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fayes-fics · 1 year ago

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When The World Is Free: Chapter 1 - Sous le ciel de Paris

MASTERPOST | NEXT

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x fem!reader, WW2 AU.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: Welcome to the start of my new multi-chapter fic based on a request by the lovely @amillcitygirl! Please see the masterpost for a synopsis of this story. Please note that while I do have a plotted outline, I will be posting chapters as I write them, and I expect that process to take quite a few months. Please bear with me! This first chapter sets up the story - reader moving to Paris in the summer of 1939 and bonding with her new flatmate, Eloise Bridgerton. Please note that Benedict won't be turning up for a couple of chapters yet. Thanks to @colettebronte for beta reading. Enjoy! <3

August 1939

Emerging from the underground Trocadero metro stop, you round the corner of the recently completed, gleaming Palais de Chaillot and stop dead in your tracks. There before you is the most iconic landmark of Paris. Perhaps all of France.

La Tour Eiffel.

Breathtaking in its metallic magnificence, glowing in the setting sun. A sight that buoys your travel-weary soul seven days after you left New York: boats and trains finally bringing you to this wondrous spot. A light breeze even dances over your neck in greeting, a balm from the cloying subterranean heat of the metro.

It's a light elbow check to your arm that pulls you back from a state of reverie.

“A beautiful sight, but one you’ll get used to,” your uncle Robert chuckles, shaking your heavy leather case to indicate it's time to move along. “In fact, I've been told you will be able to see it from your appartement…”

He has accompanied you to Paris and will see you settled into your new adventures before continuing on to visit friends in England. He spent the roaring 20s living right here in the 16th arrondissement himself and, indeed, has arranged for you to share living quarters with a young British lady, a relative of his English friends. It's a comfort to know you’ll have at least one English speaker to chat with as you dive headfirst into learning proper French as you go.

Robert leads you away from the amazing sight and into the bustling streets, alive with cars, trams, bicycles and pedestrians buzzing in all directions. It's all at once like New York City, but yet so different as well, cafe terraces filling the wide pavements with all manner of people gathered to sip robust cafe au lait and refreshing limonade.

Within minutes, you are on a quieter side street and stopping outside a handsome honey-coloured stone facade with wrought iron window balconies and window guards, teaming with colourful, fragrant flowering pots. The number 14 gleaming white on a traditional navy blue tile. Your uncle pushes the enormous wooden door open, beckoning you into a cool whitewash wall corridor with mosaic floor tiles.

“Ahhh, Robert!!” a sophisticated middle-aged lady bustles from a nearby doorway and greets your uncle warmly, kissing both cheeks. It would appear they are friends of old.

“Y/n, this is Madam DuLac, your landlady,” he explains as you offer a handshake, admiring her boucle jacket and chic bun.

“Qu’est-ce?” she signals with a good-natured frown, obviously finding your polite greeting lacking, pulling you into a hug and two-cheeked kiss. She smells like Chanel perfume, cigarettes and baked goods. “You are in Paris now, ma chérie; this is how we greet one another,” she counsels in heavily accented but perfect English.

“You speak English?” you sigh, relieved, your French decidedly lacking.

“Bien sûr,” she smiles. “And please call me Solène,” she adds with a friendly smile.

“Eloise should be home from the library maintenant; the perfect time for you to meet,” she gestures towards an elevator cage surrounded by a sweeping grey marble staircase.

“I think I would prefer to take the stairs,” you admit, nerves flaring at the idea of such a contraption.

Your uncle laughs. “Well, I am taking it; I am not hefting this case of yours up five flights of stairs,” he adds dryly as you gaze up the swirling stairwell.

“Five storeys?” you squeak.

“The view is the best from the top,” Solène advises as she rattles back the cage entry and steps in, looking at you expectantly.

Reluctantly, you follow, all three of you and your luggage crammed into the metal cage as it jerks to life and begins its ascent.

“You will get used to it,” Solène smiles as she reads the apprehension on your face, your vice-like grip on your small vanity case and handbag.

Luckily, the lift reaches your destination safely. One shudder before it stops, and the door concertinas back in Solène’s hand to reveal a sweeping hallway with doors left and right.

“Ici,” she signals, the last door on the right-hand side.

But before you can knock, the door peels open, and a pretty, petite brunette jumps in surprise, dropping the book she is holding.

“Pardon,” she offers in perfect accented French, and you wonder for a split second if it is the correct apartment.

“Eloise, this is y/n,” Solène gestures.

“Ohhh, hello,” she grins, and the whiplash back to a plummy British accent is momentarily confusing. “I was about to go read in the courtyard, thought you might not be turning up today. Anyway… come in, come in!”

You shake her proffered hand as she ushers you into the apartment. Instantly, you feel a warmth spreading in your belly, like you have come home. It's light and airy, with large windows looking out across the Parisian rooftops, and yes, to the left is indeed the Eiffel Tower, still gleaming in the fading evening light. But the place also feels homely, that sort of messy that is lived in, comfortable. A large velvet sofa with tumbling stacks of books around it, a little kitchenette awash with colourful enamel cookware, and a jumble of art deco posters and random paintings adorning the walls.

“Solène, I don't suppose you've baked any more of those rather delicious madeleines, have you? To welcome my new housemate?” Eloise pipes up with a chipper, conspiratorial wink your way.

You already like her.

“Effronte!” Solène exclaims with fond exasperation before pausing. “There may be some…”

“I remember those!” your uncle adds with a tinge of nostalgia as he drops your suitcase. “You are in for such a treat, y/n.”

“Well, while our landlady decides if she’s willing to share the treats she has obviously baked but is being coy about…”Eloise raises a pointed eyebrow at the woman before returning to you. “...let me show you your room, then maybe a drink? I'm sure it's been a long journey.”

You nod and, with an exchange of grins, follow her down a corridor. She sweeps open the door to a lovely room, a large double bed with matching bedside tables and a dresser. But best of all, french doors onto a Juliet balcony overlooking a quiet courtyard filled with a riot of birch trees, their leaves gently rustling in the evening breeze.

“Mostly, it’s pesky pigeons down there, but you do get the occasional blackbird singing in the morning,” Eloise smiles as if intuiting your thoughts.

You spend some moments wandering the room and checking out the various fixtures, running idle hands over the furniture, already feeling remarkably at home with your new housemate and, indeed, your new home for the next twelve months.

“I'm just next door,” Eloise reveals, pointing a thumb over her shoulder.

Your uncle appears in the doorway to announce that he and Solène are off to catch up as you unpack and suggests you all reunite for dinner later at a local bistro. It all sounds so very Parisian chic; you cannot wait.

“So tell me about yourself,” Eloise flops onto your bed, already wonderfully casual in your presence, as you open your case and the wardrobe to unpack.

“I’m y/n. I'm from a little town on Long Island called Patchogue, about fifty miles outside New York City. I'm 22…”

“Me too!” she interjects, then signals for you to proceed.

“I wanted to see the world before I settled down. And I’ve dreamed of living in Paris since I was a little girl...” You feel your eyes misting at the fact it's now finally coming true as you continue. “So my parents agreed to pay for me to come to Paris for a year. Under the strict agreement, I get married when I return…”

“You have a fiancé?”

“Yes. Well, sort of. Stanley. We practically grew up together, and we’ve been going steady since we were eighteen.”

“Going steady? That's so American,” Eloise chuckles.

You nod with a giggle, then continue. “He hasn't proposed formally yet, says he is saving up for a ‘real nice’ ring, but it will happen. He is the son of my dad’s business partner. They run a construction company. So, while I'm here, they are building a home for us to live in when I return. We will get married next summer and move right in.”

“You don't mind?” Eloise frowns.

“Don’t mind what?” you query as you hang up your favourite dress.

“That your future is so… plotted out. I couldn't bear the idea. It's why I think my mother let me move to Paris. She was so fed up with me refusing to settle down.” Eloise laughs, idly flicking through the magazine you were reading on your journey.

“I suppose I've never really expected anything else,” you shrug, pausing as you put away your hosiery, but her words make you contemplative. “You don't have a boyfriend back home?”

“God, no. Too many pretty Frenchmen to entertain me here,” she winks. “I’ll introduce you to some, just in case you change your mind,” she breezes, climbing off your bed and drifting to the door. “Wine?”

“Oh… well, why not? When in France, etc,” you agree and close the drawer on the pile of cardigans you have just safely stacked.

“That's the spirit!” she effuses over her shoulder as you follow her back into the living room, the Eiffel Tower still glittering in the dusk.

“This place is so lovely,” you sigh, transfixed by the view as she wanders over and hands you a glass.

“It is a pretty magical view,” she agrees, staring at the skyline with you, watching as each window seems to illuminate in soft yellow with the dying light.

“And the decor, too; I see you love books as much as me,” you smile, tilting your head to the piles before taking a sip of red wine. It's the perfect balance of refreshing, mellow fruitiness and tart tannin coating your tongue, so much better than any wine back home.

“Oh god, yes! I work in the library. I can bring home as many as I want,” she enthuses.

“So, are there actually any left on the shelves?” you jest, lightly, savouring your drink and wandering to take a closer look at a smaller painting that catches your eye. It's very different to all of the others.

“My god, this is beautiful,” you breathe, hugging your wineglass to your chest as you stare transfixed at the art. It appears to be a large country house, probably British, bathed in the warm pinkish light of dawn.

“That's home. Aubrey Hall in Kent. I think the family made me bring it in the hopes it would make me homesick,” Eloise deadpans.

“It’s a wonderful piece,” you breathe, fingers reaching out to lightly trace over the heavily oiled brushstrokes. Something about it is so captivating and intimate.

“I'll be sure to let the artist know,” she smirks. “Although I'm reticent to give him any more praise, seeing as, unfortunately, he is my brother.”

“Your brother painted this?” taken aback by the revelation, assuming it an heirloom.

She nods and comes to stand next to you. “Yup. Benedict. Second eldest. I'm fifth of eight, by the way. Hence ‘E’ for Eloise. It's a thing,” she rolls her eyes.

“Wow. Big family. I just have one brother...”

“Lucky you. Although, as much as he is irritating, if I could only keep one sibling, it probably would be him,” she admits, taking a swig of wine.

“I love art,” you sigh, finally tearing your gaze from the canvas but already knowing it is something you will return to again and again. A pull you can’t quite understand.

“Oh, then I know the perfect job for you! There’s a gallery around the corner from the library, and I saw a sign saying they wanted an English speaker to assist international visitors! You would be perfect!”

“I would love that!” you extol, even as a tiny part of your brain lingers on the idea that it would be too good to be true if it all worked out, that fleeting sense of foreboding in paradise.

“Excellent!” Eloise’s enthusiasm pulls you back to the immediate. “So let’s get your glad rags on! It's time to hit the town for your first night in Paris!”

And thus, you find yourself being bundled back into your room to refresh and change for your first night in the city of your dreams. Indeed, as you find yourself being led by Eloise, arm looped in yours, through the bustling evening streets to a little bistro, your uncle and Solène already waiting at a table with smiling faces and drinks in hand, you can't help but feel this really is the only place in the world you could ever want to be…

Your adventure is just beginning.

Benedict taglist: @foreverlonginguniverse @aintnuthinbutahounddog @severewobblerlightdragon @writergirl-2001 @heeyyyou @enichole445 @enchantedbytomandhenry @ambitionspassionscoffee @chaoticcalzoneranchsports @nikaprincessofkattegat @baebee35 @crowleysqueenofhell @fiction-is-life @lilacbeesworld @broooookiecrisp @queen-of-the-misfit-toys @eleanor-bradstreet @divaanya @musicismyoxygen84 @benedictspaintbrush @miindfucked @sorryallonsy @cayt0123 @hottytoddyhistory @truly-dionysus @fictionalmenloversblog @zinzysstuff @malpalgalz @panhoeofmanyfandoms @kinokomoonshine @causeimissu @delehosies @m-rae23 @last-sheep @kmc1989 @desert-fern @starkeylover @corpseoftrees-queen @magical-spit @bunnyweasley23 @how-many-stars-in-the-sky @amygdtjhddzvb @sya-skies @balladynaaa

#benedict bridgerton fanfiction #benedict bridgerton #benedict bridgerton imagine #bridgerton fanfiction #bridgerton #bridgerton imagine #benedict bridgerton x reader #benedict bridgerton x female reader #benedict bridgerton x you #benedict bridgerton x y/n #bridgerton x reader #bridgerton x female reader #bridgerton x you #bridgerton x y/n

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thebestofoneshots · 1 year ago

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Gilded Constellations | wolfstar x reader

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.2 K Warnings: none Prompt: Things finally start to make sense, maybe you'll finally discover one of the mysteries that have been surrounding you This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

In a couple of weeks I'll make a Q&A to cellebrate Gilded Constellations reaching 100,000 K words. And I'd love for all of you to be a part of it. So send in your questions, they can be anything you want, things like: How did you get the idea? Where does inspo come from? writing tips (I mean I don’t know much but anyway), character design, fancast, fav characters, things about me, about my plot notebook, literally anything you want, ask away (just state: For Q&A event or something) <3

Chapter 14: Maybe I’m Amazed

Monday October 25th, 1976

You and Remus had a presentation today, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found. You waited near the door of the classroom, with your notes in your hands, looking over them while tapping your feet on the ground, toying with your ring, and turning to look at the hall every couple of seconds, hoping to see him miraculously arrive. But he didn’t, in fact, it was the second time that day people you expected to see were nowhere to be found.

You were also supposed to go flying with James and Sirius in the morning like you did every single day, but neither of the boys made it. You went up to knock on their room’s door, but nobody answered, and after waiting for a few minutes, you decided to go for the morning flight by yourself.

Professor Flitwick saw you at the door, looking nervous and smiled at you empathetically from his desk. When your class was just about to start you sighed and walked closer to him.

“Professor, I don’t understand what’s happening, I’m not sure if Remus will make it. He didn’t tell me anything, I haven’t seen him since yesterday and I–“

“It’s ok,” he said calmly “Mr. Lupin is sick, I was informed.”

“Sick?” You asked with a frown.

Flitwick nodded, “I believe he and some of his friends all ate something that upset their stomachs at Hogsmeade on Saturday, they’re at the nurses’ office.”

You opened your eyes wide, that was your lie. But if the boys really were at the infirmary, then it meant something had happened to them on their stupid prank last night.

You frowned, almost wanting to run off to see them, but resisted the urge to do so “What’s gonna happen to our presentation then? He’s worked so hard on it, I wouldn’t want him to lose his grade.”

“You can present with him next class,” he told you comprehensively “It’s ok Miss (Y/LN), take your seat, don’t stress too much about it. I know you’ll give a brilliant presentation once your partner’s feeling better.”

You nodded “Thank you, Professor,” you told him with a smile and went to take one of the seats.

The class started, Lily and Marlene had worked on their project together and they went first, talking about the properties of wordless magic and then making a very small presentation, teaching some volunteers to make sparks with their wands without saying a word. Tom and Marlene were next, and they gave a talk about the dangers of dark magic and so on. A couple other students asked for volunteers, and while in normal situations you’d have been among the first to raise your hand, today was an exception, you were a little too busy, tapping your feet under the desk and looking at the clock every couple of minutes.

At some point you decided you had to do something, so you took some parchment out and wrote a small note:

Hey Puppy! You all right? I missed you and Prongs on our morning flight today… Remus missed our presentation too, tell him Flitwick said we could present next class. Are you all really at the infirmary? Because I know for a fact it wasn’t something you ate… Unless you actually ate something last night, I wouldn’t put that past you lot, but I’m sure that’s not it. I’ll keep an eye out for your answer plane.

You read it over a couple of times and then started to bend it into a very small paper plane that you left over your desk. When class was over you used the same spell Remus had used at the beginning of the course so that your little plane landed close to Sirius.

It wasn’t until you were in the middle of transfigurations that a different paper plane landed over your desk, you carefully unfolded it and started reading:

Hey beautiful! Thanks for that strong vote of confidence! We didn’t actually eat anything bad. Remus says he’s sorry for missing the class, and that he’ll do your homework for a week to make it up to you, I’m jealous!

We really are at the infirmary though, last night’s prank went awry and we accidentally got attacked by Grindylows. We’re all right, Remus got the worst of it anyway… But we came to check on him first thing in the morning, that’s why we didn’t make it to the morning flight. Your rumour somehow got all the way to Poppy, and when we went to check on Remus she gave us some medicine and had us stay in the infirmary to check on us… so it’s basically your fault.

Anyway, you should still come see your poor boyfriend in the infirmary, pamper him with kisses and offer him some tasty treats… at least.

ps. Since I haven’t retrieved the ones from last week, that would mean you owe me six so far…

You smiled when you finished reading, Sirius was a total flirt, and you loved that about him. When you read over it though, you frowned, that was the second time Remus got hurt after a prank, and if they were attacked by Grindylows, there was no way they were just fine, those little creatures could be absolute savages, you’d know, since one time a friend at your older school had fallen on the lake and been attacked by those nasty little water beings, she had to be taken to the hospital wing, and stayed there for a week. Of course, Remus was bigger, stronger, and a more advanced wizard, since that had happened to her in 3rd year, but regardless, Remus must be pretty battered up, again.

Finally, you sighed and went back to trying to turn the quill you had in front of you into a bird. Not that you were doing too good at that either. You let out an exasperated groan after your 3rd try of only getting a beak and little legs to appear on the quill.

Professor McGonagall approached you “Everything ok Miss (Y/LN)?”

You nodded, the air of exasperation remaining regardless, “I’m really struggling to get this right,” you told her “This is the first time I ever done transfiguration, and no magic had been this challenging for me before, it’s just…”

McGonagall smiled understandingly “Would you mind if I got you a tutor? I know a couple students from your year that would be more than willing to help.”

“I… uh… I’m not really that close to everyone in my year…”

McGonagall raised an eyebrow, you were pretty much already a member of one of the Gryffindor friend groups, and the rumour that you and Sirius were dating was already spreading too “I was thinking Mr. Lupin could help, and from what I gather you’re already friends…”

“Oh… Remus? Yeah, we’re close!”

“Excellent, I’ll tell him once he’s back on his feet. Poor boy, he must be feeling pretty tattered up today.”

You nodded “Yeah, he shouldn’t have eaten that.”

“Eaten what?” She asked, confused.

You arched your eyebrows “The thing at Hogsmeade that made them all end up in the infirmary…”

“They all?” Minerva quipped “Who else is in the infirmary?”

“Sirius, James and Peter.”

“They are there?!” She asked, seemingly surprised. You frowned, how did McGonagall know Remus was in the hospital if she didn’t know the boys were there too?

“Isn’t that the reason Remus was in the infirmary?” You asked, rather confused.

“The reason he–? Oh right, yeah right, must have slipped my mind.” She said and stepped away.

You frowned, there were many things that did not make sense with Remus Lupin, you’d already accepted that, and moved on from it, since he was one of the best people you’d ever met, but this, this was just off. McGonagall was not the type of teacher to whom things just “slipped her mind”, and that was a fact. Unless she knew Remus had been in the infirmary for another reason, and if that reason was that he’d been attacked by Grindylows, then that would imply she knew about the boys’ prank and was covering for them, which made even less sense.

And today was not the first time things were weird, it was like some teachers knew something that you didn’t. And it was all somehow related to Remus. And you really did not want to pry, but your mind, being naturally curious, could not stop thinking about it. And it all seemed so familiar; like you only needed to find the one little string that would solve the entire mystery, and it was just there for you to reach out and pull, but somehow, you were trying to find the tail end with your eyes closed. Maybe Remus really did blindfold you the first time you met, but instead of using the physical blindfold, he’d used an intricate web of half-facts and untold tales. Of course, he didn’t owe you any kind of explanation, and it was not like you were going to ask but a part of you really, really wanted to discover the mystery.

You spend the entire class pondering all the little things that didn’t make sense about Remus Lupin, thinking of trillions of ways in which they could be connected to each other, but nothing seemed to make sense. No matter how much you racked your brain, you could not find the string to tie it all out. You were so focused in uncovering the mystery that you didn’t even realise when the class was over.

“Hey (Y/N)! You ok?” Tom said as he shook your shoulder, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You nodded “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” You said, but your head was pounding from so much thinking, and to be honest, you did not want to deal with divination class, so you corrected yourself “Actually, would you mind telling Spellman I’m feeling a little dizzy, and that I’m going to the infirmary?”

Tom gave you a look and nodded, the two of you stood together and started walking towards the door “And where are you actually going to?” He asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

“Hm? Oh, to the infirmary actually, I’ll just pass by the kitchens first.”

“The kitchens?” He asked confused as you both continued walking towards the stairs.

“I’m taking some food for the boys,” you explained, Tom nodded, but still looked confused “They got caught up in the excuse from yesterday and Poppy got them to stay in the infirmary to check on them.”

“So you’re just feeling bad as an excuse to go see your sweet boyfriend,” he teased.

You nodded “Yeah, and my friend who got attacked by Grindyllows.”

Tom frowned “Grindylows? At this time of the year?”

“Yeah, why?”

“It’s weird, when the lake starts to cool down they disappear.”

You frowned at that, yet another puzzle piece to solve, but by then Tom was already walking towards a different set of stairs “See you around, hope you feel better, I’ll tell Spellman where you went,” he said loudly. Tom really was the worst liar you’d ever met.

“Thanks Tom,” you managed to say before scurrying through one of the hall entrances, so people wouldn’t notice the weird exchange you’d had.

Once you got to the kitchens you knocked on the frame and asked the elves if you could have some food, they nodded and started preparing you some snacks to go, you asked around, hoping to find Nimbbletwist, but the elves told you that she’d been commission to something by Dumbledore that particular day. When they were done you thanked them profusely and waved goodbye. You grabbed the package of food and after placing the entire thing inside your backpack you started walking towards the infirmary.

Once you were next to the huge, half-opened doors, you slowly slipped inside, hoping not to cause too much of a stir inside, but the place was pretty much empty, other than the hushed whispers you heard at the end of the room. A curtain was covering the boys from your sight, and muffling their voices.

“We need to find a better way to deal with your furry little problem,” You heard Peter say “Moony’s been going pretty wild the past few times.”

“Ehm…” You cleared your throat, whatever the boys were talking about, the fact that they were whispering about in an empty room, meant that the conversation was secret enough for them, and you were not planning to eavesdrop on some of the nicest people you’d met. “Morning boys,” you said with an awkward wave.

