#but damn i don't think i am ready to see those deaths again

[manawari]

Thinking about this Maze Runner AU and I'm thinking about extending it (and change a few things, as well as following the original series), maybe?

Of course, Sung Jin-woo obviously is in Thomas' place as the main character and the person (Greenie) who showed up in The Box. He's incredibly confused and freaks out the moment he sees a person. He then remembers his name, which shocks the guys around him since usually, a Glader won't remember one's name within a daylight. Everyone becomes suspicious of him, yet a kind Glader named Yoo Jin-ho shows him around and teaches Jin-woo about the ways in the Glade and how he must survive.

Hwang Dong-suk (Ben) attacks Jin-woo after he had been stung by a Griever during his run in the Maze. He chases Jin-woo until they're in the center of the Glade where the Gladers find the chaos and rush to stop Hwang Dong-suk. Lim Tae-gyu soon comes to a decision to banish Hwang Dong-suk, though Hwang Dong-soo (bear in mind that nobody else here remembers their memories so we can say Dong-soo and Dong-suk are friends, not knowing they are brothers), disapproves it and argues that Jin-woo is the one who must be punished. Lim Tae-gyu has to uphold his role as a leader in this and threatens to slit his throat when it's clear that Hwang Dong-suk is no longer human; this can spice things up as Dong-soo holds a burning grudge against Jin-woo and his future actions will eventually lead him to his death by the time the Gladers have escaped the Maze.

In the fic, Cha Hae-in came before Jin-woo, but if we're gonna follow what happened in the original story, then Cha Hae-in would come a day after Jin-woo. Then again, the Glade is shook and everyone believes W.I.C.K.E.D is fooling them and disrupting their peace. In the book, Teresa and Thomas were telepathic and had formed a bond while in the Slammer, realizing they have known each other before The Maze; I'm thinking about inserting this plot-point on Jin-woo and Hae-in. They'll share telepathy! And in the movie, which is on the funny side, Cha Hae-in chooses violence and starts throwing rocks at everyone from the top of the Homestead; Jin-woo has to be the one who calms her down and gently takes the knife Jin-ho has likely given her. And like Jin-woo, Hae-in has fragments of her memories and has brought along two syringes in her pocket, which came in handy when Lim Tae-gyu gets stung later in the story when the Grievers wrecked the Glade.

Roles:

First-in-command (Leader) — Lim Tae-gyu

Second-in-command — Choi Jong-in

Runners — Lim Tae-gyu, Cha Hae-in, & Sung Jin-woo [Hwang Dong-suk, former]

Builders — Baek Yoon-ho & Hwang Dong-soo

Cook — Yoo Jin-ho

Med-jack — Min Byung-gyu

Track-hoe — Yoo Jin-ho

Blood-houser — Kang Tae-shik

Gardeners — Yoo Jin-ho & Cha Hae-in

Slopper — Sung Jin-woo

Bricknick — Hwang Dong-soo

Bagger — Go Kyuh-wan

Map-makers — Choi Jong-in & Lim Tae-gyu

As for Group B, I'd say it includes the rest of the female characters in Solo Leveling. Park Hee-jin will be the first-in-command of the group while Eun-seok will likely be in Aris' place.

In hindsight, Woo Jin-chul was supposed to be part of W.I.C.K.E.D, but I decided against it and made him part of the Right Arm, which will probably make sense since they're the good guys™ and Song Chi-yul will be the leader. Go Gun-hee will be the one who's part of W.I.C.K.E.D and his role is the good version of A.D. Janson. But the actual A.D. Janson still exists.

Other thoughts:

— Teresa is labeled as a Traitor, right? And who's in her place? CHA HAE-IN. However, this can be debatable since the two female characters are different, but. . . What if? What if Cha Hae-in did it for the sake of her friends? What if she was manipulated into thinking it was for the better good? What if all she wanted was to get her memories back? What if she got threatened that Jin-woo would be dead if she won't betray him?

— what if Jin-ah is alive all along?

— what if Min Byung-gyu is not an immune?

— Sung Il-hwan is alive too. He's part of the Right Arm, though he's not revealing himself to Jin-woo. Kyung-hye is the one who died and Jin-ah became an experiment or an employee in W.I.C.K.E.D whom Hae-in later met.

— if we push through Hae-in becoming the "traitor" then Jin-woo will resent and hate her and Hae-in won't apologize for doing what she thought was right. JINHAE ANGST!

— Tae-gyu and Yoon-ho are the ones who use Glader slangs the most.

— Jin-woo treating Jin-ho like a brother; similarly to how he should've treated Jin-ah if he remembers her.

— Cha Hae-in is the one who solved the Maze.

— Choi Jong-in and Baek Yoon-ho tend to argue a lot. This plotline will never change.

— Eun-seok remembers Byung-gyu, though he's hesitant of telling the truth, thinking Byung-gyu might not believe that he was his childhood friend whom he got separated from due to The Flare.

— before their memories being wiped out, young Yoon-ho, Jong-in, Tae-gyu, Byung-gyu became friends with Hae-in and Jin-woo. The six of them would often sneak out.

— young!Yoon-ho being heavily traumatized as young!Minho in The Fever Code and that includes fighting the nurses and getting tied to a chair where a Griever almost kills him, sent by a scientist for his attempts of escaping.

— Lee Ju-hee having a telepathic link to Eun-seok, Jin-woo, and Hae-in too, which she hasn't realized until the four of them are gathered into one place. That's when her memories flush in. She's also the only one (besides Eun-seok, though he needed some time to understand) who doesn't resent Cha Hae-in.

— Lee Ju-hee secretly leaves the group in the middle of the night to join W.I.C.K.E.D in hopes to develop a cure. She may or may not left a note.

— Woo Jin-chul leading both groups the best way he can, as well as protecting the ones who are not Immunes. He's also not an Immune, yet manages to survive throughout everything.

— Woo Jin-chul formerly working for W.I.C.K.E.D and used to have a hard time gaining Song Chi-yul's trust until he revealed all secrets he knew from the organization.

— the ones who successfully escaped the Maze are the S-Ranks + Yoo Jin-ho. The rest are obviously dead or killed.

[steddiealltheway]

For some reason, Steve and Eddie do not know how to greet each other. Maybe it's because their friendship is somewhat new, and they both don't know how to outright say, "How the hell am I supposed to say hello?"

So, it just kind of becomes a thing between the two of them to almost rapid-fire greetings until they land on a mutual one. And usually... it takes them a while.

This time is no exception.

Eddie sees Steve and lets his heart do a little flip that he knows isn't just nerves from their little greeting thing, but eventually, he'll learn how to push those feelings down. He just can't help it when Steve always looks like a- like.... okay, he's hot, and Eddie's brain goes to mush whenever he's around him.

Speaking of being around him...

"Hey!" Eddie says throwing his arms out wide for a hug while the kids walk around them.

Steve counters him by thrusting his hand forward going for a handshake while saying, "Hey, man!"

They both laugh at their awkward greeting and move on to the next one. For some reason, Eddie goes for a bow, and Steve does Eddie's signature devil horns while sticking his tongue out which really should not be so damn attractive.

Then, Eddie stands up straight and goes for a high five while Steve goes for a fist bump. "Almost had it," Steve says with a wide smile.

"We'll get it on this next one," Eddie states. Then, he moves his elbow forward as Steve does his little finger wave.

"I definitely should've seen that coming. That's on me," Steve says running a hand through his hair.

"No worries, man. But I won't lie, I'm starting to run out of greetings, and they're about to turn weird," Eddie admits, but this is usually the fun of this game. Somehow they always get to some mutually weird greeting that no human would actually ever do.

So, Eddie prepares himself when Steve gets a rare mischievous look in his eye and asks, "Ready?"

Eddie nods then jumps into the air as Steve raises his foot up, luckily not kicking him but getting fairly close.

"Were you trying to kick me?" Eddie asks with a laugh.

"Was going for a footfive," Steve replies with a smile.

That smile is going to be the death of Eddie one of these days. And for some reason, with that thought on his mind, Eddie suddenly remembers that sometimes people kiss each other on the cheeks as a greeting, and wouldn't that be funny?

"Ready?" Eddie asks, excited for his plan.

"Ready," Steve replies.

Unexpectedly, Steve steps forward as Eddie does the same. But Eddie doesn't chicken out of his plan. So, he quickly leans forward, but Steve must entirely misread him because suddenly he is kissing Eddie. Like... full-on kissing him. On the lips. With his hands gently cupping his face.

When he pulls away, Eddie is still a bit in shock, but Steve just raises his hand in a high five and excitedly yells, "We found a greeting!" Like they usually do as if he did not just kiss him.

So, Eddie does the only thing he can think of and celebrates with him as if nothing life-changing just happened.

When Steve walks away, Eddie can't help but get stuck on the fact that they're going to have to go through the same process when saying goodbye again. Is he allowed to test his luck?

He glances around and realizes that no one else witnessed their little moment, having gotten used to their antics long ago. But maybe when everyone is leaving and they're around the two, Eddie won't be so lucky. If anything, he can say he was going for a cheek kiss.

So, the night goes on, and Eddie tries as hard as he can to forget the kiss.

It does not work at all.

And before he knows it, people are starting to leave, and Steve is even looking at him expectantly. So, Eddie walks up to him and says, "Bye, man." And before he can even think of a way to say goodbye to cover how much he wants to kiss Steve again, Steve is already leaning in.

This time, Eddie easily meets him in the middle to properly kiss him which gives him butterflies in his stomach until he hears Dustin say, "What the fuck?"

Steve and Eddie jump apart breaking the kiss, but Steve quickly defends them. "We found our new greeting!"

Eddie thinks he might die on the spot. This is going to be a recurring thing? Jesus H. Christ. Steve is going to be the death of him.

"Good for you?" Max says as she walks out the door clearly weirded out but Eddie thinks she could care less.

Everyone else kind of dismisses it as well, but Dustin just stands there flabbergasted.

Steve takes a small step forward with his hands on his hips and his eyebrows raised. “You got a problem, Henderson?” Steve asks, more fearful than accusatory.

“No!” Dustin squeals then calmly continues, “No. it’s just I…” he trails off and looks between the two before shaking his head. “I don’t want to see any tongue,” he states.

“Gross, I would never in front of you kids!” Steve says shoving him out the door while ruffling his hair.

“No promises!” Eddie shouts after him, but then it hits him that Steve just said he would make out with him with the kids not around… and right now the kids are all gone.

Oh shit.

The door closes behind Dustin, and Eddie knows that he needs to leave the Harrington house. Especially because he’s the kids’ ride home.

He ducks his head, letting some strands fall in front of his face, and says, "Goodbye, Steve." He takes a few steps toward the door but is stopped by Steve's hand on his shoulder.

"Eddie?"

"Yeah?" Eddie asks, sounding a little too hopeful.

Steve just steps in front of him and cups his face. "This okay?"

Eddie melts into the touch and grabs Steve's hips. "More than okay."

He's not sure who moves first, but Steve is pinned against the door, and Eddie fulfills his secret wishes of taking Steve apart as he learns that Steve wasn't lying when he said no tongue only in front of the kids.

There's a loud knock on the door, and Dustin is suddenly yelling, "Hurry up in there! Some of us have a curfew!"

So, Steve and Eddie reluctantly pull apart, but Eddie can't help but kiss him one more time and wish him a good night.

In the car, the kids grill Eddie to answer when the hell they started dating, but Eddie assures them that they're not. Then, they all take bets on how long it will be, and Eddie chimes in that he's pretty sure he's not supposed to hear their bets.

(Secretly, he wants to make El's bet of two weeks come true.)

Eddie knows it's just a fluke though. Steve is probably just kissed starved after his series of failed dates, and Eddie is just an outlet.

It's pretty depressing when it's put like that but... Eddie is willing to take anything from Steve.

So, he can't be too upset when Steve kisses him the next time he sees him. And the time after that... And the time after that...

But, then it shifts to whenever Steve sees Eddie after he goes in another room, the bathroom, hell, sometimes Steve just says he hasn't looked in his direction in a while and misses him before he swoops in to kiss him.

It shifts even further when Steve starts purposely making excuses to get Eddie alone only to make out with him. They're not even good excuses. He once asks, "Eddie, can you come in here to observe the color of the inside of this door?"

But every time Eddie thinks maybe this is not good for my heart, Steve looks at him sweetly and says, "Hi," before leaning in to kiss him again.

And maybe it would be easier to distinguish whatever the hell this whole greeting thing is if only Steve wasn't acting all lovey-dovey outside of it. He starts insisting on sitting next to Eddie and slinging his arm around his shoulders. He even starts whispering flirty stuff in his ear that makes Eddie turn bright red - he didn't know someone could do that to him.

And the kids are getting worse in the van, insisting that they each have their bet in the bag with it being any day now.

And Eddie knows they're all wrong.

Steve has just hit a rough patch and he's content with using Eddie until the next girl comes along.

Once again… that sounds really bad. But it has to be the only way that Eddie deserves this.

But maybe he should end it before things go too far.

With that in mind, Eddie goes to Steve’s house unprompted and without anyone else for once. He needs to make it clear that a new greeting is needed.

He gets there quickly and rushes to the front door before he can change his mind. He can do this. He can set a boundary.

But then Steve opens the door and his whole face lights up when he sees Eddie. “Finally. I was wondering when it would just be you, but I didn’t want to push it.”

Instead of dodging the kiss once he’s through the doorway, Eddie completely gives in to the way Steve desperately throws himself at him practically devouring him. And Eddie is a very weak man.

Every kiss breaks his will and he begins to wonder why he should say anything and instead just accept anything he can.

Then, Steve starts kissing his jaw and down his neck and Eddie freezes up. Whatever comes next, he definitely does not want it to mean nothing.

Luckily, Steve notices and pulls back. “You okay?” He asks looking him in the eye.

Eddie shakes his head. He’s not. God, he really likes him. But he can’t go any further or this will tear him apart.

“Hey,” Steve says gently. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

Eddie thuds his head against the door and feels so dumb when his eyes start to burn and his bottom lip starts to tremble. “Please don’t hate me when I tell you this.”

“I could never hate you, Eddie.”

Eddie laughs humorlessly. He’s going to flip out when he finds out. “I like you, Steve. As in, I have feelings for you.”

Steve waits a moment, brows furrowed, and Eddie is sure he’s going to kick him out. Instead, he asks, “But…?”

Why is he prompting him? “No but. That’s it,” Eddie states. Maybe Steve just heard him wrong?

“Okay?” Steve says as if it was the most obvious confession in the world. “And why would I hate you when you told me that?”

Eddie’s eyes widen. Does he not get it? “Because I like you! Like… romantically! And I can’t have you kissing me since it means nothing to you and everything to me!” His heart pounds in his chest as Steve takes in what he’s saying.

“Holy shit,” Steve says having the realization.

“Yeah, holy shit.” Eddie thuds his head back against the door again. Hopefully he’ll let him down easy.

“No, I mean holy shit holy shit,” Steve crowds into his space and cups Eddie’s face. “Did you not think I had feelings for you too? Hell, I thought we were like… dating by now.” Steve pulls away and runs a hand through his hair anxiously. “Holy shit,” he mutters in disbelief.

Eddie just stares. “You thought we were dating? Like… you have feelings for me?”

“I thought I made them clear after the second time I kissed you! Why would I make out with you if we were just friends?”

“I don’t know!” Eddie yells back and runs his hands over his face. He laughs. “Oh god, none of the kids will win the bet because we have no idea when we started dating.”

“There’s a bet going on?” Steve asks with a small smile. “What did El say?”

“That’s who I was hoping for! She said we would be dating two weeks from… Oh, that was two weeks ago exactly,” Eddie realizes with a big smile. Maybe she won fair and square after all.

“Want to make it official then since I somehow forgot to?” Steve asks with a big smile.

Eddie pretends to actually think about his answer before considering, “Maybe I should review all the bets first.”

“Eddie,” Steve says exasperated.

“I’m joking. I will be glad to be your boyfriend… if it means El wins the bet.”

“Eddie.”

Eddie can’t help but laugh at Steve’s irritation. He leans forward and easily kisses him. “You’re going to get tired of me so fast, boyfriend,” Eddie can’t help but tack on at the end.

“I’d like to see you try, boyfriend,” Steve replies before kissing him again.

From then on, their greetings only slightly change. In addition to the kiss, they always say some form of, “Hi, boyfriend.” The kids quickly get tired of it, but Steve and Eddie never do.

[ghostofthemost141]

Glass Eyes

Pairing: Ghost x F!Reader, First POV, no use of (Y/N)

Word Count: 1,862

Themes: Angst and more Angst

About: You and Ghost are happily married, except you don't remember that. After a mission accident, you are having amnesia and Ghost wants you to remember the life you have.

Notes: Inspired by a TikTok I saw and decided to put it into word format. Nickname for this one is Birdie. And I have Ghost's thoughts jumbled in here so anything that is like this are his internal thoughts. Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate it! Enjoyy!

“Lieutenant.” 

“Yes?” Ghost called to me with a sour tone. 

“Did I do something wrong?” I ask. 

No, my Birdie. You did not. 

Ghost’s piercing blue eyes stared into my soul. When he came into our meeting room, he didn’t have his usual mask that obscured his entire face. I had never even realized his eyes were blue until he came in today with just a black jacket, his skull balaclava mask that revealed the upper part of his face, gray jeans, and blue converse shoes. Ever since I woke up from my injury, Ghost always looks at me with so much sadness. I don’t understand why he does that. 

“No.” He mumbled. 

I did not understand were this was all coming from. Everytime I ask, Soap, Gaz or Price, they just give me a ‘He is going through a lot right now’ but won’t tell me what. It was all confusing especially since he is giving me kind of the cold shoulder. 

If only you would understand, Birdie. Better yet, remember. 

I could look at Ghost and could see he was thinking, while staring at me. I feel like I should have a talk with him, especially when I haven’t done a damn thing wrong and yet he is treating me like this. He should know that I am one of the best fighters here besides him. Nevertheless, I need to continue this meeting as usual. 

“How is your head?” Gaz asked me. 

“Hurts, but manageable. I have been through worse.” I answer. 

It’s true. You were nearly shot to death when you first started and you still fought with the last bit of bloody strength you had in ya. You’re a fighter. A damn good fighter. 

“I feel like I know what’s coming.” I say. 

“Yeah, we are sending you home temporarily. You’ll be able to come back once your brain is healed.” Price informed me. 

Fuck. 

What a relief. 

“I’ll miss y’all, but orders are orders.” I announce, turning to the guys. 

They were all smiling at me except for Ghost who, once again, had his eyes turned away from me. What the hell? 

“I guess I better go pack my things. Y’all don’t have too much fun in the field without me.” I joke, making the guys laugh. 

“Do you want some help, Birdie?” Soap offered. 

I wanted to accept his offer, but I also wanted to leave the door open for Ghost so I could talk with him. 

“I got it, but thank you Johnny.” I smiled at him and he did it back. 

Even though Ghost has a mysterious charm to him, Soap has always been so kind and friendly to me. He’s also quite the handsome devil. I wonder if he is single, I am just not the one to ask someone about their love life. Disbanding the meeting, I turned and walked to my room, getting ready to pack my belongings. Despite my love for being out in the field, I was lowkey happy to be sent home on temporary leave. Gaz told me that if I were to hit my head again, I could be rendered a vegetable so it’s best for me to be sent home so I can heal and be able to be back on the field. I stepped into my room, feeling a small wave of sadness. 

“I’m gonna miss ya.” I say to myself in my room. 

“You’re never coming back here.” 

“AHH! JESUS!!” I cried out, getting startled by Ghost’s sudden appearance. 

