutes of the truman show) and brenner realizes that el isnt going to be the naieve superweapn she used to be, and decides the best thing he can do with el is give her the standard punishment, time in the closet

and being in the closet triggers all sorts of flashbacks and emotions (mbb’s opportunity to show off her acting chops for an emmy)

joyce and hopper bust into the lab like they did in season 1, but this time they dont get caught

they decide to split up to cover more ground, and hopper finds el in the closet

and around the same time joyce finds mike and will and gets them out of there

here comes the REAL emotional performance

hopper sees her, we get a teary eyed “el!” “dad!”, and then hopper gets pulled away from el by lab workers

exactly the same way terry did

we’re watching this happen from el’s perspective, with a heart-wrenching “noooooooooo” from el, accompanied by cuts to every time el has had to be separated from someone she cares about (terry, the s1 ending, billy dying, her leaving kali in s2, saying goodbye to everyone on moving day, her being separated from mike and will when they got to the lab) accompanied by some terribly sad 80s song, then back to the present moment, she reaches her hand out and boom, the guards go flying. her powers are back

except she doesnt have control of them the way she did before, and now shes bringing the whole building down

her and hopper race to the the first floor, and meet joyce and the boys, they get out of the building at the very last second, and the whole thing collapses.

eventually they find the other group, the whole team is now together, they go and take down the big bad from the upside down, joyce almost KILLS lonnie

nancy and robin drop a huge bombshell that has to do with hawkins/the upside down, specifically pertaining to el, which they pieced together after talking to victor creel

we get a massive cliffhanger, season 5 starts like 10 minutes after the ending of season 4

[fuckupsoverhere]

Should Have Known {Chapter Three}

Sequel to Little Did I Know. Everyone wants to escape from their life, the mundane and the ordinary. That happened to (y/n) when a mob boss became infatuated with her and wants to get involved in her life, turning everything that she has ever known upside down.

Turning to Tom Holland, the mob boss, for safety did not work out. Will (y/n) go back or will she attempt to look after not only herself, but their unborn child.

Word Count: 1084

Warnings: murder, guns, shooting, gun fighting, blood

Previous | Next

Little Did I Know Master List | Should Have Known Master List | All Works

I don’t know how, but I did it. I managed to get Tom to go and wait outside my parent’s house until I got out of the hospital. The doctors had told me that I wasn’t going to be long and I was not really bothered if I made him wait, anyways. My main focus was on making sure that my baby boy was safe and healthy.

I had been terrified when the doctors told me that I was in labour because he was not due for another two weeks. I thought that I had done something wrong. But I was so lucky, and he is fine. He is so beautiful and all mine. I dressed him up in a white all in one with little grey stars all over it as well as wrapping him up in a warm blanket. He was fast asleep in his car seat and I got ready to leave the hospital with him and my parents.

As we approached the car, I could tell that something felt off. I instinctively shouted, “GET DOWN!” and dropped to the floor. I covered the baby’s body with my own as gun shots rang out from all around me. The baby was now crying so I tried my hardest to sooth him and calm him down, but I was freaking out as well. Even once the shooting stopped, I stayed down. I didn’t move an inch and kept all of my focus on my baby. I could hear shouting all around me, but I knew that it would be safer to stay down for as long as possible. Nothing could have moved me.

I had been as silent as a mouse, until a pair of arms pulled me up and I screamed my lungs out. Until I was met with a familiar face. Harry Holland had wrapped his arms around me and was guiding me to the car. I kept the car seat in my hands, you wouldn’t have been able to take him from my cold dead hands. I turned to tell my parents that Harry was okay, but I couldn’t.

“Harry…” I tried to tell him, but the words would not come out of my mouth.

“Just don’t’ look. We can’t do anything. Our focus is on getting you two out of here.” Harry told me.

When I was sat in the back of the car which Sam was in, Harry took the car seat and plugged it in for me as I just started to cry. This was all my fault. I had put my son in danger and gotten my own parents killed in the process. I had thought that I was going to be able to do this, but I had no idea what I was going to do without my parents, they were meant to help me.

I could hear Harry and Sam talking with a muffled voice, but I couldn’t make out any of the words. However, a part of me knew exactly who they were talking to.

“Are you taking me to him?” I asked and the car went silent. Maybe they were unsure what I would do if they answered it, “Because I need you to take me to him.”

 The drive to the house was long and silent. We stopped at a service station because I was starving and needed to eat and so did the baby. I had never seen the twins act more nervous then when I was feeding the baby and it kind of made me laugh. Harry and Sam were acting differently around me. I wasn’t sure if it was because I had just had a baby, or just had their brother’s baby or I had just lost both of my parents. I was also curious to know how they felt about everything. Because, from the way that Tom had acted earlier, Harrison had kept his word and kept my secret.

I was so grateful when we finally arrived at the house, but it looked vastly different to the one that I had grown used to.

“New house?” I asked

“Yeah. After everything that happened, Tom decided that it would be best to move.”

Sam offered to take the baby for me, but I told him that I needed to take him. As quickly as I could, I made the way from the car to the house. Harry and Sam took me to a room that had been set up for me and baby. As soon as I had got the baby settled, I got into bed and cried myself to sleep.

 I was awoken by the sound of the baby crying, something that I was going to have to get use to. I gave him his breakfast while I went through everything that happened. I suddenly realised that I still had not named the baby.

There was a light knock on my door, and I held the baby close to me before I called out, “Who is it?”

“Tom” I heard his familiar voice call back to me.

I put him down in his cot and ran to the door. In a couple of seconds, I threw open the door and pulled Tom close to me. For a split second, his body stiffened up before he relaxed into it and wrapped his arms around me. The tears came flooding out again. I just felt so overwhelmed by everything and I had no idea what to do.

“I messed up,” I told him. “I thought that I was doing the best thing, now they’re dead.”

He let go of me, closed the door and sat me down on the bed, “You did what you thought was best. I can’t blame you for being scared and leaving. You never did anything wrong. You didn’t put yourself first, you put our baby first.”

I was shocked that he was so calm about everything. I thought that he was going to go mental, like he had in the hospital. Instead, he was so supportive and caring. Now, we were both looking over the cot to see the baby.

“Theo. His name is Theo. After my dad.”

“That is a beautiful name. Can I hold him?”

I nodded and Tom picked him up. Seeing them together- Tom and Theo- was like looking a puzzle which has just been completed. It was perfect and it was right. Moments like this made me wonder why I had ever left. But only for a second.

 Tag List:

@ragweed98 // @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming // @jackiehollanderr // @ladythena // @cyrusandhiscollaredahirts

[jawnjendes]

bonus: why is their luck in a deeply sad moment? | shawn mendes

some type of au idk man, shawn x goth ex gf

WARNING: there is talk of death and suicide in this chapter. read at your own risk.

AN: i cant squeeze this into the next big fic nor can i fit it into shawn meets bc everyone hated it so its a bonus in the gg story lmao also im starying the Next Big Fic in a few days :)

masterlist | annalise’s playlist

2026.

"Sometimes I think about the what ifs,"  Ann said, “but I like where I am. I like what I’ve made for myself.”

Shawn had to invite her over to his house a second time, because the first time left him with many questions unanswered. He couldn’t be mad at what she said, though. He was in the same boat; he liked the life he made. You know, without the crushing loss and run in with the supernatural.

“Well, I’m happy for you,” he told her, and he really meant it. “I’m glad we were able to successfully do our own things straight after breaking up.”

“Nothing like filling the void in your heart with work!” Ann replied with a giggle. She moved a strand of hair behind her ear, and that’s when Shawn noticed something.

He took her hand and noticed a tattoo on the side of her middle finger: The Triforce.

“You got inked?” he asked, impressed.

“Oh, that’s nothing,” she replied, grabbing her sleeve to roll it up.

There was a sword on her inner arm. It was varying in shades of blue, and it also had the Triforce on it. Shawn recognized it as the Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda games.

“All this is is proof that I’m a nerd,” Ann said as she rolled her sleeve back down. “I notice you have some more ink also… and that you still wear shirts half buttoned.” She pointed to his chest.

Her finger poked the exposed skin. It shouldn’t have been as tingly as it was. Shawn smiled and placed his hand over his chest.

“More than just that,” he told her. “But I can’t show you all of them.”

Maybe it was a little risky to say that. Shawn would have taken it back if Ann’s cheeks hadn’t gone a shade of pink.

“I could say the same thing…”

Shawn quickly came to learn just how many tattoos Ann had gotten over the years. A snake and tombstones on her other arm. Feather on her collarbone, roses on her shoulder. A quote reading, “...but I’m not anymore” with stars around it on her ribcage. Something on her wrist that Shawn didn’t catch because he was busy pressing his lips to her hips and taking off her pants, where he found another tattoo. “Lucky you.” He certainly felt it.

Everything about their time together was so familiar, so easy and almost home-like. Ann’s skin touching his. Her lips perfectly molding over his. The quiet, needy gasps they both released into the bedroom. It was like going back in time, and they were in Shawn’s Toronto apartment instead of his multimillion dollar condo in LA. It was soft and slow, despite Shawn pinning Ann’s arms above her head. He didn’t outgrow that particular move, and she still seemed to like it.

Shawn had never been happier to have been on a break more than now. Most one night stands in the past began and ended very quickly, because he was on tour or in between interviews or on a break for one day. This was one person that he didn’t want to leave behind. They lied down, sweaty and dazed, facing each other. It was silent, but not awkward. Everything had a nice haze around it.

That was also when Shawn finally made out what the tattoo on Ann’s wrist was. He picked his head up in confusion.

“Is… are those torches?” he asked. “Upside down? Just like mine… and are those my initials?”

It was simple line art, less intricate than his own. Torches in an X, with “SM” right below them. Shawn has been floored many times, and this was no exception.

Ann picked her head up as well. “It’s not what it looks like.”

Shawn looked down at his chest, his torches were exactly the same, sans the initials. He wanted to give Ann the benefit of the doubt, that this wasn’t some creepy fangirl thing. Some of his one night stands ended up like that, and it wasn’t exactly easy to forget.

“It’s for a friend of mine,” Ann explained, sitting up and covering her front with the blanket. She took note of the look on Shawn’s face. “Keeping someone’s light on beyond death, remember? I assume yours is for someone too.”

They were both sitting up now, and Shawn relaxed. However, he only relaxed a little bit because now it was time to get deep.

“Mine’s for Brian. He died last year.”

Ann’s face fell. “No. Brian, your best friend? Brian, the one who constantly took the piss outta me?”

He nodded. “He was… there was an accident. Flight of stairs. Instantly killed.” It was all lies, but no human would understand.

A hand went over his, squeezing. “I’m so sorry. He just, he just fell down some stairs?”

“A lot of stairs. I don’t know I guess he was running or something. There was no way to save him. People in the house heard the crash, but by the time they found him - when I found him - it was too late.” He had told this version many times, enough times to where he could almost believe it himself.

“Fuck, man. That’s… that’s fucking terrible,” Ann said sympathetically. “But I seriously can’t believe you just told me that.”

“Why?”

“Because now I have to tell you that mine is for Stella. Those are her initials.”

Stella Martinez. Now Shawn felt a little stupid… but surprised, and he was met with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He couldn’t believe it for a second, but it fully processed in his head, and his heart began to break.

“Stella from college? Stella, who was your literal opposite and also your best friend?”

Ann solemnly nodded. Then she looked down. “She… she killed herself.”

Shawn was stunned into silence, the tightness in his chest only intensifying. The entire time he knew Stella, she was always so positive and bubbly. She was the opposite of suicidal. That’s why it was such a shock… and so sad. Oh god, who was going to tell Camila?

“When did Brian go to the other side?” Ann asked after a moment.

“A year ago last month,” Shawn replied. “And Stella?”

Ann raised an eyebrow. “Two years ago last month...”

It was a strange coincidence, but still upsetting. Both Shawn and Ann lost their best friends at the same time of the year. The urge to spill everything was thick in the air. Still, neither of them said anything for a while.

Instead, Ann reached down to the floor to pick up her clothes. Shawn’s eyes were stuck on her and that was when he spotted another word on her back. Nightmare. Small font, right shoulder blade, surrounded by a cluster of skulls. Then, he realized what she was doing.

“Are you leaving?”

She looked up, bra in hand. She was quiet as she put it back on.

“No. No, I’m not going anywhere.”

And she crawled back into bed. She made the point to keep a distance from Shawn, who was still naked. He was on his side, looking at the woman before him. Only Ann could have sex with him and bring up the subject of death. That brought a new point to mind.

“How do you enjoy death?” he asked. “I think I’ve asked you this before, but after losing someone and attending their funeral, I’m having a hard time understanding your perspective.”

Ann took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t enjoy the act of dying. People die every day in horrible ways. People mourn and fall into depression because of death. That’s not something to enjoy.”

“So what’s your deal with it?”

“I’m just embracing the face that it’s inevitable. I do that for myself. I will die eventually, or tomorrow-”

Shawn made a face; he didn’t like that thought.

“It doesn’t make it any easier when someone I know goes,” Ann continued. “You’d think with all the research I’ve done it would be. The ones we love leave this mortal plane, and all they leave is their absence. And that alone is a lot to process.”

“What’s the hardest part?”

“The what if’s.”

Shawn asked because he really wanted to know more about what happened to Stella. He had to know the things that led up to the tragedy, mostly because he knew Camila would ask for details, even if they were hard to hear.

He figured he should spill his side first.

“The last thing I said to Brian was to get the hell out of my room,” he began. “We were fighting, fighting over something so fucking stupid, and I was so pissed at him. That was our last interaction. He fell down the stairs because he was trying to find me in this big huge mansion…”

Ann sat up a little bit, hand over her chest. “Here?”

“Oh no, not here. I was staying at a friend’s house in London for a work thing. Place was huge, easy to get lost in,” Shawn clarified. “Brian, Andrew, all of them were leaving back to Toronto and I didn’t want to go just yet. Part of it was because I was still pissed. Maybe if I had run into him first before he fell… If I hadn’t kicked him out of my room a few nights prior… If I was less of an asshole…”

“Maybe you would have slipped on the stairs,” Ann told him. “Maybe you guys would have had an even bigger argument later that would have ended your friendship. There’s no way to tell, and sometimes that’s what sucks the most.”