Sirius smiled the second he spotted you, Peter looked like he’d seen a ghost, and Remus looked too tired to care much about you having shown up almost out of nowhere. But James was the first one to speak “Hey (Y/N)! Sorry we missed the morning flight.”

You nodded “Sirius told me all about your mishaps,” you said as you walked closer to them, you looked around trying to find a sitting spot, and when you didn’t you resolved to stay standing “Brought you guys some snacks.”

“You actually did?” Sirius asked with a dashing smile, eyes shining in content. His girl had brought him snacks, and she looked as lovely as ever while doing so. By then, you were already turning your backpack in front of you and pulling the little pack the elves had built for you. So he helped you hold it as you pulled the food pack and placed it on the bed besides Remus. They’d packed sausage rolls, pork pies, scotch pancakes, Jaffa cakes and tiny Bakewell tarts, Peter dug right into the sausage rolls, like he was starving.

“Poppy didn’t give you boys any food?”

“She gave us soup,” Peter said in between bites “It was so bland and tasteless, she said it’d make our stomachs feel better.”

“I thought it was good,” Remus said with a shrug.

“Yeah, you got the one with spices,” Peter complained “You should’ve said we had a headache or something instead.”

You raised an eyebrow, “Since when are headaches something 4 people can have at the same time?” You retorted.

Peter shrugged in response “A magical headache or whatever.”

“At least, thanks to you, we didn’t get in trouble for skipping class,” James said with a shrug.

“Exactly, that’s my girl!” Sirius said with a wink, then he grabbed your arm and pulled you onto his lap, you arched your eyebrow at him once you were comfortably sitting on him “You looked like you were tired.”

You laughed, shaking your head “Yeah, sure Puppy, if you say so.”

“Don’t think I’ve stopped counting,” he said as he wrapped his arms around you a little tighter, setting the two of you in a more comfortable position.

Finally, you turned to Remus, he wasn’t eating any of the things you’d brought, James was munching on a pork pie and even Sirius was enjoying a Bakewell tart, but Remus looked genuinely beaten up. He had a sharp gush on his face, and another one down his arm, probably many more underneath his clothes and bandages. Just when you started to pay attention to the open wounds, and realising how different they were from the ones your friend had gotten when she was attacked by Grindyllows, Sirius spoke again “You’re wearing your ring today,” he said pointing at it as he grabbed your hand to look at it.

“Found it in a drawer as I was getting ready in the morning,” you told him “seemed to match the mood of yesterday.”

“Because of the moon and the stars,” Sirius agreed, paying a closer look at your ring, you nodded, “It’s very beautiful,” he said, slipping it out of your finger and testing if it would fit in his pinky, it stood out among his thicker rings, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Won’t you eat anything?” Peter asked Remus as he munched on his fourth sausage roll.

“I’m not really feeling it,” Remus responded.

“Mmm… Actually–“ you said as you placed a cookie in your mouth to bring your backpack to your lap again. Sirius took the cookie from your lips and held it for you, you turned to him and whispered a small “thanks,” before you continued to rummage through your bags, “It’s here!” You said as you pulled out a chocolate bar. It was the same brand Remus always carried around, and you’d bought a few at Honeydukes over the weekend. You’d decided to always carry one in your bag, to offer to Remus when he was feeling off, just like he’d done for you several times. You handed it over to him.

The boy smiled as he grabbed onto it “Thanks love! Don’t deserve it after I failed you for today’s presentation.”

“Don’t be silly Rem, you had an accident,” you told him motioning to him on the bed.

“And where’s my chocolate bar?” Asked Sirius as he leaned his head over your shoulder to give Remus a better look.

“You don’t get one today Puppy, I only packed one in the morning, sorry.”

“And you gave it to Remus instead of me?” He teased, playing offended. “You do remember I am your boyfriend right?”

“Well, clearly Remus was the one to save all of your asses last night,” you said pointing at the bandaged boy, and then at the rest, who barely had a scratch on them “However the hell did you get into a fight with Grindylows?”

“We were trying to get some gillyweed,” Remus responded while he pulled on the paper of the chocolate bar to open it “for a special prank we wanted to do on the Slytherins.”

“With gillyweed?” You asked with a frown.

“For a potion,” James added “took the recipe from one of Grandpa’s old journals.”

You narrowed your eyes at James, but nodded, Who knows? the Potters are pretty much experts on potions, they’d know. “Did you get it?”

Remus shook his head “We were too busy with the Grindylows.”

“I could maybe help you–˝

“–No!” Remus, James, Sirius and Peter said at the same time. You closed your mouth at that, taken aback by their answer.

“Love, you did see Moony, right? Do you wanna end up like that?” Sirius reasoned.

“Well… I’m a good swimmer, I could scare the Grindylows away with bombarda or something–”

“–don’t worry about it,” said James “We decided we would buy it in a magazine and get it delivered, we don’t wanna have to go through that again,” he motioned to Remus.

“But thanks for offering,” Remus added “It’s very brave of you.”

You shook your head, “those stupid Slytherin boys have been getting on my nerves lately, whatever prank you do to them, I’d love to help.”

“They’ve bothered you again since the broom incident?” Sirius asked. A shiver ran down your spine as you remembered the way Evan had pulled you over the railing last night.

“Nothing I can’t deal with, they’re just a bunch of cowards.”

James looked at you with apprehension, he thought it was his fault that Barty had started to pick on you, after all the ball you threw at his face had originally been directed at him, not at you. You wondered if the boys had heard of yesterday’s commotion in the astronomy tower, they probably hadn’t, they wouldn’t be relaxed at all.

Sirius yawned from behind, closing his eyes as he leaned closer to you, resting his head over your neck. “You boys should go get some sleep,” you told them when you noticed that it wasn’t only Sirius who was sleepy, James’ shoulders were slumped, and he normally stood straight, while Peter was sluggishly munching onto his fourth sausage roll. “I’ll stay with Rem, I need to wait for Poppy to come anyway, I want something for my headache.”

“You’ve got a headache?” Remus asked with a frown, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

You tried to shrug but stopped when you remembered Sirius still had his head over your shoulder “You looked a lot worse,” you said with a teasing smile.

He shook his head with a breathy laugh, “Don’t put yourself second luv, I’m fine, I’m strong! See?” He said as he raised his arm and as if to show off his muscles.

You laughed, he wasn’t lying, but it was still funny. “You sure you can stay luv? What about your classes?” Sirius asked.

“I’ll catch up later, it’s easy. It’s not like we have transfiguration.”

“Still having trouble with that?” Peter asked politely.

You nodded “That’s literally the cause of my headache, couldn’t get a feather to turn into a bird. McGonagall said she’d give me a tutor.”

“How delightful,” Sirius said ironically.

“My thoughts exactly,” you agreed, “but then she said it’d be Remus, so it’s fine, we’re already working together in so many other classes, he must be getting sick of my face.”

“Oh shut up, I would never,” he said as he broke off another square of his chocolate.

Sirius extended his hands towards him “Gimme soooome Moooony!”

Remus rolled his eyes, but extended his hand with a piece towards your boyfriend anyway, when their hands brushed against each other Remus hissed “What the hell Pads?” He said with a frown, looking betrayed.

Sirius looked at his hand, his eyes widened as he saw he was still wearing your ring, your silver ring. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shock you.”

“Shock him?” You asked confused, that wasn’t the reaction you’d expect from someone who’d gotten an electricity shock. Let alone Remus’.

Remus nodded, “I’ve got a small cut in my hand,” he lied “It was rather unexpected.”

You looked at him with a bit of a frown, you hadn’t seen any cuts on his hand. James suddenly stood up and clapped, gathering everyone’s attention “Well, if I don’t move now, I’m falling asleep on this chair. Pete, Pads, you coming along?”

While you turned your head to look at James, Remus threw a look at Sirius, who frowned apologetically and mouthed “I’m sorry, I forgot.”

“I’m coming,” Peter said, standing up after James. “Need anything from the dorm?” He asked Remus.

He shook his head “I’ll catch up with my homework later.” He responded.

“I’ve got a couple of books here in my bag, we can read something while they go sleep.” You offered your friend with a smile.

“Sounds great!” Remus responded with a smile.

“Nerds!” Sirius teased.

“Pads?” Peter asked, “You coming too?”

Sirius nodded, burying his head on your back as he hugged you tighter.

“You don’t have to go,” you told him since he didn’t look like he wanted to let go of you just yet.

“Why don’t you come nap with me instead?” He mumbled, voice a little muffled since he still had his head pressed to your back. “You smell really nice today.” Truth be told, Sirius thought you smelled nice every day, but with some of the dog qualities still lingering on him after the previous hours of being a dog, he was both extra sensitive to smell, and extra clingy of his human too, not that you knew any of it.

“Let the poor girl breathe mate!” Peter teased. Sirius just groaned in response.

“I’m gonna stand up luv,” he told you, you were about to stand, but he just stood up while still holding onto you, and once he was up, he slid to the side, and dropped you right back on the chair. Well then, I guess that works too, you thought.

“Bye Puppy,” you told him as he walked towards his friends. He raised his hands, showing 9 fingers up and raising his eyebrows. You rolled your eyes, but also realised he was still wearing your ring on his pinky finger “Oi my ring!”

“I’m keeping it as collateral,” he told you, “‘least until you pay up what you owe.” You gave him an amused smile and shook your head as he left.

“What do you owe him?” Remus asked once the boys were gone.

“He hasn’t told you about that yet?” You asked casually “says he doesn’t like being called Puppy–“

“–that’s a lotta crap.”

You laughed “Yeah, well he charges a kiss for every time I call him that.”

Remus raised his eyebrows, now he was amused “he’s just taking advantage of you love…”

“Is he though?” You said back with a little smirk “The way I see it is a win-win situation. He gets to be all flirty and I get to kiss his pretty lips.”

“Touché,” the boy agreed, he too thought Sirius had pretty lips “Can I tease him with the nickname too?”

“All you want,” you replied with a smile “if he tries to kiss you, though, don’t blame me for it.” You both laughed, and a comfortable silence followed, then you remembered you still had books inside your bag and pulled them out, setting them on the bed beside him. He grabbed the one at the top when you noticed which book it was, you pulled it from his hands. “You can’t read that one.”

“I can’t read… A Wizard's Handy Handbook of Spells?” He asked as he read the cover name from your hands.

“It’s not that,” you added, holding it tightly between your arms. “It’s… not actually A Wizard's Handy Handbook of Spells, I charmed the cover.” He arched an eyebrow and tried to take it from your grasp, you pulled back but it was too late, he had it in his hands again. Remus had an awful lot of energy for someone who had been badly hurt just a couple of hours ago. “Remus, give me that!”

“I wanna know why you charmed the cover first,” he said while dangling the book in the air.

You looked at him with a frown and jumped forward to try and grasp the book from his hands, but he pulled it back, to the side of the bed. “Remus!”

“Am I gonna have to read it?”

You stood up, and extended your hands over him, to try and get the book that was on the other side of the bed, but your feet got trapped with your backpack strap and you ended up falling over Remus. He groaned as your body crashed over a particularly nasty bruise. Your scent filled his nostrils from the closeness, Sirius was right, you smelled awfully nice, a little like him too.

“Shit Rem, I’m sorry,” you said standing up as soon as possible “I didn’t mean to–“ The brusque movements had caused his shirt to rise up slightly and you actually saw the nasty bruise your body had crashed against, you looked at it with a concerned frown and then back at your friend “Remus…”

He averted your gaze, he did not like being pitted “I’m fine.” He said once he turned back to you, using his free hand to pull down his shirt again “I’m strong, remember?”

“Yeah, someone falling over a bruise hurts, no matter how strong…”

He shrugged, he’d definitely had worse than you falling over him “You’re light, didn’t hurt much.” You looked at him, sighing “and you smell nice, no wonder Sirius wants to have you on his lap all the time.” Finally, you laughed, shaking your head as you stared at your friend. Remus realised you had a really nice laugh as you did, he shook his head from the trance of staring, he wasn’t sure he’d ever found a girl as pretty as you. “Will you tell me what kind of book you were trying to hide from me, or will I have to figure it out myself?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a spicy romance novel,” you said avoiding his gaze, he smiled diverted. The more you know, he thought. “It was recommended!” You added.

“Yeah, sure.”

“It was!” You insisted “By your little Ravenclaw girlfriend, actually”

“Nina Blythe?!” he asked in disbelief.

You nodded “Are you sure you don’t want to date her? She’s clearly into the good stuff.” He gave you a look and you laughed, Nina was beautiful, but she definitely still had a baby face, like Remus had said when you told him she had a crush on him.

“She’s not really my type.”

“Which is…?”

“None of your business, of course.” He replied sassily, and then changed the subject “How spicy?” He asked, curiosity taking the best of him.

You shrugged “I’ll tell you when I get to the spicy part,” you told him with a shrug, taking the book from his hands, he let you do it without any fuzz this time “But um…” you pointed at one of the other books on the bed “this one’s good, you’d like it.”

“Is it also spicy?” He teased.

“Remus!” You complained, “Not every single book I read is spicy!”

He shrugged “Wouldn’t shame you if you did.”

You rolled your eyes and let out a breathy laugh. “It’s not spicy, but it is really good.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he said, taking the book and opening on the first page. Soon enough the two of you were comfortably reading. You were so engrossed in your book that you’d totally forgotten the initial reason you’d gone there. But as you continued flipping pages, it was like the string you had been trying to reach earlier was finally there, shining brightly for you to take it, and tie all the mysterious facts into one sole explanation. As your eyes moved through the words in the book, the description of the male lead started to resonate with you…

Remus was strong. Remus had a lot of scars and bruises all over his body, and they were definitely not caused by Grindyllows, he always carried around a calming draught and had other rather strong painkiller potions in his room as well, he tended to stay away from you when you wore your silver ring, literally jumping from your grasp when you touched him with it on one time, and was also visibly mad at Sirius when he brushed over his fingers with it on, as if they both knew something you didn’t –electric shock, my ass.

McGonagall knew he was in the infirmary, no, she expected him to be in the infirmary today, yesterday was full moon.

When you told him that he could get the Fluxweed he said he was good at catching so he switched with you, he would’ve had to harvest it on the full moon. All the boys got really suspicious during the full moon, and the two times you’d seen the full moon happen in the castle, Remus and all the boys had disappeared. Peter was talking about “a furry little problem” just before you cleared your throat earlier. James had joked about his romance novel being called “The Beast Within.”

In the boggart class, when you got a werewolf, all the boys had tensed up, even the way Lily had approached you, constantly looking back and forth between him and you.

You looked up at him, Remus looked tired, Remus had a great sense of smell, Remus got a lot more irritable around this time of the month, Remus was ripped even if he didn’t look like the type to do much exercise, in fact, you’d never seen him do exercise. Remus Bogart had been the moon. Remus was right in front of you, looking like he’d been up all night and yesterday was full moon.

Remus’ nickname… Remus’ nickname was fucking Moony!

YESTERDAY WAS FULL MOON.

Finally seeing clearly every single thing that didn’t make sense in your head, all the half-told tales and the lies and the inconsistencies, “You’re a werewolf…” you mumbled, almost in a whisper.

He had been too distraught with the book to notice, so he looked up at you “Sorry, what was that, luv?”

Your head started swirling with fast thoughts, Remus hadn’t told you himself. Remus probably wanted his lycanthropy to be a secret. Remus had gone to great lengths to hide it. You’d barely met him a couple of months ago and you were sure most people didn’t know about his condition, other than a few teachers, the boys and, maybe Lily. She probably knows, in the bogart class, she seemed alarmed. But Marlene, Mary, Beth? They probably have no clue. What right did you have to know before the people who’d met him years ago? Whoever the hell were you to butt in on this boy’s life? Even if he’d become one of your closest friends. I do not want to make Remus uncomfortable. I do not want Remus to hate me for prying. “I.. uh.. Do you like golf?” You improvised, almost cringing at yourself for how stupid your question had been.

“Golf?” He asked with a frown.

“Aha…” you continued “the muggle sport, Golf. With uhm.. sticks and small balls,” you then made a little golf swing with your hands.

“Yeah, I know Golf,” he responded, still confused “Never played it tho.”

“Me neither,” you responded honestly “This character though,” you pointed to the book “Seems like- very obsessed with it.”

Remus frowned and leaned forward on the bed, to try and get a glimpse of the book, you remembered that you were literally on the page about the scars on the werewolf’s body and you instantly dropped the book. It closed shut on the floor. You leaned down “Oh no, I lost my page.” Maybe you were a worse liar than Tom in the end.

Remus arched an eyebrow as he saw you leaning on the floor, you looked rather desperate.

“You okay?” You nodded and sat back on the chair. “So… how was it? spicy?”

“Not much so far,” you responded honestly “just very in-depth descriptions of the male lead’s toned abdomen from the time they went to swim on a lake together.”

Remus nodded, maybe he’d have to borrow the book from you at some point. “And you’re liking it?”

“Plot’s good, yeah. Very enlightening.”

“Enlightening?” He asked, not quite understanding how abs would be enlightening, but who knows, maybe they are.

“Mhm…” you said when you realised the slip-up “What about your book?” you decided to drag the subject away from the spicy werewolf book and onto the one Remus had instead.

“I’m loving it, actually. I didn’t know you had such great taste in books.”

You smiled at the compliment “The portrait of Dorian Gray is an absolute classic, it has some of the most killer quotes I’ve read in my life.”

“Nowadays people know the price of everything–“ he started.

“–and value nothing…” you finished the quote for him, “And there are so many others, you won’t be able to stop.” You told him with a smile, “Like… the only way to get rid of temptation, is–“

“–to yield to it.” He said at the same time as you did, a certain glimmer in his eyes when he did.

Out if nowhere the images of the kiss you’d had at Marlene’s party came back to Remus, he remembered how soft and gentle you’d been, he remembered how your hand over his shoulder had felt, how kind your lips had been to his, how you’d tasted of fresh berries and potions, how after the kiss was over you looked genuinely pleased but cracked a joke to ease the tension, how contagious your laugh had been… how sweet you smelled that day, always with a hint of Sirius’ scent from how close you were to each other. What the hell is wrong with me? She’s dating Sirius! She’s dating Sirius –my crush best friend– Black, he thought. He snapped himself out of it as soon as he could, coughing up a couple of times to clear his throat.

You looked at him, with a bit of concern and stood up, quickly walking towards the nightstand to pour some water on a glass and hand it over to him, he took it, fingers brushing against your small hands. He cursed himself for feeling something when they did, he’d rather feel nothing at all. Why must you be so kind?, he thought as you waited for him to finish drinking, to put the glass back in his place. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

You just smiled kindly “That’s what friends are for.” No, he thought, the boys were rarely as attentive as you were, and Lily, well Lily rarely visited after the full moon, even if she always took a moment to ask if he was feeling alright. Maybe that was why he was feeling so weird all of a sudden, he just wasn’t used to being cared for the way you cared for him. He then started to wonder if you were that nice to everyone, or only to your closest friends, he wanted to know if you also carried around Peter’s or Prong’s favourite treats in your bag, or if you had ever given chocolate to Tom, Alex or Teddy, if you borrowed books to Lily, or if you laughed along Nina the same way you did with him, he felt a tiny pang of jealousy when he imagined those things happening. Remus, stop it! he told himself, by then you’d already sat back in your seat, and found yourself engrossed in your book. Or at least you were pretending to be, in really you were still cursing yourself for asking if he liked golf.

When you noticed he was staring you turned to him with a diverted smile “Do I have something in my face?”

He seemed to be snapped out of his own thoughts “What?”

“You were staring,” you told him, pretending to be uninterested as you still looked at the book, in reality, you were wondering if maybe he’d heard you ask if he was a werewolf and if he was considering how to kick you out of his life for butting in on his private business.

“Ah…” he acknowledged “I wasn’t…. I was thinking of last night’s accident,” he lied.

“Of course,” you responded, “Grindylows must’ve been horrifying.”

He nodded, absentmindedly and the two returned to your respective books.

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

TAGLIST: @rayrlupin @callmelovergirl @warcelia @ireneop @endversewinchester @moonyunebi @smuttysluttybitch @mazzymoons @drugs-for-memes @sofiacblair @vmpir3lvr @remuslupinisbae @rabluver @willgrahamisalesbi4n @thatobsessedreader @orkwardx0 @itskailey24 @hell0-kittie @belovedmoony @blacksgarden @loving-and-dreaming @cassie-love20 @starchaser-lily @zucchini-queenie @springflwer07 @sseleniaa @cometsghost @orkwardx0 @imdoingbetternow @sbrewer21 @remuslupinsbae @maxinehufflepuffprincess

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rorywritesjunk · 1 year ago

Text

I can’t tell where the journey will end But I know where to start

Prequel to my Kid Buggy fic, set about 11-ish years before that story.

Buggy meets you by chance when he needs his buttons sewn back onto his jacket. He’s young, up and coming, and he thinks everyone should cower before him wherever he goes, but all you do is smile at him.

Rating: PG-13ish just for some swearing. Warning: Buggy’s in his early 20s. He’s an asshole. He just is because I wanted to write him loud, demanding, everything. Also, I’m not nice to Buggy when he tries to flirt. I definitely write him as a bit of a disaster when it happens. It’s just going to get a bit worse from here. This chapter is just kind of fluffy but also Buggy is kind of young and anxious and has a bit of an attack but Sunny gives him love. Bath time chat as well. A/N: I have no idea when Buggy became a Captain, so he’s a fresh faced captain in this. No clue how long this fic will be.

Title comes from “Wake Me Up” by Avicii.

TAGLIST: @lostfirefly @ane5e @kingofthemfingpirates @the-angriest-angel @tiredemomama @valen-yamyam16 @i-reblog-fics-i-like @plethora-of-fickleness @uhnanix

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7 + Chapter 8 + Chapter 9 + Chapter 10 + Chapter 11 + Chapter 12 + Chapter 13 + Chapter 14 + Chapter 15 + Chapter 16 + Chapter 17 + Chapter 18 + Epilogue

Chapter 11

“If you’re hanging out here today, I’m putting you to work.” Miss Pins told Buggy as she glared at him as he leaned back in the chair in the shop. You were working on an order for a customer, patching holes in a jacket while Buggy sat and watched you, but your boss wasn’t having any of it.

“Do I get paid?” Buggy asked. She shook her head.

