#but Jude you gotta show a little life
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pjshermann · 1 year ago
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the way Hanya Yanagihara incorporated the title of “A Little Life” into the book (if you know what scene I’m talking about, ur entitled to financial compensation) gotta be in the top 10 most out of pocket things ever. Like it’s top tier writing but OUCH????????? ur insane!!!!! im pummelling Brother Luke w my bare fists
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lychiism · 1 month ago
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Zaneee you might be convincing me to ship JudeTrent 😣😣
PLEAEE PLEASE PLEASE THEYRE SO GOOD I COULD WRITE A GROCERY LIST ON EVERYTHING PERFECT ABOUT THEM💔
- Jude is the younger, taller one, which he habitually reminds Trent of and all he gets in response is a “Piss off”
- Trent being snarky and brash with Jude, but all Jude has to do is give him his stupid Bambi eyes and he’s like “okay fine fine- one more kiss, but we gotta get up for breakfast straight after-“
- Jude always adding “my” when describing Trent ,, he literally commented “my boy” on his post once 💔
- my personal headcanon is that Jude realised his feelings all so quickly, it hits him like a sack of bricks and he IMMEDIATELY loses his shit- like he can’t keep it inside for more than a few days before he confesses. Then Trent is just like. Jude we cannot do this. Like. Bad Idea. No. And Jude is like - that did not answer my question. Do you want me? And Trent just ,, gives in.
Baby snippet of my first fic to further convince u ~
Jude shakes his head back at him, Trent not understanding his unbridled awe. “Y’just don’t get it.” Trent’s expression falls slightly in confusion.
“Don’t get what?”
“The way I-“ Jude huffs in exasperation then smiles to himself at the absurdity of his circumstance. He grows frustrated with himself, and horrifyingly, Trent realises this too.
“Jude? Lad?”
Looks like he’s doing this now. Fuck.
“Can I come in? Please?” Jude asks, like Trent might say no. Trent just looks at Jude like he’s a precious thing before they wordlessly enter and stand in the narrow entrance to his room.
Trent leans himself against the door, arms crossed, stupid fucking biceps glowing in the evening light. Jude feels like punching himself in the face.
“It’s you.”
The words are laid bare between them. Jude feels stripped raw, his feeble form a spectacle in front of Trent’s own eyes.
“Gotta expand on that la’. Dunno what you’re on about.” Jude hears his voice shake slightly.
“You must know,” Jude pleads. “Don’t make fun of me, Trent.”
“Honest, Jude. Tell me.” Trent nudges Jude with his socked foot, pushing him closer to what may be the biggest mistake of his entire life.
“Told you the other day tha’ I’m into a lad, yeah?” Trent nods softly, he’s taken the pink fat of his lower lip between his teeth, taunting Jude. “‘S you. Fucks sake, I’m into you.”
“You don’t mean that.”
What? Out of all the responses Jude had anticipated, that had not been one of them.
“Why would I say it if I didn’t mean it? You hearin’ yourself? You hearin’ me?”
“You don’t want me Jude, not like-“ Trent sighs like he’s been put through the wringer and Jude feels a little offended. “You don’t want me proper. Don’t tell me you do if you don’t. Not summat to joke about, like.”
Jude’s mouth works before his brain does: “Lemme show you.”
Now it’s Trent’s turn to look taken aback, Jude swells a bit with pride, ever competitive. His shoulders are tense, muscle definition making it apparent. Trent studies Jude’s face as if he’ll find an answer somewhere in there, but his shoulders ease and all he can do is nod.
Jude didn’t plan this far ahead. Fuck. Oh god.
He’s running completely on autopilot as he leans in, slow, allowing Trent to stop him if need be. Jude’s nose tentatively meets his, rubbing up and down to prolong whatever it is that he’s doing. Trent’s eyes are big and shining up at him, as if Jude is standing at the head of an alter. Jude is almost certain he dons a twin expression.
“You don’t want this Jude-“ Trent tries again.
Jude cuts him off and leans in fully, bracing his hand on Trent’s hip, holding him like glass, firm as marble. Their lips meet and all Jude can do is exhale. Oh god, it’s all he can do.
Trent makes a soft noise at being interrupted mid speech, the noise caught in Jude’s mouth.
Trent pulls away, “Are you sure-“
Jude kisses him again.
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ofpineapplesanddawns · 1 year ago
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Heyo! Could you do #18 of the romance prompts for Campbell/Joe?
Thank you for everything you do! Your stuff fuels my ridiculous addiction to these goofy boys :)
You're welcome~! :D
Prompt 18: hello/goodbye hugs that linger
On with the fic!
--
Campbell had his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, following Joe down the path towards the bus stop. Neither wanted to say anything, but they both quietly knew the weekend was over and Joe had to return home.
They didn't say anything about it in the morning, they didn't say it over breakfast or when Joe came to spend a bit of time at the hospital with his backpack packed tight with his overnight items. They cheap hotel nearby was a short walk, meaning the few hours the spent together before the bus arrived was nice, not much time waiting for Joe to show up.
But now the visit was over, and Joe had to return to the city he lived in. He was in university, where Campbell wasn't, and Campbell would love for him to stay longer, but he wanted Joe to make a life for himself as well.
They got to the stop and stepped under the shelter over the bench. There was no one else there and Joe sat down. Campbell joined him, and was quick to interlace their fingers.
"Should be here any minute." Joe said quietly.
"Hm." Campbell nodded and sighed. "You're gonna call when you get back to the dorms, yeah?"
"Oh, of course. I always do."
"Good, gotta make sure you got back safe and sound." He smiled, but it dipped a little when he spotted the bus coming up the road.
They both stood, removing their hands, some people were so judgmental. Just before the bus came to a stop, Campbell turned and pulled Joe into a tight hug, holding him close. He felt thin arms wrap around him, grabbing the back of his sweatshirt.
"I'll miss you." Campbell whispered.
"I'll miss you too, but we'll see each other again soon. You're working on getting that weekend pass."
"Yeah." Campbell sniffed, smiling. He hugged him close once more and whispered something sweet into his ear before giving him a very quick peck on the cheek.
They said goodbye and Campbell watched Joe get on the bus before seeing it drive off. He stood there for a few moments, then made his way back up the road to St. Jude's.
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pussyslaycatboy · 1 year ago
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4, 6, 15, 21, 22, 23 and f n g for Jude!
i LOOOOVEEE talking about jude he's the guy ever. hehe
it's super hard to earn his trust. he didn't have any particularly traumatizing moments in his childhood or anything, but he was very much raised to be independent, with that mentality of "if you trust somebody and they hurt you, then it's your own fault". once he starts to become more paranoid as an adult bc of his schizophrenia, that just intensifies it to the extreme. even after being literally married to van for years, he still doesn't fully trust him, but he does trust him more than he's ever trusted anybody else. which is saying a lot.
he's a huge hypocrite about laws. he thinks that laws are useful for others, because he recognizes that the average person needs a set of rules to follow and considers that otherwise, things would descend into chaos. however, while he doesn't consider himself above the law, he does consider them kind of flexible because he's like "well, others need laws, but i'm smart enough to know what's best, so i can bend them". when he was with bluestone (basically a cop)(throwing up emoji) he was a LOT more rigid about rules, which is partly upbringing and partly autism, but later in life, with van, he's a little more lax. he still isn't fond of the idea of lawbreaking, though.
jude's the type to rehearse everything in his mind over and over, because he's not all that good at social interaction so he likes to have a script to go over (which means that, ironically, he actually prefers small talk over actual conversation, because small talk is an easy script). the moment someone "goes against" his script though, he kind of trips over himself and becomes much more rude and blunt--not necessarily to be mean, but because he hasn't had the chance to mull over his words. he's not impulsive whatsoever, and that includes in conversation.
because he has to. that's it. it's not really a sense of duty or even wanting to get up, but he has a mindset of "well, i've gotta do it" and he's unable to go against that. he could have absolutely nothing planned in the day, but if he doesn't get up around the same time every morning, it feels wrong.
whenever he's jealous he tries to show that he's not jealous by "getting back" at whoever he's jealous of, because he doesn't want to show vulnerability by sharing his fears. for example, when they're not together, van sleeps around, so jude sleeps around to to prove that he's tooootally not bothered by it. (he is).
envy manifests in a similar way, except jude will get really resentful of whoever he envies. he gets kind of mean to them for no reason, and drives himself mad trying not to think about it.
f. I LOOOOOVE HIM but also i'm really happy with him because he's totally changed since i've made him (esp since he's actually a really recent oc). him and van were originally based on grian and scar in the first season of 3l. sorry.
g. jude frustrates me so bad. because i'm personally a really open, communicative person, but he's the exact opposite and 99.9% of his problems stem from not communicating with others. if he sucked it up and communicated his vulnerabilities, he'd feel so much better.
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properbantz · 2 years ago
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BEACH HUT CONFESSIONALS 001 — EDEN FOSTER
BOMBSHELL ENTRANCE:
HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT ENTERING THE VILLA? 
“ oh i’m absolutely stoked. i saw callie on the show and thought like, now there’s a girl with an idea. ”  her smile widens and she leans forward in the chair.  “ like i know i should be nervous or something but i’m just not y’know? ”  it helps that she’s used to a sort of reality tv type beat. talking in front of a camera is comfortable at this point given interviews or her family’s little day in the life show.  “ the camera’s don’t really faze me or anything and i’ve done this long enough not to like.. have a total freak out like that one guy with the hair, reece? or the boxer trying to throw his dick everywhere? or the other blonde? jenny’s an absolute dream but she’s gotta work on grounding breathing exercises. really, i’m just here to have a good time and whatever it is at the end of the day that’s that. ”  eden shrugs, bright smile returning to her features.  “ like obviously i’m hoping to find someone grand but i’m also being realistic. shoot for the moon, yeah? stars are pretty too. ” 
IS THERE ANYONE WHO YOU HAD YOUR EYE ON ALREADY OR HAS CAUGHT YOUR EYE OFF THE BAT THAT YOU’D BE INTERESTED IN GOING FOR? 
“ oh definitely. ” her expression twist as if she’s asking ‘are you serious?’  “ yeah a lot of the islanders already seem pretty ace. i’ve got a few that i’m looking forward to pulling for a chat before others, like miles, frankie, adela, but i’m keen on getting a chat in with everybody. not because i’m desperate or anything, ”  she laughs, pointing at the producers behind the camera,  “ but how else are you going to know if you’ve got chemistry with someone if you don’t even try to entertain a conversation? how do you know there’s not that spark or fireworks if you don’t go for the kiss? ”   
WHICH COUPLES SEEM THE MOST SOLID TO YOU? LEAST SOLID? 
her nose scrunches, clearly not wanting to answer this question and not having a good answer for it either.  “ none of them? ”  she feels bad saying that, but all of these couples seem so shaken around.  “ i mean if you want to get into it i guess angel and callie have got a really good thing going? but something about callie and frankie feels severely unfinished, like if they don’t get it out now they’re going to end up doing something they regret later or hurting their partners. like not intentionally, but that original fire pit just felt... intense. even in here, you don’t react that way to someone you’re over. i think jude and jenny are sweet. i’d like to see them succeed, i think he’s sweet to her despite the fact he looks like he would kill a pair of tracky daks. you think he owns ‘em? ” 
WHAT PEOPLE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF GETTING ALONG WITH?
“ overly optimistic to say everyone, like i’m being thrown into the lion’s den here, but that’s not unfamiliar in the slightest. plus i know cal, she and i ran in a pretty similar circle a while back. ”  her tone’s light, teasing. who would she be if she didn’t make some sort of wild animal reference right out the gate?  “ i’m gonna have to put a little more thought into what comes out of my mouth from time to time but i just call it like i see it. i’m not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings, the last thing i wanna do is make anyone upset. so like... that’s gonna be the thing. i hope i get on with angel and charlene. they seem like a good time, dante and jude maybe? ” 
WHAT PEOPLE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF NOT GETTING ALONG WITH? 
“ i’m not like hoping to go in making enemies. that’s not my speed. ”  she tries to make this aggressively clear,  “ but maybe dylan? maybe. which is like wild considering that’s another true blue right there but i think he just takes himself so seriously and i’m not really about that. but i hope that’s not the case. um... i don’t really know how it’ll go with josh. or naomi.  i don’t want to get sucked into that whirlpool of a mess just by being in their sheer proximity so maybe i’ll stay away from that with no less than a six foot pole. ” 
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thegospelhighways2020 · 9 months ago
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" Jesus I need to lean on you it's Valentine's day from 2022 to 2024 lean lean and lean and lean and lean tell your neighbors tell your neighbors tell your neighbors tell your neighbors tell your neighbors Jesus said lean on him I know Paul Melvin Joseph Mary John Matthew Mark Luke Judah Elijah Isaiah Jonah Isaac Jacob Ezra Jude Ezekiel Zachariah James Noah Joah Joshua Joe Noel Peter Cain Hoseah Abel Adam and Eve Abraham Levi David Gideon Silas Eli Samson Samuel Ananias Israel Jeremiah Jericho Joel Amos Micah Malachi Caleb Joses Josiah Jethro Asher Jesse Koa Gabriel Shiloh Zacchaeus Julius Phinneas Toby Milo Esau Benjamin Felix Elias Tobias Apollonos Hosea Rufus Barnabas Matthias Thaddeus Jesiah Roman Zion Oren Titus Rhodes Daniel Timothy Nicholas Thomas Simon Last year I had a few names God Jesus I had faith still have faith and joy like #racheljoyscott I gotta lean I gotta love someone I gotta love someone I gotta love someone I gotta love someone I gotta love someone I gotta love someone I gotta love someone I gotta love school I love someone I love someone I got there at the school I heard that voice of a little girl saying we gotta love someone on Valentine's day do you know how to love someone clap your hands hug it out make your Boyfriend or Girlfriend something happy make them happy I love you I love you I love you come on people get up get up get up get up here tell me you love me tell someone you love them tell someone you love them say Baby I love You are you ready to tell somebody you love them Love Your life Love your Children love your animals love your angels love your Honor love your heart love your own heart love your own heart anybody loving anybody loving every day every day every day every night too say in bed you love them so much for it in bed get on in bed clap gotta love someone gotta love someone gotta love someone gotta love someone gotta love someone gotta love that girl gotta love that girl gotta love that girl gotta love barney and friends gotta love that show gotta love someone love that man love that woman love their children and pets love someone loves you back"
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neonbitemarks · 2 years ago
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Lex x Ryland - Archived Thread
“Judas’s on a warpath, Scout’s stirrin’ drama with Dainn, Leora and Roman are bein’ all weird again, and Genesis just showed up. Way I’m seein’ it, we should probably take a small campin’ trip before we get dragged into the not so fun chaos.”
“Uh-oh, what’d I miss, or is Mercury in gatorade again? Either way, you know I’m never gonna say no to a little roadtrip just me and you. Besides, we still got some makin’ up to do from me being away from here for a bit, and it’s the perfect time of year for sleepin’ under the stars.”
“Not that he needs a reason, honestly, but I think him and Leora got into it and your sister fights dirty. Remind me not to piss that one off because I was not expectin’ her to go that low.” It had been impressive and more than a little terrifying and he never wanted to be on the receiving end of that girl’s ire. “It really is. Figured we can head up north, look for a lake to camp out by and ignore the rest of the world for a couple of days.”
“Okay, spill. I need all the gory details,” Lex laughed, knowing pretty well what Leora was capable of, but he always enjoyed hearing all the gossip when he hadn’t been there to personally witness what went down.
“I hear Montana’s pretty all year round, but especially in the summer. I mean, they do call it Big Sky Country, right? I’m sure we can find a spot to camp where there aren’t any rednecks within spittin’ distance who might object to us being there.”
“I don’t know all the details, but I did hear her callin’ him a ”bottom feeding, low life coke head with a shrimp dick.“ and throwing in his face that Chayton was the only one that actually liked his sorry ass. I don’t want to know what for shit she would say about me if I was on her bad side.” And he had no intentions of finding out if he could help it.
“Montana? Yeah, I think we can manage that. Lay out under the stars like we used to on the good nights. Just us, the sky, and a campfire. Can’t think of nothin’ better.”
“God damn, right for the jugular, huh,” Lex whistled, grinning broadly as he tried to picture the look on Jude’s face when Leora called him that, Lex figuring there would have been the smallest moment of shocked offense before Judas got angry and said something stupid in retaliation.
“Kinda feels like it’s been a long time since we last did that. Gotta admit I’ve been missing life on the open road, to be honest. Not that I don’t love having a real roof over my head, but there’s not a whole lot to do or see in a ghost town in the middle of the desert.”
“Like I said, remind me not to piss that one off.” He was honestly surprised the argument between Leora and Judas hadn’t come to blows, but he would have easily put his money on Leora. He had a feeling she fought dirty no matter what kind of fight she was in.
“I don’t think we’ve gone camping, really camping, since we got here. Never thought I’d miss sleeping in the back of the truck as much I do,” he admitted, but it had been his home since he was nineteen. “Pretty sure I still have most of the on the road gear together so packing everything up shouldn’t take long?”
“Yeah, things have been kinda busy, haven’t they?”
Between everything that had happened in staying off the radar of Ryland’s family and Lex finding out he not only had a bunch of family he didn’t even know about, but that he wasn’t nearly as human as he was raised to believe, it had been difficult to make plans to go traveling anywhere for a while.
“How long do you wanna go for?”
“Just a little bit.”
It had been challenging, uprooting his entire existence and learning to adjust to being around the kind of people he had been trained to, well, murder since he had been a child, but he was doing his best. Lex was one thing, the others, well, he was still trying to figure all of that out.
“I was thinking at least a three-day weekend, maybe a little longer if the weather holds up. Unless you have something else in mind?”
“I was thinkin’ more along the lines of a week? Maybe more?” Lex answered, figuring that they might as well make the most of it if they were going to drive all the way out to Montana, since, depending on where in Montana they ended up, it was a minimum of a thirteen hour drive straight through just to get across state lines.
“I mean, we could even stop off at Yellowstone on the way there? Break up the drive time a little with some sight seeing?”
“We’re definitely going to need to bring the trailer if we’re going to be out that long so we can bring extra gas for the truck and firewood. Your mom said we were free to use that any time we wanted to, might as well take advantage of it and not need to see any other people on our trip,” he suggested, wanting to have Lex completely to himself for as much of the time as they could manage.
“We’ll be timing it for the Perseid’s meteor shower too. Can’t think of a better time to be camping out.”
“Yeah, sounds good to me,” Lex agreed, more than happy to make the trip more of a proper road trip vacation than just a weekend campout.
It wasn’t just the sleeping out under the stars and the scenery aspect that Lex was looking forward to. Getting some time alone with Ryland without any interruptions, and a proper chance to catch up on other things also drove the appeal of staying out a while longer.
“Just you and me, the open road and hopefully nobody else around for miles.”
Ryland wrapped an arm around Lex’s waist and pulled him close, stealing a soft, slow kiss. The solace of their bedroom was fine, soundproofed even, but it didn’t beat the solitude that being on the road gave them, ensconced in the cab of the truck while the rest of the world passed from the window.
