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lia-bones · 4 years ago

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A thousand splinters of glass

Sirius Balck x Reader

Summary: (Y/N) boyfriend Sirius intrudes too much into her friendship with Remus. When he confronts her with his thoughts, they start fighting.

Warning: angst, Language (defilement and swearing), consumption of alcohol, Hint of violence ... I gess.

(Misspelling, Grammar errors, translation errors.)

Words: 2520

Author note: It was super hard for me to write Sirius like that. But it was a friend's wish and I'm fulfilling it.

(English is not my main language. I apologize for all misspellings, grammar errors, and translation errors💕)

Enjoy Reading 🌻

(not my GIF)

* * *

(Y/N) enter the great hall and take a seat at the Gryffindor table next to her boyfriend Sirius. She looks at her group of friends and still tired, wished them good morning.

"Good morning dear, how did you sleep?" asked the boy next to her after he put a kiss on her temple.

"Oh, very well, unfortunately too short." she replied with a tired smile and put a spoonful of scrambled eggs in her mouth.

"Remus, do you want to do our Arithmancy homework in free period?" she turned to the others Marauder who sat across from her at the table. Remus smiled at her and replied, "Yes, of course. After lunch in the library?"

"Call it a date." (Y/N) winked and went back to her scrambled eggs.

"Hey, I thought I was your boyfriend? What about me?" Sirius grumbled beside her and looked at her confused. She waves it away with a laugh :"You are, but that doesn't mean I can't do homework with a friend. You don't have a free period after lunch you have Divination."

Sirius mumbles something unintelligible but said nothing else. The friends all eat their breakfast and talk about this and that, before they all went to class.

* * *

After noon Remus and (Y/N) met in the library and started their Arithmancy homework. After some time of writing, Remus contacted her and said :"You know, I'm glad you're with Sirius now. You're doing him good." The girl smiled at him and answered :"He's doing me good too. I've got the feeling since I've been with him I've been a lot more confident.I am very happy to have him as my Boyfriend. And of course I'm also happy to have you guys as my friends. I couldn't think of anyone better."

"We're glad to have you too. Finally I'm not the only one holding the boys back." Remus laughed and pulled her into a half-hug with one arm. "yeh somebody has to bring you rule breakers to your senses."

"But I'm really serious (Y/N). Since you've been together he's a lot more relaxed and you make him think before he acts. At least sometimes." Remus told her seriously again.

"I don't want to tell him anything. I like him the way he is. I think sometimes he just needs someone to get him to think again about his ideas before acting. There is no way I want something like the incident in fifth year to happen again." (Y/N) said in a husky voice, put an arm around Remus' shoulders and gave him a short squeeze .

"No, nobody wants that." the boy whispered back and squeezed her once too.

It became quiet and the two pondered their memories of this terrible event for a moment, before they broke the embrace again and continued on with their essays in silent agreement.

* * *

After the last class of the day, (Y/N) and Remus sat in the common room and waited for their other friends.

"What do you think of the book? Have you read it yet? " she asked Moony and with a nod of her head pointed to the book she was reading. Remus put a hand on her shoulder and leaned forward to look at the book. "No but i want..." he is just beginning to speak when the portrait opened and the remaining three Marauders entered the room. " 'e, You two, here you are. What are you doing here?We were looking for you." James called to them and slumped into one of the armchairs. "We just talked, nothing interesting. We have been waiting for you. " declared (Y/N) while she closed her book and placed it on the side table next to her. The boys nodded and Sirius placed a kiss on the (Y/N) head.

Due to the lack of space on the sofa, Sirius sat in the other armchair, instead of next to his girlfriend and Peter sat on the floor between him and James.

The friends talked about everything and nothing for a while and soon landed on James' favorite topic: Lilli Evans

"I mean. She is so perfect. She is beautiful and smart and quick-witted and helpful and friendly. What more could a man want?" enthused James with a dreamy face.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife'." Quoted Remus softly which made (Y/N) giggle so much that she put her hands over her face and rested her head on his shoulder.

Sirius watched with a raised eyebrow and asked :"What's so funny?"

The girl sat up straight again and wiped her hands over her eyes before answering :"oh Remus just quoted pride and prejudice. You won't know it, it's a fantastic Muggel book."

"Oh, but Moony know this fantastic book?" Sirius asked in a voice tarnished with sarcasm. His friends' eyes fixed on him and (Y/N) briefly shook head in confusion before she answered :"Well, Yes. It's a muggle book. He's half blood. And he reads more than any of us put together."

"My mother gave me the book a few years ago." Remus quietly brought himself into the discussion.

Sirius clicked his tongue and got up from his seat he took a few steps before stopping in front of his girlfriend and saying dryly:" Yeah yeah the perfect perfect Moony.

I understood. We need to talk. Alone." He pointed a finger at the stairs that led to the dormitories. (Y/N) looked up at him from her sitting position, knitted her eyebrows briefly in confusion, then nodded got up and followed him up the stairs.

When she arrived in the boys dormitory, she closed the door behind her and stood in the middle of the room. She watched Sirus go to a cupboard and take out a Bottle of firewhiskey and a glass. He poured himself some and took a sip while staring at her over the rim of his glass. The silence in the room was heavy and thick and the air to cut. Sirius cautiously let (Y/N) play with her fingers nervously. It was not customary for him to be so quiet and well, serious. The last time he acted like this, he had just received a letter from his mother.

Since he still didn't say anything, just looked at her with a serious face, she decided to break the silence in the room. "So what did you want to talk about? "

"You. And what you're pulling off right now." he explained in a low voice.

"Sorry but, I don't know what you're talking about." she said in a calm voice.

That just seemed to upset Sirus more, because now his voice was a lot louder :" Oh don't tell shit. Do you really think I'm so stupid and don't know what crap is going on?" He finished his glass in one gulp and poured himself more.

(Y/N) also got louder now and energetically crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I already told you I don't know what you mean. What have I done?"

"YOU CHEAT ME YOU FUCKING Slut!" he yelled at her and pointed in her direction with his free hand.

(Y/N) opened her mouth and for a moment. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Had he just really accused her of cheating on him and had he called her a Slut?

"WHAT HAVE I DONE? I am supposed to have betrayed you? How do you get the stupid idea?" she asked and made a wide movement with her arms. As if she wanted to chase the tension out of the air.

"Don't be so ridiculous. I noticed it myself. You haven't really bothered to hide it. You and a your loverboy." Sirus spat and glared at her. This whole conversation was very confusing (Y/N). She had no idea how he came up with it. It deceived her that he really thought she would do something like that, but at the same time it made her terribly angry.

"If someone here is ridiculous then is you. You are imagining things that don't exist. How can you think that? Who should I cheat on you with, please?" seh shodet back, on her face, spots of deep red anger were slowly forming. Frustrated, she ran a hand through her (y/h/c) hair.

The one across from her growled, clenched his jaw and again emptied his glass, which he immediately refilled.

"With your oh-so-perfect Moony. I see how you behave towards the other. It's stupid of you guys to think that I wouldn't notice. Are you serious. With one of my best friends? But what should I have expected from a slut like you. I wouldn't be surprised if you slept your way through the whole school." he laughed bitterly and screwed up his face.

(Y/N) didn't know what to say for a moment. For a few seconds, she started at Sirius with wide eyes before she said in a lowered voice :" This not true."

"OF COURSE IT IS. DO NOT LIE TO ME. THE WHOLE LAUGHING AND HUGGING AND ALL THE LOOKS IN LOVE.

OH, REMUS ARE WE BOTH LEARNING IN THE LIBRARY TODAY? OH REMUS YOU ARE SO FUNNY. REMUS IS SO SMART, HE READS SO MUCH. BLA BLA BAL." Sirius spoke in a high voice, trying to imitate her. (Y/N) shook her head in frustration. She had tears in her eyes but she didn't allow herself to cry now. Sirius got on with things that didn't exist and she wanted to make that clear to him. "That's not true. Remus and I are just friends! We study together because we're both in Arithmancy. And since when is it forbidden to laugh when someone says something funny? And we don't touch each other all the time. You see things that not there!"

"YES OF COURSE. AND I SHOULD BELIEVE THAT?" Sirius yelled at her and swung the now almost empty bottle firewhiskey through the air.

"Sirius please ..." she was about to start, but was immediately interrupted by him.

"SIRIUS PLEASE. SAVE YOUR WORDS. I should have known that it was stupid to sacrifice my single life for you. I could have had fun with other girls all the time, but no, I was with you. While you chedit on me behind my back. You dirty whore."

(Y/N) eyes got waterier and more watery during his monologue. She bit her tongue so hard that she could already taste blood and she clenched her trembling hands into fists, her nails digging in her palms.

"...Y...you...you now...i...i woud never..." She didn't get very far with her words, it all happens very quickly. Sirius took a step forward, she took a few steps back, bumped her back against the wall and and shut her eyes tightly. A split second later, Sirius 'glass flew across the room and struck the wall just inches from (Y/N)' s head.

"SHUT UP! YOU FUCKING CHEATER BITCH. SHUT UP!"

There was a crash and glass splinter hit the ground like raindrops.

Silence spread across the room and the two started at each other, eyes wide open. The remainder of the firewhiskey, flowed over the floor and watering (Y/N) socks. She took a deep breath and suppressed a scream. Her legs trembled and it took all her strength not to sink to the ground.

Sirius had tears streaming down his red cheeks and he pulled his black hair.

"No ... no ... I ... I swear ... (Y/N) I didn't mean to..." he began to stammer. He took his hands out of his hair and wanted to reach for her.

Slowly he took a few small steps in her direction. Arms outstretched as if to hug her.

(Y/N) shook his head vigorously, bit her lower lip and pressed herself even tighter against the wall.

Sirius stopped at the sight of her and stared at her desperately.

"No, stop it. Just leave it." she whispered in a husky voice and walked along the wall to the door, not taking her eyes off him for a second. With one hand behind your back she looked for the door handle, he followed her movements with his eyes. "No (Y/N) please, please don't go. Let's talk, I'm sorry ... I ... I ..." he begged in a scratchy voice and stretched its arms out to the girl one more time.

"No. I think it's all said." (Y/N) shook her head and opened the door. The restrained tears stung in her eyes but she definitely didn't want to cry in front of him now.

She stumbled backwards out of the room, pulling the door with her.

"Bye Sirius." she whispered hoarsely before she closed the door. Muffled through the door, she hears him calling her name a couple of times, but she just turned on her heels and ran down the hall to the girl dorms.

She stopped at her own dormitory, yanked the door open, entered the room and slammed the door behind her with a loud crack. The room was dark and quiet, the air smelled of fresh linen and cinnamon. None of her roommates were there.

(Y/N) leaned against the closed door and put her hands over her face. A heartbreaking sob escaped her and she slid the door down to the floor.

Now sitting on the floor, she hugged her legs tightly against your chest and buried her head between her knees. Now that she was alone she started to cry. The tears wet her face and the noises that came over her lips sounded heartbreaking. She tasted the salt on her lips and felt her tears seep into her tights.

(Y/N) didn't understand how this could all happen. She hadn't betrayed him. She had nothing with Remus or anyone else.

Yesterday everything was fine, they were happy together, laughed together, and fooled around. Today everything went downhill they fight, they yelled at each other and he accused and insulted them. He had thrown a glass in their direction.

Otherwise Sirius made her heart beat faster, makes it jump in joy or stop beating for a few seconds in love. But now her heart felt more like it was made of a thousand sharp pieces of glass. Broken like the glass on the wall. Broken like their relationship due to a lack of trust from his side.

(Y/N) wanted nothing more than to hide under her blanket, cry and not get up for a long time.

But she felt too weak to get up and go to bed. So she sat on the floor and kept crying into her legs.

#sirius black x reader #sirius black #sirius x y/n #young sirius x reader #young sirius black #marauders era #remus lupin #sirius orion black #sirius imagine #young marauders #marauders fic #harry potter #hogwarts

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ssavanessa22 · 4 years ago

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Bad blood

Warnings: racism, hate crime, cannon type violence, kinda but not really smutty so like 16+ as always if I missed someone pls tell me !

A/n the girls of Wattpad really liked this one so I hope you all enjoy as well!

"Y/N you and Reid are going to lead this interview even though you are together make a great team and I think you can crake him are you guys okay with that?"

Spencer and I looked and each other and smiled in unison we replied.

"Yes we are more than okay with that"

Spencer and I have been together for 2 years 324days and 6 hours well that's what he said to me when I woke up next him laying of his bare chest, even though we basically spend every day together we still needed uno special time together and oh was it special. Before we told hotch about our relationship we were able to be in the field together until one time I thought Spence died and then I started crying and it was a whole big thing but now are months not working together we got to do what we both love and with each other.

Before we walked into the interrogation room together Spence turned to me and said.

"Are you sure your okay to do this, you don't have to if you don't want to this case is close to you even if he didn't hurt your family"

This unsub was committing hate crime murders for the last nine months pretending to go on dates with balck women then brutally murder them, Garcia found his manifesto online called "the eradication of all unpure women" it took Kevin who was with her at the time to calm her down as she had to read it out loud I felt bad for her but everyone else felt bad for me. Was looking at me in that moment I wished more than ever to be where Tara was right now, interviewing a child rapist.

I replied to Reid whilst plastering on a fake smile,

"Spencer I'm gonna be fine if anything these women looking like me being like me makes me wanna catch this motherfucker even more"

He smiled and gently kissed me before we both walked in.

"Tyler Walker do you know hey your here"

He ignored my question then Spencer asked the same one only then did he reply.

"Tyler if I'm going to be in here you need to speak to both of us" I sternly replied

"Well if your gonna bring you boyfriend in here since you clearly can't do this on you own them I'm gonna talk to the man here if you'd don't mind"

Spencer interjected saying

"Tyler we found the hearts of all the women murdered in you home why were they in there?"

I don't know I didn't touch them"

He didn't ask if you touched them we asked what you did to those girls" I sternly said.

"You know what If you want to know what I hypothetically would have done to those women I tell you, but only little miss chocolate in the room and only her."

Before Reid could protest I said "yeah sure let's talk"

Spencer's POV

As I walked to the door I gave y/n a reassuring smile she turned and gave me one back but her face was filled with anger and fear, she would never tell me this but she was scared. We didn't shy away from the topic of race within our relationship I read of lot of books and educated myself before I even started dating her I would never understand but I will always try my hardest to be there. And sometimes she just wanted to come home and cry let her emotions out about what it was like being black in American and that was okay as well because I love her.

"How do you think she's gonna do in there?" JJ asked reluctantly

"If I'm being honest I don't know"

Y/N's POV

I sat down trying to make myself look bigger and take up more space within the room than I actually did to encourage my self but in my head I was fucking shitting it.

"Okay we are alone now tell me"

"Just remember sweetheart this is all hypothetical I never did anything if the thing I am about it say" Tyler replied in a menacing tone

"Yes I know get on with it then"

The next 15 minutes felt like a blur, 15 minutes 900 seconds that's how long I heard Tyler speak about all the torcher he wanted to our women like me through half way he started to refer to the women with my name making me imagine him doing these Haines and despicable things to me. I think what was the worst part was that he was smiling whilst he describe these disgusting thing to me he smiled I felt violated and felt used and felt like he had infested my personal space chipping away at the emotional armour I developed whilst having this job.

Once he finished I was on the brink tears but I never going to show him that I left the room being met only by Spencer's face he was seething but I didn't care I just wanted him to hold me to tell me everything was going to be okay.

"Y/N it's okay your okay your other now" he said whilst soothing me.

"I just don't think I can get back in there-"

As I said that Derek stormed in took one look at me and brought me to his arms even though it wasn't Spencer it just felt right in the time to hug him he would understand the most out of the team what I was going through.

"Y/N I know you said you don't want to go back in there but he got him his prints were all over the bodies we found and he had the hearts of the victims he's going to go away for a long time but now you can tell him that take back your power Y/N"

"Ok I'll do it"

"Y/N are you sure you wanna do it this you don't have to?" Spencer said whilst searching my eyes for any fear I had.

I smirked at Spencer whilst he looked at me in confusion I replied.

"Nope I'm okay and I know just what I'm gonna talk about"

By this point the whole team was in the room

"Y/N are you okay love I heard what happened"

"I'm okay Emily but right now you get to watch me drag a white supremacist to filth."

I barged into the interrogation room not letting Tyler speak.

"Okay listen Up bird brain your already done for we found your prints all over the body and that were at your house so now this is just a formality"

"So if you think you've caught me why I am not in a jail cell right now? Hmm"

"You were so nice to me and described the rape, torture, murder and the disfigurement that you would do to me so now I'm just going to repay the favour"

"You know you were right about him being my boyfriend you know"

"so the lanky white one is you boyfriend, I've always said that pure breads shouldn't mix with you people"

"Tyler your going to prison for a very long time you racist rhetoric means nothing to me,but since you I have been so kind to me I am going to spend the next 15 no 20 minutes going in full detail about the amazing sex I had with my white boyfriend last night if we can fit it all in 20 minutes. We will just have to see won't we?"

Spencer's POV

My jaw had dropped to the floor when y/n said that I mean yes it would be hot for her to describe every single we did last night both of us have an eidetic memory so I know she remembers it all but in front of a racist unsub I had I was weirdly impressed and terrified at the same time.

"You don't think she's actually gonna do that?" I asked to the team in complete and utter shock

"Reid when was the last time y/n has ever lied to us?"

"Once JJ but she couldn't even go the whole day telling the lie she ended buying hotch a dozen of his favourite donuts even though she only ate one"

Derek and Emily started chuckling and said.

"That means she's not lying"

The unsub was seething with anger when y/n carried on speacking

" Tyler I didn't a little digging on you and I found out form you pervious girlfriends that apparently you can't put it up in one of you girlfriends exact words she says no matter how hard I tried he could never get hard"

"You don't know anything you slut"

"oop Tyler your using big words especially with someone who only has the education of a 5th grader"

But you know what Tyler lucky for you I have and eidetic memory I don't think you know what that is so I'm just gonna tell you... that means I remember everything so we're gonna have some fun together hmm"

20 minutes, 1200 seconds that's how long y/n spoke in detail about about sexual escapades from last night throughout these 20 minutes Derek started recording so he could send this back to Garcia. Light chuckles and laughs were heard here and there then oos and ahhs, then total shock was the look on everyone's face and a gasp coming from Garcia who Derek had patched in a phone call so she could listen too when y/n got to the last bit. I guess they just assumed because I'm the youngest apart from y/n and .... well I'm me that we would have a boring sex life but I guess we surprised them.

Y/N's POV

After I finished I wasted no time in leaving but before I did I said one more thing.

Tyler you are going to prison for a very long time you probably get life or even the death penalty so I want you to remember what I spoke to you about every single time you try your hardest to get it up every. Single. Time. I hope you know after your manny years in prison never getting to see the outside again and you die I will be sleeping soundly knowing you are burning in hell"

I walked out and the whole team was silent in utter shock of what I said then i realised I probably shouldn't have said any of that too an unsub.

" omg hotch I am so sorry that was completely inappropriate and unacceptable what I did in there and wasn't right at all I-"

"I'm sorry y/n I don't know what your talking about what did you say in there"

"What I just spent the last 20 minutes-"

Seriously y/n what are you talking about you went I told him what he was being charge for and you walked back out hun what are you talking about?"

Im what I'm so confused what?"

Then Spencer finally said

"Babe I know I can be dumb sometimes but please read the room"

I looked around still so confused until I finally realised.

Ohhhhh ok yeah yeah I get it now"

Okay but when are you are pretty boy releasing the sex tape cause I would like to pre order"

The whole teams was laughing including me and Spencer I replied simply with

"in your dreams Morgan in your dreams"

#wattpad #spencer ried smutt #ssavanessa22 #spencer walter reid #spencer reid x reader #cm #criminal minds #black stories #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid angst #spencer reid x y/n

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nickydestati · 4 years ago

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duolingo tog prompts #13

prompt: Now he is just a normal citizen (Adesso è solo un cittadino normale)

i am aware this is a superhero au for what technically is a superhero movie already but oh well, i hope you enjoy it anyway!

