#but if im being perfectly honest my head has still been a little foggy

[allylikethecat]

atkh soon come??

Ahhh thank you for sending me this ask I was low key kind of thinking maybe no one would notice if the update was suuupppper late (and by that I mean hopefully tomorrow).

The original plan had been to finish up the chapter yesterday. BUT THEN I managed to give myself a mild case of heatstroke / sun poisoning at the barn yesterday (yay summer) and basically spent most of the day laying on my cold tile floor with my work laptop wishing I was anywhere else. I went to bed at 6:30pm that's how bad it was. And then so today I was playing catch up on all the work stuff I didn't really do yesterday because I was laying on the cold floor wishing I had remembered to drink Gatorade. Which means I have not even looked at the chapter since earlier in the week and it is in fact not finished 😞 BUT I'm actually finally starting to actually feel better (yay!) and the plan is to finish it tomorrow - hopefully before the Oilers / Panthers game. I'm so sorry for the delay, and thank you so much for checking in about the update. I'm so grateful that you're enjoying ATKH and hope you continue to do so. I hope your Friday is going better than mine and that you have a wonderful weekend!!

❤️Ally

[mjwiththefangs]

Beautifully Deadly (NaLu) #5

Chapter 5

Vampire/Supernatural AU

Rating: M

Summary:  "Supposedly an entire kingdom disappeared when their queen went beyond the borders, remember?" When Natsu Dragneel leaves the kingdom to investigate mysterious disappearances, he finds a much bigger adventure than he was bargaining for, including a beautiful vampire hidden away in an ancient castle. She has little to say about her past, or why she's locked away. Who did this to her? What has she been feeding on? One thing Natsu knows for sure that she is dangerous... Could she have something to do with the disappearances? "I'm sorry, Natsu, but I'm just so thirsty."

Chapters: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7

Read it on: AO3 & FF.net

A/N: So Hi! Apparently, I do monthly updates now- shocking, right! First of all, compulsory shoutout to @bmarvels & @mannyegb for agreeing to Beta for me again! You are both Stars!!

Secondly, Many thanks to all of you Lovelies for being patient, i hope this chapter was worth the wait! Im really aiming to keep the word count near 3K if not higher. Let me know what you prefer! I also wanted to add that i am on Tumblr; follow Starstruck-MJ-writings for chapters & progress updates.

Im trying to get the plot rolling now, so things should begin to pick up from here on out. As always, i am deeply humbled by all your lovely reviews ❤

Now, enough of me rambling. Lets get to the main event!

Review shoutouts! to: KatanaNoNeko, YunaYue, Densolator, Aliciacevbra, & NaluGrey 

Thank you!!

The forest surrounding Lucy’s decrepit castle was vast and held many secrets. Deep within the wilderness, nestled in the woods was a path that none dared to tread, and even fewer knew existed.

If one knew what to look for, they would see the intricate runes littered through the trees, and surrounding Lucy’s Castle.

They were carved into the bark, small, seemingly insignificant sigils. They came in all different shapes, all designed to trick the eye, making them incredibly difficult to locate. Even if one managed to find the runes, it would be very unlikely for the individual to stumble upon them to understand what they meant, for they were all written in ancient tongues, in rare and dead languages.

Had a certain wolf come across these mysterious runes, he would have been elatedly familiar and perhaps found exactly who created them.

The rune creator herself, a wise wood elf, had made sure she was difficult, nigh on impossible, to find. Her stave surrounded her sanctum perfectly. It had been after some thought that she had adapted the stave to help cover Lucy’s location also. It had been difficult, meaning the castle remains were not completely hidden, but certainly more elusive of malicious, searching eyes.

The Elf had been quick to deduce that the strange blonde did not wish to be found. She had run away. The Elf was still pondering what the woman had run from. There were, of course, the disappearances. The Elf could not quite rule out Lucy’s potential involvement, despite the woman’s evident fear.

Sighing, she tucked a lock of blue hair behind her ear and reached for her research notes. Whilst she had been absent from her home and recovering her strength, she had been studying.