Huh. Most people tell him not to dwell on it. No wonder Ann was a shrink now.

“Losing someone is one of the hardest things we, as humans, have to face,” she said. “It’s not easy in the slightest. Besides, the grieving period takes about three to five years, so you - we - are still in the beginning stages of it. Thinking about the what ifs, what you want to change, what you wish you could say to Brian - all of that is normal.”

The two of them let those words settle for a moment. Shawn’s eyes were a little misty, and redirecting the topic was probably not going to help. But he laid his stuff out on the table.

“What about you?” he asked.

“Me?”

“Your what ifs?”

Ann paused, looking around the room. “What if I had put my Master’s to use and noticed the goddamn signs?”

Shawn watched her, hoping she would at least return the eye contact.

“I’m an expert in this shit,” she said. “I have the years of school, the degrees, and the licenses for detecting things like this. I only figured it out the moment her dad called me.”

“How do you detect when someone is suicidal?”

“In her case, she was elated. When someone makes that decision, they reach a state of euphoria because they know their pain is about to end.”

“But Stella was always-”

“Believe me, I know. I hadn’t talked to her since graduating in Toronto, so I thought she hadn’t changed at all. But I would see on her social media, she just moved back to her parents’ house in Florida, and she hinted that she wasn’t happy about it.”

As if Shawn couldn’t take another blow. Come to think of it, he never heard much about Stella’s home life. He didn’t even think that it could be a negative place for her.

“I was in Jacksonville for work,” Ann continued, “so I hit her up, and we met up for lunch. We talked for about an hour, and she said that I was always a good friend and college wife and that she’ll always love me. And my stone hearted ass just said ‘cool, you don’t suck’ and that was that. A month later, she’s as blue as the pills she took.”

“Ooo…” Shawn sighed, cringing at that mental image. Sweet, warm hearted Stella cold and lifeless. Call it morbid, awful thinking, but Shawn wished Brian looked like that in death instead of the bloody mess he turned out to be.

“Yeah. And her parents had her embalmed and put in an airtight casket, but that’s a whole other rant.” Ann waved it off and lied back down.

Shawn didn’t know what else to do except lie down as well. While sharing the stories of how their friends died, he couldn’t help but feel just a little bit closer to Ann. The first time they met, it took fighting tooth and nail to get her to open up. Now, Shawn felt okay silently reached for her hand, and tenderly holding it in his.

Both of them winded up at the same awards show. Both lost their best friends. Both got the same type of tattoo to honor them. Neither of them anticipated meeting again. This couldn’t be a coincidence.

_______

goth gf taglist: @normalcyisoverrated-beyou @ilsolee @mendesromano @kitykatnumber @strangerliaa @iloveshawnieboi @someoneunimportantxx @goldenmndes @calyumthomas @shawnsunflower @shawnvvmendes @parkeraul @havethetimeeofyourlifee @chillingbythesea @wronglanemendes @softmendesss @peruvian-bae @theprivatewritings

[lazaraes-a]

𝐁. 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐄 : 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓

𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒 : self harm, mental instability, mentions of attempted sexual assault

the girl was dying.

               is dying.

               whatever.

               in all honesty, she should not be able to trace the path of the bullet as it moves within head, feel fractures along back of skull before it is blasted apart. should not hear metal casing as it hits linoleum tile &&should not feel herself falling. but she does. entire world focused ‘pon these impossible sensations, keeping her tethered when everything else has left, flowed out of the hole in her head.

               they say, when you die your life flashes before your eyes. she doesn’t get that, not really. sure, there are flashes of syrupy georgian summers && familial laughter heard through open doors, open windows but it was less memories of the past && more what would go missed.

               seeing her sister again, seeing all of them. reconfirming belief clung to so desperately that they were all alive out there, somewhere. being together again, mismatched people forging mismatched family&&, damn it, she is strong && she would have shown them all. lifting daryls crossbow && taking down walkers with unflinching ease never before attributed to her. no, not her, not little beth greene. maggie or michonne or carol, yes. not her. except it was now.

               she sees things that will never be as bullet bite through flesh && bone && she falls like she weighs nothing at all, as insubstantial as a dream.

               she sees herself surviving.

               death is sluggish && purgatory grey. stifling with heat && rolling with nausea inducting waves. hazy&& foggy && above all silent. all the sound in the world sucked away leaving absolutely nothing. an oppressive silence !! screams && the sound is swallowed before leaving throat. lifts hands && claws, rends strips of flesh && muscles from neck in ancient sense of desperation && doesn’t stop even as burning, boiling blood coats hands, pools ‘round feet. does nothing but claw at own skin && silently scream.

               this is a place where people go mad !! she can feel it latching, this madness, this insanity. rips herself apart && soundlessly cries out for clarity, for sanity, for sound. maggie && daddy && mama but   …   mama is dead && daddy is dead &&maggie, maggie cant be dead, she’s always been the strongest.( blinks her eyes && knows she’s dead too. they all are. whole family wiped out. )

               going / going / gone !!

               just screams && tears herself apart.

               opens her eyes && it’s white.

               && silent.

               until it’s not.

               beeping     /     beeping     /     beeping

               turns her head && finds the source just as burst of pain blooms between brows.

               the walls are bleeding   !!     dripping, pooling, covering everything. everything is red with blood, red with fire              

               (     let’s burn it down     )

                              && it drags her under again.

               opens her eyes && she’s not alone. calls himself a doctor && seems unsurprised when she doesn’t remember. speaks a thousand words a minute but she can only grab hold of a few before they, too, fade away.

               family     /     dawn     /     shot    

               acts like she should understand. speaks calmly, softly && something in her screams against it. do not trust him. curls her hands ‘round ears, digs her nails in && pulls.

         he tries again the next day && she responds a little better. waits a little longer to start clawing against the voice that calls him     untrustworthy     /     dangerous     /     vile     !!     gets told everyday the events that transpired in attempts to jog memory but it’s no use                   entire day forgotten, misplaced, erased from memory && she does not know whether to be frustrated or relieved to not know what she did what she did. so be spared faulty decision process.

               regains her voice && it’s hoarse from all that silent screaming. recalls his name && what he did, what so many of them inside hospital did.     (     when she remembers gorman she empties stomach over the edge of the bed && claws at her sides. feels his hands again && wants them gone.     )    

               do you remember what you did     ??

                   stabbed dawn.

               do you remember why     ??

                   she wanted noah back.

               why did that upset you so much     ??

                   we were friends. he wanted to go home. i didn’t want to leave him here.

               what exactly made you do it     ??     they were going to fight for him.

                   i              

               ’     the exchange had been made but dawn was     …     well     …     dawn. she needed the upper hand, needed to appear in charge. demanded noah back && he was going to do it but you didn’t like it. walked on over && pulled out these surgery scissors&& stabbed her. instinct probably. ended up shooting you. didn’t mean it. the one with the vest, he shot her almost immediately after. he carried you out.

               they were going to take you but rotters came && they had to leave you.     ‘

               they had to leave you.

               in a practical sense she understands. walkers && a body with a head wound are not an ideal combination. knows it would not have been an easy decision. that they had intended to take her means there would have been a burial && that, surely, would have meant her death.

               on another, more personal, level, it is akin to any one of them slipping a knife up between her ribs&& into too soft, too giving heart of hers.

               they left her.

               the first time she sees the damage she cries so hard she gets a headache that almost knocks her out cold right there in the little cubicle bath attached to her room.

               blacks eyes     /     bruised nose     /     shorn hair

               a bullet wound ‘pon brow.

               she cries && rakes her nails down one cheek, adding to her wreck of a face.

               he tells her that she had been in a medically induced coma for a month. her wound had clotted early preventing fatal blood loss but there had been an infection alongside minor swelling that had eventually receded. they had not known whether she would make it, but they had tried.

               she’s surprised. figures it’s some sick sense of guilt that had them allowing such a thing. guilt from the new management, a lady in a uniform that had visited not long after edwards. can’t remember her name, doesn’t care.

               but it’s a month of laying prone &&unconscious, another couple of weeks of limited mobility. sees her muscles     withering     /     dying     !!

               begins walking, first with an iv stand at her side && then she’s running. up && down the hallways, steadfast avoiding the one where her blood had been bleached away. she gets headaches. edwards says they’re side effects from the bullet && sometimes she can run through the pain. sometimes. other times she can do nothing but curl up && try not to vomit.

               or, at least, try not to get an on the floor.

               she eats her fill for the first time since she left her home, sitting in a truck with lori && t-dog wearing fear && grief like a second skin.

               lifts curve of chin && dares someone to say something.

               they don’t.

               her hair grows     /     she gains weight     /     she rebuilds muscle.

               her memory still has gaps && headaches still blast without warning.

               she doesn’t claw at her own skin anymore.

               they don’t understand why she wants to leave.

               it’s safe here. she’s told that by the one in charge. shepard. the safest place there is.

               she has nothing to say to that                   can say nothing to that. remembers that old disney movie with the line from the rabbit about not saying anything at all && simply stares. enjoys the way the officer blanches. attempts to back pedal.

               for the safest place in the world, she lasted a hell of a lot less in here than she did out there.

               is she sure     ??

                   absolutely.

              asks for a gun && a car && gas. has them turn the place upside down for her knife but they turn up empty handed.

               good enough. not the best, but it’ll do.

               she doesn’t say goodbye to any of them.

               the car doesn’t take her far before it breaks down && she’s stuck walking the rest of the way to richmond. remembers being told by noah about where he came from. hopes he got there, that he might know where her family went if they haven’t stayed with him. hopes && hopes && hopes.

               sticks to the woods as opposed to the road&& feels better than she has in a long time. open air, wide space && knowledge from a hunter rattling around her head. stays away from the trees && waits for them to take root within her.

               slinks into an abandoned town. crawls through the broken window of a camping supply store &&weaves through the isles, arms outstretched && fingers trailing along the dusty merchandise. leaving proof that she was there. that she’s still here.

               catches sight of crossbows hanging on the wall.     hesitates     /     steps closer     /     moves away. too large, on par with his                   barely been able to draw that one without assistance. continues on her search.

               leaves with a new backpack filled with supplies, more than a few knives strapped to her person. ready for anything. ready to not be caught off guard again.

                   hopes     /     hopes     /     hopes.

               reaches richmond && finds it in ruins. wants to weep && ends up with a little man banging a sledgehammer against the inside of her skull.

               she leaves empty handed     /     empty headed     /     empty hearted.

               to be alone is a terrible thing. no noah means no lead && all at once she feels so utterly alone. there are no trees frowing within her but rather pressing in on her.     hollow chested     !!     as if someone reached in && gutted her                   pulled out heart&& lungs, intestines && stomach && all the rest of her leaving her empty save gaping rib cage.

               imagines fire licking at their curves. burning her from the inside out.

               sometimes it’s maggots && worms. decay. all of a sudden she’s a dead girl walking. can feel them taking rot, becoming more taint, more death, than girl.

                   starts clawing again.

               gets found by a small herd about a week later. spends the night up in a tree, biting her slip so hard teeth almost go through && through in attempts not to cry out as wave after wave of poison flows out from the hole in her head, searing nerve endings like napalm.

               sometimes she hears voices through the trees but never gets close. tried once but felt phantom hands sliding && hard plastic crashing, tasted artificial green apple ‘pon tongue && had to scramble away.

               there are still good people. she knows this. there has to be. the world cannot be composed of gormans && governors                   the good has to exist out there somewhere.     has too     &&

               && so she tries again.

               peers through the brush in time to see a woman shot down, babe in her arms crying - crying - crying.

                   runs until she throws up.

               she remembers the spoon.

              washington     /     washington     /     washington.

               it’s where the president is               was. has to be safe. has to have people even if they’re not hers. worth a try, can’t be alone anymore.

               figures out where she is in the next few days && changes course from aimless wandering to the capital tries not to think about who she may be leaving behind in doing so.

               but it’s okay because they left her behind first.

                   but that was out of necessity. she knows that. has to remind herself sometimes.

             she finally stops clawing at herself when things get bad && let’s flowers grow to fill breast cavity. refuses to be just another dead girl.

[chatnoirismycinnamonroll]

LoOnly Human: Akuma!Marinette AU (part 4: finale)

So...I have literally no excuse about how long this took to write. But here it is! Part 4 of my Akumanette. You know my disclaimer, so I wont repeat it. Enjoy!

AAMDCLBCNAAMDCLBCNAAMDCLBCN

The class was silent as they watched the tiny goddess glide back to her chosen. Alya was crying silently, wanting nothing more than to rush to her friend and hug her and apologize for being such an idiot, but she knew she wasnt welcome at the moment. 'Why would I be? I'm supposed to be her best friend, but I didnt even give her the benefit of the doubt. I believed Lila without a single question, but I'm always questioning Marinette's stories and excuses. How many times have I dismissed her worries for nothing but jealousy? I wonder if she'll ever forgive me.'

Marinette kissed Tikki on the forehead as she floated back to her. "You didnt have to do that, but thank you. It means so much to me to have a true friend stand up for what's right."

"You're welcome, Marinette. And know that I will always have your side. Nobody is ever allowed to hurt you, no matter who they are."

Adrien watched the sweet scene with a slight smile on his face. He was still freaking out a little that Marinette was his Ladybug, but that could wait until they were alone. For now, they were still in the same room as the people who tried to break her, and his Chat Noir refused to relax in this kind of situation. His persona and his literal black cat. Was Plagg hissing a little? And why is he looking behind-?

Adrien whirled around, his body moving to shield Marinette without a second thought, his eyes narrowing as he faced the class, searching for the danger. His eyes moved rapidly and finally locked on what Plagg was now hissing at. His eyes widened as he took in the scene.

"Lila, what are you doing?" Adrien asked tensely.

"I wouldnt do that if I were you, snake. It's just going to lead to your end." Plagg warned, his eyes glowing slightly. Tikki nodded, her eyes glowing just as bright. Lila scoffed.