In general, Yusuf likes being Joe. On some days, though, he feels like screaming. Only yesterday night he was chasing down some stalker scum to teach them a lesson and make sure they would never even think of harassing anyone ever again, and now he is just a normal citizen. Just a face in the endless, dreary morning commute.

He wants to grab someone by the shoulders and yell his secret in their faces. Just so someone knows he’s doing it all for them.

But he buries his hands in his pockets and walks on.

A bell rings when he enters the antique shop. The Old Guard, it is called. And of course, it’s just a facade, but to his surprise, Joe genuinely likes working there. He likes being surrounded by ancient and not so ancient objects, he loves walking around in the chaotic assortment of precious art pieces and absolute junk. He often wonders how Andy has gotten hold of all these things, but however sneakily he tries to coax it out of her, she always sees right through his schemes and just shrugs.

He puts everything ready and turns the sign of the door around so the ‘open’ side is facing the street. He glances at the numerous grandfather clocks lining one of the walls. Booker is late. Maybe on a job Joe forgot about, so he guesses he’s on his own for today.

He’s staring at some lists with a lot of numbers he doesn’t understand much about because 1) this is usually Booker’s job and 2) he’s running on three hours of sleep and caffeine, when the phone rings. He picks up immediately, grateful for something else to do.

“The Old Guard Antiques, with Joe, how can I help you?”

“I’ve got a job for you.” Andy.

“Hello to you, too,” Joe says, glancing about for customers, though the bell hasn’t made a sound yet all morning. He lowers his voice just to be sure. “And a job? So soon? I just finished the last one this night.”

He can barely hide his excitement, he quickly checks his free hand, making sure he doesn’t start glowing by accident.

“It’s urgent. We’ve got word that someone is after Lykon’s bracers.”

“Lykon’s bracers?” Joe’s happy mood sobers. Lykon was one of their team once. But the life of a superhero is never without danger. Things went terribly wrong on a mission a long time ago, and Lykon had sacrificed himself so the rest could get out with the people they were saving. They went back later, but despite his healing powers, he hadn’t been able to use them on himself in time.

His bracers still hold fragments of his powers, though, just like Joe’s rings will when he dies. Every hero has such a token, and there are rumors it might grant the powers to someone else if used right. But so far, no one has tried yet. All superheroes agree that it’s simply too morbid and intruding.

“Yes.” Andy sighs. “I knew I shouldn’t have given it to the museum. It would’ve been safer with us after all.”

“Hey, boss, don’t beat yourself up. It was the best option back then. So, who’s after it?”

“Some rich megalomaniac called Merrick. You know, the usual. The theft is planned for this Friday. Booker is at the museum now to find a way to get you inside and get a layout from the building. He’ll be on it for the rest of the week so you’re on shop duty alone for a while.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll send you some more details you can look through. How did it go last night?

“It went well,” Joe answers, but it’s a tad too late and of course Andy notices.

“But?”

Joe sighs. “But the Shadow showed up and I had just gotten them right where I wanted them, but when I rounded the corner, he’d taken care of them already.”

“The guy’s good,” Andy says and the appraisel in her voice makes a spike of jealousy flash through his chest.

“Maybe you should ask him to join us, then,” he says and he hates how annoyed he sounds.

Andy chuckles on the other end. “Have to figure out who he is first.”

Just some pretentious bastard thinking he’s too good to talk with other superheroes. But Joe is tired talking about him.

“So how are you and Nile? Have you found her yet?”

“No, no sign yet.” All mirth has left Andy’s voice and Joe’s heart clenches.

“It’s only a matter of time. We’ll find her. Or she’ll find us again, she wouldn’t leave us like that.” She wouldn’t leave you.

“Let’s hope so,” Andy says with a heavy sigh. “Gotta go, I’ll send you the information. Keep me updated, okay?”

“Sure thing, boss. Say hi to Nile from me.”

He’s breaking his head over the lists again when the bell makes him startle.

His throat runs dry when he looks up because the most beautiful man in all the universe has just entered the shop. Joe really shouldn’t be so dumbfounded by the man, because objectively speaking he is rather plain-looking with that simple hair cut and those pants that are really doing nothing for him, but still. Even like that, he has something incredibly mesmerising to Joe.

He pretends to look back at the lists for a while, but glances at the customer every now and again from the corner of his eye.

When the man has been wandering around for a while and has been staring at those small angel statuettes for five minutes already, Joe slips from behind the counter and goes to him.

“Good morning, sir, can I be of some assistance?”

The man turns around and a small smile appears around his mouth when he sees Joe, melting Joe’s heart into a puddle.

“Maybe. I’m looking for a birthday gift for my nonna, but I don’t know which archangel she would like more.”

And to Joe’s surprise, the man goes on to explain the different meanings behind them which is incredibly fascinating - and not only because his hand gestures are so elegant and his eyes are alight with a passionate glow that Joe would describe as moonlight in one of his poems. And Joe is all too happy to chip in with his own knowledge of art and iconology.

They get so caught up in their conversation that Joe jumps when the grandfather clocks start their various announcements of the fact that it is twelve o’clock. The man startles too by the cacophony and glances at his watch.

“Oh, I should get going. I’ll take this one.” And he picks out Joe’s favorite.

He follows Joe to the cash register and pays.

“I am Joe, by the way,” Joe says when he’s wrapping the statue in bubble plastic to protect it.

“Nicky, nice to meet you,” Nicky says and Joe can’t keep the wide smile from his face.

“We should do that again some time,” he says, gathering all his courage. “Talk, I mean, not necessarily buying or selling angel statuettes.”

Nicky laughs, and the little snort makes Joe’s heart jump to his throat. “Let’s grab some dinner then, when are you available?”

“Only Friday wouldn’t work for me,” Joe says.

“I can’t make it on Friday either, so let’s say Saturday? Here, let me get your number,” Nicky says and picks his phone from his pocket.

They exchange numbers and say their goodbyes, Nicky flashing a last smile at him from the door before leaving Joe helplessly lost behind his cash register.

Focus, Yusuf! Yusuf chastizes himself when his mind has wandered off to what he’s going to wear for his date tomorrow for what must be the millionth time. You’re supposed to be watching out for a thief, focus!

Yusuf takes a deep breath and scans the room again. He’s hidden in a very uncomfortable position against the ceiling, holding on to a pillar that grants him a view of the entire exhibition room. If he didn’t have his powers, there was no way he could have endured this position for so long, and while it would have been even easier if the sun was out, he manages.

The minutes are ticking by, no sign of a thief yet. The bracers are still safely in their display case beneath him.

Then there’s a movement, ever so slightly, by the windows. Yusuf’s eyes latch onto it, but it’s gone so soon that he almost thinks it’s a trick of his mind.

Always trust your instincts, Andy told them over and over again. Our minds don’t play tricks on us.

Sure enough, there’s another flutter in the shadows. No, not in the shadows. Of the shadows.

One of them is moving.

Joe curses inwardly, of course Merrick has hired the Shadow.

He waits for the Shadow to reach the display case. Then, when he reaches over the glass, Yusuf slides down right behind him. He reaches for him, letting out a sound of victory when his hands guess correctly and circle around the Shadow’s neck. He lets his hands glow, unleashing the heat he’s always containing.

Surprised by the sudden attack, the Shadow turns visible and Yusuf stumbles back out of pure shock.

He’s all clad in black, with a balck version of a mask not unlike Yusuf’s own, but Yusuf would recognise the eyes peeking through it anywhere. Those eyes that are unmistakably glowing with moonlight now.

“Nicky?” Yusuf exclaims.

“Joe?”

Nicky seems just as confused as Yusuf who’s still looking him up and down as if he might change into someone else after all - and oh man, these tight pants are definitely doing things for him. Nicky recovers faster from the shock, though.

“Sorry, but I really gotta take these,” he says and before Yusuf can make his muscles move again, Nicky already has the bracers in his hands and is dashing for the windows.

“Wait no!” Yusuf sprints after him, but Nicky whisps away into shadow-form again and slips through a slightly opened window.

“Nicky!” Yusuf screams after him. He opens the window wider - not alarming the guards be damned - and looks out over the city. But there’s no trace of Nicky.

His heart is pounding. Nicky, the beautiful man he is already head over heels with, is the Shadow. Not only is he the Shadow, but he has also stolen Lykon’s bracers for some capitalist asshole.

Shit.

“Is our date still on tomorrow?” Yusuf calls weakly into the night.

#this got way too long i'm sorry #i got so carried away with this au so yeah there will be more most likely!! hence the cliffhanger hehe #anyway i hope some of you like this silly au too!#duolingo prompts #superhero!au #the old guard #joe x nicky #joenicky #immortal husbands #kaysanova #userbooker #usertriz #swquser #demonicneonfishy

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openforjean · 4 years ago

Text

cream

kinktober masterlist / next fic

bucky barnes x fem!reader

Warnings: +18!! ddlg, oral sex (fem), creampie kink?, praise kink, handjob, idk what u call it but cumming on panties, mentions of anal, begging

a/n: pls leave some feedback and ur thoughts :)) thank u, enjoy! (a lil treat from me)

WALL-E is tonight’s movie for movie night with Bucky!! and you have been waiting all afternoon for him to finish his work so movie night can begin.

But before movie night is always a little playtime, if he allows it.

You get bored waiting for him, you begin to play with your stuffies.

Lola the bunny and Mr. turtle, your two favorite plushies but if you had to pick an ultimate favorite, Mr. turtle wins.

The playroom’s door opens and Bucky slides though. He’s wearing a white button up and balck dress pants. You drop your stuffies and jump up.

Bucky pulls you into his arms and hugs you tightly, kissing your face everywhere. You squeal and you wiggle to get out of his grasp.

“I’m sorry baby, work has been kicking my ass but I’m done now. How about we have some fun?” Bucky says.

“I already had some fun. I wanna play-I wanna have playtime, please daddy? Can we play? I waited all day and I didn’t touch my parts daddy, I’ve been a good girl,” you plead, desperately.

Bucky smirks and looks down at your body. You begin to feel sad because he isn't responding.

“Of course, baby. You’re my baby, my sweet, little baby. I will always play with you and I’m proud of you for not touching yourself,” Bucky praises.

A warm, lovey feeling overcomes your body and you couldn’t help it. You feel your own arousal in your panties.

“You’ve been a good girl for daddy,” Bucky asks, picking your chin up.

“Waiting all afternoon for daddy to pay attention to you, what do you want to do? You have all my attention princess,” Bucky says.

You clench your thighs together and you whimper at his words. You’ve been craving his touch all day.

Hmm, what do you want to do?

Before you could decide, Bucky caresses your cheek with his metal arm and you watch his eyes fill with lust.

“Do you want me to touch you princess? Want me to touch you down here?” Bucky asks, touching your aching button through your panties. He softly circles your clit and you slip out a moan.

Your mind clouds with pleasure and his hand leaves your button and travels to your other hole.

“Or here? You want daddy to fuck your sweet ass princess?” Bucky asks.

You gasp as Bucky sends a sharp slap to your ass.

Daddy loves your ass so much. Especially that tight little hole he gets to stretch out often.

“Daddy,” you cry as he gets down on his knees and kisses your button. He kisses it through the fabric, he kisses it like he's kissing you.

He soaks your panties with his saliva, his hands go to your thighs and pulls you closer to his face.

“You like this baby? Want me to keep going? Bucky says, pulling away from your clit.

“Yes daddy, please.” you cry. His lips go back to your button and he goes even faster with his tongue. You feel your high coming and Bucky knows it.

“Cum, cum princess. Cum in my mouth. Daddy wants to taste you,” Bucky orders. You nod and your head drops as your body shakes.

Once your orgasm ends, Bucky pulls down the front of your underwear and presses a small kiss on your pussy and then takes a lick. He fixes your underwear.

Bucky stands up and his mouth and beard are all wet, it sends down your body.

Bucky’s erection is straining in his pants, he feels like he’s going to cum any second.

“Daddy, can I?” You ask, looking down at his member. “Mhm, princess,” he answers. You get on your knees and you pull out his thick, veiny cock. Pre-cum covers his tip which is angry red. You stroke his member at a rapid pace, which took him by surprise. You usually go slow, he groans. “Does it feel good daddy? Am I going too fast?” You ask, swirling your hand around his cock. “No-no, you're doing a good job baby, keep going,” he says as his head rolls back. You spit on your hand and resume your motions.

“You’re gonna make me cum, baby. Stand up, pull out your pant-” You pull off him and you stand up. You knew what he was gonna say and you pull your underwear out as he jerks his cock rapidly, aiming at your pussy and underwear.

“Beg for it.”

“Please give me your cum daddy, please.”

Bucky moans loudly and releases onto you. His cum hits your clit and drips down to your panties. He watches you take a finger in your mouth with his cum on it as he stuffs himself back in his pants.

“Your cream tastes so good daddy,” you say with an innocent voice.

Bucky pulls you into a hug and kisses your lips, you taste yourself on his lips. He pulls away and pushes your hair back and stares lovingly into your eyes.

“I love you princess, you don’t even know,” he says wiping his mouth.

“I love you too daddy, I love you, I love you, I love you!” You say, hugging him tight. He wraps his arms around you and whispers into your ear “what do you say to daddy now?”

“Thank you for playing with me daddy,” you respond.

pls reblog and leave some feedback! I also made an insta its @/buckygotaphatass, so follow if u want :) but thats not all...I made a taglist! to join send an ask and I’ll send u the link!

kinktober masterlist

@gaya-is-weird-af @cathrinexxxv @chrisevansandsebstan @superkamigurudende @limenlimon

bucky barnes taglist

@im-squished @slxtrogers @babyyhoneyydarling @navegandoaciegas

#this bad im sorry #really really sorry #fuvk #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #daddy!bucky x little!reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes imagine #bucky smut

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vanillann · 4 years ago

Text

ew, it’s the government (spencer reid x acab!reader)

welcome to my new spencer reid x reader series

warning: swearing, mentions of crime and sex, enemies to lovers

word count: 1.0k

ew, it’s the government masterlist

prologue

“I hate capitalism.”

Jerick pushed me over, falling beside me on my bed.

“Trust me, I’m with you all the way.”

I smiled and flipped from laying on my back, laying on my stomach as I played with the remote.

I could feel Jerick eyes watching me closely, the same way they have been since a few days ago.

“(Y/N),”Jerick pulled the remote from my hand, throwing on the other side of the room.

“Hey, maybe I wanted to watch tv.”

Jerick punched my shoulder, causing a shriek to fall gracefully from my lips.

“I know you're sad about Meg and Ms. Gilbert.”

Poor Meg, killed inside her own home after work by some stupid murder. After that Ms. Gilbert's lifeless body lay on the floor of her own classroom.

“I can’t believe they're dead.”

Jerick hands ran up and down the skin between my shoulder blades, the familiar comfort washed over me.

“Me either, there dead dead.”

“Dead dead.”

Jerick laid a cheek on my shoulder, the heat running through my shirt and giving me a nice sense of comfort.

“I hate to break this sweet moment, but they put Pride and Prejudice on Netflix and I’d really enjoy watching it right now.”

Jerick laughed and stood up from the bed, grabbing the tv remote he threw earlier and throwing himself back on the bed, giving me a small bounce.

I smiled and kissed his cheek, turning back to the tv and hitting the power button.

The first thing I see is the smiling face of my next door neighbor, Harry, the words “Third Dead” underneath it.

I felt the room around me vanish, the sight of my sweet neighbor who used to give my toilet paper because I needed to save up from the college textbook looking at me.

“Oh my-“

I felt my throat clench up, the third person I knew was dead, this didn’t happen in our small town of Virginia.

“Jerick, what the hell is going on.”

Jerick didn’t say a word, watching the tv as closely as I was, his thick lips hung open at the words of the blonde on the news.

“(Y/N), I’m starting to get scared.”

I nodded, feeling the air in my room become clouded, or was that just my brain?

Why does it seem like everyone around me is dying?

“I really hate this town now.”

Suddenly the bright tv screen in front of me was balck, the blonde woman long gone.

“What the hell Jerick!”

Jerick dropped the remote from his hand, looking me over with bewildered eyes.

“You don’t think it has something to do with- you know?”

“No way, don’t make me think about that.”

I pushed the years worth of memories to the side, praying to any fucking god or anything that this wasn’t it.

“I have to pick up my testosterone prescription, wanna get out of the house?”

I looked over at him, watching the way he tried to relax back into my bed.

“We just found out someone else was murder and you ask me do I wanna leave the house?”

“Yes (Y/N) because you could rule over a country full of over thinkers so I’m trying to help.”

I titled my head, giving him a deadpan look.

“Jackass.”

“Whore.”

Our eyes burned into one another, the atmosphere of the room changed quickly.

Suddenly Jerick started smiling, trying to hold it back but he couldn’t. His little smile caused mine to break across my face, the laugh falling past my lips shortly after.

“Get up Cop Whore.”

“Oh I’m going to kill you for that one.”

I stepped out of Jerick's car, the first thing I saw was the cop car parked directly beside us.

“We should buy spray paint, you know have a little fun.”

Jerick grabbed my elbow, his mumbling about “maybe another time” caused me to laugh as he pulled me into the small pharmacy.

Jillian stood beside the counter, chewing on the small stupid pick bubble gum as before.

“Jill, I need my prescription.”

She looked between the two of us, giving a wicked smile and turning to go into the back.

“I don’t like her, she thinks the government is actually helpful.”

I pushed the fake laugh from the back of my throat, rolling my eyes as I watched the small tv in the back.

Jerick laughed, pushing my side with his shoulder.

The blonde woman from before no longer sat on the news, an old man with white hair now held papers in his hand and all the victims pictures sat on the small screen.

“Meg Hostlier, Arizona Gilbert, and Harry Johnson have all been murdered over the past three days, officials say the FBI will be arriving soon to investigate.”

“Thank god, this town could use the help,” Jillian turned the corner with the prescription held in her hand.

“Exactly why we don’t need the FBI charging in and making matters worse.”

Jillian just rolled her eyes and looked at the credit card from Jerick’s hand, quickly swiping it and waving us out.

I grabbed Jerick's arm and pulled him back into the parking lot, the annoyance of this town bubbling against my skin.

“I fucking hate the government, why do they think they have the right to march in here and handle this?”

Jerick hopped into the driver seat, throwing the testosterone into the backseat.

“Well legally they do.”

“I hate laws, and cops-“

I placed a hand on my chin, looking up at the roof of the car.

“-and patriarchy and misogyny and-“

“We know, you hate everything wrong in the world.”

Jerick looked at me and smiled, placing a hand on mine.

I watched his eyes roam my face, a sad little smile playing at his face.

“I hate how people treat you, you’re more of a man than anyone in this town.”

Jerick smiled and nodded his head, a little smirk across his face.

“Hell yeah I am, Cop Whore.”

“I’m not a Cop Whore!”

Jerick just looked over at me and laughed, putting the car in reverse.

“Hey the FBI is coming into town, maybe you’ll find a government worker.”

“Ew, no way. All FBI agent’s are old, smelly, and ugly.”

chapter 1

cm tag list:

@itsarayofsunshine

#spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #bau #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years ago

Text

HASO “Evidence.”

Still working on the trial arc, and sorry I am late in posting. I had to go to work at seven and am trying to write in between helping guests.

CREDIT and a THANK YOU to one of my amazing discord community members Eddi, who has been working for the last few months on the audio visual and transcript logs seen here. I did not write them, Eddi wrote them an was kind enough to let me use them in this story. I loved it and thought it brought a lot of authenticity to the story by bringing in an outside voice.

WARNING: GRAPHIC blood, gore, and bodily mutilation. The Steel eye project development is VERY horrible, so don’t read if that is something that bothers you.

It was a beautiful day.

The sky was a bright eggshell blue stratified with only the occasional cirrus cloud highlighting the sky with a touch of distant white. The sun was bright though the temperature was moderate only in the mid eighties.

Swimmers could be seen as distant pinpoints of light and froth on the surface of lake Geneva. Voices echoed up from the city coerced mostly by the purring of hover-car engines.

