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isnt-it-loverly · 4 years ago

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little birdie (4)// five hargreeves

Warnings: blood

Summary: When Five lands in the Sparrow Academy, he must convince one of them to help him reset the timeline.

Word count: 1800

Author note: sorry if this is bad, ive been in a rut as of late. Once again thank you so much for all the love and support. I hope you enjoy :)

part one, part two, part three part five

You knocked softly on the door of apartment 217. An elderly lady opened the door with a bright smile on her face.

“Hello, my little birdie! It's been so long!” She said while pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. The wool of her sweater scratched against your skin, and the smell of freshly baked cookies and wild flowers filled your nose. She pulled away and placed her gaze on Five.

“Oh, you’ve brought a friend!” She added gleefully.

“Yes, Granny, this is um… Aidan! We met at the karate class my father has me in,” You explained. You hated lying to such a sweet old lady, but you knew the truth would be too much for her to understand. Plus you really didn’t have the time to explain everything.

You turned back to Five and have a shrug of your shoulders. He was right, he didn’t need a normal name. Five was just too fitting. She moved closer to him and grabbed his cheek, making him very uncomfortable.

“You’re father is just terrible for making you kids do that! Look how roughed up the pair of you are, come inside and we’ll get you cleaned up” She said solemnly.

Five walked beside you and grabbed your arm firmly. Pulling you to the side he whispered a quick “what the hell” in your ear.

“She thinks she’s my grandma,” you replied bluntly, “just go along with it.”

Five sighed in exasperation, this was not helping him find his siblings. He followed you into the apartment begrudgingly, trusting that you were not just yanking his chain. The old woman excused herself and said she would bake a fresh batch of cookies. After she left you grabbed his sleeve and whispered, “follow me.”

You lead him into a side bedroom. It was small and quaint, very homey compared to the academy.

“Remember when I said that I’ve lived a million lives? Gertrude was one of my first, I got stuck in her mind for weeks, and I learned a lot about her. Her husband died right before I got trapped in her noggin, so I switched some memories then added some new ones. I’ve been visiting ever since,” You explained.

“Do your siblings know?” He asked, worry dripping in his tone.

“Not to my knowledge, I don’t think they’d appreciate me having a life outside the academy,” you answered with a shrug.

Five was utterly perplexed by you. You were an enigma, so eager to trust others, so kind, and selfless. How did you end up so different from the others? He watched as you opened a drawer of the cedar chest that was in front of the bed.

“Sometimes, I like to take things from the people I’ve been. Just as little reminders. I think I have some clothes in here that might fit you,” you said with extreme focus. You pulled out a tee-shirt and jeans, something Five was not accustomed to. He turned his nose slightly.

“I’d rather choke on my own tongue than wear that,” He groaned.

You shook your head in annoyance, pulling out a set of clean clothes for yourself as well. You enjoyed civilian wear, it made you feel normal and secure- something your academy uniform could never.

“Just put on the damn clothes before I make you short stack,” you snapped back. Your eyes glowed s brighter blue for a moment and Five now knew he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“At least turn your back,” he grumbled in response.

You gave him a small laugh and did as you were told. You crawled to the other side of the bed and slipped on your new clothes as well. After a few minutes, Five gave you the clear.

“Wow, unknit that eyebrow and wipe that frown off your face, and you look almost normal,” You said with a smile.

It was true, he looked like a regular ole teenager. Something you know that he has never been. You give him a look over before your eyes stop at his forearm. An umbrella tattoo, of course, he would have one.

Five noticed you staring, he followed your gaze to his arm. He lifted it so you could see it better, and an ever-present scowl on his face.

“Do you have one?” He asked.

You nodded solemnly and pushed up your sleeve. You placed your arm against his, the bird and the umbrella practically touching. You wondered why your Father loathed them so much and then it was quiet for a moment.

“The houses of Capulet and Montague,” you spoke up in a mocking tone.

“I didn’t ask you to betray your entire family,” He said. His voice was deep and rough, a sense of anger could be detected.

“No, but you really twisted my arm showing me the whole apocalypse thing. I’m an empath idiot, your feelings became mine,” You were quick to snap back.

Five liked that about you. You were nice and helpful, but you also knew when to stand your ground. He could compare you to a coin, two different sides yet well balanced. A perfect equilibrium.

“I’ve helped you,” you murmured, “now I think you owe me.”

He raised an eyebrow at you, curious and intrigued at what you were going to say.

“I’ve only done this once and it didn’t end well. I need you to keep me grounded, do whatever it takes to get me back. My father believes that I can project my consciousness onto someone without looking into their eyes, so I’m going to try to do that to your sister, Allison,” you explained.

“You said it didn’t end well? What happened?” Five asked, very concerned.

“It takes a lot out of me, I couldn’t get into anyone’s mind and it almost killed me,” You confessed.

“I’m sorry, did you say killed?” He responded wide-eyed. It warmed your heart that he was at least concerned about you.

“Look, do you wanna find your family or not? Unless you have a better plan?” You asked with a slight raise of your voice.

Five shook his head, knowing that this was the best plan You sat on the plush bed, curling your fingers around the soft comforter. You took a shaky breath and closed your eyes tightly. Running the fabric between your fingers you counted every stitch. You pictured his sister’s face in your mind, paying extra intention to her eyes. Five watched intently as you did, he was worried about you- you were an important asset and a powerful ally. It would be a shame if you died. Your eyes opened abruptly and to Five’s amazement and horror there was just white and a soft blue emanating from them.

When you opened your eyes again to find yourself sitting at a kitchen table. Looking up you see Allison sitting across from you, intently reading the newspaper. If she was there, then who were you? Looking down and the palms of your hands the words ‘hello’ and ‘good-bye’ were splayed across them.

“Well shit, I’m the pretty one,” You mumbled to yourself. Although you were very glad and very surprised that you had managed to pull this off, you would have to thank your father for the extra training the past few months.

“What are you on about now, Klaus?” Allison said utterly unamused.

“Actually it’s number five. Not your Five, the other five. Sparrow Five. Ya know what I’m rambling, I’m (Y/n),” You spit out quickly. Holy shit this man’s brain was fried. Everything was happening at a million miles an hour, you couldn’t keep up.

You watched as her expression changed, she stood up abruptly in the same fighting stance Five had used earlier. Her eyes watched you like a hawk and if looks could kill you’d be dead.

“Your family killed my brother, now I swear if you harm one hair on Klaus’ stupid head. I’ll end you,” She spat venom dripping in her words.

“He’s not dead! Five is very much alive, and we’re looking for you guys. So all we need is an address and we will be on our way,” You replied with a smile.

“Yeah right, why would I trust you?” She questioned.

“Look, Five is hurt really badly. This astral possession thing is gonna knock me on my ass, I won’t be able to protect him from my siblings. If you don’t help us, well, we’re both already dead,” You said in a somber tone.

You could tell that the gears we’re winding in her head. You felt a pain in your head that radiates in your chest, you coughed slightly and blood appeared on your hands. Shit its starting, you couldn’t stay much longer. You felt blood begin to slowly drip from your nose. Double shit with a cherry on top.

“What are you doing to him?” She yelled.

“Allison,” you choked, “he needs you.”

“Fine, just stop whatever you are doing to him!” She yelled in fear of her brother, Moments later she revealed the address, perfect that’s all you needed. Now you could get back and share your triumph.

You closed your eyes tightly and the world began to spin. Round and round, faster and faster. Until finally, you felt your legs give out but you didn’t hit the floor. You opened your eyes slowly to find yourself in Five’s arms. He was looking down at you, fear present in those emerald eyes. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank God, you started pouring out blood like a fountain. I thought you were dead,” He scolded. He sounded like an old man when he spoke, it was almost endearing.

You touched your nose and wiped away some of the fresh blood, staring at it intently. You felt so weak, that was too much and you vowed never to do that again. The cost was far too high. You sat up and you felt Five’s hand on your back- ready to steady you if you need it. You had really scared him, he didn’t know why. He had just met you, so why did the thought of losing you hurt so badly.

“I did it,” You mumbled hoarsely.

“Did what?” Five whispered in a soft voice. The tone was foreign even to him, but right now he felt like you needed a friend and not a sarcastic asshole.

“I found them, I found your family. They aren’t far from here,” You breathed out.

Five hugged you tightly and gave you a sincere thank you. You hugged back gently, you couldn’t remember the last time someone hugged you. It was a feeling you could get used to, warm, secure, and safe. You also couldn’t remember the last time you felt any of those things. Perhaps these umbrellas weren’t so bad after all.

“Come on,” You said breaking away, “let’s get some of those cookies, hit the road, and get you back to the right timeline.”

Taglist: alexander-hamilhoe

#number five #five x reader #five hargreeves #number five x reader #five hargreeves x reader #number five x you #five x y/n #five #Umbrella Academy #The Umbrella Academy #tua #aidan gallagher

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astralfire-xiv · 3 years ago

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Zero/Interactions

Ally Bios

Match start

“Bios, if I trip over those creepy vines because you can’t keep your creations under control, I’m going to feed you -limb for limb- to that oversized venus fly trap in your lab…”

Commend

“Seems like your disgusting plants are good for something. Well done.”

"Sometimes you scare me a little, Bios."

Chat

Bios: Zero, about that additional lab funding... I had this amazing idea and...

Zero: if it involves walking, talking, flesh eating plants, I want nothing to do with it.

Barrier down

“Let’s bury them, Bios.”

"Make fun of my accent one more time and I'll put a bullet through your head." (Line shared with Ally Chamber)

Enemy Bios

Kill

“Aw, you’re due for an update, Bios.”

“Rest, Freak.”

Last Kill

“There can only be one pretty blonde.”

"Salut he, gebuur." (Bel. NL Bye, neighbor.)

Ally Cypher

Match start

“Oh Cypher, next time I find you rummaging through my stuff, I’ll strap you to a chair. I’ll leave it up to your imagination what happens next.”

Chat

Cypher: “Ah Zero, mind making another puzzle for me?

Zero: “Hm? Oh god, you’re talking about my security, aren’t you?”

Round start

“We’ll lure them right out of their burrows, Cypher.”

Enemy Cypher:

Match Start

“Their Cypher’s petty circus tricks won’t work against a real programmer.”

Kill

“Mole taken care of”

Last Kill

“I’m a business woman, Cypher. I am always one step ahead.

Ally Chamber

Match start

“Regarde qui est là... The craftsman and his gilded masterpiece.”

“Chamber, I trust you have my back out there. You won’t betray me, right?”

Chat

Zero: “Don’t you ever get tired of pretending, dear?”

Chamber: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Chamber: Regina, it’s truly wonderful to see you here. How do you fare, mademoiselle?

Zero: “Always the charmer, you. I’m doing quite well but let’s save the details for later, there’s more important matters at hand.”

Commend

“Breathtaking. Do it again.”

“Perfect as always, Chamber.”

Barrier down

"Seems like you're my partner in crime once more, Chamber."

"Make fun of my accent one more time and I'll put a bullet through your head." (Line shared with Ally Bios)

Enemy Chamber

Match start

“I see you there, Chamber. I’ll have you know you’re the first one on my hit list.”

“Oh Chamber, don’t you dare play coy with me now.”

Kill:

“Aw, sorry gorgeous.”

“Not so perfect now.”

Last kill

*tuts* “C’est dommage, monsieur Fabron…" (FR It’s a shame, Mr Fabron)

“Never trust a man that’s too good to be true.”

Ally Jett

Match start

“Jett, I admire your skills with the knife. Yes, your dueling skills are impeccable but I was actually referring to how quick and precise you cut those greens last night.”

Chat

Zero: “Jett, have you ever considered becoming a chef?”

Jett: “Man, I would have loved that but I think I like being with Valorant more.”

Commend

“I’m very impressed, Jett. You keep delivering.”

Enemy Jett

Kill

A flightless bird should be put down.

Last kill

Goodbye, little sparrow.

Ally Killjoy

Chat

Killjoy: “Zero, the module you made for the control room is outstanding! Would you mind discussing some improvements after the mission?”

Zero: Thank you for the offer but I don’t need your help. It��s perfect the way I designed it.

Round start

“Let’s round them up and take them out, Killjoy.”

Commend

“Well done, Killjoy. Don’t let it go to your head, though.”

Enemy Killjoy

Match start

“Genius of Germany? Hah, what a joke.”

Round start

“I’ll fry their Killjoy’s toys with a single snap of my fingers.”

Kill:

“Your head is too big for your body.”

Last kill

“From one genius to another. How does it feel to lose?”

Ally Kay/O

Match start

"Kay/O, is your name just a pun on Knocked Out or is there a deeper meaning to your it? Just... curious."

Chat

Kay/O: I rejected your proposal, Zero. The software I’m running on is fail proof, no need for updates.

Zero: We’ll see about that. If you’re as advanced as you claim, I will figure out your secrets eventually.

Enemy Kay/O

Kill

“You should have considered my firmware update.”

“Shame on your creators, Radiant Hunter!”

Last Kill:

“Your death makes you just another failure from the past.”

Ally Phoenix:

Match start

“Let’s ignite their fuses, Phoenix.”

Enemy Phoenix:

Kill

“You call that a firewall, boy?”

Last Kill

“Wasted potential.”

Ally Reyna

Chat

Zero: Reyna, you’re a fool to deny the technological advances of mankind in favour of radiance.

Reyna: I like you, Zero. Don’t give me a reason to dislike you.

Enemy Reyna

Match Start

“I’ll come for your crown, Empress.”

Kill

“Your reign is over, radiant queen.”

Last Kill

“Your power is impressive but unfortunately, you don’t use your brain.”

Enemy Yoru

Kill

“Sweet dreams, troublemaker.”

Last Kill

“You’re actually pretty cute when you keep your mouth shut.”

Enemy Zero

Kill

“Perhaps it’s better this way.”

“Even in death, you’re all alone. I pity you.”

“Game over, player 2”

Last Kill

“Rest well, friend.”

“Why did it have to end this way?”

“I stopped believing in you the moment I felt like I had to kill you.”

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ehud1564 · 4 years ago

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Ireprible damage part 5

part 1: here part 2: here part 3: here part 4: here

part 5: Conclusion:

“ I didn’t want to stop the freanch American ceremony from happening! If I have to lose my freedom for everyone else to have their’s than fine, put me in jail” says the villain with a brand new form. One by one, all the heroes arrived at the scene, at the trap planted by the super villain. And one by the Heroes were “Liberated”. Majestia was liberated from her fear and sadness, Knight Owl was freed from his Morals, and went to arrest easier criminals. And so on and so on and so on.

“What is going to happen? How will the situation be fixed?” asks rose, panicking. “I don’t think it can be fixed” said Nino. “Even if by some miracle, the heroes will be defeated, it will not bring the dead back to life.” added Alya. “Too bad they don’t have Ladybug in here.” said Kim. “If it weren’t for Ladybug, We will have a similar amount of victims daily”.

And than the Television switched to show Hawk Moth. “Ladybug, Chat Noir I am in New York. If you don’t want the party to be ruined, your only option is to hand your miraculous over to me.”

“Hawk moth is here?” Asked Iven bewirlded. “Aperrently so” said Mrs. Mandalave, wondering why couldn’t she have a more peacful trip and questionin whether coming here was a good idea.

Jess went outside, to hide and be alone. “OK! I am completly alone against super heroes much stronger me, without my weapons, and the only thing I do have for me is that freanch girl!! No presure!!!!!” she said completly freaking out.

“OK! Calm down! Calm down!!” she said focusing. She transformed into Sparrow and went in the direction of where the fight ended, using the shadows to not be seen. She found the manhole cover close to the building. With a smirk, she said “Found you!”