“Ghost, you scared me.” 

“Sorry.” He mumbled. 

As I was catching my breath, I had just realized what he said.

“You’re never coming back here.” 

“What did you mean by that?” 

“By what?” 

“You said I was never coming back here. What did you mean by that?” I ask, seeing he is beating around the bush. 

Ghost’s eyes pierced at me, as if I was his enemy. 

“You won’t be comin’ back here. They are just lettin’ you down easy. A head injury is basically a death sentence for being in the force.” Ghost told me. 

I felt my heart drop, hearing Ghost tell me that. 

“I..I don’t understand.” I mumbled. 

“Of course you don’t.” 

No fucking way. I shot my head up at him and walked up to him. 

“What’s your problem? Ever since I came out of my coma you’ve done nothing but give me the cold shoulder and as far as I know I haven’t done a damn thing to you! So what gives?” I exclaimed in near hysterics. 

“It’s nothin’.” Ghost sneered. 

“No it is, tell me now Lieutenant.” I sternly said. 

“No.” 

“Tell me now.” 

“Birdie, don’t.” 

“It’s something alright, just tell me.” 

I swear to God I am going to scream and I don’t want to do that to you, my love. 

“Tell me.” 

“Tell me.” 

“Tell me.” 

“Tell me.”

“Tell me now.” 

“Tell me now.” 

“Tell me now.” 

“Tell me now.” 

“Tell me now.” 

“Tell me now.” 

“Tell me now.” 

“Tell me-” 

“YOU ARE MY WIFE!!” 

…

…

…

What? What did he just say? Ghost’s eyes were wide..I couldn’t even tell what it was. Was it anger? Was it sadness? Was it denial? I couldn’t tell.  

“What? What do you mean?” I asked Ghost, trying to reach for him but he just flinched away from me. 

“You..” Ghost paused as he tried to gather his words up, “you hit your head, Birdie. During a mission, someone snuck up behind you, and hit you in the head with the butt of their gun. Despite you passing out, you managed to kill the bloody bastard. But by the time I reached you, you were unconscious. We took you to the medic and we put you in a medical coma to give your brain time to heal. You were lucky to have no bleeding up in there, but they said the possibility of you having amnesia was high. I didn’t want to believe it..” 

“Lieutenant?” 

What? Why did she call me that? She always calls me Simon. Birdie looked down to see me holding her hand. 

“I didn’t think you’d be so worried about me.” She joked with a smile. 

Does she not..

“Of course I would be, love.” 

“Love? Aw you don’t have to pretend you care so much, Ghost, it’s not like we are dating or anything.” 

Oh…

Oh. 

Bloody fucking hell. This is not happening. I was about to speak when I saw the old geyser Price doing a frantic head shaking motion at me. What? What does that mean? 

“I was just..worried is all, Birdie. I’m glad you’re okay.” I say, letting go of her hand despite feeling heartbreak for the first time ever. 

“..until you said that. ‘It’s not like we are dating or anything’. That told me right there you don’t remember.” 

I could feel a heavy weight in my chest. This..this was all too much.  Why, why would Ghost be telling me this? I don’t understand. 

“Why would you be telling me this now?” I questioned. 

“Because I want you to remember.” 

For a split second, I swear I could hear Ghost’s voice breaking, as if he was going to cry. I have never heard Ghost cry, ever. But within that split second, he got his composure back. 

“You..you make me so happy, Birdie. I just want you to remember.” 

I thought about it. I mentally dug into my brain, to try and remember anything, something, any little thing that would indicate that Ghost and I were..together. But nothing came up. No memory or nothing. Just blackness. 

“I’m..I’m sorry Ghost. I don’t remember-” 

“Just pack your shiet and leave.” Ghost growled. 

“Ghost, I’m sorry I-” 

“Just..go. Now.” 

I have never heard Ghost get this intense nor scary. I didn’t know what to say. I felt bad for him that he supposedly had a life with me, but I just can’t remember it. I wanted to say something else, but I felt like anything I said would upset him. 

“Yes, sir.” I mumbled. 

Upon me saying that. Ghost immediately turned and walked out of my room. I wish I could remember. I have always had an infatuation for Ghost and the fact that he told me we are married, is an absolute shock to me. And I wish I could remember. 

Goodbye, my Birdie. 

One month later

My head didn’t hurt as much as usual today, which made me happy. Even though Price did eventually tell me I wouldn’t be able to come back to the field due to my head injury, he was happy to visit me once they got to go back home. Same with Gaz and Soap. The only one I haven’t heard from was Ghost. I wanted to reach out to him, but considering the last time we talked was a month ago and he ordered me to ‘pack my shiet and leave now.’ I get that he was upset, but I also wish he understood my point of view. I want to remember, trust me, but no matter how much I rack my brain, I can’t remember. I only remember me getting recruited and the day of my injury. Every once in a while, I will have a small flashback to a small thing that happened during my time on the field, but they are never about Ghost and I being together. None of this makes sense, but there is nothing I can do about it. I was at my dining table, stirring my coffee mug about to sip it and eat the french toast I made. 

*KnockKnock*

Who could that be? I am not expecting anyone and Price didn’t tell me they would be coming home anytime soon. I got up, went up to the front door, and opened it, nearly fainting in response. 

“Hey, Birdie.” 

Ghost stood there at my doorway holding a bouquet of..

“Ghost, I uh..didn't expect you.” I admitted, considering how angry he was with me. 

“I know.” 

“Would you like to come in? I can make you some tea.” I offer. 

“I’m fine, I just wanted to come by and bring you these. They were your favorite. And to also apologize for how I treated you when you left. It wasn’t right. I’m sorry.” Ghost apologized. 

I don’t think I have ever heard Ghost apologize before and it was definitely genuine. 

“It’s okay, sir. I understand.” 

I understood where he was coming from. 

“Please, just Simon is alright.” He said. 

Simon? Simon..

Ghost then handed me the bouquet of sunflowers. They smelled so nice, so heavenly, so…

“Simon.. Do you really feel that way about me?” 

“I do, I love you, Birdie…” 

~

“How are we going to tell Price about us?” 

“I’ll figure something out, love. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about nothing…” 

~

“Si.” 

“I love you so much, Birdie..You complete me.” 

~

“Birdie, will you marry me?” 

“Simon..yes. Yes I will.” 

~

I..I remember now. 

“Si?’ 

Simon’s eyes beamed up and were once again full of life again, hearing me utter his nickname I had for him. 

“Birdie..” 

You’re back, my love. You’re finally back. 

END 

[whorejolras]

as promised: jess' les amis fanfic rec list ✨

this is mainly e/r, a little bit of e/r/c and a few courferre

This is just the stuff that was in my bookmarks on ao3 when I started writing this post (months ago lol sorry it took so long). Going through I was shocked to see so many of my faves weren't actually bookmarked so I will for sure do a part two when I find them again, and have also added heaps of new fics to my bookmarks since then, but for now 25 fics is enough 😂

many of these will be rated E and will have sexual content, some are straight up pwp ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ok first is my ultimate fave that isn't even on ao3 anymore, but thankfully is on the authors tumblr, and that's:

Gnomon by luchia

50-80k words (?) (bc it's not on ao3 i'm estimating)

rating: E

Enjolras/Grantaire

terrorist/assassin Enjolras my beloved ever. My fave are the "charming young man capable of being terrible" fics obviously. This one is my #1 e/r like in my head this is it's own canon. & this series has my fave e/r smut scenes ever. I still daydream about a Gnomon tv show...

- trigger warnings bc it's not on ao3 so doesn't have tags: murder, gun and knife violence, bombs, conversations about the deaths of children. this is not healthy relationship fluff but it makes for a 🥵 dynamic that's for damn sure.

also linking the rest of the series which is up on ao3 still, even though it is officially abandoned and unfinished - i am going to break my ultimate rule right off the bat and link an unfinished series bc I like it so much.

stupid terrorist boys by luchia

series, 5 works

200k words

rating: M and E

here we have gnomon's prequels, two sequels, and some one shots in between 🫶🏻

if you're here for kinky pwp Senselessly Happy and Unsuspecting could be good stand-alone (but it's better when reading in order). I would say read Gnomon first on tumblr then read the rest in order on ao3.

Silence Is the Speech of Love by lady_ragnell

50k words

rating: E

Enjolras/Grantaire, background Courfeyrac/Marius/Cosette

Enjolras is cursed for speaking out against the gods, Grantaire is there for him.

will I ever shut up about this fic? Never. fave fave fave. the world building, the mythological/religious system, the writing, the "I love you" "I don't think you do, actually" scene URGH!!!! I think of this fic every time i hear chopsticks. Everything happening with courf/marius/cosette, and the genius inclusion of social worker Fantine my beloved. This is one of those "could be it's own novel" fics.

and the sequel from Enjolras' pov 😭 - Left Unsaid

World Ain't Ready by idiopathicsmile

185k words

rating: T

Enjolras/Grantaire

yes it's the top fic yes everyone probably knows it but it's good for a reason. THE fake dating high school au fic that I broke all my rules for back in 2015. I refused to read unfinished fics, let alone T rated high school fics, yet I remember waiting for the updates for this one as it came out, messaging mutuals on the day the last chapter was released. and every time I reread I remember why. Brilliantly written, the pining, the angst, the miscommunications. All the Joly and Bossuet scenes.

honourable mention to the scene where Joly is so excited for the battle of the bands, then next scene starts with "I think it's more of a sitting night today" the realest simple yet most gut punching illustration of chronic pain that gets my ass every time.

Lovesickness by idiopathicsmile

11k words

rating: T

Enjolras/Grantaire, Joly/Bossuet/Musichetta

(we're gonna see a fair bit of idiopathicsmile on here)

this is one of my absolute favourites. not only bc I quote "hit by a truck full of shirts" all the time. a Joly pov fic!!!!!! my beloved!!!!! I'm a BIG JBM fan (they are essential to me when I'm writing grantaire) and love fics that stay true to his friendship with Joly and Bossuet. also I love when Enjolras is a giant dumbass who thinks his feelings for Grantaire is a mystery illness 😂

Still the Same by The Librarina (tears_of_nienna)

74k words

rating: E

Enjolras/Grantaire/Combeferre

ok ok ok. listen. Yes. in this fic, Enjolras IS an fbi agent... and u know i'm the first and last to scream acab always...

that being said this is fully still one of my fave e/r/c fics. Enjolras and Combeferre are married & Enjolras needs to work with art thief Grantaire (fave) on a case. also that one bit at the end when Grantaire *redacted* 👀🫣

cupbearer by illuminate*

*this one is locked, you need an account to view

series, 4 works

124k words total

ratings: T, M & E

Enjolras/Grantaire

this series!!!!!! VAMPIRE ENJOLRAS!!!! thrall Grantaire!!!! canon era AND modern au! REINCARNATION!!!! i'm eeeeaaaaattiiiing 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

More Than Just a Game by ecaitlin

36k words

rating: E

Courfeyrac/Combeferre

Fake dating courferre 😭 this one is so good for the desert scene alone 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 one of my fave courferre fics

Good Intentions by ecaitlin

95k words

rating: E

Courfeyrac/Combeferre, background Marius/Cosette, Joly/Bossuet, Bahorel/Feuilly, and Enjolras/Grantaire ofc

THE les amis hogwarts au. 95k of Courfeyrac pov is always a treat for the system. in their last year at hogwarts, Courfeyrac decides to play matchmaker for all his friends. shenanigans!!!! fuck jkr, but whenever I wanna reread harry potter again I read this fic 🫶🏻 fave courferre ever, and also fave background e/r

if you remembered me by nightswatch*

*this one is locked, you need an account to view

40k words

rating: M

Enjolras/Grantaire

one thing about me is I love an amnesia fic! Enjolras loses his memory and Grantaire helps him recover 👀 this one's for the hurt/comfort and miscommunication/not being upfront about shit fans. also there's some past Grantaire/Combeferre and i'm always a fan

Beautiful Music Together by lady_ragnell

31k words

rating: E

Courfeyrac/Marius/Cosette

a rare Courf/Marius/Cosette fic for your palette. established Marius/Cosette need a little help from their good friend Courf with their sex life 👀 while the three of them also work on a musical assignment together 😭 prequel to You Dance Dreams kinda 👀

You Dance Dreams by lady_ragnell

61k words

rating: E

Enjolras/Grantaire

(you can tell when i've found a writer who has a fair few fics and just gone nuts lol, lots of lady_ragnell too)

BALLET AU I LOVE YOU!!!!!! so set in the same universe as Beautiful Music Together, Combeferre ropes everyone into working on his opera, a Midsummer Night's Dream sequel. Grantaire dances as Puck alongside Enjolras singing as Oberon 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

In Defiance of all Geometry by idopathicsmile

51k words

rating: T

Enjolras/Grantaire/Combeferre

this is a top fave E/R/C fic and a top fave les amis fic of all time! Them living in a co-op and all the little details of how they make it work is sooooo real and anyone who wants to see accurately written community organising in les amis fic it's here! now for the ✨romance✨ - Grantaire moves in to the amis co-op and starts crushing on both Enjolras and Combeferre, who have both been pining for each other for years.

Years Since It's Been Clear by lady_ragnell

10k words

rating: E

Enjolras/Grantaire

Enjolras offers his spare room to grantaire - or the one where enjolras chases the sun across the living room floor like a cat. That image has lived rent free in my head for and I am not exaggerating here, 10 years.

Gonna need (a spark to ignite) by FinditAgain*

*this one is locked, you need an account to view

47k words

rating: M

Enjolras/Grantaire/Combeferre

soulmate au! soulmate au with E/R/C!!!!!!! enjolras and combeferre are soulmates who lost their bond as children. when combeferre and enjolras find each other as adults, enjolras is already in an established relationship with grantaire 👀👀👀

secret agent man by goshemily

30k words

rating: E

Enjolras/Grantaire

yes another cop one haha 😭 bc if ur not able to contradict urself with the media u like are u even a person? but also I wouldn't recommend if it wasn't a good read for the stairs scene alone 😅 Enjolras and Grantaire need to go undercover as a married couple in a small town.

Leaves in the Void by myrmidryad

16k words

rating: M

Enjolras/Grantaire

this is one i've found since rejoining tumblr late last year that 😭 fully broke my heart bro 😭 space au, enjolras writes letters to everyone when he's accidentally isolated on a ship for what to him was eight and half months but was two hours for everyone else.

Blame Delicate Artemis by hyenateeth

22k words

rating: E

femslash Enjolras/Grantaire

posting omegaverse on main? more likely than you think!

this is porn with a tiny bit of plot, but also one of my fave for femslash e/r and also..... girl dick. that's all.

omega enjolras alpha grantaire canon era lesbians.

that's enough description to find its right audience I feel

Eyes to Serve, Hands to Learn by myrmidryad

94k words

rating: E

Enjolras/Grantaire

Grantaire runs into Enjolras at a kink club. enter 94,000 words of bdsm porn and pining. mostly dom Enjolras and submissive Grantaire, mostly.

Never Be Satisfied by torakowalski

15k words

rating: E

femslash Enjolras/Grantaire

dental dam mention! win!

Grantaire gives Enjolras some advice, lends some toys, and then offers some hands on help when she learns Enjolras has never come before 😏

potentially lovely, perpetually human by myrmidryad

20k words

not rated, does contain smut

Enjolras/Grantaire

lots of myrmidryad here too lol

two of my favourite tropes here. 1: supernatural Enjolras who's in control of his abilities except when it comes to Grantaire (see cupbearer series) and 2: nonbinary Grantaire my beloved!!! Enjolras has psychic empathy triggered by physical touch, so he refuses to touch anyone: until his touch starved ass accidentally touches Grantaire and feels what they're feeling 🥹

Witchboy by tothewillofthepeople

series, 8 works

84k words

rating: T, M

Enjolras/Grantaire

this one is a more recent recommendation that I loved, the world building and magic is so good, there's some great background eposette and patron minette which I'm always a fan of.

i'm not the moon (i'm not even a star) by serinesaccade

40k words

rating: M

Enjolras/Grantaire

amnesia fic and fake dating 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 this time we've got Grantaire losing his memories and waking up in a world where he has a really hot boyfriend, but apparently his 1.5 year relationship with Enjolras isn't what it seems 👀

and let's round this out with a classic

Thirty-Two Times by Ark

7k words

rating: E

Enjolras/Grantaire

the bottom R canon era bible 🙏🏻

i'm sorry i feel like my emoji use is very millennial. jsyk 👌🏻 is me clicking with my nails ok bye 😘

if you want more i'm whorejolras on ao3 go nuts 🙌🏻

[idontlikeem]

hi! i'd like to talk about losing. you don't have to read this if you don't want to, but i wanted to write it, and guess what, it's my blog. i just like this team a lot and i'm feeling a little maudlin about my guys and a little sick to fucking death of the shit i'm seeing all over kingdom come from 'fans'. so here we are.

So You Became A Fan Of A Living Legend But The Hockey Team Is Bad: a commentary.

look. this is not the most fun i've ever had watching hockey, and i'm quite sure a lot of people feel the same way. the penguins are bad this season! they were bad last season too, but there's something very special about the extent to which they are shit right now. and those are not fun games to watch.

but here's the thing: who cares.

like, idk. there's so much god damn negativity surrounding this team and its performance right now, and i'm guilty of contributing to it as well, because yeah of course i'd rather watch a team win in decisive fashion most nights. of course i'd rather dream about may and june and the stanley cup. of course i want to watch that happen again for my favorite players. like, duh.

but. it's probably not going to. not if these players get what they want, which is to play together on this team until they're ready to retire.

and you know what? that's fine. if they're fine with it, who on earth am i to not be?

i think we all have the same reaction when we see idiots online saying things like 'sid doesn't deserve this trade him to a contender'. and that's because we are smarter and more refined fans who understand that what sidney crosby DESERVES is to select how and where and when his career ends. is it on a team that sucks? then that means being here is more important to him than getting that fourth cup. staying with geno and kris and the penguins as a whole, never putting on another NHL logo, is more significant to him personally than another victory. and isn't that special? isn't that worth celebrating?

of course we know all of that because we're better at being fans than the uncles online who are writing weird fanfic in their heads. but. guess what that comes with:

losing.

and losing badly, in the case of this season.

i am here to tell you that sitting and bitching about it helps no one. right now, what we have to watch and celebrate is our favorite players still playing at a high level. they're still doing cool stuff on the ice. and they're doing it TOGETHER. this is what they wanted. so your options are either to hate it and sit in negativity about it each and every game, OR readjust your mindset and learn to enjoy what we have while we have it.

we are watching myth-making happen live. we are watching living legends play hockey. this is a privilege and an honor and it's not something most fanbases get EVER. and we have two! can you believe it?

there are things i would have rather seen done differently over the last couple of years. as far back as 2019 there were moves i disagreed with and changes that could have been made that perhaps could have extended their window. and of course the 2022 series against the rangers, that was a very good team that got hit by injuries at the absolute worst possible time, and probably that was their last chance as a core to compete. it's frustrating to watch that stuff happen when you have no control over it.

the pittsburgh penguins were high-end competitors and contenders for seventeen years straight. that's insane and unheard of in this league. they're not anymore. and the price you pay for almost two decades of dominance is...being bad. when you're competing you trade prospects and draft picks for win-now players. sometimes those work out, most of the time they don't. with the amount of winning this team has done, even the trades that didn't work were worth it, because it meant they were trying.

there are no fanbases who are going to feel bad for penguins fans right now. that's also why we're getting so much attention from the national media. people aren't used to this team being as bad as it is, and people like watching downfalls. that's fine. most of those fans have never watched their team win, and most of them never will. so if their joy is coming from sidney crosby's team being bad....well, love and light, you know?

and we shouldn't feel bad for ourselves either. this is what happens. this is how it goes. this is the price for the band staying together.

i dunno, guys. this is a disjointed rant. it's just so effing hard to be kicked in the nuts everywhere you go with unrelenting negativity. it's on twitter it's in the articles and yes, it's here too. but if you can't be a fan of a team when they're bad, then i'm sorry but you're not a fan of the team (or certain players), you're a fan of winning. and NO team wins all the time every year. that's not how sports work.

we are lucky. at least, i feel lucky! don't you? gosh, sidney crosby scored his 600th career goal tonight. evgeni malkin is over 500 goals on his career. can you believe that? it's amazing to watch.

and it's going to be over in less than two years. do we really want to waste it by wishcasting something that's not going to happen instead of enjoying what we DO have?

if the media bums you out, don't listen. don't read the articles. don't go on twitter. dry your tears on the stanley cup banners that sid and geno hung up—there are three to choose from!