Towering white buildings rose high into the sky adding height instead of width to a city that had not grown outside its own borders for the past thousand years other than to go up.

Itw as a more environmentally efficient way to build, and left the countryside untouched by the scars of infrastructure and humanity.

Adam stared out the window for a long moment wishing for the peaceful embrace of the skies and the roaring of a jet engine. A soft whimper at his leg, and he looked down to see Waffles sitting at his heel, her head tilted back to look up at him. WHen he didn’t immediately respond to her she whined again and scooted closer, her paws making soft clicking sounds on the wood flooring below.

Finally he reached down and scratched her behind the ears.

She could sense his agitation, and it was clear that she didn’t much like it.

He couldn’t blame her.

He didn’t like it either. He sighed and turned his head away from the do and he window, back to the mirror in front of which he now stood. He didn’t see himself.

The man in the mirror was tall, straight backed with sharply trimmed and styled hair, jaw squared and raised. Both eyes were green though one expanded and contracted like the appriture of a camera. The expression on the man’s face was stern and unyielding.

He looked…. Like his father.

He had never seen much of a resemblance between them, but now he could certainly see it.

It didn’t help that the stars on his uniform seemed to add an extra ten years to his age.

With a soft sigh, he pulled his captain’s cap down snuggly onto his head and whistled low for his dog.

She fell into a perfect heel at his side, and he clipped the leash onto her colla.

Her black service vest was strapped on tight with a pair of doggie saddlebags on either side carrying water bottles. Waffles always liked having a job to do, and a little extra work would help to keep her relaxed during the trial rather than antsy.

She was going to have to stay very still for a very long time for the next few days.

“Ready girl.”

Her tail thumped against the floor at his voice.

“At least that makes one of us.”

He transferred her elash to his left end, though he didn’t technically need it, and led her out of the bedroom and into the large living room. It was a lot of hotel room for just one man. He would have been fine enough with a double queen personally, but he supposed if the UNSC was paying there was no reason to argue otherwise.

It felt strange, going to a hotel on the UNSC’s Dime to testify against the UNSC in one of the biggest trials of the century.

His stomach churned.

Waffles nosed his hand.

Dr Krill floated down from his examination of the chandelier, “I admire human artistry, but pragmatism is still my preferred way of living.” he motioned around the room, “A bit opulent.”

Adam nodded his agreement, “You can say that again. I haven’t slept on a bed that big in my life.” In all honesty, he was trying to keep his mind off of what was to come. He didn’t really care about the bed and certainly didn’t know if he had ever slept in a bed that large.

He sort of doubted it, he was in the UNSC after all.

A knock came on the door and he turned reaching for the handle and pulling it open. The driver from yesterday was waiting for him, his suit pristine. He bowed slightly, “The car is waiting for you, sir.”

He nodded, and motioned the other man to lead the way.

The man nodded and thanked him, stepping down the hall and leading them down into the lobby. They got a lot of looks as they made their way down, most likely because of krill, though his uniform might have caught some attention.

He was led out towards the car and slid into the back seat, suddenly surprised to find that he wasn’t alone.

“Admiral Kelly!”

“Good morning, Adam.”

“What are you doing here.”

“I am here to witness the trial. UNSC representatives thought it would be best if some of the newer brass came to oversee proceedings.”

He quickly looked out the window, suddenly remembering which side of the conflict this was on.

A hand rested on his arm, “I’m not here to make you feel bad about your decision, Admiral. You’re doing what needs to be done.”

He sighed and nodded, “I… thank you ma’am.”

“You sure this is something you are ready for.”

He paused and then shook his head, “No… I’m not ready, and I never will be.” She went to open her mouth but he stopped her, “But I’m the only one we have, so I will do what it takes.”

The car went silent as it slowly accelerated into the early morning traffic.

It was going to be a very long day.

Admiral Kelly turned to look at Krill speaking with him quietly while Adam looked out the window.

He wasn’t in the mood for talking right now though he knew how odd that was.

His stomach continued to churn as they drove through the streets heading towards the outskirts of the city where the Geneva court had been built just over 200 years ago.

The last buildings on the outskirts of town went by and their first view of the court appeared in the car window. It was made in the classic greco-roman style with large white pillars and sloped rooftop and carvings on the top that depicted all the deities of justice ever conceived by historial religion, all cast and depicted in marble.

The thoroughfare up to the building was long and wide with a decorative reflecting pool at the center and a set of daunting steps leading up to the ornate front doors.

The grounds were meticulously kept with hedges shrub and flowering bushes, with what must have been miles and miles of water features and fountains off to the side.

It was a beautiful location, and it seemed that visitors found it a nice spot to rest while they enjoyed touring the sites.

He didn’t see much in the beauty today.

This was the UN supreme court, and the history of Geneva made this place hallowed in ways that made the court case for today all the more poignant.

The car pulled to a stop before the doors and a few gloved attendants stepped forward sharply dressed and opened the doors with almost militaristic precision as Admiral Vir and Admiral Kelly stepped out.

Waffles followed at his heels

He knew as soon as he stepped onto the marble steps that he wanted to leave, an the only thing that kept him there was the memory of those faces…. All the people counting on him back at the house, all the people who had never been given a chance to recover like he had.

He took a deep breath and ford himself up the steps and towards the front doos where a group of people were already congregating.

There were a few reporters there, without cameras, waiting to attend in the audience and record the proceedings for their news stories and daytime television. A few of them snapped discrete photos of him as he passed and was led through the wide double doors into the expansive inner hallway with a beautifully muraled ceiling and a line of decorative plants down the side.

Voices echoed inside the building, rising up around him to bounce off the marble.

The voices themselves were indistinct and difficult to understand as he made his way further into the room.

Men in suits lined the walls.

He eyed them critically wondering if any of them happened to be the defence.

A hand was placed on his shoulder, and he quickly turned to eye another attendant, who had evidently been trying to get his attention, “Right this way sir.”

He nodded and was led through the halls and into a nearby antichamber.

A wand was passed over his body.

“Please hold out your arm , sir.”

He did as ordered and watched as his forearm implant was temporarily deactivated.

“The room is completely radio proof, sir. No signals go in or out. If you must make a call, I urge you to take it during the court recess.”

“Understood.”

“Please step inside and sit on the second row on the right side behind the prosecution.

He did as ordered, and stepped into another wide curving room.

It was much bigger than he would have thought, two stories high with amphitheater seats, and a massive curving desk at the front where nine Geneva court judges would be seated on their entrance.

There was no jury.

The Geneva court judges would be the jury for trial at this time.

Law practices had changed a lot since world war III but there was still some semblance of the old ways that still lingered on.

He took his seat, waffles grumbling softly as he slid onto the ground beside him.

Two people in suits followed him inside one in a dark blue suit and brown shoes, the other in pinstriped balck.

The one in blue was a woman, dressed sharply, her hair pulled back into a bun so tight you could have strummed out a tune on the hairs. She paused next to Adam and held out a hand, “Admiral Vir, we spoke over the phone.”

“Ms. Trevor.”

She nodded and motioned to the man, “And my partner Mr. Jackson. I trust you understand your purpose here today?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Jackson lifted his head, “Our case here is solid, admiral. This case isn’t about who is going to be punished for what happened, but about how long they will be punished, not to mention it is likely to set up some new legislation for the ethical creation and use of military hardware. Once we are done, something like this is unlikely to ever happen again.”

He wasn’t entirely sure he believed that, but he nodded and let them take their seats in the desk before him.

Waffles whimpered and prodded at his hands with her nose.

He stroked a hand over her big pointed ears.

The courtroom filled up within the next hour, and, Looking across the room, he saw a line of men and women sitting on the second row of the defence. Something about them put him on edge.

He had a feeling they were the scientists.

They were the ones who had developed the steel eye armor.

“All rise! For the honorable Geneva court judges!”

The entire room took to their feet as the nine judges filed out of a back chamber and stepped onto the floor. All of them wore traditional black robes with white collars as had been tradition for nearly thousand of years. They took their seats with a mass shuffling.

“Please be seated.”

The room shuffled back into place.

The head judge,at the center of the table leaned forward.

“On this day June 24, 4024 we open the Geneva Court case of The People VS UNSC Biomechanics Division. the court will begin by hearing opening statements from the council.”

Council for the prosecution stood, shuffling her papers once before stepping up to the lectern.

“Honorable judges and members of the court, today we are here to present evidence against a faction of the UNSC scientific division for gross ethical violations, torture, and pruposeful endangerment of human life. Evidence suggests over 29 killed, over 21 critically injured, maimed, or permanently crippled, and over 61 with lasting mental trauma. This is not counting over 50 Steel eye soldiers coerced without prior knowledge, into participation in the program, 30 of which are now deceased 15 of which have lasting mental trauma, and five that, while functional, still feel the effects today. Today we will be presenting, written documents, video recordings, and audio files from prior testing as well as first hand witnesses of both the testing and the war as well as expert witness from the scientist who read and compiled the files before trial. What was done to these men and women constitute as war crimes and their victims deserve compensation and closure for what was done to them.”

She stepped back from the podium and nodded.

The defence stood and made their way to the podium in turn, “Your honors, and members of the court, while it is true that some unfortunate incidents happened during testing and development of the steel eye project, there is ample evidence to prove that none of these men or women were coerced against their will into participation. All subjects were volunteer and duly informed before proceedings began. Furthermore, scientific ethics had not advanced far enough at the time to cover weather or not what they were doing was an ethical violation. The Defence is not asking for complete vindication for the accused, but the sum of what happens is surely less than war crimes.”

They took their seat.

Adam wasn’t a lawyer, but he knew which opening statement he liked more. Now maybe he was biased, but certainly he felt that one presented greater amounts of evidence than the other. Of course it was up to the prosecution to show evidence that would convince the judges, beyond a reasonable doubt, that these men and women were guilty.

He listened to some more speaking, half falling asleep and assuming maybe this would be as bad as he thought it would when one of the prosecution stepped back up to the podium.

“The prosecution presents time stamped dated and logged evidence to the court for consideration. The first testing log we wish to present is from the eighteenth of October 4016 and overseen by Dr. Tato Nkosi written as log number 23.”

Experimental Log #023:

So far we have not experimented with a human subject, All the sample tests and simulations indicate that there should be no interference with normal function nor create any feedback loops that could induce seizures. This is the first human testing that we will be doing. We have noticed that the animal testing resulted in significant irritation and irrational behavour from the subjects, We however suspect this was because they were unawares of the reason for the implantations.

The subject is unconscious for the process of implantation to prevent movement.

-recording break-

The subject reacted violently to the implant, removing it in a highly violent manner while screaming and trying to injure any nearby scientists. We expected some level of resistance, but this indicates far more sensitivity than expected. Further testing will be required.

“The council for the prosecution wishes to present the audio/visual log.” A light flickers on as a video clip begins reeling.

Audiovisual Log Transcript:

The subject wakes suddenly, seeming to be woken by extreme pain. Screaming almost instantly and scrabbling at implant on their hand and wrist. Subject seems to be attempting to remove the implant. One of the scientists attempts to calm the subject only to be beaten by the subject who continues screaming. The scientist retreats from the subject just as the subject finally removes the test implant by ripping it from the subjects skin, tearing with it the subjects local nervous system along with large sections of the subjects musculature and ligaments. Seeming relieved at the lack of contact with the implant, the subject sinks to its knees. The subject is losing significant amount of blood, though we suspect the subject is unaware of this as large sections of the nervous system is still attached to the implant. The subject appears to be in shock as it observes its ruined lower arm and hand. The subject has resumed screaming and is now trying to get the scientists attention to fix its ruined lower arm and hand. The subject is sedated and arm treated. The recording ends here.

Adam throws a hand up over his face feeling bile rise into his mouth at the image seared into his brain. Muscle and ligament dangling uselessly against a steel eye prototype. He felt a bit lightheaded but takes a deep breath in and out to calm his breathing. All around the room there are gasps of shock and disgust. A few people stand to leave the room unable to witness any more.”

The council steps forward, “This was the first log in a recorded series of proceeding logs with similar effects. We know in experimentation that accidents happen all the time, and we might have considered forgiveness if the experimentation had stopped here. Clearly implementation on human test subjects was not ready, as evidenced by the animal’s discomfort. Perhaps if they had stopped here, some measure of understanding might have been allowed. But they continued past this point with full knowledge that this sort of catastrophic event could happen. This test subject will never regain full use of his hand. Instead of stopping the experiment like hey should, the scientists determined that the use of painkillers was in order to make the subject operational. For this the prosecution calls expert witness Dr. Alexander Gladstone to the witness stand.”

On the bench to his side, a man stands slicking back his salt and pepper hair as he moves to sit in the witness stand and is sworn in.

“Dr. Gladstone, tell us a little of your credentials.”

“Of course, I received my PHD in Biomechanical interface and Engineering as well as an additional PHD in Mechanised robotics. I have worked as the head scientist for the UNSC testing division for nearly five years now after my predecessor quit. I helped to re-engineer this project under Iron eye as a step forward from the Steel eye project in a more controlled and ethical environment. I am also the scientists who reviewed these logs and compiled them for analysis today.”

“Thank you Dr. Now, may I ask why these scientists would have chosen to implement a drug dosage?”

“To understand why they had to do this, you must also understand the steel eye project itself. Steel eye was designed to enhance the strength, speed and durability of the wearer. We already have exo suits designed for use in factory and industrial settings, however the main issue we run into in a combat setting is that the machine responds too slow. The nodes detect electrical impulses from the muscles and then have to fire following that meaning the subject has already begun moving almost seconds in advance of the machine. Steel eye was created to integrate the machine directly into the body to intercept nerve impulses before the muscles even fire, thus making the wearer faster, and the augment making them stronger. To do this you have to make a direct interface with the nervous system. They first implemented small microfivers which would wrap themselves around the nerves in question to detect electrical signals. These were designed to cluster primarily along the spine but have additional nodes in the major muscle groups. However, direct stimulation of a nerve or nerve cluster sends signals to the brai nthat are interpreted as…. Unbelievable agony, which is likely the agitation that they were seeing in the animal test subjects. However, with a high enough drug dosage, you can mitigate these effects, or distract the brain enough to keep the wearer functional for some time.”

He sat back in his seat.

“And in iron eye, how did you get around this problem?”

“Subdermal implants that do not require direct contact with the nerve endings themselves.”

“And does Iron eye cause any significant damage to the wearer?”

“No sir, the only danger is an infection of the implants, but that is with almost any implanted medical devise.”

“The subjects have no pain.”

“A general soreness that goes away within two to three days.”

“So in my understanding it is clear that there were alternatives to their original course of action. They could have pulled back and tried to implement a way to mitigate the pain rather than mask it with drug dosages?”

“Certainly.”

“But that isn’t what they did.”

“No.”

“The prosecution presents Transcript 27 to the court for viewing.”

Experimental log #27:

We have begun testing various drugs to suppress the pain, this test is with acetaminophen, commonly referred to as Codeine.

As per usual the subject was implanted while unconscious and atop this it was given a high dose of codeine prior to it awaking.

-recording break-

It appears that while the subject was capable of withstanding the pain from the implant for a longer period of time than our previous subjects However the subject clearly seemed to suffer increasing mental instability as the sensations returned, culminating in the subject violently trying to destroy the implant. Learning from prior experiments and in an attempt to reduce harm to the scientists, the subject was left alone while it was in this state and no attempt was made to aid the subject.

Adam turned his head away unable to stomach what was coming next. His hands were sweating terribly. He felt cold and weak. He had seen horrible things in war and in his time, but watching this… .watching steel eye. It was just too much.

His mouth had gone dry, and his skin was hot as if he had a fever.

The dog nosed his hand but he barely acknowledged her.

Audio-visual log transcript:

The transcript begins once the Codeine begins to wear off.

The subject begins by itching at the area around the implant, the reaction is far less violent than the prior subjects. After several minutes of ever more irritated scratching and aggressive tugging at the implant and plaintive noises the subject began to violently bash the implant against the wall. Growing ever more violent with the abuse of the implant. This continues till the test implant is mangled and ruined with the subject pulling the mangled chunks of metal off their skin, this however seems not to alleviate the subjects pain and irritation. This is likely due to the destruction of the implant not removing the interfacing needles The subject continued to scratch and pull at its skin, the plaintive noises slowly becoming screams of pain. This action continued without interruption from the scientists till the subject had torn most of the skin of its arm and taken chunks out of its musculature, the subject finally passed out from pain or blood loss after several minutes of self mutilation.

The room spun around him, and he took a few long, deep breaths hoping that it would stop.

He wast sure he could survive another few hours of this.

He wasn’t sure at all

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teacup-tai · 4 years ago

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Top Five of 2020

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (ish) favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

My lovely @the-starryknight thanks for the tag! I’ll tag a few people, but you probably already did it: @ruinsplume @kasjophe @gallifrey1sburning @quicksilvermaid @prolix- @dazedandinked

Right. This year was insane, I got stuck first half of the year in Ireland with only 2 friends close by, all my family in Brazil or Spain while I was writing my bloody master thesis (that is what I’m proudest of this year, but it’s not published yet, so won’t go in this list). I managed a lot of hard emotions in solitude, by myself, while reading drarry fics to keep afloat (great coping mechanism, actually!). And after handing my thesis and moving to Spain, I was feeling deeply empty. So I went back to fic-writing, after 2 or 3 years of not even looking at my old fics.

It all started when I saw the posts for prompt claiming on the @hd-hurtfest blog. To think how that post changed everything in my life is just bizarre. So I am very thankful! It has been a huge pleasure to go back to fic-writing and to re-embrace the HP fandom, mainly the drarry squad! To get to know so many lovely people and I’m forever grateful for that.

Here is my Top Five:

hear me (with your whole body): (Drarry, E, 9k) this is the fic I wrote for the hd-hurtfest 2020. I saw @quicksilvermaid’s prompt and I shivered. It lured me so much I had the whole plot in my head as soon as I finished sending the claim. It was so hard to write it. Because the topic is very sensitive: open relationships, sexual mismatch, bad communication skills. I brought most of my bad experiences in all these sensitive topics as if I was purging it from my body while writing ‘hear me’. It was a very raw process of looking into my own still bleeding wounds, but very cathartic. And it was hard because it was my very first drarry (I love drarry and I normally only read drarry, but I’ve never felt confident enough to write it), so I was very nervous. And in bloody English xD LOL but I’m bloody proud of it. I wanted to write something real without making a show of blaming one of the parts, at the same time I wanted to use and unreliable POV (Harry’s) and to bring forth all those very uncomfortable realities of jealousy, insecurity of one’s sexuality etc. in a way people could relate to. I’ve never imagined the response to this fic would be so nice, and many of the comments drove me to deep reflection. I’m specially happy about this fic because after writing ‘hear me’ something cracked open inside of me, in my own personal-romantic life and also in writing. Like a small miracle. And then, I couldn’t stop writing anymore.

Rebel Rebel: (Sirius/Remus. E, 5k) heh, Wolfstar is my OTP *-* So writing this tiny fic with ‘there was no war’ prompt for the sirius black fest was a bloody delight. The feeling of exploring their youth, in the early 80s and the whole atmosphere of that time was exhilarating! Bowie’s concerts, HIV+ and Aids, queer community and old school crushes. Giving them a future and professions was fun as fuck. But the best part was making Sirius Black fuck around, wild and free, you know. Because he bloody well deserved it. I love the writing style I explored there, very influenced by Caio Fernando Abreu, one of my favourite Brazilian writers and it was just great great fun!

