#buggy will never be able to help being himself no matter how hard he fights; he's too soft in the end and he knows that better than anyone

[goingbuggy]

Hmmm maybe it’s just me but I’m not sure whatever I disagree or agree with you? I’m on the fence here if I’m being honest. On one hand I completely agree with the idea that mr3 is mostly there for survival, the thing that bugs me is the *entire crew* is like that, but there’s clear difference in their act. They say they feel even sorry and have no other options while mr3 is mocking the situation, anime even amplified the scene. I guess I didn’t expect the guy to be THIS self serving? No hard feelings there was a shock to me. Am I disagreeing? I’m not sure. Just wanted to put my thoughts here because they were portrayed differently to me.

"I guess I didn’t expect the guy to be THIS self serving?"

i think this panel of him sums up the essence of his character very well, both visually in the moment and in the wider narrative as well. we know to some extent that devil fruits choose their users just as much as their users choose to consume the fruit, and galdino's choice perfectly exemplifies who he is. his wax is moldable, versatile -- he can even create copies of himself using it. he's always thrived on well-crafted fakeness; hell, that's likely what drew buggy to him in the first place, and exactly why oda would even think to pair them together at all. like buggy, you must read him closely, between the lines, for intention.

[gay-dorito-dust]

Hey I was wondering if you would be up for writing a fic where the reader just showers Buggy in affection and just takes care of him. He could definitely do with some tlc

When you first shown Buggy any form of affection or love, his natural reaction was to pull away, to flinch, to push you away for the sake of upholding the gimmick he had thrusted onto him by others. He just wasn’t use to someone being genuine, being so kindhearted, patient and filled to the brim with unconditional love and adoration towards him like you have that it made him fearful, for the first time for he finally had something he was so scared to loose.

Buggy knew now that he couldn’t run away from this fight against letting himself drop his guard and fall apart within your arms forever, no matter how much he wanted to. He knew that one day he’d have to raise the white flag and admit defeat, little did Buggy know that he’d wave that white flag long ago and had admitted defeat whilst in the comfort of your arms and your sweet honeyed words. You provided Buggy with the safe space to be vulnerable, to be able to be rid of his make up, allow for you to see the beautiful man beneath the flashiness, the gimmicks and the theatrics; He even remembered the words you told him when he first allowed himself to sink deeply into your embrace, which opened his eyes to the route he was leading himself down towards.

‘Just because one person destroyed your ability to put your trust in others doesn’t mean that everyone else is going to do the same.’ You whispered into his ear as your hands ran through his beautiful blue hair with care. ‘The actions of one person isn’t a reflection of others. You can choose to not trust but live to regret to be open with that one special somebody or open up to everybody and blindly hope that they don’t use your kindness to stab you in the back.’

Not that Buggy would ever tell you but you held his glass heart within your hands and instead of smashing it like he originally thought you would, you surprised him by holding it close to your chest; looking down at it adoringly and so full of love that it made Buggy a tad teary eyed, for if someone as beautiful and downright perfect as you could ever love someone as flawed as him without being forced into loving him…then he guessed that he was finally doing something right. Soon enough your arms and being smothered in your kisses and honeyed words had become Buggy’s most favoured place to lay his aching self to rest after a seemingly stressful day, where nothing seemed to go exactly to plan.

‘You look comfortable there? Hard day?’ You asked softly as Buggy grunts as he buries his head into your neck, his arms quickly latching onto your waist tightly. Normally you’d have to be the one who initiated affection, which you still do on most occasions, but you also wanted Buggy to feel comfortable to come seek you out on his own terms rather then force him to. ‘Just cuddle me will ya?’ He said groggily and you couldn’t help but chuckle at his neediness.

‘What’s the magic word?’ You teased, trying so hard to bite back your snickers when Buggy lifted his head from your neck to glare at you softly but before he could say anything, you pressed a quick kiss to his cute nose, rendering him wide eyed and speechless before going in to plant a kiss directly to his lips. ‘Cute.’ You whispered against him, getting off on the expressions you pull out of him from gifting him basic levels of love and affection, before pulling away to look back into his gorgeous eyes that you never went a day without complimenting.

‘I’m not cute.’ Buggy said, his cheeks warm as the arms at your waist tightened their grip. ‘Dogs are cute, cats are cute, but I am not cute. I’m terrifying, people look at me and shit themselves from running away with their tails between there legs. And even then the ones that are stupid enough to stay behind are made examples of, so please tell me again how I’m apparently cute.’ He finished, choosing not to look into those soft, understanding and patient eyes of yours that he oh so loved. ‘You’re always cute to me Buggy,’ you started, raising his head to look directly at you by his chin, allowing your hand to drop back to his waist when you were confident he wouldn’t drop his gaze again.

‘Just like how you’re not only just cute but you’re also handsome, strategic, expressive with the way you talk and how you move your hands whilst you talk, flashy, dramatic, and above all you’re beautiful.’ Between each word you’d press a kiss to some part of his face, ignoring his adorable squeals and squawks of surprise that were music to your ears, not caring that you were smudging his make up and getting it on yourself as you held nothing but pride in your love for your Buggy, for as on rare occasions you would openly express your love towards him but saved a majority of it for behind closed doors; Not as though Buggy was anything but boisterous of his love for you and would shout it to the rooftops for all to hear in a possessive sort of way.

‘Really?’ Buggy asked once the flurry of kisses came to an end, looking at you with bright, hopeful eyes it melted your heart. ‘Yes, of course I do Buggy. How could I not? I’m extremely lucky to have you in my life and I couldn’t be more happier.’ You told him, watching as a goofy smile graced his lips as a chuckle fell out from his lips before Buggy decided to burying his head back into your neck, where he whispered against the skin there. ‘If either one of us is the lucky one, it’s me because you could’ve listened to everyone else and avoid me like the plague but you didn’t and I’m glad you didn’t because without you I wouldn’t know where or who I’d be. So thank you for never giving up on me…I love you.’

[spikes-got-anger-issues]

Spike is aware of Chase's bionics, but he can't use them (unless he just refuses to use them but that doesn't make sense due to his destructive nature) so his super strength is something only he has since it's also vice versa with Chase not being able to use Spike's super strength.

It's a little difficult connecting dots with Spike especially with how vague the show can be and how little he appears, but we see in 2x09 that the Commando App activates even though the bionic interrupter was used on Chase.

This could still mean a few things though:

The bionic interrupter only works on one bionic ability that is in (current?) use by the owner. Think about it as flipping off a switch (the ability) in a room of multiple switches (other abilities). We only see that Leo disabled Chase's molecularkinesis

The bionic interrupter completely disrupts all bionic abilities at once through the chip (turning off all the switches)

Due to Spike being Chase's fight-or-flight response (without the flight) he's a special bionic ability that's also tied into his nervous system and can't be affected by the interrupter

The Commando App is glitchy and therefore due to its buggy nature it wasn't affected by the interrupter (though I'd argue about the CA being glitchy but that's for another time)

It's hard to determine what exactly the bionic interrupter does between the first two because Chase never used a bionic ability again after the bionic disruptor was used on him, unless you consider the other two options and count the CA (it's a bionic ability after all, no matter what) but it's muddy on trying to figure out the potential options. Then it would make sense for the CA to be able to activate if the signal interrupter only disabled Chase's molecularkinesis and all of other bionic abilities were still able to be used.

Eddy and Leo both use "bionics" plural when talking about the device, but even then we can't exactly tell what they mean because they could be saying it plural but referring to the fact that it disrupts one out of the multiple bionic abilities. Eddy and Leo also both say "(bionic) signal interrupter" which potentially implies that it only disrupts one bionic ability, but "bionic" alone could also imply this since the Davenport kids are bionic humans and "bionic" is broad in this sense since their chips are what give them bionic abilities. So "bionic signal interrupter" could basically mean "chip interrupter" if it's referring to bionic as a whole term (This is confusing, right?)

In the end we don't exactly know if the signal interrupter temporarily disables one or all bionic abilities, and I personally think that the CA activating after the signal interrupter was used on Chase can't help solidify these ideas due to the unknown nature of the CA.

I could dive even deeper into this and consider the fact that Leo has bionics without a chip and was able to use them in 4x26 to break out of the room when everyone else's chips were melted and so hypothetically the bionic signal interrupter wouldn't work on him if the signal interrupter is only for chips and not just an ability/abilities alone through his limbs, but I'll let people think about that if they want to.

Anyways, no matter what the bionic signal interrupter does in terms of stopping one or all bionic abilities of the target, 2x09 did show us something really interesting about the Commando App and Spike. Leo attempts to use the device on Spike, but it does the complete opposite and instead raises Spike's aggression levels more and makes him angrier. The Commando App is a bionic ability, so why wouldn't the signal interrupter work on Spike?

If the device does in fact stop all bionic abilities, then the CA activating and Spike being affected in the opposite way is pretty intriguing. There's something special about Spike if we consider this then. Why does the signal interrupter enhance him/the CA and its features and abilities instead of disengaging the CA? If he himself/the CA is a bionic ability, then is his super strength just something he has built into him/the CA or is that a bionic ability that Spike possesses and can use at will? Or since this is just a Disney XD sitcom this was just a meaningless comedic gag for the show and to show off Chase/Spike going crazy to Leo's expense

Alas we shall never know and all of this can be left for interpretations, and I'm definitely thinking too deeply about this, but I just find the episode showing us that something is different about the Commando App/Spike and what he can do to be greatly interesting.

So Spike definitely knows Chase has bionics, he just can't use them. In this essay I will

[iphoenixrising]

If it's not a problem I would like to see what happens when omega Tim safe words out?

I just so in love with how you wrote him and I know you've a thing with Dr Tim and safe words but I would really appreciate if you'll give me this with omega Tim

Have a great day/night

Babe asked for O!Tim safe wording out. Taking into account how much he’s been able to take so far in my fics, then it’s apparently going to be truly something for him to safe word, right?

….or is this just another excuse to have AAANNNNNGGGGGGSSSSSSSTTTTTT.

(I regret nothing, but, well, you might, babe :D :D)

**

It was just supposed to be Pack support. Just the Bats realizing they had an Omega in their ranks, an Omega who had been more on the outskirts than part of the inner circle, an Omega who had been walking a long road alone. Just the Dick and Jay trying to be good Alphas and take care of him. Just giving in to those crazy instincts.

It was never supposed to hurt. It was never supposed to break him. Not like the first time when he was essentially kicked out of the Pack, when his cape was pulled out from under him, and his place became a question mark instead of a given. (Falling from Wayne Towers because Ra’s is such a douce canoe, he’d been beaten to fuck, blood loss and a real concussion to blame when he wondered if they’d bother putting up a case with his suit, if he even mattered that much to Dick, if he ever really did…)

When he presented, when he didn’t have a hint of a Pack scent, It had taken an embarrassingly long time to feel like he could get anywhere near the city. Long after he’d sent Bruce back home, telling him everything with sparse details, why there wasn’t an R on his shoulder, why he couldn’t be Batman’s sidekick anymore. He’d left all the pain locked in his chest, keeping himself as impartial as possible to deliver the hard facts, ignoring the whimpering, cowering Omega in the depths of him crying out for someone, anyone to want him, need him, keep him.

Working his way back in hadn’t been easy. Keeping his presentation under wraps with scent blockers and suppressants hadn’t been either, but there was no way in hell he was going to let something like the fact he was an Omega be the reason they wanted him back. Fuck, no.

But it happened anyway. Slowly but surely, O called him more often about cases, wanted to know if he had any helpful intel. B dropped by the Tower, more than once, to seek him out, told him how buggy the Batcomputer must be this point, but he wouldn’t really know, Tim, because you always handled that, didn’t you? Dick tentatively showed up in one of his safe houses while he riding an undercover stint, pizza and terrible B sci-fi flicks, looked crushed when Tim closed the door on him by sheer self-preservation instinct.  Jason Todd showed up to fish him out of the middle of the Atlantic when a case of crimefighting gone hilariously awry ended up with a thwarted world-domination plot and his ass landed in the middle of, you know, the ocean and shit. Damian of all people demanded his presence in Gotham for the upcoming anniversary of Batcow’s induction into the family.

(When he’d blurted out, “why would you want me back? Aren’t you the one that wanted me gone in the first place? Well, I mean, got what you asked for, right? How about we pretend this conversation never happened.” 

He had been in no way prepared for the demon himself to come hunt him down with a vengeance. Robin seeking him out no matter where he hopped next on the fight crime, kick ass, and take names train.)

(That kid? Seriously.)

And as much as Dick had apologized after he finally made his way back to Gotham, had said no Omega in his Pack should have been alone, without a Bat safety net (reads as: mother hen), he had seemed genuinely upset Tim had presented outside of Gotham, on his own.

Worse, he hadn’t told anyone. Hadn’t come back.

(Like he thought that was an option at the time.)

It wasn’t until later, after they found out he presented, and were…upset he’d been on his own for so long afterwards, that he’d laughed at Dick’s angry expression, shaking his head.

“Come back? Why? To what? I didn’t have any Pack scent by then, and I sure as fuck wasn’t welcome, so why bother? I did what I had to do. We got Bruce back, didn’t we?”

He hadn’t been prepared for how strongly Dick’s musk flared, how the Alpha went deadly serious, had stepped back and palmed some pellets on instinct when facing something potentially dangerous – like a pissed off, feral Alpha male.

It had taken visible effort for Dick to get a hold of his Alpha instincts, which had absolutely perplexed him at the time because really? They hadn’t been partners, allies, friends for almost two years by then.

“It was…I tried to….Tim –“

He’d just waved off the helpless sputtering because by then, it hadn’t really mattered.

“It all worked out in the end. Don’t think about it all too hard, Dick. I don’t.” Which had been an obvious lie, but had at least appeased the Alpha enough not to viciously scent him or use the dreaded octopus hold until he was cuddled within an inch of his life.

So coming back was…different. Unexpected.

Being the official Pack Omega came with Bats all over his everything. Bats coming out of the woodwork when he was starting to run down, when his Heat was approaching, when he’d been out of the city for too long.

(It was all for nothing in the end. Because they’re only after the Omega now, not the boy that used to wear the R…)

“Heat’s easier with an A, Timmers,” Jay had started that ball rolling. “Ya ever gotta need fer the real thing, betcha I know a few Alphas what might help ya out.”

“I can call some Alphas I trust if that becomes the case.” Had been off-handed in his mind, but it had been something else to see Jason’s expression smooth out, to catch the soft noise of leather when the Red Hood’s hands had clenched into fists.

But against his better judgement, he’d let them into his Heat safehouse. At first just to let them deliver Alfred goodies. Later because they wanted to stay, to spend his Heat together.

It was fine as long as they would just leave afterwards. It was fine as long as it stayed just instincts, just Alphas and an Omega. It was fine because they still treated him like Red Robin on the streets and left him alone when he went blackout on cases outside the city.

It was fine until it suddenly wasn’t.

“Gawd, sweetheart,” Jay moans against the nape of his neck, noses against the base, “ya feel s’ good. My sweet lil’ ‘Mega. My purty ‘Mega, lettin’ me in, givin’ it up ta yer Alpha. Gonna lemme be good ta ya, yeah? That’s right. Perfect fer me, ain’t cha?”

It’s his second day, so he’s with it enough to realize what Jason said.

“Yeah he is,” Dick’s fingers in his hair, nails scratching at his scalp. “He’s such a good Omega for us, isn’t he Jay? He fits so nicely between us. Our cute O–“

“Red.” Tim croaks out from under Jay’s bigger body, the wet sounds of skin slapping fast and furious. He bucks up against Jay with real strength, his eyes already getting ridiculously hot and full.

“Red, dammit! Get the hell off me!”

He yells loud enough to make Jay flinch and jerk up abruptly from where he’d been laying over Tim’s back.

Dick’s hand pauses before untangling from his hair.

And even if the Heat is still burning, his body desperate for the knot that was just seconds ago opening him up for it, Tim pulls off Jason’s Alpha cock wetly, doing it himself while both Alphas seem frozen in their spots, not sure why he would safe word out at all. He seemed to be enjoying them!

Tim’s already clawing and scrambling off the bed, careful not to touch either of them, legs wobbly, messy ass and thighs on display, feeling open and raw and needy, but his chest too tight, his lungs seemingly unable to get enough air.

The bathroom door has a lock. Not that it was much of a deterrent if the Alphas really wanted to get to him, but there’s always the window big enough for him to fit through, too small for Dick or Jay. It would give him enough of a head start anyway.

At one point, he’d pulled a towel off the rack, wrapping it around himself, sitting against the bathroom door to literally block it with his body without being consciously aware of it.

He didn’t move, stayed bare ass on the cold tile floor, concentrated on getting enough air back in his lungs, biting down on his lower lip until his eyes stop spilling over, hot and full, until his chest stops stuttering with half-sobs. Until the Omega in him calms it the utter fuck down.

Soft tapping filters through when the door vibrates against his back.

Dick’s voice filters in while the inside of his head is an utter mess. “… got some pajamas for you, and-and a sandwich. Jay made coffee. Can you let me in, sweetheart?”

“Don’t call me that,” is out of his mouth before he can stop it. “I’m not your fucking Omega. I wasn’t enough to be your partner, your brother, and I’m sure as fuck not going to be your bitch either.”

“What the fuck didja just say ta ‘im?” Jay barks from outside the door.

“It’s just instincts,” he tries to snarl but his voice is hoarse, “that’s all this is. You think I don’t know that?” The laugh is scarily unhinged, “it’s not like anyone chose me, right?”

Because honestly, that hasn’t happened his whole vigilante career.

There’s silence outside the door. Stillness. The Omega writhes inside him, still needs a knot, still wants the Alphas even though Tim knows better than to think they want anything other than a warm hole, another vigilante to share the burden, an Omega’s influence in the Pack.

(He fucking gets it.)

“Apparently, we should talk.” Dick’s voice is flat, something like anger or disappointment.

“Get out,” is what Tim says instead. “Get dressed and get the fuck out. I’ll take care of myself.”

Like I’ve always done. Even back when I wore the tunic.