[wandabear]

CHEERFUL OBLIVION - WANDA MAXIMOFF X F!READER (CHAPTER FIVE)ㅤ ㅤ

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chapter one chapter two chapter three chapter four chapter five chapter six ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

masterlist

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WARNINGS: torture, angst, violence, blood, mentions of death, fluff, angst with a happy ending. Death. ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Jules/Stolas is portrayed by Adelaide Kane. Here. My recommendation and personal request is that you listen to this song, it will lull you throughout the chapter (and the next one): - Comes and Goes (in waves) - Greg Laswell

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤCHAPTER FIVE

Her gaze remained on that cup of steaming and hot coffee, so lost in her thoughts that she didn't know how much time passed. The scent reached her nose and made the demon sigh deeply.

Y/N looked down to see her watch, 4 am and they still had nothing.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

This one's for the lonely, the one's that seek and find. Only to be let down, time after time.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

After Y/N and Jules left the Compound, they found a perfect hideaway on an old ranch for sale in Wyoming. The place was abandoned for many years, the owners wanted to sell the place since it was 'haunted'. What they didn't know was that all those screams were thanks to a demon, who loved visiting the place at this time of year.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Around that house in the forest there was nothing but trees and the black night that surrounded them. ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

‘No, I don't know why you're not there. I give you my love, but you don't care. So what is right and what is wrong? Give me a sign.’

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

It was possibly the twentieth time she heard that song in an hour; 'What is love?' from Haddaway. The desperate screams from the room next did nothing but make her yawn. The music was so loud that it could have possibly blown up the door like it was a cartoon.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

After a few minutes, the door opened, letting out an adorable brunette who approached with the cutest smile ever. However, the blood on her face and body and the sword in her hand did not seem to match it. It looked like something out of a terrifying scene in Carrie.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Do you think he's ready to talk?”  Y/N asked as she looked up, Jules nodded quickly. She seemed to be in a very good mood and was a bit creepy.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I think our big mouth is ready.” Jules said excitedly.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Let’s do this.” Taking a deep breath, Y/N stood up from her seat somewhat lazily. As soon as she crossed the threshold, the red lamp that moved on the ceiling from side to side started to flicker.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

The place was full of blood, some stuff lying on the floor, broken glass, as well as a guy tied to a chair in the middle of the room. The song keeps playing, but Jules turns down the volume, so Y/N could talk.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Can you stop that damn thing?!” That man shouted tiredly.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

At first glance, he looked like a man in his forties, the dark hair was soaked in blood as were different parts of his body. He looked tired, but not enough to shut up.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“What?” Jules pouted. “You don't like the song? It's my favorite! I love the 90’s!”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“It was our best time.” Y/N nodded.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“It’s the worst song ever!” He spat the blood aside.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

His eyes were not human, they were yellow and had huge, horizontal pupils like a toad's. Sensing the desperation, Jules turned the volume up again, higher and higher.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

‘I want no other, no other lover.  This is our life, our time . If we are together, I need you forever. What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! No more!’

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Please, stop!”  He begged one more time.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“We're not going to stop, you low range scum!” But Y/N smiled widely, leaning down to cup his chin, she kinda enjoyed all this. After all, she was a demon. “Tell us what Abaddon will do! What is her next move?!”  

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

But even though Y/N could be intimidating, the demon just let out a laugh. His pearly white teeth were stained with blood.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Do you think I would betray Abaddon?” The demon kept laughing as blood began to run down the nose. “She would disintegrate me.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Silence reigned for a moment and then Jules laughed, so loud and so sincere that it made the demon look at her blankly. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Oh my- did... did you hear that?" The brunette said without even being able to breathe. She had definitely never heard anything so wrong or funnier.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Do you know what I can do to you? Do you know who I am?” Smiling at the demon's confused face, Y/N grabbed the man's jaw and squeezed it so hard with just one hand that the guy started screaming.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“This is what I hate about low-ranking demons like you, stupid uncultured pawns.” Y/N hissed with enormous hatred and disgust, squeezing harder and harder. “I’m not a Knight… I’m not a Prince, like Stolas here. She’s even more important than you.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

The irony and cruelty with which she said that showed that her demonic nature was still inside, of course she didn’t show it unless it was with beings as cruel as that one demon.

Something that Captain America would never accept.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I’m primordial.” Y/N said without further ado, summoning her sword which appeared in her hand. Tightening her grip, she rested the sharp point on the demon's cheek. “If Abaddon can hurt you, believe me, I will make you believe that Abaddon is heaven compared to what I will do to you.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

A small cut on his neck made the demon open his eyes in fear, deeply in pain. It wasn't a superficial cut, but those blades caused death for beings like them. An ex-angelic sword, which was no longer used for good, was not an ordinary sword.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Talk and I let you survive.” Y/N ordered once more, before cutting again, this time several sensitive areas.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

The demon began to scream desperately and without further hesitation, began to blurt out everything he had to say.

He spent a long time revealing everything Abaddon thought, believed and would do. So much so that Y/N thought that maybe he knew too much for a low-ranking demon, it was a bit suspicious.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“She'll go get them tomorrow afternoon.” The toad demon whispered in defeat and pain, in front of those two demons who looked at him with distrust. Jules narrowed her eyes, waiting for Y/N's decision. “...When the sun is near the horizon, when it burns red as hell, she will ravage the place.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Nodding slowly, Y/N grabbed the sword again and approached him violently. Even though the demon pleaded for his life, the snake finally pierced his neck with strength. His eyes flashed before he burned.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

She didn't need to know any more than that. “Seven days my ass, I knew that bitch wasn't going to wait that much.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I need to let them know.” Y/N growled and left that room with some haste and confusion. Didn't expect the redhead to play such a dirty card like that, but if she did it, was because Abaddon  no longer trusted Y/N’s word.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“What’s our next move?” Jules whispered, afraid to ask.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Sighing, Y/N placed hands on her hips, trying to think of thousands of possibilities at once. Something that would guarantee them a victory, but it was very difficult with everyone against them. Even minutes.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I need you to do something.” she finally said after a few minutes in silence, she had possibly chosen the worst decision of her life. Y/N grabbed a pencil and paper, doodling a sigil. “I need you to go to this place, write it down exactly as I tell you… and Jules? You’ll say exactly as I tell you. No more, no less.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Jules frowned and took the paper, confused by so much 'mystery' but when she saw the sigil her eyes widened. “Do you want me dead? They hate me more than they hate you.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N approached her friend, placing her hands on the brunette's shoulders. “I promise you that nothing like what you think will happen. Nothing bad will happen if you say what I need you to say.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Jules whispered and looked at the doodles. “This means it's worse than I imagined.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“We need big cards, Stolas.” Y/N swallowed hard. Of course the worst would come soon. “I've been thinking about how to stop her, and each idea is one worse than another.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Jules didn't say anything, just nodded. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

While everyone was discussing and planning how to protect themselves from Abaddon's attack, once Wanda explained who the hell she was after seeing Y/N's memories, the sokovian decided to walk away and lock herself in her room, tired of listening to them fight and argue. She was fed up with those loud thoughts and fears.

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This one's for the torn down, the experts at the fall. Come on friends, get up now, you're not alone at all.

The brunette remained silent, sitting on her bed. The tissues around her were quite snitchy. Wanda was quiet as the tears fell, those red eyes and nose showing how tired she was of crying.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

How could fate be so cruel? To say it was fate and  not the decisions of a handful of cruel demons playing with her life? Deciding who lives and who dies.

She squeezed her eyes shut as memories came to her in a flash.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

The knocking on the door made Wanda look up, waiting to see who dared to bother her.

The one who entered was none other than Natasha Romanoff, with a small friendly smile and guilt in those green eyes.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Can I come in?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“You already came in, right?” Wanda said with a small smile as she wiped the tears and threw the tissues into the trash can. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

The widow came over to sit next to Wanda. She understood very well the pain her friend was going through, the lies they fell into, losing the one you love most was unbearable.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Sorry, everything is… chaos.” Natasha hesitated whether to continue, she chose those words very poorly and scolded herself for it. “It is not our intention to make you feel worse. They want to protect you.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I know.”  Wanda sighed sadly. Didn't want to cause any more problems than they already had.  This was all her fault.

Natasha took a deep breath, grateful for the silence in that place. She was sick of listening to Steve and Tony fight like children. But something caught her attention quickly, something changed in the room. The pictures of Y/N and Wanda that were lying in the trash can.

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“Haven't you heard from her?” The redhead dared to ask, turning to look at Wanda who tensed up at the mention of Y/N.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I don't even want to see her again.” The witch hissed angrily, falling victim to endless mixed feelings. She missed her, loved her, hated her, she was furious with her but also missed Y/N’s gaze. The way she held her hand, the way Y/N made her feel safe.

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“But you miss her.” Natasha whispered, placing a supportive hand on Wanda's shoulder. “I'm not judging you, it's not wrong to do so. After all, your feelings were real.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“And even though I hate it I could see that her feelings are real too. That's why I feel so angry.”  Wanda turned to look at her friend, with those huge green eyes full of tears. Tears of helplessness and disappointment.  “I feel so… stupid. So confused."

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Anguish threatened to close her throat, making her voice hoarser.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“She knew me my whole life, knew everything that happened to me and yet didn't do anything.”  Wanda finally allowed herself to let go, so painful that even Nat felt a little tear escape her eyes.  “She let my parents die, Pietro died.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“And…” The sokovian breathed deeply, trying to stop herself from crying and trying to come to her senses, to be strong as she needed to.  “And I hate myself for still loving her.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Of course those words were true, she loved Y/N. Couldn't let go of her feelings overnight, even if she wanted to, if Wanda could forget the demon, she would without hesitation.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

The one who didn't hesitate was Natasha, who hugged her friend and cradled her for a while. “I’m truly sorry, Wanda.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Natasha comforted the brunette as she vented. Letting the pain take over her was not a good option, and the widow was not going to allow anyone to Wanda her like they did to her in the Red Room.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I can't even process what I am, what I'm supposed to be.” Wanda whispered once she sat back down on the bed as Nat brought her a cup of tea. “The Scarlet Witch.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

She looked down at the steaming cup of tea.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I must be something so evil... that I only cause disasters and pain to everyone I love.”  Those words came from the depths of her heart, filled with so much pain.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“No one can tell you who you are, Wanda. It doesn't matter 'what you're made for' or whether you're 'a perfect weapon', your decisions will always be yours. And you’re not evil.”    Nat took her hand and sighed.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

She wasn't going to let her friend feel the way she felt for so long, not allowing herself to enjoy love and friendship. She was much more than all that pain.

Smiling at her sister, she squeezed Wanda’s hand and then hugged her tightly. Whatever was coming, they were all going to go through it together and win.

ㅤ

“Friday, raise security to the maximum. Stay alert for any movement.” Tony walked through the workshop. Next to the common area, the workshop was a section that provided controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

It was Tony's favorite place, after the kitchen, of course. He was one of the few who didn't live in the compound.

Stark carefully observed the result that Friday showed on the screen.

Suddenly the door opened, drawing his attention, especially seeing that it was Bruce who entered in a bit of a hurry.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Tony.” The doctor took off his glasses somewhat clumsily. “What do you need from me? If this is because of the big guy-”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Frowning, Tony turned to look at him blankly. “What?” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“You sent me a text, you told me to come urgently.”  Bruce looked at him with the same confused face. Even looked for his phone to show him the text.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I didn't-”  The man was going to continue but a new presence made them turn around, astonished.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“It was me. Hi.” Y/N appeared in front of them and quickly raised her hands in surrender as she saw how Tony was immediately about to attack. It was going to be much worse if Bruce brought the big guy to the fight.  “Easy, gentlemen, I'm not here to look for trouble...”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“You would have thought about it before sneaking around us for so long.” Quickly, as Tony squeezed one of his rings, a rapid nanotech gauntlet formed on his arm ready to fire at the demon. It probably wouldn't hurt, maybe angering the demon, but he'll die trying.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I can help you, but you have to listen to me.”  Y/N hurriedly said, taking a few steps away.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Using her sensory powers, she made sure that there was no one around them. Just the three of them.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“We don't need your help.” Bruce exclaimed unbuttoning the collar of his shirt, ready to go.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Bruce, don’t.”  She tilted her head, looking into his eyes. Even though Bruce tried and struggled to let go of the Hulk to the point of turning red, the big green guy didn't appear. “He knows I'm not coming to hurt you. So stop, you're embarrassing yourself.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“How-?” Bruce stammered blankly. Tony just rolled his eyes, lowering his arm.

Once they were sure that Y/N wasn't planning on attacking them, they let their guard down.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

"What are you doing here? If Wanda sees you, we are the last thing you should worry about.” Stark ironically joked as he approached his screen to scan the place again, making sure everything was fine. There was definitely a BIG flaw if Y/N could show up just like that.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Do you want the world to survive this catastrophe?” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Believe me, we will do it.” He gave a wry chuckle, they always did. Hydra, Loki, Ultron.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“This isn't like your movie villain, Stark. It’s not some guy with lightning whips, or a tantrum-y god. This goes further.” Y/N moved closer to look at the screen but Tony quickly minimize it.  “This doesn't just endanger this planet, this endangers all realities.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Realities? What do you mean?” Bruce frowned. “Is a multiverse something possible?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“It is not a 'possibility', it is already a reality.” Y/N waved her hand, downplaying the talk, especially when both nerds seemed very interested in knowing more. “But we don't have time to talk about multiverses and alternate realities. We need a plan now, or Chton is going to screw them all up.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“What does Chton want? Especially with Wanda.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Chton was a big demon, one of the cruelest beings that ever existed. He was banished many years ago… and wants to come back.” Y/N swallowed, thinking about the chaos that would engulf them all.  “According to an old prophecy, he would do it thanks to a great sorceress who would have the power to handle the Chaos Magic, at such a level that she would break with any reality and modify it to her convenience. So when he does… all realities are going to collapse. One on top of another like dominos.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

That sounded so terrifying that Tony Stark swallowed hard, lowering his self-loving know-it-all attitude. That sounded chaotic, a world where nothing would make sense.

Not only would they die, all the worlds, all the realities.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Do you want your daughter to live a nice life?”  Y/N continued, knowing that would hit deep. The demon tilted her head as she saw the surprise in Stark's gaze, those big brown eyes so wide they would pop out of his head.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Bruce had his mouth open like a fish out of water, more confused than Tony.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I'm not stupid, I know Pepper is pregnant.” The demon took a seat in one of the chairs and crossed her legs, so sassy. “It’s a very healthy baby, by the way.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Tony was surprised but hesitant. No one else knew that, only Pepper and him.

They had had an appointment with a doctor outside the compound so that everything would be a nice surprise. They had been trying to plan it for a week until Abaddon threatened to attack them.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Congratulations?” Bruce murmured, smiling somewhat happily for his friend.

He went over to hug Tony, who smiled proudly, forgetting everything for a moment. They had decided to hide it until this new chaos passed.

Especially when the Knight of Hell left a box at the door of the compound, with a quite terrifying message.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Will you listen to me?” Y/N asked, this time it was more of a plea. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Sighing and knowing that it was best to get the upper hand, even if they had to work with a dirty, lying demon like Y/N, it was their best chance to win. The enemy of your enemy is your friend or something like that.  “What do you need?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I need both of you working together.” Y/N sighed and stood up from her seat. “I know Ultron left you a little hurt, but this time... you will truly protect this world. And must keep the secret until it is time.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I don't like the idea of lying to them… again.” Crossing his arms, Bruce slowly shook his head. He wasn't willing to go through the same thing, that almost made the team break up forever and the world needed the Avengers.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“This time you’ll save their lives thanks to it.” The demon insisted.  “Steve would never allow my help, much less Wanda. We'll say it's your idea.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“That's true, both of them can't even say your name. And if Natasha sees you, she will kill you.”  Tony smiled wryly as he poured himself a glass of scotch.

Showing him the middle finger first, Y/N typed a long amount of numbers on the screen quickly.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Friday, save this, please. These are the exact coordinates of the perfect place, where everything will begin. I need us to play with the lead.” She expanded the screen thanks to Friday, showing them the place. 

Tony approached to see with curiosity, it wasn't close at all but the demon was right, it was a good place for a battle.  Far from any kind of innocent victims.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

They kept talking and planning for about two hours, trying to find a solution. Y/N's idea was completely crazy and made no sense at all, but it was the only one available to them.  It was their best shot.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Can you do it in 24 hours?”  Y/N asked with some concern. Looking at that screen, the theory was good but the practice could be... difficult. Even for such an advanced engineer.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Do I need to sleep?” Tony said sarcastically.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Believe me, you will when you die.” Y/N responded in the same way.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“We know a guy who can help with this… machine.” Thoughtfully, Tony watched the screen, trying to remove and add a few things. How can you build a thing like that from nothing? “We will do the best we can. Three great brains at work... and yours, of course.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“You have to do better than that.”  Y/N frowned. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

She looked at her watch, hoping that Stolas would score a victory in her mission. She must have already been arriving.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Your ‘mission’ is to take back the book. That's at least what they can know.”   The demon took a sheet of paper and quickly drew what the book would look like, since there was no type of information that talked about this. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Tony walked over to look at it, raising an eyebrow.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“The ‘Darkhold’?”  He mocked. “Didn't they have a better name in the underworld? I thought that maybe with so many artists there, you demons would be more creative."

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Rolling her eyes, Y/N  fixed her gaze on Bruce, who seemed to look more attentive at the moment.  “Hear me clearly… You cannot use that book, from any point of view, never open it. The Darkhold holds secrets and curses so ancient they would destroy any reality. It will destroy your hearts, your minds and your souls.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

An awkward silence remained for a moment. Despite Tony's sarcastic humor, he understood that this was not the time for jokes, everyone's fate was really at stake. And not just because of the big fight, but because of what came after that.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“No matter what they promise you… they’ll never give you what you want. It is a trap.”  The demon reaffirmed. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

After a few seconds and knowing that she counted on them both understanding the task, the presence of a new person made Tony jump.

Jules looked at everyone a little agitated, she seemed shocked but was undoubtedly still alive.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“It’s done.” Jules grimaced, not very happy with that decision, but when she saw Tony and Bruce her face changed so quickly. Stolas smiled tenderly and waved. “Hi.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I hope this works.” Y/N sighed deeply, for a moment she wondered if it would work but she no longer had time to doubt. The minutes passed and they played with a disadvantage. At the surprised gaze of both humans, she spread her wings for a moment.  Great and enormous wings, so black but still as soft as an angel's, Y/N smiled as she remembered that feeling.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Nice.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Taking courage, she plucked one of the feathers and moaned in pain. A searing pain, and so unique, a pain she had never felt before. 