Dragons Don’t Know Paradise: (Drarry + Wolfstar, E, 40k+ WIP) I need to post 3 more chapters along this next few days. I’m adding Dragons here because NEVER. IN. MY. LIFE I thought this story would come out of my head into the pages, and I’m so bloody happy, so bloody proud of myself. I cannot believe how much I’ve written in a month, about a plot that had some path in my head but never a shape, and how this all blossomed inside of me and how it’s coming out just brilliantly. I know I’ll think back at some point and think this and that are not great. But I think this fic is one of my best works, it deals with the queer community, with depression and acceptance, with HIV+ folk, and deep emotions. Everything I’ve ever dreamed of writing. And here it is, and writing it made me manage the fact that I wouldn’t be able to spend this xmas with my family, so I spent this last month with this characters and feeling the opposite of lonely. And to be able to write Harry having a family, you know, being raised by Remus and Sirius is just marvellous. I’m over the moon with wolfstar being great gaydads :D

Scorching: (Pansmione, E, 1.5k) first time I translated a Portuguese fic of mine to English. It was fun to do it, as it’s purely smutty smut and well, I love pansmione and it makes me greedy to go back to writing about this ship. I like how it turned out, but it’s not beta-ed so maybe it’s not great. But damn, I really like this Pansy. ^^

The Old Ways: (Voldemort/Walburga, M, 3k). So, I have a whole word document full of snippets on the Black family. As the Black family is my huge guilty pleasure (that’s why Tainara Black has been my pen name since 2005). I don’t like to think Walburga was only a mad pureblood bigoted woman, I like to think of her as being strongly magical and very sure of herself. Someone three-dimensional with knowledge of Dark magic of the old ways and a deep insanity that comes with legacy of pureness, but also with financial influence and management of old wizarding land. I realised Walburga is only 1 year older than Voldie, she is closest to his age than her husband or brother (if we follow the Balck Family Genealogical Tree), and this sparked a whole idea inside of me. So this fic is a character study of Walburga when Sirius is only 10 and Voldemort is organising a war, and I honestly think is one of my best fics (even though it wasn’t beta-ed). I loved writing about this powerful witch, that got stuck in keeping her bloodline alive, that gave up on great deeds of power and freedom to become a pureblood mother and wife. But it’s the fic no one reads, so I’m adding a bit of it here in hopes it may interest someone:

He climbs the last step of the noisy, rusty, winding stair, his eyes mapping the place in silent wonder. The rooftop is sombre. Rough grey cement floor and dead flower beds in a far corner, big dark clay pots with dead branches and dry bushes scattered around; the only living thing is an imposing carnivorous plant, it’s toothed lips opening and closing sharply around bugs and other insects.

She is right there, in the centre of the chaotic rooftop garden and he thinks the house is in shambles, and so is she. The moon is reflecting its cold brightness over her as if it were a stage light. He takes a second to contemplate her stance. He has never seen her like this before. It is such an incongruous sight it almost feels like he’s intruding. Is not a feeling he’s used to.

She’s perched in a high frail copper chair, her ankles crossed lightly, with pale bare feet against the dirty coarse floor, one white arm falling languidly from the armrest, her elegant fingers holding a thin long smoking pipe. Rings of smoke rising into the night sky. The back of her skull resting on the back of the chair, he can’t see her face from this angle, but he’s stunned by the imagery.

She looks almost mythical; with her long black mane messy and loose, barely touching the ground. He can’t remember when was the last time he’s seen her hair down, but he’s pretty sure it wasn’t that long, nor were there silver strikes colouring it in a mix of salt and pepper.

“How long do you plan to stare?” her voice is as rusty as the whole house and he scoffs.

keep reading

#my writing #my fics #tainara black #top five 2020

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perseusjackson-jasongrace · 4 years ago

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Day 6: “What book is that?”//”Is that smut?”

masterlist

non-descript, non-canon-compliant AU

Leo Valdez sighs as he stares at the gloomy weather taking over his Saturday. It seems that while winter is well and truly underway the sun would not be making an appearance, or at least it hadn’t for the last week. He looks back at the rough sketches he’s drawn for his practical assignment due after winter break and decides he’s worked hard enough for the day. Writing down measurements and ruling a few lines counted, right? He didn’t care. Heaving himself out of his chair he pulls up the socks that had slowly started slipping down and shoves his feet into his giant Yoda slippers that are truly a wonder and a disgrace in equal parts. His friends take turns wearing them and pretending to be everything from big foot to Yoda-crushers. He has a polaroid hall of fame behind his door.

As he trudges across the wooden floor of his apartment his mind wanders to the upcoming days and the time that stretches before him. His roommates are gone to their homes for the break but Leo, ever the orphan, was still stuck in their shared apartment, the weather and his lack of plans keeping him steadfast. He hops onto the kitchen counter and slides across it, landing on the other side in a smooth glide to the fridge. With a self-satisfied smirk he prepares a hot chocolate, laced with coffee because he doesn’t need a sleep schedule when he’s on holiday! He dances at the thought, slurping up a marshmallow and burning himself on the steaming mug.

A knock at the door interrupts his little moment. He glances at the time on the microwave and frowns as he sees 13:30 flashing on the little screen. Who would be here at this time? Everyone he knows is well on their way to family homes or tropical vacations. Stupid Piper and her stupid rich father. He should call her and check in. The knock sounds again and he hurries to open the door.

“Jackson?”

Percy looks up from his phone, a small smile tugging at full lips, “Hi Valdez, can i come in?”

Leo instantly moves aside, as his mind runs a mile a minute. It’s not unusual for Percy to pop around, considering they went to the same university and hung with the same people. It just seemed odd that he’d be here now. When he was supposed to be in New York.

“Is uh, is everything okay?”

That signature smirk takes over that lovely face and it makes his heart beat just a little faster. Well that’s a new reaction. “Everything is fine. I just wanted to come back before the semester reopened, so I could catch up on sleep and video games without Estelle trying to press every button.” His nose scrunches in what’s supposed to be irritation but the soft look in his eyes offsets the whole charade.

“Oh, well make yourself at home.” He gestures to the lounge, which looks relatively neat for once.

“Thanks,” Percy looks around, setting his keys on the kitchen counter and flopping onto the double couch. “Want to play a video game with me?”

“Sure, mind if i go shower first though? I kind of got distracted with school stuff and haven’t actually gotten any self-care stuff in.”

A laugh that reminds him of forest brooks, catches around the apartment. “Go shower, you hazard. I’ll wait for you.”

Sticking his tongue out at the jab he hops off to the bathroom, all the while thinking how nice it is to have a friend here. Even if that friend came back from two months of holiday with sun-kissed skin the colour of maple bark, and green eyes that twinkle as bright as the evening star. It’s never really been fair how gorgeous Percy Jackson was, with his whole skater boy-badass-saving the world-looking-out-for-the-little-people thing going on, but now he seems to be from another galaxy. One where they make humans out of gemstones. It is almost a shame he’s still dating Annabeth because Leo would happily set his heart on fire for a chance to be Percy’s flame. But no matter. He is allowed to appreciate without disrespecting.

His shower is quick and steaming as he tries to fight off the strange chill in the air. Soon he’s in a fresh pair of sweats and is running his fingers through damp, unruly curls to try to organise them into something that won’t resemble a bird’s nest when it dries. He doesn’t have much luck but at this point his interest is far below his luck. With a shrug in the mirror to make sure his top is on the right way- inside out, back-to-front shirts are a common occurrence- he pads across the cool wooden floors and into the lounge. There he finds Percy, sitting on the floor, back against the couch, with his nose buried in a kindle and the most adorable wire-framed glasses pushed up his nose.

Without saying anything he comes up behind him and settles himself on the couch. He knows his friend notices his presence because he shifts slightly so Leo can get comfortable and then settles back down. He sees two video games lying on the table and the controllers connected and waiting to be used. And then he glances down at the book Percy is reading, curiosity pressing on his lungs.

“What book is that?” He leans in closer, his curls brushing the balck-haired boy’s cheeks. ”Is- Is that smut?”

Instantly his friend blushes, skin turning a deep red. “N-no.” He stammers.

“It totally is.” Leo smirks, delighted by the recent discovery. “You trying to learn some tricks for Annabeth?”

“Oh my gods Valdez!” He blushes harder and it is possibly the cutest thing he has ever seen.

“Well there’s no need to be embarrassed. I think it’s very cool that you’re putting in the effort to try and impress your lady. I know Annabeth would love this, she’ll see it like studying.”

Percy drops his head into his hands and groans in embarrassment. It sets Leo off cackling with glee.

“Annabeth and I aren't together anymore.” His friend mumbles.

‘Wait what?”

“Yea she went halfway across the world and we felt it was better to break up, If we find each other again then so be it.”

“Holy shit are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?” The scandalous book is all but forgotten.

“No, I’m good.” When he sees Leo’s raised eyebrow he rolls his eyes. “I swear. I was a bit all over the place in the beginning but the holiday with my family and talking it over with my therapist really helped. Besides we didn’t lose all contact. She’s still my friend.”

“Okay,” He is still a little skeptical but he drops it. “Let me know if you ever want to talk.”

“Will do love.” And he goes back to reading.

But Leo sits there frozen in shock as he processes the words Percy had just said. Love, love, love. Oh gods. This little crush was turning into a big problem in his life.

“Want to play a video game now?” He asks a little too loudly.

The black-haired boy gives him a weird look but locks his Kindle and grabs the controllers from the table. “What am i beating you at Valdez?”

He scoffs, as he scrolls through the options, and then grins when he lands on the perfect one. “I’m going to absolutely crush you at Mario Kart.”

“Oof, wrong choice love. I’ve been playing this game since before i could talk.”

“Big words for a man who chooses Luigi over Princess Peach.”

“Hey don’t judge my avatar. Luigi is a beast.”

“He looks like the creepy brother who’s plumbing business is a front for the mob.”

“Good then at least you know not to mess with him.”

“Oh you are going down Jackson!”

The screen flashes with 3, 2, 1. And they’re off. Yelling obscenities at each other and slamming their little cars off the roads. Percy lands up in the ocean, and growls so loudly Leo is sure he has a stray animal in his apartment. But then a blue shell is hitting him and he’s the one making animalistic sounds, as he shoves Percy’s shoulder and zooms past Luigi’s car.

“I’m getting the family inheritance sucker!” He whoops as he crosses the finish line.

“Listen Mario. If i’m tied to the mob you’re tied to the mob so buckle up buddy, we got shit to do.” Green eyes flash, dark eyebrows knitting in faux seriousness and then they’re both keeling over with laughter.

Percy flings his head back and it hits the couch seat with a soft thud, but he’s too busy laughing to notice. Leo’s head falls forward until his curls are brushing his friend’s forehead and they are breathless with amusement.

“You’re a clown Jackson.” He whispers, still only centimeters away from beautiful brown skin. His lips a mere inch from brushing against the crease between those eyebrows

“At least i’m not Princess Peach.”

“Maybe you should be, and then you could actually win.”

“Oh you did not just say that!” He gasps, and Leo feels the intake against his knees, which are pressed to his back.

“Round two?”

“You’re on, mobster.”

And with a determined gleam in those green eyes they race into another round. And Leo thinks, maybe this is what paradise feels like. And Percy laughs as he releases a blue shell. And Leo knows this is what happiness looks like.

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

Tags:

@spoopylucy

@leydiangelo

@nishlicious-01

#valjackson #pjjg series #pjjg fanfic #12 days of fanfics #percy jackson #leo valdez

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lilacyennefer · 4 years ago

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Finally, Beautiful Stranger Chapter 13

A/N: I know, it's been way too long. But here it is now, so enjoy!!

TW: SMUT, mention of alcohol

You wake up to feeling two strong arms wrapped around you, and an equally strong body pressed against your own. It’s Saturday morning, so this means neither you or Will have to be anywhere, which means you can enjoy a lazy morning. You shift a little and you feel Will pulling you closer to himself, kissing your cheek softly.

“Good morning beautiful.” Will whispers into your ear, and you smile.

“Good morning handsome.” You murmur. You turn to lay your head on Will’s chest and you throw a leg over his.

“Can we just stay like this all day?” You ask.

“That would be great, but we have parties to attend tonight.” Will reminds you of your bachelor and bachelorette parties.

“Fuck, I forgot about that.” You mutter into his chest.

“We still can cancel it.” You turn your head to look at Will for the first time this morning.

“You really don’t want this, huh?” Will frowns.

“I still don't know how Ben managed to convince me to have one.”

“It’s simple, you love your brother and you’d do anything for him.”

“I guess.” Will mutters. You keep looking at him, you just woke up, but he’s already grumpy thinking about his party, which isn’t a party really, just him and Benny going to a pub to have some drinks.

“Listen, Will. If you really don’t want to do this, then don’t do it.”

“But Ben…”

“Ben will understand.” Will frowns again before he replies.

“I’ll think about it.” You move closer to Will’s face and you kiss him softly on the lips.

“I don’t want you to do something what you don’t want.” You whisper against his lips, his beard slightly tickles your lips.

“I know.” He replies. You smile gently at him.

“Now let’s do something about this grumpiness.” You tease Will, and he lets out a snort.

“I’m not grumpy.”

“You kinda are. But I love that about you.”

“You love when I’m grumpy?” Will looks at you surprised.

“There’s something sexy about it.” You nod.

“Is that so?” Will’s voice got deeper than it was seconds ago, you know this voice and you know when he’s using it.

“Yes.” You whisper “I always think that you’re sexy.” Will turns and now he’s on the top of you, you spear your legs so he’s between them, your naked bodies are pressed together.

“What else do you love about me?” Will asks as he sinks lower on you, his hardening cock is pressed against your stomach.

“Everything.” You say sweetly.

“Everything huh?

“Everything.” You tell him and kiss him. You move your hips to grind against his thigh and Will does the same, he grinds himself to your stomach. You keep making out and humping each other, then Will slips a hand between your spread legs into your wetness. First, he just touches your clit, then he goes lower to collect your wetness and he goes back to your bud, spreading your juice over you, then circling your clit with his fingers. You moan his name, and Will slips two fingers into you, curling them to touch your favourite spot. He licks and sucks your nipples while his fingers are deep inside of you, and his thumb flicking your clit. You grab the sheets in your hands and moan loudly as you cum suddenly.

“Fuck.” You whisper and Will snorts. You open your eyes to look at him and you see Will looking at you with such love and admiration it makes your heart skip a beat. “Come here you gorgeous man.” You whisper and Will chuckles before he spreads your legs wider and places his throbbing erection to your opening, and he slowly pushes into you while looking into your eyes. You sigh and close your eyes when he’s inside of you completely, you had sex with Will many, many times during the time you’re together with him, but you don’t think you ever will get used to his size.

You wrap your legs and arms around Will tightly to hold him close as he starts to move, slowly, as he makes love to you. You run your hands all over his back, feeling his muscles move under his soft skin with every thrust of his, pushing you and himself closer to your orgasms. Will whispers your name as his movements get sloppier, and the fire in your belly gets more and more intense, both of you are close to your release.

“Will.” you whine, and Will mutters something incoherent before he slips a hand between your bodies to massage your clit. Your whole body jerks as electricity runs through you from Will’s touch, then both of you dissolve into pleasure, moaning each other’s name.

Will slowly pulls out of you and lays down next to you, you turn to cuddle him just the way you did before.

“You are amazing.” Will murmurs into your hair, then kisses your forehead.

“Thank you.” you joke, and Will lets out a snort.

__________

You spent most of the day in bed, or on the couch eating and watching documentaries, but at one point you started getting ready for your party. You put on a small balck dress and a black heels, you did your hair and makeup.

“Wow!!” Will says when you walk to the living room where he currently is, waiting for Benny.

“You’re breathtaking.” he compliments.

“Thank you!” you kiss his cheek carefully, not wanting to mess up your makeup. You hear the doorbell ring and you walk to the door to open it, seeing Benny standing in there. He does a double take when he sees you, his jaw is on the floor.

“Well, well, look at you, Iz.” he says as he steps into the house, heading to the living room. “You look like a full course meal, darling.” Benny flirts with you.

“You don’t look bad either, Benjamin.” you wink at him. He licks his lips as he rests his eyes on your legs.

“I might have to steal you from my brother.” Ben jokes.

“I doubt you could satisfy my needs, Benny boy.” your reply earns a big laugh from Will, who has been listening to your conversation. Will alway loved the relationship you and Benny had, he never minded the two of you flirting innocently, because he fully knew it was only a joke for both of you, and your flirting sessions with Ben always ended up with you roasting him, which Will loved even more.

You heard a car honk outside and you know it’s your cab waiting for you.

“I have to go.” you say as you wrap your arms around Will, hugging him as you say goodbye.

“You take care of him!” you point a finger at Ben.

“Yes ma’am.” he grins.

“And you have fun!” you point at Will before you leave to your party.

_________

You’re between being tipsy and drunk when you get out of the cab, heading towards the front door. You barely could open the door in your half drunken state, and you stumble into the living room.

“Fuck!” you yell loudly and jump when you see Will sitting in the living room, watching some documentary on tv. You didn’t notice he was at home, although the turned on lights should’ve been an obvious warning.

“You’re home early.” you say as you walk into the kitchen.

“It’s 2am.” Will states, and you just reply with an ‘oh’.

“Did you have fun?” you ask Will as you pour a glass of water.

“It was okay. Benny hooked up with a girl so I came home early.”

“I’m sorry.” you frown.

“Don’t be, I never really wanted this anyway.” he says as he steps behind you, pulling you close to himself. “But there’s certainly something what I really want right now.”

You turn around to face Will, his eyes are full of lust “And what’s that?”

“You.” he says and picks you up suddenly and puts you on the kitchen counter, kissing you hard. You wrap your legs around his hips and pull Will closer with your legs, your hand is in his hair, keeping him close as you kiss hungrily.

“Ever since I saw you in this dress and heels all I could think is fucking you.” Will growled. You could feel yourself get soaking wet from his words, you’re getting excited with want.

“Fuck me hard, Will.” you purr, and he smashes his lips against yours, teeth clicking. You rip Will’s shirt off of him and push his pants down, you rake your nails across his stomach as you go lower, taking his cock into your hand, you pump him a few times before you pull his foreskin back to expose his head, intensifying Will’s pleasure as you run your thumb over his reddened tip. Will lets out an animalistic groan, and he shows his hand between your spread legs, touching you through your lace panties before he pulls them aside to slip two fingers into you without a warning. You jolt from the sudden feeling, but you let out a gasp, and Will doesn’t give you much time to adjust before he curls his fingers and starts fingering you, moving faster and faster. Your eyes roll back as you throw your head back with a loud moan of Will’s name, but before you could come he pulled his fingers out of you and showed them into your mouth, making you suck your wetness off of his fingers. Will inhales sharply as you suck his fingers just the way you would do with his cock, your eyes never leaving his as your mouth is wrapped around his fingers, tongue running over them.

“That’s it.” Will groans and pulls his fingers out of your mouth, then he grabs his cock and places it to your entrance, burying himself deep inside you with one hard trust. Just like with his fingers, he doesn’t give you time to adjust either, he starts fucking you frantically, his fingers digging into your hips, holding you in place as he fucks you.

Your intercourses with Will are mostly gentle, love making, you rarely fuck as hard as you do now, but god when you do, it feels so sinfully good.

Will wraps your hair around his wrist and pulls your hair hard, making you whine and throw your head back, and giving him access to your neck. Will nuzzles his nose into your neck first, then he bites you hard, making you cry out what ends up in a breathy moan as Will runs his tongue gently over the area he just bit.

You grab Will’s back, desperately trying to hold onto something as pleasure is intensifying inside of you, you scratch your nails down his back as you explode around him, hard. It doesn’t take long for Will to follow you, you can feel him pulsing inside of you as he cums.

Neither of you move as you try to calm down, Will is still deep inside of you as you hug each other in your post orgasmic state.

“C’mon let’s go to bed.” Will whispers after a long time, you’re too tired to do anything else than just nod. You let Will pick you up and carry you to the bedroom, undressing you and cleaning you with a wet towel, then he washed your makeup off and put a comfortable underwear on you and one of his shirts what he knows you love before he tuck you in bed.

Tag list: @innerpaperexpertcloud @lady-evans @agirllovespasta @mheart27 @claudiahxrdy @oldstuffnewstuff @keithseabrook27 @alexa-rae-dreamz @minnicelli

#charlie hunnam #Will Miller #Will Miller fanfiction #Will Miller x reader #triple frontier #triple frontier fanfic

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nothingeverlost · 4 years ago

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The One You’re Born into and the One You Find (Marauder Era HP fic)

Thing I was not planning to do this week: write 10,000 words about Sirius Black. He’s an insistent muse, though, so a little drabble about him and Andromeda talking as now a full blown fic about the time Sirius ran away from home.