"You think I'm scared of you?! Do you think you can just talk about me like that? I am not a liar! I was just telling people what they wanted to hear! People loved me for it in all my other schools, and those who didnt were smart enough to stay out of my way."

Adrien's eyes widened as he realized her plan and what it would do.

"Everyone get out! Lila, let go of the string." Adrien stepped forward slightly, only to flinch back when she stepped in front of the door, blocking the exit.

"You just had to question everything, didnt you? You couldnt just sit back and enjoy my stories like all the other weak-minded sheep in this class. Nooooo. You had to be smart enough to tell the difference. And you, Agreste. You actually believed I would listen to your little advice? 'You dont need to lie to get people to like you. Just tell the truth!' Ha!" Lila sauntered forward, her eyes low and slit like a snake's as her hand held tight to the string. It led straight to her desk, where she had secretly set up two chemical flasks. They were set up, one upside down over the other, a metal sheet keeping the deadly mix separated. She didnt want another class to end this way, but they were leaving her with no choice.

The class moved behind Adrien and Marinette as they took their stances, their kwamis ready to transform them at the first word. With Lila covering the door, the only way out was through the windows. They werent that high up, and there was a tree near the window, so it wouldnt be too dangerous for the class to get out safely. Marinette looked at Adrien, and he nodded subtly without looking at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking, but keeping his eyes on the danger ahead. Kim silently tried to open the window, only to see it nailed shut. He tried the other windows with no luck. It seemed Lila had planned ahead.

"You are so naive! Everybody lies! You cant go anywhere without having someone lie to impress you. I was just giving everyone a little dose of reality. And now, since you two idiots just had to go and ruin my fun, I'm gonna have to make you disappear. Forever. And with you out of the way, there'll be nobody to question my statement of what happened here. 'MISPRINT ON CHEMISTRY SHEET CAUSES CLASS TO MIX THE WRONG CHEMICALS! A FATALLY EXPLOSIVE REACTION TAKES ALL BUT ONE! HERE IS HER STORY!' And as the only survivor, nobody is going to question on whether I'm telling the truth or not!" She extended her arm, ready to pull it back and start the deadly explosion....

"CATACLYSM!" "LUCKY CHARM!"

...Only to tug on nothing but a cut string as a razorblade was expertly thrown at the string. She stumbled and fell as a small hole opened beneath her, trapping her legs in the floor. The class below them screamed as a hole and a pair of legs appeared above them, having thought that the akuma had been defeated earlier.

"Great job, Stinky Socks!"

"You too, Sugar Cube. I told you I had it more under control." Plagg gloated. Tikki rolled her eyes, but gave him a high five anyway.

"You sure surprised me, but I'm happy. Now Master Fu wont worry so much about you."

"Speaking of worrying, what are we going to do with this brat?" Plagg floated down to a glaring Lila. He landed just out of her reach as she struggled to pull herself out and smirked when she failed.

"We should call the police. She almost killed us all." Alya exclaimed from behind Marinette, who jumped from having forgotten the rest of the class was there.

"Yeah, I'll get my phone-" Nino said, pulling it out of his back pocket and getting ready to unlock it when a familiar voice interrupted from the doorway.

"Theres no need for that. My daddy will make plenty sure shes never allowed in Paris again." Chloe stepped into the room with Sabrina behind her. Sabrina had her phone out, recording everything.

"Chloe! Were you recording the whole time?" Adrien asked anxiously, his eyes flashing worriedly to Marinette. Marinette was still by his side, though now she seemed less confident with the whole class tensing up at the reminder of what exactly had happened.

"Only Liar-la's little monologue. And although I'm not happy that Marinette is Ladybug, I'm not going to out your secret. And if anyone else tries to, well, let's just say that I wont need my daddy to make your life a living hell." Chloe's eyes narrowed at the class, who shrunk away from her gaze.

Marinette stepped forward, her eyes filled with gratitude and confusion. "Why are you being so nice? I thought you would have hated me, not protected me."

"Please, Dupain-cheng. I could care less about you, but you have saved my life multiple times as Ladybug, so I'm just repaying the favor by keeping your secret under wraps. And I'm not protecting you. I'm doing my duty as a heroine of Paris by ensuring its protectors' identities dont somehow get back to Hawkmoth. It's just business. Sabrina!"

"They're right outside, Chloe. My daddy is leading them in as we speak." Sabrina chirped obediently from the doorframe. Her eyes were glued to her phone, no doubt texting her father about the situation.

"Good. Meanwhile, I suggest you two transform. They'll be expecting the heroes to have purified the victim, who was escorted home by her friend, Adrien Agreste, to recover from the akumatization. Ladybug and Chat Noir were about to leave only for this girl to scream out in anger at having been called out as a liar by an akuma. Shes crazy, and when you saw what she was going to do, you used your powers to trap her. Sabrina and I were returning to the class when we heard the commotion and decided to call the police since you two were too busy trying to keep everyone safe. Nobody will question why Marinette and Adrien arent here and the police will take care of the rest."

Everybody stared slack-jawed at Chloe's plan. It was going to work perfectly. They couldn't find one flaw with the plan, and decided to go with it. This day was already stressful enough as it was. If Chloe was giving them a plausible out, they were going to take it.

The heroes transformed just before the police entered, guns drawn and pointing to Lila. "Is this her?"

"Yes, Officer. We have her on tape explaining her plan, and would like her to be removed immediately."

"Of course, Ms. Bourgeois. Chat Noir, if you could..." the officer pointed towards Lila's legs, which were still trapped in the floor.

"Gladly. Cataclysm!" The hole crumbled just enough to get her out, and the police fell on her immediately. They werent exactly gentle with her. After all, she just tried to commit mass murder.

Lila growled as she was hauled up from the floor, her arms locked behind her in handcuffs. "This isnt over."

"No, it definitely is. You're never going to win again, Lila. You're going to get all that is coming to you." Chloe warned, her eyes narrowed and a dangerous smirk speaking volumes as she moved into Lila's line of sight, effectively blocking Marinette from view. "Karma certainly is a bitch, isnt it?"

Lila screamed in anger as she was dragged away to face the consequences of her actions. The police gathered the class's statements, not asking about the akumatization and ignoring their awed yet worried looks at the heroes. You'd think they'd never seen the heroes up close before.

The police finally left, and school was let out early for Lila's threat and the akuma. Ladybug and Chat had stayed to give their statements and fix the damage they (their kwamis) had caused during the rescue. They refused to speak to their classmates, and they forlornly left them alone, worried that they would never be forgiven.

Chat and Ladybug stared at each other in the empty classroom. They had no words. They were still trying to process everything that had happened when their transformations finally fell.

Adrien and Marinette were left staring at each other, thoughts racing as familiar eyes finally placed a face to their partner. Feelings clashing and boiling within them, their eyes and bodies refused to move away from each other as they knew they had to talk it out.

Neither moved, and neither looked away. Without knowing it, they were already saying everything they needed to without a single spoken word. Eyes twinkling bright, their bodies moved on their own. Hands reached out to caress a soft cheek, to hold a slim waist, to wrap around their partner's own. Soft hands meeting calloused hands. Eyes saying everything that words couldnt.

Blue eyes full of pain and regret meeting green filled with understanding and comfort. There was the silent question if what came next. What will happen tomorrow? Could they still trust each other, even after this new revelation? Could she trust herself to keep going, knowing that either she could become vulnerable enough to fall to Hawkmoth again? Could she trust him to be by her side? Could she learn to forgive those who caused this pain within her?

But they pushed those thoughts away to enjoy each other's presence. The relief of knowing that your best friend was someone you knew, and knowing they know your good and bad sides, or at least have seen them before. To know that the love of your life had been closer than expected was such a thrill, it left both of them smiling.

They pulled the other closer, enjoying how well they fit together. And knowing they loved each other all along left them breathless. This could work. Sure, they probably had many problems that would come along. They would doubt each other, fight each other, and struggle. They were only human, after all.

But they could worry about that later. For now, they would enjoy the other, hugging and speaking to each other without saying a word, completely in sync with their feelings. There were no doubts, no ifs or buts. There was just them.

Adrien and Marinette.

Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Both skilled.

Both flawed.

Both completely Human.

The end.

AAMDCLBCNAAMDCLBCNAAMDCLBCN

Thank you very much for having waited so long for this! I know it got pretty hectic, but I hope you liked it. ^.^

@mindfulmagics @drarrylover007 @dreamteaze

[write-havoc]

The Glasswing Butterfly Part 6

Summary: Chuck has never thought of herself as anything special. Just an average beta living her life next door to a womanizing alpha named Negan. But her life, and Negan’s too, are turned upside down when Chuck suddenly presents as omega.

This is a non-zombie AU featuring A/B/O dynamics.

Fandom: The Walking Dead AU

Pairing: Negan/Original Female Character

Status: Ongoing

Contains: swearing, smut

Intended for readers 18+ of age only

Masterlist in my bio

Negan gets out of the shower and comes back out to the living room just as Chuck is putting a dirty cereal bowl in his sink.

“You changed your clothes,” he comments as he pours himself more coffee to try to combat the headache he has.

“Yeah. I went home and got dressed.”

He turns and points to the box of Cap’n Crunch that is definitely not his sitting on the counter. “And brought breakfast.”

Chuck giggles. “Yeah. I usually just eat cereal in the morning and you didn’t have any. I took some of your milk though. I hope that’s okay.”

“Well then it’s only fair I get some of your cereal.” He gets in his cupboard and grabs a bowl, not waiting for her answer.

“You can have some.”

He pours himself a bowl then sits down at the counter, with Chuck standing on the other side. He takes a bite of the crunchy little morsels then points to his bowl with his spoon. “Isn’t this shit for kids?”

“You’re thinking of Trix,” Chuck jokes without skipping a beat.

He chuckles when he realizes that she’s joking around. “Smartass,” he mutters back, but not seriously. He takes another bite and doesn’t even swallow before speaking again. “You know how much sugar is in this shit?”

Chuck shrugs. “That’s what makes it good.”

After a few more bites and some slurping of milk, Negan clears his plate and leans back on the sink to face Chuck. “You know, your mom’s gonna fuckin’ kill me for having you over here.”

“I was the one that came over, so...” she shrugs.

“Somehow, I don’t think that’ll matter to her.”

“Are you afraid of my mother?” Chuck smiles at the thought that her beta mom could scare Negan.

“Well, she did literally threaten to murder me.”

Chuck’s face falls. “She didn’t.”

“She did. Said she knew how to get away with fuckin’ poisoning my ass.”

Chuck looks down and shakes her head. She doesn’t want her mother threatening anyone because of her.

“Cut her some slack, okay?” he says gently. “Honestly, if I was her, I’d’ve done the same fuckin’ thing.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Why not?” Negan asks genuinely. “You got fuckin’ people looking out for you.”

Chuck sees that he really doesn’t get it. “Because...” She clears her throat. “Because it makes me feel like I’m not in control of my own life.”

“You can be in fuckin’ control and still accept help.”

“I guess.” Chuck shrugs a shoulder.

“Look, honey,” he pushes off the counter and takes a step toward Chuck. “Omegas...” He tries to think what exactly he wants to say. “Even though you’re twenty five, you’re newly fuckin’ presented. Newly presented omegas are-“

She looks up at him with her big green eyes, waiting for his next words, but Negan cant finish his thought.

He lets out a sigh, instead. “This world can be a shitty fuckin’ place for omegas. Still. And alphas sure as fuck can be dicks. And I’m not talking about hurt feelings, either. I’m talking about bodily fuckin’ harm.”

“Violence against omegas is illegal,” she says innocently.

“I know, sweetheart. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t fuckin’ happen. And it certainly doesn’t fuckin’ mean that alphas are charged every time they fuckin’ should be. Alphas are fuckin’ good at weaseling their way out of paying the consequences for their actions.”

“Oh,” she says quietly. That’s not exactly something that she’s ever really thought about before.

“Omegas, unfortunately, really can’t go it fuckin’ alone. Not totally, anyway. So, let your mom fight battles for you. Cuz even though she’s a beta, people will back off from her much fuckin’ sooner than they’ll back off from you.” He shrugs a shoulder. “No offense. It’s just fuckin’ true.”

It’s a hard truth to accept, but it’s true nonetheless. Omegas are seen as being weak and submissive, so people tend not to take them seriously in a fight. Especially if she’s fighting for herself.

“I guess.” Chuck nods. “I guess I got a lot to learn.” Even though Chuck is the one living an omega life now, she feels like Negan might know more about omegas than her at this point. She doesn’t really have that much experience herself yet, but he was married to and lived with an omega for many years. “Can I ask you things?”

He’s taken aback by her request. “I’m not sure if I’m right for that.”

“Oh,” she responds dejectedly, thinking that he just doesn’t want to. “Okay.”

“No. It’s not...” He lets out a heavy breath, not wanting to upset her. “You can ask me shit. I just don’t want to say the wrong fuckin’ thing. I’m not a goddamn expert or anything.”

Chuck nods. “You know more than me, though. I’ve looked stuff up. I mean, you know, medical, anatomical kind of stuff about omegas and alphas. But... I just don’t know... you know.”

“Well, sweetheart-”

She cuts him off. “Like, what did it feel like when you went into rut?”

Negan’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “Uh...” He clears his throat and scratches at the back of his neck. “It’s probably like how you feel in your heat,” he starts then moves out of the kitchen to sit down on his couch in the living room, hoping that that would be the end of the discussion.

Chuck follows along to sit down beside him. “I don’t know what heats feel like. I was knocked out for both of the ones I went through.”

Negan’s never had a hard time discussing sex or anything having to do with his body, but the innocently curious look Chuck is giving him has him stumbling over his own thoughts.

“Well...” He scratches at his beard. “Being in rut is like...” He lets out a deep breath, trying to think of the right thing to say. “It’s like... want . I just fuckin’ want . And the thing I want is the only goddamn thing on my mind.”

“Does it hurt?”

He shakes his head. “It doesn’t hurt , really. Not like heats can. Instead of being in pain, it just fuckin’ ... consumes me more. The want turns into fuckin’ need . And the more I need it, the less control I have over myself.”