Marinette has started to calm down. She still has a headache, and she is still afraid, but she feels a little better. Now she is sitting and meditating, a thing she was taught by Fu before he lost his memory.

“Ladybug” she hears from the direction of where she came from. “Spots on” she say with determination running away. “Wait!! I need your help!!” Sparrow says, staisfied seeing Ladybug had stopped. “Hawk Moth is in New York, and it seems he akumatized the Techno Pirate!!! his powers made the heroes destroy the city!! We are the only herores left that can stop him!!”. “Hawk Moth is here? What did he to do here?” Questioned Ladybug. “I don’t know, but we must defeat and clean the damage!” answered Sparrow. “Well if we will be able to do that, we will bring you sister back to life, as all the damage done by the villain will be erased.” Said Ladybug ready to spring to action. “That’s a relief” replied Sparrow, with a sigh.

Both of them came out of the sewers and went to hide on the earth, where they had a visual of the heroes.

Ladybug: “We need to think where the Akuma is. It’s probably in his handcups! He already wore tham when he attacked at the museum!”

Sparrow: “He is also wearing the necklace from the museum! The one Lahfayete gave to Washington!”

Ladybug: “It’s probably a miraculous! That will explain his sudden power boost! We need to get it and we will be able to return the heroes to normal!”

Sparrow: “But how will we get pass the heroes? We don’t even where he is.”

Ladybug Yoyo got a notification on it, and it showed a rocket rising from the water. You could hear Hawk Moth in it saying “Ladybug and Cat Noir! If the rocket were to take off because of you a world war will be declared! Unless you give me your miraculous of cours1 you have seven minutes~!” and than it showed the villain on the statue of liberty.

Ladybug: Well now we know where he is. How will we get there on time?

Sparrow: If the heroes notice us we will be fried! Can you somehow teleport?

“Let’s see” Ladybug said, pulling out glasses from her Yoyo. “Can you help us get there?’ she asked the Kwami. “No, I am exauhsted” he answered. “We need another way than. Who else can teleport?” She asked Sparrow, checking the design of the statue for any week spots.

Sparrow: “Doorman!”

Ladybug: “Now we just need to find a way to convience him to help us! Any ideas?”

Sparrow: “No. How about you?”

“Let’s try! Lucky Charm!” Ladybug said, throwing her Yoyo in the air, and catching a red liberty statue key chain. “Doorman love keys, we can use them to tempt him!” Sparrow said trying to rush things. “But how will we covince him to go there?” said Ladybug with a frown. “He always wanted to see the safe inside the statue!” Sparrow said happily already tasting victory. “Let’s find a door than!”

“Sorry miss. We need to use your phone and you house door! Do you have a pretty box?” Ladybug asked the women they broke into her house? “On it” replied the women bringing a shoe box. “Thanks! Now hide” Ladybug replied taking a picture of the closed box with the ift in it, sending it from the women’s phone with “Hi! I saw you were going on a tour so I made you a gift! come get it in *appartment*”. Ladybug and Sparrow hid so they would be out of sight.

Doorman apeared, and opened the box. “I know you really liked keys, so here is a key chain as a gift for you!” he red from the note on it. “Why thank you! Wait…. the stuate, that’s where I should have started! Of course!”

Doorman closed the door and reopened it, and Ladybug and Sparrow followed, hiding so he won’t see them. “Here it is! the key for the safe hidden in the statue!” They quickly followed him as he made another door, letting him see what’s inside as they quickly climbed up. An alarm started ringing. “We ony have twenty seconds left!” Ladybug said, accelerating her pace.

She opened the door, quickly taking the necklace and throwing it over to Sparrow, “Transform and fix the heroes, I will distract him!” Sparrow wore the necklace and the Kwami apeared “Hello fledgling, all you have to say is Leere, Wings of liberty!”. “Lerre wings of liberty” Sparrow transformed (without turning into Jess, so not revealing she isn’t the original Sparrow) and contiued saying “Cool down”, bringing the heroes back to normal.

Meanwhile Ladybug managed to catch the remote and keep Techno Pirate from lauhnching the missle. “Where is Chat Noir?” he asked. “Never coming back!” she replies fiercly while launching her yoyo at his head. He lanched her claws at him and she caught two of them with her yoyo. Sparrow came from behind them, using his weapon to tie him up, and Knight Owl cut his handcups.

“No more evil doing for you little akuma! Time to devilise! Bye bye little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!!” and thus the damage is repared. Uncanny Valey was repared and reunited with her Mother in a very emotional reunion. “Well. I think I have misjuged you Ladybug. You are a good hero.” said Knight Owl. “And you too Sparrow. You have proved that you are ready to streach your wings as well. I am proud of you” he said as he hugged him. “Thanks sir!”

Sparrow tried to take of her necklace but was stopped by Ladybug. “Or… maybe you can come and help me in Paris? We worked really well together, and I need some help in Paris. So what do you say?” Ladybug asked hopefully. “No bad feelings if you don’t of course.” she added.

“What about New York? I can’t just leave. Plus I can’t speak freanch. Sorry Ladyug.” Sparrow said a little upset. “That’s OK. I will figure it out. Can I have the necklaece than?” Ladybug asked, disappointed. And Sparrrow gave it back. “Well, goodbye than.” Ladybug said, as she went away and transformed back.

Marinette went back to where all their friends are, to be abseloutly crushed by a group hug. “Marinette you are alive!!! I am so sorry!! I should have never done that to you!!!! I understand you want to move on from Adrien, and I promise I will help you. I shouldn’t have done that!!!!!” Alya said crying. “Oh it’s OK Alya. Thank you!!”

“We are doing a video for Adrien as a suprise. Do you want to help us?” Alya asked. “Nah” Marinette answered. “I rathar not.”

Bonus:

Later:

“Let’s try it than” Marinette said, wearing the necklace. “Leere, Wings of liberty!” Marinette transformed. She used her power on Tikki “Tikki, you are enslaved to the miraculous, forced to follow all of the holders orders and transform when said. I free you from that enslavement!”

“Did it work?” Marinette asked. “Let’s try” answered Tikki.

Marinette: “Tikki, I order you to bring me that cookie!”.

Tikki:“No”

Marinette:“Great it worked!!!”

Marinette detransformed, “Let’s try Transforming than. Resist it.”. “Tikki spots on!!” She said, but she didn’t transform. “It works!!! Great!! Now we could liberate all the Kwamies and no one will ever be able to use them for evil. And of course, you aren’t forced to obey me.”

The End. Probably.

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fanaticfangirl001 · 4 years ago

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Like Real People Do Ch 4: Gadget

Author's note: Gadget is a character from The Disney Rescue Rangers show,Rocky Graziano is a boxer from the 40s, from Brooklyn. And in the United States there currently is no such thing as a conditional pardon, so I headcanon that it was specifically made for Bucky and other super powered individuals

Taglist: @p3nny4urth0ught5, @kissofvenom922

(I really thought that this wouldn't fit, I guess they fixed the word limit)

“Buck. Are you watching this?” Winnie asks looking away from the television

“I am.” Bucky says shortly.

“You okay?” Winnie asks as the interview with Good Morning America begins.

“No.” Bucky answers flatly.

“I found out where the Flag smashers are.” Winnie changes the subject.

“Good” Bucky answers, his eyes not looking away from his television screen.

“So did Sam.” Winnie adds.

“I’m not calling him.” Bucky thinks about throwing something,anything at the tv but stops himself.

“You don’t have to. I leave Fri-tomorrow to check it out.” Winnie informs him.

“You can’t go alone.” Bucky shakes his head even if she can’t see him through the phone.

“I’m not alone.” Winnie packs her bag.

“If you’re right and these are super soldiers, you and Sam won’t be enough to take them.” Bucky insists.

“Then grab your oil can and let’s go.” Winnie laughs.

“We need a plan,”Bucky says.

“What we do have is a plane, a former avenger, a man with a vibranium arm, that’s you, and a stunning tech whiz, that’s me.” Winnie says.

“That will have to be enough, I guess.” Bucky sighs.

“ Meet me at the bus station, four in the morning tomorrow.”Winnie hangs up.

Winnie and Bucky stand at the lower part of the military complex.

“Your guy better be here.” Bucky says.

“He is.”Winnie points up towards Joaquin and Sam.

Bucky sighs.

“Shouldn’t have given up the shield.” Bucky walks over.

Winnie follows and holds him by the shoulder. “Easy Buck.”

“Good to see you too, Buck.” Sam scoffs.

“This is wrong.” Bucky starts.

“Hey hey, look, I’m working, all right. So all this is gonna have to wait.” Sam stops him.

“You didn’t know that was gonna happen.” Bucky asks.

“It was pretty obvious.” Winnie interjects.

“Who are you?”- Sam looks at Winnie.

“I’m Winnie, Ex- shield and a hacker friend of Buck’s.” Winnie answers.

“Anyway, no of course I didn’t know that was gonna happen.” Sam adds. “ You think it didn’t break my heart to see them march him out there, and call him the new Captain America.”

“Steve didn’t want this.” Bucky says bluntly.

“Oh my god. What do you want me to do? Call America and tell them I changed my mind. Huh.”Sam replies.

“You had no right to give up the shield.” Bucky says sternly.

“Buck.” Winnie warns.

“Hey, this is what you're not gonna do. You’re not gonna come here in your overextended life and tell me about my rights. It’s over, Bucky. Besides I have bigger things to deal with now.” - Sam walks away with Bucky and Winnie following.

“The Flagsmashers, we know.”- Winnie explains.

“How do you know?” Sam asks.

“I hacked Joaquin’s phone and your drone, Green Sparrow.” Winnie says.

“Red Wing.” Sam corrects.

“Green, red it’s the same to me.” Winnie shrugs.

“I don’t trust red wing.” - Bucky adds.

“You don’t have to trust Redwing, But I’m gonna go see if he’s right. Cause I have a feeling they might be part of the Big Three.” Sam puts on his goggles.

“Big three?”Bucky asks.

“Androids, Aliens, and Wizards.” -Sam replies.

“That’s not a thing.” Bucky says definitively.

“That’s definitely a thing.” Sam argues.

“No.” Bucky argues back.

“Everytime we fight, it’s one of the three.” Sam readies his wings.

“Who are you fighting now, Gandalf?” Bucky scoffs.

“How do you know about Gandalf?”- Sam questions confused.

“I read the Hobbit in 1937 when it first came out.” Bucky says.

“Old man flex but okay.” Winnie adds.

“So you see my point.”

“No I don’t. There are no wizards.”

“Doctor Strange.”

“Is a sorcerer.”

“A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat.”

“You know I thought he was missing something.” Winnie interjects.

“But these guys aren’t magical, they use brute force just like you, the incredibly annoying guy with the staring problem.”

“I’m coming with you.” Bucky insists walking towards the plane.

“Me too.”- Winnie follows

“No you’re not.” Sam follows the two of them to the plane.

Winnie taps her rocket boots making sure they are ready for the big jump.

“So you made those?” Joaquin asks.

“Yeah, a couple of other things too. These coveralls, completely bulletproof, the kevlar long sleeve under shirt also helps. Steel whip, taser bombs, black out bombs, dagger boomerangs.” Winnie tries not to brag.

“And Shield never used any of it.” Joaquin asks, confused.

“Yeah, that’s how the cookie crumbled.” Winnie trails off

Bucky is glaring at Joaquin. He has no reason to dislike the guy, just he’s too friendly with Winnie.

“One minute to drop off, Sam.” Joaquin reminds.

Sam and Bucky are now staring at each other.

Winnie sitting beside Bucky.

“So what’s our plan?” Bucky asks.

Sam ignores him.

“Great no plan.” Bucky says to himself.

“Yeah we’re winging it.” - Winnie nudges Sam to receive no reaction.

“ Thirty seconds.” Joaquin warns.

“Enjoy your ride, Buck.” Sam says.

“No, you can’t call me that.”

“Why not? That’s what Steve called you.” Sam reasons.

“Steve knew me longer and Steve had a plan.” - Bucky adds.

“Fifteen seconds to drop.” Joaquin comes back again.

“I have a plan.”- Sam readies himself to jump.

“Really. What is it?” Bucky asks.

Sam jumps out of the plane.

“Nice plan.” Winnie adds getting herself together to jump.

“Great, where’s the chute?”- Bucky asks Joaquin.

“We’re at 200 feet. It’s too low for a chute.” - Joaquin answers looking out of the plane.

“I don’t need it anyway.” Bucky shrugs and jumps.

“Bye Joaquin.” Winnie yells before jumping out with her rocket boots.

Winnie glides through the air gracefully landing on her feet beside Bucky who fell and screamed.

Redwing hums beside Bucky.

“You alright, Buck.” Winnie taps her boots back to normal.

“Yeah.” Bucky lays on the ground.

“I have all that on camera, you know that right.” Sam's voice comes from Redwing.

“Get out of my face, Sam, or I’ll break it.” Bucky growls.

“So Sam, about Red Wing…” Winnie starts.

“No.” Sam cuts her off.

“You don’t even know what I was going to ask.” Winnie

“Bucky keep Gadget over there away from Red Wing.” Sam says.

“Fine.” Winnie huffs.

“Head north you two, come on.” Sam is outside the warehouse.

Bucky and Winnie run up to the warehouse.

Red Wing flies above Bucky

“Oh-ho-ho. Don’t hurt him.”Sam laughs at Bucky swatting at the drone.

“I think he’s cool.” Winnie shrugs.

“You’re doing the staring thing again.They’re in there”- Sam reminds Bucky.

“Where’s the guy?” - Bucky peaks over.

“I don’t know.” Sam watches.

“There has to be more of them.”Winnie gets a look for herself.

“I think they’re smuggling weapons though.” Sam gestures towards the crates.

“But if they are super soldiers, then why do they need to smuggle weapons. They’re the weapon.” Winnie interjects.

“I think Sam could be right. Only one way to find out.” Bucky adds.

“Hold up.” Winnie grabs him.

“I see a clear path. I say we take it.” Bucky tells the two.

“We’re not assassins.” Sam stops Bucky.

“I’ll see you inside or not.” Bucky pushes him off.

“Hey come on man, I’m just messing with you. Come back.” Sam whispers.

Winnie follows Bucky stealthily.

“Look at him all stealthy.” Sam laughs. “ A little time in Wakanda and you come out White Panther.”

“It’s actually White Wolf.” Bucky corrects.

“Huh?”

“Not to interrupt the banter, but we have something kind of important over there.” Winnie interrupts.

“We’re inside. Therefore, way ahead of you. Not great but doable.” Bucky says to Sam.

Sam stealthily and quickly is beside the two.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“No, wait.” Sam grabs him

“I got a vibranium arm. I can take them.”

“And I can fly. Who gives a shit? Wait.” Sam watches the guys.

“Sam’s right, like I said earlier there has to be more.” Winnie adds.

“I want to see where they're going.”Sam and Winnie watch the guys grab crates and load them into a truck.

“There’s two people.” Bucky says.

“You only see two.”

“That’s what I saw.” Bucky replies.

“Let's see what Red Wing sees.” Sam taps on his arm controller.

“All right.”Bucky sighs.

“You two bicker like an old married couple.” Winnie scoffs.

“How many people do you see now? One two...Oh here it comes again.” Sam shows the two of them.

“Four five” Bucky counts.

“Yeah five yeah.” Sam says.

“So they’re strong. Whatever.” Bucky scoffs.

“Too strong…” Winnie adds “ I was right.”

“All right let’s go.” Bucky

“Wait.” Sam

A small oil can clatters when it hits the ground.

“Shit.” The three hide behind the shelves.

“There’s an eighth person. I think they have a hostage.” Sam sees through Redwing.