The Elf's name was Levy McGarden. She was separated from her Beloved Wolf and the people they had been escorting. Levy had been struck across the head before she could even react. It had slowed her reflexes, her vision blurred and saturated with her own blood. She faintly recalled trying to help some escape from the attacker. She didn't know how they'd all lost one another. She didn't even know if the others survived.

‘I wonder if Gajeel…’ her heart squeezed painfully in her chest, unable to finish her thought. Her mind drifted unbidden to the attack. The way Gajeel had transformed into the giant wolf she was so familiar with. The fury in his eyes.

‘Run!’ He had shrieked, desperate to keep her safe. He was already critically injured as she fled, his right forearm torn almost to shreds. She, of course, now had her own scar to bare. It stretched from her right temple, across her forehead, in the form of an ugly slash marring her porcelain skin.

She'd awoken days later, in a dark room, with the strange blonde woman beside her. Levy was still unsure what to think of Lucy, despite owing her life to her. Lucy had bandaged her up. The blonde seemed so uncomfortable with Levy near her. Levy wondered what species the woman was, it had become quickly evident that she was not a mere human.

She flicked through her notes. Scanning over her theories on Lucy. The answer had to be here, among her observations. Levy could almost taste it, it was right there, dancing on the tip of her tongue.

‘Wouldn’t approach when I cleaned my wound’,

‘stayed away from the windows’,

‘appears to be nocturnal’,

‘very intelligent, potentially dangerous, secretive.’

The scrawled notes screamed at her off the paper, telling her she was missing something between the lines. Levy knew her stranger saviour had not been a mortal human.

She tapped her chin in thought, ‘Perhaps she can’t walk in sunlight either…’ Suddenly, something clicked in her head. ‘If I run with this Hypothesis…’

She gasped, everything about the blonde making sense, ‘She’s a Vampire!’

.

Cold.

For the first time in his life, Natsu Dragneel felt truly cold. Sure, he’d been on the receiving end of Gray’s ice before, but that had never left him feeling like this. At this moment, he felt as though the fire in his belly was diminished to just embers.

He felt so utterly cold. He groaned painfully, coughing as he rolled. His eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times before squinting to look around him. It was dark in the small room. He found himself to lying on a cot, his wounds delicately wrapped. Natsu grunted, raising his arm to rub the sleep from his eyes.

Only to find that his wrist was cuffed to the wall. Puzzled, he took this moment to examine his environment. The room he was in was small, but not unpleasant. The arched paned window allowed streams of dusklight through the old curtain drapes. The cot he found himself lying on was tucked snugly in the corner, his wrist chained to an old iron ring embedded on the wall, and the plain sheets were folded at his feet. His gaze drifted to the heavy wooden door. A well-aimed fireball would have that taken care of. That is, he suspected, if the metal cuff around his wrist wasn’t magic sealing stone.

The Draconic whined in his throat, dropping his head back onto the cot. The motion sent a shock of pain shooting through his neck, a violent hiss escaping him. His fuzzy mind struggled to catch up to him, foggy memories being dragged to the surface.

He ran away. Gajeel attacked him, separating him from Atlas Flame. He stumbled upon the castle remains. Blood. The woman…

She bit him.

Gingerly, he reached up to his neck, his calloused fingers coming into contact with bandages, ‘what?’ he frowned in confusion. Did she do this? A sudden idea tickled his mind, and turning his gaze towards his torso, he reached down and tugged up his shirt. His wound from Gajeel had been cleaned, though not bandaged, and he noticed the cauterised skin was barely holding him together. If he was too reckless again, he would surely reopen the injury.

His ears twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps. He bolted upright on the cot, wincing at his own sudden movement. He held his breath, preparing himself for whoever was coming to see him. The footsteps stopped in front of the wooden door.

He heard the latch click softly, surprised to learn that it wasn't locked. The hinges creaked in protest as the door opened slowly, soft candlelight trickling in from the hall.

She stepped carefully, and not without trepidation in his small room. He found himself taken aback at her appearance. Before, when he found her on the floor, she had been paler than death, dark shadows gathering around her eyes. Eyes that had flashed crimson, mad with hunger.