“That’s why you broke into my apartment?”

“I didn’t break in ,” he’s quick to clarify. “I used the fuckin’ keys.” He scratches at his temple. “But, yes. I just needed... something . Something more than my fuckin’ hand.”

“Hand?” she responds in confusion.

“Shit, sweetheart. Please don’t make me explain jerking off to you.”

“Oh!” Her face instantly turns beet red. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t- You don’t have to explain! I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I mean, I knew during rut alphas get-“ She gestures a little to try to convey her meaning. “But I was trying to go around that and not- You know?” She giggles in embarrassment.

He chuckles. “It’s fuckin’ fine, Chuck.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that.” She covers her face to hide her flushed cheeks.

“You shouldn’t be the one fuckin’ embarrassed. I’m the one that broke in and fucked your clothes.”

Chuck laughs, partly out of nerves and partly because she thinks it’s funny. “Did it help though?”

“Fucking your clothes?”

She laughs again. “Well, I guess. But I meant being in my apartment.”

He nods. “Yeah. Being in an omega’s space calmed me fuckin’ down.” He clears his throat a little. “But it was fuckin’ inappropriate of me and it won’t happen again. That rut just fuckin’ snuck up on me.”

“It’s okay. I mean, it was my fault, right?”

“No. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything. And I should’ve fuckin’ controlled myself better.” He rubs at his face and groans as his head throbs.

“Are you okay?”

“Fuckin’ hungover.”

“Can I get you anything to help?”

“Hair of the dog,” he jokes.

“What does that mean?”

He looks over to her questioningly. “You’ve never heard that before?”

“Jack Torrance says it in The Shining. I’ve never heard it otherwise.”

He chuckles. “The Shining?”

“Yeah. You remember when he was talking to Lloyd in the bar?”

“I think I only saw like half of that fuckin’ movie. Once.”

“What?! That’s one of my favorite movies! I’ve seen it a million times!”

“I remember the ghost blowjob scene.”

“Ghost blowjob?”

“You know, the guy in the dog suit on his knees.”

Chuck laughs. “That wasn’t a blowjob!”

“Then what was it?”

“Well, the guy had a mask covering his face. That seems like the least effective way to give a bee jibber.”

Negan laughs. “He was a ghost. His dick coulda went right through the fuckin mask.”

Chuck can’t help but laugh really hard at this ridiculous conversation. “Wouldn’t it just go through the guy’s cheeks then, too?” she barely gets out through her giggles.

Seeing Chuck laugh so much fills Negan with a warmth that he hasn’t felt in a very long time. But it’s fleeting. The second he realizes how good it feels, his mind goes back when he felt this way with Lucille. And then, of course, he remembers that it’s the anniversary of her death.

Chuck sees the change in Negan’s demeanor. “What?”

He doesn’t look at her. “Nothing.”

Even though he didn’t say it, Chuck’s pretty sure she knows what the change was. After all, the reason she’s with him is because she couldn’t leave him by himself to get through this tough day.

“Can I do anything for you?” she asks sweetly.

“Nah. I don’t think so.”

“I’m sorry you’re hurting so much.”

He looks over to her for a moment before speaking. “Why are you being so goddamn nice to me?”

Chuck shrugs. “I don’t know.” She looks away from him, unsure herself at why she is still in Negan’s apartment. “It just seems like the right thing to do.”

It’s been a long time since someone has acted like they actually care about Negan. Sure, women like his company in the bedroom. And the guys at work joke around with him some. Even Simon listens diligently as Negan recounts his day. But no one seems like they actually give a shit about him. No one would go out of their way to help him like this girl is doing.

And, yeah. It feels nice for him.

The pair hang out together the rest of the day. Negan finds that his mind is easily distracted from the weight of this horrible anniversary by Chuck, even when she’s not doing much. It’s the way she moves around his apartment, completely unaware of his gaze. The excitement in her voice as she talks about some game or tv show he doesn’t know anything about. Or the way her nose scrunches up when she laughs. But the second she steps away, those familiar dark thoughts invade his mind once again.

At the same time, Chuck is enjoying her time with Negan again. She doesn’t really have too much experience just hanging out with people, so it’s nice to laugh casually with him. But there is that little niggling voice in the back of her head telling her it’s not real. It’s reminding her that Negan had said that he was only after her so she would sleep with him (or that’s how she interpreted it, anyway).

As they finish up their dinner of delivery pizza from Fulci’s, Chuck decides that she can’t ignore that voice anymore.

“Are you still trying to sleep with me?”

Negan is taken aback by her sudden question, causing him to blank on the answer. Chuck takes his hesitation as a “yes”, though.

She looks away and nods slowly, feeling her eyes prick with tears.

“No, honey.” He stretches his hand over the table to grasp her own, but she pulls away.

“I know you’ll think it’s stupid, but it kinda hurts knowing that you don’t like me as a person.” She wipes at her eyes to prevent her tears from falling.

“Who fuckin’ said I don’t like you as a person?”

“You did. To my mom.”

“I did not fuckin’ say that.”

She looks to him with an incredulous expression. “You said that everything you did was only to get me to sleep with you.”

“No. That’s not what I fuckin’ said. I said that I tried everything not that it was everything. That doesn’t fuckin’ mean that I was lying or putting on.”

“I don’t see the difference, Negan.”

He sighs and rubs his hand down his face. “I like you, okay, Chuck. I never fuckin’ humored you anything like that. Yeah, I’m a fuckin’ asshole who was thinking with my dick a little bit, but I like being with you. And it’s more than just the alpha/omega shit.”

She looks over at him, but she’s not convinced.

“You really need to have more fuckin’ faith in yourself, sweetheart. There’s nothing fuckin’ wrong with you. Your personality is fuckin’ fine.” He reaches over again and this time, she doesn’t shy away. “You’re great to be around, okay? So get outta that fuckin’ head and stop listening to yourself.”

Chuck nods with a giggle. “Okay. I’ll try.”

As Negan looks at Chuck smiling softly at him, he thinks about Diane’s words again. “It’s not you, okay? But you really should still listen to your mom and stay away from me. I’m not a good man, Chuck.”

Her smile drops at his words.

“You know what.” Negan stands to clear the table. “You’ve wasted enough of your fuckin’ day on this old man. Why don’t you go on home. I’m fuckin’ fine, barely a headache now.” He sets the plates in the sink and breaks down the pizza box, hoping that Chuck will leave. It’s not that he doesn’t want her there, it’s just that he thinks she shouldn’t waste her time on him.

Negan’s saying the right things to show that he’s okay, and all with a smile on his face, but Chuck knows he’s lying. Somehow, she still feels that pain radiating off of him.

“You still need me,” she says quietly as she stands from her chair.

He turns back around to face her. “‘ Need ’ you? I’ve had hangovers before, sweetheart, and I’ve always managed,” he jokes.

“It’s not the hangover.” The words hang heavy between them. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I’m not gonna hurt myself, honey. If I was going to off myself, I woulda done it a decade ago.”

“That’s not funny, Negan.”

“I’m not trying to be.”

“I didn’t mean that way, anyway. I meant...” she searches for the right words, “wallowing in your sadness. Beating yourself up. That kind of hurt.”

He’s not really sure what to say. “I’ll be fuckin’ fine. I always am.”

“Well, I’m gonna stay, anyway.”

He wants to insist that she leave. He wants to push her so she’ll stay away from him, but he just can’t do it. “Okay.” Negan moves back into the living room to sit on his couch.

“Is your hangover really better?” Chuck sits down beside him.

“It’s not bad. I’m sure you know what it feels like. You probably had your fair share of them in college, right?”

“I’ve never had a hangover.”

Negan scrunches up his face in shock. “You’ve never had a hangover?”

She shakes her head.

“You’ve been drunk, right?”

She sheepishly shakes her head again.

“Surely you’ve drunk alcohol before.”

“I had some champagne at a wedding last year.”

“Shit, sweetheart. You gotta live a little.”

She shrugs. “I guess.”

“You ever been on a plane?”

“Yeah. We had a vacation in France once.”

“Been on a motorcycle?”

“No.”

“Ah, fuck. You gotta do it. Riding is fuckin’ amazing.”

“You have a motorcycle?”

His face falls. His Harley was like his baby, but it was one of the first things he got rid of after Lucille died. It had taken him years to rebuild the vintage machine, all on his own. But after he lost Lucille, he sold it, along with pretty much everything else he owned.

“I used to,” he answers, but quickly changes the subject. “Gone skydiving?”

“Absolutely not!” She laughs. “You?”

“Fuck no. Seen a Major League Baseball from right behind the dugout?”

“I’ve never seen a baseball game, period.”

“Shit, girl.”

“I know.” She shrugs a shoulder. “I’m a loser.”

“You’re not a fuckin’ loser. You’re just sheltered.”

Chuck’s cell phone buzzes in her pocket. “That’s probably my mom.”

“Shit.”

Chuck laughs at Negan’s reaction and lifts the phone to see the text. But it’s not from her mom. “Oh. It’s from my boss.”

Chuck has no idea that Eldritch had been listening in on everything that she and Negan have said today through her hacked phone. And as they day went on, he got angrier and angrier that she hadn’t left Negan’s apartment. He finally decided that he needed to take matters into his own hands to pry her away from him.

“ I need your help with something. Can you come into the office? ” the text says.

She thinks about it for a moment. She really doesn’t want to leave Negan, but she doesn’t want to upset her boss either.

“What’s he want?” Negan asks.

“He wants me to go into the office to help him with something.”

“It’s seven o’clock,” Negan snaps back. It sounds a little suspicious to him. “Are you gonna go in?”

“I’m not sure, yet.” Chuck types in her text to reply. “ I actually can’t leave right now. Is there any way I can help from home? ”

The three dots telling her that he’s typing seem to blink forever.

“I hope he’s not angry.” Going in would be a hassle, so she really doesn’t want to. But she also wants to keep her job.

The text finally pops up. “ Okay. I’ll email you the problem. ”

“So?” Negan asks, really hoping that Chuck won’t leave.

“I have to go home to work on whatever this thing is.” She stands from the couch and heads to the door. “But,” she turns back around, “you can come over. You can watch The Shining on Netflix while I work.” She smiles back at him, hoping that he will accept the invitation. “If you want.”

Negan stands before answering. “Sure. That sounds fuckin’ good. Maybe I can settle the debate of whether or not it was an actual ghost blowjob.”

Chuck giggles as she opens the door. “That age old debate,” she jokes.

When they get across the hall, Chuck sets up the movie for Negan to watch and gets to work at her desk on the thing that Eldritch had sent her. As she types on her computer, Negan is mostly quiet while he watches the movie. Except for one part.

“Ooo. There’s nudity?” Negan calls out when he gets to the part of the movie where Jack Torrance is in the bathroom with the naked young woman.

Chuck giggles, knowing what happens next. “Yup,” she responds as she waits for the twist.

“Oh shit! She turned into a gross old lady!”

Chuck laughs at his reaction. “That’ll teach Jack to make out with rando women.”

Chuck finishes her work before the end of the film, so she comes over to sit on the couch beside Negan. It really wasn’t that big of a problem, so she doesn’t know why Eldritch even needed her help.

When the credits start to roll, Chuck turns to Negan. “So? Did you like it?”

“Yeah. It was fuckin’ good. Kinda fucked up in places.”

“Is the jury still out on the ghost ding dong?”

Negan bursts out laughing. “I fuckin’ guess.”

 The next day, Diane calls Chuck after she gets home from work.

“Hello?” Chuck answers.

“ Hey, sweetie. Whatcha doing? ”

“Nothing.” Chuck lets out a sigh. “I have to tell you something, though.”

“ Okay...? ” Diane is already prepared for the worst.

“I spent the whole day with Negan yesterday.”

“ Oh, Chuck. ” Diane can’t hide her disappointed tone. “ Please tell me you used protection. ”

“I didn’t sleep with him! God!”

“ You didn’t? ”

“No! We just hung out.”

“ Thank god. ”

“I’m really glad you have so much faith in me, though,” Chuck bites back in sarcasm.

“ It’s not you I don’t have faith in. You know alphas have their way of convincing people to give them what they want. ”

“Well, It wasn’t like that, anyway. I was just... taking care of him.”

“ What exactly do you mean by that? ”

Chuck lets out a sigh. “Don’t tell him I told you this, but Negan had a mate that died years ago named Lucille. Yesterday was the anniversary of her death and he was taking it really hard. I think he takes it really hard every year.”

That’s surprising news to Diane. Negan doesn’t seem like the kind of alpha to actually take a mate. “ He had a mate? ”

“Yeah. And he tried to drink himself into a blackout so he wouldn’t have to deal with thinking about it. It just really broke my heart to see him like that. To still be in so much pain. Especially after all these years.”

“ Well, sweetie. It’s nice that you wanted to help him. ”

“I don’t know, Mom. It’s like I had to. I just couldn’t not . I couldn’t leave him like that. He was so sad that... I don’t know, I kinda felt it, you know?”

“ You felt it? ”

“Yeah. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like his pain was all around me and I had to do something about it.”

Diane thinks she knows what’s happening with Negan and Chuck, but she really doesn’t want it to be true. Everything between Chuck and Negan always seems to point to them being true mates. At least all the things Diane was told about true mates.

Since omegas aren’t that plentiful to begin with, an actual true match between an alpha and an omega is almost unheard of. But everyone knows what true mates are and what that means. True mates are supposed to complement each other like two halves of a coin. And they will always come back to each other when they are separated, no matter what, no matter the distance. They’re even supposed to be able to feel what the other is feeling, especially when emotions are high.

At least that’s how true mates are in fiction, anyway.

There are old bedtime stories about the peasant girl omega finding that her true mate is the handsome prince. Or the lonely huntsman alpha coming across his true mate in the woods. And that’s what people think of when they hear “true mates”, fairy tales. Because no one has ever really seen them for real.

At any rate, how Chuck and Negan have responded to each other hasn’t exactly been typical, so if it isn’t because they’re true mates, then Diane is determined to find out why.