“Your payment will be getting to spend time with Sunny while at the shop.” She told him. “Now, there are some things I need put away in the backroom that Benji can’t reach with a ladder, and I’ve seen some of what that Devil Fruit of yours can do, so go help him.”

And that's how Buggy (begrudgingly) became a shop worker for the day. If it meant he got to spend the day with you, then fine. He helped organize things on the top shelves, cleaned windows, and even helped paint the front exterior of the shop with Benji (while managing to get covered in paint). The only upside was you bringing him lunch once he was hot, sweaty, and covered in purple paint.

“Looks like you could use a bath.” You chuckled as you set a plate of sandwiches down for him and Benji.

“What? No.” Buggy took one of the sandwiches, shoving it into his mouth as he continued talking. “I'm fine without one.”

Benji made a face as he picked his own up. “You sure?”

“What’s the damn point? I'm just going to get dirty again.” Buggy told him as he ate. You shook your head and went inside to grab them both something to drink. “Besides, life on a ship doesn't allow for such a thing.”

“You're on land now.” Benji pointed out. “And you stink.” He pinched his nose and stuck his tongue out at him.

“Yea? Well, that's because I'm a man and you're just a kid!” Buggy shot back. “I smell manly, got it? You just can't handle it.”

“No, he's right.” You said as you came back out with their drinks. “You do stink, Buggy. You need a bath.”

His jaw dropped at what you said. Did you really think so? He wondered if you were teasing him because you sat down and kissed his cheek.

“One bath on land won't kill you.” You told him, smiling. “And getting caught in the rain doesn't count as one, okay?”

And he really did love you because he was nodding in agreement with whatever you told him. Benji was pretty impressed that he listened to you and was convinced you had magic powers for a moment, because at the end of the work day, you had Buggy in the bathroom and in the tub, washing his hair for him like you would a stray dog.

“Don't you trust me to do it myself?” He asked as you ran your fingers through his hair, making sure the shampoo was able to reach his scalp.

“Of course I do.” You told him as you tugged on a lock of hair gently. “But why would I miss the chance to play with your beautiful hair?”

He turned red and covered his face with his hands when you said that. Why did he have to blush every time you said things like that to him? You said nothing after that, just humming softly as you made sure his hair was fully lathered before using a cup to pour over his head, rinsing the shampoo out. It took a few minutes, but once it was done you grabbed a towel and began drying his hair.

“Buggy, can I braid your hair?”

“What? Why?” He asked as he turned to look at you. You twirled a lock of his hair around your finger with a shrug.

“Keeps it out of your face while you wash up.” You replied innocently. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at you before nodding, wondering what was going on in your mind. Honestly, you just wanted to braid it because you thought it would look nice in a crown braid on top of his head. You got up to grab a comb and some hairpins, humming once more before returning to your spot outside the tub. He turned around to look at you with a frown.

“Why are you doing this?” He asked. “Why are you… so nice all the time to me?”

You looked at him curiously, frowning a bit before you shrugged. “I don’t see a reason not to be nice, Buggy.”

“Yea, but-”

“I only thought you were an asshole once, Buggy, and you apologized to me for it. Other than that you’ve always been nice to me.” You leaned in towards him and he leaned back just a bit. “I think you’re sweet for a scary pirate captain.”

Buggy’s face turned red as he glared at you. “Are you making fun of me?”

“What? No.” You smiled and put your hand behind his head, pulling him back to you for a kiss. He tensed up, turning redder, and when you pulled back you weren’t sure you’d seen him turn that shade of red before. “You okay?”

“Y-Yea.” He looked away from you. “I’ll finish up. Uh, you probably have things to do.”

You raised an eyebrow but nodded, kissing his cheek before getting up. “Come find me when you’re done, Buggy.”

Buggy found you in the kitchen a little while later as you started on dinner. He stood and watched you for a moment, scratching his chin, wondering if you really would marry him if he asked. Would you want to live on a ship for months at a time with him? Would you be happy with him? Why would you even think of leaving this life to join him on a ship? His mind was starting to race as he started wondering why you would even consider being with him, and he almost started to panic just a bit.

“What’s on your mind, Buggy?” You asked, not turning around and interrupting his thoughts. “I heard you walk up.”

He hesitated but walked over to you and wrapped his arms around you carefully, letting his head rest against yours. You touched his arm softly, stirring the pot of stew with one arm carefully making sure not to spill the contents.

“Would you really marry me?” He mumbled against you, refusing to move as he tightened his hold. You stopped what you were doing and pushed him away from the stove before turning to look at him.

“Do you not want to suddenly?” You asked with a frown.

“I-I do! I just… wanted to know if you really want to!” He said. “Or are you just saying that to be nice?!”

You sighed softly and put your hands on his shoulders. “Buggy, honey, I do. I am not saying it to be nice, I'm saying it because I want to marry you eventually. I want to wait until I'm finished with my apprenticeship, okay? And after that you can propose however you want, but I want to marry you.”

“Really?” He asked. You leaned in and kissed him, catching him off guard for a moment, and when he tried to hold onto it for a second longer, you pulled back and patted his cheek softly.

“Yes, really.” You insisted. “Remember, if I didn't like you, I wouldn't be this nice to you, Buggy. Feeding you, sharing my bed, all that kind of stuff. I do it because I care about you.”

“You really want to live on a pirate ship?” Buggy frowned. You shrugged and smiled at him.

“I wouldn't mind. Besides, my mom was a pirate and she used to say she could see me ending up on a ship one day like her.” You told him as you kissed him again.

“Wait, what?” He jerked away and looked at you, confused by what you just said. “Your mom was a pirate? You never said your parents were pirates!”

“My parents weren't, just my mom.” You chuckled as you smiled at him. “She was a member of the Cook Pirates under Captain Red Leg Zeff.”

“What?!”

“I guess we got a lot to learn about one another, Buggy.” You said as you turned back to the stew you were making. “But I like that we have the time to do so.” You looked back at him. He looked like he was still processing what you told him. “You okay?”

“Your mom was a pirate?” He asked. “Really?”

“Yea, for a few years.” You shrugged. “Met my dad on a merchant ship they were raiding and fell in love. Decided to stop being a pirate and married my dad.”

Buggy stared at you for a moment, his mind still processing what you said. Your mom was a pirate but wasn’t anymore? Did… did he need to stop being a pirate to marry you, like your mom chose to do? He didn’t want to stop, but he loved you. Was this a choice he was going to have to make? His mind was starting to race; you looked back over at him, saw he was becoming distressed, and walked over to him.

“Hey, stop thinking for two seconds and sit down, Buggy.” You told him as you led him over to the table.

“I don’t…. I can’t give up the sea!” He blurted out.

“What? I wouldn’t ask you to do that!” You told him, looking surprised. “Why would you think you had to?”

“Your mom-”

“Yea, she chose to because it was what she wanted to do.” You told him as you made him sit down. “I wouldn’t ask you to do that, Buggy.”

He looked up at you, uncertainty in his eyes. You ran your fingers through his hair and sighed, letting him wrap his arms around you. What was going on, why was he suddenly so panicked?

“What’s going on in that brain of yours?” You asked softly. “You still will be a pirate if you marry me, Buggy. I wouldn’t ask you to ever give it up and no one should.”

“I can’t give up being a pirate.” He muttered as he closed his eyes, leaning into your touch. While you were touched that he was this comfortable around you to drop his guard like this, you were a little surprised how anxious he could become over small things.

“You aren’t going to.” You assured him as you stroked his hair softly. “I promise. I want you to become the most feared pirate, Buggy, and I won’t let anything stand in your way, okay?”

He just nodded, refusing to look at you as you held him. This was such a contrast from when you first met him, when he demanded services after storming into the shop. Now he was sitting in your kitchen, letting you hug him after thinking he would have to give up his piratey lifestyle for you.

“Are you okay, honey?” You asked. He could only nod. “Okay. I need to finish dinner. You can hold my hand if you want.”

“I’d like that.” He mumbled as you pulled away, his hand slipping into yours and popping off his wrist as you returned to the stove. Buggy stayed at the table, watching as you worked. You were adding a few spices into the stew before checking the flavor. Once you seemed satisfied, you took Buggy’s hand and put it on your shoulder while you set the table. He watched you, wondering now what you thought of him. He felt pathetic, getting worked up over nothing, but you were there for him, comforting him, which made him feel better in the end.

He was starting to think he didn’t deserve you, but you finished setting the table and reached over to brush his hair out of his face, tucking a lock behind his ear before kissing him on his forehead.

“Dinner’s ready.” You told him. “I can walk you back to your ship after, okay?”

He didn’t really want to leave after dinner, however.

#buggy the clown #buggy the clown x reader #buggy x reader #buggy x you #buggy the clown x you #opla buggy the clown #opla buggy the clown x reader #opla buggy x reader #opla buggy the clown x you #buggy the clown x oc #buggy x oc #opla buggy the clown x oc #opla buggy x oc #sunny x buggy #one piece #one piece oc #one piece fanfiction

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spaceofentropy · 7 months ago

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It was supposed to be a quick thing, when I started writing it. Instead, my fic for the Harringrove Corner Pride Event grew and grew until it became the 38k-word story it is now.

My prompt was "Find me in the future" and what I offer you today is a story about time travel, paradoxes, pining, the fear of screwing up, and also monsters, titled

Time travel is real

On ao3

Rated E for blood, not sexy times

Pairing: Harringrove (but the last chapter is all Munver because I am a self-indulgent fool!)

Relevant tags: Time Travel AU; Canon Divergence; Neil Hargrove is His Own Warning; Implied/Referenced Child Abuse; Blood and Injury; Homophobia; Internalized Homophobia; Protective Parent Jim "Chief" Hopper; Robin Buckley is a good friend; Fix-it fic (if by fix-it you mean I fuck things up even more and the body count is higher); Whump; Pride Parades; references to HIV/AIDS Crisis; Billy Hargrove tries to be a decent brother (results may vary); Karen Wheeler and the married ladies of Hawkins being creeps

Summary: It's the summer of 1981 and one of Billy's friend bets that Billy won't have the guts to go and spend five minutes talking with the naked weirdo that's hiding under the pier. Billy's 14 and he has no idea of what consequences accepting that bet will have.

It starts like this:

"There's a weirdo under the pier."

From where he's propped against the wooden parapet, Billy stops letting his gaze float over the people walking by them on the pier and turns to look at Stab. The rest of their group does the same, all keeping their eyes politely away from Stab's busted lip and swollen cheek even as they look at him.

"As if the whole beachfront isn't full of weirdos every day," Jimmy Z. says in a dismissive huff.

Pudge and Lily nod, and she's already back to drawing little black toothy monsters on the green fabric of her shoes. There's a hole in the sole of her right shoe. She said her mom's waiting for her next weekly pay check to buy her a new pair. They've been waiting for the right pay check for two month.

Billy looks away and stomps down the jealous resentment over the fact that at least her mom seems to be the kind of parent that will never stop trying. Unlike his, or some of the parents of the others in their group.

"A different kind of weirdo," he hears Stab insist.

Billy does his best not to snicker when Jimmy F. eyes Stab with all the skepticism a five-foot-nothing kid can muster. Which is a lot, if your name is Jimmy Fernandez.

"Define different," Jimmy F. says.

"I think this one ran from an asylum or something like that."

"Like Roaming Maggie," Jimmy F. is quick to supply.

"No, different! This one doesn't have shit."

"So, like the poncho guy."

"No. He's naked."

"So, like Perv Guy last summer," Lily intervenes without even looking up, and Jimmy F. nods.

"No-ooooh!" Stab is getting closer to the end of his patience. "This one is not approaching anyone."

"Ok, so, like the high lady with the tattoos and the−"

"No, he's not talking to the sirens−"

"Kraken," Pudge says while exhaling a plume of smoke. "The lady with the orange bush said her talking to the kraken was what kept it from eating the pier."

Billy pulls a cig from his own pack as he tunes the diatribe out. There's a good chance they're gonna go on for hours. They've done it before. It's the first weekend of summer break and they still have fuck all to do: inane chatter is perfect for them to waste time but not money.

He likes when it's like this. When they can just sit around, or swim, or talk about shit that doesn't really matter. He likes when they can forget life is shit, parents are a mess, school's a drag, and the future is on fire. Nothing better than to let his friends' words wash over him and make the world seem a little less fucked.

He has just finished his cigarette, making sure to smoke every last bit of it, when he registers what Stab's saying:

"I bet Billy wouldn't."

"I wouldn't what?"

"Find the balls to go and talk to the weirdo under the pier."

#my stuff #my fanfiction #harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #with a tiny side of #munver #tigerfreak #time travel AU

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moonchildreads · 2 years ago

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small town

Chapter 14 - Missing You

IN THIS CHAPTER: The meaning of flowers, homemade cake, and Maureen and Margaret become friends [6.0k]

WARNINGS: angst, discussions about dead parents (car accident/unspecified terminal illness), survivor's guilt, unprocessed grief - please heed my warnings. i'm currently grieving someone and this is very raw, proceed only if it won't hurt you

A/N: shout out to @duquesademiel and @justahappycloud for teaching me that it is okay to write as a form of therapy, and i'm sorry i keep sending you the sad bits of this fic only. i love you and i can't believe i get to call you my friends. also, big thank you to @boomhauer for letting me use her chosen name for eddie's dad - i admire you greatly and everyone should go and read disjointed as a thank you. we're so very lucky we have you in this fandom <3

masterlist - prev - next | playlist

You had so much hope for a brighter day Why were you my flower plucked away?

Sunday, May 11th - 1986

“What on Earth are you doing?”

Mother’s Day had always been a weird day for Dottie. When she was a toddler, it was just another calm and quiet Sunday, albeit one where her Dad wanted more cuddles than usual, which, quite frankly, already were a lot. Still, she enjoyed the extra attention and he loved holding his little girl in his arms while she took a nap on his chest so there were no complaints to be heard from either side. When she was in kindergarten, her class spent an entire Friday making gifts for their Moms. Dottie came back home with a hopeful smile and gave her paper mache and macaroni flower to her Dad, asking if he could send it all the way up to Heaven for her. James had neer been happier about the fact that they now had separate bedrooms so she wouldn’t hear him sob clutching her handcraft to his chest while she slept. When she was around 8, she asked her Dad why couldn’t they simply celebrate Mother’s Day like everyone else in her class.

Margaret’s physical absence in her daughter’s life wasn’t an unusual topic in their home; in fact, a lot of teachers commented on it as Dottie grew up, praising James for keeping her memory alive and normalizing a sad situation so his kid wouldn’t suffer. James wasn’t sure why telling his daughter that she had been so very much loved by her dead parent was worthy of being praised, but as a single dad in the ‘70s, he took whatever kind words he could get. He made sure that Dottie understood she had a Mom, that she didn’t suddenly appear from thin air one day to change James’ life forever, that she’d been wanted and dreamed of by both parents. Margaret’s face was in countless pictures around their home, they stayed in her old bedroom whenever they visited her side of the family in Pennsylvania, they talked about what she’d say or what she’d do at all times. Margaret Burke was a constant presence in their lives despite her untimely death, and the fact that they celebrated that every day except during Mother’s Day didn’t feel right to her daughter.

That’s how Dottie found herself establishing little traditions that were still in place that Sunday afternoon when she opened her front door to find one of her best friends holding a small bouquet tied together with a big silver ribbon. Dressed in an all-black ensemble as he usually did, the lilac and white flowers sprinkled with greenery were the only pop of color in the foggy drizzly afternoon. Eddie was smiling wide despite the ugly weather, his dimples perfectly on display for the world to appreciate.

“Hey! This is for you,” Eddie thrust the flowers forward. “Actually, they are for your Mom but… yeah.”

“You bought my Mom flowers?” Dottie said, disbelief present in her tone as her fingers brushed against his chunky rings when she accepted the bouquet, skin bristling at the contact.

“Yeah, you like ‘em? The purple ones are rosemary and the white ones are, uh, bellflowers? The lady at the shop said there are, like, a million white flowers that look like bells so I picked the prettiest ones,” he dropped his backpack on the armchair in the living room and followed her to the kitchen.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you pick these?”

“Well, I kinda… borrowed your flower book?” he admitted, leaning on the kitchen island to watch her fill a glass vase and start arranging the flowers. “The one you and Jeff were talking about at lunch? It’s in my bag.”

“Wait, what? When did you grab it? I didn’t even notice it was gone.”

“Yesterday, when you left me alone in your room to go get snacks. D’you have any more of those strawberries? They were so good.”

“Yes, but you can’t eat them. We need them for the cake,” Dottie cut a few long stems until she was happy with how her vase looked and tied the silver ribbon that the bouquet had been bound with around the glass. “So if you stole my book, what do these mean?”

“I didn’t steal it, I was gonna give it back!” he said, faking being offended at her accusation before he dropped the act and stared down at his hands. “The, um- the rosemary is remembrance. The bell flowers are gratitude.”

“Gratitude? For my Mom?” she searched for his eyes with her own but he kept looking at his rings.

“Just wanted to thank her, y’know,” he looked up at her after a pause. “For giving me you.”

“Shit, Ed, you can’t say things like that without a warning, you’re gonna make me cry!” she fanned her face with her hand, voice playful but eyes full of very real tears. “Thank you, you’re… thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” he smiled shyly, reaching across the island to grab a flower out of the vase and bump her nose with it.

She giggled, taking the long stem from his fingers and setting it behind her right ear before turning around towards the counter where baking supplies were neatly laid out. She picked up two envelopes: one was the now familiar soft pink rectangle she had been carrying in her backpack all week but the other one was unassuming plain white. She slid the white one across the ceramic countertop; Eddie opened it to find a Garfield themed Mother’s Day card, the orange cat grinning on the front of the glossy paper. A pen entered his line of vision and he looked up to see Dottie nervously staring at him.

“I got you your own card,” she explained, clicking the pen and offering it to him. “Thought maybe you’d like to join my little ritual later.”

“Ritual?”

“I write down the things I want to say to my Mom and then I burn the card. It’s dumb, you know I don’t really believe in, like, the afterlife or whatever but… Dunno. Feels like the words reach her if I burn it.”

“No, I get it,” he reassured her. “So I can write whatever I want?”

“Yeah! I mostly just update mine on how everything’s going. About my Dad, and school, stuff like that. Like leaving a message on her answering machine.”

“Okay, I can do that,” he smiled. “I’ll join your ritual.”

“Yeah? Okay, cool! I’ll… I’ll get started on the cake while you do that then.”

Happy to have a task to focus on instead of staring at him for an hour, Dottie opened a bottom drawer and took out a dark green apron with a tiny lemon pattern, quickly tying it behind her back with a thin bow. Eddie watched her move around her kitchen with ease, measuring ingredients and lining up a cake pan with parchment paper like she’d done it a thousand times. He supposed she’d had; kids with hard childhoods always knew their way around ovens and knives. It was simply a matter of survival: sometimes you were hungry and there weren’t any adults around even if the grownups in your life weren’t neglectful, like Wayne or James. Eddie looked down at Garfield’s large face printed on the paper and began spilling everything that was rattling inside his brain through his pen. He wrote, and wrote, and wrote until the left side of the opened card was full and had no more space to write on, so he continued writing on the backside.

He told his Mom about Wayne while Dottie mixed flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. He promised her he’d graduate this year while hearing the sounds of two eggs being cracked, the overwhelming sweetness of vanilla extract filling the air. He confided that he didn’t feel as lonely as before anymore, that he thought he finally had great friends, a club that looked up to him, a band that made him proud. He asked her not to worry about him anymore when Dottie poured the batter into a round pan and offered him the spoon to lick. And thus, Eddie wrote to her Mom about the girl he had a growing crush on, how he felt like he didn’t have to hide anything from her because she understood him in ways that other people had never understood, and how desperately he hoped she would look at him in the same way he saw her. If he had lifted his head up when he was putting the card back into the envelope, he would have seen Dottie sneaking glances at him while she cut strawberries and realized that he didn’t have to hope for anything anymore; Dottie already looked at him with stars in her eyes even if he didn’t think he was worthy of it yet.

With the cake baking in the oven for the next 30 minutes, all the strawberries cut in half, and the homemade jam finishing its 48 hour setting period in the fridge, both teens sat down on cushy stools at the kitchen island to finish the half-done homework they had abandoned on Saturday after it got dark. They could hear James pottering about upstairs, cleaning the bathroom while listening to the radio. He was singing along to West End Girls by the Pet Shop Boys - “the latest #1 on the Billboard Hot 100” the announcer had said. James didn’t really like the Pet Shop Boys, but he had heard it so much on the radio during the last couple of months that he couldn’t be blamed for knowing the lyrics by heart at that point.

“You done?” Eddie asked, gathering his stuff and shoving everything into his backpack.

“Yeah- yeah, I’m done,” Dottie said, moving to clear her stuff too. “Cake should be done in five, I think.”

“What’s next?”

“Wanna whip the cream while I do the glaze?”

“Sure. You’re gonna have to guide me though,” his face lit up in a mischievous smile. “And I’m gonna need one of those cute little aprons you’ve been hiding from me too.”

“You get plain dark blue,” she said, going through the drawer. “Or… I can offer you a “Kiss the Cook” apron with a big red heart on it?”

“Princess, you already know which one I want,” he batted his eyelashes at her. “Besides, it matches my scrunchie!”

Dottie tried to contain her giggles with no success when he tied his hair up into a bun with the red scrunchie that had found permanent residence in the depths of her empty fruit bowl, twirling around to show off his new hairdo. He bowed his head so she could slip the apron around his neck, leaving the tying up to him and fetching the ingredients for their next tasks. She separated them into two small piles, his ingredients to the right, hers to the left.

“To make whipped cream you put heavy cream in this,” she slid a bowl in front of him. “And you use the mixer to whisk it until it gets a bit bubbly. Then, you add the sugar and the vanilla extract, and you mix until it’s not runny anymore.”

“How much of everything?” he asked, pushing his sleeves to his elbows.

“One tablespoon of sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla extract.”

“The tablespoon is the big one, right?”

“Yes, chef,” she said, juicing a lemon for her glaze.

They worked together in relative silence, the loud sounds of the mixer drowning any words they could say. Eddie found out that he could draw on the cream when it got a bit more stiff, and quickly proceeded to spend the next few minutes drawing penis shape after penis shape into the mixture. He thought it was hilarious until Dottie unplugged the electric appliance, shaking her head at his antics. He got the cake out of the oven while she finished up her glaze, concentrating on not burning her concoction heating up on the stovetop.