Summery: Sirius runs away and finds out something about home.

Warnings for references to abuse/torture.

It’s two days before Christmas when Sirius Black leaves Grimmauld Place for the last time. His first impulse is to go to the Potter home, but he can’t, not with his mother’s voice in his head, the threats and ugly things she’s said. He can’t risk that she might follow through with her promises. It’s not safe. Besides, James would owl Peter and Remus, and he needs to keep them safe too.

Perhaps it would be best to take a room above the Three Broomsticks, but after a week of cold silence from his family he can’t take any more isolation. There’s only one place he can think of to go.

“Sirius?” Warm light floods the front stoop when the door opens. In the doorway stands his cousin, the only person that might understand what it means to be a disinherited Black.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a sofa I could crash on for a day or two, would you ‘Dromeda?” They’ve barely talked in years; the last time was the summer before Fifth year when they both happened to be at Diagon Alley. He’d been with his friends, his parents not wanting to be seen with their son who was buying a new Gryffindor uniform, ‘Dromda with her husband. He’d been eight when she’d been struck off the family tree, but she would always be his favorite cousin. His only cousin, now.

“Nonsense. You’ll take the guest room. I hope your silencing charms are up to par; our Nymphadora is an early riser.” She holds the door open wide for him, enough so he can levitate his trunk into the house. He’s not sure about accepting the room, though.

“Mother is going to be angry if she finds out you took me in. I really only need a day or two so I can figure things out.” He needs a lot more than a couple of days but he wasn’t about to ask for more. It isn’t fair to her.

“Auntie has been angry with me for almost a decade now. I’m a blood traitor, after all. It doesn’t get much worse than marrying a muggle-born. You’ll stay as long as you need.” Andromeda doesn’t roll her eyes, she wouldn’t stoop to something so immature, but Sirius can almost see it anyway. “Now shut the door behind you and come into the kitchen. Ted is cleaning up but there’s plenty of leftovers and I’m sure you’re hungry. Left before dinner, didn’t you?”

“During, but I didn’t eat anything.” There had been company, people that made Sirius’s skin crawl. His father had spoken so casually of his son joining The Cause, only debating if he should wait to finish his education or begin during the coming summer. Perhaps, Orion Balck had speculated, his position in Gryffindor could end up being a blessing in disguise. No one would expect a Death Eater under the scarlet and gold robes.

“You’re in luck. Ted made his beef stew and it’s just the thing for a cold evening like this.” She doesn’t say, but they both understand, that ‘cold’ refers to more than the weather. “Ted, my love, we’ve company.”

“Cousin Sirius, what a treat. Welcome.” Sirius is surprised by the warm welcome and the following hug. Perhaps he shouldn’t be; Ted Tonks is a muggle and a Hufflepuff, after all, but the only person he knows who is so open is James.

“Do you mind reheating some of your stew, Ted? Siri hasn’t had dinner. I’ll put Dora to bed.”

“Her hair is pink.” Sirius has almost forgotten that there was a kid. His family doesn’t acknowledge the marriage let alone the child, and kids aren’t really his thing. He can’t remember the last time he’s seen a kid younger than eleven. Andromeda’s daughter is a lot smaller than a first year. Not as shy as they were either, as she climbs up on a chair to get a better look at the stranger in her house.

“Play?’ Sirius is pretty sure the tips of her hair darkened.

“Nymphadora, this is your cousin Sirius. You can play with him tomorrow but now it’s time for bed.”

“See-us.” The little girl wrinkles up her nose as she tests out the name. “See-e-us.”

“My friends call me Padfoot sometimes.” It might be easier to say. No one in his family considered easy names, it seemed. Not ever his cousin. Nymphadora, really?

“Padfoot play?” She spreads her arms and jumps, leaving Sirius with no choice but to catch her. She is a little thing, with less force than a bludger, but she squirms a lot.

“Tomorrow,” Andromeda says firmly, helping to free Sirius from arms that seemed to be longer than they should be. “I’ll be back down after storytime, Sirius. Don’t worry about your trunk, I’ll take it up to your room. Ted will show you where the drinks are. There might even be a bit of firewhiskey to add to the butterbeer.”

His mother would be horrified to see him eating in the kitchen like a common person or a house elf. The Tonks kitchen is a warm and comfortable room, though, and Sirius is glad to sit with Ted, who is keeping an eye on the cleaning charms. They share a drink and Sirius empties a bowl of stew and accepts the second helping Ted gives him It wasn’t like the food was bad at Grimmauld Place; it was the company that robbed him of his appetite. He is too used to laughter and teasing and camaraderie as he eats with his mates at school, and out of practice choking down food under his mother’s sour expression and his father’s ranting.

“I’m sorry to spring this on you, Ted.” He is halfway through his second bowl when he finally looks up at his companion. He doesn’t know much about the man, other than the fact he was muggle-born, a Hufflepuff, and married to his cousin.

“Nonsense, you’re family. It’s a rare treat for Andi to get to have family around. You know what it’s like.” Ted frowns.

“She’s lucky she got out when she did.” Just this past summer the engagement between Cisssa and Malfoy had been announced. The only good thing Sirius could say is that he wasn’t quite as disgusting as Bella’s husband. The talk of pure blood had gotten worse at family dinners and words like ‘cleanse’ and ‘purify’ were tossed around more. “They don’t bother you, do they?”

“Ignore us completely, which is probably for the best. It’s not easy on Andi when we run into any of them in public, though. We saw Narcissa when we were at Gringotts last and she wouldn’t even look at our Dora. I don’t think Bellatrix has even seen her.”

“Best to keep it that way. She’s gone mental. More mental than she used to be. And her husband…” Sirius bites his tongue to keep from saying more. He didn’t need to talk about Rabistan LeStrange. Didn’t need to think about him, or what he was capable of. One time alone with the man had been one time too many; he still had bruises on his arm from their ‘conversation’ three days ago. “If you’re lucky they’ll forget about you completely.”

“Your turn, Ted. Dora’s tucked in and ready for her story.” Sirius is almost done with his second bowl of stew when Andromeda comes down, turning off the water in the sink as the last of the dishes dry themselves. She settles into the seat her husband had occupied moments ago. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“What’s the point? It’s over and I’m never going back. I’ve probably been blasted off that damn tapestry already.” It had been his mother’s last threat as he’d left as if the worst thing that could happen was being disowned by the family that hated not only him but everything he cared about.

“Walking away from family isn’t that easy. I know.” For a moment she looks lost in memories before shaking her head.

“Family doesn’t…” Sirius clenches his hands around the edge of the table. He doesn’t talk about the things that happened in his home, not even to James. Andromeda would understand more than anyone else, but that doesn’t make it easier to speak. “They’re not my family. I have James and Remus and Peter.”

“You have me and Ted too.” Andromeda reaches across the table and covers one of his hands with her own. “It’s two more weeks until term starts. You’ll stay here and we can take you to the train.”

“I wasn’t planning on staying that long.” He hasn’t planned anything but thought perhaps he might be able to leave for school sooner. Hogwarts would be safe.

“You’re staying. It’s Christmas, Sirius. And if you’re worried about earning your keep you don’t have to worry. Dora will adore having a new friend and you can pay us back in imaginary tea parties.”

Exhausted, Sirius falls asleep almost the moment he turns off the light in the guest bedroom. It doesn’t last; a few hours later he comes awake abruptly, gasping his way out of a dream. He fumbles for his wand, casting a ‘Lumos’ as he sits up. He needs to be sure he doesn’t fall asleep again, not while the dream slithers inside his mind.

He barely noticed the bedroom when his cousin had escorted him up, beyond noting that his trunk was under the window. Everything he owned was in his trunk, and he only had that much because he’d never unpacked it when he’d gotten home for winter hols. He’d gone up, grabbed it and his broom, and had been heading for the front door before anyone could stop him. There hadn’t been any time to get Freddie, his owl, from the family owlery. He hoped his mother didn’t take out any of her anger on poor Freddie.

The room, now that he can focus better, is as different as it was possible to be from the bedroom he’d abandon hours ago. Instead of grey walls and antique furniture that had been passed down for generations, the walls were painted a pale yellow and the bed was new. The quilt he’d been sleeping under seemed handmade, a patchwork of mismatched colors that would never earn his mother’s approval. On the wall across from the bed is a painting of the shore, waves gently lapping at the sand. It reminds him of a trip he’d taken with the Potters the summer between fourth and fifth years; Remus had joined them as well, though Peter hadn’t been allowed to come. It wasn’t home - the only home he knew being his dorm at Hogwarts - but it was a cheerful and cozy space.

He hoped his presence didn’t make it an unsafe place. While his mother had been the loudest with her threats it was harder to guess what recourse his father might take. Or his father’s friends. He would run again if he needed to. Sirius resolved not to unpack his trunk in case any threats were made. If anyone in his family so much as sent an owl he’d be off.

It’s dark outside his bedroom window, enough that he can’t make out anything in the back garden. The moon wasn’t much more than a sliver, which was good. It would be two weeks until Remus would need him. If he was still with Andromeda and Ted by then he could make an excuse for going back to school early. Until then he would lie low and hope that his family decided he was no longer worth any of their time.

After an hour of trying to go back to sleep, Sirius transforms and curls up at the foot of the bed. Sometimes it is easier to sleep for a few hours as Padfoot; he would just have to hope his cousin didn’t ask about the black fur.

Someone is trying to suffocate him. His mouth is covered, his lungs straining for want of oxygen. He can hear Bella’s laughter and see the cold steel of his mother’s eyes. Behind her, Regulus looked ill.

“Ge-off,” Sirius struggles to open his mouth, to take in a breath, and almost chokes on a piece of bacon. He blinks and opens his eyes to find that he isn’t in Grimmauld Place. He’s in Andromeda’s guest room, and he is chewing on a piece of bacon.

“Breakfast.” Nymphadora’s hair is blue this morning and she is holding out a piece of bacon between two chubby fingers. “Welcome.”

“Thank you?” He can’t think of anything else to say. Waking up to find a kid staring at him is odd, but it was a million times better than anything that had happened the day before.

“Dora, where are you?” The door to the hallway is open; apparently the kid was old enough to open doors because Sirius had closed it the night before. He can’t sleep when a door is open, it felt too vulnerable. At home he locked the door, even knowing that wouldn’t really stop anyone. At school he was grateful for the curtains around the bed. Here the door was now open and Ted was coming in, shaking his head. “Sorry about that, mate. Did she wake you?”

“I’d rather be awake.” Memories weren’t quite as bad as dreams.

“Breakfast is ready if you’d like to join us, I promise you can eat at your own pace, and not worry about this little scamp trying to feed you more. You’re lucky it was just bacon. She might have decided you were thirsty.” Ted grins, an easy expression that reminds him a little of James. His best friend’s smile comes easily too. Sirius wonders if Ted’s parents were also as wonderful as the Potters.

“I’ll be down in a minute.” He’s only slept in his pants and waits until Ted had scooped up his daughter and taken her out of the room, closing the door behind him, before getting out of bed so he could dress.

Breakfast was as good as any meal he’d had at Hogwarts. Ted, apparently, did all the cooking in the family. His cousin had learned as much cooking as he had, which meant nothing at all. Pureblood snobs were supposed to have house elves to tend to their needs, rather than actually learning anything practical. Ted cooked the muggle way, and his scones were good enough that Sirius had three. He eats some bacon too, as well as quiche.

His plan for the day is to hole up in the guest room. It was Christmas Eve and he didn’t want to interfere with the holiday for his cousin’s family. Christmas wasn’t a big deal anyway; he loves the traditions he shares with his friends before the holidays but generally spent the day itself being miserable. Andromeda has other ideas.

Once breakfast is over and the dishes are put away she pulls out flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and a mass of sprinkles. Sirius somehow finds himself rolling out dough and cutting out cookies, often with the ‘help’ of Dora. Once the first batch cooled he is in charge of frosting while Dora added three times as many sprinkles as anyone would call normal. Somehow there was frosting in his hair and he is certain that his fingers would be red and green for longer than they were the last time he’d ‘accidentally’ snuck dye into James’s shampoo, but it is the most fun he’s had on a Christmas Eve in years. When he makes one of the frosted snowmen dance across the table Dora laughs and then viciously bites his head off. It was then that Andromeda decides it is time for Dora’s nap.

While Andromeda is putting her daughter down for a nap Sirius takes the opportunity to escape. No matter what they say Ted and Andromeda deserved to have at least part of the day to themselves, and he can use a walk. When staying with his parents long walks were about the only thing that kept him sane. The walls of his childhood home were oppressive on the best of days. Dangerous on the worst. His cousin’s house was nowhere near the old neighborhood where his parents live, but the moment he’s gone a few blocks from the house he realizes how exposed he is. If anyone sees him it wouldn’t be hard to make the connection to the Tonks family. On his own he doesn’t have anyone to watch his back and it would be easy enough for a couple of people to drag him home. Would his father have any interest in forcing him home? Making him bow and scrape, making him swear an oath of fidelity?

“I’m not going back there,” he swears to himself, walking faster. He looks at each alley he passes, half expecting to see someone he should fear, half looking for a plan of escape. All he would need was a moment out of sight; no one would know to look for Padfoot once he transformed.

“Sirius?” At the sound of his name he turns, wand already raised and a disarming spell on his lips.

“Thought that was you.” Frank Longbottom looks curiously at his wand but shrugs. “Don’t usually see you on this side of town, mate. Enjoying your holiday?”

“It’s alright. Just stopped by to see a friend,” he lies. Fortunately, he has a lot of practice at lying. Frank is a nice enough sort, a year ahead of him in school. Rumor was he was all set for the Auror program after graduation. That didn’t mean that Sirius was about to trust him completely. He didn’t trust anyone completely except the Mauraders.

“Alice lives around the corner. We had lunch with the family. Her dad has to warm to me eventually, or at least that’s the hope. Not so pleased about the half muggle status, that one.”

“Screw him,” Sirius growls with more force than he meant. He is so tired of the hate against muggle-borns, half muggles, and his most hated word, ‘half breeds.’ His father was of the opinion that the only good werewolf was either a dead one or a vicious pet, and had talked at length during Tuesday night’s dinner about a need for more regulations to protect against monsters. His father’s definition of a monster is very different from his own.

“It’s important to Alice.” Frank was so mild-mannered it was sometimes a surprise that he was a Gryffindor. Then again Pete was pretty affable too. He’d seen Frank’s reaction, though, when a Slytherin was scaring a first-year Hufflepuff. Frank hadn’t been mild-mannered then. “He’s not a bad bloke, just set in his ways. Not like, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” Not like his family or the loony bin they kept marrying into. Still, he had no patience for any of it. It didn’t matter if he’d never met Mr. Fortesque, he already didn’t like the man.

They walk a bit farther, not talking of anything important until they reached a row of muggle shops and Sirius mentions stopping to pick out some gifts.

“A bit last minute, aren’t you Sirius?” Frank teases.

“Same way I get my essays done,” he says with a shrug. The truth is he spent as much time plotting his gifts as he did some of his most elaborate pranks, and he’d gotten gifts for his fellow Marauders before school had even started. Other than sending something to James’s parents they were the only gifts he had to worry about. Even in better days his parents had not held with gifts for Christmas. He’d be a prat if he didn’t at least have something under the tree for his cousins this year, though. Fortunately he still had some muggle money from a trip to muggle London he and James had gone on during the summer.

He returns to Andromeda’s an hour later with a cookbook for Ted by a muggle named Julia Childs that the shopkeep had assured him anyone who liked cooking would enjoy and a stuffed dog for the sprog. It was black and not unlike his own secret form, which amused him. His cousin was harder, but when he’d walked past an antique shop he’d found a little painting of an owl. It looked like the one Andromeda had when she was a girl; Sirius could remember visiting and seeing his cousin petting the bird, whispering to it softly. Bella had rolled her eyes. It was a muggle painting so it didn’t move, but Sirius thought Andromeda might at least appreciate the sentiment.

“Sirius Black what do you mean by vanishing for hours without even saying that you’re leaving?” Andromeda is every inch a Black when she appears in the hall just moments after he enters the house. Her jaw is firmly set, chin lifted at just the right angle to make it feel like she looked down her nose at him despite being half a head shorter. For a moment he is reminded of her mother, and then his own.

Shite.

“I thought you could use some time without an intruder around. Christmas Eve traditions and all that.” It had started snowing as he’d walked back from the shops. Sirius tries to distract himself by brushing the snow off one shoulder. Regulus had given him the same look that Andromeda was giving him now, just a few days ago when he’d said the only right side of any fight was standing against everything the family stood for.

“Great. Lovely. So I guess if my sister’s friends had seen you and decided to hex you into the new year it wouldn’t have mattered to me because at least I had a nice afternoon away from my ungrateful little cousin?” She glares at him in a way he hadn’t seen since he’d been seven and had used the essay she’d left in the study to make paper airplanes that had magically flown themselves.

“I wouldn’t tell anyone you let me stay here.” He’s had enough experience with Cruciatus to know that he would be able to keep at least that secret.

“You think that’s what concerns me?” she asks incredulously before her crossed arms fall to her side and she deflates. “Merlin, they did a number on us, didn’t they? Our family. Toujours pur but jamais fidèle. I was worried about you, Siri. You haven’t told me what happened but I know enough the guess. I’m not totally unaware of what’s happening with my sisters and their social circle.”

“I know how to take care of myself.” For a moment he hears the shadow of another argument, weeks earlier with Remus. They had been fighting about the full moon and returning to school early so they could be there for him. He tells himself it’s not the same thing.

“Of course you do. Another lesson we learned well.” Andromeda takes a step forward and brushes the snow off his other shoulder. “I know family is a pretty complicated word for both of us but you are my family Sirius. I care what happens to you.”

“Does it ever get easier?” He wants to ask if he would always hate them this much. If he would always carry around the hard ball of anger that sometimes threatened to choke him. Would he always feel the guilt in leaving Reggie behind, not even trying to stop him from becoming the son his father wanted? Would he ever stop mourning the family he never had? He has a hundred questions but doubts there are really any answers.

“I remember when I heard you’d been sorted into Griffindor. Auntie was so angry. There was talk of sending you to Durmstrang, but they decided against it because of the way it might look. The first time I saw you that winter you were in Zonko’s with your mate James, and you were laughing. I don’t know how you’d gotten permission to be there without your parents but you looked so happy. I knew then that the sorting hat had changed something that couldn’t be changed back. I think it’s already better. It doesn’t go away, we can’t change where we came from, but it’s better than what could have been.”

“I remember that trip. Mum thought the Potter connection could be useful.” The Potters were purebloods, and rich, but in every other way as different from the Blacks as it was possible to be. “You brought us ice creams after the joke shop.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to do that more often.”

“Mum would have hated knowing we spent any time together.” He’d missed his cousin, but there had always been an extra thrill knowing his mother would disapprove. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left without saying anything.”

“You’re wanted here, alright?” They don’t hug, not in their family, but Sirus has learned it from his mates and Andromeda from her husband. It is a quick hug, but heartfelt. Afterwards Sirius drops his packages off under the tree and finds that on the mantle there was now a fourth stocking, one with his name on it.

Christmas is a quiet day, or as quiet as it can be when a three-year-old has a newly acquired broom that hovers a foot off the floor. The stuffed dog he’s picked out, who somehow has been dubbed ‘Spot’ despite being solid black, has a place of honor on the broom and only falls off six times. The snow from the night before has left a fresh powder on the ground, and the afternoon is spent building a snowman that briefly joins them in an animated game of tag thanks to some clever wand work from Andromeda.

To say it is the best Christmas Day he’s ever had isn’t saying a lot, considering what Christmas is like in his family. It is more than a good Christmas, it is a good day. When he watches Dora feed her stuffed dog invisible hot chocolate he can’t help wondering what it would have been to grow up in a family that saw children as something other than an obligation to continue the family line.

“Would you care for a cup of chocolate that’s not invisible?” Andromeda asks once her daughter’s attention is drawn away from their ‘tea’ party. Ted is giving her hippogriff rides.