“I did get a new mattress for the back of the truck. No more waiting for the air one to fill up. And it’s more comfortable.” He had bought it while Lex had been away and his bet had clearly paid off.
Lex hummed against Ry’s lips, melting into the kiss with a sigh.
Oh how he’d missed this while he’d been away, and being reminded just how much made him ache all the more for the attention and affection as he dove his fingers into Ryland’s hair on the back of his head.
“Oh? Well then I guess we’re definitely going to have to give that a good breakin’ in, aren’t we?” he purred with a teasing smirk.
The feeling of Lex’s fingers in his hair was enough to pull a soft groan from Ryland’s lips as he pressed against him more firmly. He hated when Lex was away, but he understood why he had to go. There were just some things that he was better off learning from his family and fae could always teach fae better than anything else could.
“Guess it’s a good thing we’re going campin’ then, ain’t it? Really add onto the plan to make it memorable.”
“Mm, can’t wait…”
That wasn’t an understatement. The more Lex thought about the idea, the sooner he wanted to make it a reality, and he was more than willing to pack up and go that same day if necessary.
“When are we goin’?” he asked, stealing another kiss. “Because I don’t know how long my self control is gonna hold out ‘til I can get you all to myself with no interruptions.”
Ry understoond the imatience because he felt it too. The need to be back on the road, even if just for a week or so, was definitely something he hadn’t been able to shake. Hell, if he had it his way, if it were safe, he’d probably still live out of his truck.
“I’d say how quick do you think we can pack but I know the answer to that. How soon do you think you’re mom’ll be fine about you dipping again since you, ya know, sort of just got back?”
“Honestly, so long as I stick around long enough for dinner tonight, it probably wouldn’t take much more than talkin’ all too casually about making up for lost time for her to be wavin’ me out the door again,” Lex grinned, figuring the last anyone wanted to hear about was how badly he wanted to get his back blown out by his boyfriend.
“I mean, if Leora can gross people out like that, gotta be worth a shot, right?”
“Well that just sounds like a very awkward family dinner,” he laughed, not at all surprised by Lex’s plan. “It’ll probably work though. I mean, everyone tries to push Leora out of the entire bar when she starts. Not that I blame them. I swear she has two modes and they’re both terrifying.”
“So, we can get everything packed before dinner and then take off after if your plan works?”
“Yeah, definitely,” Lex nodded, grinning broadly at the plan.
He wouldn’t go too overboard with grossing everyone out, since he was confident he could just speak directly to Cord anyway and avoid getting too far into that kind of conversation anyway.
“If we head straight up into Idaho and over, we can probably find a nice spot along Snake River to camp tonight, then go on the Yellowstone from there.”
“Okay, was this my idea or yours because that makes it sound like you’ve been wantin’ to bring up hittin’ the road for a bit now too,” he teased, more than happy to follow through with Lex’s suggestion. It would definitely make for a good run and let them get in as much as possible.
“I’ll check in with Del and Peri to make sure there’s no hunters in the areas we’re hittin’. Don’t want to run into any complications.”
It was still weird to be so far out of the network that he actually had to call someone else for intel, but he wasn’t complaining.
“Yeah, I kinda have. Guess it’s ‘cause I missed you so much while I was away and I just want you all to myself again for a bit to make up for it,” Lex admitted, not even remotely hesitant at confessing that he’d been itching for a road trip for at least a couple of months.
“Hopefully there’ll be nobody even the next states over so we’ll be clear of any unexpected issues.”
Sure, Lex knew that it was still risky heading out away from the bar, but staying put in one place for too long always seemed to make him go a little stir-crazy after too long.
“Sounds like we cope with being parted the same way,” he mused, tracing a finger along the edge of Lex’s jaw just to have an excuse to touch him more. “You know all you ever have to do is ask. The odds of me ever saying no to you are slim to none.”
Lex was the center of Ryland’s universe and he would do and give anything just to make him smile for even a second. If he wanted to slip off into the night like they used to, who was he to say no?
“I’ll call Peri and Del on the road and see if there’s anyone between us and our stops so we can make changes if we need to. Promise.”
“Well I’m asking right now,” Lex purred teasingly with a smirk, chasing the physical affection and nuzzling into Ryland’s hand like a cat demanding scritches.
In response, Lex danced his own fingertips lightly over the back of Ry’s neck, tracing little circles there.
“Fingers crossed we’re all clear…”
“Pretty sure I asked first this time,” he countered, a chuckle chasing the words before he was kissing Lex again.
That small, gentle touch was enough to make Ryland shiver and he considered, for a moment, asking to skip dinner entirely just to have an excuse to fall into bed for a few hours. But he knew it would be much better with the kind of privacy that came with how they did camping.
“I don’t know of any issues between here and our destination, so it should be fine.”
The kiss had Lex feeling all the more impatient, and he was sure that Ryland felt the same after them having been apart for so long, so Lex was also considering how much he’d love to skip dinner to get Ry alone and have him all to himself in every way possible.
“I hope it stays that way,” he murmured softly, a little seriousness drifting into his tone at acknowledging how quickly things had gone from bad to worse the last time they hit trouble, but at least they could both be safe in the knowledge that Atticus wouldn’t be a problem for them or anyone else ever again.
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thenovelartist · 3 years ago
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Sei's Magic Brew - The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent fanfiction
I'll just go ahead and dedicate this to my friend @mostlovedgirl-writes who got me hooked on this show in the first place. It can also serve as an early little birthday gift, too. ;) :D
It wasn’t her idea to move here. It was her stupid, faulty car’s.
It had stalled out while she was driving to another city on a business trip. She’d had to have it towed, then call her company and explain what had happened, only to get fired when she told her boss she couldn’t make it to the meeting on time and she was sorry.
After being so quickly let go by a job that clearly never cared for her, she’d ended up in a coffee shop after that while her car was getting fixed. The man behind the counter, Jude, had been kind enough to sit with her and strike up a conversation. He’d lifted her spirits when she’d felt trapped and hopeless.
That had been three months ago. It had been an impulse, but with nothing to lose, she left the city and moved into a quaint little apartment close to the café where Jude also happened to live. He’d been the one to recommend the place. On top of that, despite not knowing her well, he put in a good word with the owner.
Jude had also put in a good word with Johan, the owner of the coffee shop, and he’d hired her right away. Though, Sei learned later that Johan had eavesdropped on a conversation over coffee she’d had with Jude and that was truly what had convinced him to hire her.
She’d worked extra hard to prove herself but ultimately found she hadn’t needed to. Her coworkers had welcomed her into their ranks and had been willing to assist her as much as she’d needed.
But three months later, the tables seemed to turn because she had somehow picked up everything almost too quickly.
“You’re experimenting with drinks again.”
“We have time,” Sei said, putting the final touches on the drink. “And Johan said I could.”
Jude rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. “I mean, yeah, but tell me: how many drinks have you made today?”
Sei froze. “Uhhh…”
In an instant, Jude was smirking at her. “Over your allowance today?”
“Well…”
“And it was slow enough today that you were able to experiment with pastries earlier, too,” he continued, his smug smirk growing. “Now, we have another set of unsellable experiments that we’re gonna have to find other ways to get rid of. Johan’s gonna yell at you again.”
With a groan, Sei slumped forward, hiding her face in her hands. “Sorry.”
“Not me you gotta be apologizing to,” Jude said, taking the drink and taking a sip.
Curious as to what he thought, Sei spread her fingers to peek between them, only to see Jude glaring at the cup. Her heart sunk. “Is it that bad?”
“As if you make anything bad!” he huffed. “It’s too good is what it is. You’ve only been here three months. I can’t just make things up like this, nevertheless making them look as perfect as you do. It’s not fair.”
With a giggle, Sei gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “Stop, you’re plenty proficient.”
He glared at her as he took another sip of the drink. “Yeah, but not like you.”
Sei simply shrugged, unsure how to respond to that.
Jude just sighed, taking yet another sip of the drink. “Anyway, I heard you and Johan had a little chat recently.”
Sei brightened. “Yeah. Apparently, he wanted to promote me to assistant manager.”
“You’re certainly good enough for it,” Jude said. “But don’t get too excited.”
Sei’s expression fell. “Huh? Why not?”
“Because ‘Assistant Manager’ is just a fancy title for ‘Person who runs the red-eye shift’.”
Sei blinked once. Twice. Three times.
Jude smirked over his coffee. “He didn’t tell you that, did he? Well, good luck, Sei!”
Before moving to the city, Sei had grown up in the suburbs, so the town didn’t feel like too large of a culture shock to her. Honestly, she could say that she actually preferred living in a place without skyscrapers or constant bustle, and while she’d once thought she wouldn’t be happy living in a place like this, she’d gotten to a point in her life where she could really see herself settling here.
Even if it meant she ran the midnight shift at a small little cafe.
Sei really didn’t mind. She frequently pulled all-nighters at her old job, so she fancied herself a bit of a night owl. However, she hadn’t expected things to be as busy as they were. Johan had warned her that the café was a hopping place, even when the moon was up, and he hadn’t been lying. Apparently, it had all started when Johan allowed his close friend to linger in the café after hours, which had turned into said close friend and his colleagues. Before Johan knew it, the place soon became the go-to spot for police officers, firemen, and the occasional EMT crew to get their caffeine and sugar fill to sustain them through the ungodly hours of the night.
But that wasn’t all.
“There’s an elite private boarding school, Salutania Academy, just down the street, you see,” Elizabeth, a regular night visitor who Sei had become fast friends with, explained. “This place has the best coffee and is a generally quiet place to study. So students come here frequently.”
“That makes sense, then,” Sei said, handing Elizabeth her caramel latte. “But I’m a little surprised. I would have thought there’d be a curfew or something of the like, since you’re all still underage.”
“You’d think,” she said with a smile. “And there technically is. However, ever since this place began staying open all night, some of the upperclassmen started sneaking out to come here, which turned into this whole debacle among the students trying to outsmart the staff and the staff ratcheting down on the students and the whole school suffering for it. Something had to be done, so the headmaster and Johan struck a deal. Now, the curfew is still instated, but if you have solid enough grades and no active demerits, you can put your name down on the list and campus security guards will escort us here to study and grab a coffee or just chat. They don’t monitor us too severely; they’re just here to make sure everyone is accounted for.”
“That’s incredible,” Sei said, able to talk freely since Elizabeth was the last student that had to be served that night. “You’d think the school would try to create a similar atmosphere at their own library.”
“Oh, they did,” Elizabeth said. “But turns out that one of the students who snuck out was the headmaster’s son.”
“What!” Sei whisper-hissed, her eyes wide in shock.
With a giggle, Elizabeth nodded. “I’m not at liberty to discuss everything, but there was a discussion between the two that ended with him getting banned from going out on these outings but the headmaster deciding to let other students have the option.”
“Wow. That feels kinda harsh.”
“It might be, but Kyle knew what he was doing and knew he was going to serve to consequences of his actions. Don’t judge him too harshly, please. He’s actually a good man.”
“You’re close to him?”
“He’s my boyfriend.”
Sei’s eyes widened again.
“Maybe I can figure out a way to bring him sometime so you two can meet. We’ll have to work around your work schedule and our curfew, though. Coffeeshop curfew may be midnight, but regular curfew is eight.”
Sei hummed in thought. "Maybe before I start a shift, then. I’ll have to come early.”
“That would be great! Now, as much as I want to keep talking—”
“You have to go study?”
Her sunny expression vanishing, Elizabeth sighed. “Why do finals have to be so hard?”
“Because the teachers want to kill you all, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Elizabeth mournfully agreed, sipping her drink.
Sei giggled, reaching over the counter to pat Elizabeth’s hand. “Best of luck.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it.”
Before the clock could strike midnight, the campus security guards began to collect all the students, and by quarter past, the café had become a ghost town. That was the transition from hosting mostly students to when the red-eye emergency servicemen began appearing.
Of all the people she did serve, very few lingered, most only swinging by on a break. However, there were a few police officers that came in between two and three every night that liked to chat.
And their arrival was punctuated with the ringing of the bell by the door.
“Good evening, boys,” Sei greeted with a smile.
“Seeeeei!” One of them whined, playfully stumbling up to the counter and leaning against it. “I need your magic potion!”
She laughed. “Coming right up. The usual for everyone?”
“Please,” came the chorus.
With a smile, she got on brewing a strong pot for the officers. They occasionally grabbed pastries, but normally, they brought full meals to eat.
“The night going well?” Sei asked as the officers all gathered around the counter.
“As well as always,” one of the officers, Wolf, said.
Sei always took that as “It’s been generally quiet” while knowing better than to utter that cursed ‘q’ word in the dead hours of the night. “Glad to hear.”
“Nah, boss,” his partner spoke up, slapping Wolf’s chest with the back of his hand. “You gotta tell her about the bar fight.”
“Oh geez.” Grinning, Wolf shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “With the guy who thought he was a dragon?”
“Didn’t he say he was a Salamander?”
“Yeah, that.” Wolf chuckled. “So Sei, let me tell you about this nutjob.”
Sei couldn’t lie, she was growing fond of her night shifts. It allowed her to experiment in the back during the super dead hours, which already resulted in two new pastries being put on the menu.
And she was in the middle of creating her third when the bell rang, signaling a customer.
She quickly bounded to the front, eyeing a stoic man with glasses and such light blond hair it looked white. “Hello,” she greeted with a smile. “What can I get for you tonight?”
“A double shot of espresso,” he said, voice wrought with exhaustion. “Of whatever is your strongest blend.”
“Long night?” she asked, trying to make conversation as she punched in his order.
He sighed, letting his eyes close for a moment as he collected himself. “Very.”
She gave him a sympathetic smile. “Anything else to go with that?”
“No. He can pay for his own drink,” the man muttered, already sticking his card in the reader.
She didn’t know how to respond to that, nor did she feel like she needed to since it sounded very much like he was talking with himself. “I’ll get your drink out in a minute, Mr…”
“Hawke,” he answered. “Erhart Hawke. Forgive me for not introducing myself. It’s been a long night. I forgot that while I’ve heard about you from Johan, it was unlikely he’d talk about me.”
“It’s fine,” she assured, already starting in on his drink. “That happens to the best of us. I’m Sei Takanashi. It’s nice to meet you.”
Suddenly, the door to the shop flew open, the clanging bell drowned out by the crash of the door. “Erhaaaaart!” a voice cried, a man practically stalking over to him with a dramatic pout. “You left me! I told you I wanted to try the magic potions here, too!”
Erhart pinched the bridge of his nose, right where his thin glasses sat. Suddenly, Sei understood why he wanted the double espresso.
“Yuri, for the love of—”
“Everyone’s been saying how good her drinks are, and I wanted to try them. You told me when I got out of the hospital, you’d bring me by here. But my first day back on the job, and you wouldn’t let me out of the office to get some.”
“That’s because you had too much work you needed to finish first.”
“But if I had a coffee, I could have worked faster.”
Again, Erhart pinched the bridge of his nose. Sei sympathized with him. She was sure she’d lose it if she had to deal with a guy like him frequently.
“Anyway,” the newcomer chimed, turning a mega-watt smile her direction. “I finally get to meet the Saintess of the Night! What’s your name?”
She quirked a brow at him. “Saintess of the Night?”
“Yeah!” he cried. “Everyone talked about how your coffee is magical. Which, we expect from this place, but for some reason, people say there’s something about the way you can make a drink that makes it extra special. I wanted to try it for myself.”
“O-oh,” she said, turning her head away from him, pretending she was watching the last bit of the second espresso shot drain into Erhart’s cup instead of trying to hide her blush. “I never heard such a thing.”
He nodded vigorously. “They say you’re the only reason they’re still awake and kicking throughout their shifts. So I wanted to try it for myself!”
Something told her he had no problem keeping awake during his shift, considering his current energy level.
“So, you’re Sei, right?”
She nodded as she handed Erhart’s cup off to him. “That’s right. And you are?”
“Yuri Drewes,” he piped, beaming grin on his face. “Night-time fire chief at the station down the street. I would have come earlier if I’d been able but I was tied down in a hospital bed after getting knocked out on a job a few weeks back. I’m glad to finally get a look at you!”
A nervous giggle escaped her. “I’m nothing special.”
“Anyone who keeps this shop open throughout the night is special!” he insisted. “Especially if you can make a magical cup of coffee.”
“Ah ha… er… I don’t know about that,” she stuttered with a shrug.
“Then I guess I’ll just have to see for myself,” he said. “One mocha, double shot, please.”
“Decaf,” Erhart mumbled.
“But I need caffeine!”
“He does not,” Erhart insisted, looking Sei dead in the eye. “I can confirm this as his second-in-command who runs shifts with him three nights a week, he does not.”
Feeling herself almost cowering under that intense expression, Sei decided she was more willing to take his word as law over Yuri’s. “One decaf mocha, double shot.”
Yuri shot another pout over at Erhart. “You’re so cruel.”
“You won’t even notice.”
It was getting close to six in the morning, meaning it was almost time for Johan to appear to take over. This was when the early birds began coming in, snagging a coffee on their way to work.
Today, the first early bird who stumbled in right at the crack of dawn happened to be a girl who looked beyond lost and hopeless.
Sei put on her best smile. “Good morning!”
“Hi,” the girl said with a shy wave. “Um… I… could you help me? I’m lost and my car died.”
Immediately, Sei sympathized with the poor girl. No wonder she looked super tired. “I’d be glad to help. Tell you what, why don’t you take a seat for a minute while I make a call to the repair shop. I happen to know it by heart because my car did the exact same thing recently.”
That at least got the girl to relax a bit. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Sei assured. The girl didn’t look to be older than in her teens yet seemed to be on her own. Sei could only imagine that this was overwhelming for her. “What’s your name?”
“Oh, uh, Aria.”
“Aria.” Sei extended her hand out to the girl. “I’m Sei. It’s nice to meet you.”
Although hesitant, Aria did accept Sei’s hand to shake. “Nice to meet you.”
“Before I go make the call, would you like a drink while you wait? The tow truck guys will probably be another fifteen minutes to get here.”
“Oh, uh, no, thank you,” she stuttered out. “I don’t really drink coffee.”
“Then a hot chocolate maybe?” Sei offered. “Or some tea?”
For a moment, Aria pondered her words. “I… I’ll have a hot chocolate, please.”
Sei grinned, not bothering to punch it into the machine. But when Aria reached for her purse, Sei wave her hand dismissively. “It’s on me today.”
Aria’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Yeah.” Sei gave her a sympathetic smile. “Four months ago, my car really did do the same thing, deciding to break down when I was driving through town. I ended up here, and someone was kind enough to offer me a drink and call a tow truck for me. I know it can be overwhelming, but sometimes, something really simple like someone being understanding or a hot drink can help a lot.”
Aria looked on the verge of tears as she put her wallet back in her purse. In that moment, she seemed very young and simply overwhelmed. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mere minutes later, the tow truck was called and the hot chocolate was made. Balancing a plate of pastries and two mugs, Sei made her way over to where Aria had settled herself in a winged back chair by the window.
“Here,” Sei said, setting down the dishes in her hands. She scooted the hot chocolate mug, one completed with a whipped cream swirl and chocolate drizzle, over to Aria while the other mug with Sei’s preferred coffee drink stayed by her side of the table. “And I didn’t know what you liked,” Sei continued, pushing the plate of various pastries she’d brought over into the middle of the small table. “So I brought over a couple.”