Bucky runs, Sam flies with his wings. Winnie taps her boots and goes to rocket boots. She’s in the air with Sam. The wind flies through her hair. She instantly feels like her old self again, the Shield badass inventor and agent.

Bucky is in the truck with the hostage. He opens the truck and climbs in.

“Hi” - Bucky says to a small looking girl.

“Bucky, talk to me. What’s going on?” Sam asks.

“You okay.” Winnie’s voice through Red Wing.

“Found the hostage.”- Bucky says to Sam then turns towards the girl“ You okay?”

Girl smiles and kicks Bucky out of the truck, against the next truck.

“Shit” Bucky groans.

The girl puts on the mask. Bucky is grabbed by the masked people and taken to the top of the truck. Red Wing shows up to fight and is grabbed by the girl and broken.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,”Bucky says while being captured.

Sam lands on the truck and kicks the girl.

“Glad of you to join the fight Sam.” Bucky is being held by two guys.

Winnie drops onto the truck and grabs a guy by the arm with her whip, she’s nearly thrown off the truck with her own whip until she flies around with it and kicks the guy From above two new people join the fight and the shield is involved. A helicopter delivers another guy kicking people off the truck.

“Sam. John Walker, Captain America” The new man introduces himself.

“Lemar Hoskins.” The man beside him introduces.

“Looks like you guys could use some help.” John adds.

“A little less talking, more punching.” Winnie yells as she’s thrown off the truck.

She grabs the other truck with the side of her whip and throws herself into the grass.

Bucky is hanging upside down onto the bottom half of the truck.

“That little girl kicked your ass.” Sam reminds.

“Ahh!” Bucky yells as he tries to slow down the trucks with his arm.

Sam weaves through the wheels of the truck and tackles Bucky onto the grass, both of them rolling into a field of wildflowers.

Winnie is there wearing a flower crown cleaning herself off with a medicated wipe.

“Could have used that shield.” Bucky adds.

“Get off of me.” Sam pushes Bucky off of him.

“Oh uh Sam…” Winnie starts.

“I don’t want to hear it.” Sam interrupts.

“Okay.” Winnie grabs her book bag and reattaches it to her coveralls.

“Those were all Super Soldiers, Sam.”

“I know.” Sam nods. “You’re welcome by the way.”

“I think we did pretty good.” Winnie says “ All things considered. No one died.”

The three of them walk along the small stretch of backwoods.

“Sorry about Red Wing.” Bucky breaks the silence.

“No you’re not.” Sam deflects.

“About Red Wing I..” Winnie trails off.

“I know you wanted to mess with him.The answer is still no.” Sam

“I grabbed what was left of him. No man left behind.” Winnie taps her backpack.

“Thanks.” Sam says to Winnie,then turns to Bucky “What’s going on in that big cyborg brain of yours?”

“It’s computing.” Bucky replies sarcastically.

“I can actually see it. I can see the gears turning.Oh they’re malfunctioning, shutting down, Yep, they’re on fire.” Sam goes along with it.

“We gotta figure out where the serum is coming from.” Bucky says finally.

“And how in the hell after 80 years are there eight Super Soldiers runnin’ loose?Sam adds.

“They are not very selective in who they give the serum to.” Winnie adds “ I mean the red head looks like a kid.”

The car pulls up and honks beside them.

“So that didn’t go as planned, huh?” John Walker smiles at them.

The trio ignore him.

“Look at least we know what we're up against.” John Walker says “ And we’re pretty sure it’s one of the big three.”

“Aliens, Androids, or wizards.”

“Pretty sure.”

“There’s no such thing as wizards.” Bucky says firmly.

“Then it’s aliens, or androids.” John Walker

“Or Super Soldiers.” Sam adds.

“Shit. Super Soldiers,for real.” Lemar asks.

“Yeah.” The trio nod.

“Then we gotta work together.”

“That’s not happening.” Bucky shakes his head.

“I think we stand a much better chance if we all just..” John insists.

“Just cause you carry that shield, it doesn’t mean you’re Captain America.” Bucky blurts out.

“Look I’ve done the work.” Walker insists.

“No you haven’t.” Winnie argues.

“Who are you?” Walker looks at Winnie up and down.

“Winnie, ex-shield operative. I keep a low profile but you haven’t. Being paraded on television, kissing senator’s hands and shaking babies,” Winnie mocks.

“You ever jump on top of a grenade?” Bucky asks.

“Yeah actually I have. Four times. It’s this thing I do with my helmet.Anyway it’s twenty miles to the airport, do you guys want a ride. Guys, Gary stop, get in.” John Walker says.

The trio looks at each other and gets in the car.

“Okay so eight super soldiers on a bulk supply run.” John starts trying to theorize.

“They say they're trying to get things like they were during the Blip. Maybe they’re trying to help.” Sam answers.

“Funny way of showing it.” Bucky adds.

“That serum doesn’t have the best track record. No offense. “John says.

“Buck’s problem wasn’t the serum.” Winnie interjects.

“Winnie, he didn’t mean.”Bucky puts a hand on her shoulder.

“You got a good woman by your side.” John nods.

“We’re not.” Winnie adds.

“Oh.” John trails off.

“We need to figure out where they’re going, How did you track them here?” Sam asks Lemar.

“We didn’t track them. We tracked you, uh through Red Wing.” Lemar answers.

“You hacked my tech?” Sam adds.

“It’s not exactly hacking. It’s government property. Kind of the government.” John.

“More like you’re government property.” Winnie rolls her eyes.

“I’m not. Anyway does he always stare like that?” John asks about Bucky’s staring.

“You get used to it.” Sam shrugs.

“You know things have gotten kind of uh” John trails off.

“Chaotic.” Lemar finishes.

“Yeah the GRC is doing the best they can to get things up and running smoothly, post Blip.” John Walker explains.

“Reactivating citizenship, social security, health care. Managing resources for refugees who were displaced by the return.” Lemar adds.

“The Global Repatriation Council does that. I get that. So why exactly are you two here.” Sam

“Intimidation, Occupation, Why send a whole army when you can get by with two.” Winnie answers darkly.

“No, They provide the resources, we keep things stable.” Lemar answers.

“Violent revolutionaries aren’t good for anyone’s cause.” John adds.

“Usually said by people with all the resources.”Sam argues.

“We got a lot of resources. If you guys joined up with us, we could..” John insists on a team up.

“No.” Bucky adds bluntly.

“I got mad respect for y’all but you were getting your asses kicked till we showed up.” Lemar adds.

“You know they fought a genocidal alien right?” Winnie asks. “He was purple, snapped everyone away.”

“Who are you?” Bucky asks, shifting his gaze to Lamar.

“Lemar Hoskins.” Lamar says.

“Look I see a guy hanging out of a helicopter in tactical gear, I need a lot more than Lemar Hoskin.” Sam scoffs.

“I’m Battlestar, John’s partner.” Lemar adds.

“Battlestar, Stop the Car!” Bucky calls out.

“Look I get it.” John starts.

Bucky gets out of the car shaking his head.

“And I’m not trying to be Steve.I’m not trying to replace Steve.I’m just trying to be the best Captain America I can be.” John adds to Sam and Winnie.

“One thing, don’t call him Bucky, you haven’t earned it. For you it’s James. Two, the three of us know what we’re doing. There’s a lot out there John, that you’ve never seen.” Winnie says harshly.

“I think I know what I’m doing. And It’d be a whole lot easier if I had Cap’s wingmen on my side.” John adds.

Sam scoffs leaving the car,“ It’s always that last line.”

“This is my que.” Winnie announces and starts to climb off.

“You know, Winnie, I could get you a nice desk job, with the CIA if you walk away from them.” John informs.

“John, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I don’t trust the government.” Winnie laughs.

“Why not?” John leans on the shield.

“A lot of reasons, but right now you’re one of them.” Winnie deflects.

“I’m a good old boy from Georgia.” John explains.

“And I’m from Brooklyn, but you know what, you’re right. I should be a little more welcoming.” Winnie has an idea about how she’s going to get that blood sample.

“You could start with a smile.” John suggests.

“Give you a nice warm Brooklyn welcome.” Winnie leans on the car as she grins at him.

“That’s better.” John smiles back at her.

Winnie slugs John straight to the nose.

Lemar pulls John away from the edge of the car. “Go Gary Go!”

Winnie turns back to see Sam smirking with his arm crossed and Bucky is staring at her.

She puts the ring in a small plastic bag.

“You throw a good punch, Gadget.” Sam

“Thanks.” Winnie adds “ We should get to walking.”

“Bucky, are you coming?” Sam asks.

“Yeah.” Bucky walks on the right side of Winnie with Sam on her left.

“I’d do it again.” Winnie puts her fists up.

“Easy, Graziano.” Bucky pats her shoulder.

“I can do this all day.” Winnie starts shadow boxing as they’re walking.

Sam’s laughing at her bob and weaving.

Bucky stares at Winnie and thinks, Man Steve would’ve liked her a lot. He’d probably help her punch John even though she didn’t need any help. He wouldn’t understand the constant technology but would love to see her sketchbook. They’d probably draw together.

The three are picked up at the airfield. Bucky sits in the middle and Sam off to the side laying down. Winnie sits on the other side of Bucky.

“You alright?” Sam asks.

Bucky nods.

“ So any ideas on where to go now?” Winnie asks.

“Let’s take the shield, Sam. Let’s take the shield and do this ourselves.” -Bucky says gruffly.

“I like that idea.” Winnie adds.

“We can’t just run up on the man, beat him up, and take it.” Sam shakes his head.

“I mean you could.It’s doable.” Winnie nods.

“Do you remember the last time we stole it?” Sam asks.

“Maybe.” - Bucky says.

“I’ll help you in case you forgot. Sharon was branded an enemy of the State, and Steve and I were on the run for two years. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to live the rest of my life la vida loca” Sam reminds.

Winnie looks off when Sam mentions Sharon.

“We just got our asses handed to us by super soldiers and we got nothing.” Sam continues.

“Not entirely true. There is someone you should meet.” Bucky says.

When the plane lands in Maryland Bucky looks over towards Winnie.

“You okay?” Bucky

“Yeah.” Winnie says.

“So who’s this guy, you want me to meet.” Sam asks.

“You’ll see.” Bucky

The plane lands near Baltimore, Maryland.

Two kids playing as Bucky, Sam, and Winnie pass them.

“Hey it’s Black Falcon. What up?” The first kid says.

“Just Falcon, kid.” Sam corrects.

“No, my daddy told me it’s Black Falcon.” - The first kid argues.

“Is it because I’m black and I’m the Falcon.” Sam continues.

“Bucky, are you sure this is a good idea?” Winnie asks Bucky as Sam is busy with the kids.

“Yes.” Bucky nods.

“It’s just the shield file says…” Winnie trails off.

“You don’t have to go in.” Bucky reminds.

“Great, I’ll call Joaquin, I have a favor to ask him.” Winnie thinks back to her punching John and her ring.

“Well technically I mean yes.” The first kid says to Sam.

“So are you like black kid?” Sam asks laughing.

The first kid sighs.

“I got him, right.” Sam laughs.

Bucky and Sam knock on the door. Winnie is standing on the driveway near the road.

Winnie sees the two not getting in at first and starts to call Joaquin.

“Pick up..” She says softly.

“Hey, Winnie the pooh.” Joaquin answers.

“Can I get a different nickname?”- Winnie asks.

“Breech, or Rocky.” - Joaquin answers.

“Oh so you heard about me punching John.”Winnie sighs.

“Yeah, not a lot of people are happy with that, but it’s okay by me.” Joaquin says simply.

“Why?”

“You were defending Bucky, or at least that’s what John told everyone.”

“He what?”

“ He said that you were defending your boyfriend’s honor, which now that I think about it makes sense, he was glaring at me all throughout the drop off.”

“Buck isn’t my boyfriend.”

“You call him Buck.”

“Yeah, if I were to date someone, I’d call them something more affectionate than Buck.”

“Anyway, what did you need?”

“I don’t trust John.”

“Obviously.”

“Those tests from MIT were off the charts. There has to be something wrong with him.”

“I’d need blood to run some tests on.”

“Is dried okay?”

“Yeah, so that’s actually why you punched him. To collect a sample.”

“That and he has a very punchable face.”

“Where are you right now?”

“Uh Baltimore,why?”

“How good are you at scrambling a police car's computer.”

“I’ve done it a couple times, why?” Winnie

“There’s a warrant out for Bucky.”

“What did he do?”

“It’s more about what he didn’t do.”

“Therapy.” Winnie sighs.

“Yeah, part of his pardon.”

“Conditional pardons aren’t even part of the Federal process, that was something made up just for Bucky.”

“Yeah, it’s bull shit, just stay out of trouble, Rocky.”

“I’ll try.” Winnie hangs up.

Sam and Bucky are quickly out of the house and arguing.

“Sam” Bucky says

“Why didn’t you tell me about Isaiah? How could nobody bring him up?”Sam asks, getting louder.

“I see this went well.” Winnie follows the two out, closing the gate behind them.

“I asked you a question, Bucky.”Sam continues.

“I know.” Bucky ignores the first question.

“Steve didn’t know about him.” Sam asks.

“He didn’t. I didn’t tell him.”Bucky answers.

“Most of Shield never knew, either. Coverup stories run deep.” Winnie adds.

“So you’re telling me that there was a black Super Soldier decades ago and nobody knew about it!” Sam says loudly.

People are starting to watch. Sirens pull up to the three.

“Hey!” An Officer yells getting out of his car.

“What’s up?” Sam asks.

“Is there a problem here?- Officer asks.

“No we’re just talking.” -Sam answers.

“We’re fine.” - Bucky answers.

“Young lady, are you okay?” Officer asks Winnie.

“Yeah, I’m good. You can go back to the Wee Woo Wagon.” Winnie pulls out her phone to record this.

“Can I see your ID?” Officier asks Sam

“I don’t have an ID, why?”

“Do you have a reason to be asking?” Winnie asks.

“Okay sir just calm down.”

“I am calm. What do you want? We’re just talking.”

“Just give him your ID.” Bucky says.

“James, stop talking.” Winnie warns.

“No I’m not giving him shit. We’re just talking.”

“Is he bothering you?” Officer asks Bucky again.

“Do you know who he is?” Bucky gestures towards Sam.

Second officer comes up and whispers “Hey these guys are Avengers.”

“Oh god I’m so sorry Mr.Wilson. I didn’t recognize you without the goggles.wait here” The Officer goes back to his car.

“I didn’t tell anyone because he had already been through enough.” Bucky says softly to Sam.

“Mr.Barnes.” The officer comes back. “There’s a warrant out of your arrest.”

“Shit.” Winnie starts typing on her phone to mess with the computer’s in the police cars.

“The president pardoned him for all that.” Sam defends Bucky.

“Not for that. You missed your court-mandated therapy.It’s like missing a check in with you PO. Sorry Mr. Barnes, you’re under arrest.” He handcuffs Bucky and walks him to the police car.

Bucky is put into the back of the police car, he can see the computer malfunctioning and can’t help but to smile a little. It starts to short circuit.

“So let’s go to jail.” Winnie starts walking.

“Wait, did you know?” Sam follows her.

“Know about Isiah, yes but I wasn’t supposed to. I wrote to him, and asked if I could help him” Winnie explains then stops.

“And.” Sam

“He asked me to leave him alone. So I did.” Winnie ends the story.

“Not Isiah, did you know about Sharon?” Sam asks as the two walk out of the neighborhood.

“Uh no.” Winnie answers shortly.

“Were you two close?” Sam asks.

“Yeah.” Winnie nods.

“Do you have her number?”

“No, I deleted it a few days ago.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” Winnie then asks “Do you have any money to bail Buck out.”

“No, what about you?” Sam turns his pockets out.