“Yeah.” He follows her into the kitchen, leaning against the counter while she melts a bar of Honeyduke’s finest into simmering milk. Moony would approve.

“I remember getting my first broom.” His hadn’t been a toy. His parents didn’t believe in toys.

“If memory serves you were six, and the first thing you did was try to stand up on it.” Andromeda laughs as she stirs the chocolate, adding vanilla and a pinch of salt.

“They locked it up for a month after that, until I could promise to be more respectful.” He’d only learned to be more careful, waiting until he was out of view before practicing loops and dives and quidditch moves. It had been his first taste of freedom.

“Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t met Ted. Would I have ever defied the family or would I just have accepted it as my lot? But I never wondered about you, Sirius. Worried, but never doubted that you were meant for something else.”

“You never would have stayed. You’re too good for them.”

The letter comes during breakfast on boxing day. Sirius is so focused on the red envelope that he doesn’t notice the owl at all. He’s been expecting at least a letter for three days now, and his only thought is to snatch the letter and get up to his room before it explodes in his mother’s amplified and shrill voice. No one else needs to hear the hate in her voice.

He is too slow, or the letter is faster than usual. He’s barely taken it from the owl and stood from his chair when it begins to shake. It grows in size, shaking and looking like a firework about to explode before it bursts open.

SIRIUS ORION BLACK YOU GREAT GIT WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?

It takes Sirius a moment to realize that the shooting that fills the small kitchen is not his mother, but his best friend.

YOU HAVE NOT ANSWERED MY OWLS FOR THREE DAYS. I EVEN TRIED FLOOING TO YOUR HOUSE BUT THAT CREEPY HOUSE ELF OF YOUR MOTHER’S ONLY SAID THAT HER MISTRESS HAD GOTTEN RID OF YOU. I’M WORRIED PADFOOT. MUM AND DAD ARE WORRIED. RUMUS SENT ME AN OWL BECAUSE HE THOUGHT MAYBE WE SHOULD TRY GOING TO YOUR HOUSE TO SEE YOU.

“No.” Sirius stares in horror at the envelope as if it can hear him. Remus can’t go anywhere near Grimmauld Place. He’s only let James come once and that was bad enough but at least James comes from a wizarding family almost as old as the Blacks.

RUMUS IS STRESSED ABOUT YOU AND YOU KNOW WHAT HE’S LIKE WHEN HE’S STRESSED. IF WE DON’T HERE FROM YOU IN AN HOUR I AM SENDING HIM AN OWL BACK AND WE ARE GOING TO MAKE A PLAN.

A moment later the howler tears itself to pieces, the confetti burning like ash. The only thing left was the echo in his ears.

“I can’t let Remus go to Grimmauld Place.” He looks at Andromeda.

“Bloody git.” Dora waves a bit of pancake around on the end of her fork, apparently amused by the howler. “Great bloody git.”

“Those are not words for little girls, my love. They’re words for grown-ups who have to deal with problems.” Ted reaches over and picks Dora up from her seat, balancing her on his knee and distracting her with a floating grape. Sirius knows he should probably apologize, but all he can think about is Remus showing up at his parents’ door and them somehow seeing in an instant what it took him two years to figure out.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for any of your friends, but at least if they’re looking for you it rules them out as anyone who knows where you are. It might protect them in the long run.” Andromeda stirs her tea carefully. “Remus is the quieter lad, isn’t he? The one with the nice manners.”

Sirius nods, afraid to open his mouth and say anything about Remus, afraid he might say too much and spill secrets that aren’t his to tell. It has taken months to recover from the Snape Incident. All he knows is that he has to stop any of his friends, but Remus especially, from confronting his parents. The things the Black Family would do if they knew they had a werewolf in their home were unspeakable. “I need to borrow your floo.”

“The floo powder is on the mantle where the stockings were. You’ll let me know if you’re not home for dinner, won’t you?” Sirius nods his promise.

“Your friends are welcome to tea. We’re having bangers and mash,” Ted adds supportively as Sirius carries his dishes to the sink.

“Padfoot play?” Dora asks as he leaves the kitchen. He hopes she won’t be too upset that he’s ignored her request.

A minute later he is in the Potters’ library, startling Fleamont Potter from his post-breakfast nap. A newspaper half covers his face but he pushes it away as he sits up. “Sirius my lad, what a relief. James will feel so much better when he sees you. Last I checked he was pacing the front hall.”

“I’ll go find him.” At least he hadn’t dashed off and done anything stupid; that was Sirius’s job. He doesn’t have far to go far; after walking through the library door he is tackled and might have fallen if he wasn’t so used to the surprise attacks of James Potter. This one involved a hug he couldn’t have escaped if he wanted to. He doesn’t want to.

“If I wasn’t so happy to see you Padfoot I’d punch you and then lock you in a small dark room. Where have you been?” James’ hair was messier than usual, standing on end where he tugged on it when he was nervous or frustrated. The fact that he was wearing shoes was alarming; when he was at home his feet were always bare, so he really was planning on going somewhere. Sirius hates thinking about where that place might have been.

“I’m alright, Prongs.” There is no person on the entire earth that he trusts more than James Potter. His reluctance to mention his cousin was not out of worry.

“Not one peep yesterday from you. Even first year you popped in to say Merry Christmas and last year you came for almost two hours after you got yourself kicked out of dinner. I kept my mirror with me all day yesterday and nothing from you. When I popped into your kitchen the house-elf said…”

“I left.” He shrugs as if it doesn’t mean anything.

“What do you mean, you left? Left the house on Christmas? Can’t imagine that made your mum happy.”

“I left a couple of days ago, actually, and I don’t give a toss what my mother thinks.” He looks down at his shoes, noticing that there was a scuff mark on the left one. “I’m not going back there.”

“What did they do?” His best friend’s voice sounds like fire. Sirius knows that James would go to war against the whole Black family without a single hesitation if he thought that they had hurt Sirius. It is the reason he keeps the worst stories to himself, to protect James. Remus knows more, whispered confidences in the black of night when neither of them can sleep. After all, Remus has his own monsters and knows something about enemies being bred into your blood.

“I’m not going to be one of them, and hate who they tell me to hate, and fight who they tell me to fight.” Rudolphus and Bella have matching tattoos on their arm. At first he’d thought they were a warped couple sort of thing, but then he’d seen the same mark on Narcissa’s finance, and the slithering edge of black ink on his father’s arm when his sleeve hitched up a little.

“Of course you’re not.” James smiles a little, just for a moment, before the smile fades. “Hold up, you said days ago. Where have you been since you left? Pete would have said if you’d been at his place and I know you haven’t seen Remus. Please tell me you haven’t done anything naff like sleep on a bench or take a room at Three Broomsticks.”

“I need to lie low for a bit. I am somewhere safe, I promise.” His mother’s threats ring in his ear, promising that no one that dared offer him sanctuary would be safe.

“You’re safe here.” James snakes a hand around his wrist, dragging him towards the back of the house. “Mum,” he shouts.

“It’s not about my safety.” When the kitchen proves empty James pulls him to the backdoor, through the snowy yard to the greenhouse that is always warm and humid no matter the weather. In the center of the space is a pond where lotus float. Euphemia Potter is kneeling beside her herb bed.

“Mum, Sirius showed up finally and he’s run away from home so he needs a place to stay. He can have the room next to mine, right? Dad can figure out how to handle the guardian stuff so you can sign his school papers and..”

“Prongs, stop. I just came so you didn’t do anything stupid like go to Grimmauld Place. I’m not staying.”

“Don’t be stupid, Pads, of course you’re staying. Right mum?”

“This is always your home, Sirius.” She stands with a grace that his own mother would never be able to emulate, no matter how many centuries of ‘good breeding’ have gone into molding her. Deep purple and gold robes flow around her. Indoors she’s just as apt as her son to have bare feet, but in the garden she wears leather sandals. “Monty and I have been worried about you, dear. It’s good to see that you’re safe.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry.” The last thing he wants to do is worry his friends or the Potters who are always so kind to him. Without the Potters he wouldn’t know what a real family is supposed to look like, or how lacking his own family really was.

“A mother always worries about her children.” When she touches his arm Sirius has to fight to remain stoic, torn between the wanting to break down and wanting to make a bitter comment that some mothers want nothing more than to eat their own young.

“See, Pads? Mum said you’re staying. Dad will agree and that’s everything sorted. The family barrister can send papers to your…”

“No.” If he lets himself listen to any more it will sound too much like a dream and not having it will hurt all the more. “You’re not listening to me, Jamie. I will see you in two weeks when we go back for term. I need you to let Remus know that I’m safe and that he’s not to go to my parents’ house under any circumstances ever. Let him know that I’ll be at school on Wednesday morning like I promised, okay?”

“Tell him yourself, Pads. You haven’t forgotten how to write a letter in the last week have you?” James stands between him and the door to the greenhouse, arms crossed and ready for a fight. “No, but I don’t have a way to send a letter. I couldn’t bring Freddie with me when I left.” Damn it, he misses his owl. It is the least of his problems, and it’sjust a stupid owl that he ignores too often when he is at school, but when he is home visiting the owlery is often the only good part of his day. No one in his family would deign to sit amoung the birds.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” James sighs. “I’ll write Remus, okay? Or you write to him and use one of our owls. He’s sent me three letters since yesterday and seeing the scrawl you call penmanship would probably do him good.”

“I’ll write to him before I go, alright?”

“Sure, as long as you mean that you’re going to go get your trunk so you can bring it back here. I was thinking we could transform the closet between our rooms into a lounge, maybe with a foosball table or something. Mum’s brill at things like that.”

“Damn it, Prongs, you’re not listening to me.”

“I’m listening, I’m just ignoring you being a dense pratt. This is your home.”

“My mother…”

“Your mother is a miserable bitch and you’re well rid of her. You can share my mum with me, she always wanted more kids and she and dad both love you.” James speaks with the confidence of someone who has always been certain of his place.

“You don’t understand, James. The things she would do if she found out you’d taken me in. The things she might set in motion. My family is full of fucking Death Eaters. My cousin...” But he doesn’t want to think about Bella and what she could do. What she’d hinted that she’d already done, the snake of her tattoo slithering around her wrist. He knew what she could do to someone she wanted as an ally, the echo of pain still in his bones as she tried to make him agree. The war was coming so much quicker than he’d realized. He would protect the people he cared about as long as he could.

“We keep each other safe, just like we’ve always done, Pads.”

“This isn’t trying to get out of detention when a prank goes wrong. I’m not going to risk any of my family coming after the people I care about.” He could still see, too clearly, the look in Moony’s eyes when he realized how close he’d come to attacking Snape on a full moon. If anything had happens Remus would be the one to suffer and it would have been his fault. He couldn’t let it be his fault again.

“So instead I’m supposed to just stand by and hope you’re okay? Do you know what it would do to me if anything happened to you?” James tugs on his hair.

“I’ll see you in two weeks, alright?”

“Padfoot…”

“It’s better if you don’t know where I am.” He’s been seventeen for almost two months, but won’t take his apparating test until spring like any other student. That doesn’t stop him from disapparating, but it did mean that he is a block away from Andromeda’s, instead of in her backyard, when he reappeared. It takes him a moment to get his bearings and to find his way to the house. By the time he does he’s shaking, and collapses on the back porch, using the last of his energy to change into Padfoot.

“Puppy.” He wakes to find Dora stroking his fur enthusiastically, Ted and Andromeda watching with varying looks of caution and amusement. Because it seems like the simplest option he spends an hour fetching sticks and racing through the snow, decimating the snowman they had made the day before and chomping on snowballs. When a cat crosses the back fence he doesn’t resist the urge to chase it; James has often remarked that if they ever came across McGonagall in her animagi form there would be some serious explaining to do. Chasing professors was not a good idea even if they were a cat at the time.

When it starts to get dark outside Ted tries to lure him in with the promise of something to eat, but he refuses. As tempting as it is to see if they would talk about him in his absence, it wasn’t fair and Andromeda would worry if he wasn’t back for tea. He’d promised, after all. Sirius slinks around the corner, waiting until he is sure everyone is inside the house before turning back. His jeans are soaked and his mouth is freezing from the snow he’s eaten, but an hour of running around and a nap have done him some good. He is able to walk into the house without feeling like the world is completely falling apart.

“Anyone with you?” Ted asks, poking his head out of the kitchen. Sirius shakes his head.

“Padfoot play?” Dora asks, her hair the same black color as his own. She’d changed it when they were playing outside, ironically wanting to match the dog.

“It’s bathtime, remember? And I’m sure Sirius is wanting a hot shower, considering the look of him.” Andromeda gives him the same speculative look she’d given a dog an hour ago until she was convinced that her daughter was safe playing with the mutt. “Your friend’s alright?”

“I think he’s mad at me.” James wasn’t mad, not really, but it was easier than saying that he was hurt by the secrets he wouldn’t share. He and James shared almost everything. “I’m going to go take that shower now.”

“I’ll let Ted know to start a kettle; you look like you could use some warming up from the inside too.”

The next morning he lets himself sleep in, and is still in his pajamas just before noon, making himself a bacon sandwich with leftovers from the breakfast he’d skipped. He’s just taken his first bite when someone knocks on the front door and Ted calls for him.

“See? I told you this was the logical place.” When Ted steps back Sirius can see a grinning James Potter in the doorway, a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around his neck. Beside him is Remus, not dressed nearly warm enough for the day. Crowded on the back of the porch is Peter.

“Yes, but ‘Padfoot’ and ‘logical’ aren’t usually things we say together.” Moony has a crease line between his eyebrows, looking Sirius over. He tries to smile, but it is a small one, his attempt at a joke falling flat. Sirius can almost feel the worry vibrating from him.

“If Sirius is trying to lay low maybe we shouldn’t be standing out here where anyone can see us?” From the way James steps forward suddenly it was clear that Pete had given him a friendly shove. Ted is smart enough to take a couple of steps backward, clearing the way for three-fourths of the Marauders to invade his home.

Sirius says the only thing that came to mind. “What the fuck?”

“I sent an owl to Remus. He agrees you’re being stupid.” James aims a drying spell at his feet.

“That’s not what I said, Prong. Don’t put words in my mouth.” The gloves Remus takes off look new, probably a Christmas gift from his parents. They were practical souls, and most of Moony’s gifts from them are the sort of things that Sirius takes for granted. He knows that new quills and gloves are not so easy to come by in the Lupin household, though. “I said I didn’t like the idea of you without anyone to watch your back.”

“I agreed with James about you being a git.” Peter grins. Ted closes the door behind him.

“Gee, thanks Pete.”

“You’re Ted, right? Nice to meet you. I’m James and I’m just here to relieve you of this annoying houseguest of yours. His bedroom is all ready for him.” James shakes Ted’s hand when it’s offered.

“Sorry about the invasion, Mr. Tonks, only Sirius does seem to need reminding about a promise he made. We’ll be out of your hair once we knock some sense into him.” Remus looks at him very carefully, and Sirius can almost read his mind. He can see the bonfire they’d had the first summer they’d been together, could hear the vow they’d made to always have each other’s backs. Marauders forever.

“Stay as long as you like, boys. I have some biscuits in the oven that will be ready in a little while, so when you’re ready come down for a snack,” Ted offers as he shakes hands with Remus and then Peter.

“Fresh baked biscuits? Maybe Padfoot does know what he’s on about, staying here.” Peter licked his lips. He’d been the one, second year, to figure out the secret of the ticklish pear that lead into the kitchens. The house elves loved him.

“I’ll take this lot upstairs so we don’t bother you.” He gives his friends a pointed look and heads up the stairs, trying not to think about the fact that the bedroom he’d been using suddenly feels so much more like home when all four of them are crowded inside. Remus is the one to cast a silencing charm, meaning he doesn’t have to keep his voice down when he speaks. “Damn it, Prongs, what part of our conversation yesterday didn’t you understand?”

“The part where you seemed to suddenly forget the last six years and think you’re a lone wolf like that prat first year who wouldn’t talk to anyone for the first week of school. No offense meant, Remus.”

“None taken,” Remus shrugs, sitting down on the trunk under the window. Peter has already sprawled out on the bed. James was pacing, like he often did when he was plotting a prank or coming up with wild schemes to get Evans to date him.

“It’s not the same.” He’d been terrified that first week after the hat had sorted him into what he’d considered the wrong house. His mother had sent him three howlers the first two days, and he knew that Dumbledore had gotten a howler as well. He’d never asked McGonagall if she’d gotten one; it was too embarrassing to even contemplate. He hadn’t wanted to get to know the boys he shared a room with, not when he was going to be moved in a matter of days. Surely someone would realize that he couldn’t be a Griffindor. Blacks were always in Slytherin.

He’d been scared of his family then, and he was scared of his family now. Maybe it wasn’t so different, but the threat of his family was worse than it had been six years ago, or maybe he was finally understanding just what the Black name meant. “It‘s not safe.”

“Neither was spending two years learning to be an animagus so you could spend full moons chasing after a werewolf.” Remus rubs a scar on his forearm that Sirius swears is fading a little every year. The fact that he hadn’t gotten a new scar in over a year is a victory that Sirius privately celebrated every morning after a moon.

“That’s different.”

“How?” Remus stares at him until he has to look away.

“So Wormy, how long do you think we can hang around the Tonks place before they kick us all out?” James plonks down on the bed.

“Well they’ve already put up with Padfoot for four or five days so their tolerance is pretty high. Might be able to stretch it a couple of days. A week at least if we find some chores to help with. Longer if everyone remembers to shower.” Peter glances at the door. “You think those biscuits are ready?”

“We could go check and let the man of the house know we’ll be crashing here for a bit.” James heads for the door, breaking the silencing charm as he opens it. Peter is swift to follow.

“Moony.” Sirius looks at him, hoping that he at least will understand. Moony, he thinks, understands what’s coming with the war more than the rest of the group. He knows at least some of what a family like the Blacks can do.

“We’re not leaving you alone, Sirius, no matter the risk. You’re ours.” Remus squeezes his hand as they stand in the doorway. “It’s going to be okay, Pads. We’ll figure this out the way we always do. Together.”

Sirius thinks maybe he’d like to stand in the doorway for a while, the warmth of Moony’s hand in his, but everyone else is downstairs and he still has to find a way to convince them all to go home.

“Puppy?” After she is done with her biscuit Dora slides off her chair and runs to the kitchen door.

“We can look, love.” Ted follows her, opening the door to reveal an empty back porch.

“No puppy,” Dora sighs, her lower lip sticking out. “Want puppy.”

“There was a stray dog in the yard yesterday. Dora quite enjoyed playing with him,” Andromeda explains to the boys at the table. “It was quite funny, actually. Sirius got her a stuffed animal for Christmas and the dog that showed up looked almost the same.”

“Black dogs are common enough,” Sirius comments, shooting a look across the table at James.

“Probably just a mutt,” Peter supplies helpfully, wincing when Sirius kicks him under the table.

“He’s probably in the doghouse now,” Remus arches one eyebrow as he looked sideways at Sirius. “He might not be very good at listening.”

“I hope he has a good home. He seemed to be such a nice dog.” Ted lures his daughter back to the table with another biscuit. She decides that Remus’s lap is where she wants to sit while eating it, and tugs at his sleeve until he picks her up.

“I’m sure he’s found a very nice home. Most dogs are clever enough to go where they know they’re loved.” James is smiling, most people might think he is making an idle comment but Sirius knows that look in his eyes. He was not playing fair.

“Maybe he’s not looking for a home right now, but is wandering for a bit.” Sirius looks across the table at James pointedly.

“He looked too well fed to be homeless, and despite the lack of collar he certainly wasn’t a matt. He had good pedigree, you could tell that by looking.” Andromeda, of course, has no idea of the second conversation that is happening right in front of her. Her comment is enough to makes James choke on his biscuit, though.

“He had pedigree, Sirius.”

“Sod off, Prongs.” He was going to give away at least one of their secrets if he wasn’t careful. Andromeda is clever, and while she’d been out of the family for years she’d been raised on subterfuge and lies.