But as he looked at her now, undoubtedly the same woman, he found the breath leaving his lungs. Her golden tresses tumbled down to her waist, framing her heart-shaped face perfectly. She looked so alive, he thought, with the warmth in her cheeks, she was glowing. Her eyes were the colour of honey, warm and soft when they met his. She froze, her eyes widening a fraction, more colour flushing her face.

He watched her silently, her eyes darting away from him to the fading sunlight on the floor then back to him. Her mouth opened, tiny sharp points glinting as she did, reminding him to stay cautious.

‘I… I apologise for attacking you before.’ She briefly glanced away, guilt flashing in her eyes. ‘I was not myself. I came to check on you, you have slept for a long time.’ She resisted the nervous urge to chew her lip.

Natsu cocked his head as he regarded her. For how vicious she had appeared before, she seemed genuinely apologetic now and concerned for him. Despite himself, a grin broke out across his face. He couldn’t help it. Attacking someone then taking care of them? She was such a…

‘Weirdo.’

Her mouth opened in protest, and he cackled at the indignant pout on her face. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy teasing her, should he be staying for longer. He held up his hands in a surrender motion, feeling more at ease with with the unusual woman. He met her eyes again with an easy smile, ‘Thanks for patching me up! But’ he hesitantly reached for bandage around his neck, ‘What exactly did you do to me?’

He held no malice towards her. Who was he to judge someone for losing control of themselves, after all? He still held some suspicion, but it was waning the longer she stood by the door. At his question, she flushed deeply, in embarrassment or shame, neither could tell.

‘I… I am not entirely sure myself, to be honest.’ The admission came softly, sadly, ‘I deeply regret that I bit you. I didn’t mean to drink so much.’ she sighed, ‘well, drink at all, really.’

He quirked an eyebrow at her, gears ticking in his head. ‘You’re a Vampire?’

She visibly flinched at the word and a muscle in her jaw twitched. She nodded stiffly.

Natsu bit into his tongue to stop himself blurting more questions. Whilst it wasn’t typically characteristic of him to think before speaking, every cell of his new companion screamed that she was uncomfortable, and being still chained made it very much against his favour to upset her.

He did need a few more answers, however. ‘Can you unchain me? The sealing stone is restricting my magic.’ He explained, raising his wrist.

Her gaze snapped back to him. She was frowning, confusion drawn across her features.

‘Sealing stone? I don't have any of that here.’ She glanced at the light on the floor again, taking a hesitant step forward around it.

Natsu was frowning in return, if it wasn’t sealing stone, then why couldn’t he use his fire? Why did it feel like he only had ash in his mouth? He stared at her as she sat perched on the foot of the cot.

She cleared her throat, ‘What’s your magic?’ she wanted to be direct with him.

He gestured to the horns protruding through his hair, ‘Fire. I’m Draconic.’ as if to prove a point, he attempted to create a flame in the palm of his hand, producing nothing but a brief spark. He grunted in frustration.

A chill ran through him again, reminding him of his diminishing embers. The woman was watching him thoughtfully. Something was niggling at her, from the corner of her mind. When she drank from him… the first thing she became aware of…

‘... I was warm.’ she breathed.

Sharp draconic ears twitched. He sensed a deeper meaning to her words. He was anxious to learn more. But before he could ask, she had scrambled to her feet, reaching for the door and fleeing without a word.

The words died in his throat, a long sigh escaping him instead. He allowed himself, more carefully this time, to fall back onto the cot again.

It would be quite a while later that he realised he hadn't even got her name.

.

Lucy all but fled the room, leaving the Draconic man behind. Her heart was pounding in her chest, adrenaline spiking and causing her hands to quake. She moved briskly through the stone halls, not knowing where her feet were taking her, but just needing to be moving somewhere.

She gnawed her lip, her mind whirling as she marched. In her distraction, she failed to notice the soft glittering sparks pulsing to life beneath her feet with every step. Nor did she notice how the candle flames leaned towards her presence as she passed.

The vampire only grew aware that she had been wandering a while when she passed an open window, and belatedly startled, only to realise that the daylight had gone. She paused, gazing into the darkening hues across the sky. Her heart throbbed painfully.