“Do you always bake a cake for Mother’s Day?”

“Pretty much, yeah. It was my Mom’s favorite cake, it’s her recipe, so... Dunno, it feels nice. And I get to eat cake in the end so everything works out.”

“Y’know, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone make lemon glaze since I lived with my Grandma for three months,” he said, fanning the cake with a takeaway menu to cool it down.

“That sounds fun. How old were you?”

“Eight. Stayed with her the whole summer. She made awful lemon bars, I mean that shit tasted like fuckin’ cardboard,” Dottie snorted at his horrified expression. “But she made the best apple pie I’ve ever had. I think I gained like 10 pounds that summer.”

“Just from apple pie?” she asked, adding the last bit of the lemon juice to the pot.

“And ice cream,” he smiled. “Best summer of my life.”

“Eddie?” she said softly. “Can I ask you something kind of personal?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“How old were you when you moved in with Wayne?”

“After that summer. Actually,” he snorted bitterly. “The only reason I got to stay with my Grandma all those months was because my Dad got himself locked up and didn’t think it was important to mention he had a kid.”

“What?”

“They found out I existed when the school year started. A teacher asked me about my summer and called Social Services. When they came to see me, they said my Grandma was too old to raise me, so Wayne asked for custody. Been living with him since then.”

“What happened to your Dad?” she turned off the heat and turned to look at him.

“He’s still in prison. Won’t get out until I’m in my thirties as far as I know. He’s an asshole so… I don’t really care about him, and Wayne doesn’t either. Never went to visit him. Shit, I don’t think he even knows where they’ve got him, and that’s his little brother.”

“I mean, you just said he was an asshole so…”

“Yeah, I did,” he let out a wry chuckle.

“What’s his name? It isn’t Edward, right?”

“No, my Mom chose Edward. His name’s Wyatt.”

“Ah, that sucks,” she shook her head, moving past him to cut the cake in half to start assembling. He looked at her questioningly. “Wayne and Wyatt? ‘Cause you like alliteration?”

“Doesn’t ruin it for me. Actually, you might like this - you know what other two names start with the same letter?” he leaned onto the counter next to her. She was still wearing a sprig of rosemary in her hair.

“Bilbo and Baggins?” she joked.

“Maureen and Margaret.”

Dottie stopped cutting, knife halfway into the soft vanilla sponge, and stared at him. Eddie was looking at the two envelopes laying side by side next to the flower vase, right hand twirling the rings on his left hand. She remembered a conversation she’d had with Ms. Kelly early on in February after the excitement of being the new kid had died down and everyone had forgotten about her, going back to their cliques and usual groups of friends without sparing a single glance at her. If you want others to open up to you, you have to be open with them too, Ms. Kelly had said, in that gentle voice she always talked to troubled students with.

As much as Eddie wore his heart on his sleeve, he wasn’t keen on talking about his past. He rarely offered up pieces of important information about his childhood, choosing to only share the inconsequential parts instead. Everything else was locked up tight in his chest, just like Dottie did with her deepest memories. She wondered if the reason he was being candid with her now was because she’d let him peek behind her curtains first on Friday night at Lover’s Lake. A key exchanged for a key.

“Your mom’s name was Maureen?” Dottie asked, resuming her cutting.

“Yeah. Wayne says everyone called her Mo.”

“That’s a pretty name,” she smiled. “Mo and Maggie. Maybe they would’ve been friends.”

“Yeah. That would’ve been nice. We could have introduced them.”

“I don’t know if I’d be in Hawkins if my Mom was still here, though,” she said, sliding a big spatula under the first layer of cake to move it to a different plate. “Don’t think we would have moved out of New York.”

“Dunno if I’d be here either,” Eddie admitted, watching her spread the whipped cream he had made on the cake. “My Mom wasn’t from Hawkins. I don’t really know where she was from, I asked but Wayne doesn’t know either so… Said she didn’t like talking about it ‘cause her parents kicked her out when they found out she was pregnant.”

“That’s actually so wretched.”

“I know, right? Like, I know my Dad was always a fucking asshole but it wasn’t her fault, she was barely 17.”

“How did she meet your Dad then? If she wasn’t from Hawkins.”

“As far as I know, she worked at a diner my Dad stopped at on his route. Wayne got him a job as a trucker when he turned 18. So he met my Mom there, dated her for like, three months at the most, and then I showed up to ruin everything,” Dottie scoffed at him but he continued. “She dropped out of high school, he brought her to Hawkins and I was born here. They got married when she turned 18 a few months later. Actually, my Grandma kinda forced them to get married. She really liked my Mom and didn’t want people to treat her like shit ‘cause she had a bastard child.”

“God, people sucked back then.”

“It was the ‘60s, The Beatles were the biggest band in the world, everything sucked back then.”

“Say that again and I’ll kill you in your sleep,” she deadpanned and he let out a huge snort, enjoying how easy it was to rile her up. “You were saying, though.”

“Nah, it’s just… If they were married, it didn’t look like I was an unhappy accident, y’know?” Eddie got a bit more serious. “Anyway, Wyatt didn’t really want to be a dad. He would get in his truck and leave for days, and then when he came back he treated my Mom like shit. I don’t remember much but my Grandma told me once that he used to hit her a lot. I mean, I was his own personal punching bag so that shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does but still.”

“Jesus Christ,” she breathed out.

“It’s been ages since I’ve seen him and my Mom died when I was three, that’s why I don’t really remember anything,” he said, but he did. He remembered everything about Wyatt Munson; every hit, every insult, every scream. He cleared his throat. “After that, my Dad quit his job and started working at Brimborn before it closed down.”

“Brimborn… That’s the abandoned warehouse on Cherry Lane, right?”

“Cherry Oak Drive.”

“There’s like three different roads with “cherry” in their names in Hawkins, it’s so dumb.”

“Nobody said we were very original around here,” he chuckled.

Dottie moved around the kitchen to go find the strawberry jam she’d made a few days prior and found him still staring at the cards when she turned. He wasn’t crying at the memories, he didn’t even look sad. Just… resigned. Like he’d gotten used to things being shit all the time so it was a waste of time to get upset about them anymore. She left the jar on the counter and wrapped her arms around Eddie’s waist, her chest colliding with his back, her face buried between his shoulder blades.

“I’m so happy Wayne was there for you. He’s a great man.”

“Yeah,” he said, voice uncharacteristically soft, hands curling around hers. “Sometimes… sometimes I used to wish he was my real Dad, y’know?”

“He is.”

They stayed like that in the middle of Dottie’s kitchen, a million different things running through their heads: the dead mothers that shared the first letter of their names, the men that had raised them, and the people who had cared for them along the way. There was love to be found here in this kitchen, they both knew it. Only time would tell what it could turn into - what it would turn into - but for now, this friendship that only seemed to grow stronger every day was more than they had dreamed of when they first met in that dark props room thanks to the one and only Dustin Henderson. Maybe a Thank You note was in order.

Eddie thought it was very fitting that there wasn’t a bit of sunshine to be found as they stepped out into the backyard to begin what Dottie kept calling her “little ritual”. He held their envelopes carefully, one on each hand, while he watched her shove bits of craft paper and small branches into an empty bucket of paint, a box of matches resting on the floor next to her sneakers. She grabbed one and lit it on fire, throwing it into the can that had been scrubbed clean of any traces of paint ages ago and was now used as a regular bucket of water to douse the embers whenever James felt like using the grill. Wordlessly, she took her envelope from him and knelt in front of the can with her eyes closed, pressing the paper to her chest for a few seconds before lifting it up to her lips for a quick kiss, letting it fall onto the flames. She watched how the fire consumed her written words for a moment and went back to stand next to her friend.

She didn’t give him any indications as to what to do, simply choosing to let her hands fall in front of her, right hand twirling the ring on her left middle finger, eyes never leaving the flames. Eddie took her solemn silence as permission to approach the metallic can, kneeling on one knee and dropping his card inside. It was a strange feeling, he reckoned, to be sharing such an intimate and private moment with Dottie, and yet knowing that his words would never be read by her or any other person. Whatever he’d said in his letter was between him and the wind that he hoped would reach his Mom’s ears. I guess that’s the point of the ritual, he thought, moving back to his spot next to the pensive girl.

“It’s my fault,” she mumbled, gaze still stuck to the orange dancing in front of them and yet so far away from what she was actually seeing. “It’s my fault she’s dead.”

He turned to look at her, eyebrows meeting in the middle. Eddie had never seen her look so defeated. He wondered how he’d never noticed it before: the weight of the guilt she was carrying on her shoulders, the deep seated shame in the pit of her stomach that felt all too familiar to him, the vacant space within her eyes. It was like looking into a mirror that he’d been trying to ignore for so long. He reached out to her, his right hand wrapping around her left, rings brushing against each other’s, and squeezed tightly.

“She knew she was sick while she was pregnant and delayed her treatment for me. I killed her.”

“Dot, you know that’s not right.”

“Isn’t it? She knew it was me or her, and she chose me,” she held on tighter to his hand. “Sometimes… god, sometimes I wish she’d chosen herself instead. And it’s not that I want to be dead, I swear it’s not about that, but… it wasn’t fair. Not to her, not to my Dad. And it wasn’t fair to me either.”

“It’s my fault my Mom’s dead,” Eddie said, moving his fingers to intertwine with hers. She turned to him, both sets of wet brown eyes finding each others’ in the backyard. “It was the last day of preschool before the Winter holidays and I wanted pizza, so she went out to go get it. A drunk guy ran her over. She never saw it coming. My Dad wasn’t even in town. She died alone on the side of the road and with a fucking 2x1 pizza coupon in her coat pocket.”

“Eddie, you couldn’t have known. That wasn’t your fault-”

“It wasn’t yours either but you’re still gonna blame yourself for the rest of your life, aren’t you?” his lower lip trembled and they both squeezed tighter. The skin stretching over their knuckles was as white as the bellflowers in the kitchen. “They were adults, they made their own choices but you’re always gonna think about what you could have done differently, even if you didn’t know how to wipe your own ass yet.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she insisted. “That drunk asshole should be to blame, not you.”

“It wasn’t your fault either,” he said, matching her intensity. “You didn’t make her sick, that just happens sometimes and it’s no one’s fault.”

“It is! It’s my fault she didn’t get the treatment she should have gotten!”

��And it’s my fault my Mom was out there that night because I wanted pizza,” he lifted the hand that wasn’t holding onto hers and cupped the side of her face, thumb brushing away an angry tear. “If you’re not gonna stop blaming yourself, then I won’t stop either. You can’t have it both ways, Dot. Either we both move on, or we stay here together because fuck if I know who else to talk about this shit with.”

“It’s not fair,” she pouted, head falling forward until it hit his chest, his hand sliding into her hair.

“No, it’s not,” he agreed, taking a deep breath.

There was nothing else to be said, nothing left to clarify or explain. There were no words to soothe the pain, because it was so embedded into who they were as people that no amount of comfort would ever patch up the wounds that had healed badly and left deep scars that would never completely disappear. Margaret and Maureen were no longer there, and Eddie and Dottie had to move on. They weren’t sure how, and by God if they hadn’t tried to do so all these years, but it felt a lot easier to forgive yourself when someone else was walking down that road with you.

Dottie sobbed quietly against Eddie’s chest, head bowed with his right hand tangling into her curls, cupping the back of her head. Eddie let his own tears fall, his cheek pressed onto her crown, thumb brushing the exposed skin behind her ear. In the silence filled with paper and wood crackling inside the paint bucket, they thought about how much they longed for something they couldn’t even remember having, and how their rusty padlocks were starting to fall limp at their feet. How even when their brains were miles away from their bodies, they still anchored each other down, hearts beating in sync and hands holding hands, Eddie’s thick mood ring on his right hand clashing against Dottie’s only dainty band; her Mom’s engagement ring glinting on her left middle finger.

Suddenly, she startled him by laughing softly through her tears, bringing their joined hands between their chests. He peered at her face curiously, waiting for her to speak.

“She would have fucking loved you,” she said, looking up at him with a big smile and shining eyes.

“Yeah?” he smiled back.

“I told my Auntie Rachel about you, and she said that she wants to meet you. That you remind her of my Mom.”

“I do?”

“It’s because she was the glue. She was the one that introduced everyone in the group, they are all friends because of her. And that’s what you do for us with Hellfire. You’re our glue.”

“You know,” he stopped his sentence to chuckle. “Wayne said something like that about you too.”

“Yeah?”

“He said that you boss me around like my Mom did with him,” he laughed. “And that you always tidy up his coffee table like she did.”

“That’s so embarrassing,” she laughed with him.

“I think Wayne likes you more than he likes me,” he whispered conspiratorially. “But I know my Mom would have loved you too.”

“Eddie? If I wanted to get a tattoo to honor my Mom-”

“I’m taking you to get it when you turn 21. It’ll be your birthday present, I promise. Just… wait until you’re 21 so I can take you to a nice shop, because mine look really awesome but it’s honestly a miracle I’m not dead,” she snorted loudly. “I’m serious! I don’t think the guy washed his hands since he came back from Vietnam.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll wait. But you gotta promise we’ll still be friends in three years.”

“Oh, princess, I’m a ride or die. No getting rid of me now, sorry.”

“Good. Didn’t want to get rid of you anyways.”

While Dottie was inside setting up the TV to watch The Wizard of Oz, Eddie excused himself to the backyard for a smoke. He ran through everything that had happened between them that week, starting with their argument about his moldy ceiling all the way until the last ten minutes when she was still buried in his arms. Being vulnerable wasn’t something that came easy to Eddie; he was way too used to covering everything up in leather and sarcasm, but now that he’d started shedding the layers, it was surprisingly liberating to keep going, especially when he kept being rewarded by Dottie letting down her barriers too. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t realize James had slipped out into the backyard too and was walking towards him, glancing at the pile of ashes at the bottom of the metallic can.

“She got you to join her ritual?” James asked, coming to a stop next to the younger man who was smoking under the patio roof.

“It was interesting. I enjoyed it,” he said, the right corner of his lips twitching upwards into a soft smile. He offered his pack of cigs to James, who shook his head, hands in his pockets.

“No, thank you. Haven’t smoked in years.”

“I should probably stop smoking but it’s hard when my Uncle does it too.”

“I know what you mean, my parents are smokers,” James said, nodding. “I only stopped because Maggie got pregnant and she hated the smell on my clothes. Said it made her want to throw up.”

“Dot hates it too,” Eddie chuckled. “She’s always wrinkling her nose when we smoke near her.”

“She does it to my mother too, don’t take it personal.”

Eddie didn’t really know what else to say so he stayed quiet, busying himself with his cigarette. He knew Dottie hated the fact that he and Donny smoked, but despite that, she’d never told them to not do it. Instead, she moved around them to stand next to Gareth or Jeff, away from the wind that blew the smoke into her space until they were done indulging in their vices. She had never complained about the smell either; the only time they’d heard her say anything negative about it was when she said that her Grandma liked smoking inside her kitchen while sitting next to an opened window and that the smoke made her cough, so Eddie tried not to smoke in the van when he was driving her around. He tapped the butt to the sole of his boot and saved it in the little cardboard box, fully intending on throwing it in the trash when he came back inside when James cleared his throat.

“Eddie, do you mind if we have a talk? Man to man,” he said, his tone friendly but firm.

“Y-yeah, of course. Is there a problem, sir?” Eddie’s palms were sweating. He had seen this coming but didn’t think it would happen so soon.

“No, actually I wanted to thank you,” James began. “Dottie told me what you did for her on Friday, that was… very thoughtful of you.”

“Oh,” he was surprised. “I… You don’t have to thank me. I don’t know if she told you but… I haven’t been a very good friend lately and I wanted to apologize to her. That’s all.”

“Well, either way, thank you. Proms and school dances are… a touchy subject for her, you know? Not a lot of good memories. Just- thank you for making her senior prom special.”

“Of course,” Eddie said, scratching the skin under his watch. “We’ll make sure she has a good prom. And if- if you want us to bring her back at, like, a certain hour, we- we can totally do that too. We’ll look out for her.”

“I know,” the older man smiled at him, noticing how nervous he looked. Eddie might be almost 20 but he was still a little boy trying to impress the father of the girl he liked; James supposed he’d looked the same when he’d started dating Maggie. “You’re good kids, all of you. And Dottie’s never really had good friends before so… if she’s happy, I’m happy.”

“I’m glad. That’s she’s happy, I mean,” he hurried to say. “Not that she had bad friends before. That part sucks, she’s… she’s great and I’m glad I- glad we got to meet her and… stuff.”

“You all mean a lot to her, but you… You’re very important to her. You know that, don’t you, Eddie?” James said, and Eddie felt very much like he was being tested.

“She’s important to me too, sir.”

James smiled, satisfied with the boy’s answer. He understood now the glee his father-in-law felt whenever he made him squirm, it was very enjoyable. It was in good faith though, Roger had never outright disrespected him, and James didn’t intend on doing it to Eddie either, but he supposed it was his God given right to mess with the kid a little bit as the father of a teenage daughter. Maybe one day Eddie would understand it too.

“Everything alright?” Dottie said, popping her head out of the kitchen backdoor and looking at the two men standing on the grass with curiosity.

“Yeah, just two guys having a manly talk. You know, about sports and stuff,” James said.

“You only watch sports when the Olympics are on.”

“I also watch the Super Bowl,” he argued.

“You never watch the rest of the season, what’s the point?”

“It’s fun,” he said, turning to Eddie. “Right, Ed?”

“Only reason I watch is because Wayne makes the best spicy wings in Hawkins,” he grinned. “Sorry, sir.”

“You two are missing out,” James shook his head, jesting. “Gonna watch The Wizard of Oz?”

“Yeah, wanna join?”

“Nah, I’m gonna go lay down for a bit. I’ll take a piece of cake though.”

Later that day, when they were hanging out on the couch stuffing their faces full with vanilla sponge and strawberry jam while watching Judy Garland and her merry gang of new friends walk down the yellow brick road, Dottie eyed Eddie suspiciously until he turned to her, whipped cream staining his upper lip.

“Okay, spill.”

“Wha’?” he asked, cheeks full of cake.

“What were you and my Dad talking about outside?”

“Manly stuff,” he swallowed quickly. “Can’t tell you. If you knew, I’d have to kill you, it’s the law.”

“You’re such an idiot,” she giggled, stealing a strawberry from his plate.

He gasped in horror but still let her do it, because she was important to him and he’d do anything to keep that smile on her face, including tearing down the walls he’d carefully built around himself all throughout his life. And hopefully, by shedding that weight, she’d be able to get rid of hers too, and Mo and Maggie could be proud of them for finally moving on.

taglist (comment below or shoot me a dm if you want to be added!): @munsonology @kurdtbean

#bunny writes #small town fic #eddie munson x female character #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x oc #eddie munson #eddie munson x ofc #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #stranger things 4 #joseph quinn #baby's first fic

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swiftsaltsweet · 18 days ago

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Updates

Next week's chapter will be a new fic called "Yokoya Days." It's gonna be small chapters, exploring the blank period of when Yun was found and Kyoshi and Rangi's time in the mansion during those two years. Aka it's a canon compliant prequel. (this and Death of Kyoshi were two fics I wanted to begin and publish since I started Hunt and Thief...but got distracted by other stuff TT0TT).

I've actually reused some ideas for flashbacks in other fics from this one (remixed it slightly to work within the way that fic works. Ex: Rangi/Yun's first meeting in Thief and how he hits on Rangi, and an upcoming chapter in Two Knives with the Masters). Will still use those ideas here cause the scenarios will either hit different, or just have different content entirely.

Well better late than never!

Since it's canon compliant, sadly Kyoshi and Rangi can't get together. ;w; But that doesn't mean I can't explore them becoming friends, and slowly developing feelings for each other! >:3c It's suppose to be about the Yokoyan trio, plus maybe some other fun events, but ofc I'm biased and R*ngshi is taking control. Plus I feel like they have more chances to interact on the estate (both seem to be running around while Yun trains, so like...yeah, they're probs gonna run into each other more often uwu).

I dunno it just feels like a fun thing to explore (and gives me a reason to write gayby!Rangi trying her best™). And I just think it'd be fun to have a lil fic going where there's low to no stakes, and slice of life elements to it. (plus it being short will allow me to write it faster, and give me more of a weekly buffer for other fics *sob* I'm trying to dodge going on hiatus again ok??? *sob*)

Plus it'll be a little challenge, seeing as only Kyoshi can go into town during that time, and Rangi/Yun will have to leave for missions from time to time. So I'd have limited setting to work with. *sob*

No arcs, this is episodic. Most of what I have imagined is during the first year (aka when they babies are all 14).

______

As for Hunt!

Chipping away at Hunt's ch 13-15.....but I might have to split ch 14 into two parts. It's at 5000ish words right now and like.... oof.

I have the ending part done and the beginning part of the chapter started. But if it's 5000 words now and I'm not even like....through the middle part?! *sob*

I mean, who knows? Maybe I'll be quick and concise with all the stuff in the middle?

jaskfdjaf yeah mmmhmmm Ms. Rambler over here being concise? aklsjfkdla Oh oh man hahaha oh...wow. Next thing you'll know pigs will fly.

But yeah it's looking like I'll be splitting the chapter in 2. Which, hey, good news, that gives me an extra week to work with! :'D

Good news, if everything goes as planned, I know a perfect spot in the middle to end ch 14/part 1 at. So yeah, the chapters may end up looking like this now:

Ch 13: The Present

Ch 14: -Redacted- Part 1

Ch 15: -Redacted- Part 2

Ch 16: TBD title (ending arc 1)

Ch 17: TBD title (beginning arc 2)

_______________

I'm afraid this might happen to Thief's chapter too (at 7000ish words and still not done), buuuuut I'm stubborn and want to end the first chapter a certain way so jfkslajf TT0TT We're just gonna have an extra beefy chapter I guess!

Hopefully the other chapters won't be as long *sob*

I'm thinking 3 arcs for this one. Might go into 4, but I need to see how Arc 3 ends up looking like.

_______

Two Knives..... I need to edit Interlude 6 some more. Need to start on the first chapter of arc 2. All scenarios are basically done with Arc 2, I just need to write it out (and decide the order of a few of them).

The story will need to be at least 3 Arcs. But I don't really have the direction I wanna go for Arc 3 clear in my mind.