“Prongs,” Dora repeats. Sirius is just glad that’s the part she has decided to mimic.

“We call him that because his head is pointed,” Sirius grouces. “Not much room for a brain up there.

“I got just as many OWLS as you did, you berk,” James fired back. It had been a matter of great amusement, the year before, that their score on their OWLS had been exactly the same. Peter had nearly tied them, but was short by one O. Remus had beat them all, of course, practically acing his exams. Only his potions score kept him from being perfect.

“I was having an off day.” He can’t keep from grinning, for a moment forgetting everything else as he slips into the familiar patter of fake insults. Almost two weeks without his friends has been a lonely experience.

“I swear I can’t take you two anywhere.” Remus rolls his eyes, breaking off a bit of his biscuit for the little girl on his lap. She seems enthralled with him, her dark hair lightening into an auburn. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Tonks, I’d say that they’re not always this bad but my mum taught me not to lie.”

“It’s Andromeda, please, and it’s good to see that Sirius has such support.”

“Whether he wants it or not.” James leans back in his chair and looks at the back door that leads to the yard. Sirius doesn’t like the look in his eye; his best mate is plotting something. “Speaking of, you don’t mind if we borrow a bit of your yard, do you? My parents have a tent we could borrow, don’t take up much space. We wouldn’t want to impose, and we can manage all our own food.”

“You’re not staying here.” For effect Sirius throws half of his biscuit at James’s head.

“Good, then you’ve decided to come home with me.” James calmly catches the treat and pops it in his mouth.

“James.”

“If you think this is the safest place of you then it’s safe enough for all of us,” Remus points out calmly. Sirius bites his lip hard enough to draw blood. He can’t argue the point without making it sound like he’s willing to put his cousin’s family in danger. He looks over at Andromeda, willing her to say something to derail the current conversation.

“I think a camp out in the backyard sounds like fun.” Sirius stares at her in shock. Damn it, that wasn’t what he was expecting.

“I’m sure they’re hoping you’ll join them.” Sirius looks away from the window, pretending he hasn’t been staring at the shadows around the campfire in the backyard. It’s dark enough that he can’t see much of their faces, but his mates are all sitting outside the tent and drinking bottles of butterbeer.

“They should be at home.” Remus actually enjoys spending time with his parents, and Peter seems happy enough to go home for the hols. James has the best parents it’s possible to have.

“They don’t seem to agree with you.” Andromeda sits on the edge of his trunk, her leg not quite touching his. “Ted wanted to come with me when I told mum and dad about being engaged. I wouldn’t let him, couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t lash out at him.”

“So you get it.” Their family is capable of a great measure of cruelty.

“I understand the fear and the desire to protect. I also know that the first place I went after I told them was to Ted’s flat and I didn’t leave for three days straight. I couldn’t bear to have him out of my sight. The first time I saw my sisters and they walked past me as if I didn’t exist he was the one that was holding my hand. When the only family member at my wedding was Uncle Alphard Ted promised that he would be my family until the day he died.”

“They’ve been my family since my first year at Hogwarts.” James was the first person to make him laugh, nine days into first term. Peter had snuck him food when the idea of going to dinner and facing a whole table of Slytherins whispering about him had been too much to handle. And Remus, who he’d judged as quiet and odd had hexed his cousin when she’d made a cruel comment in the hall. Since then they’d proven themselves a thousand times, while his blood family had only been belittling and hateful. “That’s why I have to protect them.”

“It seems like they have the same idea regarding you.” Andromeda looks out the window where the fire seems to be dwindling. The tent flap is open, a light burning inside. Last summer they’d taken the tent to the Quidditch World Cup. It had been brilliant. He and his friends had slept in bunk beds in one room while James’s parents had the second bedroom. Euphemia had painted mehndi designs on their hands that swirled in gold and green, proud that India had made it to the finals. Even Fleamont, who was secretly rooting for England, wore mehndi on his hands. “Something’s coming, Siri, and I know that’s frightening and it’s going to get bad. But I also know that turning our backs on everything good in our lives is exactly what the Black family would like to see. Your mother wants you to think you’re alone. To think that the only option you have is to be one of them.”

“I’ll never be one of them,” he swears fiercely.

“Of course you won’t.” Andromeda is full of surprises today; she kisses him on the forehead the same way he’s seen her kiss her daughter at bedtime, then gestures to the door. “You’re welcome here anytime you want, Sirius, but I think there’s somewhere else you’re supposed to be right now.”

“Yeah.” He’s not sure if this feeling of worry in his belly will ever leave him, or how long he’ll look over his shoulder for a member of his family. But maybe he can protect the people that matter better by being with them.

Tomorrow he’ll worry about his trunk. For now he heads down the stairs and out of the house to find that the fire has been dowsed with snow but the tent flap is still open. He closes it behind him, following the sound of talking to the same bedroom he’s used before.

“It’s about time.” James is on the top of one bunk, the bed beneath him empty but made up with blankets and a pillow.

“We saved you some chocolate.” Remus has the other bottom bunk; he’s never been fond of heights, not even something as mild as a top bunk. Flying classes first year had been miserable for him. He points to the chocolate frog on the pillow next to a bottle of butterbeer.

“My feet are freezing.” Peter is pointing helplessly at his feet with his wand, but he’s never been very good at warming charms.

“That’s what happens when you have a campout in the snow.” Sirius finds warming charms easy, probably because he’s used them on Remus often enough. He’s always cold the morning after a moon. He helps out his friend, who grins down at him.

“Does this mean you’re done being a stubborn git?” James asks, hanging over the edge of the bed, his hair even more wild then usual thanks to the assist from gravity.

“It means I’ve accepted my doomed future of having to share a bathroom with you for all eternity, knowing you steal my shampoo and shed hair all over the place.” He catches the chocolate frog before it can hop away, viciously biting off a back leg.

“Good, because the kidnapping plan had a few snags in it and this is so much easier. Mum said she’d make a cake to celebrate and anything you want for dinner. Dad says not to worry about anything, he’s already talked to Dumbledore about the change in address. This is going to be brill.” James’ excitement was infectious, and despite his worry Sirius couldn’t help grinning back. No one had ever been excited to have him come home before.

James falls asleep as quickly as he does everything else, and within minutes there’s a soft snoring coming from above him. Peter had fallen asleep almost the moment his feet warmed up. Sirius rarely found sleep easy unless he’d completely physically exhausted himself first. He’s just about to contemplate turning into Padfoot, which sometimes helps, when there’s a whisper from his left side.

“I’m glad you don’t have to go back there, Pads. I’ve always dreaded holidays knowing you had a home like that.” Remus speaks softly but Sirius can hear the concern in his voice.

“It hasn’t been home for a long time. Maybe it never was.” He’s never been wanted by his parents, not in the way Euphemia and Monty so desperately wanted a son. He was an asset, like a land holding or the contents of the family vault, only with less value. “But it’s over now. I’m never going to see my family again.”

“You see your family every day, Pads. We’re right here.”

“Yeah, you are.” It didn’t matter if it was a tent, or a dorm room, or the guest room at the Potters that was secretly being redecorated to welcome him. It didn’t matter if the blood in their veins wasn’t the same. He had his family and his home, and hadn’t lost any of it when he’d walked away from Grimmauld Place. “G’night Moony.”

“Night Padfoot. Sweet dreams.”

Sirius doesn’t remember his dreams the next day, but he wakes up feeling rested and more relaxed than he’s felt in months.

“Your cousin has invited us all for breakfast before we go home.” James is already dressed and using a charm to clean his glasses.

“Good, I’m famished.” He dresses quickly, joining his friends as they dash across the yard, dodging snowballs that they levitate at each other. The kitchen smells like cinnamon and chocolate, and as they eat breakfast they make plans to come back for Sunday dinner. His mother can’t forbid him from spending time with his cousin now, and he’d like to get to know Ted better too.

Monty and Euphemia are waiting for them when they get home, welcoming him with hugs and a meal comprised of all his favorite foods. Remus and Peter stay for the first couple of days, the four of them taking shifts to make sure nothing happens. Other than a howler from his mother all is silent on the Black front. He almost doesn’t mind the howler because Freddie’s the one that delivers it and he knows enough to stay. James is with his mum in the greenhouse and doesn’t hear it. Monty’s there, though, and it’s the first time Sirius has heard him swear.

“They’re just words, son,” he says when the howler explodes. Sirius knows it’s not true, it’s more than that, but the hate is tempered by being called ‘son’ by someone who means it.

“Yeah.” He takes Freddie to the owlery to get settled and joins James and his mum in the greenhouse where they’re transplanting a bloodspot into a larger pot.

“Just in time, my dear. Do you mind holding a few of these leaves out of the way? They are too tender to use a freezing charm on them.” James has dug the hole and Euphemia has the roots supported. Between the three of them they get it settled into the new pot, the dirt anchoring it in place. Pleased, Euphemia steps back to admire their work. “Just right.”

“Just where it belongs,” James says, but he’s not looking at the plant. Sirius rolls his eyes and sticks out his tongue, but he can’t disagree. He didn't run away from home, he ran towards it.

#harry potter fic #sirius black #the marauders #marauder era fic #my fic #remus lupin #james potter #peter pettigrew #andromeda black tonks #nymphadora tonks #ted tonks #euphemia potter #fleamont potter #hints of remus/sirius #hints of james/lily #abuse tw

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whatisthiscontentyouspeakof · 4 years ago

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Guardian of Light

So for anyone wondering, I don’t have an update schedule at all, just posting when I feel like it, mostly to avoid going to bed. This chapter gives you some information and a flashback to Marinette’s past before she was found unconscious in Paris.

Would it be helpful to you guys if I put Marinette’s age at the beginning of each section so you have an idea of how much time has past between each part of the story.

AO3 First Previous Next

Chapter 4: First Days

(Age 3)

Marinette was used to her colourful bedroom so when she awoke in a room that was completely white she was confused. There was no blue ceiling with fluffy white clouds and glow in the dark star stickers, no lush green mountains or fields with fun little animals running around, no giant stuffed animals or anything of the other things that were in her room.

Confused, she was about to call out for her Maman and Papa when she remembered the birthday party in the park and the strange man that had taken her away. Tears started to form in her eyes as the fear came back.

“None of that now.” A voice said. Marinette turned her head to see the man who had taken her standing in the rooms’ doorway. “Crying is for the weak and the weak are unacceptable here.”

“I want to go home,” Marinette said. A part of her wanted to suck on her thumb but that was something babies did and she was three. Not to mention she had a feeling that if crying wasn’t allowed, then neither was thumb sucking.

“Whining is unbecoming of a young lady such as yourself,” The man said. “As for going home, there is no need; this is your home now, Niu.”

“Niu?” Marinette repeated, having never heard the word before. The man had pronounced it ‘nee oo’.

“Your name,” the man said.

“My name is Marinette,” she told him, confused. He had called her it in the park after all.

“That was the name of a weakling, of someone insignificant and worthless,” The man’s voice was cold and mean sounding. “Niu is your name now. You will respond to it. You will not ever respond to Marinette ever again. If you do not follow either of these rules, you will not like what happens. Failure is not acceptable here. Marinette is dead as of today. In her place stands Niu, someone who will be worth something, who will make a difference in the world. From this day on, you will be training with me and the other Guardians so that you can reach that goal. When you are done with your training and have shown us that you are worthy of the title of Grand Guardian you will be able to earn your own name.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Guardian Zhu. I will be your teacher from this point forward. To fail or to be weak here isn’t just a short coming on your part but it also negatively affects me. As such, I expect nothing but perfection from you. If you do not perform to perfection then you will have to face the consequences, and trust me when I say, you will not like them. Now get up. It is time to eat and then I will be showing you what chores I will be expecting you to do every day upon waking.”

Marinette’s chest felt like lead. She swallowed before swinging her legs over the bed and standing up. She walked over to Guardian Zhu, her head looking down at the ground as her heart pounded; her entire body trembling as she walked.

Guardian Zhu whipped around, his hand reaching out and slapping her straight across the face. Marinette fell to the ground, one hand reaching up to touch her face in shock. “You will answer me with a ‘yes Master’ when I speak to you.” Guardian Zhu said sternly.

Marinette looked up at him, her heart pounding. “Yes Master,” she whispered.

(Age 12)

Marinette walked calmly down to the bakery, her parents already down there and working for the day. She would have normally been down there, learning their trade the same way she had every other day, but today marked the first day of school for her. Her parents informed her that she had been in school and with her class the day she was taken but as far as she could remember she had only been taught by a parade of different tutors from across the world. The largest group of peers she had learned with had been four, and that had only been on the one occasion, with most of her other classes either being just her, her and Nuri, or her, Nuri and his cousin, though it was rare that Mara was allowed to learn with them. The rest of the Fist weren’t allowed to ever train with her or Nuri since they were seen as so below them. Never had she been in a class full of strangers.

“Morning Marinette,” Her father greeted from where he was kneading some dough.

“Morning Tom,” she greeted. She and her parents had agreed that it was a bit too soon for her to call them anything but their names. She was waiting for some sort of ‘special’ occasion to call them by any paternal nicknames, though she was unsure if she would ever truly view them as her mom or dad. She wished she could talk to Nuri about this. He would know what it was like to suddenly find himself living with a biological parent that was more stranger than parent.

“Are you ready for your first day of school?” Sabine asked her, having just finished ringing up a customer. The only one that had been in the bakery. The calm before the breakfast rush.

“I have all the suggestion supplies and a few of my own,” Marinette told her. She wasn’t sure what she expected from classes, she didn’t need them after all since she was guaranteed to be farther ahead in her own studies, but they were going to make her seem like a normal kid. She just had to remember to get a question wrong every once in a while and not to see eager to answer questions.

“I meant mentally, sweetie,” Her mother said.

Marinette shrugged, something that would have gotten her smacked at the very least if she’d done it at the Temple or League, but was something she’d seen Chloe do regularly enough that she assumed it was something common among Paris school children. “I see no reason not to be ready. It’s school. I listen to teachers talk about subjects, I socialize, I eat, I go back to class, I come back here.”

Sabine just smiled at her like she was missing something. Why would she be nervous about school of all things? It’s not like she was scaling a cliff wall during an earthquake without any equipment. “If you get overwhelmed or anything like that you can come home right away and we’ll let the school know you weren’t feeling well or something,” Sabine offered.

Marinette smiled at her and thanked her for the offer even though she was sure she wouldn’t need it. It was the polite thing to do after all.

“Here’s your lunch,” Tom said, handing her a stack of tupperware. She placed it in her bag and looked up to see her father handing her a box with the bakeries logo on it. “A little treat to share with your classmates on the first day of the year.”

“Thank you,” Marinette said smiling up at her father. He just offered her the perfect chance to get to know her classmates and decide which ones would be the most useful to be on friendly terms with.

Marinette was about two steps out the bakery doors when a limo pulled up long the crub. The window rolled down to reveal Chloe.

“Get in,” she said.

“The school is literally across the street,” Marinette protested. “Why don’t you get out and walk?”

“Because I’m wearing heels,” Chloe said. Marinette couldn’t really argue against that. Even the Temple didn’t make her wear heels unless absolutely necessary.

Marinette climbed into the limo, realizing there was someone else in the limo. “Hi I’m Marinette,” she said, putting her hand out for the other girl, a red head, to shake.

The girl gripped her hand, firm and professional. “I’m Sabrina Raincomprix. Sorry we haven’t met yet but I’ve been with my mom in Scotland. Divorced parents and all that. But Chloe told me how she made a new friend. I can’t wait to get to know you.”

Marinette smiled at the girl. “Same.” she said politely.

She looked the girl over noting that she looked a bit uncomfortable in her skin, though Marinette couldn’t tell if that was because she was self-conscious or she wasn’t comfortable in the clothing she was wearing. She’d bet that Chloe had picked this girls outfit out for her the same way she had for Marinette. Not that Marinette minded; it gave her a better idea of youth fashion in Paris.

Sabrina was wearing a pair of purple flared dress pants with a blue button up and dark grey blazer. Her shoes were mainly white with black toe covers, laces and soles. She had a white headband in her hair and a pair of red toned brown glasses sitting on her nose.

Chloe, on the other hand, wore an outfit of black and yellow. Actually, Marinette couldn’t think of a time in which the heiress wasn’t wearing black and yellow. At least it made buying gifts on her birthday easier if Marinette went the clothing route. She wore a black pleated skirt with balck tight and black belt. She wore a ¾ sleeve yellow shirt topped with a shiny black tie. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and with a pair of black sunglasses sitting on top of her head. Her heels were black with gold little bobbles that suggested buttons, and red underbottoms hinting to their designer origins.

Marinette had decided to wear the outfit Chloe had sent her. One, she was still trying not to rock the boat, and two, Chloe would know better than her what would be popular to wear on the first day of school. Marinette could study all she wanted but there were only things you could learn first hand. She wore a dress which had two different colours, separating the top and the bottom to give the appearance of her wearing a skirt and top. The skirt of the dress was royal blue in a half circle style. A black belt, it was really just a strip of fabric sewn into the dress, sat just below her waist, creating a drop waist silhouette. The top of the dress was also black with ¾ sleeves and a large curved neckline. Chloe had sent her a pair of black kitty heels but she had decided to wear flats and her hair was pulled up into what would be a ballerina bun if Marinette’s hair wasn’t several feet long, the layers in her hair creating a messier, more teenage, version to the perfect bun of professional ballerinas.

The limo pulled up to the curb in front of the school. The three of them got out and Chloe’s driver pulled away. Sabrina and Chloe started to head into the building but Marinette grabbed Chloe’s arm before she could get too far away.

“Why does this place feel familiar?” she asked the blond, the only person outside of her parents who knew of her kidnapping and knew her before it had happened.

Chloe looked at her paling a bit as she came to a realization. “Our old school, where we attended Maternelle, used to be here. They bulldozed it the year after you were taken,” CHloe whispered to her. “They built this school here last year when they decided to decrease class sizes in Paris and needed another school.”

“Oh,” Marinette said. After a moment she shrugged. “Hey, what better way to start a new chapter of your life then to close an old one.”

(Age 13)

There was an energy in the air when Marinette awoke that had not been there before. Something was going to happen today, she just knew it.

Marinette glanced over at the clock seeing that there were only a few minutes left until her alarm would go off and decided to get up anyways, knowing she could just say she was excited to start the school year if her parents made a comment. She didn’t know what they had against her waking up so early, they were bakers after all, but she tried to seem like she was sleeping in during the school year. She’d already been up at the wee hours of the morning to go for a run, both on the ground and across the rooftops. She wasn’t about to let herself get out of shape.

Marinette got dressed for her first day of class, slipping on the outfit that Chloe had picked out for her, once again gifting her and Sabrina with new clothing for the first day of school. Unlike the year before, Marinette’s style no longer shifted towards dark clothing, instead taking on a brighter and more colourful and inviting colour scheme, finding that it helped her fit in more and make her seem kinder and more inviting instead of cold and aloof. Not to mention she no longer had a tactical advantage with wearing darker colours that she needed to concern herself with.

This year Chloe had gotten her a pastel pink chiffon floor length skirt, something Marinette would never have picked for herself, but found herself liking it. It was also easy to hide her throwing daggers beneath the flowing skirt. She wore a whtie tank top that she did some white on white embroidery on since the outfit had arrived a couple of days before school started and she wanted to experiment with something new. She wore a light grey fisherman rib knitted sweater over it, which had actually been a hand knitted gift from Sabrina for her birthday. Judging by the texture of the yarn it was cashmere, and had likely been bought by Chloe. She had slept with curlers in her hair, leaving her hair in a nice wave before she pulled it back into one of her favourite styles, a messy bun. It hid the true length of her hair well and kept it out of her face while she worked, the messy nature making her seem more like a busy youth.

After a quick breakfast Marinette heads off to school, a box of Macarons from her dad for her to share with her classmates. She had convinced Chloe that they could just meet at school this year instead of having the blond pick her up in a limo, which meant she had to follow things like crosswalk lights, the one leading from her parents bakery to the school having just turned red when Marinette arrived. Sighing, she moved into a more relaxed position to wait only to see an old man half was across the street and a car speeding towards him.