Sighing, Y/N approached Tony to hand him the feather, which after snapping her fingers, turned into a blue liquid in a very tiny bottle. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“This is something unique, that very few humans have had the pleasure of obtaining. And as you know, none of them are alive.” Y/N said as she looked at that liquid and handed it to Tony, who seemed quite curious as well as surprised. Possibly thinking how much he could use it if he only knew how. “Be careful, don't use it all. I risked my ass with an archangel for that.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Bruce cleared his throat, making her turn.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“An… a-archangel gave this to you?” Bruce stammered and looked at that tiny bottle as if he were holding an important grail.  Everything already challenged beliefs, needed to know more.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I wish… it’s just my old feather. They just allowed me to get my wings for a moment.” The demon wrinkled her nose and walked away, still feeling a stinging pain. “They think I will use them for battle tomorrow against Abaddon, but it was actually for this, so… no one can know.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“You made a deal with them.”  Stark walked away from her and took that liquid to one of his devices so he could analyze it. “Isn't that worse?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N shrugged, knowing it couldn't get any worse. “I go one thing at a time.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“In fact, you have two.”  Jules' voice made her turn around, watching as she handed a small bottle to Bruce. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

"What are you doing?” The higher-demon approached Jules with concern, whispering:  “That wasn’t in the deal.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I know, I decided to add some stuff before doing it. It's mine.” The dark-haired woman patted her friend's shoulder, who looked at her in surprise. How dare she? Stolas was going against her own decisions, and yet, her heart softened at the sight of her friend's loyalty.  “I already told you, I'm with you. And they need to come back, so… two is better.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Sighing, Y/N ended up nodding, knowing that she couldn't fight her.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Wait here, I have to do something before we leave this place.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

That green-eyed girl took everything she needed and put it in a backpack, exactly as Natasha asked.  It seemed that Stark and Banner had a momentary solution, and that made the tension between everyone go down.

But what didn't seem to fade away was the fear she felt, the uncertainty of not knowing who or what she was.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Everyone repeated everything they found about the Scarlet Witch, but no one knew exactly. And of course, although  people didn't say it, since they found out who she was, everyone seemed afraid of her.

Suddenly, three knocks on the door caught the girl’s attention as she tried to close the backpack.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I'll be ready soon, Natasha.” Wanda said with a low tone of voice and that exquisite sokovian accent.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

But the one who opened the door was not the redhead, but someone else who believed and wished to never see again.

Y/N sighed and closed the door behind her, leaning against the door. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“What are you doing here?” The Sokovian quickly became alert, chaos magic beginning to dance around her fingers.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I know you hate me.” The demon began, the melancholy in her eyes said more than words.

Seeing Wanda again made her heart come back to life, beating once again. Y/N couldn't help but feel sadness when she saw those beautiful reddish eyes because of crying.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Leave me alone.” Wanda hissed, willing to defend herself if she had to.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

But Y/N didn't do anything else, just slowly approach her and see that woman with loving eyes, even if Wanda attacked her with fury, she would still see the love of her life more beautiful than ever.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I just want to say I love you.” Y/N stopped in front of her, even though she wasn't going to hurt her, she didn't want to make the Sokovian uncomfortable.  “Please, just let me explain and then I’ll leave.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

So close to home and so far away.

For a moment she allowed herself to get lost in her gaze, hoping to come clean. Y/N knew that it wasn't going to fix things with Wanda, but it was enough to say sorry before chaos broke loose.

Wanda shook her head, unable to believe how Y/N dared to ask to be 'heard'.  “I shouldn't even allow you to be here right now.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I’m sorry… I'm really sorry for lying to you, I'm sorry for hiding so much from you and above all... allowing them to hurt you.” Y/N said those words with so much sadness, with a lost look and a deep pain in her heart. “It is my fault.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Tears escaped, slowly falling down Y/N’s cheek. A gesture so pure, so sincere that it made Wanda hesitate for a few moments. She would never have thought that a demon could cry. 

All the happy memories with Y/N flashed through her mind, knowing that her beloved's pain was genuine, but her own… That was much deeper and blinding. That one was a lot more painful.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“You are a demon.” Those harsh words made Y/N squirm, she wasn't going to forgive her. Wanda just shrugged, wasn't going to get it so easily. “Your tears don't move me, Y/N. Oh, yeah. Y/N isn't your real name.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Of course I tried to tell you my name, but you never listen to me!” Y/N tried, really trying to be patient. With any other human being she would have exploded but with Wanda, well, she was the exception to every rule. “I would like you to know the real me.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“The real you?” Wanda giggled sarcastically and tilted her head.  “That sadistic and malicious creature? The one who looked aside when me and my brother were dying of hunger? The one that let my parents die without doing anything about it?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I didn't know you and I was doing what they asked me to do. It's millennia, Wanda, millennia being the same and then I met you, and-” She tried to reason with her but Wanda just rolled her eyes, taking her backpack to leave what she considered 'home' for all that time.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“You make me want to be better.” Y/N followed her, until Wanda stopped. For that tiny second, the demon had hope. Maybe those words would give her a chance, at least to say goodbye. 

Wanda turned on her heels, and ending Y/N's anticipation, she finally said. She met Y/N's gaze so that the demon knew, so that the demon understood, that those were really her words and not the pain:  “After everything I saw... I would never love you.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N's hope and heart fell to the ground, breaking completely.

Feeling how the weight on that chest became more and more painful and overwhelming. There were no happy endings for demons.

And to finish stabbing the dagger, Wanda whispered:  “I would never love something like you.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Accepting what she deserved, Y/N nodded quickly swallowing all the pain.

The demon simply decided to lower her gaze and walk out the door without further ado, everything was said and everything was done.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

There was no turning back.

Leaving Y/N behind, Wanda quickly walked towards the elevator, hiding there until the doors closed behind.

Once they did, thanks to Friday who stopped the elevator so she could have a moment alone, the brunette allowed herself to cry uncontrollably for a long time.

Hugging herself, thinking about how much she wanted to go back and hug Y/N, to kiss her and forget everything. Want to go back in time, want everything to go well for the first time in her life.

Coming to her senses, Wanda left the elevator and finally entered the conference room, where everyone was planning what to do, how to attack and what the real mission of all this was.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“But they want her for what she will be.” was heard, they stopped when Wanda entered the room. An awkward silence tenses everything, until the only one who was brave to break it was Stark.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“The Scarlet Witch, Harbinger of Chaos.”  Tony explained to everyone, looking at Wanda, but not in an accusatory way. Strangely, Tony understood the situation thanks to Y/N. 

The girl just played with her rings, feeling uncomfortable and exposed.  “The Scarlet Witch was not just born but also forged. Her power exceeds that of the Sorcerer Supreme, and her destiny was… to destroy the world.” He sighed. “But what we are here for... is to avoid it. I don't think your power is destructive, Wanda.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“What will we do then? We can't hand her over to… that thing.” Steve kept his brow furrowed, totally serious. He was one in that room of those who would defend Wanda until death.  “How do you know all this?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Y/N.” Wanda murmured, knowing perfectly well the reason why Y/N visited her room.

To give them information that they could use.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Do we have to believe in a demon? A demon? That will do it because of the goodness in her heart?” Rhodey exclaimed in a mocking manner, shaking his head. 

Even though he used to be a pain in the ass sometimes, he was right.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I don't think Y/N is lying here, there's no point in warning us.”  Kate murmured somewhat nervously, noticing all the eyes on her. She stirred as if she sensed many birds of prey ready to devour her.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Kid, just let the adults talk.” Rhodey narrowed his eyes.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

As soon as she heard his tone, Yelena suddenly stood up and pointed at the man, threatening: “Don't talk to her like that again.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Everyone started arguing again, like the sixth time since they started the meeting, until Tony intervened:  “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Do you want to shut up? I found a way to save all of our lives, thank you very much.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Everyone was silent.

The mood was not easy to bear, everyone was tired, fearful, upset and anxious. Who wouldn't be? A battle was coming up that they didn't even know how to win.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“The plan is simple, I have a place, I have an idea. We need to recover the book that caused all this, but we can't open it or read it. Destroying it is the only solution.” Tony walked around the room, observing his friends one by one. Faces of confusion, fear, and even some with a certain curiosity. “The book corrupts everything and everyone that it touches, our duty is to keep it where it is. Not using it.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Bruce was in charge of explaining and showing them the plan and projections of what they would do.  Friday helped by showing some probabilities, as well as the plans of that machine they would use.

As they had previously deduced, it was a completely out of the ordinary and crazy plan, but it was their only chance.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“So, this machine will…” Natasha said somewhat skeptically, trying to understand.

And she wasn't the only one, everyone seemed a little worried about that sudden 'idea'.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“That will allow us to escape.” Bruce nodded, taking off his glasses. “Not everyone will be able to come, but those who do, know that we will do everything possible to protect this reality. Those who stay must protect the place.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“It’s insane.” Someone said. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“It is, but it’s our last chance. So… Who’s coming?” Tony asked, watching as some of his friends raised their hands quickly.

The man smiled with a certain pride, knowing that they would give their lives so that this planet would have another dawn.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Wanda simply remained silent, her gaze as lost as she was in her thoughts. She couldn't even look at her friends, this was all because of her.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Natasha saw her so quiet and placed a hand on Wanda’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Don't worry, we won't let them do anything to you, kid.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Looking at her, Wanda simply nodded her head hoping that this was really true.

ㅤ

NAMIB DESERT  TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Are you sure it’s here?” Natasha asked, grimacing as the Quinjet's door opened.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

At least she was grateful that there was no problem parking it, all around them could be seen vast sand dunes, dry trees and a claypan. Some wild animals ran away at the presence of strangers.

Deadvlei was a claypan, between the dunes in the Namib-Naukluft Park. The heat was oppressive, the sun remained high and that meant they still had time.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Grimacing, Wanda went down after Nat who was walking in front with Steve and Tony.

The day finally arrived, and those who had decided to go on the 'mission' were Steve, Tony, Clint, Kate, Yelena and Natasha.

Bucky promised to take care of the place along with Bruce, Sam and the others, delaying Abaddon as much as possible.  The big green guy was going to do everything possible to stop her long enough.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“The mission is to take back the Darkhold.”  Tony left the briefcase he was carrying on one of the platforms in front of them, a briefcase that opened with nanotech and little by little transformed into a kind of quadrangular machine.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Thanks to the help of an old friend of his father's, Henry Pym, Tony was able to use much of his tech to achieve what he thought impossible.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Everyone has their GPS, right? Come here, around the machine and… press it now.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Listening to what Stark asked, everyone surrounded that machine and finally pressed the GPS button. Quickly, a nanotech suit materialized perfectly around their clothes, except the helmet.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Good! It’s good!” Stark cheered and everyone seemed less worried. Even curious, playing and watching the material of that advanced suit. “I just need to get all the suits in sync-”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Everything was ready, everyone was ready for this new adventure but a flutter of wings surprised them.

In the distance, two demons approached slowly trying to walk on the warm sand.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Is it ready?” Y/N asked, noticing everyone's tense gaze on her. Possibly mentally preparing herself for Natasha Romanoff to strike out at her at any moment.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“What  is she doing here?!” Wanda asked, trying not to look at her.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I’m also here. Hi!”  Jule added, waving at them.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Did you make this plan with them?” Steve narrowed his eyes and then looked at Tony, who was trying to hide his embarrassed face.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Calm down, Rogers.” Tony tried to keep the peace. "Get back in your place, you're going to ruin everything! We need them!”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“No, we don’t!” Steve exclaimed, pulling up his shield, ready to use it.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Come back to your place again, granny. You don't want to break your hip.” Stolas scoffed and of course that almost made Y/N laugh, but it definitely stole a laugh from Clint which he tried to hide.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

After a few minutes bickering, Y/N sighed deeply and ended up shouting: “Shut the fuck up!”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Once again everyone seemed to get into a fight that they did not have the pleasure or privilege of having. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Do you want your friends to survive? Do you want this planet to keep spinning tomorrow?”  Y/N scolded and watched them one by one, even Wanda. Even though the sokovian had so many  reasons to be hurt, her life and the lives of others were in danger.  “Then do what you must. Do what we say! And you’ll survive!”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Her voice was strong and imposing.

And everyone's guilty silence proved her right, especially when a thunder made everyone look at the sky. While they were arguing, huge black clouds began to form, devouring that blue sky. The sun was gone.

Blinking in surprise, Y/N looked up, knowing that there was no more time. The light was gone.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“They’re coming.” She whispered, quickly taking position in front of them.  “Stark, put this damn thing to work. Time to fly!”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Upon hearing that, the avengers prepared to battle whatever was approaching. A breeze of wind rose, slightly moving the dry trees, making them creak.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“What? I thought she would go through the Compound first-” Stark stammered commanding Friday to turn on the machine.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

With a desolate look, Y/N simply whispered:  “They must all be dead by now… this is the only way out. I’m really sorry.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Those words made everyone's blood run cold.

If a dark sky and the absence of the sun wasn't scary enough, knowing that your friends died and not even being there was much worse.

Wanda felt horrible nausea, feeling all that guilt, all that pain.

Especially when seeing Steve shed a tear and clutch the shield tightly to his arm, ready to fight.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Come on!” Y/N screamed desperately, noticing that the machine seemed to turn on but stopped again as if the power wasn't enough. “Now turn the damn thing on!”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Can't! Is not working!” Tony became desperate too, typing rapidly on his tablet.  “Friday, help me a little, will you? Make a quick scan.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“How does it not work? You said you could do it!” Y/N growled. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“IT WAS TWENTY-FOUR HOURS!” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Prepare to fight.” Steve ordered but Y/N shook her head.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“No fighting, just stay in there!” Y/N exclaimed pointing at him, warning him that if he left his place, it would be worse. The demon turned to see Stolas. “We need to build a barrier.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Maybe I should turn myself in, and just make a deal.” Wanda mumbled, still thinking about Bucky and the others. She couldn't stop imagining so many bloody and tragic scenarios, and they were all her fault.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Like her parents. Like Pietro. Like Vision, Bruce and Bucky.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“No, Wanda, listen to me…” Y/N approached her but Wanda quickly backed away, not even wanting to look at her. Although something inside begged her to do it, to hug her, to kiss Y/N one more time. She didn't do it.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I love you, more than anything in my entire existence. You are the first person I have loved since... I was made.” Her voice broke. Y/N was confessing her love from the deepest and most real part of her being, the only good part left in the demon. “I'm really sorry for everything I did. I hope someday you can forgive me, and if you don't, my greatest wish is that you can be truly happy. So please don't give in, not just for yourself, but for everyone around you. Keep holding on.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Once she said that, Y/N turned around and summoned her sword, which held firmly in her right hand. Before the surprised gaze of the others, Y/N closed her eyes and brought lips to the blade, whispering something incomprehensible. A dark and ancient language.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

After that, she brought the blade to her palm and made a deep cut, before Wanda's surprised look.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“We have to do it.”  Jules held out her hand, hoping she would cut it too. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

This one's for believing, if only for its sake Come on friends, get up now, love is to be made.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N frowned, doubtful. It was one thing for her, but it was another thing to risk someone else's life. “Are you sure? You don’t have to-”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I know.” Stolas sighed and nodded solemnly. “I’ll do.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N  took a deep breath before cutting their hands, making some blood drops to begin to fall around them and the machine.

Jules did the same, letting the blood fall in the same places until they met.

Once they connected, both intertwined their wounded hands and began to recite a spell that neither  could understand. It wasn't a known language, it definitely wasn't human. Even Friday couldn't figure it out. An ancient and dark and dark spell, one created long before language was made.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

What surprised most of them was seeing both of their eyes change; using glamor to hide their demonic eyes carried an energy that they had to redirect towards the barrier spell.

They stayed like that for a minute until they separated, sighing relaxedly as they saw how a barrier covered all of them. An invisible barrier to the eyes of any enemy.

A barrier impossible to break, no matter how strong you were.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Frowning, Wanda asked:  “What did you do?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“What is this?” Natasha asked, a bit worried. She didn't like feeling locked in at all. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Stay inside and don't go out.”Y/N begged , somewhat agitated, that spell did more than just take their energy. Felt everything start to spin but she tried to stay strong.  “It is a powerful blood spell.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Steve approached the barrier somewhat hesitantly and tried to touch it, go through it, but it was like touching a concrete wall. Not even his shield could break it.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“If you could do that, why didn't you do it before?”  Captain America said, a bit suspiciously.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Because it's a binding spell! It ties one life to the other!” Y/N yelled, already annoyed, tired of answering so many stupid questions. She was about to die, she was giving her life so they could survive and the stupid machine wasn't working. Wasn’t that enough?  “The barrier is powerful and will protect you, as long as we survive.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Everyone looked at them in surprise, understanding what it meant. Even Tony, who stopped looking at the screen to look at Y/N.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“So you-” Wanda whispered in disbelief.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“So...if you guys die...” Kate followed those words. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“The barrier will fall. ” Y/N gulped. “We'll try to hold on as long as possible... so Stark, hurry up.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

In the face of an awkward silence, Y/N cleared her throat and turned around so they wouldn't see her that way.

They went from seeing her as a disgusting being to pitying her, and she didn't know which of the two was worse.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

However Jules pouted a little seeing them. “Don't be sad, we'll be fine. You will fix all our mistakes.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Thank you.” Yelena mumbled. Words they would never have expected, especially coming from someone like her. Yelena nodded nobly, accepting that sacrifice.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“It’s okay. Anyway.” Y/N swallowed and nodded quickly, she didn't know how to react to that. For someone to be  kind to her. Again.  “Do not leave the protection, if you leave it will be more difficult for us and more painful. Don't interfere either. Once the spell is cast and the sacrifice accepted, there is no going back.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

The flapping of wings could be heard, growing louder around them. As if a flock of crows were approaching.

Everyone looked up trying to find the reason for the sound, it became closer and more terrifying. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“They’re coming.” Y/N muttered and then looked at Stark, so terrified.  “Do not engage, just fix it and leave.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Before he could even answer, a new presence made everyone turn to look.

As stunning and beautiful as deadly, Abaddon smiled widely as she saw everyone.  A smile that made many feel a horrible chill.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I think they gave me the wrong address for the party.” The redhead said, strangely cheerful, especially when several demons began to appear behind. Her legion. “Hand over the girl and everyone will die less painfully than I want.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Willing to protect them, Y/N and Jules settled in front of them. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“But I’ve to say, these traitors will suffer a horribly, harrowing, terrifying death… And you will see it.”   Abaddon said, licking her fangs in a creepy way. “So Wanda, honey, let’s go. Mommy's tired of waiting.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“She’s not going anywhere.” Y/N said sharply, with a determined look. 

Of course, while she tried to distract the redhead, Stark was working quickly to fix the machine.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I’m glad we finally met.” The redhead tilted her head to look into the eyes of the witch, who looked at her with enormous hatred. “You're going to watch everyone around you right now, all your friends, die. In terrifying ways.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

But the Sokovian didn't say anything, she just stood steady, without showing any fear. Like all of her friends.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“We will bleed so much pain out of you that you will be left in deep need of therapy for millennia.” The Knight of Hell laughed, followed by everyone around her. “And the only thing you will have is us. Isn’t that sad?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Abaddon turned to look at Y/N.  “What does it feel like? Neither heaven nor hell wants you! You are not part of any. You’re nothing. You have no purpose.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ This one's for the faithless, the ones that are surprised They're only where they are now, regardless of their fight

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Slowly surrounding Y/N, Abaddon summoned her sword. It was a dark sword, which unlike Y/N's smooth and sharp blade, this one had its edge broken, like sharp teeth, to cause even more damage.