Aria looked between the cup and the pastries, and her eyes got glassy again. “Thank you. You’re really kind.”
“You’re welcome,” Sei chimed. “So Aria, are you just passing through town?”
She shook her head. “I just transferred over to Salutania Academy, actually.”
“Oh!” If she was that young yet able to drive on her own, Sei reasoned she was likely only sixteen or seventeen. “I know several people who go there. The students frequent this place a lot.”
“Oh?”
Sei nodded. “Yeah. If you’d like, I can introduce you to some people.”
The conversation continued on for another ten minutes, and Sei watched as Aria slowly came out of her shell. She seemed to be a sweet girl, and Sei couldn’t help but think that maybe she and Liz could become friends.
The bell above the door rang, and Sei looked up, fully expecting to see the tow truck guy.
Instead, there was a man with fiery red hair that she would recognize anywhere, along with his closest friend.
“Good morning, boys,” she called out. “I’ll be right with you.” She then turned back to Aria. “Excuse me.”
“No no, you’re fine,” Aria assured with a smile, one that was now relaxed instead of super shy. “Thank you for all this.”
“You’re very welcome. The tow truck should be here shortly, so don’t worry.”
Aria nodded. “Thanks.”
Grabbing her empty coffee cup, she scurried back to the counter. “Ditching school again?”
“We had good reason,” Kyle said.
“Good reason to be up and out before six in the morning?”
“Early morning run,” Kyle’s companion explained. “For sports.”
“Ahh, that makes sense. So, what can I get you?”
“One of your unusual experiments and the usual drink,” Kyle answered.
“Got it,” she said with a grin, ringing up his order. Once he paid, Sei then turned to his friend. “Do you want the same, Damian?”
The young man nodded. “Thank you, Sei.”
“Of course.”
In a jiff, she rang up Damian’s order, then quickly began getting their coffees ready. “By the way,” Sei began. “The girl behind you that I was sitting with earlier, she’s currently waiting for a tow truck, but she’ll be starting at the academy next week.”
“Oh?” Kyle said, turning around to look at Aria.
“Would you mind helping her out around campus?” Sei asked. “I remember going to see Elizabeth a couple times and almost getting lost.”
“We’d be glad to,” Damian said with a grin.
“Of course,” Kyle agreed.
“Thank you. I’m sure she would appreciate that.”
As Sei started making the boys’ drinks, she caught sight of the two approaching Aria, introducing themselves if the handshake was any sort of indication, and then starting up a conversation.
By the time she’d put the lids on their drinks, the bell to the door rang, and she caught sight of a tall, brawny man striding through the door.
“Sei!”
“Hey, Leonhardt,” Sei greeted with a smile. “Good seeing you again.”
“Same. You don’t come ‘round a whole lot anymore.”
“Guess I don’t have much reason to between my car not being there and my night shifts.”
“True. Wish that wasn’t the case, though. Nice seeing your face every once in a while, ya know?”
“I get it. By the way, you have coffee yet?”
“I was just ‘bout to brew a pot when I got your call,” he said with a grin. “Which was on off-hours, by the way.”
“I know,” she said, already starting up a drink for him. “But I know you’re up at this hour anyway because you like the mornings too much.”
He laughed, loud and hardy. “You remember that?”
“You mentioned it frequently,” Sei playfully retorted.
“Ha, fair.” He then leaned against the counter. “Now, much as I’d love to chat, guess you didn’t call me up for that. So, where’s the car? Was it that little gray one on the side of the road I saw comin’ here?”
“Yes, that’s it,” Sei said. She then pointed towards the group gathered in the corner of the café. “The young lady over there, Aria, is the driver.”
“Got it,” he said with a thumbs up. “I’ll take care of her.”
“Thank you. I’ll have your drink done for you in a minute.”
“Thanks,” he said, tossing a couple bills on the counter.
“You want change?”
“Nah, keep the tip.”
“Thanks!”
After the car incident was settled and Sei waved Aria off with a smile, Johan appeared.
“Good morning, Sei.”
“Good morning!”
“Night shift go well?”
“Yeah.”
“How much experimenting did you do?��
“Actually, not too much tonight.”
Johan gave her a dubious look. “Really?”
“Really!”
“How much is ‘not too much’?”
Before Sei could answer, her boss already was heading back into the back.
“W-wait!” she cried, scampering to follow.
Once in the back, Sei simply hung her head as Johan stared at the rack stuffed to the gills with three new kinds of pastries.
“Seeeeei,” he strung out before shooting her a tense smile.
Sheepishly, she smiled back. “Uhhh, ah-ha.”
“Keep this up, and I’m banning you from the kitchen.”
There was nothing she could do other than hang her head in shame. “Yes, sir.”
Despite being kicked out of the kitchen, she knew Johan wasn’t angry angry. He never got truly mad at her. It was more a warning of “please don’t overdo it”.
Which… she still had to learn how to temper.
She was never punished for these incidents, sans the occasional ban from the kitchen. Today, however, she was tasked with running an errand before she could go home.
“Take some of those pastries and an iced coffee to an old friend of mine, will you? He normally comes in, but since he’s recovering from an injury, he’s stuck on desk duty.”
Sei was more than happy to serve such a light sentence, and hopefully, she’d be able to bring a smile to his friend’s face. Looking at the name on the paper he’d given her, she recognized part of it.
Hawke. Wasn’t that Erhart’s last name? Was it a relative? Or just coincidence. Johan hadn’t said.
When she got to the police station, she followed the crude map that Johan had drawn for her to where she could find this Mr. Albert Hawke.
“Are you Sei?”
Before she could even reach her destination, a uniformed man called out to her, and she froze for a moment. Blonde hair, stunning blue eyes, tall with broad shoulders…
Oh, he was so her type.
Eventually, her head caught up with her, and she realized he’d asked her a question. “Yes, I’m Sei. You wouldn’t happen to be Albert Hawke, would you?”
“That I am,” he said with a smile. He then took a few steps away from the wall to walk over to her, limping all the way. “Johan said he would send you over with a coffee and breakfast.”
“Oh, I’m glad he told you to expect me.” Sei extended the coffee and bag of her treats to him. “Here. I know he said you usually order a different pastry, but he also wanted to get rid of some of my… er… experiments.”
Albert laughed, and Sei’s heart did a funny flip in her chest. “He’s told me all about that. But I've also heard your 'mystery pastries' are popular sells. I'm glad I get to try one.”
She shrugged. “I’m just glad people are enjoying what I make. I’m very thankful to have this job. It’s fun.”
“Fun, you say?” he asked with a grin, opening up the bag to look at the pastries inside. “Even though you work the night shift?”
“I’m used to it by now,” she dismissed. “And there’s some great people I get to meet in those off-hours that I wouldn’t cross otherwise. What’s there to complain about?”
Was it just her, or did his smile get brighter? “That’s one way to look at it. I usually work night shifts, but my schedule was thrown off due to a work injury. I’m hoping to get back on the beat, soon. Then maybe I’ll be able to see you more frequently.”
Yes, please! She thought. Thankfully, she had just enough tact to hold that in. “That would be nice. I’ll be sure to prepare whatever you’d like.”
“I’d like that,” he said, his smile turning even warmer for a second. “And as much as I’d like to keep talking, I’m sure you’re tired, and I have a stack of paperwork to attend to.”
“Then I’ll let you go. Sorry for keeping you.”
“Don’t be,” he assured. “My sleep cycle’s been thrown off so badly that I don’t know how I’d keep going without ‘Sei’s Magic Potion’.”
She felt heat rush to her cheeks. “You’ve heard about that?”
“Of course, I have. It’s the talk of the town."
Sei didn't know how to answer that other than blush.
"Thank you for the delivery, Sei. Maybe next time, I’ll come see you instead of you having to make the trip.”
“Oh, it was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
He gave her a smile that had her going weak in the knees. “Still, thank you. Have a good day.”
Her heart was fluttering by now, her stomach in knots and mind a mess. “Y-you too.”
As she spun on her heel and headed home, she couldn’t help but think herself lucky to have her job. Particularly if she got to meet tall, blonde, and handsome again.
Thank you, car, for breaking down here!
33 notes · View notes
wiltf · 2 years ago
Text
“How in the world do you know how to dance?”
It’s four am on a Sunday, she thinks. Or it is somewhere in the world. Not right now in the Hideout, no windows, just them. Slow midnight music on the radio, where everything is a little too fresh and a little too real. Jude tells herself that it’s okay, that everything is alright. That her hands don’t shake as she places one at his shoulder, the other in his.
Trying to play it a little cooler, like she hadn’t watched and grieved and waited, in an order even she doesn’t really know. Chews on the inside of her cheek, Johnny not giving her much, aside from a smile that was an attempt at being playful, and swinging her around.
“Don’t make a habit of showing off. Gives the wrong idea.”
“That instead of being absolutely badass… you may have had a cotillion in a past life?”
She earns a frown at that, but he’s still one-two stepping. Back and forth. In an easy sort of rhythm that doesn’t match the music, just whatever he’s thinking. Gotta keep talking, otherwise she’s gonna trip. And fall. In all the ways she promised she wouldn’t.
“If you start spinning me, I think—”
“Hold up, let me say something first.”
Oh no. Bites on her tongue, focuses on the buttons of his shirt. “What?” Voice carefully flat.
“Thank you for, you know, everything. With Eesh. And the Ronin.”
Jude clears her throat. “Don’t mention it.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“Judith, fuck’s sake, shut up for a sec, alright. I’m tryna say somethin’ here.”
Full name, full stop. Still holding her hand up and out, like at any moment they might start moving to the music once more, but he’s hyper focused. In focus. Meeting her eye with a purpose she hadn’t seen in a while. Revenge was one hell of a stimulant, but the hangover just wasn’t worth it.
“Look, you got me out of death row, you helped with the Ronin… I mean it. Thank you. Don’t know where I’d be right now without you.”
Oh, god, was she going to cry? Slowly licks her lips, shaky breath, steps out of his hold. “Probably with your brains fried, huh?” Half enthusiastic punch to the shoulder. “I owed you one, anyway.”
Johnny has that one look on his face she hadn’t worked out yet. It’s a tighter, hiding away everything — or maybe she just doesn’t want to get it. Not now. If she does, Jude knows that there was no coming back from it. Everything was too raw. She was too raw.
“Alright,” he says, tone even. “I’m gonna go. You alright to go—“
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m gonna. Room is just up there anyway. I’ll text you—”
“I’ll see you—”
Awkward.
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whumpinggrounds · 4 years ago
Text
Gotcha Day
my first non-Febuwhump piece of writing! here goes :) this is set before the last day of Febuwhump (You Have To Let Me Go) and i mean i really don’t need to explain much i don’t think bc it’s fairly self-explanatory but i am nervous so. yes
tagging @shapeshiftersandfire and @killtheprotagonist ! lmk if you want to be added/removed from being tagged it is a lot a lot of content so sorry about that
CW: lady whump, pet whump, dehumanization, memory loss, discussion of scars, past burns, implied non con,
Director Hammond’s office is much like the Director herself – alternately welcoming and terrifying, depending on what mood has struck her. Today, the curtains are open, the room is filled with light, and the Director has a bouquet of flowers on her desk in a vase. That’s good, right? All of that is good.
Mara still feels the nerves in her stomach buzzing like a hive.
“I don’t want to drag this out,” the Director begins, and Mara’s heart sinks. It’s some polite dismissal, something like that. There’s a self-satisfied little smile playing around the woman’s lips, and Mara tries to brace herself, folding her hands neatly in her lap and staring down her doom with icy eyes. “We have decided to let you train her. 067493.”
Stunned, Mara stares at the Director. There are no words in her mouth, no words in her head. She wants to speak, knows she should speak, but she can’t. An incredulous smile starts to curl up her face.
“Now, before you get too excited, there are some conditions.” Despite her lecturing tone, there’s a smile on the Director’s face – probably because of Mara’s huge ferocious grin. “She’s not your pet, technically speaking, not until the trial period is over. Obviously, she’s coming with what we call a factory defect, so you got very lucky there, otherwise we’d never let her go. She’s not fully trained, but honestly, Ms. Langford, we’re not going to spend the money and time to finish out the training on a model that we’re essentially giving away.”
“Yes.” Mara’s head is nodding on her neck like a bobblehead. “Yes, okay, that’s fine. That’s okay. That’s so okay.”
Amused by her eagerness, the Director nods. “Good. Now, primarily, Ms. Langford, we want to explore two things with 067493, and we feel that gifting her to an employee, while highly unusual, will give us an opportunity to answer some outstanding questions.”
“Okay.” Mara’s heart is racing. God, she feels like she’s going to pass out any second. “Okay, so, so, um, what are those questions, then? The things…what it is you want to, um, explore?”
The Director smiles at her, fondly, warmly. “First of all…” she pauses for effect, “some of the higher-ups loved this therapeutic aid idea. If it’s workable, there could be a strong market there. Of course, we’ve been trying to work a caregiver angle for a while, but the medical stuff is often just too complex for pets. This emotional approach could give us a very similar sector, but with none of the concern about pets operating medical machinery incorrectly.”
“Y-yes.” Mara’s breathless, dazed, struggling just to keep up. “Yes, definitely-”
“Now, not everyone is convinced, but enough of us think that it’s worth a try. Which brings us to our second objective.”
Here, the Director pauses long enough that Mara can stop focusing on her breathing and look up inquisitively. Finally, tentatively, she prompts her superior. “Ma’am?”
The Director shakes her head as if to clear it. “Yes, well. What we are interested in is…is…” she purses her lips, clearly wondering how to explain. “Pets who may end up living with someone they know or recognize from their former life. As you know, pets are prone to false memories.” Mara nods dutifully, despite knowing full well there’s no such thing. “We want to see if our Boxies can be taught and trained in such a way that they can be…reintroduced to their old life, or one like it, while maintaining good behavior and accurate memory blocks.”
“That sounds…” Mara swallows. “That sounds…difficult.”
“Indeed.” For the first time, the Director looks grim. “Of course, that’s exactly what you’re attempting with 493, and if you could pull it off…we’ve had some interest. People who want to…serve their loved ones in a more straightforward and simplified fashion.” For just a moment, Mara tunes out, thinking with a sort of horrified fascination on the kind of environment that would lead to someone wanting to erase themselves while staying where they were.
Or, even worse, Mara pictures someone coming in asking for a loved one to be erased, returned sweet and pliable and empty. She barely represses a shudder. Ignorant of Mara’s internal monologue, the Director forges on.
“We are proposing that you take 067493 home as your Domestic. You will be responsible for making her into a…a prototype, essentially, for this therapeutic aid program. You will also be expected to report any aberrant behaviors that could conceivably result from…ah, memory confusion.”
“I can do that.” That all sounds absurd, and difficult, and unfair, but Mara doesn’t care right now. All she cares about is getting Jude and taking her home and, and having her. Having her back.
“We’re going to allow you an adjustment period, and then we’re going to ask that you bring 067493 in for regular checkups, where we’ll be looking for signs of this memory confusion, as well as updates on your progress.”
“That…yes, that sounds very doable.”
Once again, the Director smiles fondly across the desk at her, and Mara has a funny, frightening feeling that she’s become Barbara Hammond’s newest little pet project. “I believe that it is, Ms. Langford. Despite the cosmetic defaults, she seems like a sweet thing. I can’t wait to see what you do with her.”
___
When Handler Collins leads Jude out, Mara’s heart about stops in her chest. There she is. There’s Jude. There’s…Jude, and not Jude.
A pair of black shorts, a WRU white t-shirt over skin that’s much paler than last time Mara saw it. Her stocky frame diminished, all her old rugby muscle losing or lost. She looks like...Mara hates the cliche, but she looks like a ghost of her former self, literally. Skinnier, paler, a whole lot more haunted. Her hair, her hands, the freckles and the way she walks just a little pigeon-toed – that’s Jude, that’s Jude all the way. The flat, false calm in her face and the fear in her eyes…that’s someone else. Swallowing, Mara clasps her hands together in front of her, trying to quell the urge to reach for her girl.
“Here she is!” Handler Collins throws his hands out grandly from his place beside the boxgirl. “All yours.”
“Wow,” Mara manages. “Uh…wow.”
Collins shakes his head. “Wow is right. But, hey, wait – you want to check the damage?” He’s still grinning, like it’s no big deal, like it’s all a joke. Mara sucks in a deep breath. The-the Box Babe in front of her is wearing a t-shirt, but Mara can see her cracked reddened palms and wonders what the thin cotton over her chest is hiding.
“I…I guess, yeah. I mean, I’m taking her either way,” she mutters, trying for a joke. Collins is more than happy to laugh at her.
“Shirt off, 493.”
Hesitantly, the trainee obeys, darting a wide-eyed glance at Mara as she does. The cotton goes over her head and oh.
Oh. There, on the right side of the girl’s chest, is the burn, red and angry and raised, covered in blisters. The scarring is worst on her collarbone, but the pink, stretched, destroyed skin crosses her neck below the line of her collar in one direction, creeps toward her armpit in the other. Mara’s horror must show on her face, because the girl flushes, looks down.
“That’s um. That’s pretty bad.”
Handler Collins shakes his head. “You don’t have to tell me. Fucking Underwood. Fuck.” He spits on the ground near the trainee’s bare feet. “She’s finished the antibiotics she’s supposed to be taking. The vet thinks she should be set. Just uh, she’s got this stuff she’s supposed to spread on it.”
“Yeah. Okay.” Mara can’t stop staring at the burn, at the way it glares out, crimson and furious, from Jude’s pale, freckled skin. With effort, she tears her eyes away, to the downturned head of the waiting boxgirl. “Put…uh, put your shirt back on.”
The girl obliges quickly, and, Mara imagines, gratefully. She’s too well-trained to even wince when her movements stretch and ripple her healing skin. Mara’s eyes move hungrily over her face, her skinny body, searching for the parts of Jude she recognizes. The girl keeps her eyes on the ground but her cheeks go pink under the scrutiny.
“Doc, I gotta say.” Collins is shaking his head, and reluctantly, Mara turns her attention to him. “I don’t know how you got this one past the Director. I mean – a Box Babe for free? After what, ten months of working here?”
“Fourteen,” Mara corrects, a little too quietly. She clears her throat and tries again. “Over a year, Handler Collins.”
Rolling his eyes, Collins dismisses her with a flap of his hand. “A couple months, a year, whatever. A matter of months and you’ve got yourself a bonus worth tens of thousands? You must’ve shrunk the Director’s head to get her to agree to this one.”
Mara manages a tight smile for him. “I’m definitely…I definitely feel lucky.”
Leaning in, eyes gleaming conspiratorially, Collins puts his mouth near Mara’s ear. “You have good reason to feel lucky, Doc. Me and the guys – well, you’ve given some good advice, these past few months. It’s helped. And business is up. Company’s talking about padding the paychecks a little, and you’re a part of that, you know?” He gives her a hearty slap on the back and Mara forces a smile. “You’re part of the team! And the pet’s a gift from the company, but we thought, hey, why not a little something from us handlers, for our good doc?”