She shook her head, golden strands dancing glitter around her. She felt overwhelmed. She needed fresh air. Lucy gathered her skirts, setting off in a run. She knew where she was heading this time. Her feet pounded against the stone steps, before she burst through the old hatchet, into the former rooftop garden.

Her train of thoughts began to run away from her once she was in her safe space. She was trying so hard. So hard to accept that she had drank from the strange man. She had never drank from someone before. She didn’t know what affects it had on someone, or what she was capable of in this form.

Lucy wrapped her arms around herself. More glittering dust fell from her movements. She was trembling, honey gold eyes staring into nothing.

‘Did I… drink away his magic?’

Her head shook violently at the thought. Surely that wasn’t possible? But then, she was unable to recall that last time she felt any warmth, prior to biting the man.

Lucy fought to think rationally. Before the… Incident, as she’d decided to dub it, she had collapsed from bloodlust. She always hated how much the hunger affected her. In the fuzzy recesses of her mind, she remembered that she could smell blood right as she came to. The warm, spicy taste of his blood on her tongue danced in her mind, and she blushed vehemently. It had felt like being in a trance.

He couldn’t make a fire now though. She’d watched him involuntarily shivering in that room. He was cold. What had she done to him? Had she drained his life energy too?

She certainly felt more alive. And, now that she took notice, she felt a strange tingle brimming just underneath her skin. Frowning she outstretched her hand in front of her, scrutinising the soft flesh. Nothing seemed unusual.

Lucy released a sigh, some tension leaving her shoulders. More than ever, she wished to be able to consult with her most dear and loyal companions. As old as time, and just as wise, the constellation spirits were contractually linked to her bloodline and she missed them terribly.

Even Leo, the playboy Lion spirit, who loved to flirt but ultimately was always willing to lend a listening ear and rare sage advice. She longed for that kind of advice right now.

In sudden swirl of glitter, she subsequently recognised to be stardust, a bright light flashed before her, forcing her to shield her eyes as she heard a faint bell chime. She blinked a few times, her arm slowly lowering as the dust settled.

She gasped in astonishment, gawking at the figure before her. Cat ears stood proudly in a mane of wild orange hair. The owner of that hair stood up straight from a bow, an easy, confident smile on his face.

The smile broadened into a grin, bursting with delight as Lucy pointed, ungracefully spluttering.

‘Loke?!’ She had to be hallucinating. He couldn’t be here. It wasn’t possible. She had tried so hard to summon him, summon any of them, when she had escaped her captor. She had never succeeded. She had not even been able to feel her bond to them. She understood a long time ago that she had no magic in this accursed form.

Now though, her mind reeling, she realised with utmost certainty that she had drained the pink-haired Draconic of his own magical energy.

The lion spirit regarded her with fond amusement. He found himself unable to stop grinning, his pointed ears twitching happily. ‘Hello, Beautiful.’

It had always been his favourite way to greet her and it filled him with a strong wave of nostalgia to be using it again.

‘It’s really you.’ She breathed, recovering herself, her eyes wide and locked onto the spirit. She leapt forward, throwing her arms around him before she knew what she was doing.

He laughed, happily wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace. ‘I missed you too.’ He smiled down at her, ‘Now, do you mind telling me exactly where you have summoned me to?’ He asked, moving his head to assess their surroundings.

She met his hazel eyes, ‘I tried to reach you for so long. All of you. How did you finally find me?’

‘You called me here. None of us could feel your bond for so long. But we could still feel you in this realm, we knew you were out here.’ Loke’s expression sobered, ‘What did he do to you, Lucy?’

She hesitated, pointed teeth chewing on her lower lip. Loke’s sharp eyes caught the movement. ‘I’m… not the same as before.’ She answered quietly. He accepted that as answer enough.

He nodded, turning to look at something in the distance. ‘We can talk more next time. Whatever you did, it flared your magic. If you can do it again, we are only a call away.’ He folded an arm across his chest, bowing his head towards her. ‘Your magical energy is waning, I can’t stay much longer. But, I am curious about that blue creature.’