“Tim, we shouldn’t–“

“No,” and his own scent had changed from candy sweet to alarmingly bitter to his own nose. “You are going to get your clothes on and leave. You two don’t see me through anymore Heats. I find someone else or take care of it myself.”

“What?!” Jay sounds floored, “what the shit is this alla sudden? Ya can’t be serious right now.”

“I’m not fucking around, Jason. You leave, or I will.”

“You can’t go out smelling like Heat!”

“I dunno what the hell’s goin’ on wit’ ya but–“

He stands up on wobbly legs, moves to push the window open, knows they’ll hear the squealing because he’s not trying to be quiet about it.

“Whoa, whoa! All right, all right, fer fuck’s sake!”

“We’re getting dressed and leaving,” Dick is right up against the door. “Don’t go out the window, Tim. We’re…we’re going to go, okay?”

“Then go. Now.” He says from the window without turning around. He can’t chance his inner Omega will push him to whine at the door, to smell like open for business, take me, love me, make me yours because that is not at all where any of them are right now.

He hears them talking, their voices getting more muted as they go back to the bedroom to apparently do as he asked.

Tim climbs out of the tub, window still up, and turns on the shower without getting in, just using the noise as a deterrent.

“Don’t like it, Dickie,” he vaguely catches as the Alphas pass by the door again. “We try ta take care a’ ‘im and that’s what the fuck he says?”

“He safe worded, Jay. What does that mean to you?”

And Tim’s throat gets tight when he thinks about the implications Dick is suggesting.

“Dunno. How ‘bout ya gimme yer theories, Detective.”

“Later. I want to make sure there’s water and Alfred meals left in the feezer.”

“Fine, them let ‘im take care of his own ass. I ain’t never took advantage of a ‘Mega in my fucking life.”

Tim doesn’t leave the bathroom until he hears the front door slam closed. He darts out long enough to reconfigure the security system, makes sure no Bats are getting in without a hell of a shock.

The rest of his Heat is utterly fucking miserable, natch.

He feels wrung out and hurt by the time it’s done and he’s ready to put on the suit again.

He doesn’t put in the Batcomm, for the first time in months, and it goes back in a drawer before he takes off out the window.

[merryfortune]

Ship: Artur/Neimi (mentioned Colm/Neimi)

Fandom: Fire Emblem Sacred Stones

Word Count: 948

AN: uhhh I like Colm/Neimi but I had this idea for a ficlet first

The war was over but a new fight was beginning in Artur’s heart. A fight for what he wanted more than anything else in the world, apparently. A fight so grand that he was willing to take upon a new dream and, solemnly, cast away his old dream.

“Neimi,” he said, sure of foot and brave of eye, “I would like to speak to you before we part ways.”

Neimi could have leapt out of her skin having heard that. Her eyes went all buggy and terrified.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” she asked.

“No, no, of course not.” Artur replied. “You can do no wrong in my eyes, even if it hurt me.”

“Pardon? I don’t- I don’t follow.” Neimi said, a little bit confused but at least she didn’t look terrorised anymore.

Artur took a breath and he clenched his fist. “Do you intend on returning to whence you came, to rebuild, with Colm?” he asked.

“Yes.” Neimi replied and there was a small blush to her cheeks.

“Do you love him?” Artur asked and even though he looked a touch afraid, he was gallant.

“I - I think so.” Neimi replied.

“You think so?” Artur prompted her. “You confided in me once that Colm makes you cry. I know that he means it playfully and that you are used to it, the back and forth you two cultivated over years of being childhood friends, but if I make air my outsider opinion, I would like to say something. But only if you grant me permission because I’m worried you may revile what I have to say.”

Neimi turned in on herself hearing that, shuffling awkwardly, even clutching onto her precious mirror; the strap repaired, stronger than ever.

“...I’ll hear it.” she replied in a tiny voice. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you, Neimi.” Artur said and he took another breath. With his shoulders rolled back, he looked royal with determination. “I think you deserve better than someone who is hurtful around you, no matter how apologetic he is afterwards. I know you care for Colm deeply and I respect your bond but I’m in love with you, Neimi and it is selfish of me but I want to proclaim myself the better suitor. How unholy of me but I am human. Fallible. But despite my flaws, I know I am someone who would never made you cry on purpose. Someone who would only make you cry with happiness, say, on a wedding day or the like. So, Neimi, I am giving you the decision to change my future. I have a modest ring I can offer you. So, would you have me? I would like to help you rebuild your village, ideally as your lover rather than as clergyman. But I promise, no grudge, unto you or Colm, will bear from me if you were to reject me. I see happiness for myself, both as your potential spouse and as a member of the clergy.”

Artur made good on his word. He produced a ring and it was indeed humble as he mentioned. It was a band of silver emblazoned with runes associated with light and the sun in the clergy with a yellow topaz embedded at its highest peak but it was nothing which was extravagant. But even so, seeing it, Neimi burst into tears.

“O-Oh,” she murmured, “th-this is too sudden. I can’t come b-between you or your calling. A-And what about the father? Who helped you as a child? I - I wouldn’t want you to make him sad... A-And I’m so sorry.”

Artur, who had prepared himself for this outcome, was still crushed to see and hear Neimi in such a tearful frenzy.

“My apologies.” he said. “It - It was sudden of me.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Neimi squeaked.

Artur’s ears pricked up at hearing that.

“I didn’t mean it like that...” she mumbled. She clutched onto that mirror of hers preciously. “I-It’s kind of romantic. Maybe... maybe my parents had a discussion similar to this once upon a time... Th-They say history repeats.”

“They do.” Artur agreed, he swallowed a hiccup and he felt a burning sensation at his tear ducts but he had to stay strong. For Neimi. If she set him off, she would set herself off worse in payback against herself.

“But- but maybe we can change the ending.” Neimi murmured, unable to look at Artur, too scared and demure for that. “Maybe we could have a long and happy ending. Unlike my Mother and Father. Perhaps we could go slow... E-Even though you were faster than Colm on the uptake.” Neimi giggled to herself and she was finally able to look at Artur again. “I don’t want to get married right away but I will accept your engagement but only if you are willing to wait as long as I need to decide my feelings.”

“Nothing would thrill me more.” Artur earnestly replied.

“Th-Then you may...” Neimi murmured, unable to word herself right so she merely lifted her hand to him.

Artur nodded, tears dribbling down his silken cheeks, and he clasped onto Neimi’s hand. With his heart thudding in his chest, he slid on the ring as carefully as he could onto Neimi’s hand and just like he hoped. There was a certain rightness to how her hand, calloused by years of hard work with a bow and soothed by years of using moisturising creams on it, wore the ring. Neimi cried tears of joy, how rare for her despite all her bawling, and Artur smiled, satisfied, to himself.

[justm3h]

Plot - Triskaidekaphobia

Summary: Marco has lived many lives. Lives as a civilian, lives with the Marines, lives as a pirate and the smallest butterfly effect makes each adventure new. But each death has him waking up after eating the first fruit of his life.

Another chance, another life.

One more shot to make things right.

Characters: Marco the Phoenix, Monkey D. Garp, Bell-mere, Donquiote “Corazon” Rosicante, Coby, Gol D. Roger, Silvers Rayleigh, Shanks, Benn Beckman, Makino, Monkey D. Luffy, Edward Newgate, Thatch, Portgas D. Rouge, Portgas D. Ace, Sabo, Monkey D.Dragon, Buggy, Straw Hat Crew, Kureha, Nico Olvia, Marshall D. Teach, Trafalgar D. Water Law

Pairing: Rouge/Roger, slight Makino/Shanks but mostly Gen

1-8

The first life Marco lives is boring and normal. He passes peacefully, a respected but simple village doctor, flames flicker even as he’s eyes fall shut for the last time. Only for that not to be true, as he opens them once again to hands the size of a child and not an old man.

The second life he travels the South Blue. He wants to see what the sea has to offer him and he makes friends and learns so much. He dies this time by drowning, and decides he doesn’t like it very much.

The third time, he starts figuring things out. Each death has him wake up right after eating the worst tasting fruit of his life. He’s grown use to the blue flames that heal and the obsession with cinnamon but the healing is a gift enough.

Marco travels further, learning skills of a sailor. He enjoys navigating the most, for the stars are the only thing that seem to be consistent with every redo.

His third adventure ends, accidentally being eaten in the calm belt. Another mistake he swears to Never Make Again.

The fourth one comes and he realizes he needs to learn how to fight and joins the Marines.

He’s not very good at first, more often than not, he fumbles and fails and it stuck in a lower position for some time. He only hears later of the Summit War and even then it’s just boring news that doesn’t matter on the blues.

One drowning later and Marco becomes a Marine again on count 5. His ‘talent’ is noticed. He’s sent to the Grandline and trains with other fresh recruits. He is in awe as he catches sight of the admirals and of the legendary hero Garp. The Marines try to figure out what fruit he ate but have as much luck as he has in the past. He makes it as far as Captain before dying tragically protecting his men.

6 and 7 are much the same. Joins the Marines and is satisfied with the rank of Captain. He enjoys having the spunky Bell-mere under his tutelage til she is transferred and quit soon after. Marco enjoys seeing Rosicante grow from a brat he babysat to a fine Marine although still a walking disaster.

Marco always takes different posts and assignments, never wanting to have the confusion of knowing something he shouldn’t. It doesn’t stop him from befriending a few of the same people over and over again, but those are just some binds he’s not willing to let go.

But 5 to 7 are also where Marco really starts to notice something wrong with the world. He never noticed on the Blues, too isolated from the Grandline and the Red to pay much mind to it.

There was corruption, Marines taking bribes or turning a blind eye to the pleadings of the people who begged for help. The admirals were bias, unable to get pasted their own convictions to just help.

It caused Bell-mere to leave and Rosicante’s death.

It hurt.

8 seems to hurt the most. He was put under the care of Garp. He learned so much about the Vice Admiral, Garp yelled about his brat grandkids and Fists of Love were a daily occurrence. Regardless of his violence, Garp was what the Marines should have been. Heroes. Marco could see it in the boy and his friend that Garp adopted, made all too clear when the pink haired boy jumped in front of a cannon.

He and Bogard would watch from a distance as the two chore boys trained. Fought for the right to be Marines. Bogard taught Helmeppo, the tall blond better with blades, while Marco taught Coby the basics of hand to hand til Garp took over their training.

Marco always made sure to patch the young men up at the end of the day, a doctors work never done, even after they picked a fight with Garp’s grandson.

“Dumb Brats,” he joking at Garp as he checks over Coby and Helmeppo after their fight.

Marco got a good look at Garp’s grandson, Monkey D. Luffy. He was much like his grandfather, even as they both fell asleep in the middle of their own fight.

But Marco hasn’t seen pirates like these since Roger, despite the Marine propaganda, his cabin boy Shanks, or Whitebeard. Considering the rookie pirate had Red-Haired Shanks’ old straw hat…. Who if all the praises Coby said were true, saved him and a whole town, was more hero than a pirate had the right to be.

Monkey D. Luffy who dreamed of being King of the Pirates. Well, Marco could admit to himself he wouldn’t mind seeing the boy become the second King.

Even if the crew couldn’t handle a few cannonballs from Garp at the moment.

Then Marineford. The stories he had heard in passing before, if he lived long enough to hear them, paled in comparison to the actual event.

It was a massacre. Garp fell and so did his grandson. Whitebeard died on his feet seeing his adopted son and blood son of Gol D. Roger perish under the executioner’s blade. And there impaled on a molten fist was Coby, the boy Garp hoped would continue his legacy.

Marco died, a screech echoing over the battlefield as he flew to attack the lava man, with ice and light ripping through his body.

9 and 1st Time Pirate

9 he wakes to wings not hands and realizes just exactly what the fruit did to him.

Marco does not join the Marines this time, preferring to not think about all the blood and death he still had nightmares about.

This time, he flies and travels. The seas no longer limit him and stars will always be his guide. He doesn’t tire but can just fly for what seems like forever.

The blond witnesses Gol D. Roger’s death, spotting the would be faces of many soon to be known names. It’s curious but Red Hair asks if he wants to join his crew.

“Why?”

“You look interesting!”

Needing something new and knowing full well what kind of pirate the young man is from endless rants from Garp, Marco accepts. Not like he has anything better to do.

It’s maybe the worst decision he’s ever made as the seemingly endless parties usually leave it up to him to keep them on course, unable to get drunk without the help of seastone.

He’s grateful when Benn joins, if not just to keep Shanks somewhat in line for a pirate. There are questions about his knowledge of the Marines and he makes no point to hide that he ‘quit’.

“Being a pirate suit you more?”

“Seems so Cap.”

If more pirates were like Red Hair, he ponders, watching the man make a fool of himself for a pretty green haired girl, then there wouldn’t been so many issues in the world.

Marco meets a young Monkey D. Luffy, still as mischievous as before, and laughs at the reaction Shanks has when he learns the kid he’s taken a shine to is related to Garp.

“He’s got his Grandfather’s smile.”

“I’m concerned how you know that, Marc.”

It goes much like canon, Luffy is kidnapped and is taken to the middle of the bay and Marco is actually the one who flys Shanks out there.

Marco has a first hand experience of watching Shanks lose his arm. He apologizes for not being faster but Shanks just smiles.

“He’s worth it.”

Shanks becomes Emperor, Marco and Benn both arguably first mate but Marco gets his first bounty poster.

“The Phoenix?”

“Pretty on the nose with that one.”

They have many clashes, with pirates and other Marines alike. Marco finds he enjoys the meetings with the man called Whitebeard the most. At worst, they have a fight but usually they are all too hungover by the time it gets to that.

The morning after a rare party between Shanks and Whitebeard, the air was full of the smell of breakfast and hint of something else. It made Marco pause his berated tairaid against Shanks’ stupidity and abruptly walks away. He followed the smell, leading him to the Moby Dicks kitchen where a man in a chefs suit was elbow deep in kneading bread. But the smell. He breathed it in barely noticing Shanks and Benn following.

The chef looks up and smiles.

“Hey! You’re on Shanks crew, right? I’m Thatch, head chef and 3rd commander! Nice to meet you… hey hello? You in there?”

Thatch looks confused as he holds up the cinnamon and Marco’s eyes follow. Left, right, up, down. Thatch eventually hands Marco a fresh roll and he literally coos with joy.

Shanks LOOSES it. Marco screeches, launching at Shanks with a kick. They run out of the kitchen and Thatch is just so confused and Benn is amused.

The Red Force is then on always stocked with Cinnamon and Thatch always gifts Marco with new cinnamon treats to try, a personal challenge of his.

Marineford comes again, Shanks having tried to prevent it but failed. It was hard to hear that Thatch had been killed but Marco keeps focused as they fight Kaido to make it in time to do anything.

By the time they arrive, it’s much the same nightmare as before. Garp survives but both his grandchildren have fallen, Whitebeard stands dead once again with much of his children at his feet. Shanks was able to save Coby, the boy just inches from having a face full of magma. The Marines scream victory but Marco can only feel hollow.

He’s been on both sides of that battlefield now and neither feel like a victory.

The Red Hair pirates help with gathering the dead, Marco keeping watch on everything as much as he can. Garp looks at him with such mistrust it hurts more than anything.

He offers his condolences, something he couldn’t offer a corpse previously. Garp is somber but accepts. The true sadness is when he gives Shanks the straw hat telling him that Luffy would have wanted him to have it.

It’s not til after the funerals that Marco sits with Shanks and Benn. He’s got a sea stone ring on as he drinks and drinks.

He tells them the truth. He’s old and seen this before and nothing changes. Death seems to be the only result.

They talk to him about the Marines, about the first time, about everything.

“I see these things and don’t know how to fix them. All the paths seem to lead to that blasted war.”

Benn looks at him, “Have you really tried?”

Marco stares into his drink. Has he? He’s taken different roads but never really did much to change things did he?

The phoenix finds new determined and confidence in the faith that both of them have in him to fix things. They won’t remember him, no one does, but they were proud to call him nakama for all these years.

“If you ever need us, find us again, tell us something that only we would know and a bottle of booze. We’ll drink together again.” Shanks tells him before stabbing Marco through the heart.

10 and the Guardian

10 and Marco awakes on a mission. He grows just old enough to be accepted as a cabin boy and flies. Flies far, far away from his home to the Grand line. Where he find the Roger pirates, a budding crew well on their way to greatness. He learns from the best, gaining first hand experience on why the Pirate King was so formidable.

Haki is a well worth nightmare to learn from two of its greatest users. Even if it meant that he had to babysit a younger and somehow even more reckless Shanks and fellow cabin boy Buggy.

Marco watches with a whole new level of sadness at Roger’s passing. Shanks again asks for him to join his crew but Marco declines stating that he’s going to travel for a bit and figure out where life takes him.

Where it ends up taking him, is more preset than he would have Shanks believe. He follows Garp to a small island in the South blue where he see Rouge give birth to the little boy named Ace.

Garp confronts the man but Marco has kept his powers a secret from the Marines this time, a fall back for if things got dicey. He follows Garp, bird shaped so know no one is the wiser.

He spends years watching over the boy. Raising him in ways that Garp couldn’t. He’s there for when Garp brings Luffy to the town for Makino to care for. He watches over these boys that are so, so important.

And he meets Shanks again when the Red Hair Pirates come to town.

Marco lets Shanks meet Luffy and pulls him aside to take a walk. They walk to the forest where Shanks feels eyes watching. Marco remains calm and jovial even as two young boys attack him with metal pipes.

He easily defeats the two and leaves Shanks stunned for once. He watches as both brats yell at Marco for beating them again as Marco scolds them right back for their poor technique.

The tall blond introduces the two brats as Ace and Sabo, his charges shared under Garp.

“Garp?! That old fart?!”

“Hey! Don’t you call gramps an old fart, dye job!”

“What did you just call me brat?!”

Shanks and Ace bicker with each other as Marco and Sabo watch amused.

Shanks spends most of the walk back grumbling about pain in the ass kids.

“He takes after Roger but I see more of Rouge in him.”