A shiver runs down Mara’s spine. “What…” she wets her lips, tries to sound amused, curious. “What did you do?”
“We only had a week or so to do it. Director Hammond decided so late, and all. But, but look, we crammed in some Romantic training, just for you.” Collins’ leer is too much. “None of the positions, of course, that shit’s extra, but a few of the lines, a few, ah…habits you might like.”
Mara thinks about him touching Jude and wants to tear the grin right off his face, wants to snarl and scratch and chew him out right there. Instead, she finds the girl’s eyes, searches there for some help, some hope, some recognition. Anything.
Her new Box Babe looks back at her with eyes that are flat and dull and empty.
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ofpineapplesanddawns · 2 years ago
Note
Hey John! There‘s been an idea on my mind and, if you‘re up for fics right now, I would be super grateful if you could write it. Maybe Thorne is there as a guest on Campbell‘s radio show and they get in the way of chatting about music and become friends (or even more, maybe?). Thank you in advance ♥️
Oooh, that's an interesting combo, I don't believe I've ever seen it before.
This is after Campbell gets his own show, so, like, post-canon stuff.
On with the fic!
--
"This is Campbell Bain, the bane of your life, bringing you all the latest and classic hits of this time and before! Today we've got a very special guess on the show that I'm sure some of you are just dyin' to listen to! His silky voice comin' at you live through your speakers and headphones, probably much more tolerable than mine!"
Campbell grinned, glancing over at the man in the booth with him. "I'll introduce this mystery guest to you after I play my pick for today's 'First Up Oldie', hope you're in the mood for a little Johnny Mathis!"
He set the needle on the record and the song began to play before he turned to his guest.
The man was slightly older than Campbell, dressed in what was considered punk style, much different from Campbell's own choice of... well.... he wasn't sure what his style was called.
His eyes were painted in eyeliner, he wore all sorts of jewelry, and he was smirking in a way that Campbell could register as implying a number of things. "You think a bunch of people who listen to ya for oldies is gonna wanna hear an interview from an up-and-comin' punk artist?"
"Hey, hey, I play modern stuff too." Campbell replied, waving a finger. "I like the old stuff, reminds me of my first DJ job. 'n fact, it's an homage to it!"
"Right, the St. Jude's hour you do on Fridays?" Thorne asked, leaning back in his seat.
Campbell blinked, surprised by that. "You listen to my show?"
"Course I do! 's why I specifically requested you to interview me!" Thorne replied as he put his arms behind his head, smirking at Campbell still. "I like your style, kid, it's a whole... hodge podge of whatever, and you clearly don't give two shits. Respect."
Campbell's grin was wider now before he suddenly turned back to the controls before him as the song started to end. "And that was Wonderful, Wonderful by Johnny Mathis, a true classic! Now, onto the interview with someone who I certainly hope will become a class in his own right far into the future! Do ya wanna introduce yourself to our listeners?"
"Oh, I suppose." Thorne chuckled, sitting up, leaning towards the mic before him. "Hello out there, radio listeners. Name's Thorne Jamison, and I'm gonna be the biggest name in punk since the 1970s, just you wait."
--
"I think that went well." Thorne said, removing the headphones from his head, handing them over to the host. "Do you think people liked it?"
"Well, considering those calls we got, I'd say they did." Campbell replied, smiling. He sure was a chipper guy, always smiling and grinning, Thorne noted. It was kinda cute.
"And you're gonna play my music on your show?"
"Of course I am! Gotta get it known, yeah? And what better way than through the show hosted by the loony! You'd be surprised by how often I get letters and calls from people who like gettin' their music selections from someone like me."
"Nice, nice." Thorne nodded, standing up from his seat, holding out a hand. Campbell looked at it, then took it. "Lovely meetin' you, Bain. We should meet up again sometime, my treat."
Campbell blinked a few times. "Oh, uh, ya wanna do that?"
"'Course, I like you, kid. Wouldn't mind gettin' to know you more, yeah?"
"Uh, sure! Yeah, we can do that!" Campbell replied, shaking his hand before pulling back, his grin in place once more.
"Well then, here's my card." Thorne pulled it from his wallet, then headed for the door, but not before holding his hand up to his face, thumb and pinky sticking out, mouthing 'call me' with a wink. And with that, he was out the door.
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jess-the-vampire · 4 years ago
Text
Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 47
Previous / Next:
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"So what do you think angel?".
Sky motioned to the platters of food that were nearly finished, having prepped the chefs and even helped out with, lexi adding final touches wherever she wanted, much to the chef's dismay. Angel of course seemed super tired and still stressed, as if thinking any small thing could ruin the whole entire night and mess things up with the king of spider monsters.
His dad wasn't cruel, he was no toffee or shastacan.
But the disappointment was enough to scare him.
He never used to care about this before, but now...it was always on his mind, taking over it. He nervously looked over what they had prepared, his father was coming in a few minutes, he wasn't dressed because they had been occupied with getting the dining hall ready and checking and changing the dinner options...5 times, they had wasted so much time and angel still wasn't sure they got things right.
"I...I'm not sure...maybe-".
"Angel...we don't have much time left, we spent hours getting stuff ready...we gotta get you changed...we're going to have to go with this...", she wasn't saying it to be mean, but angel didn't have time to be picky right now, especially if he wanted to have anything ready at all for his father. She patted his back to reassure him and ask if there was anything else he wanted to add to the meal his father would like.
But he only shook his head, disappointed but knowing she was right and they had to get moving.
"Let's go get changed...", his voice sounded defeated as he waved to marco before heading his way out, followed by sky who also waved to the demon queen, "Just don't be long, we'll be calling everyone to dinner very soon, remember he's not the only new guest we have here tonight". They gave her a knowing look and sky felt a fit in her stomach at remembering her grandma was finally coming over.
"I'm surprised you're so calm", he mumbled to the butterfly princess.
"Hmm?".
Angel turned to face her, "Your grandma is coming over and you're acting like it's not a big deal at all, you're not panicking over food, what you're going to wear...you're the complete opposite of me...". Sky was actually nervous even if he didn't think she looked it, but at the same time this event wasn't exactly about impressing her or proving anything to her so she had little reason to freak...as much.
There were other reasons to worry about her grandma that involved stuff outside of sky herself.
Whatever was really happening was more between her grandma...and her mom, less so about sky, her own mom had way more of a reason to be packing just as bad as angel was at the moment. Her grandma could be soft and sweet but also strict and scary if she wanted to be, not to mention pretty overbearing, she seemed to think at times she knew better then others.
Which of course, did not work for the current queen at all.
She had been trying to keep her mom out of her work for as long as she could, and now she was coming and there was nothing more she could do to convince the former queen to turn back to her retirement. She was coming and it would take more then usual to get her to turn back and away from the mess she had come to help try and fix where her daughter had failed.
Moon had gotten involved with sky being queen...a little, but her main focus was usually on her own daughter, after all...her daughter was meant to be the one teaching sky in the first place. So if she had to butt in and do star's job for her that wasn't good on star herself, though sky would argue this made moon look just as bad when it came to teaching star in the first place.
Anyways, she hated to even be involved during their bickering with stuff like this, she was lucky so far her life involved a lot less of it then she could've had. Being involved in the drama of two adults is a lot like being involved in the drama of two annoying teenagers, and sky had the urge to ask landon to borrow some of his headphones just to be safe.
"Well...guess i don't stress as much about making a good impression...most of the time, even when people were treating me like garbage i never really put on a fake persona and look to impress them so i guess it's just something i don't do", sky shrugged and tugged the prince along further, "But i mean, you got it way worse then me right now so that also probably makes a difference...".
"This feels like something a child would do after breaking one of their parent's things...doesn't it?".
"I guess you can say that yeah".
He hid his face within his hands, red, "You must think i seem like a real fool right now, you keep trying to reassure me and i keep freaking out about it and i just can't help it..." and that's when sky held out her hand, him taking it...still embarrassed. "It's fine, i'm not making fun of you for it...i get it, this whole thing is kinda important to you...you're going to be ok".
"I need to breathe more often...".
"It's still a learning process, you'll get used to it...hopefully, c'mon let's just get you dressed before you melt into the floor", she tugged him along as they made it to her room, which of course, was very much guarded still, angel awkwardly sat on the bed as sky headed inside her own wardrobe. "I'm assuming you're personally not into dresses so we'll rule that out for now, besides, i don't think any of my dresses will work with your back legs anyway".
Angel touched one of them in response.
"Good call".
"Now what i DO have is some stuff i was going to give to judas for his coronation, i started working on clothes ideas and these are mostly scrapped...i haven't had a ton of time to work on them exactly...but i nearly forgot i had been working on a few things for him...so maybe you can wear one...if you want to that is...if not i got other stuff in here...".
"Such as?".
She walked out holding a leather jacket and jeans.
"I mean, look, i dunno what exactly is your style outside of fancy stuff...but you could try...?", angel stared at the clothing with uncertainty, he still clearly didn't know what he wanted to do with his appearance and he had little time to think about it. Sky placed the clothes on the bed, "Hey...look...you can do whatever you wanna do...just make sure it's something you want to do...".
He took a minute to really think about it, nodding his head as he softly spoke.
"Well...leather might not really be me...but...you...have any sweaters in there? That might be more my speed...but...i'll wear a shirt under it and um...I'm ok wearing one of jude's jackets...", something about how he said it made sky smile, he seemed actually happy with his own choice. A choice made by him for him and not to please his father or anyone in particular.
"Sounds good, i can find that for you, you can shower real quick and we'll be good to go".
"What about you?".
She turned to face him, "I'll be fine as is...promise, you just need to worry about yourself and what you wanna say when your dad finally arrives, that's WAY more of a concern. You can think about it more in the shower and everything...". Angel glanced at the clothes and drawings sky and sunny had been working on earlier, clearly being reminded of the upcoming plans.
But he didn't say anything, instead sky fetched what he needed and he was quickly shoved into the closest nearby royal bathroom. What emerged soon later as a fresher smelling prince of the Arachmen, wearing a collared shift with a sweater and jacket overtop, he still had some nice shows and pants on but he seemed quite comfortable, his hair tired back behind him but a lot looser then it used to.
"How do i look?", he held out his arms and spun around to show the princess all of his angels, just to make sure he wasn't missing anything.
"Like a goober".
"What?".
"You look great, trust me, but tell me how you feel about it?".
He looked down at himself, adjusting his sweater, "Well...i feel...warm...and...comfortable".
"Perfect".
"You really seem to care about...me liking this stuff...don't you?", she shrugged as she brushed his sweater to make sure there weren't any loose hairs on him, "Well i mean, as someone who got annoyed at my parents telling me not to wear my hat for fun events, i'm not the person that's gonna force you one way or another...i just want you to like...be comfortable being yourself...and being that way to other people".
He softened at that as they made their way to the dining hall, to meet up with everyone. Most of everyone did seem to be there, though the most notable absent ones were judas, landon, celeste, her other mom, and...mason? She saw Queen Lucitor dressed up nearby in a rather radiant looking dress before approaching, still tugging angel along, guess angel wasn't the only one who decided to dress up real quick before dinner.
"Hey...where's-?".
"Judas? Off taking some time for himself still...hopefully he'll rejoin us soon, he's being kept company by katrina right now actually, she called in a bit ago. As for mason, he's still with fae and janna, they'll be a little late to eat, and well...landon and celeste are apparently visiting luna right now...so i'm not sure how long they'll be there but sadly we don't have time to retrieve them all...we'll just have to check in on them at dinner".
"Wait...visiting luna? Why in the heck would either of those grumps even want to be in the same room as her right now?", but she didn't have the time to question it, as here came her mom, in a rather nice golden dress and fixing her crown as she ran past her own daughter and into the dining room, the heavily armed guards quick to get out of her way.
"Guess Grandma's here...".
And sure enough, as sky turned around, followed by a few more guards came a new flowing figure with silvery hair tied back in a braid, wearing a blue gown with a cape, and with diamond marks that matched her heavy makeup. Angel was stuck in place, unable to move, and sky followed, stiff as a board upon her arrival, now wishing she had changed her clothing.
"Hello Skyler".
And before sky could say more she noticed another figure approaching and if the situation didn't make it obvious enough, the spider legs did. King Amir ArachFord striding his way next to the former queen, standing in place, looking rather nice all things considered, guards nearby holding gifts for most likely his wife as he looked at the group who had been waiting for their arrival.
Angel looked like he might actually have fainted.
"Hello Angelus.".
"Hello...fath...dad".
This was going to one hell of an awkward evening.
-
"We outta do this with fae more often...", janna smirked, way too pleased with herself as the mole man trembled in his seat just looking at fae. Ever since the girl had come into the room everything had gone from bad to worse, the lights broke, his chair broke, a rock fell from the ceiling and hit him on the head, he fell over a dozen times, it was eerie to say the least.
Something about the little girl was off, and yet somehow, the other small demon in the room seemed so unfazed, sitting and cheering her on.
In fact everyone was unfazed but him.
The downside to working with her was well, she was a wild card, there was a high chance something bad to could happen to any of them, though the difference was he was alone, they were not. Fae didn't want to accidentally hurt mason but she wanted his companionship in this situation, she would've felt way more uncomfortable without a face she was used to helping her out.
She had never considered her cruse to be much more then an annoyance at least, burden at worst, being asked to put it to use had been an...interesting idea she never considered before. Though she did feel a little uneasy interrogating anyone, she wasn't exactly sure about this guy much and even with her abilities and protection...who knows what her powers might do.
Might make things worse.
But janna seemed confident, jackie writing in her notepad as janna lured around their prisoner.
"You really voluntarily decided to work for a criminal? I mean i get the appeal and everything but you made a bad choice in working with the one who nearly hurt my kid", nearby jackie sighed and shook her head, janna never changed did she? "I mean, sure she's super scary and everything, but you didn't even think to turn her into us? Woulda saved us a lot of work".
"Look, i had no idea she was a criminal, i told you, our kingdom barely knew about all of this...ok? She showed up, needed a place to stay, i had that old chamber and she stayed...that was it".
"You knew she was doing bad stuff though", Jackie added, "Otherwise you wouldn't have reacted the way you did in the bar when the queens and king confronted you, you keep denying you knew the full extent but you clearly knew something more you haven't told us about...there's no way you didn't know something, she had a child locked up down there for hours...and you ran from us when we tried to arrest you...".
"Well i-".
"If you are as innocent as you claim you're certainly not making yourself out to look that way to any extent, you're better off confessing the truth then risk us going any further to scare it out of you...there's no point in defending this person so much". She sent him a cold glare that challenged those of even moon's as the man shook a little as a result.
" You have no idea how scared i was...how much she made me fear for my life, that she would never leave me be and would destroy me if i said or did anything, i meant no harm to anyone, but i had to worry for my own safety lest it have happened to anyone else i had known in my home". Jackie kept writing in her pad, "Sir, we are not trying to pretend you weren't afraid...but you could leave, you should've told someone".
"And what? Risk being killed? Even now if i say anything more i risk them bursting in here and destroying me, you lot can't protect me, you couldn't even protect your own castle. I'm better off shutting my trap and keeping quiet about what's going on then risking my own life. Even if...you have dangerous children around to scare info out of me...at least dying to her might be...less painful then whatever that magical horror might do", she didn't seem as sure on that last part but he shut his mouth tight.
Janna didn't seem to enjoy that, she didn't felt they were getting rather close on the whole matter, they'd been in here for hours at this point and had only gotten just a little of what they were looking for, and they needed so much more. They could already feel themselves getting hungry and they couldn't stay much longer, but they didn't want to leave like this, without what she had been looking for since the moment she entered this room.
He had to know something more that he wasn't sharing, he couldn't be this out of the dark like angel was.
Janna stood in front of him now, face in his face, she was good at scaring people in her kingdom but he wasn't from her kingdom...so it was unlikely he knew who he was messing with. She couldn't exactly hurt him, jackie was in the room after all and so were two kids, but she had a thing for mindgames and of course...hypnotism. So maybe she needed to try something else to get it out of him.
"Janna?".
"Hmm?".
"I don't like that look on your face, i know what it means", and indeed jackie had remembered it since they were really young kids, it was the kinda face that told her to be very mindful of janna's next few actions, otherwise she might get into a mess herself. It was also the face she tended to make before marco got themselves in a whole heck of trouble from her.
"What does it mean?", the man asked, a slight tinge of nervousness in his voice.
This of course, immediately made janna very happy, she might of finally had something.
"Oh well, you won't have to worry about that, not unless you talk to us", she drummed her fingernails on the table between them, "I mean, you don't wanna ask questions you don't want the answers to after all". He didn't want to show he was worried, but janna could sense it on him, so distracted he didn't notice fae's bad luck triggering a glass of water nearby to shatter, scaring jackie and the kids.
"You're bluffing".
"I'm one of the queens of mewni, if i want to make a threat, don't assume it always means i'm just bluffing, you'd be surprised the kinda people i've been able to crack...much tougher then you".
He appeared as if he wanted to say something in response to that but chose to keep his mouth shut instead. Janna seemed pleased at that response, though maybe she would've liked for him to challenge her, would be a perfect way to start scaring him. Jackie tugged on janna's shoulder, pulling her back, "Trust me when i say, she doesn't really tend to bluff...but she is also right...you might be better off admitting what you have on you...".
"I...I stated my reasons...i can't".
"Sir, this is to help protect tons of people, if you tell us what you know many people can rest well at night, we understand you are fearful, so are we...but this is important and you need to be brave for them", he paused a moment, thinking on her words, but he still shook his head. "Sorry, no can do...if i have to live in this prison for the rest of my life, i'll take that over meeting a gruesome fate".
He just wasn't going to budge, and they were just going to have to change tactics.
Janna looked to Jackie, still grinning and clearly asking permission for her to go wild on the man before them, and jackie...as reluctant as she was...knew she just wasn't going to be winning this one.
"Look, i'm not ok with you doing stuff like that, but as long as not actual physical harm comes to him, then it's worth a shot i guess...but i am taking the kids outside, they really should eat something and i don't think they should be apart of this if we're about to make things get a whole lot worse, and i definitely don't want whatever you do affecting them...so...fine". Her reply seemed to make janna even more excited, and the man more confused, clearly expecting violence to have been what janna was talking about.
"We're leaving?", mason asked, stretching his wings.
"Yeah, we're not going to stick around for this mess, trust me, you don't want to...", she left her notepad out for janna, her look stern. "Write anything of importance, don't lose it, and don't go too far...i mean, i know you won't make any promises for sure but i still at the very least want to make sure i say that.". She moved fae away from the scene, and gathered her sword nearby.
"So did i do a good job with this or-?".
"Fae, you did well, but you're still a kid, you need a break...time to let janna take over for a bit ok?", she headed them out of the heavily guarded and locked door as janna rubbed her hands together, mason spotted the man sweating as the door shut behind them. "Is janna gonna do what the crazy mask person did to Loki? take over his mind and make him speak?", it was odd for him to come out with it like that but he wasn't stupid.
"Kinda...yeah, but not exactly, she's not using magic".
"It's a lot like magic though, magic for the mind".