 Diane leaves work early the next day and heads off to Spring Harbor Medical Center in Charlottesville to get some answers. She had called Dr. Bailey the day before to set up this appointment, but hadn’t gone into detail about exactly what she wanted to discuss with the doctor.

After Dr. Bailey greets Diane at the door to her office, Diane takes the seat in front of her desk as Dr. Bailey takes hers.

“So, Diane, what has you coming all the way from Fredericksburg? Are you thinking of transferring?” Dr. Bailey jokes knowing that Diane works as a nurse there.

Diane chuckles. “No. I like my job at Charity General. I just wanted to get your expertise on something.”

“I assume this has to do with your daughter.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you already know her medical history, so I’m not sure what more I can tell you.”

Diane decides just to be direct, even if it’s a little silly. “What do you know about true mates?”

Dr. Bailey wasn’t expecting that. “I’ve never met any. Nor have I met anyone that’s met any.”

“So you don’t think they’re real?”

Dr. Bailey takes her glasses off and hangs them on the pocket of her white coat. “I wouldn’t say that exactly. There’s no hard scientific evidence for their existence. But there are several historic accounts and anecdotes going back centuries. Including a pretty detailed one from France in the 1860s.” She gives Diane a smile, figuring she knows where this conversation is headed now. “Are you worried that Chuck won’t find a suitable mate?”

Diane shakes her head. “I’m worried that she’s found her true mate already. And he’s not the kind of man I want her to be with.”

“Is he violent?”

“I don’t think so. I haven’t really had too many conversations with him. He’s my age, though.”

“So it’s just that he’s so much older than Chuck?”

Diane shakes her head. “That’s not it. Negan’s just so...”

“Negan?” Dr. Bailey repeats in recognition.

“You know Negan?”

“I have met him, yes.”

“How do you know him?”

“I can’t discuss it.”

Diane puts it together. Dr. Bailey treats omegas, so the only reason she would know Negan is if he came in with an omega. “You treated his mate?”

“I can’t discuss it,” she reiterates. “But I’ve talked with Negan many times. Not in several years, mind you. I didn’t know he was still in the area.”

“He lives next to my daughter.”

“Ah. I see. That’s why you’re concerned.”

“He went into rut when Chuck went into heat,” Diane blurts out.

“Hmm. That is... curious.”

“Could it be a fluke? Just coincidence?” Diane really hopes that she says yes.

“It’s possible . But not likely. If her heat triggered a rut in him, then they are extraordinarily compatible to one another. I’m not sure if that is exactly the ‘true mates’ of lore, but I’m betting that keeping them away from each other will most likely prove to be difficult, at any rate.”

Diane nods, even though she isn’t exactly liking what she’s hearing. “I’m starting to realize that.”

“Does Chuck think they’re true mates.”

“She hasn’t said so. I don’t think she believes in that stuff. And I don’t want to talk to her about it. She’s still so green about all this, I don’t want to push her into doing anything or put any ideas in her head.”

“Maybe talk to Negan about it.”

Diane laughs out loud at that. “He and I aren’t exactly friendly.”

“If he’s going to be in Chuck’s life, maybe you should be.”

Diane sighs. “Yeah, maybe. I just don’t want Chuck to get hurt by him. She’s sweet and innocent. And he’s the exact opposite.”

“I understand that. But I really can’t tell you what the right thing to do here is.”

“I was hoping you’d tell me that there was no such thing as true mates and that I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping Chuck away from Negan.”

“I can’t tell you that. But I would be interested in studying them if this relationship between them persists.”

“Ugh,” Diane groans dramatically. “Don’t call it a relationship. Please.”

Dr. Bailey chuckles in response. “For what it’s worth, the Negan I saw back then loved his mate very much. He had his faults, but I never once thought he didn’t love his omega.”

 Later on in the month, Chuck runs into Negan in the hallway as they’re both leaving for work.

“You gotta go in today?” Negan asks as he keeps the elevator doors open for Chuck.

She enters the elevator and pushes the button for the ground floor. “Yeah. Unfortunately.”

“I was gonna make chicken parmigiana tonight if you wanna join me.”

Chuck smiles up at him. “That sounds really good.”

In the two weeks after the hangover incident, Chuck and Negan have been trying to be more casual in their relationship, whatever it is. They haven’t been avoiding each other outright, but they haven’t been spending every day together, either. They’ve just been letting what comes, come.

Negan still isn’t sure if he should allow himself to get close to Chuck. There’s that part of him that wants to tell Chuck to run for the hills, to get as far away from him as she can, but it’s dwarfed by the part that doesn’t want to be away from her.

Negan and Chuck part ways in the parking lot and head off to their respective jobs. Once Chuck gets to the Ad Astra office, she sits at one of the stations and gets to work. After a while, she gets interrupted.

“Chuck,” Eldritch’s voice calls out from behind her.

She turns around to face her boss. “Yes, Mr. Ruben?”

“You don’t have to be so formal.”

“Sorry.” She giggles nervously. “Do you need something?”

“You know Noble Moon Cafe?”

“Yeah. I know where that is.”

“I got a table reserved there in a half an hour. So, meet me there?”

“Oh, okay,” she agrees cheerfully.

It doesn’t happen often that her boss would take everyone out to eat on the company’s dime, but it’s always nice when it does. She continues to work for a little bit, then gathers her things to leave so she can be on time for lunch.

When she gets to the fancy cafe, she tells the hostess that she’s with the Ad Astra reservation. When the stylishly dressed woman draws a blank, Chuck tries again with her bosses name.

“Oh,” the woman exclaims. “Right this way.”

Chuck follows her outside on this warm August day to the covered patio, expecting to see most of her coworkers already there. But that’s not the case.

Eldritch stands from his chair at the small bistro table and pulls out the seat across from him. “Here, Chuck. Sit.”

Chuck hesitantly takes the seat and allows him to push her in. “Where is everyone else?” she asks, confused as to why they seem to be alone.

Eldritch sits back down in his seat. “It’s just us. I thought I should show my best coder how much I appreciate her.”

“Oh. That’s really nice of you. Thank you.” Even though Chuck is sure that she should be really flattered by her boss’s praise, she can’t help but feel a little weird that she’s having a meal with him alone. She pushes that feeling away, though, thinking that it’s just her social anxiety messing with her.

When the waitress comes over with the menus, Eldritch stops her before she sets them down.

“She is going to have the cobb salad, red wine vinaigrette on the side,” he orders for Chuck without even consulting her. “And I will have the chef salad, Russian dressing on the side. Thank you.”

It actually rubs Chuck the wrong way that he ordered for her. After all, it’s the meal that she’s going to be eating. But then she thinks that maybe that’s customary. She doesn’t really know one way or the other, so she doesn’t bring it up.

The waitress leaves without another word and Chuck and Eldritch start to wait for their food.

“So, tell me, Chuck,” Eldritch begins, “what do you like to do outside of work? I’d like to get to know you a little better.”

“Um...” Chuck takes a sip of the water that is sitting in front of her. “I’m not that interesting,” she answers with a nervous giggle. “I do nerdy things. Play video games, read, play guitar.”

Eldritch pretends like that’s all news to him. In reality, he’s used all of his expertise in programming and computers to follow Chuck’s digital footprints and paint a picture of her life. Not to mention what he has learned through hacking her phone and listening in on her conversations.

“What’s the last game you played?” he asks, already knowing the answer.

“The last new game I played was Detroit. But I was just replaying Last of Us yesterday.”

“I didn’t pick up Detroit, yet, But I love Last of Us. It’s really one of the best games I’ve ever played.”

“It really is,” Chuck enthusiastically agrees. “I just love Joel. And Ellie, too.”

“That game is beautiful. Very well designed.”

“I can’t wait for the next one.” She tucks some of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. She had cut it short several months ago on a whim and regretted it ever since. Thankfully, her presentation had made her hair grow faster than normal, so it’s now at her shoulders and almost long enough to wear up like she used to.

“Do you recommend Detroit?” He knows that she enjoys video games, so he wants her to think that she has something in common with him in that regard. Especially since it seems like Negan doesn’t know anything about them.

“Oh yeah. I liked it a lot. I’ve replayed it a couple times.”

Their meals arrive, so the conversation dies down a little. Since Chuck is no longer talking so much (Eldritch made sure to steer the conversation to topics that he knows she likes), that awkward discomfort starts to settle into her bones again.

Every time she looks up to Eldritch, he’s looking squarely at her. It makes her uncomfortable, but she tries to brush it off. After all, he’s just being nice, right?

When the waitress comes to collect the empty plates, Chuck is ready to pay the bill and leave. But Eldritch has other plans.

“We’re going to share the triple chocolate mousse cake,” he orders without prompt.

“It takes twenty minutes to prepare,” the waitress warns.

Chuck really doesn’t want to wait that long. “Oh, I-“ she starts to protest, but Eldritch talks over her.

“That’s fine,” he says to the waitress and she leaves to put the order in. “Did you like the cobb salad?” he directs at Chuck.

“Uh, yeah. It was fine.” She tries not to sound annoyed with the situation, even though she is.

Eldritch catches it, though. “Just fine? I thought you’d like it.”

Despite her growing discomfort, she doesn’t want her boss to be mad at her. “It was good. I’ve never had one before.”

“Good. Do you have any plans for dinner tonight?” He knows she does. With Negan, no less. But he’s hoping to get her to switch.

“I do, actually.”

“Anything fun?”

“My neighbor is making me dinner. He’s a really good cook,” she comments innocently.

He hates that she’s complimenting Negan. “You know, I make a mean chicken parmigiana myself,” Eldritch throws out before thinking it through.

Chuck just laughs, though. “It’s so funny you say that because that’s what he’s making. What are the odds?” Eldritch’s slip up in mentioning the dish that he heard Negan say goes completely over her head.

Eldritch laughs it off, too, in hopes that Chuck won’t think too hard about it. “It’s my signature dish. I could make it for you some time and you can tell me whose is better.”

“O-Oh. Yeah...” she agrees tentatively, not wanting to seem rude.

“Or maybe we could do it tonight,” he pushes.

“Well...” Now she’s really uncomfortable. “I already have plans, so...”

“I’m sure he won’t mind you canceling.”

“I-I don’t know...”

At the same time that all of this is happening, Negan decides to walk the couple blocks from the dealership to his favorite deli on his lunch break. It just so happens that this will take him right past the patio of the cafe that Chuck is currently sitting at.

Negan feels it before he even notices her. An odd tightness settles in his chest, stopping him dead in his tracks. That’s when he sees her, sitting at a table not far from the sidewalk with another man. And she doesn’t look happy. Actually, she looks scared.

Feeling like he needs to do something about it, he speed walks the rest of the way down the sidewalk to get to her.

Chuck sees Negan approaching from over Eldritch’s shoulder. He turns to see what has stolen Chuck’s attention and barely suppresses a growl when he sees it’s Negan.

Even though Eldritch has never met Negan, he knows everything about him, too. His credit score, what’s in his bank account, that bar he goes to a few times a week, the speeding tickets he’s got. That info is all there just in case Eldritch has to use it to take Negan down. Because he’s not planning on allowing this other alpha the chance to get his hands on Chuck.

“Negan,” Chuck calls out as he gets to the railing separating the patio from the sidewalk. “This is my boss, Mr. Ruben.”

Negan pauses and looks the man over. He’s an alpha. A big one at that, about the same height as Negan, but much more muscular. He’s also younger than him by almost a decade.

Eldritch stands and holds his hand out to Negan, pretending to be the polite gentleman. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Negan accepts the handshake and tries to outgrip the younger alpha. “Yeah. Good to fuckin’ meet you, too.”

Chuck isn’t quite sure what’s happening between the two alphas as they stare at each other intensely, but she feels awkward about it. “Are you on your lunch break, Negan?” she asks in hopes that it will change the atmosphere around them.

The alphas break their iron tight handshake and turn back to the omega.

“Actually,” Negan starts to answer. “Your mom sent me to find you. She’s been trying to text you, but you weren’t fuckin’ responding.”

“Oh? I have my ringer off.” Chuck knows he’s lying. There’s no way her mom would send Negan after her. For any reason.

Eldritch knows he’s lying, too. He has Chuck’s phone cloned so he can see every text message that goes in and out. And no one has texted her since they started lunch.

“Your mom was in a minor car accident and wants you at the hospital,” Negan lies further.

“Oh no,” Chuck tries to sound convincing. “I should get there.” She turns to Eldritch. “I’m sorry for running out on dessert.” She starts to get in her purse to leave money for her meal.

“That’s not necessary,” Eldritch says calmly, keeping his rage at bay. “Lunch is on me.”

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Ruben. That’s really nice.”

It makes him angry every time she doesn’t say his name. He wants her to be comfortable with him. He wants her to consider him a close friend and not just her boss, but he seems to be failing.

“You’re welcome,” he responds.

Chuck looks around the fenced in area to find a gate, but there is none. “I think I have to walk through.” She giggles at the awkwardness and walks back into the cafe to get to the exit.

This leaves Negan and Eldritch standing together by themselves. When Chuck gets out of view, they turn to each other.

“I know what you’re fuckin’ doing,” Negan whispers to the alpha in front of him.

“Taking my employee out to lunch?”

“Alone?” Negan points out. “And asking her to go to the office after hours to ‘help’ you? But I’m sure you had other people working there that night, right?”

Eldritch glares at Negan. “And what exactly are you doing, Negan?”

The door opens and both men turn to watch Chuck walk out.

“Ready, sweetheart?” Negan walks over to Chuck.

“Yeah. I’m parked around back.” She turns to wave at Eldritch. “Thanks for lunch.”

Eldritch nods and watches as the pair turn the corner out if sight.

“Your mom is fine. She didn’t send me. I lied,” Negan admits once they’re both in Chuck’s car.

“Yeah, I know.” She starts her car. “Am I dropping you off somewhere?”

“Turn right. There’s a deli a block away. I was headed there for some fuckin’ lunch.”

“So that’s why you happened to walk by.” Chuck takes the turn and promptly gets stuck in the lunch hour traffic.

“Yeah. You’re fuckin’ welcome, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“What was he doing that made you look like you wanted nothing more than to get the fuck outta there?”