“Ugh he’s just as stubborn as the Cap.. tain.” Shanks pauses… and stares at Marco then back at the forest and the back at Marco. “He- That’s?!”

“You have to swear never to speak of this Shanks… Garp and I have protected him for this long. I would hate to think we failed because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”

“Never. For the Captain and Rouge’s son never…. tell me more about him Marco.”

“Let’s go talk over drinks.”

Marco still enjoys getting a shocked face out of Shanks.

For the whole year he’s in the East Blue, he splits his time between Luffy and the two boys on the mountain.

Shanks shares stories of his time as a cabin boy on Roger’s crew, which causes Ace to get mad but then he’s pacified when hearing other tales of his mother.

Ace doesn’t hate his father quite as much this time but still has enough of a stigma to still be angry with him.

But canon has a way of happening and Shanks once again loses an arm for Luffy. Marco watches with sadness knowing his friend will be sailing from the Blue permanently. He bids them a safe journey and for Benn to keep his sanity. Shanks just laugh and they share a hug.

Garp returns, furious that Marco lets his brat grandson be influenced by that damn Red Hair. Marco just shrugs, knowing full well if Garp meant it he would have come back sooner. News of Red Hair being in the East Blue wasn’t hard to find, Marco could clearly remember Garp complaining about it while he was in the Marines. The Phoenix does inform Garp that Shanks knows about Ace and the grandfather sighs.

“He’s got his mother’s freckles as clear as day.”

“Suits him.”

“Aye.”

Luffy befriends the boys who become brothers then canon canon canon. Marco can only do so much good saving Ace and Dudan, and then going to search for Sabo. He finds the boy on a ship in a coma in the hands of…

“Ah, hello Dragon.”

The two talk, Marco explaining who the boy is and his… situation. Marco holds off on moving the boy till he wakes, his injuries far too severe to move him right away.

So Dragon and Marco talk. Marco is kind enough to share stories of Luffy growing up, something the father smiles at. It’s a peace offering.

Sabo awakens with amnesia. He reacts poorly to going home but seems to take pause at the mention of brothers.

“Ace? Luffy?”

“Yes. Those are their names.”

“I have brothers.”

Marco and Sabo go back home, with Dragon leaving Marco with his den den number in case there’s something Garp can’t handle. Ace and Luffy barely let Sabo out of their sight for days but help the boy relearn things and heal.

Years pass and both Ace and Sabo are the age to set sail. Marco stays with Luffy as they watch the boy’s two older brother sail away together. Marco tells them to watch each others backs and keep their wits.

“More than anything stay safe, stay alive.”

“You worry too much Marc, we’ll be fine.“

"I’ll keep him out of trouble Marco.”

“Hey!“

There Marco remains hearing about the two’s adventures with brief updates via the mail. He’s pleased to see both have taken up with Whitebeard. The old man would keep the boys safe.

The day Luffy sets out, Marco goes with him. Luffy pouts but he’s pleased that he’ll have some of his family with him. Marco flies high above enjoying the sun and completely misses the whirlpool until it’s too late. He can only watch as Luffy bobs in the water stuck in a barrel.

Just great.

East Blue basically happens with a plus one Marco. He tries to stay out of the way as much as possible, he’s not Luffy’s crew, these aren’t his fights but seeing all these familiar faces is both nice and painful.

He watches Coby’s beginning and the strength he got from Luffy plus how much Helmeppo changed.

Seeing Buggy, Roger’s other cabin boy, again was interesting.

"Buggy!”

“Oh damn, a flashy idiot from the past.”

“You know this clown?!”

“We were part of the same crew.”

“Did he have the nose then too?”

“ah… ”

“HOW DARE YOU?!”

They travel from one island to the next, picking up a first mate, navigator, and then a sharpshooter. Marco was sad to hear about Usopp’s mother passing, he hadn’t been aware of her death while still traveling with Shanks and as a doctor, it was probably something he could have prevented.

Marco left the Baratie early, flying after Nami with the other boat following his lead.

Marco pats Luffy on the head before he goes, “Stay safe.”

“Yosh~!” He nods at Hawkeye and flys off.

Learning exactly how Bell-mere passed was hard. She died like a hero protecting her girls and he could respect that after now raising so many kids, so many times, himself.

Still he honors Luffy’s claim of dibs but does destroy the Marine ships nearby, earning his bounty to raise once again.

Lougetown was interesting. He has no wish to see the site where Roger died, he’s seen it too many times as is and walks towards a familiar presence on the other side of town. He finds Dragon in a hole in the wall pub and they have drinks.

Small talk is exchanged and the leader of the revolutionary army has some good gossip… and some bad.

“Ace and Sabo have been seen leaving the new world for paradise… its said they are tracking someone named Teach…”

“Damn…”

Their talk is cut short when the wind picks up from a storm rolling in… and a person barges in yelling about an execution in the square.

“Looks like your son found trouble again. Does he get that from you or his mother?”

“No comment.”

Marco rushes ahead, allowing Dragon to slip away into the shadows. He doesn’t do much but does strike some more fear of god into Buggy for messing with his chick.

“I FORGOT HOW PROTECTIVE YOU GET JEEZ.”

They escape with a shared nod between Dragon and Marco.

When they start sharing their dreams on the way up reverse mountain, Marco has a vague one to share “To prevent the future.”

Que the beginning of the Alabasta arc. Past knowledge has always been limited when it comes to Luffy’s journey. It was filled with misinformation and other hole so he was honestly not expecting for there to be a GIANT WHALE. Oh, hi Crocus.

“You know this flower?”

“Reluctantly, yoi.”

“Brat!”

“My name is Crocus, the lighthouse keeper of Twin Capes. I’m 71 years old, a Gemini and type AB blood.”

“ YOU’RE A CAPRICORN YOI.”

They sail away from the capes, experiencing the strange weather of the Grandline for the first time. “It feels like coming home.” The Blues no longer felt quite the home, like the Grandline.

They arrive at Whiskey Peak and Marco is instantly suspicious. He joins the drinking with merry joy. They could try to get him drunk all they wanted but even with a seastone ring, he’s partied with Roger, Shanks and Whitebeard. This was nothing.

He fake passes out with Nami and Zoro, both having caught on to the plot.

Baroque Works reveals themselves and Marco fights the Millions. They are weak even by Grandline standards but their numbers prove to be the most annoying.

As Vivi explains what’s happening to her country and Mr.0 being Crocodile things are starting to become clear on how the Navy originally covered the whole mess up.

Little Garden is basically identical expect Marco is with Sanji as most of this goes down. So he’s not involved with any of it.

When Nami comes down sick, Marco tries to cure her but is unfamiliar with her illness. His memory reminds him of a long since wiped out Disease that it could be but he doesn’t have the ingredients. His flames help keep her fever down but are unable to do much else.

When Marco isn’t looking after Nami, he’s taken over navigation getting them safely to Drum… Mostly, til this hippo gets on deck. Marco has the sick satisfaction of seeing Luffy send the little gremlin flying for eating a chunk of Merry.

Marco would fly Nami all the way to the top but its too snowy and windy for him to make the flight safely with a passenger, especially one as sick as she was. He joins Luffy and Sanji in carrying her up to the top, the cold not really an issue. Luffy tries to fight him on it but Marco hits him on the head with his own Fist of Love.

“She’s Nakama, Luffy. I’m going, yoi.”

“…Fine.”

Marco is the one to carry Sanji to the top while Luffy still has Nami. He’s exhausted but awake when Chopper finds them by the cliff. He heals naturally, bundled up in a blanket by a fire. He hears Dr. Kureha’s story about Chopper and the island, casually wondering if it would have been the same for him had he known from the beginning he could shift into a flaming bird.

Wapol’s arrival at the castle is unwelcomed in his opinion and short lasting at least. He, as always, stays out of the fight, but assists the Doctor in keeping Sanji out of it as well.

lucky:i like how he’s present but not changing things

Wapol is defeated giving Kureha and Marco a chance to chat. It turns into this and that, the will of D., and…

“Your eyes look old.”

“I bet.”

“How many cycles have you gone through, Phoenix?“

”…what?“

"Rebirths? Is that what you call it? Bah. no matter… not everyone can age as gracefully as me.”

She admits that she read about it once briefly in an old medical tomb. A previous user went insane on their 13th rebirth.

“I’m on my 10th, yoi. I don’t even know why it keeps happening.”

“Well you might want to figure that one out soon.”

“Any hints?”

“The book mention they went crazy and burned to ash, nothing about a cure.”

“Fantastic.”

They leave, both merry and somber. Marco won’t abandon Luffy to go hunt for a solution he may not even find.

So the Strawhat crew is finally almost to Alabasta. Mr.2 doesn’t get Marco’s face cause he was in bird form looking down on the shenanigans.

The dock and Marco feels the two familiar presences with a large smile. They meet back up with Ace first then Sabo who was spying as Ace got into trouble with Smoker.

Luffy introduces his two brothers much to the crews shock. Two Whitebeard pirates and they are Luffy’s brothers?! Marco laughs glad to have his boys back in one place if not just for a bit.

Ace and Sabo inform him they’ve been tracking a traitor named Teach. Marco actually pulls them both aside and tells them to be careful and don’t underestimate him.

“Do you know something Marc?”

“…I don’t like this. If he’s underhanded enough to stab a crewmate, who knows what else he has planned.”

“We’ll be careful.”

They travel across the sand and dunes, Marco switching between flight and walking. The heat is aggravating but manageable.

They seem to be on a wild goose chase when the rebel army moved and the rain base is also a dead end. They race to stop Crocodile, Luffy and he crew taking care of the fights while Marco flies the bomb into the middle of the sky to explode.

They rest and recover, Marco getting scolded for once for his recklessness, and finally set sail on Merry on to discover a new crew mate.

Marco isn’t sure what to think about Nico Robin. But she doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions so he accepts her easily enough.

When the log post points up to a sky island, Marco offers to fly up and set it so they can just continue on but Luffy pouts at him, rejecting his proposal to no one’s surprise.

Marco stays on the ship at Mock town, avoiding the encounter with Blackbeard and his crew.

The Skypedia arc goes as well as expected. Marco briefly explains the basics of Haki as Enel tries to strike them again and again with lightning.

Luffy wins, Marco comments on Enel’s poor luck of finding the one man in all the seas immune to his attacks.

Marco can tell something is wrong with Merry. At night he can hear a hammer tapping away. His worst fears are confirmed at Water 7.

The Phoenix can only watch as the crew learns of Merry broken keel and then of Luffy’s fight with Usopp. He can’t condone Usopp’s behavior but understands why the long nose felt so deeply about it.

Because he going to miss Merry too.

Things are only further complicated when Robin leaves along with the arrival of CP9. In his lives, Marco never encountered the Marines spies but had heard enough about them to realize they were bad news. With the reveal of the blueprints for Pluton, Marco is on high alert.

Marco follows the escaping CP9 with the captured Franky and Usopp, flying high above to not be seen.

The crew is all reunited as they approach Enies Lobby. It’s through his travels, Marco has learned a great deal of the corruption of the Marines, but hearing of the truth for the buster call on Robin’s home is sickening.

One by one, the Straw Hats beat CP9, Marco taking care of many of the minions running around the place.

As the buster call arrives, Marco destroys many of the Marine ships until Luffy defeats Lucci. The crew escapes on Merry, Marco watching from the sky’s over head. Even he can’t help but cry when they give her a funeral by fire.

Marco is elated seeing Garp, Coby and Helmeppo again. It’s on friendly terms for the first time since he had been a Marine and he missed their shenanigans. Luffy’s father is no surprise to him and Garp calls him out, Marco admitting he’s met him before.

“Damn annoying brat.”

They set sail on the new Thousand Sunny, Marco knocking away some of Garps cannonballs. Somethings never change.

Thriller Bark is interesting, Marco had heard of Moriah’s island ship but had never seen it and now was wishing he never had the chance. His shadow was never personal stolen from him, Haki keeping it safe from Moriah’s grubby hands.

Brook is about the closest thing Marco has ever seen to his own rebirth powers but quickly discovers that’s not quite right as he could only do it once and he never looped.

Still Marco can’t help but sympathize that the skeleton spent so long by himself.

For all their attempts, the one to finally take down Oars is Marco. He had waited and watched and seen them give it their all but the truth is clear. They can’t quite manage.

But he can.

Still the first time in a while he’s been able to let loose, becoming far too lax this loop to have any time to fight. But Oars falls and Marco feels refreshed.

He worries as Luffy takes so much damage from Moriah and the with the arrival of Kuma he has to step in. Marco is the one to take all of Luffy’s damage instead of Zoro. He knocked both Sanji and Zoro out to do it. Kuma looks at the fallen young men and then at Marco who just smiles.

“You’ve helped raise Dragon’s son into a fine man with a good crew.”

“He did that all by himself, yoi.”

Marco awakens to the worried looks of the Straw Hat crew, all wondering what happened.

He smiles and says it was nothing as both Sanji and Zoro look at him blankly, the area covered in his blood. They can be mad at him all they want, he’d make the same choice every time.

They sail to Sabody and Marco ditches the crew at Shakky’s bar, talking with her over drinks for a bit. He’s informed that Ace and Sabo were not as careful as he had hoped, they were captured and sent to Impel Down.

“Damn those brats. I warned them.”

“It gets worse Marco-kun. Ace has been scheduled for execution.”

“Of course he has.”

Marco is still at Shakky’s when the Straw Hats and Ray return.

“Welcome back Ray-san.”

“Ah Marco! Been a while!”

It’s revealed that Marco was also on Roger’s crew along with Ray much to the shock of everyone, including Luffy.

“How was I supposed to know?!”

“I’ve told you enough stories that you should have figured it out, yoi.”

The crew has to make a run for it as they are outclassed and outnumbered by gathering Marine forces. Between Kuma, Pacificas, and the Admiral Kizaru, they stood no chance.

Marco tries to protect the crew from Kuma but fails as he too is blasted away, unable to break out of the paw bubble.

Marco is sent to the Red Force to the shock of its crew. He’s fucking furious, fighting Kaido and flying as fast as he can directly to Marineford but arrives too late.

Now not only were Ace and Luffy dead, but Sabo as well. Marco collapses in grief, dying as magma melts him.

So ends loop 10, probably the harshest yet on his poor heart.

11 and Canon at last

Marco is at a loss for what to do at the start of 11. It feels like he’s missing something and can’t quite figure out what.

He travels to the not yet destroyed island of Ohara, still known for its vast knowledge and thousands of books.

Try as he might, he couldn’t seem to find a single one on helping him. Marco had located the medical book Kureha mentioned but it listed more of what happened should he fail than succeed. Doomed to ash, it seemed was his fate.

While there, he befriends a woman named Olivia, now knowing that this woman was Robin’s mother.

They talk only a handful of times before he departs, but he warns her that Ohara was already suspected to be researching the void century and to be careful.

He flies to Roger, the man still young and not yet a pirate. Roger humors Marco as he asks questions, generally amusing as the boy, still a boy, takes a small comfort in huddling into the man’s side.

“I don’t know how to save them, yoi. Every time I try, they die worse than the last.”

“Maybe it’s not about saving them, but giving them the best chance at survival?”

“What Ray said! I know I’d give up everything to save my crew!”

Rayleigh offers that if what he’s tried so far didn’t work, maybe he could try something else. Marco thinks and there’s one crew directly involved he hasn’t tried yet. He thanks the two and promises they’ll meet again someday and flys to find a young Whitebeard.

Marco joins Whitebeard’s crew, watches as it grows from a handful of men to multiple divisions. It’s hard to call him Pops, having been enemies and only sometimes allies, but Newgate is just as stubborn as Roger in many cases and looks so proud the first time the name slips from his mouth.

He never fights against Roger and his crew, usually brushing past the bewildered pirates with a bottle split between him and Ray, even if he has to deal with the ‘you’re too young for drinking’ comments.

Marco is promoted to first mate and is stunned as that spot has always been Diamond Jozu’s position. But the crew voted and they trust him and he’s their big brother. It makes Marco feel warm.

Marco is the one to recruit Thatch, young and bright not yet with his iconic hairstyle. But his cooking is just what they need on a growing crew and Thatch thrives.

Life continues, and things come to pass just like before. Roger dies and Marco sees first hand the decline of Whitebeard. The realization time is killing his old Captain’s rival is hard, not even his flames can heal old age.

He probably enjoys the fights with Shanks crew the most because he knows what they want, a good drink and maybe a fight. As Pops and Shanks yell and clash he walks up to Benn as offers him a drink and a safe place to watch from. He’ll take every chance he gets to enjoy the company of his friends before its slips away.

It’s been years but it also passed in a blink of an eye as reports of Jinbe fighting an upcoming rookie reaches the deck of the Moby Dick. Marco lets out a breath. Ace.

Marco never saw how Pops took one look at this brat and wanted him on his crew.

Never saw how Thatch’s eyes lit up as Ace snapped back sarcastically and knew he found something fun.

Never saw how the crew slowly adopted this angry child as their own and he gradually accepted them too.

Never saw how Luffy’s first bounty poster made his whole world and how it was all torn down when one of his own division kills Thatch.

Now Marco sees how the once happy family fell, all because of one devil fruit. They only later identify it as the Dark Dark fruit, and reading the far too short description of its powers, leaves Marco wondering what other secrets it had.

So we have canon, Ace goes after Teach despite Marco’s warnings and pleas. He does and Marco can only mentally prepare himself for the worst. Shanks distracts Kaido as they head to war. It’s planned a bit differently than he’s seen it in the past, but that’s what past knowledge gets you.

He goes to war like canon and the war ends like canon. Ace and Pops are dead but Luffy escaped with the help of the up and coming supernova, Trafalgar Law.

It feels like a fever dream as Marco stands in front of the two graves of Ace and Pops, shoulder to shoulder with Shanks once again.

“I could use a drink.”

“Get me a seastone ring and I’ll give you a story too.”

Marco and Shanks drink in quiet in the Captain’s room on the Red Force. It looks nearly identical to the times when he’s been on the crew, even has his wanted poster on the wall.