"I guess if you really think about it, it is a little like magic for the mind, but just remember not to mess with the minds of others for bad purposes, janna is doing it to help us out, and no damage should come to the man...but never use it to harm anyone ok?", sheesh, jackie didn't have any kids and yet she was so...mom-like, patting the two on the shoulder as they nodded.
"Miss Jackie?".
"Hmm?"
"Are you upset about...miss luna?".
This seemed to make her stop in her tracks, blinking at mason curiously, "Well um...i can't say i'm not, i mean she was my top student and imagining her as being an enemy this entire time is well...not quite...what i wanted to happen. Putting your trust in someone only for them to be arrested rarely leaves you with any sort of good feeling, but why are you asking?".
"Cause everyone seems to be really upset about luna, including both my brothers...", his wings feel to the floor, "Judas was pretty close to her and landon...well actually landon kinda doesn't like her but having her here still makes him upset...and you were one of the people who hadn't said much about her since she got here...so...i wanted to know".
"I guess considering she was my student...i probably should've had more to say about all of this...truth be told, i just decided maybe i should stay out of it. It seems like whatever is happening, it's something that more involves the queen and you kids then me, so i just do my job and keep to that, i don't add my own thoughts unless i'm usually asked when it comes to this".
"Why not?".
"Because usually it's not my place, some things you gotta stay out of, i'll be here to help you all whenever you need me, but i won't intrude on your personal feelings and drama like that...not unless you want me too, you guys are going through enough to also include me within all of that. You don't have to worry about me with all of this, ok? Worry about you".
"But i want to, besides, i don't want you to feel upset and left out too~".
She affectionately pet his head, fixing up his hat, "Thanks mason, it's nice of you to care about me, it is genuinely sweet of you." She fixed herself up and took fae's hand, "Hopefully whatever is going on with luna gets sorted out, i'm sure i'll be updated on her as time goes on...since her parents seem to be...unavailable, I'll kinda have to be in charge of her throughout this".
"So...you're kinda gonna be treated like her mom?".
"Basically".
If only she knew.
"Anyways, we'll come back for janna, after you both eat and get whatever else you need, you're been in there long enough anyways".
"Oh yeah, it's dinner time isn't it?", he'd been in there so long he hadn't been keeping track of the time at all, no wonder he was getting so hungry, his family had to have been already eating by this point. "Yeah, though just be careful when we get there, we have guests tonight, we don't want to be impolite or anything...after we eat i'll personally drop fae back to her home...honestly i'm surprised your parents are so...lenient".
"if it makes money, they don't care if i have to do out for a bit", she shrugged and said nothing more.
"You know, you might be unlucky, but people should treat you a little better...being unlucky isn't your fault", she didn't respond again to what she said but jackie swore she at least saw her eye move to look at her a bit, "You're more then just your luck, you're a very charming girl from what i can tell, you're honest, you're helpful, and you clearly care about your family to be trying to help them".
"It's fine, i don't mind being alone and everything, more time to...think and everything", mason stuck his head out to look at her but she still didn't look at either of them, "Mason's my only real friend, everyone is always turned away. Bad Luck, either i lose to them to it or they decided they no longer want to deal with it, it's something i'm just used to".
"Well that doesn't seem fair, friends should stick by through all the trouble you go through, you clearly mean no harm to any of them".
"But i can't blame them either, even now i have to warn people when i first meet them to stay away from me, just in case they might get hurt, mason only hangs with me because he's...not scared of me, he doesn't care...but other people do...i mean, i told him to stay away the first time i met him because i didn't want to be in trouble if he got hurt hanging around me".
"You really feel like this all the time?", now the woman looked extremely concerned, more like a mom then she had expected to be over this small child. "That sounds really awful fae, i'm so sorry you have to go through that at your age...you shouldn't have to be scared about hurting your friends at your age, you should be making friends and spending time with them whenever you can".
"Easier said then done", she mumbled.
"Well, now that i'm here in mewni, i'll see if i can help you make some friends, i train all kinds of knights of many different ages here, they're unafraid of any danger and maybe they're a good fit for you! They probably won't mind your bad luck at all". She seemed rather doubtful of any of that but it was the nicest thing anyone had said to her in a good while that didn't come from mason.
"If you say so".
It probably wasn't the exact answer jackie wanted to hear, but not the worst kind either, at least fae seemed midely interested. "Hey, if anything, back there was a pretty good audition for you, you know how to be intimidating and you're already good with horses, i'd say it might be a match made for you, but don't pressure yourself, it's ok if you don't want to".
Fae nodded.
"You don't have to invite me to all your royal meals or whatever, i'm not exactly royalty...", but she quickly felt mason's wing pull her into a side hug, "Doesn't mean we can't invite you, you're friends of royalty, so that's just as cool and just as much of a reason for you to eat with us". She let out a smile, not a big smile, but a genuine smile that only made mason more happy.
"Just make sure to be on your best behavior, with moon there and king arachford, we're in for one heck of a night", she informed as they made their way to the door, being let in by guards to see everyone else already seated. Mason already noticing his missing brothers right away, but not saying anything in case that might of been out of line, though star was quick to notice her wife's absense.
"Is janna still working?".
"Yeah, she had a few other methods she wanted to try out, she should be here soon, i took the kids though", mason and fae heading to open seats for them, the woman looking between everyone. "I really hope i didn't walk in on anything, i know we're rather late but things took a lot longer then we were expecting and he was rather hard to break somehow".
"Even with fae AND Janna?".
"Well considering we just now got here, what else do you think happened? If it had been that easy we would've been done hours ago, but while fae did scare him, he apparently is way more scared of...Her, threats against his life it seems, and as far as i can tell he's never seen their face, so janna's going to try a new tactic and you'll have to meet up with her after dinner depending how it goes".
Star wasn't used to Janna not being able to scare the living daylights out of anyone before, she just hoped her mom nearby wasn't taking it as another sign of imcompintence on her or janna's part. Jackie took her seat after saying hello to the former queen and helped herself as more food was being set out, mason looking over to sky as if asking why his brothers weren't here.
She mouthed to him from across the table that it was a long story.
She really wanted to go find judas, he had to be hungry as well at this point, but she knew he needed his space right now either, it just was on her mind right now. She was worried in what state she might find him in the next time she saw him, sure he'd dealt with a lot before but this whole thing broke down most of his world, there was no coming back from that easily.
She just didn't want him to be alone through it either.
But she had to just wait it out, through dinner, and well...there was plenty to distract her if she wanted to be distracted. Her grandmother had wasted no time in getting into her reasons for being here, as anyone would expect of her. Star of course being incredibly nervous the entire time, worried just what her mother might point out and fuss over and make things worse.
Star loved her mom, she was helpful and not always such a pain.
But she could feel the disappointment in her voice. She had never had so much trouble with anything in a long time, she could usually handle threats like this and yet this one seemed to doop her at every level, it didn't look good on any queen but especially not her. Moon couldn't complain too badly, she herself had been involved with scary threats and hadn't always known what to do.
But that didn't mean she didn't need help.
It became very clear she needed to get involved, whether star liked it or not, maybe having her there might ponder different results. She was already talking about their plan and discussing what she did and didn't like, clearly the idea of using a royal celebration as a trap was not exactly her favorite idea in the world, even if it had a decent chance of actually working.
But that didn't surprise Star, at all.
Of course Star wasn't the only one at the table with parental issues that were on the rise, Angel and his father had been silent all dinner so far, most of the conversation being had by the two butterflies. They both had mostly just sat and ate, though Sky swore the king had been eyeing her a few times, probably wondering exactly how their friendship had been progressing considering sky was indeed sitting next to angel.
Nora however, was trying to be as cheery as possible, even though she also seemed worried for judas. She clearly sensed the tension in the room and was trying to be as cheery as sunny was, but even sunny was talking more to galexia and was staying out of the argument. Marco and Tom were keeping to themsleves as well, it seemed moon brought a new atmosphere then it was before now.
One that kept everyone quiet.
Sky wanted angel to just talk to his dad but that wasn't something she could just make him do, it was one of those things that had to naturally happen and right now was far from natural, as sad as it was. She did feel they wanted to talk though, but maybe more in private, where there weren't so many people around to listen in or make things more uncomfortable then they already were.
They just kept...looking at each other.
She could only imagine what was going through their heads, the king had barely left his kingdom in what must've felt like forever for him and now he was dropped in the middle of his wife being revived, his son dealing with his issues, and moon overall. This could've been a happier meeting if things were just a little less tense right now for him and everyone else.
"It's good to see you sir".
That's when the king turned to Sunny, who was waving to him, he waved back smally.
Remembering the small girl who had spent time with his wife in what felt like so long ago, he didn't seem to know what he wanted to say though, but he coughed into his hand to not be impolite. "Well, i appreciate being invited, having globgor take over the kingdom for a little...it's nice, i was really happy to come over and...not have to deal with too much at the moment".
Angel sunk more into his seat.
"Well we're happy to see you too ! It's nice having new people come over for dinner! You look good!",
Leave it to sunny to know how to talk to people and make them feel super welcome, even in the most awkward of circumstances. He looked over his old suit and nodded, "Thank you, it belonged to my father, i wanted to look my best...for Arana, i didn't want her to wake and see me look like such a mess, though...i'm sure i will when she wakes up...i ugly cry".
"She's going to be so happy to see you and angel!".
"Yes...", he glanced over to his son, who wasn't making eye contact with him still, "I'm sure she will. though she has so much to catch up on, being in this state for so long...and she might not even completely be herself after she wakes...her mind...damaged, there's going to be so much work to do...but we'll try and manage the best we can...hopefully".
"I semi met her...in her mind", sky mumbled, "I mean i wasn't intended to do that, mom just wasn't good at making a barrier around her to warn me before i got sucked in, she seems...well...she seems like she's still really lovely, i know i never was close with her throughout everything, but...i hope when she gets up to get to know her a bit better".
He was smiling, feeling more comfortable among everyone in the room, even if the queens weren't paying attention, even tom and marco looked pretty happy.
Angel was still quiet though.
He was having a hard time breaking his silence to just talk and speak up, even though he had to, he needed to. But sky put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, if you want to talk to him after dinner...it's ok, like don't force it or anything...or you might say something you might regret. No one is judging if you don't want to get into it at the table with a bunch of weirdos...".
He nodded, appreciative.
"You cooked a wonderful meal for my arrival, i really do appreciate the effort, though you didn't have to make any of my favorite dishes", and that resulted in sunny glancing to angel himself, smiling, "Hey, if it wasn't for your son, we might of had a harder time preparing for you, he knows what you like and what would mean a lot to you, he really valued making this dinner".
Angel blushed deeply at the comment, he shouldn't be so embarrassed about that, it just felt weird still to be...complimented...and to his father too.
His father seemed really touched at the thought, and that only made angel more flustered, this whole thing was going better then he expected.
"I'm sad to see young prince lucitor isn't here, i would've liked to see him again after the last time at the trial, but i assume with everything going on he probably has other responsibilities at hand", tom and marco looked at each other and sky readjusted herself in her seat, "Well uh...something like that, you're not completely wrong, you might see him later though".
"I also have no idea if i've said this before, but i want to thank you too princess", sky froze in her seat, the man folding his arms on the table. "You put yourself on the line for my son and you did help him get free of all of this...that was not something you had to do for him or my family, especially considering everything you had been put through, i really can't thank you enough".
"I mean, i mostly just winged it, i barely knew what i was doing but...thank you, you're super welcome", He then turned to angel, and nodded, "I must admit...i missed having you home, it's been a lot lonelier then before, you look...good. It's really nice to see you with good friends and having a good time, i wouldn't want you to be dealing with...our kingdom".
"How bad is it?", nora meekly asked.
"Let's just say going out right now is not a great option, not to say our people had no reason to be mad, but i feel they have gone too far. I think they really feared four our livelihoods after that trail, not just with the butterfly family, but if the person angel had betrayed would come back and kill us all as some form of retribution. I think you can say for sure angel isn't...popular there".
Angel was about to sink even further in his seat as his father talked more.
"However, they seem to have a soft spot for what sky, nora, and judas did...they've never seen our kingdom be so...defended before like that, the spiderbites especially. So perhaps something about your friendships do regress some of the anger." Nora blushed red as she instinctively grabbed her hair, "It's no problem at all, i just wanted to help...her and...".
He smiled gently at her, "Not once in our kingdom have we gotten so close with the others like that, i think while the people are mad they can't deny they really are impressed angel somehow managed to get the spiderbites to be on decent terms with us". Angel felt an ease of tension and anxiety, sitting a bit more up back in his seat, did he actually do something...right? And people liked it?
Sensing angel feeling a little better at the words sky interjected.
"Yeah, angel's been doing pretty great recently, i mean, don't get me wrong, he's pushed my buttons quite a few times and everything, but he's been pretty helpful and making a lot of progress. Like i really appreciated his help when i went through the castle to save one of my friends, he had my back the entire time...even though he didn't have to".
Angel was definitely less anxious, but now he and nora both were blushing at being praised so much.
"Angel was really involved during the underworld castle incident?", guess the man wasn't aware of his son being involved in it at all, and sky patted the spider next to her on the back. "Oh yeah he was, i mean at first i came in to save him, but then he stuck with me the entire time even though he was scared, it was honestly pretty cool of him to do".
Angel's father actually seemed to be rather impressed, not expecting these kinds of actions from his son before this point, angel had done very irrational things before this point but nothing noble and brave like this. Though the man did seem still upset about what happened before he did seem impressed about what he was seeing now, and angel felt he could breathe again.
"I-".
"It's ok angelus, we'll talk more about everything later...we have a lot of catching up to do".
Angel nodded in agreement, and the table felt slightly more at ease, not that the argument up front had stopped anytime soon. The women hadn't been paying any attention to the nice moment at all, star was still debating her mom on all her ideas and moon was very much still telling star off for not getting her involved sooner to clean up this mess.
This was the kinda thing that made sky hate family reunions, did all famlies have to fight like a bunch of idiots when eating dinner together?, Cause even judas's family did that at times and he got annoyed about it.
The sooner they got out of here the better.
Even the Lucitors were getting tired of it, Marco quickly standing up, actually starling the butterflies from their talk. They looked over to their husband and sighed, "I'm going to look for landon and celeste, maybe judas...if they don't want dinner we can bring it to them later. But we'll be having dessert soon and they still haven't shown up, so i'm going to check on them".
In the back of sky's mind though, she was sure it was half actually that, and half not wanting to be here and hear the adults argue.
But Tom stood up to, "Actually i'd like to join you, we might be able to save time by spreading out, they're my kids too.". Tom taking their partner's hand and kissing their cheek as they headed out with a wave to the kids in the room. They were smart on finding a way out of this situation, that was for sure, even angel and his father were looking for an excuse out but that wouldn't do.
They needed some permission, especially since this wasn't their castle and they were here as star's guests basically.
"-I'm just saying star, you should've taken these precautions after what happened with toffee, i know you're struggling hard here but this is all too much and it's gone on for too long and has gone too far. It's time you let someone else take the reigns, i have more military experience, so i should be able to help with some of my ideas, then we might be able to work further on this".
"Mom, we have a plan!".
"Star, plans aren't 100% You know that. There's so much you might have not even considered, and even if it did work, things can go wrong, what if they escape?", of course moon probably didn't know it but her words were beating sky down just a little. It had been her plan for the most part and she knew it wasn't even a great plan but gee, thanks grandma.
But she had a point, this was a serious situation, they couldn't afford to have a plan with possible holes or cracks in it either. Ddi they want to capture the criminal or lose another time? Sky felt herself mindlessly start playing with her food, her mind wandering during their argument. Angel mumbling under his breath, "i mean, i thought it was a pretty smart idea".
If judas couldn't be here, she was glad angel and nora were.
"Well then we'll make it work! It's a good idea mom, we need to lure them, that's the only way we're going to get anywhere!", star was determined on this one, she had to fight her mom on it, otherwise they might not get another chance. Not to say her mom's plans couldn't work, but the sooner they did this the better and who knew if they'd get as good an opportunity later.
"Star, i understand, but it's dangerous, imagine how many people will be there, in the line of fire too! Safety is important here, and if things go poorly we have a high chance someone won't make it", even though his name hadn't been mentioned at all, angel knew she was talking specifically about him. His heard his father grunt across from him, before finally getting the ladies's attention.
"I do have to agree about safety, this is a young prince's coronation after all, you are inviting an enemy onto troubled grounds. Luring them is a smart move but perhaps moon needs to modify the plan however she can", the thing was, they all agreed the plan would need to be worked on anyway, they knew it, but obviously star didn't want moon to be the person in charge of it either.
"Look, i know you don't want me here but i promise star, this won't be as bad as you think, the more minds the better to work on this. Soon enough we'll be able to breathe again and i can go back to resting, we're just going to have to work together and no amount of yelling at me is going to be making me go back into retirement", the queen sat back in her chair and star let out a huff of defeat.
"Fine".
"Since meteora is back i'll be talking to her later, i want to catch up on anything i've missed recently, because judging by all the faces at this table, i have missed quite a few details it seems", she glanced at sunny and galeixa, then to fae. Guess when it came down to it, they probably would be minor details to any average mewman hearing about all the crazy stuff going on with the criminal.
She smiled at the spider king, fixing her dress, "Sorry, i know we were talking awhile over there, nearly forgot we had a guest over your highness, as soon as we finish eating we'll take you to visit your darling arana, she should still be resting right star?". Star still looked rather mad as she leaned against her seat, but she complied to her mom's question, "Well yeah...but like...no promises what'll happen when she wakes...the spiderbites are sure she'll have memory issues no matter what".
"She will", nora mumbled, "Memories can be healed but...having us heal all of them...was unlikely with how quickly we figured out what was happening...but...maybe over time, things might work...at the very least...she's not near death now...", it was a plus, they could give her that. She wouldn't be the same as she was but she wouldn't be too gone either.
"You...think...she'll remember me?", the king muttered softly, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"I'm sure she will, her family seems to mean everything for her", she didn't honestly know at the end of the day, but she had to hope at least, she had been in her mind,
The door opened, and three figures entered, tom and marco back surprisingly quickly, but with a guest at hand. Judas was standing behind them, he didn't look great but he didn't look awful either. He must've been hungry though, as he didn't even look at anyone as he sat down to eat in silence. Even the spider king didn't get a look, the man shocked at the teen's demeanor.
He had never seen prince judas so...rough before.
Judas was usually a happy individual, making jokes and helping everyone around him. Now he looked to be too inside his mind to really focus on anyone in particular, he just wanted to get something in his stomach and head out to be back in isolation as soon as possible. Angel and Nora also looked deeply troubled, both wanting to reach out to the boy who was ignoring them.
Tom and Marco whispered to sky as they passed by, "We found him in a hallway nearby, he just wants to eat, give him his space...landon and celeste are still with luna". That didn't make sky feel any better though, judas seemed to have silenced everyone, even queen moon seemed a little stunned. She wasn't around that much but she knew enough to know this didn't sit right with her.
This was the prince who was supposed to be king soon, and not only that, but whose coronation was the center of their plan.
And here he was, looking like a depressed mess.
How were they supposed to casually have a conversation with judas like this?