#salty talks #i'm still deciding “ch 15's” (I guess it might be 16 now?) title #i mean who really knows like there were some parts of chapters I thought would take AWHILE and #and i just got through it fast and was like 'oh ok jkflsdjaf'#don't worry arc 1 and 2 have titles too #lord help us all if I get distracted

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exonerin · 1 month ago

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Literally 8-21 all you haven’t answered yet I would love love love to know

That's... well, I think I can close up shop after this post. Thank you for the questions, though you've also given me the daunting task of sorting through the ones I've already answered in the range you've given me.

I'll just preface with a read more and the warning you asked me this. I'm an innocent albeit very verbose victim in all of this.

8.What fic meant the most to you to write?

I think DISLOYAL. There're little things in that fic that were great to pour on paper.

9 / 10 / 11

12. What fic was easiest to write?

SATELLITES. This fic wrote itself and editing was also an extremely smooth process. I'll post it on December 25th.

13. What were you longest and shortest fics posted this year?

I'll post Picking Up Strays starting from tomorrow, which will become my shortest fic this year.

However, it's actually A Policy on Honesty, which beats Augury by only a handful of words. It's an extremely close call. You won't have read A Policy on Honesty because it's not a Star Wars work.

The longest fic is Till Death Do Us Part with 78,756 words.

14. What were you go-to writing songs?

I'll just give two playlists, but I have a couple playlists.

Obikin Big Bang (I'm still organizing this one):

The Obikin playlist:

15. What was the hardest fic to title?

I either know a title immediately or it's a lengthy painful process. Honestly? Insult & Injury. I love the fic and I had a lot of fun writing it, but that title? That was challenging.

16. What's your favorite title of the year?

Bringing Him Home. Absolutely. I loved the title when it popped into my mind, and I love it still. I debated between Bringing Him Home and Bringing Skywalker Home. Actually, I'm still struggling to decide which one I like better.

Maybe I'll change it one day. But I was pretty satisfied with that title. I mean... it's perfect for the fic, isn't it? The vibe and everything.

17 / 18/ 19

20. Share your funniest line

How am I supposed to remember this?

I'll interpret this as the funniest bit. And that's still difficult. But I'll go with Eight Of Cups Chapter 9.

Obi-Wan's determined to prove Qui-Gon's accusations wrong. Unfortunately, he digs a trap for himself, promptly falls into it, and proves Qui-Gon absolutely right.

Frankly, I enjoyed writing that full chapter, but here's a highlight:

Qui-Gon cornered him while Obi-Wan tried to settle on the couch for the second night in a row. Anakin had already retreated to his room, which meant all bets were off.

Fortifying his shields, he sat up, waiting until Qui-Gon reclined in one of the chairs.

"I noticed something concerning today," Qui-Gon spoke after a long, tense silence.

Although many witty remarks shot through Obi-Wan's head, he remained silent, preferring to wait until Qui-Gon showed his hand.

"On several occasions, you communicated through the training bond today," Qui-Gon pointed out.

"As Padawans and Masters are wont to do," Obi-Wan said mildly. The obvious caveat Obi-Wan didn't mention was that senior Padawans and Masters were an exception to this. When the senior Padawan grew increasingly independent, the bond would naturally fade. Obi-Wan didn't want Anakin to pull away from him, but he wouldn't cling to Anakin either. Qui-Gon had, unfortunately, stumbled across this stalemate.

"Do not play obtuse, Obi-Wan."

"I don't see what the problem is," Obi-Wan argued despite seeing in excruciating detail what the problem was. He was the problem. "In a fortnight, the Council will knight Anakin, and then the training bond will be severed."

Master Qui-Gon eyed him suspiciously. "If I ask you a question -- as former Master to Padawan -- will you answer me honestly?"

Obi-Wan would never refuse such a request, so he nodded. "Of course."

"Are you in a sexual relationship with Anakin?"

Obi-Wan choked on his saliva. He had had concussions that had left him less dazed than this question posed with aplomb.

"I-- You-- what?" he stammered. Instinctively, his shields tightened, not allowing a single ray of light to pass. "No," he denied vehemently. "We're not. That never passed my mind. I..."

Helplessly, he watched Qui-Gon lift from his seat.

"What gave you the impression?" he asked because not knowing would be worse than anything Qui-Gon could dish out.

Obviously, he was mistaken.

"The boy... he looks at you," Qui-Gon said after a long pause. "And you look back. I'm not blind. All you see is him -- and the boy gawks at your pants, too. You're constantly watching the other."

Obi-Wan swallowed with difficulty, struggling to keep his expression neutral.

"You're mistaken," he asserted.

"I do hope so, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said. "I do hope so."

Then, he swept out of the living room, leaving Obi-Wan to his jumbled thoughts.

Are you in a sexual relationship with Anakin?

His mind was a treacherous thing. Still shocked and disoriented from Qui-Gon's question, his mind wandered, looking for the clues Qui-Gon believed he had picked up on. Innocent memories were clutched into its grubby hands and twisted until they were shadows -- mirror images -- of what they used to be.

His hand ran over Anakin's Padawan braid, and his Padawan almost tripped over his feet as he followed the motion, his back arching temptingly. Obi-Wan imagined wrapping his hands around that waist, holding Anakin in place... or tugging on that Padawan braid, coiling it around his fingers until Anakin had no leeway -- could only follow him until Obi-Wan found the limits of his flexibility.

A shudder ran down his spine.

Wide-eyed, he watched the rush hour traffic outside the window, zooming through the dark sky.

Qui-Gon was wrong.

Powdered sugar coated Anakin's lips, his expression contorted into pleasure as he sucked on the piece of candy in his mouth. An erotic picture Obi-Wan wished to ruin. He itched to bite a line down the bobbing throat of his Padawan. An insidious curiosity made him want to hear Anakin mewl around the candy in his mouth. Then, Anakin would wet his lips, using the tip of his tongue to swipe the white dusting on his lips. Obi-Wan was hit by sharp hunger. Not for the disgustingly sweet candy Anakin liked so much but for those full lips.

He was sure that the taste of sugar on Anakin's lips would be delightful. That specific brand of sweetness would leave him ravenous for more.

Qui-Gon had to be wrong.

So, when Anakin led him to his bedroom that night, Obi-Wan didn't protest. Instead, he followed his sulking Padawan into a small bedroom. He would prove Qui-Gon wrong. Surely, that would quiet the niggling voices in his mind. Yet, Obi-Wan was a cautious man, so he balanced on the edge of the bed, listening to his sweet Padawan, who slept deeply. Hearing Anakin's soft breathing silenced those voices because his overwhelming love for Anakin couldn't be... carnal.

When he woke up, Anakin was plastered against his front, and Obi-Wan knew this was an issue. Trouble had come knocking, and unsuspecting, Obi-Wan had opened his door to invite it in. Now, trouble had taken residence in his heart, whispering suggestions that Obi-Wan wouldn't follow up on.

Anakin snuggled closer, and Obi-Wan traced an idle pattern over Anakin's back, which made his Padawan melt in his hold. Drily, he swallowed. Under his fingers, he could feel the dips in the small of Anakin's back -- mere centimeters above the start of the swell of Anakin's ass, which Obi-Wan had avoided with the desperation of a dying man.

Anakin felt safe with him, a mental voice noted smugly.

He tightened his grip imperceptibly, relishing how Anakin had gone boneless in his arms, exuding his comfort in the Force.

21. What's something that surprised you while working on a fic? Did it change the story?

That would be in Unconditional Surrender.

I had written 40k for the fic. And in the second half, Ren and Hux left the... uh... I can't remember what ships they were on... anyway... they left the ship to meet High Command on another ship (I'm highly embarrassed by this sentence. I will rewatch the movies before writing more kylux. I need help here).

Anyway. They left the ship. Hux ended up imprisoned. He shares a cell with Leia. They get rescued by the Resistance. Ren interferes before Hux can be arrested, and Ren and Hux escape to Arkanis. Here they hid from the First Order. The Resistance finds them, and Ren is roped into teaching Rey and Finn.

There's this whole jealousy arc before Ren and Hux get together (Leia would have assumed her son was mated to Hux while they were imprisoned. However, on Arkanis, there's no need for Ren to scent Hux). Listen, there was drama before everything wrapped up nicely.

Now, if you have read Unconditional Surrender, you may be puzzled by this incoherent rambling. Because the fic I posted is nothing like that.

And that's because I deleted those 20k and wrote the posted fic instead. I hated it. Ren and Hux leaving the... I would swear it's the Finalizer (which makes no sense canon-wise, but I did do a number on canon in that fic). Anyway, Ren and Hux couldn't leave.

There's this rule I stick to. It's same time or same place.

Unconditional Surrender spans over several months. If I also make it span across the galaxy, the story loses cohesion. In my personal (and probably terrible) opinion, a story is best if it has contained time and place. If you're not careful, your plot will start sprawling. And there's nothing worse than a sprawling plot (with exception of not properly spacing your paragraphs on AO3).

For time skips, I think you can also handle the same rules that apply for a Deus Ex Machina. If it's within the first 20% of the fic, it doesn't count (this was a major head ache in DISLOYAL, just so you know. Because DISLOYAL contains one 'healing cock', one 'somehow, he lived' and a time skip of 10k (this actually put some strain on the word count, because I knew what followed couldn't be shorter than 40k or I would risk having an unbalanced fic). Realistically speaking, the healing cock is the biggest problem, but I tried to plant seeds for it from the beginning.).

Coincidentally, I failed some of these rules in Till Death Do Us Part, but that's another nightmare. Especially when the morally upright guest comment brigade visited.

I think that were all the questions! I tried to give shorter answers to some of the questions, but I still wrote quite a bit.

#ask game

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truessences · 1 year ago

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20 Questions for Fic Writers!

I saw this from a mutual @teafiend and I'm gonna do it lol

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

9; they're mostly one shots. I think there are two that are multichapter. There are two that are part of a series of oneshots.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

I'm not sure if there's a formal way to check it but 26,602 (as of 11/3/23)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now Stranger Things. I have one Harry Potter one.

In the past, on FF.net there might be more, like from Final Fantasy VII and more Harry Potter but I don't post on there anymore so I'm not counting it lol.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Closer to You (Mileven oneshot) - 91 kudos

2. One More Light (4 or 5 chapter fic Mileven) - 58 kudos

3. Dirty Dancing (Dramione oneshot) - 55 kudos

4. It's a Mad World (One shot about Mike and Eddie's first meeting) - 49 kudos

5. Roll Away Your Stone (Mike & Max fix set in S3) - 40 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why? Why not?

I always try to, since I don't get a lot of interaction (which is fine, I know how this works lol) so when I do, the comments are super appreciated. I don't post for comments but they are always nice.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?.

Ummmm lol I don't think any of them end angstily lol but maybe not Happily Ever After. At least the ones that are finished lol. Maybe Dirty Dancing because of how it ends? I don't know lol. I'm still debating on if my Stranger Things-Titanic AU will end happy lol

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I feel like they're all pretty happy but not like Happily Ever After kind of thing.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet lol

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No, I don't feel like I would be good at it lol. Maybe one day and maybe in the Stranger Things-Titanic AU will be my first. I've written it before kind of... but not in a fanfiction... hard to explain lol.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No but I did have an idea years ago of a Peter Pan/Hermione Granger fic but no idea where I wanted to go with it so lol.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. Stealing people's fan work is low hanging fruit so get a life.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No... but I have written with people before for other "fan" stuff.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

That's hard lol I don't think I have an ALL TIME fave but I'll name a few and not in any particular order. And because I like these, doesn't mean I've written a fic for them or read a fic of them (most likely I have though). I actually did a post a while back on some fave anime ships, I'll link that. Fave Anime Ships.

Bamon (Bonnie Bennett & Damon Salvatore)

NejiTen (Neji Hyuga & Tenten)

Cloti (Cloud Strife & Tifa Lockhart)

Hacy (Harry Greenwood & Macy Vaughn)

Kanthony (Kate Sharma & Anthony Bridgerton)

Cole Cassidy & Sombra (this one is new but I really like it lol)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Nothing, I plan to finish everything.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm not sure lol, I feel like I capture character voices well. I tend to write in third person and I can still get across how my characters are feeling and thinking. I also write original novels and have been for over 10 years so I hope my strengths have strengthened over the years.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Tenses really kick my ass and I overthink it. I feel like some people have really beautiful and lyrical ways of writing and I definitely can't do that lol.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Haven't and won't.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter

20. Favourite fics you’ve written?

Um.... I'm not sure if I have a favorite lol. Maybe One More Light only because I actually teared up a little when writing one of the chapters because I just let my fingers go and it flowed. Whether or not it's good, well lol but I do think that one is emotional.

But that's it!

#stranger things #fanfictions #mileven #bamon #nejiten #writing #creative writing #authors #truanswers #harry potter fanfiction #hermione granger #dramione #overwatch 2 #sombra #Cole Cassidy #mcsombra

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lonisaiou · 5 months ago

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14, 23 and 91!

Ohhh oh!!!! I like these ones quite a lot! This is going to be a lenghty answer

14. I'm stuck between Kokichi's 4th freetime event because I find it absolutely hilarious how he predicts all of Shuichi's moves, and Ibuki's last freetime event because I truly felt seen through her words... It was a very touching moment that I think I won't ever forget; also Ibuki is pretty awesome

23. woah... what can I say, v3's chapter 1 is an absolute 10/10 from start to finish, and an incredible introduction to such a wonderful game! From the motive, the setting + buildup, the blackened and the victim, and also the REAL blackened.... What a crazy start! I would've normally answered v3's chapter 5 because it was genuinely one of the most stressful trials I had to endure, but I barely see chapter 1 getting the credit it deserves (also... I just love these two equally)

To this day it still sends me chills to my bones when we get to the protag switch on the trial, and I even start sobbing! Seriously after all this time and it still gets some tears out of me?? Not many cases gets me this emotional. It was also like such a bold move on the team for getting rid of the protagonist, and setting such an important message that carried all the way through till the end, and affected almost if not all the members of the cast! Kaede is such an amazing character seriously... And I think that's what v3 does best, making you feel so deeply for fictional characters that you truly get invested in the hardships they face

Also Rantaro was such a big enigma, I loved what they were setting up for him and it got me really intrigued as to find out more about him and his talent throughout the game, and when we got, later on, a segment of his video I was so hooked! He's such a mysterious character I can't help it but be drawn to him

Overall, rewatching this chapter for a second time truly hits different, knowing exactly what actually happened and seeing the countless of ways they could've avoided this situation can be a bit frustrating but I would personally not change anything as I enjoy the impact it had on the story

edit: I feel like I haven't properly answered the ask, as I've only touched the trial part of the chapter, but ch1's Daily Life was the real deal, as I was really invested in Kaede's will to work together with everyone, how little by little she formed almost an unbreakable bond with Shuichi (in such a short time at that) and the conflicts that came from her stubborness! Her rivalry with Rantaro, even if it was subtle, was really well handled, since they truly conveyed the Belief vs Distrust themes of v3, and even after their death that theme was thankfully explored through Kokichi and Kaito. I also like how ch1 and ch4 compliment each other as they don't shy away from tormenting these characters alongside the player, and how both blackeneds were almost impossible to imagine commit a crime such as murder. They knew exactly the right buttons to push to get you weeping on your seat

(Ahh.... I will probably talk about v3's chapter 5 on another, more elaborate, post, as I feel that if I start talking about it now this post is going to get reaaaaal long)

91. Dang it why does it always have to be one? There are so many good ones, I can't choose... So I will just link some down here ;)

Gravitational Attraction by whattheskyknows is without a debout one of my favourite oumota fics! And surprsignly enough, it's fluff. (I'm more into angsty fics haha) it's genuinely really funny and their romance is just so them! I would recomend it to anyone

Motive 5: Death Puzzles by lunarleonardo is a really good chapter 5 rewrite where it completely changes the course of the game (by adding this rather... special Motive, yk what to expect from the title alone),and it's also saiou, which I'm a big softie for. I'm pretty sure it was one of the first Danganronpa fanfictions I had read when I entered the fandom a couple of months back (?) It's filled with angst and the way lunarleonardo handled saiou's relationship made me feel deeply for these two. I would pay reaaally close attention to the warnings at the start of each chapter thoought, as it gets really bad at some points, but promise there's a happy ending!

I'd Trade My Life for Yours by grayimperia is definitely a must-read on the dr fandom (in my must humble opinion haha), like there's always this one fanfiction everyone has read or should read it within a fandom, just like with Amalgamate by DoctorHaifisch, and these two are definitely the v3 fanfictions! They're both wonderful pieces of fiction that delivered amazing new insights on the cast, and put together some really cool scenarios that are just as good as what canon gave us. I feel like I'm reading a script directly from a Danganronpa Game, because the characterization of each of the characters and their dialogues are on point, awesome stuff that I'm sure many have already read, but I couldn't not put them

finally (because this is getting really long, sorry) Reaching by kokichiouma is my personal favourite timeloop fic! I'm a big fan of the character exploration for Kokichi that the author made through this fic, and his relationship with Shuichi is just *cheffs kiss*, very high quiality fic! And a bit underrated too, it deserves so much more praise

..... Phew! That was a looot of yapping, my bad! Thanks for the ask btw <3

#ddloni yapping #ask game #ndrv3

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not-safeforsanders · 8 months ago

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Riptide

Chapter 24: Breezeblocks // He bruises, coughs, he splutters pistol shots Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23 | Read on A03 Ship: Receit Warnings for the whole fic: Drug use, sexual content, sex under the influence of alcohol, alcoholism, implied/referenced suicide attempts, sexual trauma, sex addiction, self-worthlessness. Plot: Remus is running from a history he doesn’t want to face, Janus is escaping guilt that he doesn’t have to bear. When the two meet under the most unlikely of circumstances, Janus finds himself in a whirlwind of a life that gets stranger by the second. As he starts to uncover more about Remus’, and his brother Roman’s, history, Janus finds himself in a much harder situation than he’d thought he’d be in. Can he stop his past repeating itself? Or will he have to carry the weight of living alone once again? Chapter Summary: Remus' emotions have an unsteady sort of day. --

His first day of his classes were only a little exhausting. He'd at least had the sense to wear something comfortable, loose clothing. It made him feel less displaced in the bustling halls of a college, unnoticeable. For once, he was quite content not being the centre of attention. Instead, he sat quietly at the back of class, bewildered how different from school it all felt. People chattered and relaxed throughout the day. Remus, nervous to admit he felt out of his depth, huddled in a corner with his notebook, sketching outlines and writing notes in one long, pictographic flow.

But overall, it wasn't a bad day. It was surprisingly uneventful, which he supposes he should be happy for.

When he recounts the day to Janus, he explains that the course content is surprisingly easy - that he might even do well, here. He'd had to let his course tutor know about his reading struggles, but as it turned out, it was a surprisingly common experience. "Apparently not being able to read right doesn't mean I won't do well," he'd chattered excitedly, flittering around the kitchen aimlessly. Janus watched him with distant amusement, sipping a cup of tea that Remus had all but abandoned in his excitable frenzy.

"I could've told you that for free."

"Oh...shut up."

Janus smiled, shaking his head as Remus finally came to a halt. He shouldn't have looked as extravagant as he did to the other man, wearing a hoodie that he's half-sure is Roman's, and a pair of black jeans. He did, though, his dark hair curling around his ears and a lively flush to his cheeks. His happiness brightened him in a way, his excitement painting a sheen over him far more beautiful than any amount of makeup could ever attest to. There was something so effortlessly alluring about him as he stared down with that smile of his.

“My smart, academic boyfriend," he uttered in the quiet, his reverence barely concealed. Remus blushed, but feigned annoyance with a roll of his eyes and a scoff.

"Don't get your hopes up."

"You can't stop me!" And this much was true. “I thought you might be a little tired when you get back, so, I figured we'd order in, my treat for your first day."

"I love you."

"Me? Or my wallet?"

"It's a package deal," his voice lifted into a teasing sing-song, spinning around excitedly on the spot. "Pizza!" His hands fluttered with the bout of emotion that ran through him, "...first day of college, and pizza!" Janus only watched with amusement, finishing off the remnants of the cup of coffee in front of him, as Remus began to dissolve into a list of all the things that made him happy. "-Did you know I fed a squirrel today? It just stood there looking at me, and I'm like-" Where had all this joy been hiding? All this excitement? Who in their right mind would have ever deprived this from him? "-but it does not go away, and I'm like here, have some granola, I guess?"

"Squirrel friend on your first day, I'm so proud of you."

"I'm thinking one day I can get all the squirrels to trust me, and raise a squirrel army if I ever have trouble."

"Smart plan."

"I know, right?"

He set about ordering pizza on the phone when Remus' chatter died down. His tiredness began to show through, slowly. The realisation that he would have to go back and do it all again tomorrow clearly started to settle in. There was a flutter of pre-emptive exhaustion at the thought, and he found himself unwilling to move from where he sat on his bed. Paralysed by an onslaught of tiredness, he stared at the fibres of the floor and wondered, distantly, if he was well enough for this.

"I ordered the pizza," Remus looked up to Janus. He hadn't even heard him come up the stairs, but he stood there with a frown as he saw the other man unmoved on the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Tired."

"Yeah, it's like that at first," Janus sat beside him, frowning. "Even I was like that when I first started working, routine changes can be difficult for anyone, the best you can do is keep at it and do what you can to make it easier."

"Anyone?"

"Yeah, I mean, I went from a good three months of not moving to a 9 to 5 job, the first month all I did was sleep when I got back." Remus sighed with some quiet relief. "It's not the difficulty, really, it's just getting used to it, bearing with the uncomfortable until it's familiar."

Remus nodded, resting his head against his partner's shoulder, before nuzzling at his neck. Janus shivered beside him, and Remus felt the way his breath caught in his throat against his own lips, where Janus' heartbeat also fluttered.

"I love you," Remus muttered.

"Pizza's on its way," Janus replied, voice suddenly hoarse and strained. The other man could do nothing other than grin, the heat of Janus' flustered response warm to the touch.

"We've got at least an hour," his hand rested on Janus' spine, where a shiver trembled through him, pressing his body into the touch without so much as a conscious thought. "That's some time to kill."

"Re-"

"Please."

"No." Remus stopped. He looked up at his lover with poorly concealed hurt, his eyebrows pulled into such a pointed frown that Janus could only assume he'd just punched him in the gut. "I'm not rejecting you, Re," he uttered, sighing, "...If we're going to do this, we're going to talk about it first."