Thoughts of protesting quickly abandoned her, a curious, confused frown on her face as she turned her attention behind her.

A winged blue creature flew towards them. She squinted, and as it neared them, she saw that it was in fact a flying blue cat.

A soggy, flying blue cat.

Loke chuckled to himself, musing, ‘Why do cats always see my ears and think I’ll understand them.’

Felines had always flocked to the lion spirit after all. This blue one mewled loudly as he approached, soaring to land perfectly atop Loke’s orange hair. Lucy suppressed a giggle at the sight.

The spirit grimaced, ‘Ok, this kitty hates water just as much as any other,’ he gestured to himself, ‘As much as I’d love to stay, my time’s up.’

Lucy held his solemn gaze as he began to fade, light filtering around him in shimmers. With one last, ‘Call me when you need me’ He vanished into a burst of stardust.

The blue cat yowled unhappily as it landed on the ground. Lucy crouched down before the sodden feline, offering a hand to him. Large eyes studied her for a moment, then his fluffy white wings sparkled and they too vanished, and he trotted towards her, purring gleefully.

Lucy smiled, petting his head.

‘Let’s get you dried off.’

.

Back in her hideaway, Levy bound her research notes together, and unceremoniously shoved them into her satchel. She had been away from the kingdom for long enough.

It was time to return home.

[fluidityandgiggles]

Sleep Is For The Weak - Chapter 12

Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 5, Last Chapter

Writing Masterlist - for previous chapters not otherwise linked, Read on AO3

Notes (I guess): Thanks a lot to @ilovemygaydad for updating y’all about my wifi situation, the wifi works semi-well now, and... well...

WRITING THIS CHAPTER WAS HELL AND A HALF AND IM SO GLAD ITS FINALLY FINISHED.

Ahem. Excuse me. I have a couple of very important things to say, though.

If any of you haven't read the latest chapter of Keep Him Safe, which is right here, please go do so. I read it the moment it was posted and... I was at dinner with my family, so I had to hold in my squealing... to be perfectly honest with y'all, I already knew what was going to happen in that chapter since I started writing chapter three, I think...? So I have known about this for a very long time, but it still made me super happy to see it actually happen in writing. So... go read KHS, y'all. You really should. It's awesome.

(Quick update: I checked my screenshots and... yeah, I've known about that since July, which is when I started writing this fic. Again, I've known about what happened in sleep for six months, and surprisingly didn't spoil almost any of it to anyone around me. I deserve a fucking prize.)

To anyone who just came over from Eva's shameless plugging of me - hello, nice to have you here. In this fucked up piece of angst we discuss queer history as well as Remy's personal history, or - as I said to myself while reading and re-reading what Eva has to say about this fic - "well, this story is as much about queer history as it is about Remy, where he came from, where he's going, where he came from cotton eye joey'n". And to anyone who's a regular reader, I'm so glad you're sticking around to read this... this thing. It's become a monster in my head, I can promise you that much.

As always, thanks to @broadwaytheanimatedseries for the original idea, to @whatwashernameagain for the original fic (can you believe it’s been six months since we came up with chapter 23?), to @anony-phangirl and @asleepybisexual and @winglessnymph for the help wherever needed, and a special one to Morgan - again - for helping me get the word out. All of those people are my shining stars and I love them so much.

Tag list (sort of): @bunny222, @ab-artist, @sweet-and-sour-shadowling, @your-username-is-unavailable, @virgilcrofters, @why-things-go-boom, @ilovemygaydad (thanks again, kiddo!), @violetblossem. @maybe-i-like-the-misery, @book-of-charlie, @thatsanswitch

(Wanna be tagged? Just lemme know!)

Trigger warning: period appropriate transphobia (the early 00s were not exactly trans-friendly). This chapter discusses rape again, this time in a bit more detail (nothing graphic, it’ll never be graphic, I promise), and includes a... panic attack of sorts. Be warned.

—————

January 24th, 2003

Emile's smile faltered.

"...so what if I got raped?" He muttered, putting down the stack of chairs he was holding. "What's done is done. They had their fun—"

"They…?" India tilted her head. Oh shoot… "There was more than one person?"