Well to put it lightly, they didn't, the room was silent until judas finished eating and excused himself to go and sleep. His parents didn't even protest it at all, letting him leave the room before standing up a few moments later to drag landon and celeste over here. Both of them clearly having waited till they knew judas was a little whiles away before heading out as to not bother him.
It felt like without judas some soul had been ripped from everyone.
Even Sunny.
It said a lot when even she said nothing to him.
Judas came over to get some food and left without so much as a word, not to his friends, his family, anyone, it was the worst anyone had even seen him in a good while and it left everyone with a sense of dread and sadness.
It took a minute for anyone to even talk at dessert, and the one to actually break wasn't the person anyone had been expecting to speak first at all. A small cough coming from next to mason, Fae shoving chocolate cake into her mouth as she spoke. "Y'know, mason is super happy and everything and everyone talks about how cute he is, but honestly judging by how you all are, it seems judas is the one that usually makes everyone super happy when he enters the room...no offense mase".
"It's ok, i'm not mad".
No one argued against that, judas was pretty much a friend to anyone.
He really knew how to make everyone feel better about themselves, and be someone's shoulder to lean on, and stand up for everyone if he could. In some ways he was the life of the group, he kept everyone going even when they were breaking down. Sky bit at her lip, "I know we got stuff to do but...next chance we get...after he has some time...we should all be there for him...do something nice".
"I agree", they all looked to King Amir, who eyes his son, "He's a good kid, and he's done a lot for us as well, i would be happy to contribute if you wish to have my help. I would love to pay you all back as much as i can after everything you've done". Even though neither of them were in the room, tom and marco would be extremely grateful for the kindness once they heard about this.
Everyone cleaned up quick, most of them heading out to their room to sleep protected, though the spider monsters parted off to speak, moon and star were off to deal with their issues with janna included, and sky almost was out herself when marco quickly came running back. They seemed relieved to see her, panting, they looked a little panicked and that immediately didn't sit well with sky.
"Landon and celeste...they're not with luna?".
"They aren't?".
"And luna isn't in her room either!".
-
"Dad...there's a lot i want to say".
"I know, it's been on my mind since the trial, a lot has been on my mind, it's...really had me thinking", they closed the door behind them, angel taking a seat in the vacant room as guards blocked the door for them. "Don't assume i'm not mad, i am...even if i understand why, but i also could tell you were terrified...and...i can't be mad at you for something like that either", he paused for a moment, his ears twitching.
"I...haven't...been a great dad...have i?".
Angel didn't answer, but that was all he needed.
"Angelus, you disobeyed me horribly and put everyone at risk...but it's not just your fault...it's mine, i'm your father...i should've been keeping a better eye on you, should've been helping you deal with these issues and feelings and stopped comparing you to judas and sky and...it's clear i did hurt you. If i had done something sooner maybe i could've prevented something bad from happening, prevented you or anyone from getting hurt...i never really thought as hard as i should about the things you were going through...i expected you to just...be this or that, and all that seemed to do was turn you against me".
"But i didn't listen to you...you know that, i constantly skipped lessons and went out when you didn't want me too and even got myself hurt multiple times as a result...i would've protested anyway", he still felt guilty, if he had listened none of this would've happened in the first place. But his father went on, "Maybe, but that didn't mean i shouldn't have tried harder...i've been so overcome with grief...i've neglected you a bit...no...a lot. Ever since you stayed here i've had so much time to think to myself and...i screwed up, i know i did.".
Angel wanted to protest but he actually couldn't deny any of the words his father had been saying, his throat tightening. "Arana never would've wanted me to neglect you that way, not even for her...this entire situation was just as hard for you and...i didn't handle it in the ways i should have. No way that a dad should have, and i feel i should apologize to you directly, for any hurt i may of caused, we should've been dealing with this situation together...not apart...and i'm sorry".
Angel felt tears starting to wallop, as much ashe tried to hold them back, he then laughed a little in pain.
"I...Is it bad if i say i didn't expect you to come here and tell me you're sorry?", his voice felt cracky and he quickly cleared his throat, "I expected you to be upset with me...not want me to come back home, i was preparing to hear bad news even if sky was sure things might be different". His father didn't seem surprised by his words, he had probably been just as prepared for angel to lash out at him for leaving him.
And he wouldn't have been mad at him at all.
"I...reconsidered a lot, while we were separated...i'm not shocked at all you feel that way...you probably felt...i didn't care about you...thought of you as just an heir...and not my son, and...that was wrong of me to do...".
"And the people?".
"I want you back home angel, whether they do or not, you're still my only son, and you should still be allowed to come home and make a name for yourself, have a fresh start".
He stretched out his legs, all of them, his mind still processing his father's words. "How can i be sure things will be different? I don't want to go back there and have everything be the same, go back to being hated or alone...i'm worried things won't change for sure...i know i have changed, but that doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way".
"I know. i won't force it if you want to stay, i know you like it here".
Those words made angel feel more comforted, his father really was hearing him out, it was baffling. "Yeah, well, here is where my friends are and everything, i mean the citizens don't like me either but...at least i have friends". He tapped his fingers, his eyes closing, "But that doesn't mean i don't want to go back, if i could...i want both...i do want to be home...but i think this is also my home...".
"I understand, and i won't keep you from it...but if you want to go home, i think we can manage something...eventually", he paused, taking a seat next to his son and wrapping his cape around them both. "I think for now you will have to stay here, if even just to keep an eye on your mother, and until things are fully good back home...but I'll make sure to send you anything you want from home to make you more comfortable here...".
"I hope when i go back home, things will be a lot easier...i want to make things easier...to help, the kingdom, it deserves so much that i haven't given it", the king nodding, "I think you'll do great things...someday, we both have some learning to do...as kings and leaders. We...made a lot of mistakes...and it's going to take time to heal from them, but...i think we can".
"I...was willing to accept you didn't believe in me but...i like hearing it anyway", and angel shifted as his father hugged him, patting his bad and it seemed the man was even crying into his son's shoulder. "I...missed you...so much, more then i ever thought i could...it was alone without either of you...i want both of you back. I want something with you...i just...".
Angel's arms wrapping around him, enjoying the hug back.
"Thanks dad".
BOOM
The noise made angel's stomach drop.
Their nice moment interrupted by more noise coming from outside, angel getting up to check out the windows right away. The room they were in had a nice view of the courtyard of the castle and there he finally got view of what made the noise that drove him to panic. It seems somehow luna had gotten herself out of her room, and she was just...standing there...she wasn't trying to escape or fight or anything, but celeste was screaming at her, storm clouds starting to appear close by.
The booming of their thunder so loud it was impossible to miss.
Angel seemed really puzzled, what had been going on that he wasn't aware of this time?
But on closer inspection he could see sky down there, with judas's parents, trying to resolve the scene at hand before things go so much worse. Amir stood up to see what his son was looking at and then angel remembered his father didn't know about the uh...multiverse situation and seeing celeste accidentally perform magic was bound to be a bad idea, the boy quickly pushing his father away much top his confusion, "Incident in the courtyard...we outta get going".
Amir seemed skeptical that his son wasn't hiding something from him but followed angel regardless, just in case it was too dangerous for him to look.
And by the time they headed lower they found tom taking luna away back to her room and celeste and landon in marco's grasp, a tired sky nearby and nodding to angel, a sign they needed to talk later so she could explain further. "Sorry sir, seems we had a situation, er...the prisoner broke out and these two were um...handling it, you might of heard my son landon using magic a bit...i promise no one is hurt".
"Your fire powers can be that loud?", the king turned to the demon, who didn't respond, his face embarrassed and mad, but at least the king seemed to be buying the excuse.
"You'd be surprised", marco said with a cheeky smile, "We're one scary dimension for a reason after all".
"Well in that case, i'm glad you handled it, i got worried for a moment, the noise startled me and i thought something bad had happened".
"No no sir, it's alright, promise, landon will just be more careful next time".
It was a smart cover up, even if the idea of fire sounding a lot like thunder was a bit odd. The king just shrugged, and noticed the young prince and princess looking at each other, coughing to excuse himself. "Well angelus, i'm going to see your mother...you can come and join me later...alright?". Angel smiled back, "Thanks, i'll see you later", before his father left with guards right behind him.
Marco nodding their head to head to the nearby closet, the kids still in his clutches.
"What happeend?".
Sky snorted, "Celeste tried to challenge luna to a duel, that's what, not that it worked, luna didn't even fight, she just...stood there". Celeste grumbling under her breath, "I wanted her to face me for betraying us how she did...that's it...she said yes, we were only supposed to be out for a few minutes, but then she didn't...do anything, she stood there...she made me feel like a fool".
"She stood there?".
Landon shrugged, "I guess she changed her mind about the duel...", though it seemed there was more to it and under his mom's watchful eye he confessed. "I'm sorry i was hoping they'd reconcile or something, i wasn't trying to get anyone to start a fight or anything, i couldn't even convince her not to, she and luna pushed me back from it all...ok?".
At first marco wasn't sure whether to believe that but celeste added on.
"He's right...he...wanted me to go and get along and i just...look...i'm just angry ok? I just want her to apologize or something or just feel bad...i hate her stupid smug looking face and how she is to everyone...i'm so sick of it". She looked like she might break into tears, "I didn't mean to worry anyone or anything i just...i'm so tired of being walked over...".
"Celeste...hey...it's ok", Marco sighed, "Look, i know i'm not really your parent here but...maybe you need to talk to some adults about...your anger...like tom...if it's really taking over your life like this you need to seek some help". She sniffled and they pet her hair, "You should not have done any of that, ok? But it's ok, we'll deal with it from there...and get this sorted out".
"Did luna say much about what went on down there?".
Marco shook their head, "We'll talk about it later, i'll take landon and celeste with me...you both are expected to go see arana so you should head there, guarded of course, perhaps you can sort some stuff out on the way in terms of our next steps...but for now i'll see you both later...and take good care of each other. Oh, and make it back to sleep soon, ok?".
They both nodded, heading on their way to see arana, watching celeste and landon be wandered off like naughty children.
"Those two...every time"., sky shook her head, "Celeste needs help, i just hope she can get some...this all hasn't been much better on her". Angel's ears twitching, "We're losing people...aren't we? Judas, luna, celeste...we're falling apart a little...and right before we're supposed to react a plan too, what happens if we can't get everything ready or fall apart before this?".
"I don't know.".
That was the honest truth, she didn't know, it was all out of her control, but if things didn't get better there was no way they'd get this plan to even work. They'd be doomed before the plan even started. How much longer before she and angel cracked? Nora? Even sunny or lexi? She felt a bit of unease, she was now the leader or this group and said group was now falling apart.
"I'm going to keep up together...we have some healing to do...but i think we can do it...but...first...we should go see your mother, we can deal with it later...when it's a good time to do so", angel nodded to her, "Judas...helped me, a lot, and i want to return the favor to him. I...I don't know how exactly i can do that for what's going on but...i'm willing to try".
"You don't have to y'know?".
"He's my friend, and so are you".
She appreciated that, "It's not going to be simple sadly, the arm thing has been apart of his life for years, he's not going to be over it so quickly. It's kinda a lot to process...i mean, he had so many nightmares as a kid because of it, it ruined his life...he might feel like...it's all his fault for what happened and not...y'know, that it isn't his fault that no one knew".
"Yeah...i'm sure it will be".
They were contemplating what they could do and what might help as they made to what was now arana's own private room near the wing, upon special request by her husband to keep any onlookers from bothering her. Honestly, sky was happy not to have to keep going into that wing, some privacy was nice, the door opened for them and the guards standing outside.
"You're here!", the king was delighted to see them, still holding his wife's hand, "I wasn't sure how long it might take for you to join me, but i'm happy you're here, come, sit with me...she's moving...". He nodded to seats nearby, the teens making themselves comfortable. "When i see the Spiderbites i'm going to owe them so much for this, i never thought i'd even see her so...lively again".
"Well they're stuck here with us. so you'll get a chance i'm sure".
He was still occupied with his wife though, "I...have so much i want to tell her, but...i can't, not right away anyways...she's going to need time when she wakes up, her mind was so...damaged...but i promise once i can i'll make sure she knows everything she can and i'll make sure we celebrate her recovery. I could not have asked for a more...wonderful gift".
"In all fairness...it was partially dumb luck".
"You call it dumb luck, i call it fate", he pet the queen's hair gently, "You will always be welcome in my kingdom, princess".
"Well right now i can't even go within a few feet of your kingdom but thanks a lot, maybe we'll get to hang out...after everything rests." Her attention drawn to angel, "Besides, he still owes me a hangout to make up for the mess he put me through, so we'll try and get that done first before we make too many promises right now". she bumped angel next to her, who coughed.
"Oh yeah, right...thanks for reminding me again, all of this distracted me a bit".
"Whatever, as long as it's nothing crazy...the party is gonna be crazy as is...", she grumbled, her voice filled with dread.
"Perhaps you can accompany my son for jude's coronation...", the king piped up, looking between the two, "i assume you were planning to do that anyway, but I think he could use the company...he hasn't been allowed to really go to a party like this in years, and it might help to have someone around to well...watch over him and get him back into the swing of things".
Sky never considered this was angel's first party in a long time, maybe that's another reason he was nervous.
"Yeah sure...of course...as long as he doesn't go wild", she was joking of course but who could say for sure angel wasn't secretly a party animal now for all she knew. Angel laughed and in the moment things seemed easygoing and rather nice for all the stress of earlier, it had been such a long time since the entire arachford family had even been in the same room together.
Much less happy together.
Angel felt finally as if the butterflies had left his stomach fully, his stress about his dad gone.
But then a noise caught the attention of the group, interrupting the moment for them. Their first instinct was to turn to look at the queen, and sure enough, the noises were coming from her directly, she was stirring and it no one has seen her making noises like this in a while, especially with how silent these days she had been. It was a small breathe, then a whimper, then it almost sounded as if she was trying to speak some words, not that they could tell what the words actually were.
Then movement, the queen was stirring even more, startling everyone in the room further, the grip on the king's hand tightening. His mood was shifted, as if worried something was wrong for a moment, only for her legs to start moving as well. Her eyes started shifting around the room, her ears wiggling before she turned her head to face the group.
This was the most movement she had done in awhile and it had caught them entirely off guard.
"A-arana?".
She jolted again, her face shifting a bit more as she looked over the faces of her guests with a softness they hadn't seen in a long time.
"Angel?".
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angelhummel · 3 years ago
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once again i spent hours of my life answering >5000 questions in order to sort almost all of the glee songs ever (there’s 683 songs in the sorter when there’s over 700 on the show) anyway if you wanna see my rankings for those then check it out <3 [also here’s the sorter!]