“Fifty bucks and a coupon for frozen yogurt.” Winnie shakes her head “Not even enough for a good bribe.”

“What did you talk to Joaquin about?”

“I don’t trust John.”

“Same here.”

“I asked Joaquin if he could test John’s blood for anything irregular.”

“You think he has some serum in him.”

“Well not enough to make a difference, we got our asses kicked.”

The conversation stops.

“For real though, what’s up with you and Bucky?” Sam breaks the silence.

“Coworkers, I guess. I did intel so he could make his amends. He texts me so I guess we're friends.” Winnie shrugs.

“He lets you call him Buck.” Sam reminds.

“Yeah.” Winnie shrugs again.

“That’s pretty big.”

“Is it?” Winnie asks.

“Yeah that was Steve’s thing.”

“What happened to Steve, he never told me.” Winnie asks.

“ The truth or what we tell civilians.”

“The truth.” Winnie clairfies.

“He went back in time, and created a different reality for himself.”

“He abandoned Buck.”

“I’m sure he had his reasons.”

“I’m not so sure I would have liked Steve, if he can just abandon his friends.”

Sam and Winnie make it to the jail and are waiting in a large room with couches and an old coffee maker.

“I’ve heard a lot about you Sam. I’m Dr. Raynor, Bucky’s therapist.” Dr. Raynor shakes Sam’s hand.

Winnie looks up at the women speaking.

“You must be W, nice to meet you.” She adds.

“Thank you for getting him out.” Sam shakes her hand.

“That wasn’t me.” Dr. Raynor says.

“Christina!” John Walker calls out walking down the hallway.

“You gotta be kidding me. You know him.”

“Yeah, we did some field ops back in the day.”

“I heard you were working with Bucky, so I thought I’d step in. Bucky’s not going to be following a strict schedule any longer.”

“We haven’t finished our work. Who authorized this?” - Dr. Raynor asks.

“Um.” John gestures towards himself.

Winnie stays seated near Sam ignoring John, with the small bandage over his nose.

“He’s too valuable an assent to have tied up. Just do whatever you got to do with him, then send him off to me. Got some unfinished business me and him, you too, Wilson. I’ll be outside.” John explains.

Winnie sits up when she hears that.

“James, condition of your release session now, You too, Sam.” Dr.Raynor says.

“That’s okay I’ll be out here with…” Sam trails off.

“That wasn’t a request.” Dr. Raynor walks off to the room.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Gadget.” Sam says to Winnie before following Dr. Raynor.

“You and Buck are taking all the stupid with you.” Winnie stands up and makes herself a coffee at a dingy machine inside of a cheap styrofoam cup.

She goes outside with it.

“Winnie.” -John says sharply.

“John.” - Winnie replies. “ Here.” she holds the coffee out to him as a peace offering.

“What did you do to it?” John asks looking in the cup.

“A little sugar, little cream.” Winnie answers, the cup of coffee looks like a very light shade of brown.

“No poison.”

“No poison, unless you hate cheap coffee.”

“Thanks.” John takes a sip.

“We got off on the wrong foot.” Winnie starts.

“The wrong foot that ended with you punching me.”

“Yeah sorry about that. Would you like a coupon for free frozen yogurt.”

“No.”

“Listen, I care about Buck.”

“You showed me that when you broke my nose.”

“Again, sorry, I just wanted to talk to you about what you said earlier.” Winnie

“I’m not helping you get a CIA job.”

“No not that. You called Buck an asset.”

“He is one.”

“I just want to make sure he keeps his autonomy, and isn’t treated like a weapon.”

“And he will, I promise.” John adds “ Regardless of what you are or aren’t to Buck, he has a good woman by his side.”

“You can’t call him Buck, you haven’t earned it.”

“Getting him out of jail isn’t enough.”

“No.”

“Listen, you’re trying my patience. I’m just trying here, being the best Captain. I can be.”

“Speaking condescendingly to two Avengers who’ve saved the world from aliens isn’t helping you. You’re out of your element, having Buck and Sam around, dealing with things in ways that you can’t, is more helpful than you know.”

“You don’t know anything about me, and what I can handle.”

“You’re right, I don’t and I don’t mean to annoy you. I’m sorry.”

The conversation goes silent.

“Must be heavy, huh?” Winnie gestures towards the shield.

“Not really.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Do you want to hold it?” John asks.

“Sure.” Winnie answers.

“You’re not going to try to run off with it, are you?” John asks.

“No,but could you take my picture with my phone.”

“Sure.”

Winnie hands John her phone. John hands Winnie the shield. From behind the shield, Winnie takes off a button from her coveralls that has a tracker inside, she attached it to the furthest part of the reinforced leather strap facing the shield so John won’t see it or notice it when he’s holding it. She smiles and John takes the picture. Winnie hands John the shield back and gets her phone back.

Sam and Bucky walk out of the police station, John makes the siren go off to call them over.

“Gentlemen.” John calls out. Winnie stands beside John, leaning against the car. “ Good to see you again.Look if we divide ourselves, we don’t stand a chance, you guys know that.”

“What do you got?” Sam asks.

“The leader’s name is Karli Morgenthau.We’ve been targeting civilians who’ve been helping Karli move from place to place.” John answers.

“They geotag the location then scramble the signal.” Lemar adds.

“ But our satellites have found their symbol popping up in various displaced communities all across Central and Eastern Europe.”

“We think she’s taking the medicine she stole to one of those camps.”

“Well there are hundreds of those all over the planet since the Blip.” Bucky adds “ So I guess you’ll look real hard.”

“Good thing I have 20/20 vision, huh.”

“Where is she now, Walker? Do you know? Bucky asks.

“No we don’t know Bucky.” John answers “It’s only a matter of time before we find out.”

“Time is one thing we don’t have John.” Winnie adds.

“Things are really intense for you, aren’t they Walker?” Bucky asks ruffling John’s feathers.

“Take it easy, Walker’s right. We need to find and stop them.” Sam adds “But you guys have rules of engagement,and all kinds of authorizations you have to get.”

“All that red tape, we just cut through it. The three of us, we’re scissors.” Winnie adds.

“It wouldn’t make sense for us to work with you.” Sam says.

“A word of advice then: Stay the hell out of my way.” John warns before walking away with Lemar.

“You two, don’t worry about them.” Winnie says looking at her phone as the three of them walk down the street.

“He sounded vaguely threatening. Why shouldn’t we worry about John.” Bucky asks.

“Oh I put a tracker on the shield. See how he likes being tracked through his own equipment.” Winnie answers.

“How did you..” Sam trails off.

“Oh I apologize for punching him and then tricked him into it.” Winnie shows Sam the picture of her with the shield. “ He’s not that smart.”

“You had the shield and didn’t run off with it.” Bucky asks.

“Well if you were there I would have tossed it to you. But you had to get yourself a warrant for not going to therapy.”

“You could have scrambled the officer's computer before he arrested me.” Bucky snaps.

“I didn’t know you had a warrant before calling Joaquin. Also if you two weren’t yelling at each other on the street no one would have called the cops.” Winnie snaps back.

“Both of you stop arguing.” Sam says “ We need a plan.”

“Well I know what we have to do.” Bucky “When Isaih said my people.”

“Don’t take that to heart. That’s not what he meant.”

“No he meant Hydra.”

“You think the groups might be connected, through their scientists.” Winnie interjects.

“Not a chance.” Sam says to Bucky.

“Walker doesn’t have any leads.” Bucky shrugs.

“I know where you’re going with this, no.” Sam insists.

“Hear him out.” Winnie texts Joaquin to meet them at a small airport.

“He knows all of Hydra’s secrets.” Bucky “Don’t you remember Siberia?”

“So you’re just going to sit in a room with this guy.” Sam asks doubtful.

“Yes.” Bucky answers hesitantly.

“Never mind, Sam was right. This screams Danger, Will Robinson, Danger.” Winnie agrees with Sam.

After a minute of thinking “Fine, Let’s go see Zemo.” Sam says.

“ Huh, didn’t take that much convincing.” Winnie scoffs following along.

Once at the airfield Winnie looks around for Joaquin.

“Hey Rocky, where’s the sample?” Joaquin asks.

Winnie hands him the bag with the ring.

“I’m gonna need the ring back, but there’s blood and maybe some skin left on it.”

“It’s still pretty bad ass, you broke his nose.” Joaquin

“Yeah, I’m not making it a habit, so call me Gadget.” Winnie says following Sam and Bucky onto the plane to see Zemo.

#Bucky Barnes x Oc #Bucky Barnes imagines #Bucky Barnes x Winnie #Bucky Barnes #The Falcon and The winter Soldier #TFATWS #plus size oc #marvel

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lizzy-of-the-valley19 · 4 years ago

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Fall From Grace, Right Into Your Arms.

Summary: An angel had fallen out of the sky, straight into his arms. Her lovely, glittering amethyst eyes met his wide, soulful, burgundy ones. She thought of how they reminded her of the sky at the blush of dawn. And at that moment, something within them sparked a brand new start on feelings they never knew existed. Oh, how she felt wonderstruck right then, marveling at how pretty his eyes were..." Or rather, this one time where Tsuyuri Kanao's 'superior motor reflexes' did not work. Set in Kimetsu Gakuen AU.

Note: This is very self-indulgent so here’s my first take on one certain sunshine lad and butterfly lass. Shoutout to @sparkleswritings for being so patient with me on beta-reading this work. thaaaaankkkk youuuuu so much I couldn’t have done this without your help T_T Also, thank you very much Manu of @tankanaweek2020 for kindly giving me permission to use the prompts and motivating me to greenlit this! And I’m sooo sorry this came in verrry late and for some marginal errors! But better late than never, right? Hope you enjoy lovelies! :D

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She thought this was the end.

Time flowed around her as if in slow motion yet fast, all at once. The girl was startled by a loud ‘snap!’ from a loose tree branch that she has been holding on to guarantee her safe descent from the cherry tree. And just her luck, she suddenly lost her footing and slipped. With a startled yelp, gravity took over her body as Tsuyuri Kanao felt herself slip away from her hold. For once, her fast reflexes and nimble body were rendered useless when her anxiety suddenly kicked in.

She'll have some broken bones, a few bruises, and cuts, maybe even some blood (she hopes not) all over her body. Her Kanae nee-san would be worried sick and would fuss over her nonstop. Shinobu nee-san would still do the same but she'll give her one hell of a lecture full of poisonous quips. And oh dear, Kanao does not want that. They would skin her alive, that's for sure if she had not died here first.

Had she lived a life with no regrets? Were the last sixteen years of her existence worth it? Will she meet her biological parents in heaven? What or who would she reincarnate into, she wonders. Would the words "Cause of death: A bad fall due to a misstep from a broken branch of a cherry blossom tree" be etched forever in her death certificate? She feels ashamed, this is embarrassing compared to those who died fighting disease and war!

At least those baby sparrows didn't get hurt and were placed back safe and sound , she hoped that their mother would find her nest soon. Kanao doesn't mind if she'd die knowing that she'd rescued something or someone. What a pretty sight, the last thing that she sees on Earth is this old cherry blossom tree in full bloom.

Ah, perhaps that she might become a spirit and haunt this tree to watch over her sisters and the other students at her school. Is this one of those, "When your whole life flashes before your eyes," moments that she has often heard from movies or books?

But here she was right now, her face and skin getting scratched from tree branches and her body was slowly hurtling towards the ground from a 30-foot drop. As she braces for impact, she instinctively wraps her arms closer over her chest, scrunching her eyes shut as the ground approaches nearer and nearer.

How did she get into this mess anyway?

*20 minutes earlier*

"Kanao, I'll be going home earlier today. Mom needs me to help her at the diner because you know… today's Friday and more customers are going to pour in during suppertime. Are you sure you're gonna be okay on your own?" Kanzaki Aoi queried her friend as she adjusted the straps of her bag, slightly worried at her. Club sessions were already done several minutes ago, and the two had just finished cleaning the clubroom.

Kanao shook her head, smiling a bit. "Thank you, Aoi. Besides, I'll be fine! I'll just wait for Shinobu nee-san when she's done with her club activities. I'll lock up the clubroom for today." Aoi was about to say something when a sudden chime made the pigtailed girl flinch, fishing out her phone from her skirt pocket.

"Oh dear, Mom's already calling for me! Gotta run now, bye! And tell Shinobu-sama I said congratulations on passing her exams!" She began to dash to the door, muttering about 'orders' and 'customers'.

Kanao waved at her retreating figure, slightly amused at her friend's antics.

Shortly after Aoi left, the clubroom seemed to be quieter now. The distant holler of the students from sports clubs doing their drills outside is all she can hear at that moment.

Oh… she's now all alone. She still has a bit of time on her own.

Kanae nee-san was still at the meeting with the faculty. Shinobu nee-san, meanwhile, was still at the Biology room where she convened with the rest of her fellow Pharmaceutical Club members, no doubt testing another poisonous chemical that they had just concocted with ingredients only-God-knows-where came from.

Gathering her things, she exited the Flower Arrangement Clubroom and locked it.

‘Perhaps I'll go to the old cherry tree at the back of the school.’ she mused.It was spring, after all, and she wanted to see what it would look like when it blooms in full swing. The sun was already setting, casting the sky in a rosy hue, basking her surroundings in a warm, golden glow.

By the time she had arrived there, she felt her breath take away at the lovely sight before her. The delicate pink petals fell to the ground like snow, their scent bringing in the fragrance of the new season. The windy breeze swayed the branches slightly, dancing along the springsong. Spring was indeed her favorite season. The flowers blooming, the sweet sakura mochi that she and her sisters would always share while celebrating Hanami, and the warm weather were the few things that she loved about spring. Kanao feels her heart swell with bliss. For her, such moments like these are the ones she cherishes the most.

She also remembered, her sisters would always fawn over spring, gushing that this season was the best time to fall in love for the first time-

"Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!"

"Eh? Birds?" A loud chirping noise interrupted her train of thoughts. A few feet away from her, a fallen nest of baby sparrows laid haphazardly on the ground, no doubt being blown away by the wind. It seems that the thick carpets of grass and cherry blossom petals had somehow cushioned the nest's fall, miraculously rendering the chicks still alive and yet.. Helpless. The girl approached the nest and picked it up gently, making sure the little birds wouldn't get hurt in the process.

"Poor little things. I'll bring you guys back up to the tree, I'm sure your mother is looking for you..."

She craned her head from left to right, checking to see if anybody was around. It would be very improper of her to climb a tree if someone saw her - she'll be damned if it was Tomioka-sensei, their P.E.teacher, and school disciplinarian. The latter had the reputation of hunting rule-breakers like a crazed shark on shallow waters. And she was still dressed in her school uniform with an above-the-knee skirt. If some poor unfortunate soul would see what's under it, she'd made sure that they would never see the light of the day again.

After making sure that no one was indeed around, she slipped off her loafers and started to climb the tree while her one hand held the nest securely. Luckily the tree's trunk had a lot of bumps so it is easier for her to climb the way up. Though she did struggle a bit along the way, she reached near the canopy of the cherry tree successfully.

"There." She spotted a nearby branch dotted with buds, thick and sturdy enough, she remarked. "That'll hold them." she thought, and she pulled her body up to the said branch, sliding the nest to the branch until the twigs held them secure. Kanao smiled, feeling accomplished that she put the baby birds back where they belong.