“Why am I on your walls, Shanks? Trying to get me to join more than just your crew?”

“You know, I put it up when I was smashed and never felt like taking it down. Seemed to belong there.”

“You don’t say.”

They drink and drink til bottles litter the floor. Marco is the only one still going, drinking and talking about everything. Shanks slowed when the bird mentioned his multiple pasts and stopped when Marco said they had once been nakama. It was sobering and he started comforting the man when the tears got to be too much.

“I got so close Shanks. I only have one try left, yoi.”

“Sounds like you got close this time Marc… just… whatever you do next time, do what you want. Make the changes that matter to you.”

Marco waits til Shanks is asleep before taking a nearby knife and plunging it into his heart.

Triskaidekaphobia

12 and one sane life left, Marco awakens on a mission. If this is going to be his last chance… then he’s going to make sure all the people he cares about survive.

He joins Edward Newgate as the very first member of his new crew, easily calling the older man ‘Pops’ and man decides he likes the sound of that.

There’s nothing he can do for Roger, his illness incurable even to his healing blue flames (it was something he tried very early on), but before the man’s death, they drink and Marco tells him all sorts of stories about a boy named Ace and his brothers. Roger laughs till he cries.

“You know something Phoenix, if I ever had a son, he would be named Ace.”

“It’s a good name.”

“It really is.”

He’s sure Roger realizes the truth in the end, telling the Phoenix to look after him and his mother for him.

It took some planing and a lot of luck but after Roger’s execution Marco was able to lead Garp to Rouge faster than previously. It took secret letters and a few other bribes but the Marine was able to smuggle the woman off Baterilla, taking her and the baby she carried to the East Blue where she would be safe.

Marco handled the business on Ohara personally, but when Olivia failed to listen to his warnings, he knocked her out. Shoving her at Saul and Robin, the group escaped the Buster Call but were still tracked by the government for years to come.

Years later, he arrives in the North Blue just in time to save his old ward from several gunshot wounds, helping him and the crying boy to the next town over.

He sends money and a letter to Bell-mere telling her she’s worth more to her girls alive than dead.

Marco clears Tom’s name before Spandam can kill him, Cutty Flam is still presumed dead after attempting to stop the sea train.

The Phoenix sends medicine to Usopp’s mother and prevents the death of Chopper’s mentor Hiluluk.

Marco easily befriends Ace, welcoming him into the new crew. He saves Thatch from death, but for all his careful planning Teach still escapes.

With the war still on, Marco plots and toils.

Upon Shanks’ visit he has both crews agree to be close at hand incase something goes wrong, which it will and does.

Completely cuts the whole confrontation between the two captains having seen it too many times.

“None of us have time for your squabbling, not our crews or Ace, yoi.”

Hearing of the execution, Marco sends out orders to all their allies and just one more.

He calls a number he had memorized long ago. It didn’t pick up the first ring or even the second but on the third…

“Hello Dragon.”

It’s all set as Marco stands on the Moby in the middle of Marineford. He’s done all he could in planning for this.

He watches as Luffy predictable falls from the sky, challenging anyone who dare stands in his way. He watches as the Marines pull out all their tricks to stop Whitebeard. He watches and waits and there.

Ace’s true weakness that he was always too kind, Marco thought as the fire man would not let the taunt go. He stops and that’s all the chance Akainu needed. The admiral attacks but Akainu’s fist impaled not Ace but him. There was a just hiss as flames tried to heal, gasps of Ace and Luffy watched in horror.

“Run, damn brats.”

Marco falls but it’s the first time he’s satisfied. He laughs and fixes a stare at Blackbeard.

“It will never be your age.”

The Phoenix lives and dies in cycles. It brings the dawn, the coming of a new time.

Marco hopes that with his death, it will be their age, Luffy’s or Ace’s or Sabo’s. That’s what he wishes to see. Them to live, them to be free.

Broken Hourglass

Marco awakens to what he assumes with be 13, where he will slowly go mad and lose all sense of reality till he turns to ash.

Instead he’s surrounded by crying faces.

“What?”

“You big feathered idiot!” Cried Thatch rubbing at his face, attempting to hide flowing tears. “What were you thinking?!”

“Wh-“

“I think we all know he wasn’t thinking anything good.” Answered Shanks appearing with a grin just in eyesight.

Marco took the moment to get good look at all the faces surrounding him. There were his boys, Luffy, Ace, and an all grown up Sabo just as much hugging each other as they were to clutching on to his sash.

There was a tall blond man in a pink hat crying next to a much smaller boy with pink hair, a man with a spotted hat giving them awkward comforting pats on the back.

Pops was over to the side with Garp and Rayleigh, the old guard watching over them.

Marco sat up, noticing no hole in his chest and that they were no longer on Marineford. “What happened, yoi?”

“You kinda exploded. Sent Akainu flying back and the battle almost continued if it wasn’t for pinky here. We thought you were dead till the ashes came together and there you were Marc, bird form and all.”

Marco gulped looking at Shanks. “M-Marc?”

“Yeah. We all remember. Some of it? Most of it? Ehhh how did you ever keep it all straight???”

Marco laughs and laughs. Because no one died and that mattered more than anything.

Epilogue

Bell-mare remembers and sees the note and is absolutely gonna punch him when she gets the chance.

[ashtheshortstack]

Garlic in the Cauldron - Ch 8

Garlic in the Cauldron

Adrien Agreste learned from a young age that witches were the enemies to vampires. He was taught to kill on sight, drink them dry, and never look back… however, meeting a witch named Marinette threw his entire world off balance.

Ch 8  - Bad Blood

Read on ao3

<-Previous Chapter/Next Chapter –>

There was an emptiness in Marinette’s chest as she watched Adrien leave through the trap door. The hot tears streaming down her cheeks burned her skin. Remorse was thick in her throat. The whole situation was hard to swallow. She didn’t know how to handle it.

Sharp aching of sorrow throbbed throughout her veins. The grief making her heart hurt. Marinette knew she’d be in denial if she pretended she hadn’t missed him over the last week. The press of his lips, the soft caresses of his skin, the sparkle in his eyes, and the shimmer of his fangs when he gave her a cheeky grin. She missed him… missed his teasing… missed his love.

She couldn’t imagine how he felt. Knowing he was so alone…

“Marinette.”

Tikki drew her out of her trance. Marinette sniffled as she turned to her familiar, looking to her with pinched brows.

Tikki wore a mournful frown. “Why are you doing this to yourself? And to Adrien?”

“What do you mean?” She asked, tone unsure.

“Giving each other up is the last thing you need to do,” Tikki told her sternly, crossing her tiny arms.

“W-What!? I’m trying to protect both of us.”

She shook her head. “No, Marinette. You’re trying to take the easy way out. Pretending Adrien isn’t Gabriel’s son isn’t going to make you feel any better.”

Marinette clenched her fist. “No! I’m not! I just want Adrien to be safe.”

“By sacrificing yourself? Marinette, he offered to help you!”

“I know, and he shouldn’t.”

“Do you not realize the gravity of what he just did? His father is his only family. He’s willing to give up everything for you, and you sent him packing!”

“I’m just doing what’s best!”

“No! You’re doing what’s easy!”

“How is giving up the boy I’m in love with considered an easy task!?”

“Because you don’t have to deal watching him fight for you. You don’t want him to get hurt because of you. You don’t want him to turn on his family for you. That’s why.”

“Okay, and?”

Tikki fluttered right up to her face. “You’re his way out. If you give him up, he has nothing to return to. If you defeat Gabriel, Adrien will finally be free. His father abuses him. Even if he were to run away, he’ll be alone. But if you’d stop being stubborn, he could be with you. You’re taking away his happiness for the small chance that you could fail. Which is unlikely. Oracles are rarely ever wrong.”

“I…” she trailed off. No matter how much Marinette wanted to argue, Tikki was right. Why was she insisting that Adrien have nothing to do with her? If she really were able to defeat Gabriel, Adrien would be free to live where he pleased. And love who he pleased…

What was she doing this for? Why was she hurting both of them like this? She broke her own heart and his in one fell swoop.

“Tikki.”

The familiar lifted her head, looking at Marinette with a concerned gaze. “Yes?”

“How do I find Adrien?”

Tikki’s face lit up, a smile etching across her tiny mouth. “I thought you’d never ask.”

___________________________________________________________

Adrien sat on his bed, legs crossed as he stared unwavering at the floor. He didn’t know what to do. The idea of running away was tempting… but running away without Marinette seemed so wrong. It felt wrong.

He didn’t want to keep on without her. The thought of being utterly alone terrified him. While he knew he had Plagg, there was only so much comfort his familiar could bring him. All he wanted was to be with her. To be with Marinette.

“Plagg, what am I going to do?” Adrien asked with a groan, falling back onto the bed in a disheveled heap. If Marinette was going forth with her destiny soon, he needed to flee. He needed to get as far away as he could.

But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. There was a small hope inside him wavering. Praying that she may change her mind.

“Maybe, you should open your window,” Plagg smarmed.

Adrien sat up, giving Plagg a puzzled look. Brow quirking at the cat, he wasn’t sure what Plagg meant. “Huh?”

A small tapping on the glass nearly sent him flying out of his skin. Just on the other side of the window… was Marinette. She hovered on her broom as their eyes met. Giving him a hesitant wave with her fingers, she smiled nervously.

Was he dreaming? Hallucinating, maybe? She couldn’t really be here… How did she know where to go?

Common sense reminded him that Tikki could probably sense him, just as Plagg had led him to Marinette all those many nights ago. Who knew their familiars had been playing match-maker this entire time? Even if they hadn’t intended to.

Adrien stumbled over his own feet to get to the window. He opened it, the chilly air hitting his skin as Marinette smiled meekly at him.

“H-Hi,” she said.

Warmth washed over him. His shoulders relaxed at the sight of her, a stupid dopey grin falling upon his lips. “Hey.”

“I-I’m sorry. For everything. I just thought that I was doing what was best for both of us, but really I was just trying to run away from my problems,” she admitted, rubbing her arm shyly.

Adrien smiled, reaching out to catch her hand. “It’s okay. I understand. You have a lot on your shoulders.”

He paused. Wait. Reality hit him like a ton of bricks. Seeing Marinette made his brain go to putty, but he gathered his wits after realizing the gravity of the situation. This was really dangerous. His father could probably smell her if she got any closer. Frantically, in a whirlwind of panic, Adrien yanked her down. She let out a tiny yelp as she fell into his arms. The sudden weight on his body sent them tumbling to the floor.

Gulping, he grimaced. “Okay, before I do this, I’m going to say I’m really sorry.”

Her brows furrowed. “What are you—?”

Her breath caught in a gasp when Adrien pressed his tongue flat against her neck, licking a stripe up her skin. He tried to make it brief but enough to cover her scent from his father. When he pulled away, her cheeks were flushed as she stared at him buggy eyed.

“W-What?”

“Sorry. I had to scent you so father wouldn’t know you were here.”

She snorted. “Are you a vampire or a werewolf?”

Adrien chuckled, feeling his cheeks heat. “Well, we’re kind of similar to them.”

“Only werewolves can eat garlic without dying.”

Laughing, he sat up. Marinette was perched in his lap with a smile. He missed this. Being with her like this made his heart so happy every time. When Marinette was with him, it was like nothing else mattered. He’d forgotten all the grief in his life. She shined so brightly in the darkness of his life.

“You really shouldn’t stay here long,” he told her, knowing that his father or Nathalie could pop in his room at any given moment.

Adrien helped her to her feet. The two stood there in silence for a moment. It seemed Marinette didn’t know where to begin.

She pulled her hands to her chest, eyes brimming with emotion. “I’m sorry for running. I’m sorry for not wanting you to fight by my side. This is going to be so difficult for both of us. I couldn’t bear watching you get hurt, but that was selfish of me. This is your battle to fight as well, and it’s wrong of me to ask you not to avenge your mother. The right way, this time.”

Adrien couldn’t help but smile. He pressed a kiss to her knuckle. “You’re right. I want to be by your side and fight alongside you. No matter who or what it is.”

Marinette’s eyes bubbled with fresh tears. “I-I know I said some things when Alya caught us that I shouldn’t have. I know you may think that I see you as a monster, but I assure you that I don’t. A-And what we have is much more than just, you know, kissing and stuff.”

He chuckled. While it was a relief to hear her say, he’d already figured that she wasn’t angry with him like he’d originally thought. “I know.”

“I love you, Adrien Agreste. No matter what that means for us.”

His heart swelled, he leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers. “I love you too. More than anything. I-I’m sorry I lied by omission. I really didn’t understand.”

She cupped his cheeks, rubbing her thumbs along his skin. “I know. I already forgave you.”

Adrien’s laugh was breathless. “I’m so grateful for you. I don’t deserve it.”

“You deserve everything.”

“You know… if you really did think I was a monster, you wouldn’t be wrong. Vampires are pretty gross.”

She laughed. “Shut up.”

Marinette pulled him in, pressing her mouth to his. He laughed against her lips, smiling into the kiss. Adrien couldn’t help how elated he felt. He had her back. The girl that meant everything to him… She was his again. And that’s all he could ever want.

The sudden sound of slow clapping sent Adrien jolting away from her. His heart dropped to his stomach, dread inching through every vein.

There stood his father, applauding them with a sinister smirk on his face.

[mydarlingklaus]

Road Trip, part 2: The many adventures of Klaus Mikaelson and his family...

Part 1 can be found here!

They had only been on the road for an hour and half and Klaus was already prepared to fling himself out of the car window.

Alaric occupied the driver's seat, drumming his fingers annoyingly on the steering wheel to the pop song blaring from the radio. The twins and Hope sat impatiently in the backseat trying not to die of boredom and discomfort from being squished together. Hope sat in between the sisters, which probably wasn't the smartest idea now that she thought about it.

Family trips were not under Klaus's list of expertise. Never had he experienced something like this in his 1000 years of existing. All he had for a family his whole life were his siblings and was always on the run and when they weren't running they were displaying the toxic traits of their complicated relationship.

It wasn't till Hope that Klaus began a family of his own, the family he's always longed for. Then Caroline and the twins entered his life completed it.

With him living in New Orleans and his family in Mystic Falls, Klaus took every opportunity he could to see them. He never planned on his first family road trip to be spent with the most annoying human he's ever come across.

"Dad when you said you wanted to rent a 'hip van' for the trip, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Lizzie complained leaning her head against the window glass.

Alaric looked at his daughter in the rear view mirror with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, I'll have you know this van is very retro."

"It's a gas-guzzling atrocity on wheels." She scoffed, making the hybrid softly laugh in his seat.

He huffed. "Look, it was the best six seater I could find on a last minute request. Be appreciative we were able to get anything at all."

Klaus shrugged. "You can't blame the girl for having taste, mate."

"Thank you." Lizzie beamed at Klaus's comment.

Alaric rolled his eyes, not looking forward to dealing with this 'dynamic duo' for a week.

"All right, I brought snacks!" Hope announced opening the variety bag of treats (blood bags for Klaus) Caroline encouraged her to bring.

"Oh joy, did you pack them before or after you decided to sneak your way onto our trip?" Lizzie sassed, flashing her a fake smile.

"You really thought I was going to miss out on an opportunity to go to Miami?" Hope laughed.

Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. "I would've thought you rather spend the break canoodling with your hipster boyfriend."

Hope's cheeks flare into a blush the same time Klaus instantly turned his head staring at her questionably.

"Boyfriend?" Klaus questioned with a raised brow.

Gulp.

"Umm yeah dad. Remember I told you about Landon and how he really wants to meet you." The witch hesitantly reminded earning a glare from Klaus.

No secret Klaus wasn't a fan of the girls dating, even with Caroline's reassurance that it was normal for teenage girls to date and basically ignored it as much as he could but they didn't make it easy o him. The amount of times Caroline had to talk him down from flying to Mystic Falls and threatening every teenager at the school was a chore in itself.

"Ah that's right, the loner new student who doesn't even know if he's supernatural. That Liam?" Klaus mocked.

"Landon." Hope corrected. "And he's not a loner dad."

"Sounds about right to me." Lizzie sang staring aimlessly out the window.

Hope quickly shifted her attention to the blonde witch who was insistent on getting under her skin.

"By the way in case you've forgotten, which I'm sure you have because for once something isn't about you, I was invited here."

"An invitation you could've easily declined."

"Why would I do that?"

"How should I know the motives behind your twisted reasonings? Maybe you just wanted to ruin yet another Saltzman-Forbes spring break." Lizzie suggested.

Hope scoffed. "When have I ever ruined a spring break?"

"How much time to do you have?" Lizzie retorted.

"Girls," Alaric thankfully interrupted. "We're gonna be in this classic automobile together for the next 12 hours, all right? So no more bickering." He said with the most genuine smile he could muster making Klaus's eyes roll.

Both girls huffed leaning back into their seats gazing out their windows.

Hope jumped in her seat when Lizzie abruptly punched her arm. Her eyes widened in confusion and anger.

"What the-"

"Punch buggy no returns." The blonde witch announced, turning her face towards Hope with a smug grin on her face.

Another 2 hours flew by in the blistering heat.

They stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break and to pump gas into the van. Klaus took advantage of some much needed alone time to call Caroline; updating her on the road trip shenanigans with the girls and how desperately any company would be better than Alaric and his horrific singing.

God he missed her. Just hearing her angelic voice and warm laugh through the phone was enough to melt his heart. Klaus couldn't understand why being away from Caroline was so hard this time considering how long they've been in a long distance relationship. This trip changed something in Klaus regarding their relationship and he struggled to figure what it was.

Not to mention Klaus took immense pleasure in Alaric's obvious annoyance eavesdropping on their phone call and overhearing Caroline express her love for the hybrid.

When back on the road, his irritation didn't cease especially when Alaric felt compelled to turn on the radio. He bobbed his head and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel while Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" blared into his ears.

Given that Klaus was an 1000 year old species, mainstream pop radio wasn't exactly in the forefront of his mind. The most knowledge he had of modern music was from the three teenagers blasting their playlists throughout his New Orleans home when they visited.