1 Being Alive 2 Rose's Turn 3 Baby, It's Cold Outside 4 Le Jazz Hot 5 Maybe This Time 6 And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going 7 Come What May 8 To Sir, With Love 9 As If We Never Said Goodbye 10 Valerie 11 Somewhere Only We Know 12 Cough Syrup 13 Teenage Dream 14 Not The Boy Next Door 15 It's Too Late 16 It's My Life / Confessions Part II 17 Start Me Up / Livin' On A Prayer 18 When I Get You Alone 19 The Happening 20 The Boy Is Mine 21 Home 22 Don't You Want Me 23 How Will I Know 24 Bad Romance 25 Not While I'm Around 26 Scream 27 Shake It Out 28 On My Own 29 Hate On Me 30 Bills, Bills, Bills 31 4 Minutes 32 True Colors 33 There Are Worse Things I Could Do 34 Go Your Own Way 35 Jessie's Girl 36 Proud Mary 37 Tongue Tied 38 Last Christmas 39 Somebody Loves You 40 Back To Black 41 Sweet Transvestite 42 For Good 43 At The Ballet 44 Gloria 45 Blame It (On The Alcohol) 46 Like A Prayer 47 So Emotional 48 Misery 49 Nasty / Rhythm Nation 50 Toxic 51 Don't Speak 52 Born This Way 53 Dog Days Are Over 54 Defying Gravity 55 Last Name 56 Womanizer 57 I Will Always Love You 58 Broadway Baby 59 The Lady Is A Tramp 60 I'm A Slave 4 U 61 Centerfold / Hot In Herre 62 Thriller / Heads Will Roll 63 Bust Your Windows 64 Candyman 65 Brave 66 Boys / Boyfriend 67 The Scientist 68 The Scientist (Acapella) 69 Dream On 70 Hey Jude 71 I Lived 72 I'm Still Here 73 I Believe In A Thing Called Love 74 Me Against The Music 75 Like A Virgin 76 My Man 77 Everybody Wants To Rule The World 78 I Have Nothing 79 Blackbird 80 Got To Get You Into My Life 81 Animal 82 3 83 I Follow Rivers 84 Just The Way You Are 85 Constant Craving 86 Don't Stop Me Now 87 Hung Up 88 Let's Have A Kiki 89 Love Shack 90 Marry The Night 91 Hit Me With Your Best Shot / One Way Or Another 92 It's Not Right, But It's Okay 93 I Want To Hold Your Hand 94 All You Need Is Love 95 Getting Married Today 96 Don't Rain On My Parade 97 Don't Stop Believin' (Regionals) 98 We've Got Tonite 99 Smooth Criminal 100 Uptown Girl 101 Sway 102 If I Die Young 103 No One Is Alone 104 Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee 105 No Scrubs 106 Mamma Mia 107 Papa Don't Preach 108 Teenage Dream (Acoustic Version) 109 Santa Baby 110 We Found Love 111 Roar 112 She's Not There 113 Spotlight 114 The Way You Look Tonight/You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile 115 Some Nights 116 Rumour Has It / Someone Like You 117 You Make Me Feel So Young 118 You Keep Me Hangin' On 119 I'll Stand By You (Amber) 120 Hand In My Pocket / I Feel The Earth Move 121 Crazy / U Drive Me Crazy 122 Funny Girl 123 Cold Hearted 124 Keep Holding On 125 Bye Bye Bye / I Want It That Way 126 I Know Where I've Been 127 I Kissed A Girl (Season Six) 128 Hopelessly Devoted To You 129 Homeward Bound / Home 130 Into The Groove 131 Hold On 132 Tell Him 133 Nutbush City Limits 134 Because You Loved Me 135 Perfect 136 Cherish / Cherish 137 Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) 138 Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead 139 You Are The Sunshine Of My Life 140 Tik Tok 141 The Safety Dance 142 Oops!... I Did It Again 143 Run Joey Run 144 Time Warp 145 Something's Coming 146 Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go 147 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 148 Vogue 149 Downtown 150 Diva 151 Dancing With Myself 152 Rockstar 153 Wrecking Ball 154 We Are Young 155 I Saw Her Standing There 156 Jumpin', Jumpin' 157 Just Can't Get Enough 158 Take Me To Church 159 Wannabe 160 It's All Over 161 Take Me Home Tonight 162 If I Were A Boy 163 Landslide 164 Pompeii 165 The Bitch Is Back / Dress You Up 166 Christmas Wrapping 167 Buenos Aires 168 Call Me Maybe 169 You Can't Stop The Beat 170 Seasons Of Love 171 Safety Dance 172 Dream A Little Dream 173 Alfie 174 I Want To Break Free 175 Baby One More Time 176 A House Is Not A Home 177 Daydream Believer 178 I Don't Know How To Love Him 179 Hungry Like The Wolf / Rio 180 Suddenly Seymour 181 People 182 Silly Love Songs 183 Love Song 184 Shout It Out Loud 185 Some People 186 One Of Us 187 Sing! 188 Up Up Up 189 Torn 190 Popular 191 This Is The New Year 192 Paradise By The Dashboard Light 193 Let It Snow 194 Let It Be 195 Never Can Say Goodbye 196 Touch A Touch A Touch A Touch Me 197 La Isla Bonita 198 Tightrope 199 My Love Is Your Love 200 Love Is A Battlefield 201 Losing My Religion 202 Total Eclipse Of The Heart 203 This Time 204 I Dreamed A Dream 205 Leaving On A Jet Plane 206 Locked Out Of Heaven 207 Chandelier 208 Girl On Fire 209 Telephone 210 Don't Cry For Me Argentina 211 Human Nature 212 Halo / Walking On Sunshine 213 Anything Goes / Anything You Can Do 214 Make You Feel My Love 215 Stronger 216 Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag 216 Pumpin' Blood 218 Papa Can You Hear Me? 219 Summer Nights 220 Sweet Caroline 221 Superstition 222 We Will Rock You 223 Alone 224 Hello, I Love You 225 Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) 226 A Hard Day's Night 227 Mine 228 My Prerogative 229 Beauty School Drop Out 230 My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) 231 Extraordinary Merry Christmas 232 Every Breath You Take 233 Express Yourself 234 Everybody Talks 235 Everytime 236 Marry You 237 Moves Like Jagger / Jumpin' Jack Flash 238 My Favorite Things 239 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 240 River Deep, Mountain High 241 My Life Would Suck Without You 242 Be Okay 243 Applause 244 Cool 245 All I Want For Christmas Is You 246 American Boy 247 Cell Block Tango 248 Breakaway 249 Don't Dream It's Over 250 Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) 251 Whatever Happened To Saturday Night? 252 Without You 253 Science Fiction Double Feature 254 Loser Like Me 255 I Kissed A Girl 256 I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You 257 I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) / You Make My Dreams 258 Don't Stop Believin' (Season 5) 259 Empire State Of Mind 260 Old Time Rock & Roll / Danger Zone 261 Take My Breath Away 262 You Get What You Give 263 Take On Me 264 Beautiful 265 It's Time 266 ABC 267 Afternoon Delight 268 Don't Stand So Close To Me / Young Girl 269 Don't Stop Believin' (Season 1) 270 Colorblind 271 Cool Kids 272 Dancing Queen 273 Songbird 274 Somebody That I Used To Know 275 Singing In The Rain / Umbrella 276 I Feel Pretty / Unpretty 277 Borderline / Open Your Heart 278 In My Life 279 I'm Still Standing 280 Blow Me (One Last Kiss) 281 Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? 282 Do They Know It's Christmas? 283 Mustang Sally 284 Pinball Wizard 285 Anything Could Happen 286 America 287 Any Way You Want It 288 Higher Ground 289 Flashdance... What A Feeling 290 My Life 291 Let It Go 292 If I Can't Have You 293 L-O-V-E 294 Closer 295 Addicted To Love 296 Heroes 297 A Boy Like That 298 Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend / Material Girl 299 Holding Out For A Hero 300 Dinosaur 301 Disco Inferno 302 Party All The Time 303 Raise Your Glass 304 Push It 305 Lean On Me 306 Pure Imagination 307 Lovefool 308 Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' 309 Americano / Dance Again 310 All Of Me 311 At Last 312 Promises, Promises 313 Hair / Crazy In Love 314 Happy Xmas (War Is Over) 315 Chasing Pavements 316 Don't You (Forget About Me) 317 Love Child 318 School's Out 319 Poker Face 320 Boogie Shoes 321 Bootylicious 322 I Love New York / New York, New York 323 One Less Bell To Answer 324 Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours 325 Rehab 326 I Don't Want To Know 327 Shout 328 I'm The Greatest Star 329 I Love It 330 Never Say Never 331 Juke Box Hero 332 One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer 333 Glad You Came 334 For Once In My Life 335 Here Comes The Sun 336 Baby It's You 337 Drive My Car 338 Last Friday Night 339 Roots Before Branches 340 The Only Exception 341 Survivor / I Will Survive 342 All Or Nothing 343 Time After Time 344 You're The One That I Want 345 Yeah! 346 Starships 347 You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 348 Story Of My Life 349 Something 350 We Need A Little Christmas 351 Gold Digger 352 Beth 353 Fighter 354 Forget You 355 How To Be A Heartbreaker 356 Get Back 357 Love You Like A Love Song 358 There's A Light (Over At The Frankenstein Place) 359 We Got The Beat 360 Make 'Em Laugh 361 Sing 362 U Can't Touch This 363 Try A Little Tenderness 364 Pony 365 On Our Way 366 Lucky Star 367 Loser 368 Over The Rainbow 369 Outcast 370 Stop! In The Name Of Love / Free Your Mind 371 What Makes You Beautiful 372 Will You Love Me Tomorrow / Head Over Feet 373 Wide Awake 374 Wishin' And Hoping 375 Yesterday 376 Out Here On My Own 377 You're All The World To Me 378 Somethin' Stupid 379 Someday We'll Be Together 380 River 381 The Longest Time 382 Somebody To Love 383 The Edge Of Glory 384 The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year 385 Lucky 386 Memory 387 Mary's Boy Child 388 Longest Time 389 My Dark Side 390 Taking Chances 391 The First Noël 392 Smile 393 Celebrity Skin 394 All That Jazz 395 A Thousand Years 396 Big Girls Don't Cry 397 Ain't No Way 398 Don't Sleep In The Subway 399 Doo Wop (That Thing) 400 Don't Stop 401 Uptight (Everything's Alright) 402 New York State Of Mind 403 Turning Tables 404 Vacation 405 Fire 406 Hold It Against Me 407 I've Gotta Be Me 408 Endless Love 409 Run The World (Girls) 410 Saving All My Love For You 411 Give Up The Funk 412 I Am Changing 413 I Melt With You 414 I Could Have Danced All Night 415 Fat Bottomed Girls 416 Hot For Teacher 417 Never Going Back Again 418 Imagine 419 Jolene 420 Arthur's Theme 421 Damn It, Janet 422 Control 423 Barracuda 424 Copacabana 425 Barely Breathing 426 I Look To You 427 Come Sail Away 428 Jump 429 Clarity 430 Friday I'm In Love 431 Jar Of Hearts 432 It's Not Unusual 433 Footloose 434 Here Comes Santa Claus 435 Happy Days Are Here Again / Get Happy 436 Help! 437 Greased Lightning 438 Hell To The No 439 All Out Of Love 440 (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman 441 Candles 442 All By Myself 443 Hello Goodbye 444 It's A Man's Man's Man's World 445 I Say A Little Prayer 446 It Must Have Been Love 447 Just Give Me A Reason 448 Come See About Me 449 Born To Hand Jive 450 I Want To Know What Love Is 451 I Wish 452 I'll Remember 453 Get It Right 454 (I've Had) The Time Of My Life 455 I'll Stand By You (Cory) 456 Forever Young 457 A Change Would Do You Good 458 Smile (Charlie Chaplin song) 459 Best Day Of My Life 460 An Innocent Man 461 Dreams 462 All About That Bass 463 Home (originally by Michael Bublé) 464 Black Or White 465 Baby 466 Bad 467 Problem 468 Oh Chanukah 469 What Kind Of Fool 470 Wings 471 You're My Best Friend 472 You're All I Need To Get By 473 White Christmas 474 Whenever I Call You Friend 475 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 476 What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) 477 Wedding Bell Blues 478 More Than A Feeling 479 More Than A Woman 480 Our Day Will Come 481 P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 482 Here's To Us 483 Honesty 484 Hall Of Fame 485 It's All Coming Back To Me Now 486 Teach Your Children 487 Night Fever 488 What The World Needs Now 489 Listen 490 Let Me Love You 491 Live While We're Young 492 Light Up The World 493 Trouty Mouth 494 Werewolves Of London 495 Kiss 496 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 497 Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) 498 Mickey 499 Mean 500 Mercy 501 Merry Christmas Darling 502 Let's Wait Awhile 503 Man In The Mirror 504 Rather Be 505 Rise 506 Good Vibrations 507 Faithfully 508 Firework 509 How Deep Is Your Love 510 Fix You 511 Fire And Rain 512 Give Your Heart A Break 513 Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree 514 Little Girls 515 Cry 516 Bust A Move 517 Bridge Over Troubled Water 518 Bring Him Home 519 Cheek To Cheek 520 Break Free 521 As Long As You're There 522 Big Ass Heart 523 Bitch 524 Bamboleo / Hero 525 Away In A Manger 526 Deck The Rooftop 527 Christmas Eve With You 528 Angels We Have Heard On High 529 Creep 530 Crush 531 Make No Mistake, She's Mine 532 Lose My Breath 533 Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise) 534 What I Did For Love 535 Wake Me Up 536 Thousand Miles 537 Take A Bow 538 Still Got Tonight 539 The Music Of The Night 540 Stereo Hearts 541 The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) 542 Take Me Or Leave Me 543 I'm The Only One 544 Isn't She Lovely 545 I Just Can't Stop Loving You 546 I'll Never Fall In Love Again 547 Unchained Melody 548 You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch 549 You Have More Friends Than You Know 550 You Should Be Dancing 551 I'm His Child 552 You Learn / You've Got A Friend 553 Somewhere 554 So Far Away 555 Uptown Funk 556 The Winner Takes It All 557 They Long To Be Close To You 558 Tonight 559 Being Good Isn't Good Enough 560 You May Be Right 561 To Love You More 562 Don't Wanna Lose You 563 Do You Hear What I Hear? 564 Ice Ice Baby 565 Don't Go Breaking My Heart 566 Don't Make Me Over 567 I Won't Give Up 568 I'll Be Home For Christmas 569 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For 570 I Still Believe / Super Bass 571 I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) 572 I Want You Back 573 Father Figure 574 Everybody Hurts 574 Gangnam Style 576 We Are The Champions 577 Stayin' Alive 578 Superman 579 The Rose 580 Don't Stop Believin' (Rachel) 581 Fly / I Believe I Can Fly 582 Gives You Hell 583 I Love L.A. 584 Mr. Roboto / Counting Stars 585 O Holy Night 586 Only The Good Die Young 587 One 588 Silent Night 589 Piano Man 590 Sexy And I Know It 591 Sgt. Pepper's Lonley Hearts Club Band 592 Pretending 593 Physical 594 Danny's Song 595 Stand 596 The Final Countdown 597 You Can't Always Get What You Want 598 You Are Woman, I Am Man 599 You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 600 Your Song 601 Say 602 No Air 603 Need You Now 604 No Surrender 605 Piece Of My Heart 606 Thong Song 607 Blurred Lines 608 Another One Bites The Dust 609 I Was Here 610 Bella Notte 611 I Know What Boys Like 612 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 613 Glory Days 614 Friday 615 More Than Words 616 Waiting For A Girl Like You 617 Welcome Christmas 618 You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) 619 You Give Love A Bad Name 620 We Built This City 621 Whistle 622 Who Are You Now? 623 You And I / You And I 624 Take Care Of Yourself 625 Tell Me Something Good 626 The Rain In Spain 627 Can't Fight This Feeling 628 Jingle Bell Rock 629 In Your Eyes 630 Hello 631 Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) 632 I Only Have Eyes For You 633 Jingle Bells 634 Joy To The World 635 I Wanna Sex You Up 636 Fight For Your Right (To Party) 637 Feliz Navidad 638 I'm So Excited 639 Uninvited 640 The Living Years 641 The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) 642 O Christmas Tree 643 One Love (People Get Ready) 644 Ohio 645 Only Child 646 Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love 647 My Sharona 648 Dance The Night Away 649 Poison 650 My Cup 651 Not The End 652 What It Feels Like For A Girl 653 Listen To Your Heart 654 Little Drummer Boy 655 One Hand, One Heart 656 Bein' Green 657 Big Spender 658 Billionaire 659 Ben 660 Gimme More 661 Burning Up 662 Hey Ya! 663 Hey, Soul Sister 664 Baby Got Back 665 Blue Christmas 666 Bohemian Rhapsody 667 Far From Over 668 The Trolley Song 669 Starlight Express 670 Whip It 671 You're The Top 672 Red Solo Cup 673 Next To Me 674 Rolling In The Deep 675 Rainbow Connection 676 La Cucaracha 677 (You're) Having My Baby 678 A Little Less Conversation 679 Happy 680 Highway To Hell 681 Same Love 682 Rock Lobster 683 Girls Just Want To Have Fun
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jostenneil · 4 years ago
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idk why but whenever you mention misery romance I always laugh because I’m like that. Whenever I read a romance shojo manga I always look forward to the conflict and the different ways lovers hurt each other. as much as I like wholesome couples, I like things to be shaken up a bit. Do you have any favorite miserable romance pairs?
just going to do short summaries with these since i have quite a few  
tesadora and perri / the lumatere chronicles / when they were kids he tried to drown her and she carved a permanent scar into his forehead bc their peoples were severely at odds with each other and there’s just. so much misery it’s so good “we’d do cruel things to each other” and every time i evaporate 
eugenides and irene / the queen’s thief / enjoyment of this series rests entirely upon going into it unspoiled but here’s a banger quote “i have been living with your grief and your rage and your pain ever since. i don’t think - i don’t think i had felt anything for a long time before that, but those emotions at least were familiar to me” 
narnie and jude / jellicoe road / what happens when your parents die in a car crash and then all that’s left is your brother and the three friends you make except over the years everyone leaves or dies and what’s left is just you and a boy who can’t forgive each other for surviving 
marco and connie / gangsta. / sometimes love is leaving the mercenary life behind bc seeing a girl cry after you kill her parents rattles you to your core and you spend every waking day after resolving to do better and she’s got anger and hope enough to hold you to that standard, to “a terrible curse to carry” 
sasuke and sakura / naruto / we’ve already been over this but i think het hero worship is sexy! love it when girls are hopelessly in love with traumatized boys who make them cry and they have to suck it up and keep moving forward all the while their heart is breaking 
bruce and talia / dc / extension of the above! sometimes romance is you and the dashing, brooding hero who swoops in to save you on occasion but is too emotionally unreliable to follow through all the way, so you save yourself and shelter yourself within the walls of your own heart despite the yearning and aching and knowledge that he loves you eternally
arata and taichi / chihayafuru / when the new kid in town is poor and you make fun of his pants and push him into a puddle but then somehow get roped into this weird freaking card game he’s insanely good at and now all you want to do for the next six years is be good enough for him to look at you as an equal. “a boy who showed me his cowardly side” haunts me
kou and aoba / cross game / ah, the inevitable crash and fall into love with a boy whom your sister loved first, before she drowned in a river over the summer at the age of ten, and you said to yourself, i’m going to hate this boy forever, i’m going to hate him for taking away my time with my sister. and then you don’t. you don’t hate him even a little bit 
nate and elena / uncharted / i know tlou is the more famous nd game but frankly idgaf bc no one can give me on-again-off-again trauma drama like these two do. the way she almost died so they got married and then he LEFT? and then they got married again and he decided to go on another suicidal treasure hunt that also nearly broke their marriage like this is coney island by taylor swift ft. the national but as a video game saga 
kakashi and obito / naruto / sorry to bring another naruto ship into this list but i simply feel like people die so often on the hill of narusasu when they don’t even come close to these two. like obito gave kakashi his freaking eye as he was dying and then kakashi killed the love of his life, and obito still had enough grace to go for the kill with minato first instead 
the mcs’ polycule / wolf’s rain / there’s just a perfect element of misery romance in being a wolf who honors your friends by snapping their necks when they’re on the verge of death and want to go out of the world without suffering for long. a tragic tenderness if you will 
suou and munakata / k project / i will be honest i hardly even remember the plot of this anymore it’s been like a decade since i watched it but you know when you’re constantly fighting each other to the death and one of you dies in the other’s arms, that’s always great misery romance. also spoilers ig lol now you gotta figure out which one dies :)
tsumugu and chisaki / a lull in the sea / when all of your friends and family are frozen underwater bc of the whims of a sea god! and you are the only one left on the surface! and a boy and his family take you in and you fall for him all the while but your heart resists and resists bc there’s a boy whom you love still left under the sea, not growing up while you do! and the boy on the surface loves you and waits for you anyway! GOD
kurogane and fai / clamp / every other clamp series has tragic gays but imo they are the best like there’s just so many blood pacts made between these two. it’s always a unique brand of misery romance when you give away parts of yourself to ensure another person’s survival and all they can do for a while is loathe you for it, bc they don’t believe themselves worthy of surviving 
my head kinda hurts now but this is like a starter pack ig. maybe one day i can come up with more gjfkldhlgf
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ecclais-fouoras · 4 years ago
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Sometimes moving on is good
Chapter 3&4
The two of you met often for drinks and chatting, while you exchanged a few messages.
You : Hey😝✌️ what is up ? I haven't heard from you today, is everything ok? Btw i finished your recipe but the cake 🍰 was not looking good😭🤣
Diane : hi, sorry i was busy with work. what happened with the cake? Oh i know you must have overcooked it, i used to do that all the time at first. What does btw mean? And why are there little faces on my phone ?
You :🤣oh honey...those are smileys you use that to had emotions to texts. AND Btw means by the way, everybody knows that diane.
Diane: haha ! Well I don't, anyways I finally finished the book you handed me last time.
You: OMG ALREADY??? IN 3 DAYS ! did you at least like it?
Diane: i did especially because of Jude’s past. Oh, and then Jude’s present, because sometimes life just keeps knocking people down, even when they’ve already suffered more than anyone ever should.
You: yes ohh it was so sad. I almost shead a tear. Which does not happen often !
Especially when reading... But I'm glad you liked it.😘
Diane: well i did the writing was really good, and the plot was interesting, what do you mean especially when you read ?
You: well... I always have trouble connecting to a book, especially when I have to read it, AND WHEN IT'S LONNNG🤣
In all seriousness I just have a hard time reading for as long as I can remember.
Diane: oh...why is that??
You: well I was diagnosed with An Oral and Written Language Learning Disability with impairment in reading and a specific reading comprehension deficit years ago. So basically my brain don't wORK.
Diane: i apologise that was intrusive of me
You: oh no don't worry I'm fine with talking about it, it's not that big of a deal, it doesn't stop me from messing up your cake🤭😭.
Diane: 😂 you'll do better next time don't worry. Do you know what are the causes ? You don't have to answer. It's just, well medicine interests me a lot.
You: apparently an abnormal cortical development, that occurs before or during the sixth month of fetal brain development, may have Abnormal cell formation known as ectopias, and more rarely, vascular micro-malformations, and microgyrus.
It's all big words but yeah those are the latest studies about dyslexia sais.
Diane: oh okay, i never thought it was actually physical, it's good to know
you: me neither until I searched it ! Even if I had it🤣. Sorry i gotta go I'm gonna be late for work !
Diane : sure, have fun! well Don't have fun...you know what I mean
Goodbye y/n.