Now that both of her hands are free, she moved to begin her way down. But suddenly her sock-clad foot took a misstep on a knobby part of the trunk and the branch that she held on to broke. Unfortunately, it was a thin, hollow branch and it broke on her tight grip. Shoot, she should've removed her socks back then to avoid her from slipping. But it was too late - losing her balance, Kanao felt her right hand getting scraped as she slipped off the branch, her body slowly hurtling to the ground the same way the cherry blossom petals fell…

*Back to the present*

No,no,no,no,no,no,no… These words were repeated on her mind like a broken record. This is it, she's going to die, this is the end. But a part of her wished that she wouldn't die yet. She wanted to see her older sisters again, to spend more time with them. With her fellow club members, Aoi, everyone…

"WATCH OUT!" She heard a voice from somewhere down below, but what happened next was not one that she was expecting.

The sudden thud of a fallen branch, the wind picking up, and a person groaning and wincing in pain-

Instead of falling onto the hard, solid, grass-covered ground, she felt two strong arms holding her back and the back of her knees. She landed on a body, a man’s to be exact, judging by the hardiness of it. She gripped his broad shoulders a bit too strongly, her body instinctively seeking an anchor to hold on to. She still scrunched her eyes shut, adrenaline pumping in her veins wildly, her breathing ragged.

"Are you alright, Miss? That was quite the fall that you had..." the words died by his throat as Kanao snapped her eyes open. This time, she felt her breath taken away for the second time that day the moment their eyes met.

Her (unexpected) savior was a young man about her age; with messy, slicked back maroon hair, a noticeable scar on his forehead, and hanafuda earrings dangling on his ears. But one feature that stood out the most is his eyes - wide, soulful burgundy ones that reminded her of the sky in the blush of dawn that seemed to shine against the sunset's golden rays. He stared at her with his lips parted, almost in disbelief that this random beautiful girl fell right into his arms.

As if on cue the wind picked up once more, sending the petals scattering on a graceful dance on the air. Her heart thumping wildly, all she can hear is her heartbeat ringing loudly in her ears. She and this handsome stranger looked at each other, her wide amethyst eyes meeting his dawn-red ones. Their faces were only centimeters apart, noses almost touching. She was rendered wonderstruck, marveling at how lovely his eyes were, his gaze was magnetic and deep as if they saw each other's souls at that moment, beckoning-

The school's last bell snapped them out of their reverie, breaking whatever spell that was cast in that ephemeral moment. The realization hit them like a ton of bricks as she just processed what happened: she crash-landed on some random guy and fortunately caught her ungraceful fall from the tree. With a yelp, she flailed off his arms and the young man grunted with an 'oof!' but still he helped her down, albeit a bit too unceremoniously.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!!! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She flailed, oh dear spirits, she hoped that whoever caught her was alright or she has broken anything! Really, what was she thinking?!

"No, no, no, it's really alright! I'm okay!" The young man in front of her flailed his arms as he helped her up. Their eyes met again, this time a hint of crimson dusted their cheeks. The two instinctively averted their eyes, too embarrassed at the events that just happened. For her being caught by a random stranger was rather shameful and for him, he was rather flustered of the girl before him.

A few beats later, Kanao gathered herself. She slipped her loafers back on and gathered her bag from the ground. With newfound courage, she apologized to him once again. "I'm sorry! I've crash-landed on you… Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere? Did something break? I'm very, very sorry!"

To her surprise, he chuckled. "It's okay, I promise! Don't worry, I've had worse. I have a friend who loves to roughhouse with me and boy, it's like I'm fighting with a wild bear or a four-legged beast!"

"I... I see..." Kanao raised her hand but she suddenly flinched, feeling a sudden shot of pain, particularly at her right palm.

"Your palm, it's bleeding..." He noted, and she raised it. He was right - a gash was blooming on it, slightly bloodied due to the broken branch that she held on mistakenly earlier that caused her (literal) downfall. Thank goodness there were no splinters. She touched her wound gingerly, wincing at the slight pain. "Ow..."

"If you don't mind, can I tend your wound for a bit?" The red-haired lad implored. Kanao was about to refuse when he fished out a handkerchief with a forest green and black checkered design from his pocket.

"Don't worry, this one's clean! My little sister, Nezuko, made this handkerchief by herself! This should stop the bleeding in the meantime," He stepped closer to her. Then he proceeded to wrap her wounded palm gently, making sure that it's not too tight. "There we go..all done!"

"Th-thank you….” she timidly thanked him, gently prodding her newly wrapped palm.

"It's no problem at all!" He cheerily replied. She looked up to him and he gave her a radiant grin - the kind where his eyes crinkled at the corners, the dimples on his cheeks showing. Kanao felt her heart skip a beat.

'He's such a kind person… He looks adorable with that smile of his-'

Wait, what?

"By the way... what were you doing up there in the tree?" he queried with his brows raised, pointing at the canopy above them.

"Oh! I.. uh.. I was returning the baby sparrows' nest there," she said, motioning for him to follow where she pointed on a branch that's quite… high. She gulped, he wasn't kidding that she'll quite have an incident, heaven forbid. Right now, the mother sparrow was now back on the nest, feeding her chicks with the food she brought for them.

"I see! Good thing I just came by, I was just about to head to the front gate! Who knows what could've happened to you or the nest, I mean, that's quite the drop, don't you think? You should be extra careful next time!" he chided her, but with no bite. His light-hearted tone somehow reminds her of Kanae nee-san admonishing her sometimes.

"I couldn't just leave them here on the ground..." Kanao trailed off, pushing a stray strand to her ear. She looked shyly at him.

"Oh… You're very kind to animals, Miss... Ah, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Kamado Tanjirou, a first-year student! Nice to meet you! " He bowed, albeit sloppily, and took out his hand, which made the girl in front of him giggle.

"Tsuyuri."

"Eh?"

"Tsuyuri Kanao. Second-year, member of the Flower Arrangement Club. Um..." she gathered herself, "Thank you! For.. um, catching me, I mean. And for treating my wound!" she frantically clarified, and took his extended hand.

"You're very welcome, Tsuyuri-senpai..." Tanjirou's crooked yet bright smile once again graced his features, directed at her only. Once their hands made contact that inexplicable tingly and fluttery sensation coursed through their veins once more.

It’s like earlier, the moment our eyes first met.

They just stood there, his dawn-red eyes meeting her amethyst ones, both of their lips drawn into a soft smile. In that ephemeral moment, she felt something piercing her heart, perhaps the season was getting on to her. She must admit, this feels nice…. Is this what her sisters meant about spring?

He was the first one to relinquish his hand from her hold. For some reason, she's now missing the warmth in her hand.

"It's gonna get dark soon, we should head home, huh?" She heard him mutter. She silently agreed, now trailing beside him. Leaving one last glance at the blooming tree, they left the place together. Tanjirou was now enthusiastically talking about bread and the bakery that his family owns. As they approached the school gates, Kanao already spotted her two elder sisters there, waiting for her.

"Oh, Kanae nee-san and Shinobu nee-san's already there," she remarked.

"They're your sisters?!" Tanjirou exclaimed.

"That's right!" she quipped, giggling a bit at his bewildered expression.

"Yoo-hoo, Kanao! And oh my, Kamado-kun too!" Kanae cheerily waved at them. Shinobu greeted them with a smile too. But when she spotted Kanao's wrapped right hand, her eyebrows shot up. She looked at her little sister in question. Kanao pursed her lips guiltily, mouthing "Later."

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave now! I'll see you next Monday, Kochou-sensei! Shinobu-senpai! And..." Tanjirou paused to look at her, smiling crookedly at her again. "Tsuyuri-senpai!" With a wave, the red-haired lad trotted off.

Kanao waved at him, whispering, "Take care..."

Once Tanjirou was out of earshot, two pairs of hands immediately fell to her shoulders and she turned to see her two sisters smiling sweetly at her. Kanae's eyes were shining with excitement and joy. Shinobu, meanwhile, smiled at her graciously too, but her expression literally said, “Explain or I’ll extract from it to you forcibly”.

Oh no. Once intrigue swept over them, they would never stop.

"My oh my Kanao. Care to tell the story between you and Kamado-kun, hmm? And what's up with your wrapped hand?" Shinobu said sweetly but laced with a little apprehension.

"Ahh! Shinobu, spring has finally come for our cute little sister, I'm so proud of her~! Let's eat some sakura mochi for dessert later, we have lots to celebrate for tonight!" Kanae passionately declared while she grabbed Kanao in a one-armed hug.

"Nee-san! We have to treat her wound first!" Shinobu said exasperatedly, raising her little sister's hand for her to see.

"Oh my~! Kamado-kun did a great job patching her up, no? I'll give him some extra points in the next class for this! He deserves a reward for treating our cute little sister~!" Kanae ignored her younger sister's quips, too excited that her Kanao had finally found a friend of the opposite sex (and a potential little brother too!)

"Isn't that a bit too much, nee=san? And you, Kanao, I didn't know you're now canoodling with rule-breakers? I see that boy running into trouble with Tomioka-sensei all the time!" Shinobu quipped.

"N-no! It wasn't anything like that!" Kanao stammered, her cheeks and ears now fully red.

Kanae giggled. Then she wrapped her arms around their shoulders, with Shinobu on her left, and Kanao on her right. "Let's go home now shall we? We can tell each other's stories tonight! I'm also curious about what happened to you Kanao. Shinobu, take it a little easy for our little sister, she's now starting to bloom and broke out of her timid shell!"

The two butterfly girls sighed but smiled fondly at their elder sister nonetheless. "Yes, nee-san.."

----------------

"I'm home!"

"Welcome back, onii-chan!" Tanjirou's little siblings, Hanako and Shigeru, greeted their eldest brother, running up to him for a quick hug. The oldest Kamado sibling immediately hugged them both tightly.

"You're a little late than usual today Tanjirou-nii chan, did something happen at school?" Hanako questioned after he set them down.

"Well..." he averted his gaze, picking on his blazer until he found a stray small cherry blossom flower that somewhat got stuck in his breast pocket. Ah, a small remnant of that 'little incident' a while ago… and her image suddenly flashed in his mind

"An angel from the sky fell right into my arms and she had the most beautiful eyes that I've ever seen..." Tanjirou unknowingly mused, holding the small flower in his fingers with a wistful smile.

Hanako and Shigeru tilted their heads at their elder brother's mysterious words. “What are you talking about nii-chan?”

Instead of answering, he just patted their heads lovingly. "Ah, nothing. Let's help mom prepare dinner, shall we?"

~End of Prompt One~

#tankana #tanjirou kamado #kanao tsuyuri #fanfic #kny #there's more to come!

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annoyed-galaxy · 4 years ago

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Proposition

Here’s a part 2ish thing to the Fable Aftermath story I wrote featuring my good ole Sparrow and local smarmy bastard, Reaver. This one is lot longer so get ready for a doozy. Now I will preface this by saying some of the emotions Sparrow is feeling in this reflects some of the emotions I have felt in my life. Her depression has influences from my own dark moments. For some reason, Fable 2 managed to set up a character in a way that I can relate to closely and she is probably one of my best characters I have ever made because she’s just real.

And honestly, what I have going on here has actually made me impressed with my writing because I feel like I’ve gotten so much better since I last wrote a story and I’m actually developing something that’s pretty decent. I am proud of my writing right now, and more will be coming, don’t worry. So sit back and enjoy!

Returning from Samarkand had been one hell of a journey. Treating magical wounds turned out to be extremely difficult and uncomfortable. Even when the wounds were treated, there would still be scars left.

Reaver opened his shirt to look at the scar across his stomach where Garth had summoned those cursed magical blades and one scathed him as he ran away. Reaver rolled his eyes at the scar and closed his shirt. He then took a drag from his flask.

The carriage he was in stopped and the driver smacked the roof. “We’ve arrived at Bloodstone.”

Reaver stepped out of the carriage and gave a few gold coins to the driver. “Tatty-bye,” he said as he walked through his lovely little home. Shops were starting to close for the night as the sun began its descent across the sky. He heard patrons in the tavern talking about how they got to meet the great Hero of Albion, Sparrow.

At the mention of the young lady’s name, Reaver raised an eyebrow and found himself in the tavern. People noted his presence and became stiff, a little terrified of the Pirate King. He waltzed up to the bartender and gave his most pleasant smile. “Evening. I heard mention of the great Hero of Albion? Did she pass through here today?” Reaver asked the old man.

Nervously, the man responded, “Yeah. She came by to collect a bounty.”

“Is she still here?”

“I don’t know. Last I saw her, she was purchasing a crate of booze from the drink vendor ‘round the corner.”

Reaver tapped the counter and turned. “Thank you very much,” and then exited the tavern. The drink vendor wasn’t at his stall so Reaver tried to think where a young woman with a crate full of booze would go. It had been a year since Reaver had last seen Sparrow and he was quite honestly intrigued by her. The fire in her eyes, the determination to recruit him amongst the other Heroes, and ever her stubbornness to die after Lucien killed her all intrigued Reaver. Not to mention how she selflessly sacrificed everything for Albion. She sacrificed her own youth and beauty just to get Reaver to join her and then sacrificed the one chance she had at getting her sister and faithful dog back.

Reaver had never met such a selfless person before. He wanted to see her again, see how a year of Hero’s glory was like.

He figured he might find her somewhere near the beach; he didn’t know why, he just had a feeling she could be found there. He was impressed with himself when he did see the beautiful white-haired woman sitting in the sand with a bottle in her hand. She was looking out into the horizon and as the sun was setting, casting its fiery glow onto her, Reaver saw what was in her other hand and his eyes widened.

He watched as she raised a pistol up to her head and then saw the tears coming from her eyes.

What the hell was she doing? Was she...? Reaver didn’t know what to do. Was she really going to do that? Her gaze was so lost in the horizon that she didn’t notice him approaching.

When Reaver saw that she had already made up her mind, he opened his mouth.

“Are you really going to do that?”

To her left, there was a bedside table on top of it was her pistol. Next to the pistol was a cup of water. There was a piece of paper under the glass which Sparrow reached over to grab. She hissed as a throbbing headache made itself known. She had a hangover, she felt it now, although she didn’t remember how she ended up in this lavish and comfortable bed. She figured the note would tell her as she moved into a sitting position and began reading.

***

Light flitted into Sparrow’s vision as her eyes slowly opened. She had to squint against the brightness and allow her eyes to get used to it. When her eyes finally settled, she opened them fully and pushed herself up on her elbows. She looked around and could not remember where she was or how she got into this room. The room was small, but a small fireplace rested at the foot of the bed, a small fire going. There was a beautiful light dangling above her head, the flames within causing the brightness in the room.

The note was full of elegant handwriting, which made it difficult for Sparrow, who could read but not very well. After a reading it a few times, she could finally decipher the note.

Might want to drink up, dear, less your body punish you for forcing such horrid liquor down into it. Brought your pistol from the beach back. Although, if you do plan to go through with your earlier intention, try not to get blood on the sheets. I just washed them.

-R

The note had confused her at first, but then the events that happened on the beach earlier came crawling back, one by one. She remembered how close last night was to being her last night ever. She looked over at the pistol and water on her table. She was so close to ending it all. So close to being free and away from the misery that was her life.

She reached for the water and took a sip, pondering the words on the note. The last memory that she remembered was a scuffle between her and that cursed pirate, Reaver. It ended up with her in his arms, passed out. She paused, her hand freezing in midair stopping her from taking another drink of water.

How did she end up here exactly? If she was in Reaver’s arms last...

Sparrow quickly threw the note to the side and looked down at herself and under the covers.

All of her clothes were on; the only thing missing was her boots. She looked over the side of the bed and saw them sitting there, ready for her to put on. She relaxed a little bit and continued to drink the water. So maybe he didn’t take advantage of her, that was a relief, but she still didn’t like the thought of him tucking her into a bed. She shuddered and chugged the rest of the water. Her headache started to subside, but it was going to bother her all day.

She picked up her pistol and looked at it. Could she really try to go through with it? Reaver stopped her but for what? What was the point?