But what she wanted with those words was to cause more emotional damage, break her completely and end the Leviathan in one fell swoop. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“And you still don't see it? The one who was going to hurt her so deeply… is you.” Abaddon mocked like a maniac, celebrating the debacle of the GREAT demon.  “Not just your betrayal, the pain we need will be caused by your death… right now, in front of her.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N's face suddenly paled. How had she not thought of that before?

She quickly turned to look at Wanda, hoping that really wasn't true. Y/N had always been the worst thing that happened to her, even when she didn't want to.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“You are her savior and her executor.” Abaddon repeated those words she had highlighted before.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

While all the demons around her laughed cruelly, Y/N remained silent trying to deal with all those voices in her mind. How was she so blind?

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Okay, I got tired. Kill them all.” Abaddon shrugged and several demons walked towards the avengers, ready to tear them apart.

But Y/N's voice stopped them dead, especially what she had to say.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“You don't have to do this.” Y/N pointed her sword at Abaddon, there was no turning back. If she was going to leave, she would do it with honor. “I challenge you to a duel, you and me. Nobody else."

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Yeah, I don’t care.”  The redhead was going to ignore her but Y/N appeared in front of the Knight, placing the point of Willbreaker on that pale neck. Making some demons cheer in amusement, making Abaddon feel completely like an idiot.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“I am Leviathan, my name is holy, and you will accept the duel, because I outrank you.” Y/N hissed. Clenching her jaw, you could see in those blue demonic eyes how furious she was. Abaddon couldn't refuse a duel, especially with Y/N.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Completely changing from anger to a pleased smile, Abaddon nodded and bowed. “I accept.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Sighing and lowering her sword, Y/N made sure that only one of them left that place alive.

But what the demon didn't expect was that the demons behind would suddenly catch her, taking her sword away. A rather treacherous move, but what could she expect from a demon?

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Not understanding what it was about, or if Abaddon was not going to comply, Y/N opened her eyes wide especially because the redhead moved away from her to approach Stolas.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“But first, the vermin.”  The higher demon looked at Jules, vicious violence was reflected in those eyes.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

“Let me go. This is between you and me!” Y/N growled, trying to break free, but even more demons held her down.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

… This one's for the faithless, the ones that are surprised. They're only where they are now, regardless of their fight…

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ

Abaddon's wicked gaze fell on Natasha, then pointed her sword at Stolas. “You know who she is, right?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“She told me everything.” Natasha clenched her jaw tightly, remembering all the things Jules said to her the last time they saw each other. All those secrets.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

The brunette was extremely sincere, to the point that she endured Natasha's punches and screams when she found out who Jules was, and why kept silent about the Red Room.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Narrowing her blue eyes, doubtful that the little demon was sincere, Abaddon kept poking the bear. “Stolas was the one in charge of keeping everything running in the Red Room, so long ago. She was a great demon. Prince of Hell.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

She smiled evilly, feeling the pain and spite in Natasha. And above all, the blame on Stolas. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“But I must tell you something, be honest with you even though I love to lie.” The redhead faked a love sigh and placed a hand on her chest. “But one day… she decided to throw everything away and allowed one of the Black Widows, one of the best and most ruthless agents, to escape. Can you believe it?"

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Jules looked down, sad but remembering a dark past. Having mercy had been her 'big mistake'.  She never told Nat that she helped in the 'escape'.

The Knight shook her head, disappointed. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“And when she returned to hell, we torture and humiliated her for years, hundreds of years. Well, time passes differently there anyway.” Abaddon shrugged and turned to look at Jules. “Draw your sword, little bird.” 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

It looked like a small bird about to be eaten by a crocodile, but Stolas did not retreat. Jules swallowed, stepping back and finally summoned her sword. 

It was a smaller sword than Y/N's, leaf-bladed but definitely much better than nothing. Stolas was a fallen angel, but not as important as them.

She positioned herself ready to fight, but Abaddon raised an eyebrow.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Everyone look at the prince of Hell!” The redhead mocked. “Did you think you were going to go against me? Really? She thinks she's in the big leagues.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Everyone started laughing, making the brunette feel even more nervous. She rested her gaze on Y/N, who just looked into her brown eyes, trying to encourage her.

Stolas held onto the grip of the sword, feeling her hands sweating.

But as Abaddon walked away, ready to watch the fight, some demons stepped forward holding their swords. Not just one, there were five.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Astaroth. Oriax. Sitri. Orobas… and…” Jules named them one by one, watching as they surrounded her with a wicked look. Of course she was at a disadvantage, but she wouldn't let them intimidate her.  Stolas wrinkled her nose, looking at the fifth in front of her. “I don't really know you, you must be new. You're going to be a piece of cake.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Finally she smiled a bit smugly, moving the sword in circles and waiting for one of them to take the first step. The tension increased while everyone waited for the first one to make a mistake, and luckily one of the demons ended up giving in to his internal violence, launching the first blow.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Taking advantage of this offensive movement, Stolas blocked the attack and pushed that demon towards the others. Between punches, blocks and stabs, the little demon thanked each of the lessons that Natasha taught her. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

All of them watched that battle with sadness and amazement. Without realizing that they were at a key moment for the universe, feeling completely helpless as they watched every time Jules received a hit or a cut.

But even so, the brunette moved skillfully, trying to avoid being attacked by all of them. With that heart beating fast and her breathing labored, Stolas raised the sword and waited again for the attack of four of them.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

The demon that she 'did not know' ended up on the ground, disappearing from the face of the Earth. One down, four to go.

The blood fell down her face, the cuts in so many parts of her body made her recoil like a wounded animal. That tender, sweet look was now a deadly look, and she would die with it until she took her last breath.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

A gasping breath as she attacked again, but this time there was something different. Stolas eyes widened as she felt the edge of a sword stabbing her stomach forcefully.

Behind her, one of the demons smiled maliciously. She fell on her knees, unable to understand.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

A loud beep drowned out the screams around them, Natasha's screams, Y/N's screams trying to break free, the cheers of the demons around.

Those brown eyes filled with tears, feeling that sharp and terrifying pain in her belly. As if something began to boil inside her. An unbearable pain.

And still, she managed to get up little by little.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Leave her alone.” Y/N begged Abaddon, kneeling as those demons held her. “Don’t do this. The fight is between you and me.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

But Abaddon just smirked, victorious.

Especially when another of the demons stabbed Stolas from the front again, and the next as well. Finally she knelt down, trying to bear it but finally the last one of the swords pierced her body.

Y/N kept kicking and fighting trying to get free. Tears began to fall in floods down her face, feeling a deep pain in her heart. A pain that she never thought she would feel for something or someone other than Wanda.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

For someone a demon like her never thought, she would become her best friend. A great friend. A loyal friend.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

So loyal, that blood began to gush from her pink lips but she did not complain. Jules just turned to look at Y/N, smiling with that tenderness that always characterized her since they met.

The one she always complained about, saying 'you should look more serious, Stolas. You’re a demon.'

And now, she would never see again.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

… This is for the ones who stand...

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“It’s okay.” Jules whispered, her gaze on Y/N, one last time. Trying to give her peace, knowing that she would leave as a 'hero'.

Suddenly, Abaddon’s sword pierced Stolas chest from behind, stealing the last sigh from her.

Her brown eyes flashed for a moment before burning, as Y/N screamed in despair. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Really terrifying screams, full of pain, like a wounded and angry beast. A sound that would haunt everyone for eternity.  A sound as if a beast was wounded, like a powerful storm in the ocean. 

She would destroy everything in her way.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

The first layer of protection that surrounded the Avengers faded with the loss of Stolas. That terrified Tony, who kept trying to solve the issue and kept talking to Friday. Repeating the process again, unsuccessfully.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

The ashes in the air made her explode, pushing the demons with such force that it surprised them.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

"Y/N...." Wanda tried to get her attention, approaching the barrier but the demon didn't hear her. She was furious, completely blind.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

"Y/N, don't do it. That's what she wants." Natasha said, approaching too but none of them were lucky.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Finally!” Abaddon exclaimed excitedly, swinging her sword.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Do what you have to do and get out!” Y/N yelled at Tony, clenching the handle of her sword tightly before delivering the first swing.

She was tired of being patient and playing the war in the smartest way.

Every furious step approaching Abaddon was every blow she swung with her sword.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

The anger that Y/N managed only made the redhead laugh happily, knowing that she got what she wanted, hurting Y/N deeply. Therefore, her death would be even more delicious.

The sharp blades of their swords meeting again and again made Tony feel even more anxious and terrified. The pressure not only of the moment but of his friends, who were waiting.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Y/N moved with surprising agility, hitting hard but also evading delicately, as if it were a dance.

She looked so confident, so strong, that Wanda even felt a bit proud, although she would never admit it. 

Strange that Abaddon didn’t attack with all her power, and had a very good reason.

Because when Y/N finally slashed her cheek, the redhead unleashed all the fury of the angel of the abyss.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Okay, enough games.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

With blinding fury, like hellfire, Abaddon advanced striking so hard that Y/N feared her sword would break. Amazed by the redhead's brute strength, she frowned when, with one blow, Abaddon sent her stumbling back.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Y/N frowned.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Surprised?” Abaddon teased.  “You are not the only one with help. I thought you were going to use your wings.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Approaching quickly, Abaddon launched a blow making her fall.

Y/N held the swing of the sword with her own, kneeling, using the strength of her legs but the force the redhead exerted began to make her give way.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“You’re just weak.” Abaddon said through clenched teeth, seeing the demon on the ground, she struck again but Y/N moved quickly, evading it. “Like her.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

The Knight hit hard again but only found dust, Y/N stood up nimbly, moving away but always staying alert.

One of the demons was going to attack her from behind, like Jules, but the redhead quickly made it fall back, raising a hand. “She’s mine!” Yelled angrily, and looked at the Leviathan again. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Time after time, Abaddon took the lead and hit her hard. Not only with the sword, but also with punches and kicks. Both hitting the ground, crashing into rocks.

Time passed and they both fought fiercely, but unfortunately the redhead had the upper hand, with just a few cuts and blows. While Y/N, she was much worse.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Abaddon's last sword blow cut her stomach and her left eye, crossing her face, losing the eye forever.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Give up, it’s over. She’s ours.” The Knight of Hell boastfully exclaimed.  

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

She had never seen Y/N like that, defeated and tired. And she loved it.

Y/N coughed up more blood than she expected.

The pain in her stomach and back let her know that she had two large cuts, so deep that blood began to fall like rivers. “As long as I’m breathing… it’s not over.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Leviathan was so hard and stubborn, like waves hitting the rock. Time and time again, she would come back.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Why do you fight for them? They are no better than us, look at them…”  Abaddon pointed to her friends, whom Y/N considered her family for all that time. To whom she would have sold without thinking long ago, and she now was giving her life to protect them. For Wanda, the woman she loved; feeling love for the first time in her life, caring about something other than herself.  

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“They’re terrified, hiding while a ‘demon’ fights for them.”  The blue-eyed demon glanced at them out of the corner of her eye. “Why fight for them? They are parasites.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Taking a deep breath, getting as much air as she could, tried to stay alive.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Sometimes I tend to wonder why…  Why I try?” But Y/N chuckled sadly, shaking her head as she tried to catch her breath.  “Because I have been around them all my life, watching these vermin benefit, feed, and destroy everything in their path. They are parasites.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Finally the demon got up with some difficulty, Y/N spit blood to the side.

Everything hurt, inside and outside. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“I’ve seen what they're capable of… I just realized how fucked up they are! Just wandering around through life until they die! Which they know is coming, and yet every single one of them is surprised when it happens to them! They came to Hell saying 'oh no! What did I do?! 'How could I have died?!” Y/N laughed, feeling the pain in her body. Thinking how crazy that all sounded and how strange they could be.

Slowly, she limped closer. and watched them one by one. Knowing their deepest desires, their darkest sins.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“They only think of satisfying their own desires, those two you see there?” She pointed at Tony and Steve. “They were about to beat each other so many times… Tony Stark sold weapons! That they destroyed Wanda's home! Remember? Humans kill each other, which is CLEARLY insane…” Y/N sighed as she saw Wanda,  and then turned to face Abaddon again. “But here’s the thing… When it's something that really matters, they fight. I mean, they're lame morons for fighting sometimes…”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Abaddon tilted her head, trying to understand. To her it was just incoherent babbling.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“But they do. They never, never quit…” Y/N held her sword again. “So I guess I will keep fighting for them too.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

The redhead did the same. It was glorious to be able to end someone who wanted to destroy her entire existence, envied since she was made but  also had respect for Leviathan. “It's your death.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Honey, it has been for quite some time. You just don't know.” Y/N smiled mockingly and began to surround her as if she were a wild animal, taking a more alert and less defensive position.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Despite the pain going through different parts of her body, Y/N moved the sword in circles, waiting for the attack.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

…For the ones who try again…

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

And when the redhead attacked, Y/N used the opponent's strength to cut her body and make her stumble. A deep cut across her thigh, making Abaddon limp. 

Natasha's voice reminding her of that move over and over again in their training reached her.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Turning to look at her with murderous fury, Abaddon attacked again but Y/N knew how to defend herself until the Knight used the strength of those invisible wings, hitting her chest so hard and making Y/N fall and slide into the protective barrier.

Worried, everyone watched as the demon stirred in pain. The only one who could get past the protection was Y/N, and if Abaddon realized the spell, she would do her best to destroy it.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Don't… move. Their eyes are on me, just... leave. Soon.” Y/N mumbled in pain, still on the ground, trying to catch air like a fish out of water. The demons' laughter made Y/N  close her eyes for a moment, trying to gather the strength to keep going.  She couldn't stop there.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

She had to give them time, she had to help them.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Y/N opened her eyes when she felt a presence next to her, a soft hand taking hers, to help her up. Kate Bishop gave her a small smile as Y/N placed the arm around her shoulder for support. Yelena quickly approached to help too.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Thank you.” The demon muttered barely due to the swelling from the cut on her face, slowly walking with them towards the barrier.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Kate? I have to be honest with you.” She whispered, swallowing hard. “When I met you… I thought you were a fool, like a weak point and desperate for a friend.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Those words made Y/N shed a tear. Ashamed of herself. “I was never so wrong in my entire existence… because you are my best friend. You are a good person, you have a big heart… so please, never lose it. I was the fool, but lucky to have you all.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“I do believe that you can change.” Kate dared to say,  those blue eyes so red from crying. The archer was the first brave one to step forward to help her, without expecting anything else. “I don't care that you are a demon, you both were my best friends. I'm sorry I was so afraid of you.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

… For the ones who need a hand…

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Thank you.” Kate said as well and hugged Y/N for a moment, surprising the demon who simply nodded barely.

Knowing that it was a noble sacrifice, despite being a completely dark creature.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Natasha tried to dry her tears and just smiled sadly, each one thanked her in her own way. Even with the silence.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“I think this time is going to work. Friday is turning on the machine...” Tony assured, somewhat sadly. “Do you think you can last five minutes?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Five minutes?" Y/N took a deep breath. “Piece of cake.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

But as soon as she was going to leave, Y/N felt arms around her body. A strong, needed hug, a hug that she had waited her entire life for. The demon closed her eyes, trying not to keep crying.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Please don't leave me here.” Wanda begged, hiding her face in her lover's chest. Nothing mattered anymore, not the resentment, not the past, not the pain. The pain in her voice,  Wanda’s crying broke Y/N's heart.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“We can handle them, I- can handle them. Just don't leave, detka. Please.” The Sokovian tried, raising her gaze to fix her gaze on who she knew and considered to be the love of her life. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Smiling with deep anguish, Y/N gulped. “I have to.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

The Sokovian's sadness, the pain just made the demons around her, along with Abaddon, laugh like hyenas. Rejoicing in the brunette's pain because they knew it was all they needed.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“I don’t want you to die.” Wanda sobbed, caressing her face slowly, feeling deep pain when she saw the wound. “I’m sorry.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

And finally, a small and sincere smile, a small light of happiness, returned to those lips.

That was the best ending in the world, how could she not leave being loved by the most wonderful woman in existence?

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

She would leave like a champion. Like a champion of good.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“I love you.” She kissed Wanda’s forehead and closed her eyes as a small tear escaped down her bloody cheek. The demon couldn't wait any longer, even if that kiss lasted forever.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Slowly, her fingers slid away from hers. Although everything in her being, her mind, her heart, begged to stay… she knew it was best.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“You can do this.” The Sokovian said one more time, encouraging her once again.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Turning to look at her and picking up the sword from the ground, Y/N nodded solemnly.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

… For the ones who think they can.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Of course she will do it. For her.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“How long again, Stark?” Y/N growled.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“The process will begin in five minutes…” Friday warned, making Abaddon narrow her eyes.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

And without further ado, Y/N returned to attack Abaddon with enormous force. Despite the pain, despite the injuries, despite the death of a friend. She had love, and it was something much stronger than any evil in the world.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Three minutes!” Tony yelled.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Y/N swung her sword and struck so fiercely that the redhead had no choice but to back away.

Surprised, Abaddon's eyes widened as Y/N kicked her stomach and sliced part of the white long neck.

Blood began to fall, leaving the Knight with no choice but to attack again.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

But knowing those movements, and knowing that Abaddon knew nothing but rage, Y/N turned avoiding her in a spectacular move and dodged the blow, stabbing Abaddon in the chest.

A masterstroke, even making Natasha proud.

Smiling the same way Abaddon did when she killed Stolas, Y/N stabbed the sword even deeper until she was close to her face and looked into those malignant eyes. 

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“I was always superior to you, I just didn't want to settle for little... like you.” y/n whispered before violently removing the sword. The wound in her redhead's chest began to burn until she consumed it in a gasp of pain.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Breathing deeply and trying to stand, Y/N changed her eyes and watched the demons around her.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Abaddon is gone. I am superior now, and I order you not to attack. Anyone who does something I don't like will burn like she did.” Y/N growled at them, looking at them with a murderous look.

The demons simply took a step back and lowered their heads, accepting the orders.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Does this mean we don't have to leave?” Natasha asked, frowning.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

They were about to leave the barrier when Y/N opened her eyes wide and raised her hand, stopping them.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Wait.” Y/N whispered.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

She knew that presence, one Y/N hadn't seen for a long time but knew was around.

After a few seconds, a flutter of wings was heard and all the demons quickly moved away, making room for her to pass.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Slowly, that being walked towards Y/N with a unique elegance. Her curly brunette hair danced with every step she took, the armor shining like a sunny day.  She was a great fighter; the long sword, bearer of truth.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“I see you've gotten what you wanted.” Raphael said as she watched Abaddon’s ashes disappear.  “Well done! I'm here to make sure you keep your deal.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Y/N?” Tony frowned as Friday reminded him that the process was done, they were only one button away from leaving. “Is this about the deal?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“What deal?” Wanda frowned.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Lower beings should not interfere when adults speak.” Raphael watched Tony as if she were a bird of prey about to pounce on him. And Tony was about to answer, when Y/N intervened.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Wait.” The demon quickly said, expectant of the archangel Raphael's movements. “The deal is that she will be protected and safe. For her to be with her friends, I don't want her to-”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Hold on.” Raphael turned to look at her, letting out an incredulous chuckle. Those blue eyes made her shiver. “That wasn't in the deal. I told you we would take care of her, and that's because I'm here to take her.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Not being able to believe what she was hearing, Y/N looked down somewhat thoughtfully.  “Take her where?”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“We’ll keep an eye on the girl in Heaven, we can't let 'The Scarlet Witch' just wander around there like it's nothing.” Raphael rolled her eyes, walking around to see Wanda more closely, as if it were a 'thing'.  “It is a very powerful weapon. And now its ours.”