"Talk about what?"

"About how you're feeling! About how I'm feeling! But not on a time limit and not on a whim, because I don't want that." Remus' frown deepened, trying to grasp an idea of why Janus felt the need in the first place. "I'm not comfortable doing anything that could possibly hurt you, Re, I won't do it if I think for a second it will, it's not fuckin' worth it."

"Why are you uncomfortable? I was the one that was raped." Janus flinched at the curtness.

"Because I care about you, what the fuck else do you think?"

"I should get to decide what I do!" The quick rage that seemed to fly through him was abrupt and uncontrollable. He forgot on some instinct how to curb the fire as it lit in his throat and poured out of him. At the moment, he couldn't have ascertained where it came from, why he suddenly felt helpless and furious.

"You should! But this isn't just your choice!" Whilst Janus simply felt hurt. His voice shook with a more managed anger, measured and weathered to something close to sadness; the raised voice hadn't scared him, but it did wound in one way or another. He hated to upset Remus, even more so when he felt it was a perfectly reasonable request. It would take another few minutes of back and forth and raising voices and the inevitable slam of the door as Remus - now angered beyond anything that made sense - left his own room and stormed downstairs. A few seconds for Janus to catch his breath before he would offer himself an explanation that made enough sense for him to flop back on the bed and groan dejectedly.

The silence in the house consumed them both as they waited and waited. Neither ready to face the other - for shame, or heartache, or just plain sorrow - so they remained apart, until the doorbell rang, and the pizza was there. Janus let the pizza go cold for half an hour before he swallowed his pride and returned to the other man. Remus had hardly touched the pizza, peeling sweetcorn off of the surface and dropping it into the cardboard box.

"I wasn't trying to control you," Janus muttered, "...I know, I figured...afterwards that was probably why you were so angry, I wasn't trying to control what you do with your body, and I'm not making decisions for you - but I am making them for me, Re, I couldn't live with myself knowing I hurt you." He sat down in silence and picked at the abandoned sweetcorn, eating it and wincing at the cold grease and rubbery cheese.

"I don't know why I - I just got so angry."

Janus nodded. "I think, maybe, because you don't want to feel like anyone has any input over you, and that's fine, that's normal, and that's good, but when it involves both of us..."

"Yeah," Remus nodded, "...yeah, I get you." His eyes were shining with tears. He stared down at the mangled and uneaten pizza so hard that Janus wondered if the thing might burst into flames from concentration alone. He slid closer to the other man and offered him an arm. Remus sank against his shoulder and shook with the exhaustion of his own feelings. The anger, residual from the pain he'd suffered for too long, the fear that remained ever present beyond his conscious thought, the shame of existing with all these overwhelming feelings.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Let's try and keep a lid on it, for a bit, yeah, I don't want to ruin a good day." Remus nodded wearily, pressing a kiss to Janus' shoulder, the best apology he had the energy to give.

#riptide ts

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typewriter83 · 4 months ago

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Knock knock, Merida cub is heeeere

Okay first I have to say that I'm still a big confused about joel and ellie's jobs but happily it doesn't prevents me from understanding the story and won't ever be❤️I just had to say this first in case I say something incorrect later. Anways.

Okay, It's been only 1 night and Joel is already head over heels with our fav girl, all looking himself in the mirror and being like "😉😌🙂‍↔️", and calling her baby (that made me go all soft, bye). And the scene that came after... Jeez, u weren't lying when you said this story got all the spicy. Can't wait for more cof cof

Okay, I wasn't really expecting tess as a principal, but I did guessed right when I thought joel was going to be a teacher when you spoilled that here months ago. Before I knew ellie's age, by that time, I really thought she was going to be a student and I was like "damn mama has no fear breaking taboos and shocking everyone". Now explaing to me here, since I'm dumb regarding these things: joel is a teacher, ellie... She's going to be a teacher too? Joel is going to work with her or is he gonna teach her his job? I hope my clueless ass don't make you feel insecure about your ability to explain all this in your story, I can assure you that the problem is me lol

So, sarah. Sweet sarah was a really responsible kid and like every moment before tragic things happen to her in stories, we love to say hi to her before saying goodbye. The moment where she left the car and joel said that was the last time he saw her... That made me think. How did she die? (That's a rhetoric question, you don't need to answer). I bet that maybe she was... Mudered? I don't know, maybe some killer was in the store when she got there and decided she could be the next victim. I don't know, I've been trying to think about possibilities. I think she was killed. Or maybe an accident but I doubt a bit.

So, there was a moment in the fic that made me go "wait a minute man". It was a flashback that tess offered joel to teach to some kids and she said that those kids live with just one parent or no parents at all, and that made me be like... Was ellie there? I mean, this girl is orphan in every universe the same way sarah is dead in 95% of them, so my brain immediately put 2 and 2 together. This flashback was ten years before the present days, so considering ellie would be 14-15 at that time, It wouldn't be so impossible.

So, joel got really mad with the whole ellie situation, and I really wanna saw how this is gonna play out. I think that maybe ellie will be so confused when she sees joel treat her differently (maybe even in a rude way..? He seemed mad, i mean) but I bet it wouldn't tale too long for her to respond to him in the same tone as well as the snarky little thing she is. Imagine if they start bickering each other like on the first game😂

Only thing that got me real sad on this chapter (sarah got me sad too but I was kind of expecting) was when joel deleted her contact from his phone :((( she gave it to him so sweetly and he did that. Anyways, that got me even more intrigued to read this story. Can't wait!! And congrats on the new journey!!

Hello sweet Merida, it’s been a minute since I received this and I appreciate not only your patience for a reply but your always complex and in-depth analysis. Let’s jump right in

Joellie and “am i the one” discussion below cut

First off, it’s not all supposed to make sense, I’m not gonna give away the farm in chapter 2, but I’ll summarize in case it was a little convoluted. Joel had Sarah right out of high school, had to give up his dreams of college and went to work on a construction crew. He pushed Tommy through high school and into college, hoping he would get a business degree so they could start their own company - which they did. Joel took college classes at night when Sarah was little and eventually received his degree and teaching certificate - hoping that if their business fell through he would have some place to go. Joel eventually started teaching Industrial Arts at the high school while continuing to building the contesting company with Tommy. After Sarah died (and no, I haven’t revealed how yet - give it time, Joel is traumatized), Joel left teaching and drove his body into the ground working with Tommy. Now, it’s 15 years later, Tess is the principal and convinced him to come back to work for her and - lo and behold - there’s a new science teacher and Joel thinks is out to sabotage his career - he’s not that conceited, he just thinks he hurts everyone who gets close to him - and he just so happens to be crazy about this girl, so he’s gonna push her away.

And that’s where we are at the end of chapter 2. In chapter 3 we’re gonna get to meet former NASA astronaut Ellie Williams, how she became NASA’s youngest astronaut in space, and why she’s switched career tracks at only 25. Joel and Ellie are in no way connected until the night they met at the bar, so imagine Ellie’s surprise when they eventually come face to face again. And yes, excepting lots of bickering, flirting and general chaos - and then the plot twist - at least I hope it’s a plot twist.

These two are stupid crazy for each other - and having him delete the contact info broke my heart, too. But he’s emotionally constipated and kind of an ass. Don’t worry, there’s a few people in his corner that will be rooting for Ellie.

Thanks, as always, for following along

🫶🏻

#mama bear speaks #ask away!#merida cub #am i the one ao3 #joellie #ellie x joel #joel x ellie

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thelastspeecher · 7 years ago

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NaNoWriMo ‘17 Day 12 - Wild Woman

Day 01 Day 02 Day 03 Day 04 Day 05 Day 06 Day 07 Day 08 Day 09 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20 Day 21 Day 22 Day 23 Day 24 Day 25 Day 26 Day 27 Day 28 Day 29 Day 30

Summary: Stan comes across a werewolf in the forest. Inspiration from here. Word count: 1918

Part 2

Splash!

Stan looked to the left, startled. Nothing was there. He was still the only person sitting by the stream.

Probably just a fish. Stan scowled at his fishing rod. But if it was a fish, why the hell haven’t I caught one yet? He had decided to take a break from helping Ford out with his research, and try to catch some fish in the stream he’d spotted last week. I deserve a break. I also deserve to catch some fish. Where’d they all go? He sighed and reeled in his line. Maybe there aren’t any. Figures that I’d find the only stream that doesn’t have any-

“Pfft!” Stan’s head whipped around. He gaped at the sight of a completely nude woman, climbing out of the stream, sputtering. She collapsed onto the bank across from where Stan was sitting and closed her eyes.

“What the fuck?” Stan whispered. The woman’s eyes snapped open. A crimson flush spread across her face. She and Stan stared at each other in silence for several moments. “Uh…you okay, lady?”

“That’s a loaded question,” the woman said carefully. Stan frowned.

“Not really. What, did you escape from a mob hit?” He shook his head. “Nah, that can’t be right. There’s no way there’s a mob here in Gravity Falls.”

“Gravity Falls,” the woman repeated. “Where- uh- which state is Gravity Falls in?”

“Oregon.”

“Sweet sarsaparilla.” The woman sat up. “How on Earth did I- hey!” Stan’s gaze had traveled south of her face. “Eyes up here, sir!” she snarled.

“I mean, it’s not like I can see much. You’ve got so much mud caked on you, it’s like you’re wearing clothes.”

“But I’m not, so stop it,” the woman said firmly.

“Fine. But seriously, lady, are you all right?”

“…No.” The woman groaned and put her head in her hands. “I remember what happened, I just- I have no clue how I ended up so far from home.”

“Sounds like you don’t really remember what happened, then.” The woman glared at him. “Okay, geez, chill.” Stan rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe…maybe tell me your name?”

“Angie. And yours?”

“Stan. My brother’s got a place not far from here. If you want, I could take you there, get you some clothes, a shower.” Stan’s stomach rumbled. “And food. I mean, I’m hungry. In the state you’re in, you’ve gotta be starving.”

“Hungry like the wolf,” Angie deadpanned.

Kinda weird way to say it, but whatever.

“You’ll have to come over here. His house is on this side of the stream,” Stan informed her. Angie bit her lip, clearly hesitant to follow a stranger somewhere. She let out a sigh after a minute.

“Okay.” She crossed the stream, but stumbled on the bank while she tried to climb up.

“Here.” Stan held out a hand. Angie took it with visible relief. He pulled her up. “Um…you look cold.”

“I’m covered in mud ‘n water, but not much else. What do you expect?” she asked, shivering violently. “Which way’s yer brother’s house?”

“That way,” Stan said, pointing. Angie turned around. Stan eyed her figure. “But, uh, if you’re cold, I guess you could take my jacket. Don’t really need it right now anyways.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It needs to be washed, though, just so you know.” Stan slid off his jacket and handed it to the shivering woman.

“So do I.”

“Heh.” Angie zipped Stan’s jacket up. It was exceedingly large on her; it nearly reached her knees. “Hey, bonus, you’re not flashing the entire forest anymore. Or maybe that’s a downside.”

“Definitely a bonus,” Angie said. She hugged her arms close to her chest. “It was this way, ya said?”

“Yep.”

“And is it just a straight shot there?”

“Yep. Let’s go.” Stan grabbed his fishing rod and tacklebox, then the two of them set off, Stan close behind Angie.

-----

Stan hummed to himself as he made lunch.

Nothin’ like good old-fashioned scrambled meat. There was a small cough behind him. He turned.

“Those clothes all right?” he asked Angie. She nodded silently. Freshly showered and wearing some clean clothes, she looked more human than she had in the forest. “They were the closest thing to your size I could find. Looks like they’re still too big, though. You’re a lot smaller without all the mud and twigs and leaves.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Angie said idly. “It’s better ‘n prancin’ ‘round in my birthday suit.” She looked down at her feet. “Thank you, again. Ya didn’t have to help me like ya did.”

“I know,” Stan said with a shrug. “I coulda just pointed you in the direction of the road, sent you on your way.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I know what it’s like to end up in a strange place, with jack shit. It sucked. I coulda used someone to give me clothes or let me shower or whatever. And I can’t really leave a pretty girl with a nice ass like yours alone in the woods.”

“Lord,” Angie mumbled, rolling her eyes, but still cracking a tiny smile. Stan eyed her.

“I also know what it’s like to be targeted by the mob.”

“It wasn’t a mob hit.”

“Dammit. I was hopin’ you’d cave in if it said it like that,” Stan muttered. He grunted. “Go ahead and take a seat at the table.”

“Mmkay.” Angie sat down at the table and gazed around the kitchen with interest. “What does yer brother do?”

“Research.”

“Oh, he’s a scientist?”

“Yup.”

“And you help him with his research?”

“In a way. I’m muscle. Help him carry things, or fight off monsters and stuff like that. The person that helps him with his actual research is his assistant. Skinny, twig-like guy. He’s the person who owns the clothes you’re wearing,” Stan said, nodding at her. She pursed her lips.

“Don’t seem like he’s got much of a sense of fashion, then.”

“Oh, hell no. You should see the clothes I passed up for that. Ugly-ass green splotches, bell bottoms. I mean, I don’t care about fashion, but I do care about how messed up his style is,” Stan said passionately. Angie giggled. Stan stared at her.

Fuck. That was cute.

“Where’s yer brother and his assistant right now, then?” Angie asked. Stan looked back at the stove.

“Fuck if I know,” Stan mumbled. The front door opened.

“Stanley?” a voice called.

“In the kitchen!” Stan shouted back.

“All right, we’ll come meet you, then,” Ford said. Stan glanced at Angie. She had picked up a plastic spoon, and was staring at it with unbridled interest.

Sweet Moses, please tell me she knows what a spoon is.

“Oh, uh, just so you know, we have a guest,” Stan said loudly.

“What? Stanley, don’t invite people over without consulting me first,” Ford said grumpily, walking into the kitchen. He sighed upon seeing Angie. “What on Earth is going on here?”

“Found her in the woods,” Stan said.

“You found her in the woods? Stanley, she could be any number of dangerous magical creature!” Ford said angrily.

“Or she could be some girl who got lost and needed help,” Stan ground out.

“Stanford, be reasonable,” another voice said. “Stanley’s got good intuition. Now, mind gettin’ out of the way so’s I can see our guest?”

“Very well.” Ford stood to the side. “You’ll be angry too, once you see that Stan dressed her in your clothes.” A silence fell. Stan looked over at Angie. She was staring slack-jawed at Ford’s assistant. Stan frowned, looking back and forth between the two. His eyes widened.

“Holy fuck.”

“Angie?” Fiddleford squeaked. The plastic spoon Angie was holding fell from her hands. She nodded silently. “Lordy! You’ve been missin’ fer three months! Where have ya been?”

“Places,” Angie mumbled. She looked down at the shirt she was wearing. “Should’ve known these were yer clothes. Yer the only person who likes shirts as awful as this.”

“Do we have to discuss fashion now?” Fiddleford asked, sitting at the table next to her. She eyed him warily. “Angie, we were so worried! The baby of the fam’ly, just up and disappearin’? Ma ‘n Pa were apoplectic.”

“Wait, Fiddleford, this is the missing sister you’ve told me about?” Ford asked. Fiddleford nodded. Ford stared at Stan. “And Stanley just so happened to find her in the woods?”

“Don’t say I never did anything for you, Fiddlenerd,” Stan said. Fiddleford didn’t respond, instead continuing to stare at his sister. She leaned away from him, her eyes wide. “Okay, dude, chill out. You’re scaring her.”

“Don’t tell me how to act ‘round my sister,” Fiddleford snapped. Stan rolled his eyes. Fiddleford abruptly reached out to take one of Angie’s hands. She let out a small shriek and fell off her chair.

“D-don’t,” Angie stammered. “Don’t move so fast.”

“Wha- sis, what’s wrong?” Fiddleford asked.

“Fiddlenerd, I found her in the woods, naked and covered in mud. She looked fuckin’ feral,” Stan informed him.

“Feral? Naked? My baby sister?”

“Yep,” Stan said with a nod. “But she insists it wasn’t a mob hit.”

“Of course it weren’t,” Fiddleford said firmly. “Angie, what happened?”

“Don’t wan’ talk about it,” Angie mumbled, still on the floor where she had fallen.

“We should give ya a checkup. I’ll find ya a doctor,” Fiddleford said.

“I can take her vitals,” Ford suggested. Angie eyed him suspiciously. “It won’t substitute for a proper doctor’s visit, but it should let us know whether to take you to the hospital right away or not.”

“Okay,” Angie said reluctantly. She climbed onto her chair again. Ford sat down next to her. She held out her wrist. “Fer my pulse.”

“Of course.” Ford rested his fingers against her wrist. He frowned. “Very rapid heartrate. And your skin feels warm.”

“I just showered.”

“Still. If you continue to feel warm, we should take your temperature.” Ford fished around in his pockets and pulled out a small flashlight. “I’ll check for a concussion.” He shone the light in her eyes. She blinked. “Stop blinking.”

��“My eyes don’t like the light.”

“Hmm.” Ford frowned at her. “Would you mind rolling up your sleeves?” Angie seemed confused, but did as she was told. Ford nodded silently. “As I suspected. Fiddleford, look.”

“Lord!” Fiddleford gasped, staring at a large bite mark on Angie’s forearm. “What happened?”

“I suspect she was bitten by a werewolf. That would explain her disappearance; initial transformations can last months until the individual is sufficiently shocked enough to turn human again. It would also explain the reports we’ve been hearing of a large wolf.” Ford shone the light in Angie’s eyes again. She grimaced. “Werewolves have eyes sensitive to light, and their eyes will glimmer in a distinctive way. The rapid heartrate and high temperature are also signs of lycanthropy.”

“Angie, is this true?” Fiddleford asked, aghast.

“I doubt she recalls anything of her time as a wolf-” Ford started.

“It’s true,” Angie interrupted. She looked down. “It’s true.”

“Damn. I was way off,” Stan said. Angie pulled her sleeves down again. “What made you turn back human?”

“I fell in that stream, tryin’ to catch a fish,” Angie mumbled.

“Okay, I get why you didn’t wanna tell me the truth,” Stan conceded.

“Yer all just acceptin’ this?” Angie asked. “I- I just confirmed that I’m a werewolf.”

“We’ve seen stranger things in the woods here,” Ford said. Stan nodded.

“So far, though,” Stan said, “I think I like stumbling across a naked woman the most.”

#sllakjsdfn I keep getting behind on my prompts sorry everyone #I wanna write more than I have been but life just happens sometimes #I'm gonna try to at least post day 13 today too #maybe work on day 14 a bit #but day 14 is a fic chapter so it won't go up right away #lmao I might end up just straight-up skipping that until the chapter is done #we'll see what happens #Mystery Trio AU #Angie McGucket #Stanley Pines #Stanford Pines #Fiddleford McGucket #my writing #ficlet #NaFicWriMo #speecher speaks #Angiewolf AU

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bangtaninborderland · 3 years ago

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Risk It All (14) - Downfall.

Genre: Chishiya x f! Reader, angst, fluff, action.

Warning: mention of injuries, blood, guns, violence.

A/N: I decided to bring Arisu and Usagi in a little earlier.. your welcome! So just 6 days until the witch hunt…. Isn’t this exciting! NOkay I loved writing this chapter but I have had so many messages asking how I write Chishiya so well and the truth is, I was with someone just like him. I mean exactly like him and a mix of Niragi which is scary. But I think I also portray the reader as how I was with the person I was with. They don’t want to love so all you can do is love them and yourself enough for the both of you. Thankyou so much for staying engaged with my fic and I hope you continue to love reading it as much as I love to write it

Ch.13 | Masterlist | Ch.15

You hopped down the stairs from the hospital towards the car. Nothing could ruin your mood.

Or so you thought.

Suddenly a painful blow comes from behind forcing you to the ground, you knew who it was and you knew why.

You turned your head to see Niragi standing there with his gun.

"You really think I was going to let this go bitch?!" He shouted as he once again used his gun to hit you.

You wanted to scream but you wouldn't give him that satisfaction, you pulled yourself up and turned your body so you could face him.

"You can hit me all you want Niragi, but that won't change that I wasn't the one who hurt you. If anything all of your fingers deserve to be chopped off for touching something that isn't yours. Didn't your mother ever teach you that?"

You laugh smiling into his face.

You see him begin to tremble with rage. However, you don't regret your words.

You didn't have time to move before he picked up his leg and kicked you in your stomach.

The kick winded you and it took you a second to regain control of your breathing. Niragi seemed to take advantage of this as he delivered another kick to your abdomen.

A familiar metallic taste invades your mouth and you spit it out, you weren't surprised when your spit had turned a light shade of red. At this rate Niragi was right. You knew if you didn't do anything you would be the next corpse.

You started to pull yourself up using the wall behind you, you closed your eyes preparing yourself for impact as you see Niragi once again raise his leg.

However impact never came, you allowed yourself to peek through your eyelashes and see Kuina pushing Niragi away.

Despite your blurred vision, you see Chishiya walking towards Niragi, maybe this was the part he broke the rest of Niragis fingers just like Kuina predicted.

Of course, you were met by disappointment when you heard Chishiya begin talking.

"You know Aguni won't like it if you kill three beach members. Especially an executive." Chishiya let out a dark chuckle that made you shiver.

"I don't listen to Aguni. I do what I want. Now move before I tear those condescending eyes of yours from your head." Niragi spat, walking around Kuina towards you.

"You could continue to do whatever it is you're doing. But we both know how stupid it is. Three bodies to dispose of, three stories to lie about, three members dead because of your pettiness? Aguni may be stupid but no one is stupid enough to believe you. Hatter won't like it if your anger ruins his plans."

Yeah and you wouldn't like it if he ruined yours, you thought about how Chishiyas plan would be paused if both me and Kuina died here. That's why he's helping. He always has to benefit from whatever he does. You roll your eyes at the thought despite the searing pain.

You felt relieved when you watch Niragi climb into the car and drive away. You weren't looking forward to a painful walk back to the beach but at least you were alive enough to be able to walk.

Kuina run over to you and helped you stand up.

"Are you okay? You've got to stop getting hurt." Her voice was full of panic.

"Thank you." You gave her the best smile you could and laughed lightly through the pain.

"And Thankyou too." You mumbled to Chishiya as he began walking behind you and Kuina.

'I didn't do anything." He sighs amused.

"Yeah you really didn't, what you did was nothing like what you should be doing right now." Kuinas voice had a unfamiliar anger with it but you knew why.