Sparrow groaned and swung herself out of the bed. She put on her boots and left the room, her pistol back in its holster. She recognized where she was when she stepped out of the room. She had figured she couldn’t be back in the inn, its rooms were nowhere near as nice as the one she was just in. As she made her way down the stairs, she recognized the little foyer she had walked in, what almost seemed like ages ago, not knowing what she was getting herself into.

She was in Reaver’s mansion.

The last time she was here, she had sold herself to the Shadow Court and almost killed by a bunch of Lucien’s men, which was thanks to Reaver and his betrayal attmept. She walked through the small hall and opened the door where she first met with Reaver. She was surprised to find the room empty and the fireplace dead. She looked around the lavishly decorated room. Various guns hung around on the wall and paintings were scattered in between them. She hadn’t noticed the decoration the first time she was in here. She honestly didn’t care at the time either.

Sparrow walked around the room and saw there was a book next to some ink and a quill. Curiosity peaked her mind and she went over to the book and opened it. It was a biography about Reaver and there were many lines and words crossed out and replaced with other words. There were footnotes on the pages written in that same lavish handwriting that was on her note. She had to look closely at each letter before she could read them. One of them pointed towards a passage and read “Never once did this, the lies!” Sparrow read over the passage and it was so mischievous she couldn’t help but laugh. She was about to read more, but then the door opened. Sparrow jumped and dropped the book on the table and looked away like nothing happened.

“My my, you are bad at pretending to not snoop.”

Sparrow’s shoulders sagged and she rolled her eyes as Reaver stepped into the room. Her gaze drifted over to him and she saw an apple in his hand. It wasn’t bitten into, but it was bright red and looked very good. Sparrow’s stomach growled and she looked away.

“I had a feeling you might be hungry,” Reaver commented holding the apple up. When Sparrow looked back at him, he threw it to her. She caught it and stared at it before taking a bite. It was so juicy, Sparrow couldn’t help but let out a satisfying moan. She couldn’t remember the last time she actually ate something. Reaver wore his signature smirk as he walked over to the table she was standing by. He looked at the book which had fallen open. “Enjoy my edits to this piece of rubbish?” Reaver asked.

Sparrow turned from him and walked away. She was holding the apple with both hands and kept her back turned to Reaver.

“Ah, giving the silent treatment are we? Not even going to relay a ‘thank you’ my way for tucking you into bed and giving you a morning snack?” Reaver pouted, waving his hand about.

Sparrow swallowed the bite of apple before she spoke. “I didn’t ask for any of that.” She then took another bite.

“Tch, I do something nice for once in my life and get no thanks in return. How rude.”

“Maybe you should do nice things more often and people will start saying thank you,” Sparrow retorted.

“Ick, why would I do that?” Reaver shook his head.

“Well why did you do it then?” Sparrow shot back, finally turning towards Reaver. She was still biting the half-eaten apple as she glared at him.

“Well...I didn’t want to be a complete arse to you. You seemed to have been having a rough day,” Reaver shrugged.

“More like rough year.” Sparrow finished the apple and found a small waste bin to throw the core in. “You know, I’m not thanking you because I’m not thankful for anything you did.”

“Well that’s just mean,” Reaver replied, leaning against the table, his hands resting on its side. “Didn’t I save your life?”

“Congratulations,” Sparrow mumbled, rolling her eyes again. “You stopped me from shooting myself. Don’t you feel proud.” Her voice was dripping with absolute sarcasm.

“Well, I do actually. I probably just saved Albion a week worth of mourning,” Reaver smiled smugly.

Was there anything nearby Sparrow could throw? No. She groaned and started heading for the door. “Well thanks for that. Now I get to suffer more days.” She left without even looking back.

It didn’t take long for her to get away from the mansion. No one seemed to be following her. Hell, half of the town wasn’t awake yet. It was the crack of dawn and only a few people were awake, preparing their shops for business. She wanted to get as far away from Bloodstone as she could now that Reaver was back. She had no clue what she was going to do now, but she knew that trying to attempt her actions last night were out of the question. She was at her lowest low last night. Thought all hope lost. But now, she knew she wouldn’t have the strength to try again.

It was time to just take the blow and suffer.

***

Two months had passed since her suicide attempt. Two months had passed since she last saw Reaver and for some unknown reason, she couldn’t get that bastard off her mind. She tried to find ways to distract herself, doing bounties, rescuing slaves, working jobs, even finding random partners to take her mind off things. But even during the most intimate moments, that stupid pirate came to her mind.

It annoyed her so much that she started overworking herself, not daring to go to sleep in case wild dreams came up. Alas, she did have to sleep at sometime. Her dreams were always filled with him. Sometimes they were just drinking together on the beach, other times they were dancing in the middle of an empty ballroom, other times he was holding her wrist, pulling the gun from her head.

She couldn’t understand why so much of her mind had been filled with him, but he was always there, in the back of her head, waiting to steal her attention.

She shook her head clear, trying to focus as she walked through Brightwood. Apparently a pack of balverines had infested the area and were slaughtering traveling merchants. According to the bounty, this was a well organized pack as they had a White Balverine leading them. This had peaked Sparrow’s interest. She hadn’t faced a White Balverine and had only heard stories about them. This was no problem for the great Hero of Albion of course.

Sparrow heard rustling to her right. It was nighttime, of course, so she cautiously pulled out her katana and pointed it at the bush. Meanwhile, her other hand flexed, summoning small spectral blades that swirled around it, waiting to be unleashed. Sparrow crept closer and then slashed at the bush. Nothing was hit, but a bunny bolted away, terrified for its life. Sparrow relaxed and turned around. Her eyes widened as she turned, face to face, with a balverine.

She cried out when the beast struck her across the face, sending her soaring through the air. She grunted as her back hit a tree and she collapsed on the ground. The balverine started approaching her and two more dropped by its side. Sparrow stood up, clutching her side, knowing that a few ribs were broken. She could feel blood rolling down the side of her face too. She pointed her katana at the beasts and the spectral blades from her other hand flew around the katana and then launched out towards the balverines. As they flew to their targets, the grew becoming full-sized blades. Eight blades, three targets. Three blades pierced the skulls of the two balverines on the side of the third who was hit with only two, one in its chest and another in its eye. It roared and clutched its bleeding eye with one massive paw.

Sparrow took a deep breath before lunging towards the massive beast, her katana slicing through the air. She summoned fire through her palms and the flames ran up the blade as she struck the beast. She jumped back, the smell of burning flesh starting to hit her nostrils. The balverine roared and fell back, the flames that had caught on a bit of the fur, started to spread rapidly. Sparrow looked around for anymore balverines. Of course, five more appeared behind her. She focused on the balverine in the middle while shooting eight blades, two for each balverine on the sides, and then charged forward. The balverine jumped in the air. Sparrow, knowing balverines, quickly turned around and swept her katana upward, slicing the balverines face in half with her momentum. The other balverines, who were howling because of her spectral blades, focused their pain-induced rage on her.

Taking another deep breath, trying now to ignore the pain on her side, she spun around, wind gathering at her feet and lifted herself into the air, just as the balverines collided into each other. Sparrow, now in the air, summoned eight more blades, and as she fell, forced them all into the heads of the monsters. Their bodies collapsed as she landed in the middle of them. She was panting now but it stung to breath. If she could not be attacked for a few minutes, her Heroic blood could kick in and start miraculously healing her. Of course, fate would not let that happen as more balverines appeared, dropping down from the trees.

Sparrow spat on the ground, clearing her mouth from blood and wiped her face as she focused on the dead bodies of the balverines and used their life essence to summon spectral balverines. Now the odds were a little better, but she was still heavily outnumbered. There were at least thirty balverines now coming down on her.

Yet, she didn’t feel upset. She actually felt glad that there were so many. Maybe this could finally be her chance to be set free. Sparrow summoned her blades again, surrounded by her spectral balverines, and the many more, live balverines who wanted her dead. She didn’t stop fighting by any means.

As the balverines charged, she was a whirlwind of fury, sending spectral blades flying at anything they could hit, dashing through time to appear behind unsuspecting prey. Yet, more balverines just kept coming. The more she killed, the more spectral minions she had, but it almost seemed like it wasn’t enough. No wonder this pack was so strong. There were so many!

She was starting to lose her momentum as she kept getting caught in the slashes of two or three balverines. She backed against a rock wall, bleeding from various spots, out of breath. She coughed up some blood and tried to stand tall, raising her katana against all of the balverines now cornering her. She looked up, hoping to see the sky, but her eyes widened when instead she saw a blur of white jump on her.

She cried out as claws dug into the flesh of her arms, her katana flying out of her hand. She looked up into the face of the White Balverine, its red eyes stark against the snow white fur. It snarled and Sparrow couldn’t help but think of this as her last moment.

She actually preferred this death. At least this way, she would die a glorious Hero and not some disgraceful, pathetic way not worthy of a Hero. Maybe this is what she had been trying to accomplish these couple months: finding a way to die without doing it herself.

The White Balverine pulled its claws out of her arms, making her cry out in pain as the blood rushed out. It howled before digging its claws into her sides and picking her up. Sparrow cried out in pain as it lifted her higher. The other balverines howled. Panic spread through Sparrow’s body. She wanted to die, but she didn’t want to suffer any more. Tears started rolling down her face, mixing with the blood and dirt.

The White Balverine brought her close to its snout and it sniffed her. She growled at the beast. “Just eat me already, you mongrel!”

It had never once crossed Sparrow’s mind that balverines were intelligent and could understand the human tongue. But it did just now as the balverine snarled and threw her across the clearing. Her already broken ribs were more broken and a cry of pain was forced out of her. Her body stung and hurt and her vision was blurry with tears. The balverines who had made a semi-circle now circled fully around her and the White Balverine, as if this was some entertainment.

Sparrow looked up into the sky, at the stars and she reached a hand up, more tears rushing down her face because of the pain in her arm. “I’m coming home, sis. I’m coming home.”

The White Balverine stepped into her view and smacked her hand down. For the first time ever since she had killed Lucien, Sparrow smiled as the White Balverine raised its paw, claws glimmering in the moonlight. She smiled and let out a choked laugh as the White Balverine slashed at her.

Yet, the blow never came. In fact, the balverine’s body just collapsed onto her. The other balverines howled at the fall of their leader, but then they also dropped to ground. Sparrow barely registered the gunshots. She could only hear her fading heartbeat in her chest. Her vision became so blurred that when a figure appeared above her she reached out and touched their cheek,

“Rose?” she let out in a faint voice. “Is that you, sis?”

The face came into focus and Sparrow saw whose cheek she was touching. Her hand fell and her smile dropped. The black heart on his cheek now had a bloody fingerprint next to it.

He smiled and winked. “Not quite, dear.”

Sparrow wanted to bleed out faster. But of course her body wanted to heal. Of course it did.

“Why...are you doing...this to me?” she managed to get out, her voice raspy. More tears started to fill her eyes as she began crying fully. “Why do you...keep coming up?” She looked at Reaver’s face. “Why can’t you let me...die?” She didn’t care that Reaver was seeing her in this state; her body bloodied, broken, and tears pouring out of her eyes.

“Because I don’t want you to die, little Sparrow,” Reaver finally admitted, pushing the White Balverine’s body off of her. “You’re too interesting to me.” His words reminded her of Theresa, who had came and rescued her after Lucien shot her out of a tower. Theresa also didn’t want her to die.

Sparrow wanted to slap him. She wanted do anything to hurt him. She wanted to struggle as he picked her up, but her body couldn’t. All she could do was rest her head on his shoulder as he took her to safety. She hated this. Felt that this was a punishment handed to her by the world. Right when she’s about to die and be released from her suffering, he manages to come and save her once more. The thought makes her cry even harder and she buries her face into his neck. Her body hurts, but the physical pain takes away from the mental pain.

“Please just kill me already,” she whispers. “Just leave me to die. I want to die. I don’t want to live anymore.”

“Now now, Sparrow, surely you don’t truly want to die?”

“I do. I just want to die. Please, Reaver. Just let me go.” Sparrow’s voice grows fainter and she becomes weaker. What will it take to just die? She’s begging Reaver to just leave her. She wants him to leave her so badly. She wanted him to leave her on the beach. Why does he care so much? The last time someone prevented her from dying, she was used. What were his motives, then? She can’t ask any of these questions, because the blood loss has made her too tired.

She slips into unconsciousness.

***

She hears a voice calling her name and her eyes open up. It’s still dark and she’s still being held. She remembers what happened and whose holding her. She wants some emotion to take over, wants some strength to be able to push herself out of his arms, but she’s too weak. Her body hasn’t healed. “You took too much damage,” Reaver announced, as if reading her thoughts. “Your Heroic blood can’t heal you right now until we stop the bleeding. We’re almost to the Sandgoose in Oakfield. You’ll be fine.”

She lays her head back on his shoulder. She doesn’t want to be fine. She wants to fade away. But Reaver keeps dragging her back, holding her in his arms as she watches freedom slip away. She hears the bustle of the tavern as they approach. She barely registers what happens when they enter the tavern. The innkeeper sees the bloodied Hero and immediately rushes up the stairs and opens the door to a small room ushering Reaver and Sparrow inside. He disappears and then comes back with bandages as Reaver lays Sparrow down on the bed. Her body screams in pain, but Sparrow shows nothing. She feels the pain, but seems to ignore it. Reaver ushers the innkeeper out of the room and shuts the door.

Reaver takes his jacket off and throws it on a chair by a desk in the corner of the room. He rolls his sleeves up and grabs the bandages. “Alright, Sparrow, I’ll need you to cooperate with me here,” he insisted.

He reaches for her jacket, but she doesn’t move. Reaver sighs and grabs her shoulders and pulls her up. Her body hates that, but Sparrow seems to not be there. She doesn’t care. She doesn’t care when Reaver takes off her jacket, nor does she care when he cuts her shirt open with a dagger to take it off. She doesn’t care that she’s topless in front of Reaver. He seems to be focused on applying bandages where they need to go rather than her shirtlessness. He cleans up the wounds on her sides where the balverine dug its claws into and then Reaver wraps bandages around her. He focuses on her arms next moving around the bed to tend to the other arm. He cleans up around her face, placing smaller bandages on her temple. Then he looks over her again and sees that her pants are filthy.

“Your clothes are going to need a wash so none of these wounds get infected. Shall you deal with removing them, or shall I.”

Sparrow ignores him and just stares blankly at the wall.

Reaver sighs and snaps his fingers in front of her face. “Land of the living to Sparrow, do you hear me?” Instead of entertaining an answer, she falls back on to the pillows and stares at the ceiling. “Well, obviously you don’t care who does it.” Reaver, now annoyed, takes off her boots, and tries to take off her pants without disrupting the wounds he had just patched up. The bandages around her middle are already red, along with the ones on her arms. He looks over her again, not with the eyes of someone appreciating her body, but with eyes looking for anymore cuts and scrapes or open wounds and broken bones. He notices there’s a slash on her inner thigh and her left shin seems to be broken. He knows the Heroic blood will kick in eventually and heal the bone, but he needs to make a split so she doesn’t try to step on it and make it worse. Although, Reaver doubts Sparrow will be moving anytime soon. “I’ll be right back, don’t...well you won’t move, I can see that.”

Reaver pulls the blanket over her and leaves the room with her clothes in his arms. Sparrow is still staring at the ceiling and in the silence, the thoughts begin.

This is the second time Reaver mysteriously appears to stop her from death. The first time, he simply talked her out of it. Now this time, he’s trying to help her so her body can heal. Why? Why the hell is he doing it? Sparrow starts to cry again, her body shuddering causing pain to ripple through her. Does he want her to suffer? Does he want her to continue living and suffer with lost memories? Does he have plans for her? She’s so confused, so miserable she doesn’t know what to think. She just wants to sleep and not wake up. She wished dying would be that easy. Just go to sleep and never wake up.