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Y/N? What is she talking about?” Wanda looked at Y/N, who was still somewhat pensive.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“I don't care who you are. You're not taking her anywhere she doesn't want.” Steve stepped forward, holding his shield ready to defend the girl. Like everyone else, they took their place in front of Wanda.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“The process has been completed.” Friday repeated.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Y/N?” Tony asked again, hoping for a quick answer. The screen warned over and over again that everything was ready.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

The tension increased again, no one knew what to do or how to react.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“You know the place, right?” Y/N looked up and met Stark's eyes, who nodded knowing perfectly well what she meant. For a moment everyone believed that the problems had been solved, but apparently they had gotten worse.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Stark, don’t.” Wanda took a step forward, ready to leave the protection.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

“Now!” Y/N screamed and swung at the archangel, diverting her attention so they could escape.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

With a simple twist, so elegant and smooth, Raphael deflected Y/N's attack and stabbed the celestial sword into the demon's chest.

Opening her eyes wide, Y/N met Raphael's blue gaze and then fell to her knees.

A simple cut was already deadly, a stab to the heart of that shiny blade was eternal ruin.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

But nothing was as terrifying as Wanda's cry of pain, seeing the woman she loved dying, slowly fading away. A scream so powerful, that a scarlet witch energy escaped from her fingers with such force that it pushed Raphael and all the demons around her so hard.

The strength of that power made the archangel open her eyes big, terrified.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Wanda couldn't stop crying, fighting with everyone to escape from their arms and go to her. With her last efforts, Y/N threw her sword into the protection so Natasha took it, holding it with some fear.

Giving one last look to Wanda, Y/N smiled slightly before disappearing into the ashes.

Without waiting another second, Tony pressed the button and all the suits activated, and they disappeared in a matter of seconds. 

Leaving them behind.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

… And this part was for her, and this part was for her. This part was for her, does she remember?

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ

Okay,I know. This was so long, and might be the saddest thing I've ever wrote?

But I hope you liked it, finished it on my bday! ✨✨

Finale is coming soon.

here goes some cuties, the most amazing people tags   ✨  :  @wandanatfan @get-the-fuck-outta-here @idontknow-llol @marvelogic @sunsol-22 @alexawynters @kacka84 🐝

Thank you so much for reading me, sweets! ✨ I'm working hard, but there are only two more left!

If you want me to tag you in the next chapters, just comment and I will. 🐝

[nezz-cringe-crib]

LAWLIGHT HEADCANONS LAWLIGHT HEADCANONS LAWLIGHT HEADCANONS PLSS

Share your winsdom with us mortals

ALSO- Some L angst maybe? I like seeing him suffer bc he is my favorite blorbo and I love making my blorbos suffer

(only if you are comfortable with it, ofc. Don't wanna push anything :) )

OOOOUGHH AAAAAA ABSOLUTELY

i always suck at giving hcs off the fly, but here's some i've thought up of before and like to think about instead of sleeping :333 (be warned that they're all pretty vanilla lolz. my hcs are basic. i just like my blorbos.)

Lawlight hcs:

blorbbooo tiiimmeeeee :33 - i personally really like fluffy lawlight things, but a lot of those are usually for aus and everything (since i can't see them being very fluffy in the normal death note plot). but i like to imagine them having stupid teenage-like crush moments with each other. like maybe during the yotsuba arc or something, L wants more sweets but watari is already out doing something, so his dramatic ass is just whining about "oh woe is me....... there's nothing in the vicinity for me to munch on......... how will i ever go on......." and then to get him to shut up, light begrudgingly either bakes something for L (which could probably lead to a lot of silly shenanigans with stupid dorky smiles before light immediately takes it back and starts bickering with L again), or light convinces L to go buy some sweets from a bakery in town (and then L gets distracted because there's multiple sweet-filled stores and his greedy ass has to try all of them so now they're essentially just going on a date trip around all the sweet stores in town). - also to add onto that last bullet, there's this one fic i just read last night that was so stupid and adorable and i loved it. it's called "You can't have my name, but you can have my number" and i recommend checking it out if you like short and sweet fluffy fics. :] (and if you want more fluffy fics, go read everything @rawrlight has made. his fics are so fucking good please read them i am obsessed with them actually pleasepleasepleaseplease) - L is surprisingly good with kids and light won't admit it but he's kinda into it. - L nonchalantly shares food with light and light totally overthinks the shit out of it. - they totally pick at each other for everything. light picks at L for every unsanitary thing he does. L picks at light for having an unnecessarily long and complicated hygiene routine (i like to imagine he has a shit ton of hair and skincare products). anybody who walks past the bathroom while they're in it is bound to hear non-stop bickering. (or, if you really wanna match my freak, have matsuda open the bathroom door while they're getting ready only to see them in the middle of a fight. whether the pose they're in looks compromisingly homosexual is up to you my dear sillies).

uhhhhhh and that's all i can think of for now. awww zoinks.....

but now L angst headcanons yipeeeeeeeee :33333

L angst hcs:

ooougghhhh buckle up boyz... it's angsty tism time..... - i don't think L was ever good at making friends (this is very much a projected headcanon but shshshshshsh ignore that). despite being insanely intelligent and pretty damn good at whatever he sets his mind to, i don't think he ever got the hang of making deep, personal connections. and i feel like he wants to. throughout his whole life, maybe he wanted to make friends but it always just fell flat. maybe as a child there were times where thought he had made a friend, only to realize those feelings were not reciprocated. despite everything he tried, he was just never "human" enough to seemingly make all those lasting connections that he analyzes so deeply. and i think he probably gave up on trying at some point. and all of this is why i feel like his connection with light is so important. even though he knows it'll end in tragedy and that he will die by light's hand, he still can't help but feel... a little more human with light. and i think he'd risk death in order to feel like that one more time. - i don't usually like reading/seeing heavily angsty stuff, but i remember seeing somebody headcanon that they thought L went through solitary confinement as a child in the wammy house, and i always thought that was interesting. i'm not gonna expand on it though since heavy angst isn't really my vibe. (i love making my blorbos suffer, but not too much.) - yeah most of my L angst is him just being incredibly lonely. in the sense of "he doesn't cry about it (he's probably only cried once in his life and that was probably as a very young child), but there's always been some missing piece in his heart that just can't ever seem to be filled". - actually-- loneliness and his inhumanity. that's what i fuck with the most. though they kind of intertwine, so. yeah i kinda just sound like a broken record atp but sshhhhhhhhhhh it pays off (sometimes) i swear. - he also has a lot of religious trauma in my eyes (again, projection). i know he's not religious or anything, but i feel like he'd fit that song "Dear God" by XTC a lot. - oh and he also sulks a fuckton. he doesn't cry, he pouts and goes to stand in the rain while reminiscing on old memories. that's what his emo dramatic ass does and i fucking love him for it.

that's all i can really think of right now. hopefully that's somewhat entertaining. most of my headcanons are very basic compared to other people i've seen, but they are still special in my heart. :))))

[honey-milk-depresso]

Hello! I see that your requests are open so.. I am requesting Azul enemies to lovers hcs where at first, they saw themselves as love rivals because they liked the same person but then the feelings slowly fade out for the one person and soon for each other (hopefully this isn't extremely specific, also definitely not one of your server demons with those demonic tsum bots)

┏ ⋙THE PERFECT ONE FOR ME - AZUL ASHENGROTTO X READER

Synopsis: You and Azul had a common crush on Jade, which lead you to become rivals for his love. Little did you two know that Jade knew all along, and instead of leaving it as it is, he decided to take a different approach in the situation…

⋙l o a d i n g…

loading completed!✓ …━━━━━☆

“Azul.”

“Y/N.”

The sharp and hostile snap you had in your voices contrasted the kind smiles you two sent towards each other, clutching the bouquet of flowers you had with a furious passion to just fistfight the other party.

It’s no mystery to the both of you that you both have a crush on the vice dorm leader of Octavinelle: elegant and kind (most of the time), charming and refreshing… Jade was the center of attention, no doubt, and because of that the two of you always had been competing for his love.

“Well, as his childhood friend, I’m sure he would find my flowers more highly regarding than yours,” Azul snidely remarked.

“Oh really? Last time I checked, you’re the boss that always caused him to overwork and I always have been recharging his batteries since day 1. He’d think yours is insincere,” you counter-attacked, Azul’s eyes twitching.

“We’ll see about that!”

“Fine!”

You stormed into Monstro Lounge, sending death glares at one another as you butted heads and shoulders with one another as you both headed to Jade’s direction.

Meanwhile, Floyd rested his head on the counter as Jade was cleaning a glass. Floyd sighed as he pouted. “Jadeee~ They’re at it again. Are you seriously gonna let them continue doing this?” He frowned at his twin brother who merely chuckled at his sentence.

“Don’t be silly, Floyd. Of course, I wouldn’t let this go any further. It’s no fun seeing friends fight, so I’m going to try making them get along with one another,” Jade smiled.

“Jade!” the two of you called in unison. “Ah, there they are… Azul, Y/N, could you come here for a moment?”

“Actually I was gonna give you-” “Here, Jade these are for you!” “Why you little-!” “QUIT YANKING MY SHIRT, YOU DAMN OCTOPUS-” “YOU LET GO OF MY HAIR AND THEN WE’LL TALK-”

Jade sighed as he crossed his arms, smiling in amusement with Floyd grinning. “On second thought, you should keep at it.”

“Oh, Floyd…”

Jade cleared his throat. “Ahem, pardon me.” The two of you instantly stop, messed up from yanking each other by the hair and shirt (and you may or may not have bit Azul’s finger-).

“I appreciate your kind gestures for gifting me flowers,” Jade continued, “but I may I request a favor from the both of you?" Jade smiled candidly, making you both blush.

"Of course, anything for you, Jade," Azul smiled.

"Yeah, I'm sure I can help you with whatever," you said, snidely jabbing at the octopus who gritted his teeth at you.

"Excellent! Now, I want you both..." Jade clasps his hands together as he cheerfully praised, the two of you looked at him in anticipation, ready to prove to Jade you're better than the other.

"...to go on a date with one another! Right here in Monstro Lounge!" the eel smiled.

Your jaw dropped in disbelief, looking at Azul who gave you the same expression of bewilderment.

"B-but, Jade, we can't possibly go on a date!" Azul told him exasperatedly.

"But that's the point," Jade replied, " I want you both to get along. Listen, I don't like seeing my two friends fight each other. So, if not for each other, at least do it for me?" Jade flashed a sad look, to for the normal students of NRC, knew to stay weary for its deceiving nature. But for the two of you? God, you both fell for it hard.

"Alright..."

"Wonderful! I'll ask Floyd to take care of the date!"

"What-"

"Make sure to dress up! Floyd will be the one serving your date!~"

"JADE WHAT-"

♧…━━━━━☆

"I can't believe this..." you muttered under your breath as you stood right outside the enterance of Monstro Lounge. How did you get yourself in this mess? You couldn't even get a date with the man of your dreams and now you had to have your first date with some slimy octopus.

Just your luck. At least Monstro Lounge was close for the day, otherwise there’s be too many eyewitnesses to see you absolutely humiliated.

"You look run-downed like your dorm," you heard a familiar voice snicker, you clenched your first together as you forced a smile.

"Well, kind sir, you look like an old man with that suit on!"

"Oh yeah? At least I look like a person and not trash litter!"

"At least I look like my age than 80 years older!"

"Shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"Could you both shut up?" Floyd groaned in annoyance, muttering to himself of how he was going to give an earful to Jade later, who probably would act blissful and oblivious to his brother’s lamenting. “Over here, losers.”

Floyd dragged his feet towards a round table, with soft candlelights that flickered in the dark cavern of Monstro Lounge, dimly lit to set the “romantic scene”.You eyed each other like two cats about to pounce on one another, slowly dragging your chairs out and sat on them slowly, the glare still lingers as you gave each other a stinging burn like a hot knife directly at the other.

“Are you lovebirds done?”

“WE ARE NOT LOVEBIRDS-”

“Yeah, whatever just order your food.”

♧…━━━━━☆

You twirled the silver fork in your hand, a slight growl escaped your lips as you watched Azul bit into his steamed chicken into his mouth with a scowl.

“Listen, I’m only here because Jade said so,” you grumbled.

“Same here,” Azul retaliated.

Tit for tat. Two college students who have grown out of their childhood years to become teenagers are displaying the true tactlessness of children.

Grown, but still tactless.

“I can’t believe it… I rather hide in my octopot than be here…”

“You’re what now?”

“E-erm, what?”

“He always hid in his octopot when he was younger whenever he was scared or embarrassed.”

“Oh would you shut it, Floyd-!”

“Wow~” your purred teasingly, causing the poor octopus’s face to flare up to a bright red, he wanted to disappear and sank into his chair to brace himself from the teasing he was going to receive by you, the true devil’s advocate.

“Hide in a pot? Who knew that the all mighty, confident and charismatic Azul could be a little boy who hides in a pot?”

“S-shut up! I-it was only because those dastardly children always made me cry…” he averted his eyes away, suddenly that teasing smile of yours faded, slowly turning into gnawing guilt.

“H-hey… no shame in that. I had my fair share of being bullied by bigger kids too when I was younger. Actually, some of them were also shorter than me.”

“Really?”

“It’s part of a loser’s life, what else?” You joked, snickering lightheartedly at him to which he blushed in embarrassment.

“Y-you’re calling yourself a loser too, you know!”

“I’m not denying I’m a loser.”

Azul was taken aback, mouth gapping slightly as he couldn’t believe it: his own rival calling themselves a loser.

“What… how could you accept the fact that your a loser?”

“Well, the kids all used to call me that when I was younger, and other weird names like ‘buttface’ and ‘ugly’, really low class type of…”

Azul clenched his fist. You’re just so…

“You’re so infuriating!” The dorm leader slammed his hands hard onto the table, the echo of the noise echoed almost chillingly in the lounge. “How could you allow yourself to succumb to their mindless and audacious words? Don’t you feel like wanting to take revenge and rise above them all? How could you be so… so-!”

You placed a hand on top of his, looking at him calmly. “I’m not succumbing to them. I know what they say aren’t true. Or at least… I feel like they were. Besides, it’s all in the past. I have friends back then and I have friends here now, it’s inevitable likewise to have people who don’t like me. I don’t think me ignoring them is accepting defeat, in fact I’d call it a win for being able to annoy the hell out of them for not answering them, and they left me alone. Thank sevens, am I right?” You smiled at him.

He breathed in the thick air and swallowed down his anger. He stared at you, almost in a daze, watching intensely the way your eyes shimmered in the darkness of the confines.

“Well, I’m quite surprised. Perhaps you aren’t all that barbaric after all…”

“Oh? Was the great, charismatic and charming Azul complimenting me? How cute,” you snickered with sarcasm.

“Oh, would you ju- wait, you think I’m charismatic and charming?”

Now it was your turn to burn a bright red in your cheeks, your smug face contorting into horror as you watched Azul smirking right at you.

Oh how the tables have turned.

“D-don’t get so full of your self, you slimy octopus!”

“Slimy? That’s not what you said 2 seconds ago.”

“Would you just-?!”

You leaned towards him from the other end, rising from your seat and towering above his head, a few inches apart from each other.

“E-erm…”

“Er…”

You moved away from him, sitting back at your seat with both of you blushing.

And it wasn’t out of anger this time.

“W-why were you so close? D-do you not know personal space?”

“W-well, why didn’t you push me away, h-huh?”

You both mumbled incoherently in embarrassment.

“Heh, too bad all this food won’t make it to their table,” Floyd stated, taken a bite of fried chicken into his mouth.

“Oh, please brother. I think Azul would be embarrassed we gave him a plate of fried chicken on his first date, no? We shouldn’t give him that in front of him. Yet.”

“Hey, Jade? What do you think’s gonna happen to them?”

Jade paused for a moment, smiling wider as the two of you babbled on, oblivious to his presence.

“Is it not obvious, Floyd? The perfect one for me: is none of them. They are the ones perfect for each other~”

♧…━━━━━☆

Reblogs help! ^^

[cal-a-bungaa]

The Realm

The Realm Part 7 - Prince!Jake Kiszka

Synopsis: In the heat of danger, love will always conquer

Word count: 4.5k

Warnings: Mentions of death and war, sexual acts and language, descriptions of child birth, swearing and violence. Fluff.

Enjoy (please don't throw things at me) and thank you to the amazing @capturethechaos for reading it over and to @writingcold for your wonderful commentary and help planning this series!!

__________

Jake POV

Jake had stepped foot in this room only once before, the night he agreed to become a married man. It was different from Josh’s- his war room. The walls here were decorated in different weapons that had been favored by the late king, no intricately stitched curtains hanging from the windows. It was bleak, cold and the sense of dread flooded his senses for what’s to come. He could tell how uncomfortable she was being in here; the way she stiffened after seeing the collected layer of dust across the table, dragging the tips of her fingers through it. Whether she liked it or not, she’d best get used to it- they’ll both be in here quite a lot until the enemy is defeated. 

The sunsets rose hues beamed through the arched windows, dusting over her soft skin. Even as Jake stares at her in awe, he cannot help but think of the knife that dangles above her head in the shape of a crown. He even thinks of his brother- how Josh loved the color pink, always opting to sniff the coral tinted roses in his private garden. He’d always sneak them into Jake’s chambers though he was adamant of his distaste towards the sweet scented flowers. Now Jake looks back and wishes that he could rewind and have those damn flowers on his nightstand to fall asleep next to. Or even some to give to the woman before him. The rose bushes his brother hid from the groundskeeper have probably all wilted away by now, no longer having the proper care that they need. 

She was silent by the window, taking in the rolling hills and tall mountains in the distance. The sky's color enhanced the lighter streaks in her hair and the color of her lips. He needed to keep her safe like he wished to with Josh, but now he is sure he will even if it costs him his own life. He would rather a sword pierce his heart than have it shatter all over again. Jake would rather cough up his own blood than to have his hands covered in others that he loves. He leans his hip into the hardwood, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“You’re scared.” Jake says, taking in her figure. Her stiff shoulders, and the way her teeth chew into her bottom lip are dead giveaways of her fear. 

He sees the way she immediately tries to fix her posture. “I am not.” Jake rolls his eyes. 

Jake doesn’t say anything else, opting to approach her from behind. He sees her reflection in the glass, eyes so unsure of what’s to come and what will happen to either of them. It’s clear to him that she doesn’t want him to die, but she’s not ready to die herself. His fingertips run down the expanse of her arm, sending shivers down her spine at the contact. 

“I am a feather disguised as steel…” Jake furrows his brows, confused on why she switched so suddenly. The queen before him has curled back in on herself to be the quiet princess she once was. 

Jake takes hold of her wrist, spinning her towards him. She refuses to meet his eyes, succumbing to the thought that she is weak. He reaches out to slowly lift her chin. “You are steel, not even I can break through,” She shakes her head in disagreement, “Don’t do that. Do not doubt yourself. You are strong if you will yourself to be.”

She shakes his grip off, fuming at his words. “I am sick to death of hearing how strong I am.” The queen before him was fuming and he did not know how to calm her. He believed her to be strong regardless of what he had said in their heated moments. She was nothing close to being a feather. 