"More like three… what? Why are you looking at me like—"

The stack India was holding fell to the floor.

"Did you tell anyone?" Emile stared at the floor. Maybe she'll go away if he doesn't cooperate. "Emile! Did you tell anyone?"

"I told the doctors…" Emile's voice faltered. "What's going on?"

"I'm surprised you're even alive right now!" India's pacing was… terrifying. For some reason… she suddenly just… turned so scary. "Mixing date rape drugs with alcohol, which is what I'm assuming happened to you, is so dangerous! And I'm only assuming that's what happened because I heard from Remy that they found GHB traces—"

"I'm not proud," Emile managed to stutter. "Of… all this. I just… I can drink, okay? I made some mistakes in the past—"

"You're seventeen!"

"I made some mistakes in the past, and… this one makes me feel like all those mistakes have been trying to tell me that I shouldn't exist…"

"No… no, peach, please." He already started crying by the time she stepped in to hug him. "I get that. I really do. Sometimes I think about how much better my life might've been if I pretended like I'm 'cured' of being transgender after conversion. My cousin wouldn't have done what she did, that's the biggest plus. But… I wouldn't have come here. I wouldn't have started on my way to become a statistics analyst. I wouldn't have met Jenna. I would probably be living a sad, closeted life back home, and that isn't such a nice thing."

"You were too…?"

"I was too, yeah… as victims, we gotta stick to each other."

The wet spots on India's sweater were getting larger by the second. But she didn't mind it.

"Like I was told when I was sixteen," she said, much quieter than before. "Nobody is going to believe a man who says he was raped. We gotta stick together, whether we like it or not."

——

"Hey, isn't that that friend of yours?" Remy heard behind him about two minutes before the meeting started.

Oh, good.

"Hey, didn't you deliberately choose to forget that I live in the other side of the US from you because you wanted to be a little fuck?" Remy asked back, looking at Chris turn redder than a tomato.

"I swear to god, I had no idea!"

"Suck it and your excuses, Mendez."

"Hey, hey… come on, Remy. Won't you at least let me make it up to you?"

Remy couldn't stay angry… well, he could. But not as angry. It was a stupid reason, too…

"I will." Chris beamed at him. "But it'll take a very long time."

"...you have a week."

"I won't let you down," Chris said with the same wide, obnoxious grin, quickly kissing Remy's cheek and taking a seat.

Fuck him and his obnoxious self.

On the third of January, Remy and Emile sat down on the hotel bed in what was probably the fanciest hotel Remy's ever been to (though he never really visited any hotels in his life, no time or money for that). They were listening to Gustav Holst's The Planets as Emile performed a one-man dramatic reading of No Exit, and Remy couldn't feel more at peace.

This situation right here - all the people, all the tension, Chris right there a few steps away from him - was the exact opposite.

"Do you want me to leave?" A quiet voice said and Remy felt himself being squeezed so tight, he was sure his ribs would crack. Emile. "I can leave if you—"

"Come on, sit next to me," Remy said as quietly and took a rather far seat from Chris. Serves him right.

"Happy Friday, everyone," India opened the meeting. "I see that we got some new people after the break, so we're going to do another name round. Who wants to start?"

Emile raised his hand almost immediately.

"I'm Emile, I'm— do we mention our major?"

"If you want to."

"I'm Emile, I'm a psychology major, and I'm probably gay. Or asexual. I just… don't really know if I'm more gay or asexual yet."

——

Monday, January 27th

"Look, I find some of what you teach suspect," Emile hummed to himself as he skipped behind Remy back to their building after a particularly entertaining sols 20 class. "Because I'm used to relying on intellect, but I try to open up to what I don't know, because reason says I should've died three years ago…"

"Em, stop it," Remy half-laughed. "I get it, you're still thinking about Rent."

"It was such a good show!" Emile whined - well, sort of. "Jai Rodriguez was really good!"

"I met Idina Menzel through this," Remy said with another chuckle. "She's nice… kind of a diva, if you ask me."

"So… like you?"

"What do you mean, like me?"