Reaver enters the room after a bit with a tray in his hands and more bandages, plus materials to make a splint. He shuts the door and then sees her face. “Oh please don’t cry; you look ugly when you cry.” He sets the tray down on the desk, which is full of fresh food.

Reaver pulls the cover away and begins working on the slash on her thigh. It doesn’t take long to clean the wound and wrap it up. Making the splint is more difficult, but he manages. “Of course, your body is going to take some time to heal, but you’ll be healed faster than most.” Reaver seems cheery as he grabs the tray and brings it over to Sparrow. He sits on the side of the bed and sits sideways, bringing his leg up to rest the tray on his knee. Sparrow smells the food and glances at the delicious meal before her. She can’t remember when she let herself eat, but the food smells so good.

“Am I going to have to force feed you, or will you eat on your own?” Reaver asks, looking at Sparrow’s face for any sort of indication of either option.

She grunts as she tries pushing herself into a sitting position. Reaver reaches out to help her. Once she’s in a sitting position, she grabs the plate with meat on it. The meat has already been chopped up and she’s thankful for that. Her arms are too stiff to do much moving. Reaching for the plate was bad enough.

Reaver grabs his own plate and puts the tray on the bedside table. He takes a bite of the mutton and then starts pouring what smells like tea.

They eat in silence for a while until Sparrow ate her fill of meat and fruit and drank her tea. Reaver cleans up their dishes and puts the dirty cloths on the tray. Sparrow watches him. It’s the first time she’s really looked at him since he brought her here. Since he rescued her. She reaches out with a hand and touches his arm. Reaver looks down at her in surprise.

“Why do you keep doing this?” she asks, her voice quiet.

Reaver stops what he’s doing and sits by her side. “Why do I keep doing what?” he asks, tilting his head.

“Why do you keep saving me?” Sparrow’s eyes are filled with nothing. They’re empty. Reaver can see that she’s broken in a different way than he saw on that beach. She had fire then. Now she has nothing.

“Why do you keep trying to die?” Reaver countered. “You’ve never given me an answer.”

Sparrow looks away for a moment, at the wall. She considers Reaver’s question. Considers what she wants to tell him. She thinks back on the year that led her to such a state. Feeling empty inside, worthless to herself, no longer hold any meaning. And the worst of all: lonely.

“Killing Lucien did nothing,” Sparrow says after a moment. Reaver watches her as her eyes grow darker. “For twenty years I wanted nothing more than to see Lucien die. He killed my sister at such a young age then killed me. But Theresa saved me. For ten years she trained me in the ways of the Hero. She told me stories of them, mentored me in their way. She was the closest family I had. When I finally turned eighteen, she sent me on my way on my birthday to begin my journey. It was the first time I was ever allowed out of Bower Lake. I felt free. I felt like I could do whatever I wanted. I was free. I was young and just because I had a special power, I felt like I was better than other people. I stole from them, remembering the days of my youth when I had to steal to survive. Now I stole because it was fun. Then dark memories would always find their way to me. My sister’s death would haunt me and just to get away from it, I gave my flesh away to whatever man or woman came my way.

Whenever that bad memory came up, I would do anything to get rid of it. But it would always remind me of my goal. I wanted to kill Lucien. I wanted him dead so badly. Then Theresa told me I’d have to be stuck in the Spire. I was stuck in that living hell for ten whole years. I was forced to starve people, beat people, kill people. Whenever I was forced to torture someone, they would cry out about their family and it hurt me. I had nothing to distract me. I knew Lucien was so close but there was nothing I could do. Those people who cried and begged for their life...I think that was my breaking point. After years in that Spire, I finally come back. My mind tortured by more than just my sister’s death. That’s when I felt like I needed more than ever to kill Lucien.

I started treating people better. Some people cried because their families were taken away by Lucien. That’s when I realized I wasn’t the only one suffering. Lucien had caused us all pain. He caused me pain, caused Hammer and Garth pain, and caused almost everyone in Albion pain. It made me want to kill him even more. And I told myself, I wouldn’t allow other people to suffer anymore.” Sparrow paused and looked at Reaver. He was still listening, intently actually. She was a bit surprised. She watched his face as she told her next part. “When I made your deal to the Shadow Court, I didn’t have to be the one who sacrificed myself. There was a woman there. Her name was Elizabeth. She didn’t have a clue how she got there but she was scared. When the Shadow Court told us that whoever had that Dark Seal would lose their youth and beauty she cried out. She begged me to spare her. She cried out that she had a family. She had a younger sister that she took care of. When she told me that, I knew I couldn’t make her suffer like I did. So that’s why I did it. That’s why I sacrificed myself. I needed you to join us or else we couldn’t kill Lucien. Else I couldn’t make him pay. And that’s all I wanted.” Reaver’s eyes widened a bit as Sparrow told her story, but he made no other move.

Sparrow looked down at her hands as she continued. “When the time came, I didn’t hesitate. But I didn’t kill him. Not how I wanted to. I wanted to scream at him as I cut his limbs off. But one strike of my blade and he was falling down the Spire. I felt nothing as he fell. Then Theresa appeared and I was told to make a wish. And I remembered the vow I made to myself. I swore to not let other people suffer like I did. I had the choice to bring back my sister and my damn dog. But what the hell was the point of bringing back one girl and an animal? When there were thousands of people who had died. So I brought them all back. I had officially sacrificed everything for Albion, for the people. And when it was all over, everyone left. You and Garth went to Samarkand, Hammer went to the north and Theresa...She just cast me out. Tossed me away like some old toy that was broken and no longer had a use.” Sparrow clenched her fist. “I was all alone and had no one. Yes, the people of Albion loved me, but there was no one who actually knew me. No one could see past the Hero and see me. For a year I tried to fill my life with some sort of purpose but I found none. I tried to make friends, but no one could speak to me normally; they were just in awe of me. I had no one.

What was the point of living? That day on the beach I had reached my all-time low. I was so close to being set free and you had to come along and fuck it up.” Sparrow finally had emotion in her eyes as she looked back at Reaver. “Why? Why did you stop me?! Why did you save me this time? You don’t care! You can’t. You don’t know what it’s like to be alone. You don’t know what it’s like to lose someone you care about because you never have. You don’t give a shit about anyone except yourself. So tell me Reaver: why the fuck did you do it? Why did you just suddenly appear when I was about to end it all? Why the hell did you come back?!” Sparrow was nearly shouting now and Reaver had to look away. Sparrow scoffed. “I can’t believe I just told you, out of all people, everything. Like you would even fucking understand. You just like seeing me suffer don’t you?”

Reaver looked back, and he was smiling. “Do you ever think that maybe it’s fate?”

Sparrow stared at him disbelief. “Fate?! What nonsense!”

“Oh come now, it makes sense doesn’t it? You waste away all alone after killing Lucien and you see no purpose in your life. And then the day you just happen to try to take your life, I come back. I’d say that’s pretty convenient.”

“I’d say it’s a fucking nightmare. Ever since that day on the beach, you just stick around in my mind like a little leech. I try to get you out of my head but you just stay there and torment me. I don’t want to live, don’t you see that? Just because your immortal doesn’t mean anyone else wants to fucking be that way. You can’t force people to keep on living. I’m not like you. I don’t want to live forever. I want to fucking die. Because I have nothing to live for. And yet you just keep torturing me like a walking nightmare!”

Reaver chuckled. “But at least I’m better looking than most nightmares right?”

Sparrow grabbed her hair hair and screamed. “Argh! You are so annoying! Just leave me alone!”

Reaver clicked his tongue. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I see that you might be determined to kill yourself any chance you get, so I’m not going to let that happen.”

Sparrow’s eyes widened and she stared at Reaver. He could see the utter disbelief in her eyes and the absolute hatred she had for him. It made him happy to see that fire roaring again. He had managed to bring it back.

“You. Are such. A little. Piece. Of. Shit!” Sparrow yelled and smacked Reaver.

He was surprised. He rubbed his cheek. That stung. How fast was her body healing? “I’m impressed,” Reaver laughed as he continued rubbing his cheek. “For someone who almost lost her arms, that was a pretty impressive slap.”

“Yeah well I can’t believe what you just said. You want to make sure I don’t die? After I literally said it’s torture to stay alive? Your really are a fucking monster!”

Reaver looked back at her and sighed. “Why don’t you just find another reason to live instead of trying to throw your life away. Surely there’s something out there that you’ve never done that you could do now.”

Sparrow rolled her eyes. “I’ve already tried that. I have no purpose to live. There’s nothing in this world that could make me not want to die.”

Reaver gave a sly smirk. “What if I gave you a reason to live?”

“You give me a stronger reason to die.”

Reaver laughed. “Oh but you don’t see it the way I see it. The way I see it is that I already do give you a reason to live. On the beach, you were so close to killing yourself and then I appeared and that gave you fire to fight. Tonight, as I was patching you up, your eyes were empty and full of nothing. Now they’re full of fire directed towards me.” Reaver smiled bigger. “The way I see it, I’m the only person who can keep you from death. The only person who gives you fire.”

Sparrow opened her mouth to argue with him, but...he wasn’t wrong. He made her feel alive, even if it was to hit him and shout at him. But it still didn’t make sense why he wanted her alive. “Why do you care so much about keeping me alive? I’ve already given away half my life just so you get to stay stupidly young.”

Reaver moved closer to her. “What if I told you it was because you are the most interesting person I have ever seen in my life. One of the most selfless people ever. You gave up all your happiness just so the rest of the world, including myself, could stay happy. When there are several people who don’t deserve happiness. Why the hell would you ever do that? Sure, you were reminded about your sister in the Spire and the people who had families, but why would you still do that?”

“Maybe because I’m not a heartless bitch like you.” Sparrow snarled.

“I’m not heartless. I’ll have you know I can make great love,” Reaver purred.

Sparrow scoffed. “Ha! Sure you could. I find it hard for someone with no care for anyone except himself can make “great love”.”

Reaver raised a brow and smirked. “I could show you. Maybe once your healed up.”

Sparrow’s cheeks went red. She cursed at herself. Why?! Why did her cheeks heat up at that?! She turned her head. “I would sooner sleep with balverines than with you.”

“Mm, I’d say you were pretty close to that already. Those balverines did look like they were about to enjoy eating you up.”

“You have such a dirty mind Reaver.”

“Centuries of life, dear,” Reaver winked.

Sparrow rolled her eyes.

“I will say I agree with those balverines though. You do look ravishing, even with your hair in a complete mess and such a deepening scowl on your face. My you look angry.”

Sparrow growled and grabbed Reaver’s collar. “Listen here, shitstain, you better choose your next words carefully or I’m about to end your long life right here right now.” Five spectral blades appeared, ready to plunge into Reaver at any second.

Reaver was unaffected by the threat and simply smiled bigger. Sparrow waited for his response but she never got one. Instead, Reaver’s lips were on hers. It was such a surprise that the blades immediately disappeared, fading into nothing. Her grip on Reaver’s collar loosened and he grabbed her hand. He pulled back, that shit-eating grin on his face as he held her hand. Sparrow was stunned. Her other hand slowly reached up and touched her lips. She could still feel his warmth of his kiss and she honestly didn’t know how to feel about it. Her cheeks burst into color and she went limp.

“I have a proposition,” Reaver spoke, caressing the back of her hand as he spoke. “What if I gave you a reason to live. Found you some purpose so fulfilling you would no longer want to die?”

Sparrow’s eyes drifted to Reaver’s and she found sincerity, much to her surprise.

He had her attention. Good. “Here’s all I ask: You travel around with me on adventures to wherever and I will find you a purpose to live. Stand by my side, and I will find you that purpose.” Reaver wore a smile that showed he was telling the truth, that he was actually sincere about this promise.

“Why...Why should I say yes to this?” Sparrow stammered, still in shock of his abrupt kiss.

“Because as I said, I find you so intriguing. I have lived for many, many, many years yet have not seen a single person like you before. Is it so hard to believe that I simply want to see what you can do? I want to see how someone like you can be so selfless. See why you would make yourself suffer through so much just for other people. For people who don’t really care about you.” Reaver pulled her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss there. “So what do you say, little Sparrow?”

Sparrow had to think about this. What would be the point of traveling with Reaver to wherever for whatever reason? Well, it would give her something different to do. But she knew the real reason he was asking her to travel by his side.

She wouldn’t be alone. Even if she had mixed feelings about this man, the main one being confusion, at least she wouldn’t be alone. And he was right, he’s been able to bring fire into her heart by annoying the piss out of her. If anyone could pull her out of a drunken stupor of depression, it was Reaver. But if she said no, would he finally leave her alone and let her die? But what would happen when she did die. Would she actually get to see her sister again? Here this man was, offering her a chance to live again on whatever short amount of time she had. She never wondered what actually would happen if she had killed herself. Would she actually get to see her sister? Or would she just be doomed to wander around aimlessly as a ghost? He was offering her a chance to live.

And companionship.

She realized that’s what she’s wanted all this time. She hasn’t wanted some random purpose to live. She just hated being alone. No matter how intimate she got with people or how many she hung out with, she was still alone. People only saw her as a Hero, not as Sparrow. Here was Reaver, a Hero himself, who saw her for who she was. He was giving her a chance to do something with her life. He didn’t see her as a Hero. He saw her. He saw Sparrow. Part of her wondered if he had ever felt this way. If he had ever wanted to be seen as normal and not as a Hero.

Reaver was offering her the key to solve her problem. For how heartless or selfish he was, it was still someone who could see Sparrow for who she was. She’s not even sure if Hammer or Garth could have seen her like that. Theresa only ever saw her as a means to an end.

Sparrow sighed and then finally looked at Reaver. “Fine. I’ll take you up on this proposition.”

Reaver smiled and patted her hand. “Good choice, I’m sure you won’t regret this.” He kissed her hand again.

Sparrow finally pulled it away from him. “This doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to sleep with you whenever,” she added, looking away, a small blush rising on her cheeks.

Reaver shrugged. “If the choice ever came to balverines or me, would you still choose them?”

Sparrow side-eyed him. “What do you think?”

“I’m hoping you’d choose me since I don’t think the balverines would be interested in bringing you much pleasure rather than themselves.”

“And are you suggesting you’re different than a pack of balverines?” Sparrow challenged.

“I am. Balverines are savages, they know nothing of pleasure. I, however, have had centuries of experience. I know much about providing pleasure.” Reaver smirked. “And besides, I’ve already seen you mostly naked.”

Sparrow shrieked and punched him in the arm. “Get out you smarmy bastard!” She pulled the sheets higher to her chin. Reaver stood up and grabbed the tray laughing the entire time.

“Oh this should be nice. Tatty-bye, little Sparrow!” With that, Reaver vanished behind the door. Sparrow rolled her eyes and relaxed.

She didn’t know what exactly she had gotten herself into, but it was surely to be more interesting than trying to die all the time. Sparrow turned her head and saw that Reaver’s jacket was still on the chair by the desk. She reached for it, but couldn’t get it. She summoned a gust of wind around it and then let it float toward her. She sat up with the jacket in her hands. She wanted to get back at Reaver for being a raunchy little shit, but how?

She could burn the jacket, but she didn’t want to burn it completely. But that gave her an idea. She spread the jacket across her legs and then put her hand on the back of it in a random spot. She burnt a small hole in one spot, and then another, and another, and she kept burning little spots in the jacket until there were enough holes to be annoying. She snickered to herself and threw the jacket back on the chair. That’s what he gets for forgetting stuff in her presence.

Sparrow slept soundly for the first time in a while that night.