“I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. I think I’m just weird.”

“Don’t ignore your goddamn instincts. I don’t fuckin’ like that guy, either.”

“It’s not that I don’t like him. He’s actually been really good to me though all this omega stuff. You know, letting me have time off and all that.”

“And was he ‘really good’ to you before you presented?”

Chuck shoots Negan a look. “Just like we were best friends before I presented,” she bites back in bitter sarcasm.

“Just because I didn’t notice you before, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have enjoyed your fuckin’ company. If you had just piped up and knocked on my door, I woulda loved to make you dinner and shit.”

Chuck doesn’t know if she really believes that. “Whatever,” she dismisses. “Do you really think he only cares about me being an omega?” She does have to admit to herself that before her presentation, she hadn’t really talked to her boss outside of what was necessary for her job, so it is a little suspect.

“I think that’s exactly what he cares about.”

Chuck nods. “But he did tell my mom I was the best coder he had before he knew I was an omega.”

“Well, that’s probably fuckin’ true. I mean, he’s still your boss. He should know which of his employees do their fuckin’ job. But was he asking you for late night help and taking you to goddamn lunch before?”

“No,” Chuck admits.

“So I want you to stay away from him.”

Chuck lets out an incredulous chuckle. “Oh, do you?” Even though she’s pretty much convinced that her boss has intentions other than their work with her, she still isn’t going to accept a command from Negan.

“Yeah. I don’t fuckin’ like him.”

“So you’ve said. But he’s my boss. I’m still gonna have to interact with him if I wanna continue to make rent.” She finally pulls into the deli and parks. “And I’m not gonna do something just because you say.”

Negan lets out a huff. “Just promise me you won’t be alone with him.”

Chuck laughs. “What do you think he’s gonna do? Club me and drag me off by my hair?” she jokes. “It’s 2018, Negan.”

“I don’t fuckin’ know what he would do, Chuck,” he says seriously.

She sees that he isn’t kidding around. “Okay, okay. I won’t go anywhere alone with him.”

“Good.” He starts to open his door. “You gonna go in with me?”

Chuck shrugs. “Sure.”

They both exit the vehicle, unaware that not only has Eldritch been monitoring their every word, but he’s been following them, too.

[caraidean]

Parting Words

Participant(s): Catria, Alm ( @jasperlion)

Words: 4,403

Type: Support Conversation

Summary: Catria shares a few words with Alm before leaving Valentia for home that turn out to have a greater impact on her life than she could have expected.

Notes: Indirectly starts the Catria/Marth AU

The caravans were almost loaded for the move, as far as Alm could see, double-checking the roster for those who would leave for Zofia and those who would stay behind in Rigel until things were taken care of proper. It had been but a scant few weeks since Duma’s defeat, but there was no time to rest. Wheels would have to be set in motion for the reparations of the kingdoms as well as their eventual unification and he felt, frankly, pretty darn swamped. He was sure his childhood friend felt the same, but that was neither here nor there.

Eyes roved onto the names of three whom were listed as neither, with a note by Celica that they would be departing back to their homeland soon enough, and so where they’d be headed now would be entirely their choice. Brows rose as he wondered where exactly they had come from, a thoughtful hum leaving his throat. Looking around him once again, it was lucky coincidence that he spotted one of them, the middle sister, pretty nearby.

He had some time.

Rolling up the parchment pieces he had been reading over, he strapped them onto his belt and jogged over to Catria, offering a mild wave with his left hand as he approached.

“Hey—, uh. Salutations, Catria.” Inwardly, he smacked himself upside the head for being so informal, he really had to work on talking the part he was supposed to play now. Clair would have his head for mouthing off like the commoner he was raised as. “Have you and your sisters decided where to go next? I hear you’re pretty far from home.”

Well, the same could be said for himself, but at least he was still in the same landmass! “And, well, if you don’t mind… where are you guys from, exactly?” The question was sheepish, and it took all of his willpower not to rub the back of his head or do anything else of the sort.

Gods, but this was going to be a very long and complicated discussion when she got back to Macedon. She already knew what the plan was - that she would be heading straight to Minerva to give her report, while Palla escorted Est back to her husband and shop in Altea before heading back to reunite with her. Which meant that she’d get the burden of explaining where she’d been for the last two years with very limited letters being sent back to their ruler in the occasional snippets of time when they’d been near a port.

Well, a functioning port not torn apart by wars, at least. Which had gotten increasingly rare towards the end, even as the war grew more and more insane. The fact that this made two evil and insane dragon-gods she’d helped face down made her snort a little as she fastened the saddlebag, glancing up at Alm as he approached and finishing her train of thought.

Maybe we could request that the Whitewings motto be something along the lines of ‘helping to kill dragons since Arch 605 / Valentia 399

“We’ll stop by the capital for a few days, say our goodbyes and resupply. Likely collect a few official missives from Celica and yourself once the coronations are over, in case you want to open communications with Queen Minerva or King Marth.” She said lightly, standing up and addressing him formally. When she realized exactly how poorly he’d been told about Archanea she flickered an eyebrow before shaking her head in bemusement, chuckling.

“My sisters and I are from Macedon, one of the many countries on Archanea. It’s mostly mountains and forest, along the south-western end of the continent.” She explained. “Our former commander in the military, Minerva, became queen at the end of the last war. My sister Est actually retired to Altea instead, but that’s not important.”

Now his ignorance was really hitting him, and Alm had a vague notion of regret of being unable to really look into a lot of what he technically should know of royalty during the short period they had been in Castle Rigel. It wasn’t any of those ‘to do later’ things, either, considering it was a ‘right here and now’ sort of thing.

So, Queen Minerva and King Marth. Got it. He nodded to Catria, committing the names to memory so he could, maybe later, look up what he can and write up a decent enough draft for a missive. It would do them all good to set up peaceful relations from the start, especially since Catria and her siblings seemed to know both royals.

Absorbing the information given to him, he gave her his full attention, then beamed. They had plans, at least, and a general idea of where to go, so that was good. He was sure they’d be missed, but the sisters had a home, and he was more than happy to let them return to it.

“Hm… I see. I think I’ll take you up on those missives. I’d like to start off on the right foot with Archanean royals.” Alm said with a laugh, offering a grin, then gave himself pause.

“That you all served in a war before this one, well… thank you very much for helping us here too.” He bowed his head slightly in thanks, grin turning into a thankful smile. From what he knew, they were just looking for their sister, and could have left once she was saved, but chose to stay and help. For that, of course, he was grateful. “And, of course, you’ll always be welcomed here if you need help, no matter what.”

Hm… might even be a good idea to escort them all the way to the port. It was the least they could do.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to hear a little more about them. Nothing too personal, though! Just to, ah…” His left hand rose to his cheek, scratching at it idly. “… Get an idea of what they’re like.” Sending a generic sort of  missive didn’t seem like a good idea to him, but he’d probably have to run the idea through Clair, Celica or Zeke… maybe Catria or her sisters? “If it’s a good idea to send personalized missives to open negotiations, anyway…?”

It was probably no secret that he was stumbling in the dark at this ruling and nobility thing.

“It’s not them that you’ll be spending most of your time with, I expect. Technically, the majority of your messages will likely be with Emperor Hardin or Empress Nyna. They have a sort of…level of control over the other nations.” Catria said after a few moments. She was the most diplomatically inclined of the three sisters, if only because of her unofficial status as Minerva’s favored messenger.

Unofficial since Est was retired and Palla…frequently didn’t enjoy leaving Minerva’s side for reasons that went far beyond the platonic, she’d admit, but still the messenger none the less. Still, she supposed she could give him and Celica both a more in-depth explanation of Archanea’s politics at a later date. “I can explain the grand scale of it all more at a later time, if you do not mind us putting our departure off another day or two, I suppose. And please, do not worry about us -  we were glad to help Celica after she helped us rescue Est in turn. As far as we are concerned, any debts have been repaid.”

She paused, and then decided to throw her sister under the proverbial cart for a moment. “Then again, with how frequently Est has gotten captured in recent years, an escort to the harbor would be appreciated. Just in case.”

Then he asked about the two other royals in a personal context, and Catria almost dropped her bags. She paused and fumbled with them, hoping he wouldn’t notice the temporary but blatant loss of her fabled professional dignity, taking a deep breath through her nose and closing her eyes.

Damn that thought. She’d hoped to at least get past this continent where nobody even knew before she gave this away. So instead she focused on Minerva first, using the time to try and get her thoughts together for talking about him.

“Queen Minerva of Macedon is…well, she was our field commander for many years. She has very principled values, and would do anything for her little sister or her country.” She was very, very careful to leave Michalis out of the discussion. “She can come off as harsh, but I assure you, she can be a kind person once you see past her bluntness. As for King Marth of Altea-”

Unable to stop herself, she let out a deep sigh that ached of longing. She doubted even someone as…romantically challenged as a few had told her Alm could be on occasion could mistake it.

“He is…remarkable, truly. Kind, brave, and just - but could just as easily be relentless if pushed.”

Huh, an Empire, was it? Alm canted his head to the left in curiosity, but otherwise listened as well as he could. It was hard to grasp the concept, but for the moment, until he could actually get some studying done, he decided to view it akin to how Rigel and Zofia had monarchs both, but they both also had to defer to Duma and Mila respectively. “I should probably prepare missives for the Emperor and Emperess, then.”

And thankful he was for Catria to offer such an opportunity to learn more! With a grateful smile, he gave a nod. If all was to go well for Valentia as a whole, he would have to learn as much as he could, and quickly. “I’d appreciate it. I hope this delay isn’t too bad… I can wait until you ask your sisters about it, if you want.” Of course, the middle sister was not here by herself, and so he did not want to pressure her into making a choice that might cause a sibling spat. Speaking of… “I’ll handle the details for an escort party, consider it done!”

If it came to it, he’d go there himself. They did need to assess the damage to both kingdoms to decide how to handle things henceforth, so it wasn’t like anyone had a good reason to tell him no.

His expression shifted from an easy smile to raised brows and a contemplative expression when Catria fumbled, but said nothing, merely taking in what he was told of Minerva of Macedon and Marth of Altea. They both sounded like good people, people he’d personally love to meet someday if they drew such admiration, and yet…

Well, anyone would have to be a fool to miss the way the woman before him seemed to just float on air without the help of her mount at the mention of the latter.

A huffed sort of laugh left him then, shaking his head. Alm’s eyes sparkled with a slight hint of mischief, and yet looked almost all too serious when he said, “I’ll be sure not to keep you too long from going home, then.”

Bad as he may be to express himself sometimes, Alm knew that look when he saw it. It was hard not to when it was one you wore far more often than you had any right to. At least he had enough self control to stamp the thought out and, instead, offer a thoughtful nod. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to mention your sisters and yourselves on the missives, too. If anything, it’s most appropriate.”

“The missives would be a good idea. While they have no real say in how Altea or Macedon perform their internal affairs, they will still intervene in any outside contact - but they are both fair people, I assure you. Emperor Hardin in particular is undoubtedly fair and understanding, I would not fear whatever his response is.”

Catria vaguely explained her own understanding of Archanea’s political dynamic, aware that she was far from the best person. Perhaps he could speak to Palla about it, she should be able to take him in the right direction a little easier. She was just a courier, most of the peacetime. “The escort is appreciated as well. As I said…when it comes to my sister, it’s better safe than sorry.“

She let a spark in her eyes flicker for a moment, chuckling a little as she pictured Est’s face on realizing that Catria - the serious one of the three - had finally pulled a rib on her after ten years of avoiding them. And she’d used a King to help set it up.

”…mentioning us is not necessary.“ Catria wondered if she managed to hold herself back, or if Alm was just too polite to mention that he’d seen the look on her face. She clicked her tongue, shaking her head after a moment with a smile. “Although it would be appreciated. I imagine Queen Minerva is just about ready to scream at us — we were meant to return almost a year and a half ago. She gets so riled up when it comes to concern for her friends, after all.”

Okay, so it was definitely different than what he had in mind at first. It definitely sounded like a different system altogether than he’d seen just yet, which made it all the more interesting, if a little odd. There was likely a lot to learn from them, however, if Emperor Hardin was a fair man despite his position over other nations in Archanea.

Gods, he really owed Catria a debt now, vague explanation or not. “Right!” So, outside contact. Trade negotiations and such would probably have to be talked about with the Emperor and Empress at first, then! “I trust your word about Emperor Hardin. I just have to make sure to start off on the right foot.” And not put his foot in his mouth while he was at it.

Still… something nagged at him that he had to ask now, since Catria had brought it up twice, even if the second seemed a little like a teasing jest. With a quirked half-smile, he turned the idea over in his head a couple of times before finally giving it voice. “I hate to ask, but does Est just… get in trouble a lot?” He didn’t mind the escort, it’d give him more time to sort out thoughts he doubted he’d be able to process the moment he was sat down for political talks, but, come on. It couldn’t have been that bad. Could it? … Never underestimate anyone’s talent for disaster, he supposed.

And then a thought struck him, and he merely sighed and shrugged… with a dramatic aplomb and a small quirk of the lips. “I guess it should just be called an Estcort.” Hehehe. Estcort.

And, perhaps, Catria says it’s not necessary, but it certainly sounds like it, especially when it came to Queen Minerva. Not that he could blame her, if his own friends were due back that long ago, he’d be worried sick too. “Well, hopefully a good word in will take some edge from the scolding, although I can’t imagine it’d stop it from happening.” 

… Might as well just sneak good word in with the King of Altea while he was at it, but he’d keep that to himself. “On that note, though, think something should be sent ahead of your arrival? Just to make sure folks back in Archanea know you three are alright.”

“This is the second time we’ve had to save her from being captured in the middle of a war.” Catria rolled her eyes at the question, letting out a slight laugh. “Outside of that, well…she has been fairly accident prone. Apparently she once trapped herself in the storage room of her shop for several hours before her husband found her. While she’s always shown a lot of promise, it’s had a tendency to be held back by things like that…and I don’t think her heart’s particularly in being a Pegasus Knight, either. She just…copied us.”