And so did Chishiya.

Luckily the game hadn't been too far from the beach today which meant that Kuina would be able to help you back and you wouldn't need his help. You didn't want his help.

"You let me think you were dead." You scoffed. Chishiya really was unbelievable.

"I didn't make you think anything you thought that by yourself." He was so right but so wrong.

"You didn't come back and you didn't tell me you were leaving!" You hissed through your clenched teeth.

"The people who needed to know knew. You weren't one of them." He mumbled unbothered.

Kuina gasped at Chishiyas words and you knew she would have something to say and you were about to enjoy it.

"'I NEEDED TO KNOW! IM IN YOUR PLAN! NEXT TIME YOU WANT TO DISAPPEAR LIKE A DEPRESSED LONER FINE GO AHEAD BUT FUCKING TELL ME BECAUSE I SWEAR TO GOD CHISHIYA I WILL SHAVE OFF YOUR UNCONDITIONED BLONDE HAIR! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Kuina screamed not pausing even for a second.

You let out a deep laugh despite the pain roaring in your stomach.

"You'd have to find me first." Chishiya chuckled smugly.

"Oh, and I will." Kuina stated without a doubt.

Chishiya grunted at kunas response, your laughter died down and slowly the world was silent once again. No one else bothered to speak the rest of the short walk back. You wanted to talk to Chishiya but alone.

The beach party was well underway when you arrived back, there was no sign of Niragi which made you feel good, the last thing you wanted was to see him again.

Kuina helped you inside and took you to Ann. She helped you sit on the small bed that had been brought into the room before stepping back out of the way.

"What happened to you?" Ann said amused.

"Niragi." You mumbled.

She made a small displeasing sound before she walked over to you and began to check your stomach.

You winced as her hands pressed along your abdomen but the Pain was bearable.

"Did you cough up any blood?" Ann asks.

"When he first kicked me yes but not since then." You wince again as her fingers move along your stomach.

"I'm not a doctor but you seem okay, he's probably ruptured a minor blood vessel a lot of the time it will heal itself. You haven't coughed up blood since you started walking so unless you cough up anymore don't be too worried. You will have bruising, badly. I can already see it turning purple. It will hurt for a few days, mostly just aches. Take painkillers and lots of rest." Ann smiles at you helping you pull your shirt down.

You nod at her and take the painkillers from the table beside you. "Thank you, Ann."

"Anytime, but please stop getting hurt." She chuckles as you and Kuina leave the room.

"I think I'm going to head to bed." You groan facing Kuina.

She turns and gives you a light hug before backing away. "I'm happy you're okay, do you need help getting to your room?"

"No, go enjoy the party, celebrate for me. No one died today." You nod towards to pool outside.

"Okay. Be safe." she smiles as she walks away.

It doesn't take you long to get back to your room, the pain wasn't bad compared to what you experienced in your club's game.

You took the painkillers Ann had given you and decided to risk taking a short shower.

The water felt amazing as usual, the pain had numbed due to the painkillers.

You sighed happily, today was a good day and this is exactly how you wanted to end it but thoughts about Chishiya crept into your mind more and more every second and you knew that you wouldn't be able to sleep if you didn't have any answers from him.

You quickly finished your shower and threw your hair up. You carefully pulled on some sweatpants and a hoodie. It was going to be cold, especially after a shower.

You decided not to take chances that you wouldn't see Niragi and slipped the small knife into your waistband that you had stolen from Chishiyas' room.

You took a deep breath before leaving your room to look for him.

You knew the best place to find Chishiya would be the roof, the thought of the stairs didn't drive you crazy but you knew the chances he would be there were high.

The stairs seemed to be never-ending and you felt weirdly accomplished when you reached the top, despite the discomfort in your stomach. Although your accomplishment seemed useless when you see Chishiya wasn't on the roof.

You had a quick look down towards the pool but you didn't see him there either.

You groaned at the thought of going back down the stairs but you knew he had to have been in his room.

You walked as quickly as you could back inside, you felt stupid at the anger you had towards the 8 stairs you had to once again force your body to endure but nevertheless you finally made it down to the bottom of them.

You sat on the last step deciding to take a break before you continued your search.

Before the borderlands, before Chishiya you never would have gone through all of this for someone. Especially not some man.. but he was different.

Maybe you were crazy for caring about him, maybe you were insane for thinking he cared about you. But now you know what it feels like to be on the brink of death at every minute you don't want to waste a second. You want Chishiya and deep down he wants you. you think.

You sign at your intrusive thoughts and pull yourself up using the rail on the stairs. Before you could even begin to walk towards Chishiyas's room you see him walking towards you both relief and excitement washed over you and you struggled to keep your smile hidden.

You waited patiently for him to reach you before speaking.

"Can we talk?" You hopefully asked.

"I'm going to the roof." His voice was blunt but your relief grew deeper when you noticed he didn't sound annoyed.

"I don't think I can make it up the stairs again." You whisper, feeling slightly ashamed at your body's continued weakness.

He let out a deep sigh, you followed his movements as he began walking, you knew after 30 seconds of walking with him where he was taking you.

Your smile escaped you when he opened his door for you letting you walk in ahead of him.

You stood awkwardly in the middle of his room not knowing where to sit.

Chishiya really was particular and it wouldn't be a good idea to start the conversation off by annoying him.

"Are you just going to stand there like a statue?" Chishiya chuckled lightly sitting on his bed.

"No, I. I just don't know where to sit." You stuttered, your cheeks growing red.

Even though you were here to get answers you felt comfort being in Chishiyas's presence.

"Sit wherever you'd like too, it already seems you have made yourself familiar with my room." He sighed once again but it seemed as if he didn't mind you had come into his private space and you were thankful for that.

You hastily sat down on the end of the bed.

"You were gone." Your smile had fallen and your cheeks returned to their normal colour as you began speaking.

He simply nods his head and you roll your eyes at his weak response.

"Chishiya, you can't just leave me and not tell me where you're going I was scared for you." You let the words fall out of your mouth regardless of his response.

"Why do you care for someone who doesn't care for you?" He leans forward his eyes glaring into yours.

You scoff lightly at his attempt to avoid his feelings.

"I care for you despite, however, you may feel for me. You told me you would let me care for you, it's hard to do that when I think you're dead."

You watched him as he looked away focusing his eyes on the terrible painting on the hotel wall.

"I wasn't dead, just running errands." He explains and you feel happy that he values you enough to give you answers.

"You helped me today." You exclaim proudly. You knew he did and so did he, there was no way he could escape that.

He paused for a moment, his eyes returning to yours. "What?"

"I was in trouble, you helped me. You only needed Kuina for your plan, that day in my room after we played the hearts game you told me you didn't need me. Therefore you saved me because you wanted to save me." You smile at him and he shakes his head.

"No." His words are blunt and emotionless.

This is the side of Chishiya you hate.

"Then what was it?" You asked quickly. Not wanting him to grow any more irritated.

"Not everything needs an answer." He stands up and walks towards the closet taking out a different white jacket.

You watch him closely as he takes the old jacket off and slides the new one on.

He closes the closet and walks over to the bed, however this time he seems to sit much closer to you.

You stood up and he watched you, you walked around the bed and sat next to him. You smiled at the thought that one day you may be able to get to sit like this and then fall asleep with him.

You decided to do something unusually courageous and you let your hand fall on top of his. At first, his hand moved away but slowly it returned, this time his thumb running against your hand.

You didn't say anything Instead you just sat there. After a while your neck became stiff and you dared to let it fall on Chishiyas shoulder. He surprisingly didn't seem to mind but his hand has moved further away from yours.

"Chishiya?" You called his name softly.

"Hmm." He hummed.

"Do you hate me?" Your voice sounded small.

You felt his shoulders rise every time he took a breath, the perfect rhythm was soothing.

"Your feelings make you seem ridiculously immature, Your ability to get hurt so easily is rather confusing considering you made it out of the tag game fine, Your inability to give up and walk away when I don't care for you is somewhat pathetic, your persistence in being with me or thinking I care for you is quite desperate." He rattled off and you feel small shameful tears soaking your eyelashes. You do not doubt that he notices this too as your breathing quickens.

"So that's a yes?" You sniffle lightly.

"Hate implies that I have emotions towards you which I don't." He responds smugly.

You sit up straight taking your head off his shoulder. let the tears fall silently for a moment before asking your final question. "If you don't have emotions towards me why do you like this with me? I don't understand it. Why do you hold my hand? Why do you help me..." You pull the small blade out of your waistband placing it into his lap before continuing"Why do you give me blades to keep myself safe, why do you drag me out of my bed at crazy times to kiss me on the roof? Why do you mention to Kuina that - "

"Okay." He cuts you off and you know you've overstepped.

"I'm sorry" you whisper the words wishing you could return to laying on him.

"To answer your never-ending list of questions. You are simply convenient. I could go on explaining but that is simply all there is to it." His voice is blunt and hurtful.

You stand up wiping away the stray tears from your face. "It's a shame. It's a shame I can't hate you but I can't. So instead I'll give you all the care I can. You're human you feel, if I took that blade right now and cut you with it you would feel pain. Your face may remain cold but you'd feel it. I may be convenient but I know I'm not nothing to you because if I was I would have been long dead and buried."

You watch as his face hardens. "Okay."

"I'm leaving now, I'm going to my room, to read the book you gave me. The book you wanted me to have because you care about me." You hear him scoff as you walk out of the door but you don't dignify him with a response.

You rush back to your room, missing the safety the blade brought you.

Once you were finally inside you picked up the book Chishiya had given you and threw it against the wall.

How could he? Every single cell in your body wanted to hate him but couldn't. You didn't want to care for him but for some ridiculous reason, you just couldn't stop.

You lay on your bed stressed and angry for hours before you finally fell asleep crying at the thought of Chishiyas's words.

You didn't wake up until late afternoon and when you did there was more noise than ever, the party from last night seemed to have continued into today.

Last night with Chishiya had been one of the best yet one of the worst. His words have never hurt you the way they did last night.

You pushed him to the back of your mind as you threw your clothes on.

Niragi would definitely be around but Aguni wouldn't let him make fights for no reason or at least you hoped.

Today you had one plan. Talk to hatter. Everyone had to play games at the beach but after the continuous playing, you decided you would do the unthinkable. You would ask hatter for a break. Your visa had 20 days left and you could do with missing a few games.

You headed downstairs with determination and see Hatter laying on his regular sun bed.

You took a deep breath before approaching him. "Hatter, can I talk to you?"

"What is it, my loyal comrade!" His voice was much louder than necessary.

"Alone?" You asked. He dropped his smile for a second and then nodded.

You waited until he had begun walking in front of you, and you followed behind him.

He led you to the conference room he had you taken to on the first day.

"What do you need!" He slams his hands on the table and you pause surprised.

"I have 19 days on my visa. I want to have a break from participating in The games for a week. I got hurt badly my last few games and if I don't take time to heal I won't be of any use to anyone." You hesitantly ask, afraid of the madman's response.

"Ah, I see so you want t-" Before he could finish the door swung open and two bodies are dragged into the room.

You notice the shorts of one of the people however some part of you is still surprised when you watch the hoods get pulled off their heads.

Arisu and Usagi.

"Out. We will talk later." Hatter shouts and you rush out of the room.

A few executives enter. Niragi scowls at you as he walks past, pushing you out of his way.

You don't wait around as the door closes. You have to find Kuina and Chishiya.

Now.

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rorywritesjunk · 9 months ago

Text

There's no race, no ending in sight

r rating. title comes from "two of us on the run" by lucius

(I had to write this one several times before I was happy with it. The next chapter will be fun. This fic will end happy! Also I enjoy how everyone calls Sunny something different yet Buggy is the only one to actually call her Sunny. Croc calls her darling, Mihawk used Miss Sunny, and Alvida is sweetheart and honey. It's kinda cute.)

Taglist: @hey-august @thoraeth

pt 1 + pt 2 + p3 + p4 + pt 5 + p6 + pt 7 +Pt 8 + Pt 9 + Pt 10 + Pt 11 + Pt 12 + Pt 13 + Pt 14 + Pt 15 + pt 16 + Pt 17 (End)

Pt 11

"He's miserable." Alvida sighed as she freshened Mihawk's glass before helping herself to a piece of fruit. "Mopes all day, his makeup is sloppy, clothes are wrinkled. I think something needs to be done."

"She's not any better." Mihawk replied as he leaned back in his seat. "I don't know what was said between her and Crocodile but Miss Sunny isn't her usual self."

The two were sitting under large umbrellas near Mihawk's home, enjoying fruits and cheeses paired with wine. It was something to do in between meetings and other work that had to be done. They would talk about what was going on on the island, any sort of drama to watch out for, though currently Alvida's favorite topic to talk about was the sad clown and his foolish attempt at talking to Crocodile.

"It's too bad they can't be together. They're so cute when they talk about each other." Alvida sighed. "I had Sunny over again last night. When she wasn't crying over her marriage she was absolutely gushing about Buggy and his "pretty hair"." She used air quotes and all, rolling her eyes. "I'd rather they just kiss already and be done with it."

"Miss Sunny won't. She takes the marriage vows seriously." The swordsman said as he helped himself to a piece of cheese with blueberries in it. It was tart but tasty. "Even if she is miserable she won't act on her feelings." When Alvida gave him a side eye, sipping her wine, he continued, "She told me everything yesterday in the garden even though I didn't ask."

"Did you give her any advice?"

"What advice is there to give? We both know who she's married to and what her husband is like." Mihawk replied, raising his glass up. "Unless Crocodile ends the marriage she's stuck with him."

Alvida leaned back in her seat. "Do you think he would end the marriage?"

"He may have if Buggy hadn't acted like an idiot, now he'll keep her around to spite him." He told her with a sigh. "And Miss Sunny won't do anything, she'll stay miserable. She will keep playing the role of wife for him even if she hates him."

"That poor thing." She shook her head before taking a sip of her wine. "Too bad there's nothing we can do."

"You're right, there's nothing I can do since I work with both of them." Mihawk hummed as he took a sip. "Pity."

Alvida glanced over at him, eye row raised as she lowered her glass. "I suppose you're right, there is nothing you can do in this situation. Your hands are tied." She reached for a piece of mango and leaned back. "I, on the other hand..."

Sunny took over pulling the weeds in the garden while Mihawk watered. She nearly drowned several of their plots already by being distracted so he no longer trusted her. She said nothing to him, not sure what to even say as she yanked on the weeds and tossed them over her shoulder.

"Hey."

She looked up to see Buggy standing at the gate to the garden but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were on Mihawk. The injuries Crocodile inflicted on him a week ago had healed, but his refusal to look at Sunny hurt.

"Croc said there was a meeting. Told me to grab you if you're done playing in the dirt." Buggy said, gripping the top of the gate as he kept his eyes on the swordsman. Sunny eventually looked away, turning her attention back to the weeds. There was no point in talking to him.

"I completely forgot." The swordsman sighed as he walked over to the gate, shoving the watering can into Buggy's arms. "Finish up for me while I freshen up and don't over water them or else."

Buggy huffed in annoyance, glaring at Mihawk as he walked off. He looked back at Sunny who was focused on her own task before he stomped over to where the soil was still dry, dumping the water onto it.

"Don't drown them." Sunny said, glancing over at him. "I kept doing it on accident which is why I'm on weed duty."

"Yea?" Buggy snorted. "It can't be that hard to water some damn plants."

"Mihawk will know which ones you watered so if they don't make it..." She trailed off and went back to her task. Buggy looked in the direction Mihawk went, wondering if he was going to suddenly show back up and fight him over talking to her. He rolled his eyes before going to refill the watering can back up.

"So, how's life?" Buggy asked as he filled it to the top before going to the next spot. Sunny sat up and looked over at him.

"It's life. You?" She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for what he did to you."

"What, that? Please, babe, I've had way worse." He chuckled as he moved to a spot near her. "He just knocked me around a bit, it was nothing."

"Okay." She sat back and looked up at him. "Did you really barge in there and tell him you were in love with me?"

"Yep."

"Why did you do something so stupid?"

"Never said I was smart." Buggy shrugged as he dripped the watering can near her, splashing its contents onto her hand. She jerked away and stuck her tongue out at him. "Woops!"

"Idiot." She muttered, smiling a bit as she wiped her hand on her pants.

"Yea, so, how are you? How's he treating you?"

"Same as before." She shrugged. "I told him how I felt about him."

"And how did that go?" He asked, moving to another area. "You look like you still have all your limbs."

"Well, he is keeping his promise to not hurt me." Sunny told him as she watched him. "Now he just mocks me because I said I liked you."

Buggy looked over at her in surprise. "Oh?"

"And that I want to kiss you." She pointed to another spot. "Over there next, Buggy."

He didn't move, looking down at her with a now smug expression. "You *want* to kiss me? Really?" He left his hand with the watering can and crouched down beside her with a grin. "We could kiss now."

"No, we can't, I'm married." Sunny reminded him as she gently pushed him back. "I made a vow."

"Against your will!" He exclaimed. "Did you ever want to marry him?!"

"No, but I had no choice, okay?" She shot back. "It wouldn't be right to kiss you while I'm still married to him!"

"But you don't love him!"

"I don't love you either!"

He stood up suddenly and went to grab the watering can. She swore softly and got up as well, stumbling through the soft ground until she grabbed his wrist.

"Buggy, let me finish." She insisted as he turned to look at her. She hated how he was looking at her, the hurt in his eyes while he was trying to force himself to smile, trying to appear more amused by her words. "I... Would like to fall in love with you, okay, but I can't in my situation."

"Say no more, babe." He chuckled as he pulled himself out of her grip. "We know it can't happen, so maybe it's stupid for me to keep trying."

She hesitated, reaching for his hand again. He eyed it cautiously before looking around, making sure they were still alone before he allowed her to take it. She gave his hand a squeeze, smiling at him. "Just shut up for a second, clown."

"Excuse me?" He tried to look offended but she giggled, holding onto his hand.

"I feel if we had one more dance that night I would have fallen in love completely, you know, but instead we had to stop." She said as she smiled. "I wish things were different, you know, because I think I'd be happy with you."

"Really?"

"Really, Buggy."

"So then let's-"

"Buggy." Mihawk was back. Buggy cursed him while Sunny squeezed his hand again before letting go. Mihawk pretended not to notice. "Did you finish watering the plants?"

"Yes! I finished watering your stupid plants!" He fussed as he pushed the watering can into Sunny's arms. "Your dumb plants are no longer thirsty 'cause I gave them lots of water!"

The swordsman narrowed his eyes. "You better not have over watered them."

"Over watering is the best so you don't have to do it again tomorrow, okay?!" Buggy huffed as he stomped over to him. "Let's go to that stupid meeting already! Can't keep him waiting, you know!"

Mihawk looked back at Sunny. "Did he over water them?"

"A little." Sunny smiled. "I kept an eye on him."

"If any of these die, it's his fault." Mihawk muttered as he opened the gate for Buggy and let him out. "We will see you in a few hours, Miss Sunny."

"Have fun, you two." Sunny waved at them as they left before she finished up the task. Hopefully the plants would be okay.

#mini fic #buggy the clown #sunny x buggy #sunny x crocodile #buggy the clown x oc #buggy x oc #sir crocodile x oc #crocodile x oc

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subbe93 · 3 years ago

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The Roulette of Destiny part 13

ANNOUNCEMENT! (Oh my, I have a feeling that some of you is coming after me after this, so if you don't hear about me, you know what happened xD) Like we all know, next weekend is Christmas. I'm also aware that I promised to post a new chapter every Sunday, BUT next week's chapter is going to be delayed and it's coming out 2.1.2022. I know, I'm sorry already! I really thought about this pretty hard, but then I decided that maybe it's better this way, because I wanted to write a little Christmas present for you. And because I'm going to give it to you 24.12, I decided that maybe, in that case, I should delay chapter 14 for a week. I know, this is a terrible thing to do for those who really want to read that fic, but I really, really wanted to write some Christmas fic and since Christmas is once in the year, it's now or not until next year xD So please, forgive me and my selfishness!

And I promise! This chapter isn't going to end in a big cliffhanger, so maybe that waiting won't be so painful... I hope :D

Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter 6 ~ Chapter 7 ~ Chapter 8 ~ Chapter 9 ~ Chapter 10 ~ Chapter 11 ~ Chapter 12

Chapter 13

The next morning Ran found herself next to him. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it took a moment for her to remember what had happened yesterday evening and how she had crawled under his blanket beside him. Even though the bed wasn’t wide enough for two people, Ran had decided that she wants to be in his arms, and she had convinced Shinichi to believe that she didn��t take that much space. Well, she was almost sleeping on him, so basically she didn't take much space from the bed. She didn’t sleep well, and she wondered if he did, but it was worth it.

Ran raised herself carefully to see if he was awake already. He was still sleeping. Looking at his relaxed face made her only smile. She raised her hand to move his dark brown hair away from his forehead.

If she only could be like this for the rest of her life, she would be the happiest woman in the world.

That day they spent mostly in the hotel and take it easy. They hadn’t planned anything, and for some reason, Ran enjoyed much more just being close to him, staying in his arms, talking nonsense, and exchanging kisses from time to time. It was that simple and Ran loved it. They only left the hotel on the romantic restaurant to eat, and when they walked there and back if they didn’t walk hand in hand, she wrapped her arms around his.

That evening Ran wondered if she should tell to Sonoko. Part of her wanted to because she was happy about this, but in the end, she really hadn’t talked about it with Shinichi. She had enjoyed his closeness and touches and kisses, but none of them hadn’t said out loud what they were right now. She was sure that both of them knew that this wasn’t going to last long. Both of them were promised to someone else, and unless she would find a way to convince her mother to give up that marriage, nothing would change.

Of course, she could always ask Shinichi if he would like to help her to convince her mother, and maybe, if she would get Sonoko to support them, maybe they could do it?

“What are you thinking?”

Ran put down the phone and saw how Shinichi sat down on the couch beside her, putting his arm around her. Ran leaned to that touch as soon as she could.

“Just thinking if I should tell Sonoko that I’m fine”, she answered simply and glanced at her phone again. Another thought was that she was pretty surprised that her mother hadn’t tried to get in touch with her after Osaka’s incident. But maybe it was predictable since Ran hadn’t answered her calls, only sending her messages that she was doing fine.

What a good daughter she was. All this is because of that stupid marriage thing.