If she wished to be a feather then so be it- Jake would take it upon himself to be the steel, but she can be her own if she only believed it so. He couldn’t do anything besides nod and remain silent, not wanting to push the topic. She turns back towards the window, promptly ignoring his remaining presence. The rose sky had darked to a purple, letting the stars shine through and the only light to illuminate the room being the flickering flames of melting candles. He wanted to assure her that she had that strength and bravery hidden within herself, she showed that side to him hours ago. Circling him with his own sword was strength in itself, it was a wonder to him how she could believe such a thing. Jake had placed both palms on the smooth wooden surface of the war table, letting his eyes fall over the map laid out. In the east corner of the map, a strange marking presented itself. Looking closer at it, the name of the landmark had been scratched out with ink. Possibly a fallen kingdom, abandoned fort or village, Jake is not sure. The map that Josh had laid out for the attack on Weria showed no such thing. 

A knock rang through the ever so silent room, her council seconds later piling into the dreary room. It felt as if he was reliving the past. Except for the fact that his brother was not beside him and won’t be again. She’d stepped forward, taking her spot next to Jake. All eyes rested upon her with questions, doubt, and impatience. It angered the king by just their stares, if anyone dared speak a belittling word towards her, they’d be dead on the cold floor instantly. 

She took another step forward, placing her palms on the table as well. “As you all have heard, there is a threat out there that wishes death upon the king and I,” She speaks unwavering. Her pinky stretches out, ever so lightly brushing against his own. “We must put an end to this newfound enemy before more damage to the realm can be done.” 

Jake takes it upon himself to shift his hand closer to hers, pinkies now linked together for everyone to see. He coughs before speaking up, “I will be on the frontlines as that is what I know, I will fight to keep us safe.” he glances over to his queen, seeing a twitch in the corner of her mouth. 

“Your majesties, if I may,” the councilman pauses, “how are we to know where this enemy lies? If we do not know, we cannot plan.”

Jake can tell a condescending tone as if he could see it, he’d grown up around it being a spare but for them to talk to her as such was not something he’d tolerate. “Send units out to scour the woods, search every abandoned building. We could even send parties to this area.” Jake points to the scribbled out lettering. 

All eyes slightly widen at his suggestion. Panic and tension in the room quickly rises when she peels her hand from his. Jake quirks an eyebrow at her, confused on everything that is currently happening. 

“Sir Jake, with all respect, we do not enter that area. It is a place of death and ruin.”

Her touch reappears on the small of his back. He can finally feel her touch through the thin linen drawstring shirt he changed to. Jake wants to return subtle touches, but is too far invested in why that particular area makes everyone spiral into a panic. 

“And with all respect, that is our best option. There must be a reason as to why and how the enemy travels so silently to Weria.” Jake snaps back with a condescending tone of his own. If the councilman could without having his head removed or being thrown in the dungeons, he'd probably laugh at a spare and a queen directing them through a war. 

For a moment Jake thinks he has defeated the council in their fight to reject that idea. “You do not know the land like we do, do not speak as if you do.”

Jake feels her nails sink into the skin of his back, a sign of her irritation. He has to swallow a groan at the pain, but also the shooting ropes of pleasure that travel to his cock. 

“Councilman, you will not speak to your king as such. Mind your mouth.” your king. That has Jake acting out of reflex, reaching around her to place his hand on the small of back, dipping his hand a little too low in a room full of people. 

Looking over at her, he finds her already searching for his eyes. There’s a daring look swirling within them, hypnotizing Jake into pushing it further. At her silent command, his hand slides down the curve of her ass, gripping it tightly- surely enough to leave little bruises. She was his queen even if in this lifetime they were not to be wed. He wanted to feel more of her- more of her touch, for her to feel more of his and to hear the angelic sounds she’d let out beneath him. 

The councilmen all continued on about how that area was off limits and no one should dare enter unless they had a death wish. Jake could see the annoyance on her face, matching his own. “We will send men there and that is final. You best trust your king's word, next time will not be excused.” She threatens. 

With a wave of her hand, they bow their heads and leave. Not a single one of them agreed, but didn’t argue after their queen spoke against them. Jake squeezes the flesh of her ass once more before removing his hand from her all together. He takes steps away from her, examining her as she stands agitated before him because of this war and because he neglects her of what she wants. 

She stares him down, no longer wanting to be the first to make such a daring move. She wanted him to show her how he needed her to want him. But Jake wasn’t going to give it to her so easily.

“Let me show you to your chambers, my queen.” he shoots her a sly grin, lending out his hand for her to take. 

The queen squints her eyes, huffing out a breath. “I think I’ll stay here awhile, thank you.” Jake’s grin grows hearing how disheartened she is at what she takes is his rejection of her.

“Would you rather me ravish you here?” He cocks his head at her. 

A blush spread across her cheeks. Even after clearing her throat, her voice still cracks, “Perhaps I would.”

Jake steps towards her, not yet wanting to be too close to her as he’d give in to his desires. He wanted to make it last- wanted to look at her- to see all of those gorgeous expressions she’ll make when he does touch her. 

“Then tell me what you’d like for me to do.”

She wets her lips, “Love me.”

Jake couldn’t stop himself if he wanted to. In quick strides he wrapped himself around her, letting his heart lead him to the one thing it now called home. His hands encased her cheeks, pushing his lips to hers. Her hands tangle themselves in the fabric of his loose shirt that hides little to the imagination. Jake’s tongue swipes against her bottom lip, wanting to taste more of her. She quickly responds, taking a taste for herself too. Both of them devour each other, taking in everything the other has to give- an outpour of their love. 

“Jake… please.” she whispers against his lips, slick with her saliva. 

He parts from her, seeing the desperation and need in her eyes. He travels on hand from her face to rest on her waist. “You are a queen, do not beg, my love.”

She takes that in, letting it sink in her mind that she has the power over him body and soul. She fully parts from him, lifting herself onto the surface of the table. Jake watches her in awe, seeing how disheveled she is by just sharing a kiss. She no longer simply wants him, she needs him.  His queen teases him, spreading her legs and ever so slowly lifting the hem of her dress to reveal her perfect legs. A few bruises paint her skin, he is sure from the night she spoke about when the cut on her neck was made. 

Jake wishes she would hurry and reveal herself to him, but he appreciates getting to view every little part there is to her. Once she pulls the dress to her thighs, the king sinks to his knees- a forbidden act upon royals. No man or woman that dons a crown may sink to their knees before anyone- not even another royal. Jake would break that absurd law as many times as she would let him. 

His palms smooth over the expanse of her legs, from her calves to her plush thighs. Their final destination are her knees, slightly pushing them apart for him to fit between them. Jake stares into her lustful eyes, giving the inside of her knee a kiss, letting his tongue peak out to wet her skin. He can see the rise and fall of her chest- the way she is trying to not fall apart at the simplest of things. 

Jake rests his head on her thigh, letting himself appreciate the woman that towered over him. “If only you could see what I see- you are so beautiful.”

“I’m quite happy with my view.” She flashes him that smile that he hasn’t seen in far too long. A genuine smile, one that radiates light like his brothers. 

The king lets himself smile back at her, rising back to his feet. Jake feels his desires running wild, needing to calm them down by backing away from what’s tempting him most. Meeting at eye level again, he leans his forehead into hers. His breathing is uneven as is hers. Jake’s eyes close and lifts his head to press a feathery light kiss to the crown of her head. 

“I will not take what is yours from you just yet.”

With that, Jake separates himself from her completely. He watches the way she becomes aware of what he’s said and the shyness he knew hadn’t left her return. She awkwardly shuffles around, fixing herself to look presentable. Dare he say it was quite adorable watching her frantically fix her dress and hair to make it look like treasonous acts hadn’t just taken place in here. New wrinkles had formed in the fabric of her gown and strands of her hair poked out in odd directions. 

“In time, love. I simply wish to give you all of my love before my cock.” The queen's eyes widened in horror at his vulgarity. Her face turned beet red in embarrassment. Jake chuckled.

“Jacob! You mustn't speak like that!” She whisper-yells at him as if anyone was truly listening in on their conversation. 

He releases a belly laugh at her reaction, she truly was so pure. It was as if she wasn’t just hiking up her skirts to reveal herself to him, begging for him to ravish her right on that table. There was still so much to learn about her and he was excited to take this ride with her. 

Jake coughs, letting himself calm down from his fit of laughter. “Let me take you to your chambers.”

She doesn’t respond, still embarrassed. The beautiful girl turns her back and makes her way to the doors that lead to the darkened hallway lined with guards.

_____

You wanted him to take what was yours. The real battle was coming soon and if Jake was to be on the front lines, who knew if he’d make it back to you. You’re scared that you will live the rest of your life without knowing him. You’re more than aware that there is much to make up for before that point, but the way you were testing each other in the war room had you worked up in a way you’d never felt before meeting Jake.

His footsteps echoed your own, but you were far too sheepish to look back at him. You wanted his hand in yours, but without having to ask him brought on a new problem. Jake was watching you, you could feel his eyes burning holes through your dress as you walked. His stare reignited that fire within your core without having to turn back. Just his presence alone was a safety net, one you could fall into and be swallowed whole. You were sure Jake could see the way you clench your fists, bunching up the ruined fabric of your dress. His sole being is enough to have your knees shaking and heart drumming against your chest- he doesn’t have to say a word or lay a single finger upon your skin. 

Guards follow five steps behind Jake, ensuring your safety and his. The amount of guards with you at all times has now been upped by the demand of the king himself, putting his men to work at protecting you. It is not long before the door of your chambers comes into your line of sight. What lurked behind the doors still had you petrified- unable to step one foot in without wanting to search every crevice of the room. Rats lay low, they stay hidden away from the naked eye. You did not want them to reappear and this time have a fatal victory. 

You hesitate to grab the handle to open the doors, not wanting to see what waits for you inside. Slowly you turn your head back to look at Jake who seems more or less unbothered, unaware of your uneasiness. But his actions tell you otherwise, his simple nod for you to open the doors is reassuring. You knew with him around, nothing would harm you. 

The dark room was coated with a sweet scent of roses, the one you found so comforting once upon a time. The moon's light shines ever so brightly through the windows. Your box of memories remains open on the floor, its contents scattered around it. If Jake were to see you’ve kept such ridiculous items, he’d laugh and taunt you for ages. But in the moment you could care less, you needed him with you more than ever. 

You shook your head back at him, speaking to him in silence that you could not enter. “Please stay for the night.” you whisper. 

The corners of his lips turn upwards. “And what would the councilmen think of you inviting me into your chambers?” Jake jests. You knew it was him poking fun, trying to lighten your heavy heart but you simply needed him to watch over you in the night. 

“Jake, I’m not strong- I’m afraid.”

His warmth washes over you, allowing some of your unease to dissipate. “I will not let you be harmed,” His tone has softened greatly. Jake’s hand finds its place on the small of your back, gently ushering you into the room. “I will stay.”

You knew of the rumors that would spread from this, but that is beyond you. As long as you could safely sleep beside the one you wanted most, you’d deal with anything thrown at the two of you. Jake guides you into the darkened room, making haste to shut the door behind him and lighting the candles on your bedside table. 

There’s be many times in the past that you have shared a bed with Jake, but tonight felt different. The two of you have been through so much that it almost felt wrong at this time to even consider reliving these moments. You watched him pace around the room, finding the different sources of light so the dark could not cause any more damage to your mind. It felt so domestic to have him this way. It felt too real- too soon and too calm. 

As Jake goes to light the last candle on its stand, he looks back over his shoulder at you. “You’ll be uncomfortable sleeping in that.” He looks you up and down. 

For the umpteenth time that night a blush rises to your cheeks. He was right of course, but to change before him when he has never seen your body was another challenge that you thought you were ready to face. Bravery was not something you held within you, it was a mere act for people to not look down upon your ruling. Jake didn’t bother turning back to the melted candle, keeping his focus on you. 

“Look away then.” and he does as you wish. 

You reach behind you to untie the corset that secured the dress to your body. Unable to reach the ribbon that lies between your shoulder blades. You huff in annoyance, succumbing to the fact that you will need help to be released from the imprisonment you forced yourself into. 

“Help, please…” you say in a hushed tone. 

It’s as if he were waiting for you to ask for his assistance, whipping around to grab the ribbon and pull it from its knot slowly. His fingertips brush against the skin of your back with each loosening of each crossover. What felt like forever was just a few seconds, he quickly but smoothly made work of the corset. When it was fully undone, the sleeves of your dress dropped, revealing your bare shoulders to him and the crisp night air. 

Before leaving you to strip bare and change, Jake plants a wet kiss on each of your shoulders. Your heart felt like it was going to burst through your chest at his affections. Though he was in your room with you was familiar, there was a shift in the air- something more heartfelt and heavy. Once you feel his gaze leave you, you drop your dress to pool at your feet on the bear skin rug. You step out of the melted fabric and out of the painful heels you donned all day. Your nightgown rested on the back of your desk chair. You slipped it over quickly, afraid of what would happen if Jake were to see you in such a scandalous state- not that he hadn’t earlier, but now would be the time something more was going to happen if it were. 

The small mirror on your desk showed your reflection in it, the way you wore such a remarkable staple on your head while being in a place that you could not hold onto it too tightly without cutting through your palms. You watch it be removed from your body to rest on the grainy old wood, not the best place for it to go but it wasn’t very precious to you. You see the way your styled locks roll down to their rightful place. Being like this made you feel normaal, like a kingdom didn’t lay its lives upon you. You’d wondered if Jake felt the same being in the same position or if it had truly sunk in for him yet. 

“Quit judging yourself, you’re beautiful,” Jake’s voice startles you, having forgotten he was even in the same room. “Come to bed.”

What you would give to hear those words for the remainder of your days was above you. He made it sound like heaven to lay beside him every night and fall asleep to the sound of his steady breathing. On a normal night you’d let the handmaids brush through your hair and scrub you down, but tonight you couldn’t be bothered to look perfect. You wanted him to see you and only you. The real you. 

The way he laid so contently in your bed gave you hope in how this could be your view for eternity. His arms were crossed behind his head, one leg propped up on the other. He looked gorgeous. It’s one of the few times you’ve seen him fully relaxed. His gaze follows you as you approach the opposite side of the bed. You go to lift the layers of blankets only to be beaten to it, Jake peels them back for you. Slithering into bed, he shifts to his side, hand holding his head up and the other reaching to smooth your wild hair. 

No other words are said that night, you can see his lips moving but cannot make out what he’s saying. Your eyes grow heavy and eventually everything around you fades to black. 

_____

You stand in the long hallway of your home, the one that leads to your mother and fathers chambers. Loud painful cries erupt from behind the closed doors. You can see the uneasiness in the guards standing watch and in the castle staff that are gathered outside the room. In the distance, you can recognise the voices from inside the room- you mother and your father, speaking to one another. One was panicked and the other calming and reassuring. Groans of pain come from one of them. 

In a state of panic you race towards the room, shoving those who block your path out of your way. You go to push the doors open only to find you fall right through them. On your hands and knees, you look up to see a terrifying scene. Your mother laid on the grand bed, face as a white as a ghost in a pool of blood with sweat shining on her forehead. Your father held one of her hands in both of his to his mouth, his eyes told you that he was scared. 

Doctors and nurses stood at the foot of the bed between your mothers legs, giving her signs of when she should start again. To your horror, your mothers screams come again but louder now that you have a  front row seat to this gruesome scene. Her body lifts from the pile of pillows that held her weight, squeezing the life from your fathers hand. 

Eventually it all went silent for a moment. A moment of fear washed over all of their faces. The doctor held something you could not see. Your mother had started to cry, tears rolling down her cheeks as she buried her face in your fathers chest. Even his eyes turned red, fearing the worst. But then a shrill cry filled the silent room. 

“It’s a boy your majesties!”

A commotion happens and you see that eventually your mother takes hold of the babe, cradling him in her arms. She looked at him with such adoration. She used to look at you that same way. 

“Well, hello there Prince Daniel.” The first born son of Weria and the first of his name.

__________

Taglist: @allieisacrybaby @writingcold @gardensgatedaisy @hayley1623 @gretasmokerising @josh-iamyour-mama @ageofsinners @capturethechaos @takenbythemadness @jakekiszkasbuttsweat @mysticaldonutglitter @lvnterninthenight

[mcflymemes]

ALISTAIR THEIRIN QUOTES *  dialogue from dragon age: origins, updated version

excuse me while i begin projectile vomiting.

you were the first person i ever spent the night with, and if i had my way... you'd be the last.

do you think you might ever... feel the same way about me?

will you miss it once it's over?

i care for you so much.

i love you. more than i ever thought possible.

i wish i could be better at this.

you know that i've never done anything like this. with anyone.

i guess i was raised not to take this sort of thing lightly.

it's just like being home again.

i can't run away from it anymore.

given the circumstances, things could have been so much worse.

i locked myself in a cage once, when i was a child. for an entire day. ah. good times.

i'm willing to... give it a shot. if you are.

aw, that's sweet.

you're beautiful. i am a lucky man.

i know it might sound strange, considering we haven't known each other for very long, but i've come to... care for you. a great deal.

now's as good a time as any to talk, right?

i'm so grateful that you're... you.

let's get back to... what we were up to before.

i hope it hasn't... put you off.

anyway, uh, sorry about that. i'll take it from you right now.

great. they just love me.

i was just thinking about you! isn't that a marvelous coincidence?

now that i've handled that with my usual deft brilliance, time to move on! and take a cold bath, maybe.

locking the door and throwing away the key was plan b.

is it just me, or did i do really badly back there?

don't look now... but. well. look now!

i don't think we're alone. i really don't think we're alone.

all right! let's go!

oh? you want to... right now? well, who am i to refuse?

um... that sounded better in my head. i just meant to say that i can't imagine having done this without you.

we're not exactly traveling in the lap of luxury here.

you feel that? it's actually colder up here.

is this place even on a proper map?

look at it all!

i'll be... standing over here. until the blushing stops. just to be... uh. safe. you know how it is.

maybe it likes you?

swooping is bad.

what is it, then? rats running amok? cheese supplies running low?

i see you can't sleep, either.

i was just thinking... here i am doing all this complaining, and you haven't exactly been having a good time of it yourself.

why are you smiling like that?

that just seems so excessive.

are you just making these up right now?

now that's dedication!

it's all been death and fighting and tragedy.

make fun of you? perish the thought.

old books. you think any of those might still be readable?

do you get the feeling things are just getting worse as we go up?

more crazy? i thought we were all full up.

i thought maybe i could say something. tell you what a rare and wonderful thing you are to find amidst all this... darkness.

they say you can get anything here. i once got pick-pocketed.

this is where the nobility come to get drunk and debate who's the most self-important of them all.

we get lost, people die, and the next thing you know i'm stranded somewhere without any pants.

now that's just unnecessary.

have you ever licked a lamppost in the winter?

can't... keep my eyes open. someone... pinch me.

where do you think they get all this stuff?

oh! here i am! and there you are! you just disappeared!

why do they call it a brothel? there's no broth. or is there?

we're not going to be mobbed, right?

now that is a big tree.

i hate you. you're a bad person.

i'm not falling asleep again!

we seem to be heading... up? yes. i think these caves are going up to the surface.

can we expect more of those?

what is that smell? fish? and something else. oh. more fish.

uh oh. i'm terrible at puzzles.

i know most guys would probably leap at the chance to be with you, but i don't know if i'm ready for that. it's a big step.

maybe i should touch them. or stand on them?

pleased to meet you. nice campfire you have there.

let's try not to get lost here.

bluff called! damn! you saw right through me!

i think there's something ahead. something big.

you have my condolences.

and here i was going to name one of my children after you.

you seem more "ooh, pretty colors!" than "muahaha! i am princess stabbity! stab, kill, kill!"

i gazed, glanced in that direction, maybe. but i wasn't staring. or really... seeing anything, even.

what? lead? me? no no no. no leading. bad things happen when i lead.

they're really quite tasty.

we take our ingredients, throw them into the largest pot we can find, and cook them for as long as possible until everything is a uniform grey color.

watch as i thrash our enemies with the mighty power of floral arrangements!

i will overpower you with my rosy scent!

i was looking at your nose.

your desire is my command.

i guess that must make me sound like an idiot.

just what every man wants to hear.

now if we could move right on past this awkward, embarrassing stage and get right to the steamy bits, i'd appreciate it.