- 10 more hours to go...that's all...you got this.

He tried to convince himself, but the moment Aaron began singing along he could feel his fangs ready to drop.

Klaus looked behind him to the backseat, offering a sympathetic smile to his daughters to ease them as well as distract murderous tendencies.

"99 bottles of beer on the wall. 99 bottle of beer!" Alaric sang loudly, trying to orchestrate the girls to sing along. "Take one down and pass it around, 99 bottles-"

"Saltzman," Klaus calmly said now looking at the man in the driver's seat. "Let me be clear. I tolerate your existence for the sake of the three girls in the backseat and the woman I love but if you sing one more tune while we are stuck in this contraption, I will snap your neck mid-drive and throw your corpse out the car door like roadkill. Understand?" He threatened with a wicked grin.

Alaric noticeably gulped, clawing his throat and concentrating back on the road.

"Are we there yet?" Lizzie whined massaging her forehead irritably, completely unfazed by her father's life being threatened.

"How many times are you going ask?" Alaric grinned.

"Until we get there." She sassed amusing Klaus.

It fascinated him how much Lizzie reminded him of Caroline.

Alaric sighed. "Maybe if we didn't make so many stops we'd be there by now. Just enjoy the car ride in peace and, dare I say, quiet."

Lizzie simply rolled her eyes.

"Says the man who won't bloody shut up." Klaus added, earning a glare from Alaric.

"It would help if it wasn't 1000 degrees in here. I'm burning up." Hope complained fanning herself with her hand.

"That's what happens when too many people are caged into one area." Lizzie began. "Body heat really is the worst and could be deadly. If you want I can save all of us from suffering a heat stroke and throw you out head first." She smiled.

"Lizzie..." Klaus warned rubbing his forehead to sooth a migraine that would never come.

He was not cut out for this.

Hope's eyes widened. "Seriously?! What is wrong with you, and what happened to being nice?"

Lizzie laughed and shrugged.

She recalled the brief moment a couple of weeks ago when the blonde witch insisted she was going to do a character makeover and better herself. To be cordial and polite to everyone, even the youngest Mikaelson.

Clearly that notion didn't last.

"Over. Done. I'm getting back to me. I am who I am." She proudly claimed discreetly flipping one of her pigtails over her shoulder. "Right Josie?"

"Josie?" Lizzie repeated her twin's name is her when she didn't reply.

The brunette witch stuck in her own world, earbuds in her ears and blasting tunes to zone out the other girls' yelling. She stared out the window aimlessly bopping her head to her music, not realizing her sister trying to get her attention till she felt a hard tap on her arm.

She looked over at her sister with a blank expression and pulling one earbud out. "Sorry?"

Lizzie scoffed in offense. "Josie, you cannot leave me alone with just her as company." Muttering under her breath.

The brunette twin rolled her eyes. "As if I want to listen to you and Hope yelling at each other back and forth for the next few hours. I'll pass. Besides, I get carsick if I don't listen to music." She said putting her earphone back in.

Offended and stunned, Lizzie reached her hand out smacking her sister's arm and elbowing Hope in the process.

"Josie!"

"Hey-"

"Stop!"

All three girls began yelling and hitting each other in the confinement of the backseat. Hope somehow found herself in the middle of a sibling dispute and resulted getting the worse beating. Her annoyance only increased the more Lizzie unnecessarily kept shoving her to the side.

"Girls enough!" Klaus growled turning in his seat trying to break up the fight.

"Dad, she started it!" Hope complained, pointing at Lizzie who smacked her head one last time.

He sighed. "Who started it doesn't matter-"

"Of course you take her side, per usual." Hope said rolling her eyes.

Klaus scrunched his eyebrows. "Hope, stop. I'm not taking any sides."

"Really?" She laughed. "That's rich. She literally starts every confrontation and dispute but when you're in town she suffers no consequences for it. Face it dad, you wear rose colored glasses when it comes to Lizzie and everyone in this van knows it." The redhead bitterly pointed out.

A brief wind of awkwardness hovered over the scene as Klaus's eyes softened and jaw tightened.

"Green really is a hideous color on you." Lizzie snorted.

Hope growled, her amber colored eyes displayed as she lunged for the blonde with claws. Klaus thankfully managed to grab her arm and hold her back before she could cause any serious harm.

"Girls!" Alaric snapped looking through the rear view mirror as Hope sat back in her seat again. "Now this is just ridiculous how you're fighting and this has gone on long enough. We'll all be spending a whole week together so might as well get use to each others company. There's no reason to be tense or awkward towards each other so knock it off!"

"Fine. We'll knock it off when you two do." Lizzie retorted crossing her arms over her chest.

"Excuse me?" Klaus asked.

Lizzie tilted her head. "Please, you've been at each other's throats since we were kids, and Klaus I could practically feel how hard you're restraining from breaking my dad's neck."

Alaric raised a curious brow.

"And dad you practically seethe at the mouth whenever Klaus comes to visit, especially when around mom." Josie mentioned. "I thought this was going to be a nice family vacation, but then Hope was invited and mom had work and I knew everything was going to turn to a mess. Why did we even proceed to go on this trip if no one here is putting in the effort to get along?"

The two men exchanged quick glares as did the other two young girls.

Josie made a point.

Why did they all continue going on this trip together? This van was a huge tension fueled cocktail ready to ignite in any moment. The adults just as bad as the kids.

None of them realized how important Caroline's presence was, not just because she was deeply missed but she was the glue. She kept this family together and without her keeping everyone on equal ground, it was chaos.

Klaus has had his fair share of family disputes, but never has he felt guilty about it before. The hurt on Josie's face and disappointment in her eyes made him feel like the bad guy he's been striving not to be.

Nothing meant more to Klaus than his family. He wouldn't pretend to be a saint but for his girls he would be anything they need, and right now they needed him.

With a breathy sigh, Klaus turned again in his seat to face the frustrated brunette with an apologetic smile but he quickly frowned noticing her sudden sickly appearance.

"Josie, sweetheart are you okay?" He asked in a panic, causing Alaric to swiftly turn his head as well.

Her face was pale and she was hunched over in her seat.

Shaking her head, Josie closed her eyes and supported herself against the back of Klaus's chair.

"Umm, guys...I think- I think I'm gonna be sic-"

Before any further words could be said, Josie puked all over the backseat traumatizing Hope and Lizzie who were desperately clinging to the windows gasping for air.

“Seriously!” Lizzie screamed in complete distress and disgust.

Alaric multitasked, keeping 90% of his focus one he road while also yelling for Josie to aim her mouth to the bag. Klaus swiftly undid his seatbelt and held back her hair as she continued to vomit.

He was grateful the stench didn't bother him.

Klaus rubber her back and assured her she was fine before Alaric pulled the car over to the nearest city.

"You're gonna be okay, Jo." Alaric reassured after parking in a shopping center.

Hope and Lizzie practically jumped out the car, trying not to puke themselves from the smell.

Alaric looked behind his seat, consuming the view of the vicious hybrid being so delicate and caring towards his sick daughter. Klaus's hand still rubbing her back softly as Josie caught her breath.

It was a moving sight, but struck a cored of realization in Alaric.

Alaric caught himself daydreaming, pondering, about the situation and what Josie said in the car. His eyes fixated on the hybrid who was standing by the van on his phone. He knew Klaus was talking to Caroline, likely trying to talk her down from worrying over Josie.

He didn't even notice Lizzie calling him until a french fry was thrown in his face.

"What?" He blinked.

"You're not even listening to me." She huffed. "I asked when are we leaving?"

Alaric sighed. "After You're done with your food. You must be starving."

"True, I was a bit famished. Maybe Josie tossing her cookies all over Hope paid off after all." The blonde said matter-of-factly.

"Hey." Josie clearly offended.

Hope just rolled her eyes sipping on her drink.

Alaric chuckled, looking over at Klaus again who was still on the phone.

"I need to get something from the van. Stay here and finish your food, then we'll be back on the road okay?" He promised standing up from the bench.

The three girls nodded as they watched Alaric walk towards the vehicle. Hands in his pants pockets and pace hesitant the closer he got to Klaus.

"Sweetheart I assure you this wasn't the road trip I had in mind either. I take the insane bickering over holding my daughter's hair back so she can vomit into a plastic bag any day." Klaus joked.

Alaric overheard.

"Is that so? Then I guess lucky me I never had to worry about you and alcohol poisoning, your high school boyfriends must've had it rough." He teased into the phone. "Just so you know love, I'd hold your hair back whenever you need it." He genuinely claimed.

The other man softly grinned hearing the exchange between the lovers. Sometimes they were annoyingly cute, not even Alaric could deny it.

Caroline really did bring out Klaus's humanity without even trying.

Klaus's body tensed when he noticed Alaric was just very easy from him.

He cleared his throat turning into the car. "Sweetheart I have to go..." He laughed. "Yes, I promise to text you when we get back on the road, and yes Josie is fine love don't worry...and I you, my love." Klaus softly declared before ending the call.

"Caroline?" Alaric asked now in front of the van as well.

Klaus nodded. "I knew if I didn't call she'd get worried, and force me to sleep on the couch after finding out about Josie."

Alaric laughed standing next to Klaus. "That's Caroline. Always a worrier."

The hybrid leaned back against the vehicle, arms crossed and a small smirk teasing his lips.

Another wave of awkward silence hovered over them as they both leaned back gazing at the three girls sitting at the table across the way. They seemed to have actually been enjoying each other's company.

"Look, Klaus there's no secret how I feel about you and your relationship with my family..." Alaric spoke. "I know we both agreed to be cordial for the girls' sake but, easier said than done." He tried to joke but earned no expression from the other man.

He cleared his throat. "Given all me and you have been through even before the twins were thought of, can you blame me for being a bit put off?"

Klaus tilted his head curiously.

"You did horrendous things, unredeemable things. You killed people I cared about, the first woman I've ever loved, killed me and terrorized an entire town for your own pleasure. It's still difficult for me to accept that the same man who did all of that, is now a regular in my home, insanely loved by the mother of my children and worshipped by my own daughters."

The corner of Klaus's lips twitched.

"Well if we're being picky, you also killed me and attempted to throw my corpse at the bottom of the ocean so I guess we're even." Klaus teased, making them both briefly chuckle.

The mood slightly lighter as silence dominated again.

"I love her." Klaus said.

Alaric sighed heavily. "I know you do."

"I love the girls too."

Alaric softly grinned. "Yes, I know that as well."

"Then you should also know you're wrong, Saltzman." He faced him and stood tall. "You're wrong about me. I'm not that same man who blew into Mystic Falls over a decade ago. I don't deny my past or play innocent, I take responsibility for all I've done no question and have no regrets. You say I'm not redeemable and you wouldn't be the first but Caroline sees differently and she's the only opinion that matters. She took a chance on a broken man and gave me something to live for."

The other man carefully listened.

"You hate me, and I'm not particularly fond of you either so I won't hold it against you. But they are my family, and you will never take that away from me." Klaus said sharply.

"Now I'm no saint but I am good enough to care for and love Caroline and girls the way they deserve to be. Yes Mystic Falls is their current home but they also have a home in New Orleans and wherever else they see fit. Nothing is more important to me than their well-being and happiness. You know I would never hurt them, and their safety always comes first for me. Despite our differences I think that's something we can agree on."

Alaric pondered heavily as he nodded.

"I don't hate you, Klaus. You're not my favorite person in the world but I don't hate you." Alaric claimed. "It's just..."

He drifted off, unsure of making himself this vulnerable to Klaus was a wise decision. This was the closest the two have gotten to a heart to heart conversation since the girls were younger.

Sighing and nervously licking his lips Alaric continued. "Of course Hope adores you but the twins...the twins see you as Superman. You're who they confide in and are excited to see whether they're going to New Orleans or you come to Mystic Falls; they trust you. Especially Lizzie...she treats you like her rock. She talks to you more than she's ever talked to me I mean, seems like everyday she calls you about something you know? I get teenagers don't tell their parents everything but, I feel like I don't even know her anymore and when I try talking to her she turns me away or drops the subject completely but will confess everything to you." He blinked away the faint tears. "Not the best feeling in the world when Klaus Mikaelson knows more about my own daughter than I do."

Klaus's expression turned from smug to sympathetic in an instant. Though he knew Alaric would never be in his top 5 list of people he gives a shit about, he could empathize with his confession.

They've had this discussion before when the girls were little kids, but at the time it was Klaus who felt insecure. Though he didn't deny the victory he felt when the twins gravitated more towards him as they got older. He didn't want to go into detail about Lizzie's restrictions towards her father, figured that was something they needed to discuss together.

A part of Klaus ached to be petty and rub his bond with the twins in Ric's face but, his conscience in the voice of a certain blonde vampire advised him otherwise.

Pep talks were not in Klaus's list of expertise, only exception for the obvious people and Alaric was not under that category.

Dreading the inevitable, Klaus muttered a 'bloody hell' under his breath before replying.

"Your girls love you, all right? But they're not kids anymore. Of course they're not going to be crawling to your feet for everything but it doesn't meant they love you any less." Klaus explained. "Something I've learned with Hope is that the older children get the further from their parents they become and you should be grateful that Lizzie has someone you can trust by her side instead of a random lunatic."

Alaric raised his brows, bold for Klaus to make such an assumption and Klaus easily read his expression.

He sighed. "You might not want to or think you can but if nothing else, when it comes to them you can trust me Alaric. I would never do anything to harm the twins, and will only do right by them."

Against his initial judgment, Ric nodded to Klaus's claim.

He trusted Caroline and knew she would never allow anyone around their kids if she felt they'd be in danger.

Alaric snickered. "You know, you say you're not cut out for this dad stuff but you're better at it than me."

Klaus smirked. "Not sure if I should be flattered or terrified by that statement."

"Little of both." He shrugged.

"I suppose, you're not terrible at it yourself." Klaus muttered.

Klaus didn't face Alaric but the human could see the subtle smirk stretching the hybrid's lips.

The two men laughed together.

Both weren't sure if they'd ever completely be on even ground with each other, their history was too deeply rooted, but they did have a sense of respect for each other.

They exchanged respectable smiles and nods before noticing Lizzie storming towards them.

"If you two are done solidifying your little bromance, I would like to get back on the road as quickly as possible." The blonde suggested.

Both men raised their eyebrows curiously.

"In a rush?" Klaus teased.

"Yes actually. The quicker we get to Miami the quicker I can soak up the inviting sun instead of Hope's presence and my sister's vomit." She shot him a sarcastic smile before swinging the car door open and climbing in the backseat.

Alaric and Klaus both shook their heads chuckling, waiting for the other two girls to make their way over.

Ugh I hope you liked it! The link can be found here to leave a review please!

[stereden]

Buggy is many things. Selfish. Greedy. Cowardly. To name only a few of them. He knows he’s not the smartest knife in the bunch, but he makes do, and he’s not a half-bad captain, all things told (he hopes).

Landing himself in Impel Down had not been in his plans, neither had been running into the damn Strawhat again, but he uses the boy’s escape to make his own anyway, as terrifying as the experience is, and he still does not understand what all the fuss about Firefist is, him being old man Whitebeard’s commander should not warrant such a spectacle, but it’s not like he can leave, so he’s along for the ride.

His goals definitely do not include involving himself into any fighting, but getting his five minutes of denden-fame while commenting the damn thing, and then getting the fuck away while everyone is distracted, preferably before Whitebeard sends Marineford six feet under seabed.

Simple enough, right?

At least it is until Sengoku announces that Firefist is Gol D Roger’s son, and Buggy freezes.

Captain had a son? He knows about the Batterilla purges, Davy Jones knows Shanks had cursed the Marines high and low at the time, actually going up to Edward Newgate to try and intervene, because any of the Rogers Kaizoku showing their faces there to try and get people out would only have brought a buster call, but by the time Whitebeard got there it was over. To hear that the child had survived?

(And somehow ended up with Strawhat as a brother, but Buggy will deal with that particular mindfuck when he’s not floored by the realisation that his Captain actually reproduced, thank you very much).

He steals a denden, makes a grand display of it and makes sure the world will see what is happening here.

Everyone believes he’s an idiot and a coward, only after fame and glory, and usually they would be right.

But this not for him. This is for his former nakamas, for the Roger Kaizoku, so that they will know that their Captain left behind a legacy.

It’s highly unlikely that any of them will be able to do something to help, Buggy knows it all too well. Where are they right now, he wonders. Crocus is probably still at his stupid lighthouse, babysitting Laboon, and Rayleigh is either gambling or sold into slavery AGAIN back on Sabaody, but what about the others? Scopper Gaban? Seagull? He hasn’t heard from any of them since the crew disbanded, hasn’t dared to ask Rayleigh about them the few times he’s dared to approach the former first mate, not sure of his welcome, and while Shanks is a pain in the ass, he’s the only one who bothered to stay somewhat in touch with Buggy, even if he does so by regularly highjacking his denden.

They had been nakama, once upon a time, and this is about their Captain’s legacy, their Captain’s child, and while Buggy is too much of a coward to enter this particular battlefield, the less he can do is bear witness to what will happen and make sure the others will know.

At first, it looks like everything might end well for Firefist. Strawhat manages to get to him and free him with Mr 3’s help while Whitebeard and his allies demolish the opposition, and captain’s son is as much a reckless loyal idiot as his father had been, and they’re running towards the ships on Whitebeard’s orders when everything goes to hell.

Akainu provokes Firefist, who reacts about as well as Buggy himself would have to someone insulting his captain and stops running. To face a bloody admiral.

And if that were not enough, Strawhat collapses and Akainu hones in on his weakness.

Buggy doesn’t know what the trigger is. Maybe it’s the familiar strawhat on a boy who smiled when he tried (not that hard) to execute him. Maybe it’s Shanks voice, yammering on the denden he keeps hacking about the boy who is going to be the pirate King. Maybe it’s Captain’s boy’s devastated face when he realises what is happening, the grim determination not to let his brother die.