She shrugged a little, before letting out a brief bark of laughter at the name he offered. “Oh, gods - if you call it that she’s going to throw a fit. Please, just pretend it’s a mistake of the pen when you put it together on your letter - Queen Minerva would be quite amused, I think. Naga knows sometimes it felt more like she was protecting us than the other way around. Not that any good words will save us from her tongue upon arriving - which I’ll probably get the worst of.”

She frowned a little at that, her forehead creasing underneath her headband. “…yes, if Est is going back to her husband and Palla escorting her there once we cross the ocean…damn it, it is going to be my job to explain this mess, isn’t it? Catria the damned delivery girl strikes again.”

Alm’s brows raised once Catria made it clear that it had not been the first time — moreover, Est just seemed to be prone to incidents, period. It was probably not very fun for her… but how did things like that just happen to one person? More than once? Hoo boy.

“That… sounds like cause for alarm.” He says, then offers a small, helpless grin and shrug, soft chuckle leaving his throat at the idea of Est being angry at the pun. Well, best not upset her, if anything. She seemed like a nice person, odd streak of bad luck aside. “Here’s to hoping this is her last kidnapping, at least.” There was no use praying to the Gods now of all times, all he had to do is hope her bad luck didn’t hold out for a third.

Oh, Queen Minerva might enjoy the joke? How about that? “Alright, a good chuckle never hurt anyone. Let’s just keep the fact that it’s on purpose between us.” His lips tug into a wider smile then as he offers a secretive wink, right hand akimbo against his hip now, a little more relaxed now that it felt like he knew Catria a little better. “But a try doesn’t hurt, provided it doesn’t make things worse. I’d hate to trouble you guys after all you went through.”

And oh man, imagining the tongue-lashing himself, even without knowing Queen Minerva, was already shudder-inducing! He couldn’t imagine being in Catria’s place, much less envy the position.

But then the other’s words give him pause. Of course one of the letter senders would have to be them, it’d make no sense to send Clair out on a sortie when she’d have to just fly on back home afterwards, then send the three sisters on their way. Sending a letter over boat would just take longer than it’d take the sisters to return home, too…

“You know what? If it’ll have to be like that, maybe it’s just best you three show together, instead of letting you take the whole hit. That doesn’t really feel fair to me.” His left hand rises to his cheek, giving it a nervous sort of scratch. “Just forget I said that.”

The sudden movement around them reminds him of his task, and he fumbles with his list before giving Catria an apologetic look. “I should, uh, finish this up. How about we talk once our convoy stops for the night?”

“Of course. It’ll be easier to discuss the, ah, formalities of that later anyway.”

Catria nodded politely, accepting his dismissal. For a moment it made her linger, lips pursed as a question danced across her lips. Was it proper to ask him about something like this? Then again…well, odds were she’d never see him again after this was all over. He would be the closest thing she’d get to a true confidant for years, at least for something like this. Perhaps he’d even understand.

“Can I ask you a personal question, first?”

She hesitated again, before sighing and inclining her head. Well, best out with it. Gods knows once she was away from Valentia she’d go right back to hiding it.

“If you had feelings for someone, and they were…above your station. Would you stay quiet about it, or speak up even if it meant being rejected?”

He nods his head and offers a small bow, even knowing that he really shouldn’t, stations considered. And so, he almost hurries off to continue his task, only to notice Catria’s hesitation as he raises his head. She… Hm. Posture turning from that of one about to walk to standing once more at her request, he gestures for her to continue, taking a breath. Personal question, huh?

It comes soon enough, and it’s… a surprise, somewhat. His brows raise, then furrow in concern. Clearly, this was about her— and about that prince, if he was understanding things correctly. Marth, right? But, well, she wasn’t saying names, so he had to keep in mind to do the same.

“Well, I personally never gave one’s station as much thought as I probably should.” He admits, holding onto the list with his right hand as his left rises to tap his chin thoughtfully. “So this is… probably advice from the strangest of places, but I’d… I’d speak up.”

Right. What if he had been the villager he always thought he was? The commoner? Would he have hidden what he felt from Celica? Alm couldn’t imagine doing so, even if she told him no or that she liked someone else — he could hardly imagine keeping that to himself without at least knowing what the other person thought.

“Maybe they don’t care much for the station of their partner.” He suggests first, offering a tiny smile. “Or maybe they do— but I wouldn’t know until I try, right? You won’t know if someone likes you back if you never tell them, too. You just… always keep wondering, you know?”

He steps closer, nudging her shoulder gently with his own. “Nothing’s more painful than aching for what could have been. And, well, maybe I’d get rejected in this hypothetical situation — one I thought I might find myself in until, uh, recently, mind you.” Because, well. Yes. “But if it’s out there and I’m told no, at least I tried, and at least I know it wasn’t something they were interested in. And, well, it’d hurt to know, but at least you know, right?”

“And, well, just because there’s a chance for a no doesn’t mean there’s no chance for a yes, right? So isn’t it better to let those feelings try to fly than cage them away?” At least, he thought so. There’s a certain peace with knowing something will definitely not work out or be true, even if it’s tainted with pain. And it wasn’t just when it was about… feelings for someone, but that wasn’t what was important right now. “Who knows, maybe they’ll soar to the skies.”

“I see…”

Catria listened to Alm’s words with a kind of rapt attention, a small frown crossing her face at first. Could she speak up, if her back was against the wall? If her options were to say something, or run away and regret it for the rest of her life like she had been so far? But a smile flickered across her face at the honesty and conviction in Alm’s words, all the emotions in his  advice resonating with her strongly. Maybe …well, thinking about it, Marth didn’t seem like he’d complain about the station of his partner. The nobles around him were another story but, well, maybe she could challenge that as well. Minerva would support her if nothing else. She hoped.

“At least I’d know.” She agreed, quietly. Her gaze seemed to fix itself on her own hand for a moment, fingers splayed across her saddle as she stared at it critically. What would it look like with a ring around her finger? She used to never be able to picture something like that even in her wildest daydreams, the little details that would make them more ‘real’ always refusing to fix themselves in place.

She could see it this time, though. How odd.

“It might not be my place to say this, but if you haven’t already you should have a conversation like this with the girl from your village as well.” She said, hesitating a little as she steered the conversation away. “Trust me - I can tell when someone’s pining. It’s hard to miss the same sort of looks you used to give.”

She forced the subject away from that again, hands shifting from her saddle to behind her back as she nodded at him and smiled, genuinely for a change. She felt a little more hopeful about the entire situation now.

“Thank you, Alm. You’ve given me a lot to think about on the flight home.”

There seemed to be a strange sort of look in Catria’s eyes, as if the goal was suddenly closer within reach than it ever had been before. It makes his chest swell with pride — if anything, he hoped for the best for her. And, if it didn’t work out, that at least it set her heart free to find another.

Her suggestion brings a smile to his face, and to it he offers a nod. He already had plans, to speak to her during the march. Properly catch up, maybe even spill everything and see how it went. Catria seemed to have a general idea and, well, a good feeling about it — and so did he, if he was honest! So, well, he might as well reach forward and try to catch that arrow on the fly.

“I will.” He promises with as much conviction as he can muster, raising his hand to gently bump his fist against her shoulder. “And here’s to the two of us! I hope it works out.”

With that, he offers a nod, smile widening. “Don’t forget to write!” It was an open invitation, if anything — a penpal or two didn’t hurt any, especially not with what he felt was a friend. A good one at that.

And so, with a wave, he hurries off, a slightly concerned expression on his face. Oh gods, he took too long — hopefully he hadn’t stalled the march any!

[shiftingdani]

i´ll crawl home to her // Darley

Tagging: Marley Rose ( @littlefaerose ) and Dani Harper

When: May 16th 2019

Where: Dani´s and Marley´s Room

General Notes: Dani comes home to Marley packing all of her things into boxes.

Notes: This is just MJ and me making each other cry. Also apparently Marley has a cat? xD

Dani:

Standing in the middle of their room Dani found herself raising an eyebrow at what was happening. She´d come here in hopes of talking to Marley about what had been happening to her mail box. She´d assumed that the same thing had happened to her girlfriend as well, but what she hadn´t expected was to find Marley in the middle of their room, boxes left and right, big and small. "What...are you doing? Moving out?" There was no need for that, really, though Dani had a feeling that it had to do with an entirely different matter and she didn´t like that thought one bit.

Marley:

The smell of permanent marker was a bit excessive but Marley had just stopped for a break long enough to crack open a window, so she wasn’t worried about the fumes getting too noxious. Boxes stood in neatly organized towers around her, some labeled while others were still blank. She was in the middle of scribbling ‘CHARITY’ on the side of a shorter pile of boxes when the door opened and Dani’s voice summoned her attention. “What? Oh, no. I mean, not really. Just... you know. Spring cleaning,” she answered, though it had ceased to be ‘spring cleaning’ after the fifth box. “Actually those boxes by the door are for you.” She gestured to two medium-sized boxes, the one on top left open with an assortment of items nestled inside. She’d put in an assortment of magical items she’d held onto over the last year, things that weren’t going to be any use to her that month. An album of some of her photographs. Her cameras. The journal she’d hidden in the fake bottom of her dorm room desk. “I mean, you’re welcome to do with it what you please, but I figured some of it might be of use to you.”

Dani:

Dani knew that whatever was coming their way wasn´t to be taken lightly, but that didn´t mean that she was ready to assume the worst. For a long time that had been all Dani had been doing. Assuming the worst of situations, and people, and then she had met Marley. Who had turned her life upside down, in the best way, but that was exactly the reason she wasn´t prepared to lose her. She shook her head, glancing at the boxes by the door. "What are you doing?" She then repeated herself. "Why are you acting like you´re not coming back here?" Surely, there was a chance that people could be dying, but to assume she was not coming back from the start? "How can you be so calm about it? So this is it? You´re just...leaving and sacrificing yourself without even be willing to find another way? How the hell did you think I was going to take that?"(edited)

Marley:

Marley flinched at the tone. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t expected a negative reaction but still, she was hoping for a little less tension to start. “Because, as we discussed before, there’s a chance I might not-“ she began but was interrupted as Dani continued to argue. She paused in labeling to rub one temple in irritation. “I wouldn’t call it calm, I would call it realistic,” she answered again, snapping the cap back on her marker. “I told you about the prophecy. About the legend of Delmyra Rose. And in case you forgot, people have already died or disappeared in the last few years. It would be foolish of me to not be prepared for the worst possible outcome!”

Dani:

The thing was, Dani was well aware of the possibility that Marley might not survive this. Or that any of them might not, but that didn´t mean that she could be so calm and collected about the whole thing. "I know." She replied, though there was still anger in her voice, and a layer of sadness. "But you pretend like it means nothing? How can you just go around labelling your things for me to give them away? This makes it look like you´ve already come to terms with the fact that you won´t..." Dani trailed off, feeling her chest tighten. She couldn´t say it. "We had plans. Plans that don´t include...this." She gestures around. "But...plans that include THIS." she then added, holding up the hand that had Marley´s ring on it.

Marley:

Marley flinched. Plans. They’d had plans. During those late nights when they were tangled up together on Dani’s bed, talking about life outside the walls of NYADA. An apartment. Jobs. Plants. The cat. Maybe a dog. Years and years of time to be just... normal. To be themselves. To be safe. But always, ALWAYS, at the back of her mind was the prophecy. Delmyra’s sacrifice. A fight that was her own and yet she was dragging everyone into. “And I still plan on spending every day I have left with you,” she promised, stepping forward to meet her. “Whether it’s a few weeks more or many years more. That hasn’t changed.” She pursed her lips together as her chest tightened for a moment. “But it doesn’t mean nothing, Dani, it means everything. It means either we lose everything or we keep it...” She reached out to hold Dani’s arms then, meeting her gaze. “If I don’t rise up and fight, then we lose by default... so yes. I’ve come to terms with the possibility that I might die trying to pull this off. I’ve had years to think about this. Giving up my form is our last resort but I’m prepared to it. And if it means saving you? Saving our friends, this city? Then it’ll be worth it.”

Dani:

Dani had let herself be roped into the thought of having a life with Marley after NYADA. A normal life, as normal as it could be, with them getting married and maybe even having kids. Dani had never actually thought about all of this before meeting Marley. With Ellie she had thought about settling down to have a relationship, and even after her betrayal the woman had a place in her heart. And then she had been brutally murdered by something Dani couldn´t stop. And this? This felt like the exact same thing. Something she wasn´t able to stop either. "No. It won´t be worth it if I don´t have you." She replied, taking a step back to get away from the other´s grip. She could feel her eyes burning and swallowed, shaking her head slowly. Dani knew that it was selfish, but she couldn´t lose Marley. She wasn´t sure what she´d do if she didn´t have the other woman.

Marley:

It felt as though they were at an impasse. Marley’s expression turned to hurt when the other girl pulled away but she huffed afterwards, throwing her hands up in frustration. “What would you have me do, Dani? Let a bunch of innocent people die? Let people we love die??” she asked. “I can’t do that, you know that!”

Dani:

"I know!" Dani sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stop herself from crying. "But you can´t just expect me to stand here and pretend like I don´t care about the fact that you seem to be alright with dying and leaving me behind." Because that was the thing, she was always left behind. And she was well aware that they couldn´t just wait for the world to end and do nothing. "Can´t you at least pretend like you´re going to make it out the other side alive? Because I`m not going to bury someone else I love!"

Marley:

Marley opened her mouth to retort - ‘I cant be blindly optimistic, I’m not that person anymore!’ - but the word ‘bury’ had her swallowing her own. It took her a moment of that uncomfortable silence that fell between them before she could speak up again, trying to clear the emotion that kept closing up her throat. She turned away for a second, holding her arms to her body as she tried to pull herself together. “Dying, yes... death has become too real of a possibility to ignore anymore. But that doesn’t mean that the thought of leaving you behind doesn’t kill me,” she finally replied. “You... you have given me more happiness than I could’ve ever imagined having, more than I thought possible. You were - you are - the reason why I get up every day and fight. You’re the reason I still have hope-“

Dani:

Dani was well aware that death was possibly awaiting them, but she had always pushed that thought aside, like they could ignore it long enough until they had solved the whole thing. Until this was over and they could live happily ever after. Because all her life things had been taken from her and every time Dani had gotten up to fight again. But losing Marley? The possibility alone made it hard to breathe. Trying to will the pain in her chest away Dani took a deep breath, but it only resulted in tears stinging in her eyes even worse and her chest tightening. "Yeah? And yet you´re here, putting your things into boxes and making a box you think could be /useful/ for me when you´re gone? nothing is going to be useful for me if you´re gone."