"Nice, but kind of a diva." Emile nudged him. "I'll bet you she's totally selfless and sweet but acts like she doesn't care about anything in the world—"

"No, actually… she isn't." Remy sighed. The memories were foggy - it was over eight years ago - but… "Dad is working on some project with her again. Her and Kristin Chenoweth…"

"Kristin?" Emile shrieked. "Good golly, I love her! She's so sweet and talented!"

"I'm really not supposed to tell you anything," Remy laughed, and then stopped.

A figure made him freeze at his doorstep. A small, shaking figure, with braided brown hair and an ill-fitting, black, puffy coat.

Leah was rapidly knocking on Remy's suite door.

——

"Why did you think it was a good idea to come here?" Remy asked, careful not to scream. Leah sat in the living room, her hair dripping wet from the shower he made her take, wrapped up in the clothes she brought with her in her lime green schoolbag. She was waiting on her hot chocolate.

"I wanted to."

"How did you even get a bus ticket? You're seven!"

"I took money from mom and went to the bus station!" Leah huffed. "I know where the buses are, and I know how to—"

"I didn't say you don't know, Leah Mae," Remy chastised, putting the cup of hot chocolate on the table quite forcefully. "But you're seven years old! This was incredibly dangerous of you—"

"I don't wanna live at home anymore!" Leah screamed. "Mom was mean all of Christmas, and Lizzie wasn't being nice when we went back to school, she didn't want me to be her friend anymore, and Rachel was annoying—"

"Sweetie, they're going to think I kidnapped you!" Leah was taken aback. Remy was worried to the point of terrifying. "They're going to think I kidnapped you, Leah. It won't end well!"

"I didn't think…" the tears started coming out. Oh shit… "I didn't mean it! I just… I don't like being home! Don't be mad at me!"

"Oh, baby, no, I'm not mad at you!" Remy was quick to take her in for a hug. His poor baby sister… "I'm just worried, Leah. Extremely worried. Never do such a thing ever again, okay?" She nodded in his arms. "There's nothing we can do about this now, but—"

The door opened with a bang, and "I brought the bunnies!"

Leah immediately perked up. Mycroft tried to hop straight into her lap the moment he was close enough, since he already knew her and was very worried for the tiny human, but Lestrade took his time getting to know her. She was new, and he didn't know her yet, and what if she wasn't going to be nice?

"Leah, this is Lestrade," Emile said with a huge smile, closing the door and coming to cuddle them all - Remy included. "He's Mycroft's brother, and I adopted him after Christmas!"

"But you don't celebrate Christmas."

"No I don't, but you do." He booped her nose, making her giggle. "Lestrade is a nice boy. Give him a bit, he'll jump into your lap in no time."

As Leah entertained herself, playing with the bunnies and telling them stories, Remy pulled Emile to the side.

"She ran away from home!"

"I heard that when you asked me to go get the bunnies, Remy."

"She's seven years old! What do I do with a seven-year old runaway? Is it even a thing? A seven-year old runaway?"

Emile kisses Remy's cheek quicker than he could process it happening. "It's going to be fine. Call Linda, let her know that Leah is here—"

"Leah asked me not to tell anyone she's here," Remy sighed, rubbing his face in frustration.

"I understand, but… Linda is still your mom. Leah is still seven years old. She needs to go home, whether you like it or not." When Remy still seemed like he's having trouble processing it, Emile pulled him into a hug. "Do you want me to talk to her about it for you?"

Remy could only say a very weak "yes please" before Emile went back to the couch, to talk to Leah.

He was jittering. He was angry, and scared, and disappointed, and proud, and he felt everything so intensely and was so shocked and confused that he couldn't name it. He barely turned eighteen last July, he didn't even know how to drive yet, and he was absolutely, most definitely, going to be in trouble for this seven-year old child showing up at his door after running away from home.

He wasn't going to call Linda. But he couldn't keep Leah over. And he didn't know shit about raising children, for the period of time he was going to have Leah over, until he figures out what to do. Remy wanted to scream, how much he wanted to. But he couldn't.

So he did the next best thing he could do. He dropped to the floor and started crying.

He was too tired, physically and emotionally, to pick himself back up at that particular moment.