Maybe it’s a memory of sitting on the floor in Captain Roger’s cabin as a kid, no older than ten, still shaking from their last battle and tears streaming down his face because he had been terrified, had hid away, and he was a coward unfit to serve under Captain Roger’s banner, and Captain’s hand on his shoulder as he tells him that it’s okay to be afraid, to want to protect oneself, that Roger doesn’t mind if Buggy keeps away from danger more often than not, as long as Buggy remembers that there are things worth fighting for and that in Captain’s eyes, Buggy was one of these things.

Maybe it’s that Buggy remembers that he once sailed with Gol D Roger, that the man had once been the closest thing Buggy had had to a father, and maybe it’s the fact that he remembers all too well the day his Captain knelt on the execution platform while Buggy could do nothing but watch.

Maybe it’s all of these at once, but Buggy is moving before he registers it, limbs darkening with armament haki drilled into his head by Rayleigh years before he ate his devil fruit.

Not again. Not on his watch.

Buggy’s dark and shiny fists collide with Akainu’s attack and stop it in its track, less than a meter away from Firefist’s unprotected back as the boy had thrown himself over Strawhat in a vain attempt to protect him.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” Buggy growls out in the sudden silence of the battlefield. “Touch Captain Roger’s son.”

He’s standing between the Mad Dog of the Marine and his prey, magma fists blocked bare handed even as his entire frame shakes ( fear, adrenaline, pure unadulterated terror, what the fuck is he doing what the fuck was he thinking) , still clad in his prison uniform, two pistols and three knives he’d scavenged somewhere as his only weapons, and the Universe blinks.

“Firefist. Take the moron and get out of here” He hisses even as he gathers Haki into his lower body.

Said lower half rockets away from him and collides with the Admiral’s crotch with enough force to send him flying to another part of the battlefield.

“Are you deaf?” He barks at Firefist. “Get the fuck out of here! Do you have any idea how fucking annoying Shanks will be if something happens to the brat?”

Focus on Shanks. Being angry at the damn red-head is good, is familiar, and will keep the freak-out at bay once he realizes fully just what he has done.

Behind him, Firefist finally unfreezes, and Jinbei and Ivankov are rushing towards them too, but Buggy ignores them, keeping an eye out for his surrounding. Observation Haki, rough with disuse, tries to make sense of the damn battlefield.

Whitebeard’s commanders are mobilizing again, half remaining to guard their siblings’ backs while they retreat to their ships following Newgate’s last order, while the rest, led by a livid Phoenix, engages the remaining Admirals and Vice-Admirals. Whitebeard himself is still standing tall, an immovable wall between the marines and his precious children. Buggy’s merry band of prisoners is still gaping at him, but the smarter ones have started to regroup by the ships.

Buggy inhales.

Whitebeard is going to die on this battlefield. He knows it, his crew knows it, the marines know it.

Buggy had never liked the man. Respected his strength, yes, he would have to be the highest moron not to, but he had never understood his disregard for treasure and fame.

(Whitebeard also kept making fun of his nose, the asshole!)

But Buggy had also never understood Captain Roger’s love of adventure, and Newgate had been Roger’s friend and Rival, the last great captain of that Era, and his death would cause a great ripple around the oceans.

Behind him, Firefist is running, Strawhat in his arms, protected by Jinbei, Vista and Ivankov.

Buggy exhales. His lower half finally rejoins his upper half. Sengoku is sitting on Garp, who looks ready to join the Phoenix and the others in trying to separate Akainu’s head from his shoulders.

“Red-Nose.”

“What do you want, old bastard?” He retorts angrily, glaring at the strongest man in the world.

“You saved my precious son. Thank you.”

“I didn’t do it for you!” Buggy bristles, and it’s true. “I didn’t want to have to deal with stupid Shanks’ reaction if something happened to his damn Strawhat!”

And maybe that’s part of it, but Buggy remembers Roger standing between him and Shiki when the other pirate had been about to cut him in two, long before he got his devil fruit. And maybe Firefist hates Captain Roger, maybe he truly considers Whitebeard his father, but the boy is Captain’s son and while Buggy is many things (a liar a coward a greedy fool a doublecrosser) he is still a Roger Kaizoku, and always will be, no matter how long it has been since the Oro Jackson last took to the seas, no matter how much he used to disagree with Captain Roger’s ideals.

When Shanks shows up after everything is said and done, after Whitebeard dies standing and Blackbeard the backstabber somehow manages to steal his power, and stops the war in its track, forcing the marines to allow the pirates to collect their dead, Buggy punches him in the face with a haki reinforced punch.

Where the fuck were you? He wants to yell. Any of you? What happened to the great crew of the pirate King, to those who traveled the world and reached Raftel? What happened to those who once held the same dream as Captain Roger, that they fell apart after his death?

“You’re late, you red-headed menace!” He yells instead. “And your protégé is a bloody lunatic!”

“Maa, maa Buggy, I had to put little Kaido back in his place before he plundered Newgate’s territory, and he’s a persistent little brat, I’ll give him that. Besides,” he adds, giving him a knowing look “I knew you had things well in hand. Quite literally, or so I heard. Old Man Rayleigh will be proud to know that his teachings held true despite the years.”

“Old man Rayleigh can kiss my ass!” Buggy snarls, and Shanks’ eyes widen as he notices that, for the first time since their captain’s execution was announced, Buggy is more than just angry. He is furious, a cold and contained fury that few would believe him capable of.

“The Law brat tok your brat and Captain’s brat on his sub, I’ve got no clue where they’ll be going.” Buggy says calmly, too calmly. “And I’ll be going now. Have fun dealing with this mess.”

He turns around to leave, to join his fellow prisoners on the battleship that they’ve commandeered in the chaos following Newgate’s death and Shanks’s arrival.

“Buggy.”

It’s Shanks, and he sounds… tired, and sad, and more serious than Buggy wants to remember him ever being.

“Thank you.” He says quietly, so quietly that Buggy is the only one to hear it. “Same place as last time, three weeks from now? I’ll bring the booze.”

Buggy pauses.

“Alright. Fair warning, Shanks. Any of the others show up, I’ll be asking for answers.”

“As will I.”

Three weeks later, Buggy makes his way to a small, anonymous island in East Blue, not too far away from Loguetown, an island he hasn’t set foot on in over twenty years, ever since the Roger Kaizoku had gathered there for one last send-off.

They hadn’t even gotten to give their captain’s body the farewell he’d deserved. The marines had destroyed it, scattering even his ashes to prevent anyone from finding them.

Buggy knows very well that this is why Shanks insisted on allowing Whitebeard’s people to take the old man’s body with them.

When he arrives on the island, Shanks is already there waiting for him, early for the first time in his entire life. They’re a day early, both of them, but odds are the others might show up before the night is over. Or they might not. Buggy doesn’t even pretend to know how they think anymore. And he isn’t quite sure how he feels about that.

“Buggy.”

“Shanks.”

He’s too tired, too weary to play their usual game of cat and mouse, and he takes a long gulp from the offered bottle before sitting down on the cliff’s edge, next to the redhead.

“How have you been?” Shanks asks, and Buggy wants to snort, because really? but doesn’t.

He shrugs instead. “Busy. My crew basically decupled, even after most of the former prisoners went their own way. I expect at least half of the remaining ones to leave before the month is up - the marines have been on our asses like hemoroïds.”

“That’s what happen when you prevent the execution of the Pirate King’s son on live TV.”

Buggy groans. “Don’t remind me. Have you seen these blasted articles? Half of them are accusing me of playing the fool until now, and the rest of only saving the kid because he might have some intel about Raftel! Raftel! Morons! Does no one remembers that we were there when Captain set found on bloody Raftel?!”

“Captain did his best to keep us cabin-boys from the limelight, remember?” Shanks reminded him.

“Yeah, and he was a moron too!”

“And that’s the other reason many have trouble understanding why you stood up for Ace. You never made it a secret that you didn’t have a very high opinion of Captain Roger’s goals.”

These words, coming from Shanks , hurt a lot more than expected, and Buggy gulps down the ret of his bottle before grabbing the next.

“Captain and I had our differences of opinions” He says flatly, trying to keep the hurt and betrayal out of his voice. “But he was still my Captain. Ore wa Roger Kaizokudesu , Shanks. That used to mean something, once. Didn’t it? Is it so hard to believe that it still means something to me?”

Buggy…”

“No!” Buggy’s voice does not stutter as he interrupts the Yonko. “You do not get to accuse me of betraying my Captain and then brush it off as a joke, Akagami no Shanks. My goals have always differed from his, but he was my Captain, and as long as he was that didn’t matter. He knew I wasn’t in it for the same reasons as he was, and he accepted me in his crew nonetheless. I may not have shared his ideals and his dreams, but I respected them, admired them despite that. I used to wish that I could believe like he did, that adventures and nakamas were all we needed in this world. But just as I started to see things his way, he disbanded the crew, disappeared for two months, then gave himself up to the marines. And everything fell apart. Everyone left, went their own way, and maybe it was naïve of me to believe that they would at least try to stay in touch, to reach out, but I did. And they never did. We were still kids, still fucking kids, and he was the closest thing either of us had to a fucking parent, and they left us hanging.”

He takes a swig of the bottle by his side, still facing the sea rather than the man beside him.

“So no, I’m never going to put my dreams in adventures and friends and family. I’ve learned my lesson. At least treasures and money have never betrayed me when I needed them the most. Do you remember how it felt, Shanks? Not even fourteen years old, barely even fifteen in your case, being thrust into the world on your own after losing the center of your universe? Of course you do. That’s why you never took that Strawhat kid of yours on the Red Force. Becaue he was just a kid and had no idea what he was really getting himself into. He still doesn’t, though I hope Marineford was a wake-up call for him.”

“You tried to kill him in Loguetown. On the same platform they killed Captain Roger on.”

Buggy laughs. It sounds hollow in the increasing darkness.

“Did I? Tell me, Akagami no Shanks, Emperor of the New World. Have I ever deliberately killed anyone younger than twenty-five?”

Shanks freezes, and Buggy laughs again. Even Shanks hadn’t bothered to look beneath Buggy’s surface, and it hurts more than it should.

“The one they call the Supernova? I met them all at some point, when they started out. I ‘tried’ to kill them. Them and all the others. Some gave up, some didn’t. Some won, and some I let go. All of them learned a valuable lesson. Someone had to make sure they knew what they were getting themselves into before they got themselves killed. And damned if I was going to let them find out the same way I did.”

He takes another swig, frowns at the empty bottle and grabs another.

“You want to know why I mostly stayed in East Blue, Shanks? I stayed there because I learned the hard way that I’m not like the rest of you. I’m not strong enough to keep my crew alive out there. So I’m not going to risk it. I might not believe in that ‘nakama are family’ crap, but they’re my responsibility. And contrary to others, I’m not going to abandon them.”

He stands up, turns around and starts to walk away.

“It was nice to see you, Akagami, but I’ve got to get back to my crew and make sure they’re going to survive the shit-fest I landed them into. Give my greetings to the others when they have the decency to show themselves instead of eavesdropping like naughty cabin-boys.”

He leaves with these words, ignoring the wince that shot through his fellow former cabin brat at the iting tone. Shanks doesn’t try to stop him, though, and neither do the others he can sense hidden in the trees.

[goodfemalecharacters]

12x07 Coda: The Prisoners’ Dilemma

in which Cas and Mary are very salty prisoners.  1.5k, mentions of destiel, everyone hating on Lucifer

Whatever they’re going to do to Lucifer, Mary hopes it hurts.

The angels separate them, thank God.  Or whatever. Mary isn’t sure what to thank around here.  They drag him towards a church that looks like it’s been bombed to hell.  She gets slightly gentler treatment and the house next door.  What do they call those, again?  A rectory?

She almost asks the angel standing next to her, but thinks better of it.

They take her to an upstairs bedroom that would have looked old-fashioned even if Mary was back in the eighties again.  The bedside table has a lace doily on it.  Mary doesn’t question it.  It’s not a dungeon, and right now, that’s more than enough for her.

“The room is warded,” the taller of the two angels informs her in that same monotone voice that all of Michael’s lackeys seem to have. “If you try to escape, or free you compatriot, we will know, and you will be found.  You will not like what comes after.”

Silence from the angel.  Mary sighs.

“Right,” she says, “no escaping.  What if I need to piss?”

And they’re gone with that odd flapping noise.

Great.

Cas forces every thought out of his mind and works on instinct alone.  He hasn’t fought this savagely since Hell, alone in the dark with only Dean’s soul to light the way. ��Teeth bared, he slams a demon’s head into the brick wall, heedless of the killing blow to the host.  Another demon gets an angel blade to the throat—and before Cas has a chance to pull the blade free, he’s already stabbing the next demon through the first.

Behind him, Lucifer stirs.  To Cas’s disgust, he puts his hands lazily in the air and accepts defeat.  Having shared mind space with him for far too long, Cas can almost hear him—“Hey, faces like this don’t come along every day. I don’t want to break it.”

“You’re certainly a brave little songbird,” Asmodeus says, drawing his blade.

He isn’t getting out of this one by fighting.  Cas takes off towards the kitchen—surely there’s a back exit, they have to get the trash out somehow—but a demon shoves him back in Asmoedeus’s direction again.  They close ranks in a circle around the pair.

“You’re going to have to kill me.”

A little voice in the back of his head tells him it’s not true.  He’s not leaving the Winchesters again.  Dean.  Not leaving Dean again.  Not when he has a choice in the matter.

“Somehow, I doubt that,” Asmodeus replies.

If Cas had still had wings, he might have been able to fight him off.  As it is, all Asmodeus has to do is get close enough to press two fingers to his forehead to knock him out.

For the first time in what feels like years, the door opens.  Mary bookmarks her place in Revelations—hey, know thine enemy and all—and looks up, feigning boredom.  Michael strides into the room, his coat billowing behind him like in a low budget action movie.  Mary barely has time to wonder if he’s making that happen just for drama’s sake before he’s uncomfortably close.  She still doesn’t get up from where she’s sitting cross-legged on the bed.  Doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

“You called yourself Mary Campbell when my men asked,” Michael says, no preamble.

Mary nods. “Um, yeah.  Because it’s my name.”

And because she hadn’t thought that throwing around the name Winchester was a particularly good idea.  Although looking at Michael’s stormy face, it might have been the smarter course of action.

“Not from what my brother tells me,” Michael replies, finger tracing the outline of his lips absently. “He called you Mary Winchester.”

Oh no.

“Technically,” Mary tries, “my husband is dead.  So. You know.  Not really my name anymore.”

Michael’s face twists into a smile that creeps her out to her core. “Your husband.  John Winchester, I assume.”

She has a feeling he’ll know if she’s lying. “Yes?”

This is so not good.

“Any children, Mary?”

She jolts off of the bed and shoves him backwards.  He doesn’t move an inch, but the corner of his mouth twitches at her efforts.

“Don’t talk about my kids!”

Michael smiles. “My true vessel doesn’t exist in this universe.  I make do.  But if I no longer had to make do—”

“I won’t let you anywhere near him!” Mary snaps, throwing all her weight into a punch aimed at his face.

Michael catches it in midair and twists.  Mary yelps as he tosses her down on the dusty carpet.  Her shoulder throbs.  Michael stoops down and pushes her hair out of the way to whisper in her ear.

“Lucifer escaped. And he left you here.”

And with that, he gets up and leaves the room.  

“I’m not with him!” Mary yells after him.

“Don’t you dare—” Cas begins as Asmodeus picks up his cellphone.

Suddenly, it feels like his tongue is curling in on itself.  Cas chokes on air, struggling to get another word out, to warn Dean that the voice on the other end of the line isn’t his, but he can’t seem to find his breath.

Asmodeus finishes his call and calls Cas a card to play.  And instead of taking it, resigned, like he might have before his latest resurrection, Cas hurls himself at the bars hard enough to make them rattle. He’s not surprised that they don’t give. Asmodeus chuckles—yes, chuckles, like a villain out of those James Bond movies that Dean made him watch.

“Settle now, angel.”

Cas yanks at the bars again, more a show of defiance than the belief that he can actually escape. Across the way from him, Lucifer rolls his eyes.

“Take a chill pill, little bro.”

“And you—” Cas begins, rounding on him.

“Easy now,” Asmodeus tuts. “We don’t want to be gagged again, do we?”

“I won’t help you,” he snarls. “Nothing you could possibly do to me could compel me to put Jack in harm’s way.”

Asmodeus raises his eyebrows.  Cas gets a flash of hot sun, of buggy South Carolina fields, of songs whispered in the dark of a homeland long gone.  Asmodeus embodies the worst of humanity, and Cas has never hated someone so quickly or fiercely in his life.

“Not even to protect Dean Winchester?”

Cas bites back a retort he knows won’t help.

“Oh, trust me,” Asmodeus continues. “I know.  There’s not a being in Hell or Heaven or anywhere in between that doesn’t.”

He clucks his tongue at one of his attending demons, who rushes to open the door for him.

“Don’t push me, Castiel.  I can assure you, you won’t enjoy the results.”

When the door opens again, aching shoulder or no aching shoulder, Mary is ready to give Michael a piece of her mind.  But it isn’t Michael standing in the doorway.  A young man, probably twenty-two, twenty-three or so, gives her a little wave.  Mary has difficulty tearing her eyes away from the bruise blackening his left eye.

“What do you want?”

The kid smiles awkwardly.  And yeah, he’s probably only a little under a decade younger than her, but she can’t help calling him a kid in her head.

“A blood sample?”

Mary narrows her eyes. “Yeah.  Not gonna happen.”

Panic flares. “Look. It’s not going to hurt or anything, I swear.  I—Michael told me that you’re…that you’re, um, this thing called a vessel?  And there’s this spell I really, really need to work or I’m totally screwed.  Anyway, it needs an archangel’s Grace except Michael isn’t going to give me any of his in a million years, so I thought maybe a vessel’s blood might be a good substitute.  You are, aren’t you?  A potential vessel for Lucifer?”

Mary’s head aches and it has nothing to do with how Michael threw her earlier. “What?”

The kid shakes his head miserably. “I really need this from you.  Or Michael’s going to do a lot worse to me than a black eye.”