“Aaand”, she continued and looked at him, “I’m wondering what we are going to do tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, huh?” he repeated looking out of the window before meeting her gaze. “Well, what do you want to do tomorrow?”

“You don’t want to decide?” she asked out of curiosity. In the end, she was the one who wanted to Kyoto, and she also was the one who decided where they visited, so to her, it would be only fair that Shinichi would decide.

“I don’t have anything in mind”, he answered.

“Well”, she started slowly. “How about we go to Fukui?”

“Fukui?” Shinichi repeated. Then he looked away like thinking. “Why not.” Then he met her gaze again. “Is there a particular reason…”

Ran smiled. “I heard that there is Dinosaur Museum! I want to see it!”

He smiled. “Ah, of course”, he mumbled and took his phone from his pocket. “Well, it seems that I need to book a hotel room and some tickets…”

“And… I don’t mind if we have a bigger bed”, Ran said and took her own phone, pretending to be interested in something to hide her embarrassment. Though probably her cheeks told him enough. "I don't say that it was tight to sleep last night, but I wouldn't mind if there would be more space..."

“There, there, Ran, not on the first date”, he said.

“Mou, I should have known this”, she cried out and met his smirking face. “I just want to sleep in your arms, nothing more, nothing less. And besides, it isn’t the first date anymore.” She smiled like a winner. “In the end, we have been on this trip… what, sixteen days? So this can be like a sixteenth date.”

“Buuuut”, Shinichi objected, “we have been particularly all this time together, so you can count this like one big date.”

Ran stared at him for a moment. “How does that even make sense?”

The next few days went in the Fukui, visiting Yokokan Garden, Dinosaur Museum and Katsuyama Dinosaur Forest Park, Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins, and Daihonzan Eihei-ji Temple. The only thing Ran missed was Tojinbo Cliffs, because all the pictures and things she read from the internet gave her a vision of a romantic cruise, but since Shinichi got a plan to go to Nagano next, they didn’t have time for that cruise. And truth to be told, she almost immediately forgot about it, since when Shinichi mentioned taking her in Nagano, he smiled mischievously. It took her interest, since to her, it looked like Shinichi was planning something, but when Ran tried to find out what, he just said that he would tell her later. Ran really tried to roast that information out from him, but it seemed that he had decided to keep that secret to himself, so it was pointless.

Actually, he didn’t much ask what Ran wanted to do in Nagano. It wasn’t like she had anything in her mind, and in the end, he was the one who paid for the trip, so it was only fair that he chose their destinations. And Ran didn’t complain since Zenko-ji temple was pretty interesting, and it was almost sad that they didn’t make it to see the morning ceremony since they just came from the Fukui, but still. And next day went mostly on Togakushi, visiting five shrines of Togakushi and Ninja Museum. That evening, Ran was pretty tired, but still, awake enough that she wanted to know what they would do the next day.

“You will see”, Shinichi answered simply.

“Come oooon, Shinichi”, Ran said and hung on to him, trying to look at him with her puppy eyes. “I need to know what we are planning to do… I need to know what to wear tomorrow…”

“Wear what you feel like”, he answered with a laugh.

“Shinichiiiiiiiii…”

“Don’t you trust me at all?”

“I don’t”, Ran answered and made him snort. “Believe me, I have seen my dad planning things and they have never ended up well.”

“Are you comparing me with your father?”

Ran backed up enough to meet his gaze and smirked. “Mom always says that all the men are the same.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes, making Ran laugh. “Maybe I should cancel tomorrow’s plans…”

The next morning didn’t happen anything, which only made Ran feel kind of anxious. She wasn’t sure if she like it. She was waiting for something, yet she didn’t have any idea what. After breakfast, they checked out from the hotel and went to the closest café to… wait.

Ran tried her best to be patient, but the sad truth was that she couldn’t relax or focus on anything. She kept glancing at her phone, clock, Shinichi, and people around her. She tried her best not to try to ask questions about his plans just because she knew that he would mock her later, but gosh! SHE WANTED TO KNOW! How in the world she would get him to speak? Or give her a hint?

So Ran put her phone aside and then leaned to the table, looking at Shinichi who read a newspaper.

“Shinichi?”

“Mmmm?”

“You are a detective, right?”

Blue eyes moved away from the paper to meet hers. There was nothing to read from his face. For a moment Ran felt like he was scanning her, like trying to find a reason for her question, before he answered: “Yeah.”

“But if you are a detective, doesn’t that mean that you are a very, very curious person?”

He looked at her like thinking about it. “Well, yeah, I am.”

“Then”, Ran continued and smiled a little. “You probably understand how I feel like now, right?” And when Shinichi didn’t say anything, she continued: “I mean you’re hiding something from me, and you are torturing me, because I really want to know what you are hiding, but you’re not telling me.”

The wide smile came to his lips, and he looked away. “Is that how you’re trying to make me tell you?”

“You know how I am feeling right now, right?” Ran answered. “Because if I would tell you that I’m having something planned out, but not going to tell you, it would make you curious, right? And you would try to ask me, but I wouldn’t tell you, so you only got more curious, and eventually, you would be so curious that it makes you crazy!”

“Oh Ran”, he said and looked at her with a smile. “Being detective is much more than just asking questions from others and believing everything they say. So, if you would keep something from me and I would be curious about it, I would try to find answers somewhere else.”

“Answers from somewhere else…” Ran repeated and looked at their suitcase. But then again, she was the one who packed their luggage, and she didn’t see anything suspicious. But on the other hand, if Shinichi would have liked to hide something from her, it would have been easy, because it wasn’t Ran’s habit to check his pockets or other belongings. She would have easily missed her clues.

But then, they were on the road. Whatever Shinichi was planning, it was someplace where he was taking her, and everything he had bought or reserved at this point, he had done it with his phone. And that meant that everything he had was on his phone.

“That’s stupid, Shinichi”, she said eventually and raised her gaze back to him. He was still observing her with his smile. “I bet that all answers are on your phone.”

He smirked. “Well done, miss detective.”

Ran sighed. Well, there was that. Unless…

“Can you give me your phone?”

“If you insist”, he answered, took his phone out from the pocket, and slide it in front of Ran. Ran took it to her hands and push the button on the side to make the screen open.

Ah, it needed a code. Of course, why she hadn't thought about it? It can be anything. But…

“So, Shinichi”, she started, trying to be as neutral as possible. “I have never asked, but when is your birthday?”

He let out a laugh, making Ran take her gaze away from the phone. “Oh, Ran”, he said when his laugh calmed down enough. “You’re not doing anything with that information.”

“Because it is your code, right?” Ran shouted victoriously. “Split it out!”

“Fourth of May”, he answered and looked at her before turning back to his newspaper with a humorous smile on his lips. “And I hope that after this, you think of changing your own code.”

Ran blushed. He wasn’t wrong about hers, but… how?

“Who says that my code would be my birthday?” she asked, trying to hide her embarrassment. “And even if it would, you don’t know about my birthday.”

“Using a birthday as a code is very common because it’s easy to remember”, he explained without looking at her, making Ran only more embarrassing. “And about your birthday, I happened to see your identity card on Shizuoka, when you cleaned your wallet one night.” He glanced at her. “That way I also learned your surname.”

Ran stared at him. She tried to remember that evening on the Shizuoka. Yeah, she did sit on the sofa and went through her wallet, taking away receipts and putting her cards in order but she didn’t remember that Shinichi would have sat beside her or been even close.

“But… how?” she asked. “You weren’t even close to me…”

“I happened to walk behind you”, he answered simply. “And because of my detective nature, I was curious what you were doing.”

“And you happened to see all those little numbers and letters from my identity card while walking over?” she doubted.

“I have a bad habit to pay attention to little details”, he said with a smile and winked. “I told you on the first day, didn’t I: I happen to pay attention to my surrounding.”

Well, it was nice to know that she didn’t have any kind of privacy while he was around.

Eventually Ran needed to give up. She didn’t figure out his code as much as she tried to think everything she knew about Shinichi. The worst part was that all that time she saw the smile on Shinichi’s lips while he was “reading” the newspaper, so Ran was pretty sure that he knew her distress and enjoyed it.

Part of her wanted to give up earlier, but she also knew that Shinichi would take it as his victory, so she tried. She tried her best to figure something out until Shinichi said that it’s their time to leave.

“You’re not going to tell me?” she asked when they walked out of the café. “In the end, I tried really hard…”

“And you did well”, Shinichi assured gently and wrapped his arm around her, making her walk closer to him. “But I believe your reward feels much better when you see it yourself.”

So Ran tried to be a good girl and be patient. She gave up her curiosity since she couldn’t make him talk, and she didn’t have any way to get into his phone. She just followed him on the train and just waited. Beginning of the journey, she looked at all the stops and tried to figure out what would be theirs, but eventually, she dropped that and concentrated on the landscapes from the window.

Until they got to their destination, and Ran have to admit that… Well, whatever she had waited for, she certainly wasn’t prepared that Shinichi would take her Yorozuya Ryokan.

“Surprise”, she heard him say when they stopped in front of the big building. Ran just stared at the building without believing it. Well, it wasn’t like she hadn’t been ryokans or onsens before, but… “One night in here, just you and me”, Shinichi continued, making Ran look at him. He didn’t meet her gaze, just looked away, scratching his neck. “Well, not precisely since there are other customers, but… Well, you got the point.”

Ran’s smile widened. She went closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, making him look at her, and raise on her tiptoes. “This is perfect”, she answered and gave him a kiss.

And Ran enjoyed it. As soon as they get in and got their room, they went to the public baths, and Ran took her time, enjoying it as much as she could. She got out of baths when it was time for dinner, which was included in their staying. After dinner and a little walk on the outside, seeing the views of Yudanaka Onsen, she decided to go enjoy an open-door bath in their room.

“You really enjoy taking baths”, she heard Shinichi say when she stepped on the bath.

“I need to enjoy this while I can”, she answered and took a good and relaxing position. The evening started to be dark and little chill, but being in the hot water, it felt only amazing and relaxing. “Never know if I ever have a chance to experience this again.”

Ran waited for him to say something for a moment, but he didn’t. She looked through the wooden lattice wall the view what she could see. Sadness tried to take control of her thoughts, but she tried her hardest to move them aside. No. She really wanted to enjoy this trip while it lasts. And she really needed something to take her thoughts away from it.

“You know”, she shouted, “it would be nice if you would join.”

It took for a moment before he answered, and when he did, he was much closer than Ran waited. “I believe it’s not so appropriate.”

Ran blushed and looked at the doorway where he already stood, leaning on the doorway his arms crossed, blue eyes looking at that same wooden lattice wall.

“Mou, Shinichi”, she began and let her posture lose enough that she was sure that water hide her upper body enough. “Stop thinking like that… I mean I know, but… can’t you just come here to enjoy this bath and keep me company? It doesn’t… mean… we would.. or have to... or... well, you know…”

He let out a laugh. “You’re cute when you get frustrated.”

“Shinichi!”

“Besides, my mother will kill me if she finds out. I don’t know why, but she always assumes the worst of me.”

Ran smiled and rolled her eyes. “Well, I promise not to tell her if I ever met her.”

He just glanced at her, and she grinned at him. Then he looked back at the wall.

“You know, Ran… I… I have been thinking…”

Somehow Ran didn’t like that. Even if his thoughts could be anything, she almost felt like he was going to say something which included Tokyo and arranged marriage. It would be something that would take her back to reality.

“It has been three weeks since we left from Tokyo…”

“Shinichi”, Ran sighed. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow, okay? I want to enjoy tonight…”

“No, Ran, listen…” he interrupted her and stepped away from the doorway. If he earlier was careful not to look at her, now she got his full attention. “Like I said, I know that we have known each other like three weeks, but… is… Is there any chance that you would… If you would like to…” He lowered his eyes with red cheeks and raised his hand to scratch his neck. He was so nervous, and it made Ran nervous too, but at the same time, it made her hopeful. Part of her hoped to hear the one certain question, but at the same time, she knew it was impossible…

“If... if you would like to… marry me?”

Her cheeks glowed and she felt happy, so happy that she would have liked to jump out from the bath and just hug him, wrap arms around him, drown him in the kisses and say yes so many times that he would be tired of hearing it. But it also made her sad and desperate. Almost anxious. As much as she wanted to say yes, she knew it wasn't possible. Her parents would never allow it. If they weren’t ready to give up on it two weeks ago, she didn’t know why they would be now.

“And I’m not asking because I want something back from this trip”, he hurried to say. “I just… I… like to be with you...”

“I know”, she interrupted him, yet she couldn't look at him. “But… you know that both of us is still going to be married…”

“But I believe that we can talk about this”, Shinichi said and sounded so sure about that. It made Ran look at him. “I think my parents would understand if I explain everything to them. And if mom doesn’t, I’m sure that dad would back me up. And if it’s really needed, I can handle my fiancée. I will do it even if it’s the last thing I do…”

“But Shinichi, what about my parents?” she asked desperately. “They didn’t come around two weeks ago, how do you think they would now?”

He stepped next to the bath and crouched, leaning his arm on edge of the bath. Ran wanted to tell him to stop since his yukata was going to get wet, but he was already talking: “I don’t think they are impossible to talk around”, he said and sounded so sure. “Hard, maybe, but I believe that they would come around.”

“How?” Ran asked. “I tried two weeks ago, and I failed miserably.”

“But maybe I can?” he suggested. “Maybe, when they see us together and listen to us, maybe they would turn around. And… And if it comes to your groom, I can take responsibility and try to compensate it to him.”

“I don’t want you to take the blame for everything”, she mumbled as an answer. “You have done enough for me already…”

“But if it means I can marry you… I’ll do it.”

Ran looked at him, feeling her cheeks burn. She felt like she wanted to cry because she was touched to hear someone saying something like that to her.

“You would… you would do that?” she asked. “Like… really?”

“Really”, he answered gently. “I would.”

Without thinking more, Ran stood up and stepped out from the bath, making Shinichi move aside. “I’m going to call home, right now”, she said determinedly and marched inside, taking her yukata and wrapping it around her. “I tell them everything. I tell them that I want to marry you instead of that stranger and as soon as we get back home, we’re going to visit them and make things clear”, she continued and walked to the bed where she left her phone and took it. She was kind of surprised that she was so sure of this, but so was Shinichi. And if Shinichi really wanted her, then she should do everything she could to make sure that they could marry each other.

But when she saw her mother’s name on her phone, she felt nervous. Her mother was strong-willed. As sure as she felt now, she also knew that as soon as her mother would say something just too determined, her own will would get a crack.

“Shinichi?” she asked and looked back. She was surprised to see that he wasn't there. She had thought that he had followed her. Where did he go?

Then he walked to the room, looking a little embarrassed and his cheeks were deep red. Ran frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“Huh?” he asked. “Oh, um… nothing.”

Ran tilted her head. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah”, he said and looked at her phone. “Didn’t you mean to make that call?”

Ran lowered her gaze and looked at her phone. “I… Could you stay with me?” she asked. “My mom, she… she is kind of strong-willed…”

“Ah, like her daughter.”

“Shinichi…”

He shut his mouth. Ran sighed. “I know, I was determined, and I still want to be, but… I’m scared that as soon as she starts to object to the whole idea, I… I’m scared that I will back up…”

“But if you decide that you will get your will through, I believe you can stick with your opinion.”

“Like that helps me”, Ran mumbled.

He smiled. “Well, you can always cry and scream until you get what you want.” Ran leered at him and he laughed. “Okay, okay”, he said and came a little closer to touch her arm reassuring. “I will be there”, he promised. “And if needed, I'll talk to her.”

Ran smiled at him before she looked at her phone again. Okay, here we go, she thought and push the button before she raised the phone on her ear. Shinichi stepped back a little and Ran started to feel anxious. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea at all? Maybe they should have let this whole thing be… Maybe…

“Ran?!” was a sharp and worrying answer and it surprised her. “Where are you? Are you okay?”

“Hi, mom, everything is fine”, she answered and let out an awkward laugh. “Why wouldn’t I?”

There was a little pause. “Well, why should I assume that you’re okay?” she asked, and Ran felt something tightening on her chest. “You haven’t called a few weeks, just sending me messages that you are fine and all. And of course, some of your preparation”, she mentioned coldly, making Ran feel bad. “So of course, when I saw that you are calling, I thought that something terrible had happened to you.”

“I’m sorry, mom”, Ran said and meant it. “I didn’t mean to scare you or make you worried. I just… I…”

“Well, late for that”, her mother interrupted sharply. “I haven’t been anything else than worried about you as soon as you told me that you have gone on a trip with a stranger. How do you think I or your dad could have relax here since we don’t have any idea where you are or what that stranger had done to you or plan to do…”

“I send you every night a message that I’m fine”, Ran answered annoyed.

“Hah, you think that helps anything?” her mother laughed dryly. “How do I supposed to know that this stranger of yours hasn’t taken your phone and sent those to me?”

Ran rolled her eyes even though she knew that her mother wouldn’t see it. “Oh, and you should also know that after Shizuoka, I have kept my phone out from power just to make sure that you can’t call me or try to chase me down. How he would have opened it?”

“There are many ways to make people talk, Ran…”

“Come on, mom!” Ran shouted frustrated. She opened her mouth to defend Shinichi, but then she shut it. She closed her eyes to calm down. This wasn’t the reason why she called. She didn’t call just to fight and argue with her mother. And she also knew that if they both were angry, it wouldn’t help any of them.

Then she felt something on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, glanced up, and saw how Shinichi was there, calming her down, smiling encouragingly...

She needed to do this. She would do this. For him. For herself. For them.

She took a deep breath to calm herself before she showed him assuring smile.

“Listen, mom, I didn’t call you so that we could fight again”, Ran said. “I called you because I wanted to talk about my marriage…”

“Again?” her mother interrupted.

“Again”, Ran said determinedly. “Because I want you to cancel it.”

“Ran, I have told you…”

“And I have told you that I don’t want it”, she interrupted. “I have found someone else I want to marry, and he wants to marry me.”

“Ran, not this stranger thing again…”

“If this is about money, he can also do that”, Ran said. “I don’t care if he doesn’t, but if it’s so important to you, I believe he can give me all the support I need.”

“I have told you, I can’t decline this…”

“You don’t have to”, Ran answered. “I will do it.”

There was a heavy silence, which made Ran more nervous. She looked at Shinichi, who still managed to look like everything was fine, everything will work out, that everything would turn to their victory. Ran smiled. Yeah, they could do this… No, they can! They would succeed!

“Ran…” her mother sighed eventually.

“I’m serious, mom”, she assured her. “I’m going to meet that family when I come home, okay? And I talk to them and see the consequences. I will take responsibility…”

“I didn’t say that this is okay to me…”

“I don’t see why not”, Ran said. “You were the one who was ready to give me to some stranger…”

“But I know his parents, and because I know them, I’m pretty sure that they have a decent boy, not any kind of good-for-nothing guy…”

“Shinichi isn’t good-for-nothing, his…”

“And the other hand, we would have had a chance to meet this groom of yours if you just would have happened to stay at home”, her mother interrupted. “So, you can blame only for yourself if you call that man a stranger.”

“But I spend time with Shinichi, another stranger, got to know him, so… what is the difference? Why he can’t be my groom?”

Her mother sighed. Ran waited for her to say something, but she didn’t.

“Mom, if you only give him a chance…”

“I don’t know why I should give a chance to the man who bought my daughter’s trust…”

“He didn’t buy me”, Ran snapped. “Just please, meet him! He is a nice and decent guy, a gentleman… He has a job, actually, he is a known…”

“Ran…”

“Please, mom! Please…”

There was a silence. A heavy silence which Ran wanted to break but didn’t dare. She wanted to bury herself in Shinichi’s arms, hide her face and let him hear her mother’s answer instead. Seconds started to feel like an eternity.

“Let’s continue this conversation when you come home.”

Ran just stared in front of her. Did she hear it right? Did her mother really say that?

“Wh- what?”

“I said: Let’s continue this conversation when you get back home”, her mother repeated, sounding tired. “It’s late already and I’m tired. So, when you get back home, I promise, we talk about this.”

Ran felt a smile coming to her lips when she looked at Shinichi. She wanted to cry for happiness. God, she had done it! She made it! She made her mother listen, kind of won this round!

“Thank you, mom, thank you so much!” she laughed on the phone. God, she was so happy about this. “I can’t wait… There is so much I want to tell you”, she told her with excitement. “I can show you pictures and... And I also made new friends…”

“Can’t wait to hear about it”, her mother answered. “Let’s hear it when you come back home.”

“Yeah, yeah… I…” Ran took a deep breath to calm herself. God, she was so excited. This went much better than she even dared to hope for. “Good night, mom. I love you so much!”

“Love you too, good night.”

Ran lowered the phone and watched how the screen told her that the call was over. Then she looked up, met blue eyes and her smile only widened. Before she could stop herself, she let out a scream and jumped on him, wrapping her hand around his neck, making him take a few steps backward. “We did it!” She laughed and rubbed her cheek against his. “We did it, we did it!”

“You did it”, he corrected and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Told you that it can’t be impossible.”

“But I couldn’t have done it without you”, Ran said and loosened her grip on him, letting her feet touch the floor again. Yet she stayed close to him, looking at him, smiling… She felt something wet on her cheek.

“But I didn’t do anything”, he said and wiped her tears away with his fingers. “I just stood there and watched how two strong-willed women encountered and the younger one won. You did well by yourself, you didn’t need me at all.”

“But I saw you all the time and… and I knew that I need to fight back if… if I want to…” Then she let out a laugh and buried herself in his arms, rubbed her face against his shoulder before hiding it against his neck. “Well, she didn’t say yes, but this time she agreed to even think about it. She said that we would talk about it when I got back home…” She smiled against his neck and tightened her grip around him. She was so close to changing everything. And as soon as she got back, she would take Shinichi with her, making sure that her parents would meet this man, and after seeing him and getting to know him, Ran was pretty sure that her parents would accept it. And because she promised to handle her groom, her parents should have nothing to complain about. And since she would have Shinichi with her… “I have to admit, I can’t wait to get back to Tokyo…”

“Well”, Shinichi’s voice answered while his head leaned against hers, “I think I should buy tickets to the Tokyo for tomorrow night.”

Chapter 14

#ShinRan #Arranged Marriage AU #The Roulette of Destiny #Detective Conan #Fanfiction #Shinichi Kudo #Ran Mouri #Part 13

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