When you got back from work you directly went on your phone hoping that diane sent you a message just so you'd have an excuse to talk to her. You had just seen her a few days before but somehow you still missed her, and little did you know she was missing you too.
After a few weeks you grew closer, and she invited you over for lunch or brunch, but tonight, you were going out. Together. You had asked her on a date a few days before.
"Hi Diane ? Yes it's me I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me on Friday ?...mmm...yes well I know a great place next to the cinema... Totally we can go out to the movies and then diner...what do you want to see ? Okay, cool see you then."
Yes, you were neighbors, you could've asked her in person, but you didn't want to be rejected face to face, it seamed easier to do on the phone.
And tonight was the night, the movie didn't start until a few hours, but you had already started getting ready. You picked up a nice outfit, Classy but casual, and put on just a little make up.
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On the other side of the road diane was also starting to prepare, she was -not gonna lie- overall a bit anxious, why did you ask her out? Was it a date ? No it couldn't be, you'd never think of her like this. She was lucky to call you her friend, maybe you didn't even think of her as a friend ? God I'm so silly i got carried away, she probably doesn't even like me back. She was completely overwhelmed with thoughts, her breathing was shallow and she could not get in the right headspace as she put on her outfit.
She didn't notice that it was almost time, and that you were going to show up anytime to pick her up.
She offered to drive but you said you'd like too since you worked from home and didn't drive your car out often.
next thing she knows, her doorbell rings and as she goes down the stairs you hear her say "coming !" in a soft voice.
"I'm so sorry I barely even finished getting ready... Here come in I just have to find my shoes and I'll be right there." She looked so beautiful in her bordeaux dress that you didn't register her words.
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"...o.. okay.." you manage to say while eyeing her up and down. Even if she didn't seem to know, she was beyond beautiful and you were going to make sure she did.
"You look.." you couldn't finish you sentence before she started rambling and letting all of her anxieties taking over her speach.
-" what too much, oh no i should have never put on that, sorry i thought it was cute but I'm too old for this and ugl...
She didn't have time to finish you just cut her off;
-"NO ! No i ment you look beautiful like this"
You couldn't help but feel attracted to her right now, but you put it aside, she didn't like women obviously?
-"Oh...wait really ?" You could feel the shakiness in her tone
"Yes...of course you look cute, and the dress is amazing on you. Don't even worry about it you are a very beautiful women diane."
You said in a firm voice that made her knees go weak.
"Well we should get going sweetie, do you have your shoes?"
"Yes..let's go" she closed the door blushing widely as you opened up the door to your car.
You bowed as you said "Milady" in a formal tone
She giggled softly and it was the most precious sound in the universe.
The car drive went by in a comfortable silence as just the soft music and a bit of humming could be heard.
You invited her to the movies, she offered the popcorn and choose your seats.
It wasn't necessarily a scary movie, but when things got a little tense, you could see her clench the armrest, so you scooted over and offered her your shoulder so she could hold on to you. After a bit of esitaton she accepted your embrace and the two of you cuddled together while the movie played. She gasped and then laughed at herself a few times.
When the credits started to roll none of you wanted to move, but you broke the silence and told her;
"As much as I'd like to stay here and cuddle you... I think the dude standing there with the bucket needs us to leave... Also the reservation is in ten minutes."
She sighed softly in defeat, gathered her bag and started to get up.
She rose too quickly and felt dizzy as her legs started to buckle. But you cought her hips before she could fall.
"It's okay...I got you", you said softly in her ear.
"Are you good? Can you walk" you asked as you still held her hips firmly. Which send a shiver down her spine, and a tingle down further to the both of you.
"Yeah.. I'm good thank you I just got up too fast".
You both went to the restaurant, the waiter took your orders and you both started to chat about anything and everything, the movies, life, cake, and even your delicious pastries.
"I was NOT scared !?"
-"YES you totally were ! you clang on to me the whole time I heard you whimper at Thé screen everytime there was something scary on."
-"sorry about that..."
-"why are you apologizing ? If it had bothered me i would have told you so..."
-"oh..okay, but I wasn't scared, just sometimes the movie was making me anxious ! I mean like that part in the stairs...brr..gave me chills."
-"alright alright fine..you weren't scared...I'll give it to you.. just because your cute"
She nearly choked at your comment and became as red as your wine.
"It's okay you don't have to be shy with me."
-"Do you really think I'm cute?"
-"Yeah, already told you you were cute today; and well not just tonight"
-"thank you y/n"
"Anytime diane, you are beautiful i want you to know that"
She didn't want to cry in front of you but you saw the tear she was desperately trying to hide run down her cheek, and got worried.
"Oh diane...are you okay ? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable... please look at me" you moved closer to wipe the tears off of her face, and gently stroked her cheek.
"I'm fine y/n, just it's been a long time since anybody called me beautiful"
-"Well that's a shame then, and I'll make sure you hear it a lot more."
"You don't have to do that... I don't need to hear it"
-"You do. And you should be hearing it, i don't know why it stopped but I'll make sure it doesn't ever again"
She sobbed at your words again
"Oh No...sweet girl don't cry.. please... you're okay diane, I'm here always, I'm your friend"
She calmed down a bit, and felt butterflies in her stomach at what you said.
-"You are? You mean you actually want to be ?"
"OF course silly, i wouldn't have invited you to diner if I didn't at least like you diane."
Just after that sentence left your mouth the waiter arrived to pick up your plates, you breathed out 'thank you' as he left.
"You know, I don't understand why you didn't think I liked you, at leaaaast a little ?"
You joked as you took a sip of your glass.
"Well.. I've been alone for so long now...I don't know...i thought you were just hanging out with me because you didn't have a choice...".
You were saddened by her words
"Diane..I... if I had known you felt that way I would have said something a long time ago ! I don't want you to think for a second that i am here out of pity or because I got nothing better to do. I'm here cause I wanted to have a nice evening out with you."
You said as you put your hand on top of hers, when she didn't draw back you started to gently stroke it.
"Would you two like some dessert ?"
You pulled away to take the menu form the waitress.
"Do you want some dessert diane? They have apple pie, and tiramisu?"
-"i don't know...I'm not that hungry for both but i don't want to choose."
-"we can share you know"
-"huh? What do you mean"
-"well, i take the apple pie, you take the tiramisu, and we split"
-"are you sure? I wouldn't want to bother y..."
You cut her off before she could go any further.
"Yes I'm sure diane"
"..o..okay then"
"Are YOU sure??" You asked in a funny tone
She giggled and nodded.
You asked the waiter for both and shared when they arrived. After fighting a bit over who would pay you told diane that you had asked her out and therefore you should pay, "and if you want to pay so bad... you'll pay next time."
Both of you were full, you had spent an incredible night, it was dark but you offered diane a quick walk around the park, and she agreed. The two of you made your way back to the car after laughing your asses of and getting even closer than before.
You drove her back to your...her house. And before she entered her home you softly said;
"Well diane, i had an amazing night, we have to do that again sometime."
-"yes we do, i had so much fun too"
-"And I ment everything i said tonight,.."
For a few moments you just looked at each other, your gaze met her lips and she thought about how sweet they would taste before thinking 'who am i kidding she'll never kiss me, get those thoughts out of your head diane'
Before you could process what was happening, both of your bodies grew closer and your eyes shifted between both of your lips you kissed her, softly. it was a calm and quiet kiss. You broke off for air and looked into her eyes. You caressed her cheeks and put your hand on the small of her back before kissing her again, she moaned inside your lips and you took the chance to put your tongue in her mouth. Her hands flew to your neck and she kissed you back.
After a few minutes of making out you pulled away, you didn't really want to break the moment but you asked
"Diane... it's late i should go back home..."
She looked a hurt and a bit sad while she let you go.
"No don't.. I don't regret kissing you Diane don't worry. I just want to take this slow"
"Oh alright I thought you didn't... nevermind. Go home y/n, it's getting cold out here" she looked down at her hands and
"..you don't regret it don't you?"
"No i enjoyed it" she said blushing slightly.
"Good... I'll see you tomorrow then... Good night diane"
you kissed her sweetly again before leaving and you both smiled like teenagers who just had their first date.
-"Sweet dreams y/n"
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lyss-alane · 4 years ago
Text
Just A Man
Word count: 2288
Summary: Dean isn't able to hide from the reader anymore. “Enemies” to lovers.
Pairing: Dean x reader
Warnings: ANGST, hurt Dean, self-loathing Dean, language, 18+, drinking, age gap, Season 14 spoilers!! 
A/N: I wrote this fic in one sitting, its literally my first fanfiction. Warning, probably cringe writing!!! but its okay because I plan to improve as I write more. Please be patient with my skills, but I do hope you enjoy :)
All mistakes are mine
This is a work of fiction, must be 18+ to read
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Dean was in his room, looking through old pictures again. This is where he found himself the safest, in his home with what’s left of his family around him.
He was flipping through some old polaroids he found under the seat of baby along time ago. There were pictures of Sam as a baby, Dean as a kid. There was some of John and Mary together, laughing. His favorite was the one of Mary holding Sammy, she was smiling and her face was full of love.
He had newer ones too that he charished just the same. One of him and Sam outside of Bobby’s house, working on some old Truck. There was one of Bobby drinking a beer and reading a book on that old wornout sofa of his. And then there was one of her, sitting out side on the porch swing. She had a cup of coffee in her hand and her dog Kansas sitting next to her.
Her head was thrown back in laughter because of something Sam said while taking the picture. Those two were always close. Y/N lived at Bobby’s ever sense she was a little girl. She kept the old man alive, and she became extremely close to Sam, they were the same age and attended some of school together.
Holding the picture in his hand Dean found himself smiling again. He always did when looking at her. No matter how much the two fought or disagreed, Dean couldn’t help but love the girl.
Of course she’d never shown any interest in him. Dean was way to damaged to be blessed with someone as graceful as her. The two faught like cats and dogs, and he was pretty sure she hated his guts.
Y/N stuck around with the boys once Bobby died. She was more than grateful to move around with her best friend, but the eldest Winchester kept her on her toes. Everything the green eyed man did seemed to piss Y/N off. She cared deeply for him of course, but it seemed like no matter what she did it was never enough for him.
Whether is was messing up a hunt, not following orders, or something as simple as forgetting to buy his favorite shampoo when she was on a supply run. She quickly learned to keep her distance. Dean was hard on her, but Sam always said it was how he shows he cared.
They were aquantances, not friends.
That was until last week,
Mary died.
She died tragically, everyone who knew her was hurting, but Dean was down right scary. It scared Y/N to see him like this.
Beilive it or not she knew the man inside and out, she knew how good his heart was and all the horrible shit he went through. She loved him, she always had. He was difficult and grouchy most of the time but she loved him all the more.
She knew Mary’s death hit him harder than anything had before, of course it did, she was his mother.
She decided she was going to make dinner for the boys, they hadn’t had much time to do anything lately with everything going on and a home cooked meal could never hurt.
Dean of course didn’t come out if his room to eat.
Y/n knew he needed time, but lately all he did was stay in that room drinking himself to death. She didn’t want to overstep, but seeing him like this hurt. The last time he acted this way was when they lost bobby, and those memories were something y/n couldn’t think about.
“you think he’s going to be okay?” She asked Sam, biting on her nail.
She was putting a plate of food together to bring to Dean, she normally didn’t show so much care for the man, but lately all she could do was worry. Worry and help out how ever possible.
She never let herself get close to Dean, she already had feeling for the guy and they were hardly even friends. She tried to keep as much distance as she could, but right now she knew the boys needed her, and she wanted to do as much as she could to help.
“ to be honest, I don’t know.” Sam said. His face looked exhausted and his shoulders were slauched. He was picking at the food on his plate.
She hated seeing her friend this way. The Winchester were the strongest people she knew and right now it seemed as if they were breaking.
“ well, he’s gotta eat something” she said, grabbing a water from the fridge and the plate she had made for him. “and so do you ”. She said passing Sam and placing a small kiss on his head.
She hated how much it bothered her to see Dean like this. It literally made her stomach hurt, she was worrying so much. He was never good at talking about his feeling, and Y/N was used to that, but when he shut down completely that scared her the most.
“Dean” she knocked softly on his door “ I brought food”
He was passed out with a beer in his hand, face laying flat on his desk. His head felt like it was going to explode if he opened his eyes but he heard someone’s voice, it sounded soft and quit.
“Dean”
He slowly picked his head up off the table and whipped his face in his hands. He looked like he’d been sleeping for days.
He turned around to find the voice and saw Y/N peaking her head in the door. Her beautiful features fixed with concern. Dean just wanted to kiss the worry from her face, whisper everything she ever wanted to hear.
“ Dean, can I come in” she said.
Of course he couldn’t tell her no, the man could never tell her no. Eventhough he felt like he was dying on the inside right now and looked no better on the outside, just seeing her made him smile. 
“Okay” was all he could say, he hated himself for being so weak, for trying so hard to keep her at a distance but right now he could feel his resolve falter.
“ I made you food, you should eat” she said softly, slowly making her way towards him.
His eyes were on her, but it seemed as if he was looking through her. They were puffy and red around the rims. She immediately felt like she was overstepping, but there was no way in hell she was leaving him like this.
She was close enough to him now to smell the stinch of alcohol coming from his every pore. Her stomach was In knots and she felt like she could cry seeing him this way.
“Please eat” she said
“M’not hungry” he slurred.
She slowly made her way towards his desk and put the food next to him despite his protest.
“De-“
“ I said, m’not hungry” he said roughly, pushing the plate away from him
Great, now he was drunk and pissed.
He was stairing down at his lap now, his shoulders slumped in defeat she could have sworn she saw them.. trembling?
Was he crying?
She immediately froze, not knowing what to do. Dean Winchester was crying, he was drunk off his ass, he looked like a broken man and all she wanted to do was pick him up and make him feel whole again.
“De?” She said.
She gently placed her shaking hand on his shoulder and waited for him to react.
His body quickly jerked when he felt her soft touch. He felt like he couldn’t breath or move, he wanted to talk, to scream at her, to jump up and embrace her, to beg her not to leave him. He couldn’t lose her too, but he did just the opposite, he couldn’t help himself.
“ just go, please” he said, softly at first.
It was as if his mind couldn’t catch up with his body, he just sat there and cried, wanting desperately for her to save him, but he’d never admit he needed saving. 
The two hardly talk, they practically ovoides each other everyday, so why did he feel like she was his life line? He’s always felt this pull towards her, one he could never escape, but he sure as hell tried.
He was hard on the girl, but only because he needed her to be the best she could be. He was in love with her, ever sense he turned twenty one  years old. They were drinking outside in the middle of Bobby’s old junkyard, he had snuk her and Sam some beer.
She was the only person to give him a gift that birthday. A kiss. Small and gentle, it wasn’t even on the lips but it was still a gift, one that he held onto forever. He told her everything that night. How much Sammy had hurt him after leaving for college, how much he resented for being so obsessed. He even told her about his mom, about Hey Jude and how she would cut the crust off his sandwiches. And he fell for her, hard and fast, and it scared him shitless. 
So he pushed her away, he fucked everyone in sight and he made her crazy ever chance he got, because she was only going to leave too right ? 
but here she was, waiting on him, keeping him alive everyday by just being there, and it made him so angry, because he knew no matter how hard he tried the girl would never leave his mind. she had his heart wrapped around her finger and she didn’t even know it. He was so fresturated, so mad at himself he couldn’t help but take it out on her.
“ hey I’m here” she said
She slowly brought her hands to wrap around his shoulder, only for him to roughly push off.
“ cab you just leave me the fuck alone.” he groaned, quickly standing up from the chair.
“ why the hell are you here Y/N” he yelled, pointing his finger at her “ what makes you think I want to talk to you, out of all people right now”
His voice was shaking, he put his hands In his hair pulling roughly at it. She just stood there, her mouth quivering. She could see his eyes were red and puffy, his jaw was clenched and fresh tears were making their way down his cheeks. She knew he probably didn’t want to talk to her, but what was she suppose to do, let him slowly drift away one by one. She loved him and even though he was a hard ass, she knew he was a good man.
“ God Y/N” he said, burring his face in his hands “ why are you here, why haven’t you left” voice barely above a whisper.
She had tears running down her face now, he really hated her this much? Her body didn’t want to move from him, but she managed to force her self towards the door.
“I-im sorry Dean” she said shaking.
His head quickly snapped up to look at her, like he could hear her broken heart in her voice. His face immediately softened once he saw the hurt in her eyes. Her once hopeful eyes now sheed with tears.
“ No, you don’t understand” he said sighing, like he couldn’t express how he was feeling. “ I treat you like shit everyday, I- I push you away, God I hate myself for it.” He said clenching his jaw.
“WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE, why haven’t you ran away yet Y/N. you’re nothing but good to me and I return the favor by-by hurting you?” He let out a sarcastic laugh “ I hate myself everyday for the way I treat you Y/N” his voice was shaky now, his body was stiff and it looked like it was hard from him to breath.
“ I’m sorry, I'm sorry I push you away, I'm sorry I beat you down everyday ” he said looking down at his lap. Letting out a shaky breath. “ I care for you so much Y/N and... it scares me sweetheart”
She knew now, she understood everything now. Deep down she always knew, he was scared, scared to be close to someone again, scared to lose another friend. She knew Dean Winchester and she knew he was a good man, an amazing man, but he was still just a man. There’s only so much hurt, so much betrayal one man can go through before they break. She just hopes she can put him back together.
She slowly made her way towards him, gently putting her hand on his face. He pushed his face towards her, finally feeling her touch actually brought him to tears. He knew there was no stopping himself now.
She slowly made her way into his lap, wrapping two small arms around his neck and letting his head fall into her shoulder. She held him as tight as she could, and could feel his body starting to relax.
Embracing each other without saying a word. His arms found their way tightly around her, securing her in place as if silently telling her to never leave him, that he needs this, that he needs her.
“I’m here” she said, her voice shaking but her grip around him staying strong.
He let out the strained breath he’d been holding in, his shoulders falling in defeat. He couldn’t help himself but to fall apart in her arms, it was home. The only place he felt safe and secure enough to truly be venerable. 
“You don't have t’ do this” he whispered, he couldn't comprehend why she was so nice to him, after everything. 
He slowly lifted his head to rest his forehead on hers. He needed her to know how sorry he was, to know how much she meant to him. He cautiously put his lips on hers, waiting for her to back away, to yell or call him stupid.
But here she was, crushing her lips against his, kissing him like she needed air and he was her breath. Holding him together, the most selfless woman.
And he felt like a shell of a man without her arms around him.
He knew then
She was his home and he could no longer run away.
***
YES I KNOW VERY CLICHÉ!! Im trying to improve everyday 😬😬😬
I would like to tag some amazing writers who inspire me everyday, I wouldn’t be into fanfiction if it wasn’t for some of them.
Some I talk to, and some I do not but nonetheless I can only wish one day too be as amazing and talented as they are!
So thanks to them for giving me some inspiration!!!
@jay-and-dean @sunlightdances @roonyxx @writingkeepsmewhole @jawritter @talesmaniac89 @hardcoresupernatural @laphirablack @crossbowking @ne-gans
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