[cherrykore-owo]

Thinking thoughts of Sukuna

It feels like all you've been doing these days is fighting with your lover

Always behind closed doors and away from prying eyes

Because who would dare poke the bear when he's already ready to pounce

The King of Curses and his one weakness

There's nothing more to say..the silence is deafening in your shared chamber..neither saying a word...no sound other than the ragged breaths I desperately try to control...

Instinctively I raise my arm to shield my face from being seen...and I hear the rustling of clothes and when I lower my arm..I don't see him anywhere...

"You want me on my knees and to grovel at your feet? You don't even have to ask..."

It's shocking...so much so that I take a step backwards but he holds my hand before I can even think of taking another

His gaze bores into me as he kisses my knuckles and a strange noise escapes me...a strangled sob

"You're never there anymore 'Kuna and next thing I know all the people start taking about how there's a new lover in your life"

He looks at you before looking down at your feet ,chuckling once and the same wicked smile that reigned you in the first time catches your breath again

"If I bring you the heads of all of those who ever wronged you..will you be sure then sweetheart? How you own everything I am.."

He bows down his head

"I never break my vows and I made the most important one to you on our wedding day."

"My Queen, I am forever yours,there's never been a doubt about that and I'll be damned if you ever think so otherwise."

A surprised chuckle leaves your lips and he raises an eyebrow before standing up again, he kisses your hand again before pulling you in and makes your lose your breath again and occupies every thought in your mind

"I love you Sukuna..So much"

"Not even death can part us sweetheart..never forget that."

[zombiechoir]

The only question i'm asking myself right now is: Did i get better at managing grief or am i fooling myself?

I know damn well what the reality is but i don't feel it. Maybe it's self protection. But when i look at him, i see a man that is not dead, not really. I see a silly man with a bass guitar that i love dearly and owe allot of my sanity to.

The thing is that i'm terrified of death bacause it comes with one of my biggest fears, which is forgetting. Forgetting what someone looked like, forgetting what they sounded like, what they did, the memories, the first day of meeting, the little things. So when someone passes (human or animal) that was dear to me, i need to pay as much attention to them as possible. Memorials, photo's, crafts, stories because forgetting feels like the biggest betrayel I could ever do.

When I read about Reita, I just got off work and I had plans that evening and I had exactly one hour to get ready. Dinner was gonna be ready in 10 minutes and to kill time I opened tumblr only to immediately see the news. I googled it cause people are trolls but it turned out to be true. So I broke down, cried while eating (that combo is painful af), made myself presentable and off we went. My mom and I had tickets to see our favorite comedian, front row. The fucking irony!!!!! While we were waiting for it to start I was reblogging memorial stuff to calm myself. I actually managed to have a good evening and even laughed out loud at the jokes. I thought of Reita plenty of times during the show, I thought of Uruha, Aoi, Kai and Ruki. I thought of 4 people on stage instead of 5. I thought of the promise I made with myself to see them live one day, to get vip tickets and crochet each of them a silly gift. It went back and forth, "hahaha funny joke" to "omfg not our beloved Reita". I've managed to hold myself together pretty well this week. I had allot of crying session, cried full on at my workplace. But my desk is facing the wall and I'm a very silent cryer so no one noticed.

Tbh that exact day I was thinking of how much I hated life. And how fucked up I've felt and how fed up I was with everything. How I feel like things will never be okay and the thought of "making a plan" crossed my mind. Reita's passing brought me back to my senses, like babygirl wtf are you doing??? It made me realize there's so much to live for still, that rude strangers aren't important. The only things that matter are the things and people I love. Reita is one of those people and it made me forget about recent shitty events and only focus on that silly man with that bass and the noseband. Maybe I'm delusional, maybe it hasn't hit me fully yet. But I can't help but feel so grateful for this man. Grateful for discovering this band, to hear that bass he provided. Grateful to be alive and to keep going. I want to live as long as possible to remember all the things I loved for as long as possible. He did that for me, in life he comforted me during my anxiety and depression. And in his death he comforted me again but in a different way. And I want to keep that feeling and take it with me♡ Thank you wonderful bass man, with your goofy and bright personality. Rest well, you won't be forgotten.

[jannwrites]

film ask meme : SAINT MAUD (2019) directed by ROSE GLASS.

a selection of lines from the 2019 film saint maud. modified slightly for rp purposes.

forgive me my impatience but i hope you will reveal your plan for me soon.

can you feel that?

i daresay you'll be seeing this one soon.

who's your saint?

you're prettier than the last one.

you can't just lock yourself up here. you should be around people.

don't be petulant. you're getting dangerously norma desmond.

sorry to call you back early.

things are different now.

take care of yourself, darling.

no one sees what they don't want to.

stay with me. i don't want to be alone.

have you seen a lot of death?

when you pray, do you get a response?

nothing feels real anymore.

i keep thinking about that last moment and wondering what it will be like.

tell me I'm wrong.

my little savior.

to save a soul, that's quite something.

i can see you.

don't let her drink too much.

honey, come back to me.

no hard feelings. i'm sure you're great in bed.

it's not right that she spends her last days getting worked up over a silly girl that doesn't care about her.

i am reminded of myself in the first flushes of your love.

it's no fun if you cheat.

i wasn't expecting to hear from you.

i will go to bed when i damn well like.

don't run away. i'm talking to you.

you got a little carried away, didn't you?

no. you're lost.

there's my little saint.

you know you shouldn't take anything i say serious.

you should have some fun while you still can.

i've got more important things on my mind.

how could mere human frivolity possibly complete with the heavenly father's warm heart?

[name] expressed other concerns.

all i feel of you now is this pain.

if you're trying to teach me something, i can't see what it is.

quite frankly, it all just seems such a waste.

i was ready and open and alive, and this is my reward.

perhaps you aren't as wise as i thought.

i can't help but feel an act of spite has occurred.

i shudder to think what awaits those who shun you.

you never seemed to like me that much.

you owe me a drink.

i thought i did what you told me to do.

please don't let me fall again.

i should have expected resistance. nothing worthwhile comes easy.

never waste your pain.

what if you are smirking or indifferent or think me a clueless idiot?

how will i know what to do?

it was sweet of you to come but you mustn't worry.

you're right. back then, i was so lost.

i was unkind to you.

you made me think of things i didn't want to.

you must be the loneliest girl i've ever seen.

snap out of it, honey.

you have no idea how dull it is to be dying.

i hate to be the one to break it to you but it's just you and me here.

nothing you do matters.

take some responsibility for your actions.

it's clear now you are as weak as your faith.

[halfmoth-halfman]

I want to start off by saying I’m so happy you’re back! Hope your brain got the rest it needed before it reigns terror on us. Last chapter was fantastic! There’s too much for me to write down and analyze so i’m just doing my fav moments (i’m still writing a damn essay on this series after it’s done). Btw I wrote this in my notes at 4 am so very mush brained incoherent.

I loved seeing Canary’s quick wit make it’s appearance again when she stood up to Adler, he gave her tools but no instruction manual just said “figure it out” and him blaming her for his failure just shows he’s only her donor, not her father in my book,I can just imagine her mom whooping his ass after he died, “you did what to my baby!?”. Her biting back was like the first step to justice for herself because she’s coming back stronger than ever, she’s healing. Yes queen, use that tongue of steel (one of my mom’s saying, “we don’t have silver tongues, we have tongues of steel bc we spark when we speak and slice when we need to”).

Canary is finally finding her fighting spirit again and I can’t wait for her to rain some brimstone on her enemies, or just be comfortable in herself and know she regained her autonomy. Finally Price in jail made me laugh because all I could see was Canary in the “I lived bitch” meme.

As always you’re one of my favorite authors and will forever have me running to your blog when I get your alerts- 🔥

i'm happy you're happy, but you're like the third person to say they're happy i'm back and i??? never left??? did i get shadowbanned for criticizing staff LMAO

anon pls know i already love the asks you send me and i will cry if you write an essay on this series

canary def got her wit and quick comebacks from adler, it was kind of a necessity given how he raised her and what he was raising her to be. you're so right, he gave her the tools but never told her what to do with them. he expected her to be smart enough to know how to use them, but she didn't have the same life experiences he did so of course she wouldn't do things exactly how he wanted. and i think his blame for her stems from a disappointment and anger toward himself because deep down i think he knows the responsibility of her failures fall back on him. and canary's at the point now where she's not afraid to tell him that.

i can say that canary's mom will only be mentioned once or twice more, so this isn't really a spoiler. adler is very much the way he is/was with canary because of her mother's death. had she lived, this would've been a very, very different story because i think of adler and his wife's relationship much like price and canary's (though maybe a bit more possessive on adler's end). adler would've (and did) move mountains and burn down empires for his wife. she was his entire life, and he would've left everything behind and started living a mob free life if she asked him to. i headcanon that if she lived, canary's mother would've wanted adler to step down and settle somewhere peaceful and quiet and away from the blood and chaos. and i think adler would've done it in a heartbeat.

her mother would've been much more hands on and open with canary, but adler would've been like those dads that don't talk much and are kind of awkward with their kids but still love them very much. he'd still run his gang, but from afar with not as much input and leaving the big decisions to someone he trusted. canary would've grown up with a much more solid family dynamic, growing into a confident and proud woman, and (in my own little headcanon) would've met price at a gala hosted by one of her adler's friends and they'd have a series of casual flings before getting serious and eventually married.

canary's finally decided enough is enough and she's so ready to get her revenge and begin to heal from everything she's gone through and i love that for her honestly.

asdlaksdlkj i just imagine like gaz playing into canary's not-death just like-

gaz: this year, i lost my dear, sweet canary

canary: quit telling everyone i'm dead! >:(

gaz: sometimes, i can still hear her voice

or he'd just send a blurry bigfoot-style picture of her to price with a text that's like "manor's haunted"

thank you so much babes, please know i always appreciate your asks and i hope you have a wonderful day!! 💜

[sincerelyang3l]

Noah Kahan Lyrics that Reverberate with Me on a Different Level 🙏💕

I’m not depressed I just rly like noah Kahan guys and I might do this for all my favorite singers? (Maybe. Who knows)

Northern Attitude

“If I get too close, And I'm not how you hoped, Forgive my northern attitude. Oh, I was raised out in the cold.”

Stick Season

“No, I am no longer funny, 'cause I miss the way you laugh. You once called me forever, now you still can't call me back.”

“And I love Vermont, but it's the season of the sticks. And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed.”

All My Love

“I still recall how the leather in your car feels. And at the end of it all, I just hope that your scars healed”

New Perspective

“Ooh, this town is for the record now. The intersection got a Target, and they're calling it downtown. You and all of your new perspective now, Wish I could shut it in a closet, And drag you back down.”

Everywhere, Everything

“Everywhere, everything. I wanna love you 'til we're food for the worms to eat. ‘Til our fingers decompose, Keep my hand in yours.”

Orange Juice

“There's orange juice in the kitchen, bought for the children. It's yours if you want it, We're just glad you could visit. Feels like I've been ready for you, To come home for so long, That I didn't think to ask you. Where you'd gone, why'd you go?”

“Are we all just crows to you now? Are we all just pulling you down? You didn't put those bones in the ground.”

Growing Sideways

“But I ignore things, and I move sideways, Until I forget what I felt in the first place. At the end of the day I know there are worse ways, To stay alive. 'Cause everyone's growing and everyone's healthy, I'm terrified that I might never have met me”

Halloween

“There's a murder of crows in the low light off Boston, And I see your face in each one. I'm losin' myself in the tiniest objects.”

Homesick

“Well, I'm tired of dirt roads, Named after high school friends' grandfathers. And motherfuckers here still don't know they caught, The Boston bombers. Time moves so damn slow, I swear I feel my organs failing. I stopped caring 'bout a month ago, Since then, it's been smooth sailing.”

“I would leave if only I could find a reason. I'm mean because I grew up in New England. I got dreams but I can't make myself believe them. Spend the rest of my life with what could have been, And I will die in the house that I grew up in. I'm homesick”

Mess

“I'll move back home forever. I'll feed the dogs, And I'll put all my pieces back together where they belong. And I'll say, "I'm a mess, I'm a mess, oh God, I'm a mess".”

The View Between Villages

“Feel the rush of my blood, I'm seventeen again, I am not scared of death. I’ve got dreams again.”

“Passed Alger Brook Road, I'm over the bridge. A minute from home but I feel so far from it.”

Your Needs, My Needs

“To spiral out, to try and float, To see a friend, to see a ghost. Bitter-brained, always drunk. Rail-thin, Zoloft. Subtle change, shorter days. Dead-eyed, dead weight. Your life, your dreams. Your mind, your needs. My needs.”

Paul Revere

“One day I'm gonna cut it clear. Ride like Paul Revere, And when they ask me who I am. I'll just pretend I didn't hear.”

You’re Gonna Go Far

“So, pack up your car, put a hand on your heart, Say whatever you feel, be wherever you are. We ain't angry at you, love. You're the greatest thing we've lost. The birds will still sing, your folks will still fight, The boards will still creak, the leaves will still die. We ain't angry at you, love. We'll be waitin' for you, love.”

Forever

“And I'll tell her so she knows. That I'm broke, but I'm real rich in my head, That I broke a bone that never healed in my hand. So, when I hold her close, I might loosen my grip, But I won't ever let her go.”

Part of Me

“Even through the pain, I can't recall your face. Just the ache of knowing everything was gonna change. I got so close to love with you, my dear, But I don't miss you. I miss the way you made me feel.”

Hurt Somebody

“One day before you know it, you will see, All of the pain and all the irony, yeah. You'll feel the stinging and you'll think of me. ‘Cause it hurts when you hurt.”

[thefisherqueen]

Sherlock Holmes: The hound of the Baskervilles chapter X1 - The man on the tor

Another day, another chapter!

The extract from my private diary which forms the last chapter has brought my narrative up to the 18th of October, a time when these strange events began to move swiftly towards their terrible conclusion. Terrible conclusion? I should emotionally prepare myself for tragedy? Oh damn, I was having such a fun time with all those spooky vibes. Guess I should have expected that at some time actual horror would set in

The first impression left by Mrs. Lyons was one of extreme beauty. Her eyes and hair were of the same rich hazel colour, and her cheeks, though considerably freckled, were flushed with the exquisite bloom of the brunette, the dainty pink which lurks at the heart of the sulphur rose. Admiration was, I repeat, the first impression. But the second was criticism. There was something subtly wrong with the face, some coarseness of expression, some hardness, perhaps, of eye, some looseness of lip which marred its perfect beauty. And these 'failings' in her beauty are an indicator of some failings to her character or morality, I suppose? Don't like that type of storytelling at all. But let's see how this continues before I'm judging the hell out of Doyle

“You knew him, did you not?” “I have already said that I owe a great deal to his kindness. If I am able to support myself it is largely due to the interest which he took in my unhappy situation.” “Did you correspond with him?” The lady looked quickly up with an angry gleam in her hazel eyes. “What is the object of these questions?” she asked sharply. Oh she is fierce, I like her! Come on lady, give Watson a hard time! It's his own fault for not planning what he would say

“The object is to avoid a public scandal. It is better that I should ask them here than that the matter should pass outside our control.” She was silent and her face was still very pale. At last she looked up with something reckless and defiant in her manner. “Well, I'll answer,” she said. “What are your questions?” Watson is damn lucky she's going along with this, considering that he has no actual proof whatsoever to start a scandal

“But if you saw him so seldom and wrote so seldom, how did he know enough about your affairs to be able to help you, as you say that he has done?” She met my difficulty with the utmost readiness. “There were several gentlemen who knew my sad history and united to help me. One was Mr. Stapleton, a neighbour and intimate friend of Sir Charles's. He was exceedingly kind, and it was through him that Sir Charles learned about my affairs.” Another good thing we learn about Stapleton. It really is hard to suspect that man of being up to no good “Did you ever write to Sir Charles asking him to meet you?” I continued. Mrs. Lyons flushed with anger again. “Really, sir, this is a very extraordinary question.” “I am sorry, madam, but I must repeat it.” “Then I answer, certainly not.” “Not on the very day of Sir Charles's death?” Watson's not doing bad in his role as interregator at all

“But why at such an hour?” “Because I had only just learned that he was going to London next day and might be away for months. There were reasons why I could not get there earlier.” “But why a rendezvous in the garden instead of a visit to the house?” “Do you think a woman could go alone at that hour to a bachelor's house?” She has a point here. Doyle is doing wonderful again at adressing the difficulties in women's position “My life has been one incessant persecution from a husband whom I abhor. The law is upon his side, and every day I am faced by the possibility that he may force me to live with him. At the time that I wrote this letter to Sir Charles I had learned that there was a prospect of my regaining my freedom if certain expenses could be met. It meant everything to me—peace of mind, happiness, self-respect—everything. I knew Sir Charles's generosity, and I thought that if he heard the story from my own lips he would help me.” “Then how is it that you did not go?” “Because I received help in the interval from another source.” Holy shit - I thought her husband had just abandoned her, not that he was stalking her. Do we have our main villain here, then? If her husband had somehow learnt about Charles Baskerville's willingness to help his wife get a divorce - that is a proper motive for murder. The question remains: from what other source did she get help?

If this man were inside it I should find out from his own lips, at the point of my revolver if necessary, who he was and why he had dogged us so long. He might slip away from us in the crowd of Regent Street, but it would puzzle him to do so upon the lonely moor. On the other hand, if I should find the hut and its tenant should not be within it I must remain there, however long the vigil, until he returned. Holmes had missed him in London. It would indeed be a triumph for me if I could run him to earth, where my master had failed. Watson's sole motivation: approval of his Holmes (by the way, Watson's making a rather large assumption here that this man and the man in London are the same. I still have a suspicion that the mysterious man on the moor is Holmes himself. It such a Him thing to do, and all the facts so far fit)

Here was luck indeed! And yet I suppressed all appearance of interest. A child! Barrymore had said that our unknown was supplied by a boy. It was on his track, and not upon the convict's, that Frankland had stumbled. If I could get his knowledge it might save me a long and weary hunt. But incredulity and indifference were evidently my strongest cards. “I should say that it was much more likely that it was the son of one of the moorland shepherds taking out his father's dinner.” The least appearance of opposition struck fire out of the old autocrat. His eyes looked malignantly at me, and his gray whiskers bristled like those of an angry cat. Watson finally discovers his acting talent! The key to unlock is in getting people angry xD

I meekly answered that I had spoken without knowing all the facts. My submission pleased him and led him to further confidences. No so surprising: that mr. 'here to be used' and 'he's my master' Watson is good at being submissive But down beneath me in a cleft of the hills there was a circle of the old stone huts, and in the middle of them there was one which retained sufficient roof to act as a screen against the weather. My heart leaped within me as I saw it. This must be the burrow where the stranger lurked. At last my foot was on the threshold of his hiding place—his secret was within my grasp. *is just as excited as Watson is* “It is a lovely evening, my dear Watson,” said a well-known voice. “I really think that you will be more comfortable outside than in.” It IS Holmes!!!! I knew it!!!! Welcome back, my silly detective, missed you :)