Not about to let an old man be squished, it would put a bad spin on her day and she didn’t feel like dealing with the police, Marinette rushed forward and grabbed the man by the arm. A slight spark went through her and she glanced down spotting a bracelet on a leather string with a turtle in the middle. The spark that had come from the man could have been static shock but Marinette had trained long and hard enough to know what it felt to make contact with someone else who had trained to be a Guardian. This was the man who had all but destroyed the Order of Guardians, running off with the First Miracle Box and apparently wielding the Turtle Miraculous.

Marinette dropped her pastry box, making it appear as if she had stumbled a bit as the two of them made it safely back onto the sidewalk, reaching into her pocket to grab a tiny tracker that would look to the untrained eye to be a small pebble and slipped it into the man's pocket. She couldn’t let on that she had sense anything different about him but she wasn’t about to let him get away.

Marinette picked her dessert box off the ground hoping she hadn’t destroyed too many of the delicate macarons with that little trick before offering the man one out of politeness before crossing the street with a quick ‘stay safe’. If she found out where the man worked, most Guardians were to be self employed, she could ‘stumble’ upon it and try to gain the man's trust, at least until she found where the First Miracle Box was and could claim it, though it would be better if she could manipulate the old man into giving it to her since it would create a stronger bond right off the bat. She would stop at nothing to get the box however, even if it meant taking years to create a strong enough bond with the box and the Kwami’s inside. After all, the only reason the Guardians had not tried to contact her or bring her back to the Temple was because of their belief that unseen powers brought things to be and that one of those unseen powers was one of the reasons Marinette reunited with her parents and thus there must be a reason that she had to stay in Paris. Reclaiming the First Miracle Box and becoming Grand Guardian was her destiny and now she knew for a fact that it was in Paris, within miles of her, and she’d rather die than let it slip through her fingers then fail her destiny.

Heading over to the school, Marinette pushed thoughts of the First Miracle Box from her mind, instead focusing on being just Marinette, the daughter of two bakers. She smiled as she climbed the school steps instantly spotting Chloe standing just inside the entrance.

“I thought I’d have to make my way to our classroom before I found you,” she told the heiress. “What are you doing out here?”

“Waiting for you obvious,” Chloe said, lying to her. Marinette decided not to push it at the moment, mainly because the bell for them to head to class sounded, and she had all over lunch to interrogate her friend.

The world was apparently against her finding out what Chloe was lying to her for because after their first class during their study period, a massive crash sounded around the school. The surveillance showed one of her classmates, Ivan, transformed into a stone being. Marinette could have waved off the sudden attack as one of a pissed off Meta the way a lot of her schoolmates were doing, but with the meeting between her and the shameful Grand Guardian trainee had her thinking it was all too much of a coincidence for it not to all be Miraculous related.

Marinette made her way home and up to her room to formulate a plan on how she could be involved without bringing unwanted attention to herself but the second she stepped into her room she sensed something off. A quick glance around the room showed that someone had been up there and had left a black box on her desk. Someone who wasn’t her parents since they’d be too busy with the bakery to step out.

Slowly approaching the box, Marinette started going over all the possibilities of what the box could be when she saw a familiar symbol, one she had seen all her life.

The symbol of the Order of Guardians

A miraculous box was sitting on her desk.

Stepping forward she picked up the box and opened it, closing her eyes so as not to be blinded by the bright light that it omitted as the Kwami inside formed its physical body.

She opened her eyes and had to blink, not quite believing what she was seeing.

“Hello Marinette, you are the only one who can stop Stoneheart and save Ivan and the rest of Paris,” The Kwami, the Scarab Kwami, said looking up at her with wide eyes.

She was chosen to be the next Scarab wielder.

Well shit, she hadn’t been this put off by a surprise revelation since she’d woken from the coma to find her birth parents waiting for her. Who knew that this was how the day was going to go.

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spectraspecs-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Korriban - Chapter 96

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 95. Chapter 97.

@averruncusho @ceruleanrainblues @chubbsmomma @strangepostmiracle thank you for reading, you get a tag. @skelelexiunderlord thank you for support, you get a tag.

———–

We wake up at the same time, to the sound of Jolee coyly saying, “Good morning, you two.”

Carth awkwardly covers himself, which is adorable, because the last person who’s going to judge us is Jolee. “I was wondering why Carth never came back to his bunk last night,” he says, “And why Mission has been squealing all morning.”

“Mission squealing?” I say, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Apparently she came in earlier looking for some spare parts and found the two of you,” he says. Well, damn. I mean, she was going to find out eventually, I had just hoped to do it on my own terms. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened. I’m surprised she didn’t wake you.”

“Hang on,” Carth says, “You keep tabs on me?”

“We’re on a Sith planet, and you’re going to judge me for keeping my eyes open?” Jolee says in his finicky old man voice, and he scoffs. Then he turns his attention back to me. “Now, lass, I can certainly see the allure of staying in here all day, but I think Master Uthar would feel differently, don’t you?” he says, “Unless you don’t plan on finding the Star Map today.”

Oh shit. “The Star Map. The tomb - I completely forgot!” I start to scramble for my robe.

“I thought as much,” Jolee says, “Try not to keep the Sith Master waiting too long, hmm?” And he leaves.

As much haste as I feel right now, his smile felt good. It would be so easy for him to not approve and be vocal about it. Not that I need or want his approval, or anybody’s for that matter. But these guys are my friends and knowing that my happiness is important to them is comforting. Like I said yesterday, despite her promise, Bastila is going to have a problem here. And Juhani definitely will. And I understand where she’s coming from - even if it was just for a few weeks, she fell to the Dark Side, and the Jedi told her that love leads to the Dark Side so she’d just be trying to shield me from my pain, spare me her experiences. She has no idea that I’ve thought about all that already and that Bastila and I have gone round and round on that particular topic a number of times before. I’ve got a handle on it. But knowing Jolee is supportive, and seeing it on his face, is a good feeling.

Pants! I have found pants. As I start to put them on, Carth starts laughing softly at me. “What? What’s so funny?”

“You can get away with wearing my jacket, but if you keep trying to put on my pants we’re going to have a problem,” he says.

His--? Oh. Right. These are much thicker than mine. “It’s the Sith’s fault for making everything balck,” I say, tossing his pants back at him, “You coming to the tomb?”

“Yeah,” he says, “if you want me to.”

“Of course,” I say, reaching for my lightsaber belt, “Where would I be without my protector?” I lean in and kiss him. I only meant for one, but then he kisses me again. And again, with his hand softly resting on my cheek, like he doesn’t want to let me go. And I don’t want to let him go, either. But if we don’t get moving, Jolee is going to come in again and that was weird enough yesterday before Carth and I had slept together. So I break first and pat his face. “Come on, hot stuff, get dressed.”

He pulls his shirt over his head with a smirk. “‘Hot stuff’? Not flyboy or… what is it Canderous called me once, ‘Captain Killjoy’?”

“You knew about Captain Killjoy?”

“Mission cannot keep a secret.”

“Well,” I say with a smile, “that was just Canderous’ nickname for you. No, with me you’ve unlocked a whole new suite of nicknames.”

“Like what?”

“You’ll just have to stick around and find out,” I smirk.

I make sure to grab my flashlight before we leave for the Academy again. Naga Sadow’s tomb must be pretty dangerous to be the final test, and I don’t want to add the inability to see ten feet in front of me to the dangers. I’ve also got some rope in my pack, and a knife. I know Uthar would want me to approach this like a Sith, and the Jedi would want me to approach this like, well, a Jedi, but I think it’s best if I approach it like a scout, like I’ve done a lot of things. Approach the space as a cave ecosystem, as well as a relic. A space with its own life and soul, welcoming me in. There is nothing inherently evil about a space. And I don’t give a damn about the Dark Side energy in there. I’m going to take it at face value. Respect the space, and do what I have to do within it.

Master Uthar is not standing in the central chamber of the Academy like he has been. Yuthura is. “Ah, good,” she says to me, “There you are. I take it you are ready to travel to the tomb of Naga Sadow? Our moment is finally at hand.” She’s clearly been waiting for a moment like this for some time. “Uthar is already waiting at the tomb for us.” She glances at Carth and Jolee. “Your slaves will have to remain here, however. You will face the test alone.”

Carth stiffens a bit, and his hand brushes his blaster. I look back at both of them. “When Uthar said ‘alone,’ I thought he meant no help from the Academy. I guess I misunderstood.”

“Part of being a Sith is relying on your own strength, not that of others,” she says, “We should leave now. Your final test should not be delayed.”

Wait. That’s not a good feeling. This… isn’t going to end well. Not even just Yuthura’s inevitable betrayal, it’s going to get worse than that. “I just need to do one thing.” She rolls her eyes a bit but doesn’t say anything. I turn to Carth. Jolee can probably already sense the exact same thing I can, but Carth has no idea. I need to tell him. And I need to tell him I’m coming back. I reach into my pocket for my droid tool kit and hand it to him. “Would you hold onto this for me?”

He takes it, confused. “This is your tool kit - you don’t think you’ll need it?”

“I think it’ll be better in your hands than mine right now. Just… don’t lose it, okay?”

“I promise.”

I hug him, and I have to stand on my toes to whisper in his ear. “Get to someplace defensible, this could get messy.” I feel him nod a bit. Message received. So I break and turn back to Yuthura. “I’m ready.”

“Then we go now.” She walks ahead of me past Carth and Jolee, who make their way back to the dormitories. Whether that’s where they’ll be when I get back or not, I know they’ll be safe when I do. “That human,” Yuthura says, referring to Carth, “you are… close with him?”

“Yeah,” I say, “More than close.”

“I see,” she says simply, “As your teacher, I would advise caution.” Don’t tell me the SIth are going to advise me against love, too - this is ridiculous. “He could use your affection to betray you.”

Oh, that? Ha, ha, that’s a joke. “He really doesn’t have it in him to betray anyone.”

“Only a fool would think that,” she says, “And you are no fool.” No, I’m not, but I know Carth. “It is only a matter of time before any slave betrays her master.”

Well, that’s an interesting way to phrase that. Because we were talking about Carth, and she just referred to a “her.” “Sounds like you speak from experience there.”

“I…” she says hesitantly, “… was a slave on Sleheyron, if you must know, to a cruel master, Omeesh the Hutt.”

“How did you get to be here, then?” I ask.

“You don’t need to know any more,” she snaps, “Why are you asking?”

“If I’m going to be your apprentice, I’d like to know more about you. And I’d like to be your friend.”

“I… see,” she says slowly, “Very well. I suppose there's no harm in the tale. The Hutts control everything on Sleheyron, and a slave is nothing to them. I was determined not to be 'nothing'.” Ugh, that could get ugly. “One night when the drunken worm had me alone in his chambers I stabbed him and escaped the compound. I stole onto a cargo ship and was not discovered by the crew until they reached the next system. They left me for dead on a desolate planetoid, alone… but that was fine by me. I was glad to be anywhere other than Sleheyron.”

“I can imagine.”

“It was not luck that I was eventually rescued, of course. The Force was strong with me, though I didn't know that at the time. Not until the Jedi told me, that is.”

“Neither did I,” I say, “I was constantly in touch with it for my work, but I had no idea that’s what it was until they told me. And it must have been something special for them to train me as an adult, though damned if they’ll tell me.”

“That was my tale as well - I was older than most Padawans, but they took me in and trained me anyway.”

“How far did you get?”

“I never progressed beyond Padawan,” she says, “I had discipline, but no peace… and after my treatment at the hands of the Hutts there was little room in me for the ways of the Jedi.” Yeah, I guess you have to heal your inner trauma before you can grow. Jesus, did I swallow another Jedi tome? “I wanted to use the Force to free the other slaves I knew, to fight for what I knew was right. The Jedi restrained me until I couldn't stand it anymore. They claim the dark side is evil, but that isn't so. Sometimes anger and hatred are deserved and right. Sometimes things change because of it.”

“I guess I agree with you there - how the Jedi can stand by and do nothing with all the suffering and injustice in the galaxy just boggles the mind - but… has anything changed?”

“No…” she says contemplatively, “… not yet. But my anger has not diminished, nor my desire to see change. The more time I spend with the Sith the more I am certain that one day I will be able to fight as I must.” She lets out a small chuckle. “I know this may sound strange, but only my compassion stands in my way, now. Once that is gone let the slavers beware.”

“But…” I say, because that doesn’t make any sense, “…if you lose your compassion, will you still care about those slaves?”

“I…” she starts to say, and then she changes gears. “…yes, of course. I mean losing my compassion as in… holding back…”

“Well, still,” I say, “it’s a commendable goal. I admire your spirit.”

“Thank you,” she says, “I only wish I was as strong with the Force as you are. You could change much yourself, if you wanted to.” But then she shakes her head. “But enough of that,” she says, “I’ve talked about myself too much. There will be time for more once Uthar is dead.” Even so it’s clear I’ve given her something to think about. A seed of doubt, maybe.

Naga Sadow’s tomb is on the left hand side of the Valley of the Dark Lords, in the back corner. It’s interesting that it doesn’t look all that different from the other three tombs. Don’t get me wrong, the thing is still massive and imposing, but on sight alone it’s not all that different from the other three. I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart on my own. Yuthura opens the tomb door and we both walk in. Uthar is standing in the entrance chamber. “Very well,” he says, “We are now ready for your final test, young Sith. You have earned the right to see if you shall become one of us.”

“Indeed you have,” Yuthura says.

Uthar looks at her curiously. “Is that a tone of mischief in your voice, dear Yuthura?” he asks rhetorically, “You should know by now that no scheme is certain.”

“As should you, my master,” she says, “But I was only agreeing with you.” God, the dramatic irony here is amazing. “Should we not get on with the test?”

“Yes,” Uthar says, “Yes, of course. We are in the sacred tomb of Naga Sadow, young one, the one discovered by Darth Malak and Darth Revan years ago.” They discovered it? Revan just continues to impress me with his attributes. I mean, first he knows enough about computer tech to gain access to the memory core of the Star Map on Kashyyyk, and now I learn he’s also a tomb crawler? Damn, this dude could have been my best friend. “You are to follow in their footsteps and reach the ancient Star Map that lies deep within. There you will find a lightsaber, amongst other things.” Because I don’t have enough of those. “The lightsaber is for you: your initiation present. Return to us once you have it, for you the test does not end there.”

“Be very cautious, here,” Yuthura says, “This tomb is like the others in this valley, and many of its old defenses remain active.”

“Do you understand what I have told you? Are you ready to begin?” Uthar asks.

“Can you give me any hints about what’s in here? Animals, anything?”

“No.” How unhelpful. “That is part of the test. Overcome the obstacles that lie ahead on your own.” I plan to, I just wanted a hint.

“Okay,” I sigh, “Find the Star Map, return with the lightsaber. Got it.”

“Good.” Uthar nods a little. “Yuthura and I will await your return.”

Hoo. Deep breath, Rena. Open the door. Out of the entry chamber. The door closes behind me. It’s just another cave. Just another cave. Look at it like one.

Evidence of large reptiles, judging by the skins they shed. Egg shells. I guess beyond once a year they can live their lives here like normal. No sign of tuk’ata. Maybe the reptiles prey on them? And why would a prey hang around a predator’s nesting site? Odds are there’s plenty of places in the tomb that people can’t get to. Plenty of places for a prey species to make its home. The hall opens into a much larger chamber, with three pathways, one on my left, one on my right, and one straight ahead. The right hand side has far more traces of the animals. In fact… I see two of them. They’re hulaks. And is that… they’re mothers. Both of them. Past them another rounds a corner, much bigger than the two of them. The pack male. The mothers snarl at me. But I am no threat to them. The only movement I make is to sit down on the floor. One of the babies starts to walk towards me, but its mother stops it. Understandable. I concentrate on them, just as I did the tuk’ata matriarch yesterday. I tell the mothers why I’m here. I am no threat to you or your young. I am not like those who have come before, seeking only power, eliminating anything in their way. I am not one of them. I will not disturb your nests, slaughter your young, or take your food. I respect your greater knowledge of this place. I will do what I have to do, and then I will leave you in peace. The mothers relax, and the pack male turns away again. They may not trust me, but they do believe me. They can tell I’m telling the truth.

But I’m not done yet. They know more about this place than I do. They can tell me what’s here. I seek a map. Of course they do not understand maps. They don’t need to. Why do you need to see your path when your nose and ears can tell you so much more? But I can show them what I seek. And they tell me, in more than words. Many have come seeking this stone. Not like any other stone. It glows. Many have come seeking it. Many have fed the pack. Many have killed mothers and children themselves. The stone lies on the path ahead, past a foul-smelling pit that has killed mine and ours. We do not approach the pit or the waters that burn within it. And I have one further question. What lies behind me, on the path that few of their kind have tread? Again, they tell me in more than words. Death lies along that path where our feet do not tread. A large beast and its mate. They consume mine and ours. A strike from their claws makes one sick, to suffer a slow and painful death. They have dwelled here longer than the pack. Many of your kind have attempted to slay the beasts. Only one spoke as you do, with mercy toward mine and ours, with kindness to the pack. Their flesh fed the beasts. They did not survive. But there is one mercy. The beasts are big, far bigger than mine and ours, and their size keeps them contained in the place of death. We do not die, for we do not approach. Your kind have fed the beasts. Mine and ours do not. And with that I let them leave. I don’t stand up until they round the corner, out of sight.

Again it was more than words that they told me. More like concepts and feelings, images. The Star Map, the stone that glows, lies to the south, ahead of me. But in between me and the map is a “foul-smelling pit with waters that burn.” And to my left, in the east, two predators. A mated pair? But only two of them? Or is mate more like friend? Or is the meaning less important than the fact that there are two of them? Obviously Shaela Nur came this way. I suspect she was the one who was kind to the pack. They had no images of her. So she would have been here before their lifetimes. But I know she was here. The description of the beasts sounds too much like a terentatek to be a coincidence. And two of them… well, that’s terrifying. Maybe I don’t have to go that way? But I’m not about to start hoping for shit again.

Let’s check out the direct path first. Water that burns is a lot less terrifying than two terentateks. So I go forward and open the door.

Whoa! They weren’t exaggerating about foul-smelling. I can only imagine how bad it is to a reptile’s amazing sense of smell. And the water that burns… would appear to be acid. Can I just jump across? Figure out my angles… No, ceiling’s too low. I don’t like my chances. And there’s nothing to hook my rope onto on the other end, even if I could reliably toss it over there. So much for the easy route. Maybe I could neutralize the acid? But I wouldn’t know how. How much water would it take to get the pH to neutral? And what chemical would that make? It could easily be just as dangerous, if not more so.

So I guess the thing to do is make it safe to cross. How to do that would depend on the acid. Making a rock bridge makes the most sense at the offset. But would the acid dissolve the rocks? I break out a chunk of the floor and kick it into the acid. It dissolves in a fit of bubbles. So that’s not a viable solution. I can’t cross it at the sides, the pool spans the whole floor, wall to wall. If I was stronger, Force-wise, I could probably make a path through by parting the pool down the middle, but I don’t think I could hold it on both sides long enough to get through. And I don’t want to push my luck.

Ugh, chemistry isn’t really my strong suit. All I needed to know was cells and cell chemistry. Acid is not my thing. But… hang on, it��s not a Sith thing either. No one at the Academy was talking about chemistry. The solution to this is probably dead simple, a brute force kind of deal. A grenade --? No, that’s a terrible idea, any explosion with fire would create toxic fumes, killing me instantly. But what about a cold explosion, like a cryoban grenade? It would take a fair few of them to freeze a pool this size, and I only have a couple on me. But I could make some if I can get the parts. I’m sure there’s lots of tech around here, left behind by failed test takers.

Unfortunately, that means I’ll have to go face the terentateks on my search for parts. Damn.

#star wars #knights of the old republic #autistic artist #fiction #kotor #kotor fic #specs writes stuff #rena visz #oc #fem!revan #ls!revan #revanasi #carth onasi #jolee bindo #yuthura ban #uthar wynn #korriban #chapter 96 #the good place

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