Her hands curl into fists at her sides.  Of course Michael was the one to beat up on some poor kid.  Of course.  Because whenever she put her faith in something—in the Men of Letters, in John Winchester, in angels—it all comes to nothing.

“Start from the beginning.  Like with your name.” She forces a smile. “Mine is Mary.”

“Kevin.  Kevin Tran.”

He takes a step into the room and closes the door behind them, no longer quite so skittish.

“I’m a prophet. Except God isn’t here, so I serve Michael.  I’m sort of an amateur scientist.  Slash witch, I guess.  Michael wants a way back to your universe because apparently everything sucks less there. So I’m trying to break down the barriers between the worlds.  I managed to get the rift to open again, but Lucifer escaped through it and it closed. And now Michael is totally going to kill me if I can’t replicate the process.”

A rift between worlds.  Huh.  A smile begins to form on Mary’s face. There might just be a way out of this after all.  She rolls up her sleeve and starts to probe for a vein.

“All right, Kevin. I’m going to make you a deal…”

“It is kind of pathetic, you know.”

Cas knows better than to give Lucifer a second of his time, but given that they’re stuck staring at each other until Asmodeus returns, he doesn’t have much of a choice.

“What is?”

Lucifer flops back on the cell’s concrete floor and props his feet up against the bars, like he’s in a vertical recliner.  

“Your little crush.”

Cas glares, but Lucifer goes on anyway.

“I mean, God, it would have been obvious even if we weren’t sharing a head.  The way you’d just stare off after him if I didn’t take control of the eyes?  Wow. Lame.”

He resolutely turns his back on Lucifer, but shutting off his ears isn’t nearly as easy.

“And you know the saddest thing?  He feels the same way.”

He does his best not to react, but the quiet hum Lucifer makes tells him that he isn’t completely successful.

“It was enough to make me want to gag.”

“Enough!”

Cas whirls around and lashes out against the bars hard enough to make Lucifer draw back incrementally.

“Need I remind you who has the Grace here?” he says, drawing a few deep breaths.

Lucifer actually can’t seem to find words. Cas feels his first genuine smile in a while come on.

“That’s what I thought,” he says, turning back around.

Be careful, Dean.

 (ao3)

[punkscowardschampions]