Marley:

Marley huffed in frustration again, turning back around to face Dani. But all of the yelling was exhausting. Or maybe that had just been all of the time she spent packing things away all day. She sighed then, moving to take a seat on the edge of Dani’s bed. “Could you come sit with me?” she asked, her expression softening. “Please?”

Dani:

Dani was half thinking about turning towards the door to just leave. Because that was what she always did. It was what was easiest for her and always had been, because whenever she had let someone in she had ended up getting hurt. But then Marley had come into her life and turned it upside down without Dani even standing a chance. Sighing she moved towards the bed, careful not to touch the other, because she wasn´t sure she could keep her walls up any longer if she did. "Don´t tell me about how this is what you need to do. I know that. And if I would have wanted to stop you I would have long tried. But I can´t just watch you do this," she gestured around, "Like you already gave up on us."

Marley:

It was a relief to see Dani choose to join her after all, but Marley knew their argument was far from over. She had been prepared to gently buy firmly stand by her case, reminding her girlfriend of the greater good and well-being of ALL the beings on their planet that were at stake, but her own well-rehearsed argument died in her chest with one word. Us. How often had her thoughts concerning the prophecy and the apocalypse whittled down to ‘I’ and ‘me’? How much time over the last few years had she devoted to thinking about how it all concerned her, affected her, that it all fell solely to her? ‘It’s not just about you anymore,’ the thought pierced her through all of the frustration and fear. ‘It’s not just you.’ She knew she ran the risk of Dani pulling away, running away even, but she reached for her hand anyway as she turned to look at her. “I’m sorry.” She squeezed the hand under hers, her own chest tightening again. “I haven’t given up on us... frankly I’m terrified of the prospect of losing us. Of losing you,” she said. “I’ve had years to ruminate on this thing and I’ve only had myself to think about or worry about. But it’s not just me all alone in this anymore. We’re an ‘us’ now. We have been. And I’m sorry I’ve been acting and treating this situation like it’s just me I have to consider in all of this decision-making... I’m sorry I hurt you with all of this.” The boxes around the room now seemed to loom over her with a certain sense of guilt attached to them rather than the relief she’d felt moments before. What was the good of preparation if it was hurting the one she loved?

Dani:

The thing was that Dani understood the reasons for their actions. And she knew they were reasonable, because she couldn’t live with herself either if they hadn’t done everything to save their friends and all the innocent people that had nothing to do with this, but that didn’t mean that she could live with herself if she lost Marley. It was a lose lose situation and for the first time in her life Dani didn’t know what to do. She glanced down at where Marley had taken her hand and not letting the tears fall was getting harder and harder. “I know you didn’t do it to hurt me,” She then found herself saying, trying to keep up her facade. “I don’t want any of those things,” she nodded at the box. “All I need is this,” she held up her hand with the ring. “Do you think there’s some sort of afterlife? Or reincarnation?”

Marley:

Marley felt her stomach churn uncomfortably at the question. “I... I’m not really sure,” she admitted, moving to lace her fingers with Dani’s when she didn’t pull away. “Most of the time, the higher power I grew up to believe in, Earth Mother, feels distant to me. Like she doesn’t hear or see me, or doesn’t care... but I’ve sat in sacred spaces and felt... something. And I know that’s not much of anything to make a person believe in a place beyond this but-“ She reached up then to wipe at her, misting over at the thought of Millie. Of Mike. Of all the people who had gone missing or died since their arrival at NYADA. “... but I hope there’s an afterlife. Someplace better than this. Better than the pain and frustration and senseless violence and persecution. I hope there’s a place to go to after all of this that makes enduring it all... worth it.” She blew out a breath and squeezed her hand again. “I hope none of the rest of us are going quite so soon, but I hope it’s there all the same,” she finished, running her thumb over her girlfriend’s knuckles. “Do you believe in something that comes after?”

Dani:

Dani wiped at the corner of her eye, sighing. Did she believe in an afterlife? It was a good question, one she didn’t have a definitive answer to. “I don’t know. I never thought there was. But then I didn’t think witches and magic schools were an actual thing,” she shook her head. “Promise me,” She then eventually continued, squeezing Marley’s Hand a little too tightly. She hadn’t really let herself think about how these could be their last days together. “That if there’s something like...an afterlife, or whatever, that you’ll wait for me,”

Marley:

This was the surreal part of it all - imagining the after. The not-being-there part. Marley wasn’t quite sure what to think of it, even with all the time she’d had to think about the actual act of dying. But how could she have any other answer than ‘yes’? She squeezed back tighter, meeting Dani’s gaze. “Even if there’s no heaven, no Valhalla, no paradise or coming back as someone or something else,” she murmured, “even if it’s just me floating around in darkness, I promise you - I’ll wait.” She brought her hand up to kiss the back of. “Dani, you’ve given me so much love and happiness, a safe place to land every day... how could I promise you anything less?”

Dani:

It was what Dani had been wanting to hear and yet it was what broke the walls she’d been trying to hold up. She could feel the tears falling. Something stirred inside of her, a protective mechanism that couldn’t work, because the collar around her neck, but it was the first time in a while that Dani could feel her magic. She bit back a sob as she held on to Marley’s hand. “I’ll find you,” She then promised her. “No matter where,”

Marley:

Marley pulled Dani into her side then, wrapping an arm tightly around her. She let go of her hand to hold her cheek, pressing a kiss first to her lips, then her forehead, pulling her in the rest of the way so she could hold her. “I don’t doubt you for a second,” she whispered, knowing if she spoke any louder, her own voice would waver. Nestling her nose into her air and breathing in, she could feel the weight of everything that awaited them settle back on her shoulders. ‘It’s almost over,’ she had to remind herself, though there was still no telling on which side she would reside by that point. “I love you,” she murmured. She’d say it hundreds and thousands of times more if their days really were numbered.

Dani:

Dani could feel her chest tighten and forced herself to take a deep breath. She had no idea whether or not they’d be okay. Or if Marley was going to make it through. And even though she wished that she could have made the other promise to not do anything stupid, but she knew that wasn’t a promise Marley could make. So instead Dani held on to the other woman as tightly as possible, kissing her as if this was their last kiss. “I love you too. Always,” She then whispered, a little breathless.

Marley:

The sound of rustling and a sudden THUMP of a half-filled box hitting the ground made Marley pull back with a sigh and a roll of her eyes as she spied the contents of one of the boxes spilling onto the floor. So much for organization. “Actually, there’s one other thing you absolutely need to keep,” she said, right about the moment a fluffy orange cat jumped up onto the bed with them and gave them an innocent ‘mrow?’

Dani:

As they pulled apart Dani wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. The tears hadn’t quite stopped, but at least she wasn’t sobbing anymore. “What...” She didn’t even manage to ask the question when an orange cat jumped onto the bed and Dani just...laughed. “Seriously?” She manages, reaching out to pet the cats head. “And who are you?”

Marley:

“This is Theia,” Marley laughed, shaking her head as the orange tabby rubbed her head against Dani’s palm. “Ryder gave her to me for Christmas a few years ago. I was lonely, and she was a stray. We just sort of fit together... she makes a habit of hiding though.” She wrinkled her nose at the cat who just flat out ignored her. “I’d have asked him to watch her, but they moved the weres off campus...” She cleared her throat, fighting off another wave of emotion. “Anyway, I hope you don’t mind if she hangs around here for a while.”

Dani:

Dani felt a slight sting at the mention of Ryder but nodded, letting the cats head once more, a faint smile tugging on her lips. “I’ll take care of her,” she then answered, clearing her throat a little. “WE will take care of you,” She then found herself adding. “Hey, my familiar’s a cat, remember?” So maybe the impending doom was still handing over them, but at least they had a reason to fight and come out the other side alive. Each other. Oh, and Theia, of course.

[azure7539arts]

Prompt Fill #?

Pairing: 00Q (James Bond/Q)

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Additional notes: Unbeta-ed. 

For @opalescentgold

It was clear what was happening, but of course, the only one oblivious to the situation was the main focus himself—Q. Eve honestly wasn’t surprised, though; the man was too busy keeping agents alive, inventing and updating MI6’s technology, wrangling with Accounting, generally working himself to the ground to notice much of anything else.

Everything had started out much like how things like these tended to go: casual flirting. Although ‘casual’ wasn’t the adjective Eve would use to describe the level of charged tension that had sparked like wildfire the second Q and Bond had met in room 34 of the National Gallery. Everyone could see it, even down to the bodyguards that had just been freshly assigned to the new Quartermaster on that particular meeting.

At first, the rumors were thin, just the normal, expected sort of hearsay of the gossip mill all workplaces had. However, as time went on, rumors turned into stories turned into sequels turned into betting pools about who would make the first move, if they would really go out, whether there was actually anything there or not. All sorts.

(Eve didn’t claim she hadn’t contributed to some of those bets, but that was a whole other thing altogether.)

There was no confirmed legitimacy behind all of this, of course, but with Eve being who she was, she kept an eye on the pair in question. Not for her own entertainment, no, but more of a… reassurance because Bond had a track record of breaking hearts and changing partners like the clothes on his back, and she was too fond of Q—of his passion and enthusiasm and sharp intelligence—to let Bond ruin him under those destructive hands. Bond liked flings (flings were easy), but if he had the same view when it came to Q, then he had another think coming.

But, really, nothing had actually seemed amiss… until the trinkets started arriving back home on English soil along with Bond, all battered, bruised, and charming as a big, preening cat. And knowing too well Q’s own tolerance towards all things feline, Eve set out to pay even closer attention to these two, especially Bond because she needed to plot out how to corner him successfully first.

-

In retrospect, this had been around the time when she had begun to notice it.

Little things at first: throw away comments that Q included here and there just because he could, wit and snark always at the ready. Things like, “Bring me back some of that tea, would you?” or “Hmm, I don’t think I’ve tried that sweet before, no,” or merely, “Interesting,” to any random object he happened to see through the security feed. All sounding quite bored in the process, too. But then days or weeks or even months later, Bond would strut back to Six with said tea, sweets, or trinkets in tow before setting them down almost carelessly onto Q’s desk with a sort of self-satisfied smirk in place. And just like that, they started, once again, on their usual barb-trading session.

If this was some kind of courting dance, this was one of the more quirkier ones that Eve had personally ever seen.

Initially, she chalked it up to Bond trying to fulfill these small, random wishes to get into Q’s good book and possibly woo him. But things took an odd turn (as they always did in this place) when Bond dragged himself back with a dislocated shoulder and one too many cracked ribs, and actually got himself to Medical instead of holing up somewhere to lick his wounds and drown in alcohol.

Just because, as far as Eve knew, Q told him to.

When she mentioned this to said boffin in question, Q just waved it away.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Eve,” Q said distractedly, working on one of his myriad of prototypes. “He went to Medical because he knew what was good for himself. Not because of me.” He was soldering something on a circuit board.

“You don’t really believe that, do you?” Eve raised an eyebrow at him, arms folded in front of her chest.

Q sighed, almost exasperated as he put down his tools and turned to look at her. “What else am I supposed to believe? That James Bloody Bond, what, can’t say no to me?”

Eve shrugged. “Tell him to remember to turn in his equipment from now on,” she said.

He stared at her. “Like I haven’t told him exactly the same thing before? Multiple times?” In fact, it had come to a point where Q just didn’t bother anymore. Accounting had submitted for the time being and had stopped hounding him for grossing up a large chunk of funding. They would rise back from the death soon enough, he knew, but for now, Q was contented enough to reign over his domain without feeling like he was snowed in under some form of deep debt.

She waved a dismissive hand. “That’s different. Tell him that again, and it doesn’t hurt to casually throw in some references about all the hard work you obviously put into your work in the meantime as well.”

Q rolled his eyes but, eventually, did as she said anyway.

(They were both too curious to skip over this sort of experiment.)

-

The first time Bond brought back his equipment in full, albeit maimed with some entirely broken, Q called it a fluke.

The second time, luck.

But as the third time came around and rolled away, he said nothing, and Eve only smirked from the sideline while looking at his frown that was equal halves of denial and confusion.

It caused quite a stir around MI6, too. Even M caught wind of it, and Eve had to admit, this was starting to seem less like wooing for some flimsy, month-long affair and more like courting for a, dare she say it, possibly long-term, committed relationship.

Q still refused to believe it, though, because he would always be a skeptic and would always have a less than impressive personal regards of himself. But even he couldn’t remain stubborn for long, not after what happened at the ninth count.

It was an assignment in Uruguay that went pear shape, as usual, when the leader of the cartel Bond had been tracking decided to blow himself up in a small chemical plant. It was an extensive blast that started a fire that caught on rapidly. However, instead of running away after helping with the staff evacuation, Bond ran back inside the definitely collapsing building.

To retrieve Q’s tranquilizer pen that he had dropped.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Bond managed to scrape out of there barely before the flames swallowed up that last possible point of exit.

Q was fuming by the end of it, rambling and cursing under his breath about stupid and reckless and idiotic Double-Os who were out to make sure he would sooner die of a heart attack than of old age…

Eve, who had wisely removed herself out of his direct line of sight, had never seen him so outright angry in all honesty. Although she suspected a lot of it stemmed from worried concern than actual, burning fury.

The upside to this?

1. They confirmed that Bond couldn’t say no to Q. Not anymore.

2. Bond actually always brought back his equipment now. But really, after that stunt he just pulled? Eve wasn’t sure how amusing that was anymore.

(No, it was still pretty amusing, especially when Q went from lecture mode to fussing mode then back to lecture mode again the second Bond hauled his arse back to Q-Branch.)

[Prompt: Bond always returns his equipment + cant’ say no to Q.]