Janis & Grace & Jimmy

Janis: Fucking Phones! *Janis shouts, her frustration kicked into overdrive, phone shotput at the nearest wall before she can think about it. If it wasn't broken before, like. Paces over to the shattered remains, not to cradle with regret, but to put the boot in further, stomping heavily on the useless hunk of junk 'til she's satisfied. Deep breaths were saved for AFTER the storm, not some pathetic vain attempt to stop the inevitable. She was well past that stage. Had she EVER been so naive to be at that stage? Had she ever tried to stop herself? What was the point? She knew how strong she was, how strong IT was, knew better than to get in her own way, like. As she was pondering what the fuck to do now, someone who had NEVER learnt to get out of the oncoming tide's way walked through the door. Oh, Gracie. How many times have you been left shattered on the floor? Stung to think about. Not just 'cos she'd got glass in her feet that needed dealing with. But first- Despite agreeing with Jim earlier, Janis knew her twin better, knew there was more to it. What she did not know was what to do about it. Whatever it was. Gulp. An olive branch disguised as you'd be doing me a favour. That'd have to do it.* Grace? Can I borrow your phone quick, like. *She gestured to the crime scene below her feet.* Grace: *She's a liar, concerned with only the promise that today the gym would be packed, and it was. Every lad who flexed to get girls had eyes for the ones they ranked before Grace walked in, and the girls that were above it, or faking that they were, locked onto their camera roll as they did their work out, looking at themselves, 'done with anyone else, honestly'. She took selfies herself, because without being focused on the insta numbers what did she have, a playlist that preached empowerment without giving her any? Tragic. Pathetic was all she felt next to them, solidarity wiped off her radar by the invisibility she needed and hated. Fuck the sisterhood. Mother nature's turned her back and over it without a 'thank you, next. There's more space at home for her than here. Beyond tragic. Still she goes there minus any juice or coffee stops, there's no craving that can touch how much she doesn't want to run into the growing list of people who she'd die if she had to deal with being around. Obviously she near collides with one of the first immediately because OH MY GOD she can't get a break right now. Coping with only being wanted for her phone is easier than expected though. Grace unlocks and hands it over wordlessly, keeping her attention on what is gestured and so #relatable.* Janis: *Janis nods her thanks, doing her level-best to pretend her sister, silent, wasn't a total headfuck; Wished for many a time but she'd never professed to being careful, had she? The tapping out of a quick text the only sound allowed to occupy the vast space between them. Allowing the awkwardness to grow, as if it could bridge the gap, Janis read his reply (received in record time, by the way) and made huge effort not to smile smugly because she REFUSED to be one of those girls, even though that had had the potential to unite her with her twin in the past, it felt like a bad move now. She wasn't one of those girls either. Not really Not deep down. And she certainly did not seem it nowadays. Oh how we have changed, my friend. She handed the phone back as silently as it had been given, intent on leaving it at that but, for some reason, words tumbling as thoughtless as the rain of violence had upon her own phone just moments ago, she just asked her.* Do you want to come out with us? We're not doing anything exciting, like. So you don't have to...But if a bit of normality sounds good, though; gotta walk the dogs and his brother and sister, run some errands up town. *She finishes lamely with a casual shrug, as if that took nothing, as if they always did this kinda thing. Before they did, but the past was a different place, a town they didn't occupy any more. Whether you thought that a tragedy (and Janis did think it that, too) or otherwise, it was what it was.* Grace: *This headfuck adds itself to the pile, leaving her again, clueless as to who the fuck she is. Grace had long been thinking it of her twin, before barista boy had moved in and got her shaken off from her sister totally, but it's pushed away whenever it enters her head and tries to shake up her own persona. No way and no time like. Until now that it had run out for her anyway. It doesn't matter what her mum said, over and over, she feels broken. And ashamed. And somehow, Janis knew that without knowing, offering her a pity hang to keep the vibe from leaving her alone. Obviously she could go off, hard, in the moment and get everyone else to leave her but what was the point if that's her only power? A pity party is the only one that'll be thrown for her these days, there's no choice but to cope with that. Later. After she's called Janis out in gestures and expressions that scream UGH and AS IF because too much has changed to let go of that. Even as she realises she's accepting, all 'thank god I showered and changed at the gym' crossing her mind and face.* Okay, Jan, no need to beg babes. *Grace fluffs her hair, smiling wide enough to hurt. Later too.* Gotta change my bag first like OMG, a dog that cute has just gotta come home with me. Unfair that your feed gets all of her when mine's the most poppin'. She's welcome. Janis: *Janis rolls her eyes but that action, so overused it went way beyond practiced into straight up muscle memory, was accompanied by a less usual smile. Small but conveying the too-big-and-awkward-to-mention idea that today, just this once, she would let shit slide. Still, it'd feel to alien for both if she let her twin get away with EVERYTHING, like. Sympathies SHOULD only stretch so far, otherwise who even were they?* Sure she'll be buzzin' for the fame, Grace. Just be quick about it, alright? I've already left 'em hanging long enough meself with the fecking phone dramas... *And the shower. And the actually taking longer than ten seconds to pick out somethin' decent to wear, somethin' he might like. Push that feeling down, along with the bile it caused. Don't think about it. Deal with it later. She busied herself in the kitchen, NOT like the proper little housewife the stupidity of giving a shit was mockingly making her feel, but by fishing out the promised leftovers for Twix, finding the sparklers, and chucking in some leftovers for the kids too, Holiday food still coming out their earholes here. Again she ignored the mocking voice from within, trying to be rational about it. It weren't like she gave a fuck like THAT, and not about Jim but if their dad was AWOL it was probably microwave meals and takeaway grub, the kiddos may as well have something decent to line their bellies, Lord knows her fam didn't need it. No sense wasting it. So there. Fuck you. Janis grabbed her house keys and chucked her new cropped hoodie over her outfit, untucking her curls and waiting by the door, foot tapping from impatience, nothing more, alright?* Grace: *Grace moves fast, not because she's feeling it herself but she knows Janis is and can't handle the fight, impatience so blatant to cause it that even without a twin connection that Jimmy would see it himself as quick. Her stomach twists painfully, the idea that no man will ever want her again resurfacing before it can be pushed back down. Her body flops down on her bed staying separate from her, face pressed into the tear-stained pillow until she has a reason for not being able to breathe. A small sound comes out, nothing else. The other girl will be charging up the stairs if she doesn't hurry so she forces herself up and does the switch, grabbing stuff she might need blindly. The 'who am I?' question throws itself out again but it's better than any Janis will ask otherwise. Grace reassures herself its her reasoning for no mirror check before walking away. * Janis: *The 'okay, let's do this' doesn't need to be vocalized (need or want? they're two very different beasts but let's both pretend we don't know otherwise), so it isn't. Quickly jostling out the door, matching pace on the short walk to the Grandparent's, like this was a two-step or a tango another dance that required two to- somehow keeping rhythm, keeping time, so well and so naturally between them it was like they'd never stopped being a double act. Now with Killer in tow, the truth that they had stopped being Graceandjanis, presented itself readily in the hugs and love she received and the awkward hellos and suspicious barks Grace did when they made their date. Janis couldn't very well push the kiddos away, no need to be that much of a cunt on anyone's behalf, her sister especially wouldn't thank her for it- but she converted Jim's into a one-arm handshake type hug affair; 'accidentally (who knew?) pushing her extended fist into his stomach with a 'whoops'. She withdrew, choosing to do what she knew how before anything else could be said or done or even thought.* Race ya to the swings! *It was a challenge for the entire group, fuck it, the dogs could get in on the action if they liked, just give a fucking distraction. Bobby hung back Grace too. Janis looked back, wondering if she should run back too, not leave her sister so soon but she found her legs continuing regardless, beyond her control. That was just how it was these days.* Grace: *She can breathe again, easily, of course she can, when they are walking side by side. Grace forgets until the park's in sight, reminding her hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. She blinks them away, refusing to be that girl, but the buggy's still there, being pushed in time with her own steps so close she can't help but remember how far away any of that is for her. Frantically she clutches her phone, acting out living a life where what the screen is showing her is something she cares deeply about knowing. The distraction can't last and doesn't. There they are, Jimmy and his brother, his sister keeping pace with a sniffing puppy, kicking her own toes against the ground. 'I feel you girl' she thinks, automatically despite having no idea what the girl's deal is and barely a grip on her own either. They all smile, waves and everything, but hers doesn't hurt now and won't tonight. None of this is real. She might as well not be here, that's not news anymore than Janis being gone again is, so why react to it? It's hard enough pretending to give them her usual vibes. The boy doesn't run when the rest do, sticking with her. What the fuck is she meant to do or say to that? She blinks again, breathing deep and he mirrors it. Too relatable. Horrible. If he starts sobbing she can't just stand there. No way. Janis would kill her. It'd look suss af even if she handled it well, a kid crying with nobody but her around to blame. Oh god. She can't do this. He's looking at her like she trod on his dog with her heels on, and hasn't stopped. Grace bends down to his level with another whispered 'hey, cutie', cussing herself for packing her bag on autopilot because she couldn't guarantee having anything he might like. At a loss she falls into old habits, asking him quietly if he wants to take a selfie. He shakes his head no first, until she pulls up all the best features her phone can offer, filters making him smile wider and wider as he skips through. He almost loses it when she makes herself into a singing dog emoji thing and insists loudly that she send it to his big sister's phone. She tells him to go ahead, all it takes to secure a friend for the afternoon apparently. Grace shakes her head, smiling without realizing it. He hasn't even found her games yet. Just you wait boy.* Jimmy: *It's been a headache getting them sorted, but the fresh air eventually clears it before it turns into more than a heaviness behind his eyes. Janis not having a phone, and the thought of him having to text Grace's more than once had him picking up the pace and the kids followed eagerly despite dragging their feet when he first told 'em to get a move on. Cass has no choice unless she was about Twix wrecking her Christmas trackies in all the excitement of her true love appearing and Bobby makes up his mind just as fast when he catches on too. The park or the cramped four walls of their living room, no contest, like. He was with them both there. #Buzzing he thinks with a smirk that's a grin until it's nothing. She pushes him away, forcing him to push himself to catch back up. He touches the chain of the swing just after she does, dogs at his heels, only moving aside so his sister can jump on (and off as soon probably, but go for it, Cass). No prizes for coming second. He looks over his shoulder for bobby, seeking him out, relaxing when he sees Grace with him. He's alright. Wish he could say the same, having lost.* Janis: *Janis took as much internal pleasure from the victory as she could get- not much, nothing if we're being real (we aren't). Empty as she felt, plenty of room, like; still, she found the silly little 'win' just as hollow. Still, could fake that that wasn't the case, throwing up loser signs as she raised her arms in 'triumph'. Being an arrogant cunt was a surefire way to keep people at a safe distance, that method beyond tried and tested now. 'Let's get this whole situation back to fakery, yeah?' Her every sane impulse urges, terror white hot, cornered animal scared, ready to lash out for her survival, (and his). 'Please, no. I'm not ready to stop this!' The part of her that burns with wanting him, loving- this, whatever 'this' was, begs, thick with need. Need was not allowed. Needing things just meant hurt and disappointment, every time. And Janis felt she had enough stacked already. Call her weak or a pussy for knowing she wasn't super-human, (not even human), for knowing her limits (Weak. Pussy.) Enough was enough, do what you do best already, and run; run so far ahead of him that all he's left with is your dust, not even memories, good or otherwise, to remember you by. Forget about it, kid. Ignoring Jim might be a task she was up for the challenge of but ignoring Twix proved near impossible, Janis patted the pup's head absent-mindedly, just to get her to calm down a bit, like. Working out what was wrong when she was met with manic sniffing, she dug around in her pockets and produced a bone. She tossed it lazily but it still flew a great distance through the air out into the open field. She then had the perfect excuse to casually follow after the running dog. So chill. So natural.* Jimmy: *He pushes Cass on the swing a few times, helping her get the speed up she needs to make the jump, but hard as he goes for it, it doesn't help. The only thing that's gonna is to sort out why Janis is being off with him. He asks himself first, thinking that since Grace was being uncharacteristically quiet too that was the answer. Being mad that Gracie has invited herself to tag along made sense but taking it out on him was a dickhead move like. Shrugging to convince any watching sisters that he didn't give a shit, he jogs over to where the two of them are, bending to annoy Twix 'cause that'll get to her most.* Gracie coming too town too? I see how it is, getting coffee when she knows her real faves on shift. None taken.* It's bollocks but going off for a smoke'll go down like a lead balloon with Bobby when he notices which means Cass getting pissed off at him when Janis already is. Instead he nods over to where his little brother is, still beside Grace. *We should get in on that, bet our selfie game's well stronger and you'd make a gorgeous bunny mate it has to be said. Janis: *Janis nudges him away from Twix as if the daft thing were hers and not at least part his, making a 'leave off' sound too.* Don't blame me if she goes for your ankles, like. I didn't teach her how to do that or nowt but you know, s'a bitch's prerogative. *She nods, not looking at him, eyes kept on the horizon, as if he were a stranger she was having a meaningless chat to about the weather whilst keeping an eye out for the bus still.* Yeah. Anything to get out the house though, init. *Said as if Grace was driving her as mad as two hyper kids, which usually wouldn't be a lie but currently her sister had about as much life in her as the Christmas tree they'd just chucked. She did her best to ignore the joke about the other baristas, 'cos at the end of the day it was one, it just didn't feel like it when her twin was in such a way. But even Janis couldn't pin that on the boy stood with her now, she had enough pride to not appear entirely irrational, like. She could, however, lower herself to an eye-roll at the equally as jokey suggestion.* Nah. Bobby's cuter. Besides, I'm so fucking sick of selfies. Jimmy: *He shakes his head exaggeratedly, smirking.* No chance. She's soft as. Lot of that going about.* Jimmy nudges Janis playfully. *Like trainer, like dog, don't they say? *Anything to get a reaction out of her that isn't this. 'Cause fucking hell he doesn't get it. They'd had a good day before, only better if he'd beat her at paintball too, and a decent night despite the actually mad amount of family she had for him to meet. This morning she'd been alright with him. Their normal. Until now. What the fuck had gone wrong? Panic makes his palms slick and he uses her nan's husky as means to destroy the evidence before she twigs it to be, patting the dog's head affectionately.* This one on the other hand, #savage. Twix, get taking those notes, hun. *He laughs, hating what it sounds like when it lands, but preserving. Why the fuck not. Might as well go one further he thinks, and does, acting like he'd been shot down by what's actually true as he raises his hands to demand a ceasefire before making a show of putting the phone away and patting his pocket. * You'll change your tune once that new model's in your hand. Janis: Fuck off! *She says, indignant, voice raised. Couldn't even help it, correct button pressed; well done, mate. Nail on head, the ease in which he could do it sickening, a punch in the guts. A warning sign. No, it wasn't. She just got angry, she was an angry person, that was all, nothing more to it. Now calm down. Calm the fuck down before you embarrass yourself further. 1 2 3- Fuck it. Janis snorts, again words out before she can help it. Before she can censor the shit he doesn't need to know. The shit she doesn't talk about. Ever. With anyone.* Yeah well, that's what happens when you're not raised- *Stopping herself before its too late, 'cos nope not going there, not today, not with him. She let him distract the both of them with his amateur dramatics, looking him up and down skeptically.* Not too late to join the drama club, you know. You need an outlet, mate. About as much as I need the newest iPhone and all its megapixels, like. *She does her own mime act, clicking an invisible camera at him.* Grace: *They are playing some brightly coloured tapping game together when his shyness of her wears off. The questions are easy at first, listing off the cats names as far back as she can remember when she tells him regretfully about not having a dog, counting on her fingers and using his when they run out. They are both laughing at the end of it and she continues after hearing his mum was allergic to dogs so they couldn't get Twix 'til she went. Way to own and finalise that separation Mr Taylor, Grace thinks. Such a mood. Janis would 100% approve. She looks over at her sister but her gaze won't linger long enough to be felt. Not now. It just can't. She can't go there. She asks him more about her, this mum who he insists is 'far away', letting him talk. He deserves to say anything he wants, in whatever sense her absence means to him. None of her family do and look at them all. There's a huge part of her desperate to join in, just have the words 'my sister Edie is gone too' come out, but she can't go there either. It isn't right. Not when she means dead and this kid is what, like 5? If her twin's ever shared that info with her she can't find it in the moment, like it matters. She's not gonna offload that on him. No way. Better to keep smiling and encouraging, at least he's thriving off it.* Jimmy: Calm it down! *His own tone stays playful, matching the smirk he doesn't dare to drop. Fuck him for forgetting his shades the one time he needs them for something that isn't posing, if anything in his face gives him away to her they aren't gonna make it to town, making him a peak dickhead. He nods at the next bit, letting her know how 'so relatable he finds it, like' as he looks over at Cass and Bobby both, wearing the 'don't I know it' on his face wearily. Joke's over there. Call it a raw nerve, or too much truth to shrug through.* Yeah. *Before his weariness can piss them both off he takes the out his given to keep this banter jokey. Hip Hip Hooray!* Countin' on it. Shame you've missed the deadline for being one of us art pricks. You'll always have the 'gram though. #blessed. Janis: *'Great' Janis thinks to herself, sinking further into the regret consuming her every thought and action today as she realizes, (or at least presumes), he picked up on the dead sister vibes and now feels awkward as arse. Well done, dickhead. It wasn't as if she could plead ignorance, four years gone had taught them all that other people were crap with dealing with the death conversation. No one wanted the reminder. Least of all them, to be honest. Had to seep into everything, didn't she? Never any good at staying gone. Fuck you, Edie. Janis swallowed following his gaze to Cass and Bobby, taking the time to check up on her sibling too. Nothing, she tells herself, she feels nothing. Fuck them all. Its the blisteringly cold wind making her eyes water, that's all. She grunts in response, hardly worth it but it was all she had to give, not sorry about it. Sorry. She walks on in silence, throwing things for the dogs, shouting out commands, doing her best to disguise the cracks in her voice as a sore throat and nowt else. In the spirit of throwing a bone, she attempts to say something real, give him anything to work with. Purely 'cos this was boring, like. If they were gonna be wasting their afternoon regardless, yeah?*  Let's play a game. You have to answer every question truthfully and straight away, like, if you don't you lose your chance to ask a question back. Meaning I get to go again or you pussy-out fully and call game over then you lose. Got it? I'll even let you go first, gracious victor that I am. Jimmy: *He doesn't know what to do when he sees it in her eyes any more than when he does in his sister's. The fight. He knows what he wants to do, every damn time, but he knows what it'll earn him from Janis. Same as Cass near enough. A smack or a strop off. He's had plenty of the first, naturally, but the second has him frozen in place. He sees it in his head, Janis stepping back as he moves forward and can't bear the maybe like. He breathes out hard, forcing it until he coughs. By the time he has his shit together, it's done. Chance missed for him to go for asking 'why are you being so off with me?' Thank fuck, 'cause honestly he knows the answer, doesn't he? She's fed up now they aren't faking it. He shouldn't hold blame, state of him, but it's there. For himself mostly, thinking she'd be any different. Nobody stays. Give her a few years and Cass'd be off to, looking for better. Bobby after some more. Still, he trails along, trying to be wrong. Needing to be. He feels it when he kisses her, more than his desperation, and if it exists, he can keep on to it.  So he gets a grip now, sorts himself enough to be properly back next to her. Grins when he is, 'cause there it is. A new chance. Fucking hell. Jimmy nods. * Yeah okay. *He catches her eye, challenging her to back down already but bricking it that she might. What would he do then? He nudges her, the contact meaning more to him than the casual gesture lets anyone else know. He tries, ready to lose if needs be. * What's up with you then? Janis: *Janis resists the urge to pull a face, an 'of all the questions' kind of look, 'cos obviously that's the entire point of the game and she was the one who started it so- man up, like. She opts for the classic 'is that it?' look instead, faking out on her answer not being an option (she wouldn't do that to him) but she could at least front some bravado before answering truthfully. She leaned into his nudge as if to prove to herself otherwise as she said-* I'm scared. *A shrug, again, as if to counteract her words. She also fought the urge to ask what was wrong with him too, settling on an easier question, but one she'd still care to know the answer to.* How many girls have you slept with? Jimmy: *There's so many questions that come to mind when she gives her answer but it isn't his turn and honestly, if it was, he's scared too. More than a bit. Probably more than she is, truthfully. 'Cause the feeling is too strong to be alone in, he's about to let her know she isn't, by reaching for her hand and squeezing but there's no time for that. She takes her go, digging at him less than expected. Jim hides his surprise with a snort, shaking his head. 'What are you like?' that gesture implies, but he's bothered more about the state of himself, hiding behind all this bollocks again. He returns the shrug she gave him, easy as. She already knows about Skerries. There's no mystery despite what they all seemed to believe when he arrived as a newbie * 2. I had a girlfriend at home before. Ages go. * He shoots her a look, hopefully unreadable.* That scare you more or less? Janis: *She nods. Honestly, pleased, just a hint of a smile gracing her face. Yeah, yeah, yeah that shit shouldn't matter and it didn't, like; when you were on level-pegging, her bitterness told her, even if Jim's number was low, hers was always gonna be lower, wasn't it? Still, there was only one honest answer to his question. Didn't even compare, like.* Less. *Janis was tempted to ask him why he was wasting questions but she would be doing the same in-turn so, nah. She let herself think for slightly longer than last time, working out how best to play this. Interesting enough to keep him playing but not coming out with the real scary shit 'cos that'd have him quitting even faster if she went there with no warming him up, like.* Why'd you not wait to find a real girlfriend here? Jimmy: *He laughs, it's her directness that does it. Yeah that's the point of the game but she's there shamelessly #buzzing by his 'revelation.' It's the first time he's done something right since they got here and he can't help smiling himself. Finally not a smirk. Cheers, mate. He stops himself shrugging yet again, in case that feels like a step back, though for real, he could care less about this question. He'd never lied about his lack of interest or any of that. Still wasn't. * I didn't want one. *Until he did. And here they are. Scary shit. It's better to focus on the game, something he can ask while still playing safe enough to keep going. What then? Come on, dickhead. There's a part of him, also from ages ago apparently, that wants to blurt out something about that cunt Harry she kept kissing, the jealousy existing, making him feel shitty. Reminding him he is, like. His smile fades. Can't keep anything, can he? *Why me when you could've just told your haters about other school Harry and left it at that? He loved boasting about the two of you, he'd have been enough. Janis: *Janis stuck her middle finger up but she joined in the laughter all the same, 'cos not would give her away more than she already had and she couldn't have that. Just let him think she was a jealous girl or whatever had him cracking up. 'Cos surely she hadn't let him close enough that he could actually know what was up, had she? She considered his answer as she stressed over her own. Guess he hadn't...But why now? What had changed? Was they really still just mates, but with benefits, like? Was that all he waiting for? Oh wait, stupid bitch, YOU have to answer first. And that is way more than your allotted one question per turn. And just much too much in general. Calm it. And answer before you look any weirder.* 'Cos he weren't my boyfriend. Ever. Anyone can get a lad like that to get off with them, didn't really prove anything. Besides, I wanted to help you, like. I dunna why. Sue me. *She pokes her tongue out, turning to face him, walking backward as she asks her next. Changing tact, 'cos she's not sure if she can actually handle knowing the answers to all the questions she'd posed in her head.* Do you really hate it here? Jimmy: *It doesn't seem like she's gonna answer at first, but instead of feeling good about another victory to his name, it just lets in all the shit waiting there in his own head to fill in the blanks. He's heard and told a load to piss off before she gives hers. It's nowt he didn't proper know by himself but there's comfort in how she says 'ever' as a fuck you. Fuck off Harry you prick. The feeling only builds when she gets walking like that, reminding him of Jaden's party. He'd never wanted to stop kissing her that night. Still didn't. Same finality. 'Cause yeah, right now he didn't ever. There it was. So when he shakes his head it's no pisstake. Banter's the furthest thing from the gesture and he let's his face show it. Just for now, like. * Nah, I hate that them two do, but not me. *He looks over at his siblings, Bobbin's taken Cass' place on the swings now but she's stayed nearby, phone out, snapping him. Do it for the 'gram, he can't help thinking, an affectionate smile lingering as he looks back at his girlfriend. *You? Wish you'd kept running when you did one from school and me like? Janis: *Back to nodding again, following the direction of his gaze and topic of conversation, 'cos she gets it. Without second-guessing and stopping herself with 'well their situation is probably worse' type of thoughts, she just lets it come out. The first thing she's ever said to him about Edie. The first time she's spoken about her in a long time, except to tell Grace she's glad she's dead, and that she wished she were too, of course. Standard.* We haven't always lived here, either...Lived lots of places for Mum's job and just 'cos. Ireland was barely Home for the older lot; when we came back my sister Edie hated it so fucking much. Not exciting enough, I guess. Or she liked people not knowing us the rest of the places, unlike here... *She trails off red-faced. Shrugging for cover as always.* What I mean is, probably the exact opposite for them two. Not enough people know 'em. We could change that. Introduce them to the unwashed mass of my lot. They will get more comfortable, you know... *Again the trail-off 'cos why the fuck was she offering up useless platitudes like he was a total idiot? Jesus. Distract with your answer time, bitch. As if that would diffuse the tension any. HA.* Kind of...but nah, not really, 'cos its just the people and their talk and the good and bad memories and all the ghosts, init? No matter the destination, all that shit follows so- It ain't really Dublin's fault. Just nice to take a break sometimes. *She smiles, hoping it'll just be taken as a reference to always having Skerries or some shit, and not the fact that being with him felt like a break, wherever they were. Don't need to scare him off THAT hard. And not yet. Fuck a good decision. For now.* What about you, why'd your Da move yous here? Jimmy: *It's his turn to nod dumbly then, 'cause he gets it, Edie's (supposed) feeling. It's what he likes best about this city, that even when his (supposed) new boy shine wears off, there's still much none of them know about him. Won't. He can breathe here for that, a bit, and does until he's reminded of the limits by Janis says after. She isn't wrong. Here he isn't the lad whose mum vanished, but he still is. Always will be, unless she does some magic fucking reappearing act, and how likely is that? It isn't doable, he tells himself so every damn night and for good reason. But Janis isn't wrong about what Cass and Bob need either. It isn't fair for him to keep them shut in this tight circle knowing that they can't keep their mouths shut. Why should they? They're just kids and its their normal, bound to feel like the kind of shit chatted about over the school lunch table. His hands shove themselves deep in his pockets not knowing what else to do. He wants a smoke bad but isn't far enough away from the park yet. Won't get to be. This is why they're here like. Shit. * Yeah. *It's all he has to say, barely able to look at her as is. Lifting his head back to her level is a bigger challenge than he can rise to now. Loser. Fuck. More than anything else he wants to ask her for a break, demand it, but he can't. Janis hit right on how there's no escaping this. He sighs, pulling his hood up. If she thinks he's only keeping the cold out then he'll take that, if not, he'll handle it when. Fuck it. There's only so much trying Jimmy can do today. * He got fired. Wanted a fresh start then.* He shrugs. All true. He doesn't believe if lying by omission or any of that bollocks. She didn't ask why he was sacked. Why a fresh start had to be so drastic. Those are other questions, ones he's not about to answer come to that.* We goin' down town or what? Janis: *That was it. Game over. Before she even had tie to register his answer he was sick of giving it. His hood and guard back up. Sighing with it too. Oh, how Janis wished it made HER mad. What she wouldn't give to feel that familiar friend close to her right now, to take comfort in its arms when he was shutting her out. But of course not, of course fucking not. Couldn't even have that, could she? All she felt was desperation, desperate to be let back in, to know what she did wrong so she could avoid doing it again, and it made her feel fucking sick. At least the nausea gave her valid reason to spit on the ground.* Can't be bothered now, don't matter, you lot still go if you wanna. *She fumbled in her hoodie pocket for Killer's lead, whistling him over so she could get the fuck out of here, NOW. Of course, Twix came bounding and the oblivious husky didn't. Great.* Good girl, Twix... *She mumbled, giving her some love and a treat, wishing the ground could swallow her whole.* Jimmy: *He starts walking back toward the swings, knowing it'll take ages to get both of them ready to go, longer than Janis is gonna stick around for definitely. Jimmy keeps his gaze there, Twix'll move when Cass does and there and then, if she didn't he didn't give a shit. There's no room for it. He's only filled up with how badly he's fucked this when the answer comes and a question won't follow. His sister starts mouthing off when he makes it clear they're off home but a look sorts it. Gotta leave before he's left, sorry. Cass gets Bobby and Twix with her, which should make him feel worse but there's no room for that either. Not yet. One for later like. The two them say their goodbyes, Bobby gives hugs to both twins. He doesn't. Can't if it's the last. There's nowt to do but this.* Probs text you, Gracie. *He's aiming for a joke, without waiting for it to land. Any answers. It's too much, being fake again. Especially like this.* Janis: *Even though she's the one who said it, AND she was the one who started to pack up first, when he just walks away, without so much as a glance back, nevermind a goodbye, it's like a punch in the face. (Don't you know by now I don't mean it? Dickhead)* Oi! *She pushes past him, letting the shout sail over his head like it wasn't even a little bit aimed at him, rushing up to Cass to give her the bag of goodies she'd foraged.* Enjoy, yeah? *Saying her Goodbyes to both kid's as if her and Jim already had, nothing to see here. Janis grits her teeth, poor excuse for a good-humored smile to match his worse attempt at a joke. Have her, if that's what you really want, just cut me off 'cos I can't keep hanging on your every word, Jimmy Taylor. She says nothing, figuring she can let her twin, like she used to. Feeling that unnecessary and unwanted again.* Grace: *Grace has no idea what's happening, beyond the obvious. The tragic. She was in her own world until Jimmy came through, a world where she could deal with being around these kids 'cause they're older and Cass reminds her of Gus which hurts, but in the old way, one she's learned to cope with. This new pain is too new to try and deal. It takes everything not to cry when she hears a newborn doing that. She's hates it, being back to being this lost, a hopeless saddo again, so obviously latches onto the tension surrounding her twin and the barista. She can't fix it, can't even really put her finger on the vibe, but it's enough that it isn't hers. A distraction she can sit in. Drama that can never be as deep as the one her body's done on her.* Oh, you're going. Cool. Laters then, babes. Hope I'll see you around, cutie. * She smiles wide at Bobby, a better fake than Janis can ever be. *No offense, Jimmy.* The laugh sounds real. Only the kids give her something back, but it's for them she does it, not wanting what her sister is gonna dish out in this mood. And if looks could kill, the boyfriend's could have them all in the ground. No fucking thanks. Off you go, boy, bye.* Jimmy: *He waves both twins off as if they're on equal footing suddenly like. Funny fucker he is. Even more of a twat. He keeps going, lighting up as he does, every word Cass might say about it blocked out before it gets out. Enough. It's this or worse, sorry. The kids start bickering as they round the corner, taking out the bullshit he'd started and let seep out on each other when they can't reach him. Jimmy feels like handling it like he's younger than Bobby's age, throwing himself to the floor and sobbing for a bit. There's no getting rid that easily though. Not for him. Janis was the lucky one there. Shame she didn't feel it, but it was too late for him to do anything about that. She wasn't even in sight anymore. Fuck knows when she next would be. He couldn't think of school starting when tomorrow was too far. Too much. He rubs his eyes, ready to call it tiredness but nobody was there to issue a challenge. Fuck.* Janis: *Janis turns on her heel, without acknowledging him again (not hard when all she can think to do is knock him out or beg at his feet, neither of those an option she could live with), but its cheapened by the fact he did it first, and meant it. She prays the walk Home can be as shrouded in sweet silence as the walk here was. For her sake this time. But as they walk on, further and further away from him, she starts to wish Grace would say something, ANYTHING! She needed the distraction from her own thoughts, the ones that had got her in this mess in the fucking first place! Differences aside, even her twin was better company.* Did you wanna go up-town, like? We still can... *She shrugs. What else does she have to say or offer right now?* Grace: *The walk back doesn't feel anything like the one going, they are in step, yeah, but it means nothing 'cause they're both so in their own 'drama'. She nearly tells her sister, at least part of it, as an excuse for why she's being this 'ugh' (none of these stupid, basic words fit, but they are what she automatically reaches for), feeling she owes her that, knowing Janis would be down for her being a bitch over giving her nothing to kick back against. None of the words will come out though. Of course. Only more of her usual kinda convo stuff will. She's that bitch now. Shadowing her former self. God, it's even more pathetic than anything she'd tried to pull on her twin. But it fits, and she flips her hair, turning to the other with a smile which doesn't come as easy but she forces herself to wear anyway. *Well, girl, you still need a phone. Even if just to tell him to fuck off when he tries blowing mine up. Janis: *She's looking down at their feet; looking anywhere else, a risk. She nods, allowing a small 'true' chuckle to follow too. Janis raises her head, straightening her back and standing up taller. She groans as she cracks her bones and stretches out her arms and legs like she's warming up for something. Too little too late, perhaps? God damn.* Fuck this shit, Gracie. Fuck.This.Shit. *She doesn't even know fully what her sister's shit is yet but she feels confident in sending it to Hell with her own.* What are we gonna do, eh? Grace: *She whispers it herself, 'fuck it' so soft, but so 'fire'. (Another word than couldn't touch how things were) It felt good to have it out of her. More than that, feeling connected to her twin again (bad as she felt for thinking it under these conditions, god she was such a bitch.) was even better. A more genuine smile is offered up while she thinks of what she can say, tapping her nails against denim. *We're going to town, sister, and owning the rest of this day. New phone, new clothes, whatever we want. Fuck it. Janis: *Janis smiles back, as genuine.* Fuck it. Let's do this.