#fable #fable 2 #fable II #reaver #reaver fable #sparrow #sparrow fable #sparrow x reaver #spreaver #writing #my writing #Galaxy:Fable #G-W76

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trashyswitch · 4 years ago

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An Unexpected Roommate

Chapter 10: A Fallen Family Home

Robbie, Chase, Jamie and Henrik all take a short day trip to Robbie's former house across town. While there, they discover a lot more about Robbie and his parents.

This chapter will talk quite a bit about death, and mention some sexist prejudice. It will also have quite a bit of angst, and a couple quite graphic explanations of his life and his death. I warn you to read with these warnings in mind. If you cannot handle this and wish to skip over the chapter, then feel free to do so.

Everyone else, I hope you enjoy.

Chase, Henrik, Jamie, and Robbie rode in Chase’s car to find the house address. Chase was following the GPS that was leading him to the address he found on the Facebook page, Henrik was talking to Chase in the passenger seat and Jamie was sitting in the back of the car with Robbie.

“Do you recognize any of this, Robbie?” Chase asked.

“No. It just looks like a bunch of houses.” Robbie replied.

Chase chuckled and looked at Henrik with an amused smile. “He’s got a point, Chase.” Henrik replied.

The four of them drove by many more houses, before nearing the house they were looking for. A few kilometres before they reached it, it became very apparent what house was the correct house. The house was abandoned and all raggedy, with peeling paint and a broken fence on the side. There was even a tuxedo cat just hanging out on the porch. But the moment that the car pulled into the cracked driveway, the cat jumped down and ran away.

“Bye bye kitty.” Robbie said to the cat, waving through the window.

Chase parked the car. “Do you recognize this house?” Chase asked, turning to see him.

Robbie hopped out of the car and ran up the driveway. Jamie widened his eyes and hopped out of the car to follow him.

“ROBBIE! JAMESON! WAIT FOR US!” Chase yelled. Henrik and Chase both ran up the driveway after them and stopped in front of the porch.

Robbie climbed up a porch decoration to the mailbox and reached into the mailbox. “Hmmm...Okay!” Robbie muttered, pulling his hand out with a piece of metal in it. It was a key on a ring.

“How...how often do you go here?” Chase asked.

Robbie walked to the door. “I used to come back all the time! I used to live here until the ‘no trespass’ sign came up.” Robbie explained.

Henrik widened his eyes. “Should...ve be here?” he asked.

“Well technically, this isn’t trespassing because Robbie used to live here before it was abandoned...And we’re with Robbie. So…” Chase explained.

Henrik looked at Jamie with a worried look on his face. Jamie gave Henrik a ‘eeeehh’ signal by twisting his open hand and wrist. Robbie finally got the door unlocked. He turned the doorknob and pushed. But it wouldn’t open. “Dammit. It’s stuck again.” Robbie muttered. So, Robbie walked a few feet back and readied his foot. “Stand back. More back.” Robbie warned. Suddenly, Robbie took a running start at it, kicked the door open and fell onto his side. The door blasted open and smacked the wall on the inside of the house.

“Where did THAT come from?!” Chase asked.

“For a child vizh decaying muscles...You are VERY strong.” Henrik admitted.

Robbie jumped back up onto his feet, sent Henrik a proud smile and took the key out of the lock. “Welcome home! It’s very dirty, so please leave your shoes on. It’s also cold, so keep your coats on if you’re cold.” Robbie told them as they walked in.

Henrik pulled some dust masks out of his backpack and handed one each to all of them. “Here. You need zhese.” Henrik told them all.

For Robbie, Henrik handed him a kids medical face mask. “Why are you wearing masks? And why do I have to wear one?” Robbie asked.

“Because it helps us from getting dust in our lungs. And zhe mask vill save your lungs from furzher damage.” Henrik explained.

“Oh.” Robbie put the medical mask on then walked around the familiar house.

The house entrance opened up to a mud room, which led to a living room and a dining room. There was a staircase on the left side of the living room behind the grey couch, and a railway on both sides of the staircase. The staircase was covered with a layer of carpet that was covered with a few layers of dirt by the time they were there. There was little dust travelling in the air, save for the dust that flew off the surfaces. It was still filled with dust though, which made the dust masks all the more necessary.

Chase felt a shiver run up his spine as he walked around. The house was creepy looking and...pain-stricken. There used to be a family of three living here. Now it’s severely abandoned and filled with junk.

“Chase! Henry! Jamie! I wanna show you my room!” Robbie told them, running to the staircase.

Chase looked up the staircase and immediately tapped the front of the first stair. “Is this safe?” Chase asked.

“Look Chase!” Robbie jumped up every single stair to the top. Robbie turned around. “It’s fine!” Robbie said at the top.

Henrik blinked. “Yeah...for a 65 pound child. But for zhree 170 pound men?” Henrik asked.

Jamie slowly stepped one step at a time up the steps. Other than the creakiness of the stairs, the stairs were still relatively safe. Only when Jamie reached the halfway point, did Chase actually consider starting up the stairs. Chase took one step at a time, and kept in mind where the stairs creaked the most.

While he was getting to the top, a cracking sound and a loud snap could be heard behind him. “Scheisse!” someone yelled behind him. Chase turned around and saw Henry’s foot stuck in the stair. “Vell…Zhis is a fine pickle.” Henrik admitted.

Chase giggled and walked down for him. “Want some help?” Chase asked.

“Ja bitte.” Henrik replied.

Chase grabbed Henrik’s ankle and tried to pull it out. But the foot was stuck pretty good. “Okay. I’m gonna pull, and I want you to pull as well.” Chase explained. Henrik nodded and readied his foot. “On three. 1, 2, 3!” Chase and Henrik both pulled on the foot, and POP! Right out of the hole. “There.”

“Zhank you.” Henrik replied.

“No problem!” Chase replied as they caught up to the others.

Robbie ran into his room and stood in the middle of it to show it off. “This was my room!” Robbie told them.

The room was still somewhat put together with red walls, hanging picture frames, a full twin sized bed, a whole bunch of old stuffed animals, a big toy chest, a few books, and a table filled with model cars. Chase felt a yearning in his throat to start crying. It was just like a regular little boys room. It reminded him so much of his own boys' rooms, before his wife took custody of them. Now he never sees their rooms.

Jamie walked up to the model cars that were sitting on the table first. “Hey Jamie! This one’s my favorite!” Robbie picked up a red and white old car. Jamie gasped and looked closer at it. He remembers seeing a car like this! Jamie shined his flashlight onto the back license plate of the car and pointed to it.

[1935]

“Yeah, that’s the license plate!” Robbie said.

“I think he’s trying to tell you that 1935 is the year the car was made.” Chase explained.

“Oooooh.” Robbie reacted.

Jamie grabbed a bright red convertible from the table and showed Chase.

‘I was friends with someone who had one of these.’ Jamie told him.

“Really?! Did you get to ride in it?” Chase asked. Jamie nodded. “Oh my gosh that’s awesome!”

Robbie, Jamie and Chase continued to look around at the many model cars he had. “My Mom’s toy store had a model car aisle. Every time I went to the toy store, I could buy a model car!” Robbie told them.

“Do you wanna take them home?” Chase asked.

Robbie gasped and looked at Chase with big, starry eyes. “REALLY?!”

“Yes! We can take these cars home if you want to!” Chase replied.

“OKAY!” Robbie quickly grabbed Henrik’s bag and pretty much pulled it off his back. Robbie grabbed the model cars in handfuls and dumped them into the bag. Despite Jamie’s attempts to stop Robbie from mistreating them and damaging them, Robbie continued to throw them into the backpack handful by handful. When all 53 of the model cars were thrown in, Robbie placed the backpack down and ran to one of the framed photographs.

Robbie unhooked a specific photo frame he had, of him and his parents. His Mom was dressed up in a Raggedy Ann costume, his father was dressed in a Men in Black costume, and Robbie was dressed up in a Jack Sparrow costume with a fake sword! Robbie smiled and showed Chase the picture.

“Awww!” Chase cooed. “You look great in that costume.”

Robbie smiled and pointed to his parents. Though his mother’s hair was hidden in a wig, his father’s hair was visible. And...It was surprisingly jet black. Or, the photo showed it to be. “What color was your Dad’s hair?” Chase asked.

“Black! Like a panther!” Robbie replied.

Chase nodded and looked at the picture for a bit longer before giving it back to Robbie. “Do you wanna take it home?” Chase asked. “We can find a place for you to hang it.” Chase offered.

Robbie looked at the picture and sighed. He really missed his parents sometimes. But he was scared to tell Chase about it too much. He sensed Chase would feel sad if he talked about the parents he lost. So this picture would either make this conversation easier, or even harder than before. But...Robbie decided to nod his head and place the picture frame into the backpack.

Chase continued to look around his room while Robbie did his thing. He came across nicknacks, a lamp, a kids book on top of the dresser, and a kleenex box that was covered in dust. One thing that did catch Chase’s eye however, was a dozen little wooden boxes with spinning levers. “What are these?” Chase asked.

Robbie walked up to Chase and gasped. “My music boxes!” Robbie grabbed the music box very carefully and spun the lever. An upbeat kind of song started playing through the side of the box, and Robbie started subtly dancing to the song. “It’s a circus song that plays for a trapeze swinger!” Robbie explained.

Chase smiled and listened to it for a bit. Then, Robbie put that music box down and grabbed another box. “This one’s my favorite.” Robbie started spinning the lever at the side. The song started to play, and a very familiar song started to play! Jamie whipped his head around to Robbie and quickly pointed at it. ‘I know this song!’ Jamie told him.

“Yeah! It’s Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy!” Chase replied.

“It’s from The Nutcracker!” Robbie added.

“Indeed it is!” Chase reacted. “Have you ever seen the Nutcracker ballet?” Chase asked him.

“No. Dad said it was too girly.” Robbie admitted.

Chase gasped and knelt down to his level. “No man is too girly to watch the Nutcracker. Or be a ballet dancer in general.” Chase added. “You haven’t been told the story of Billy Elliot.” Chase told him.

“Billy Elliot?” Robbie asked.

“Mm hmm! Billy Elliot was a young boy who learned he was an amazing ballet dancer. He longed to dance in a ballet class, and soon joined the ballet class when he was supposed to be boxing. His father and his brother were furious with him. No boys have ever tried dancing in ballet. The boys who’ve tried before, were often called ‘gay’ and ‘not masculine’.” Chase explained.

Robbie’s curious face dropped a frown as he looked down at the ground. Chase tilted his head in confusion and knelt down to his level. “What’s wrong? Did something I say bother you?” Chase asked.

Robbie nodded his head. “Daddy called me gay once.” Robbie told him.

Chase blinked in surprise and looked up at Jamie. Jamie had dropped his jaw and frowned in slight anger. Henrik was nowhere to be found.

“Is being gay like being darker-skinned?” Robbie asked.

Chase lifted his head up quickly. “What?! No. No it’s not. Why would being gay be like being black?” Chase asked.

But Chase felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking over, it was Jamie’s hand that was on his shoulder. Jamie was closer to him and kneeling down beside him.

“Being gay is a type of love. Being gay means for a man to fall in love with another man.” Chase explained. “Boys that are gay, will want to kiss other boys, rather than girls.” Chase explained.

Robbie looked up. “I don’t wanna kiss boys. I wanna kiss girls.” Robbie replied. “Dad was wrong. I’m not gay.” Robbie told him. “I’m Robbin. I’m a girl kisser.” Robbie replied.

Chase smiled and chuckled. “I am too.” Chase told him. Robbie looked up at Chase and smiled. “Jamie is as well.” Chase added. “Almost everyone in the house likes kissing girls. But Marvin...he likes kissing boys and girls.” Chase added as well.

“Really?” Robbie asked.

“Yup. That’s called being bisexual. Or bi, for short. Bi people want to kiss boys and girls.” Chase explained.

Robbie widened his eyes. “That’s a lot of people.” Robbie commented.

Chase giggled at that.

“Hey boys? Can you come here please?” Henrik called.

Chase and Jamie turned their heads around to the doorframe, while Robbie tilted his head to the side to see the same door frame. “What’s wrong?” Robbie asked.

Henrik didn’t answer.

Chase, sensing something bad, started walking towards the door frame and through it to the hallway. Jamie gently grabbed Robbie’s hand, and started following Chase through the hallway. As they walked down the hallway, they found Henrik staring at a couple piles of blood stains. “Is zhis…”

“-Where my Mommy and Daddy died?” Robbie finished, before looking down. “Yeah.”

Henrik bit his lip and looked at the big separate blood stains. The blood stains were somewhat splattered all over the place, yet it was still obvious there were 2 separate blood stains.

“Where’s your bloodstains?” Chase asked.

Robbie pointed to the blood stain on the right. “I fell near Mom close to here.” Robbie explained. Any other previous evidence was gone thanks to the police, and all that was left were slight chalk stains on the floor. “The knife was big. Everytime I moved, I could feel it moving around inside.” Robbie admitted.

Chase subtly curled up in paranoia. Getting stabbed from behind was one of Chase’s worst fears. And this kid actually lived to tell the tale. This kid has much more bravery than he does himself!

Meanwhile, Henrik had walked into the bedroom right near it. It looked to be a parents room. “I found somezhing else in Dawn and Austin’s room as vell.” Henrik told them.

“Why were you in Mommy and Daddy’s room?” Robbie asked.

“I vanted to learn a few more zhings about your parents.” Henrik replied. He soon walked out of the bedroom with a pile of papers, and a specific paper on the top. “Zhis vas found in a drawer vizh a gun.” Henrik told them.

“Oh yeah! Daddy always took his gun home. He said ‘no touching it’ to me. He let me look at it, but he never let me shoot with it.” Robbie admitted. Henrik grabbed the paper off the top and handed it to Jamie to read.

Jamie looked up and down the filled out paper. It appeared to be a criminal record sheet. Why did the man have a criminal record check in a drawer? And…

Oh no…

Jamie walked up to Chase and showed him the [Criminal History] chart. It was nearly filled from top to bottom with criminal offences! Chase widened his eyes as he checked the charges spot on the chart.

[Physical Assault] [Manhandling] [Physical Assault] [Misconduct] [Misuse of Firearms] [Misuse of Firearms] [Misuse of Firearms] [Misuse of Firearms] [Second Degree Murder]

Chase lowered the paper from his face. “Wow…”

Jamie gulped and looked at Henrik. Henrik was scratching the back of his head, unsure of what to do.

“What’s wrong?” Robbie asked.

Chase looked down at Robbie. He handed the paper to Jamie and picked Robbie up. “We found a paper about your Dad that worries us.” Chase explained.

Jamie’s jaw dropped. Did he seriously just tell him upright?! He’s 8!

“What was it?” Robbie asked.

Chase let out a breath. “It was a paper that all adults with jobs have to get. It’s called a record check. It’s a way to show job managers that the workers they hire, do not break the law.” Chase explained. Robbie nodded. “It was your Dad’s record check.” Chase said.

“Oh! That’s all? Okay. He’s not a bad guy. I know him.” Robbie told him.

Chase nodded and looked over at Jamie awkwardly. He seemed to have nothing to say. Or, perhaps he was too afraid to say anything. So...Jamie kept his hands to his sides and refused to sign anything on the subject.

Robbie soon walked away from the adults and wandered back into his own room. He grabbed one of the music boxes he used to love, and cranked the bottom metal twister. The song that played was a song that Robbie remembered all too well. It was a lullaby that his Mom had always sang to him when he struggled to sleep, and had always stuck with him since they died.

He listened to every note that played in the box. This music box’s note sheet was handmade by his mom. It had been a special birthday gift from her. The music box itself was painted by her as well and said ‘My Robbie Robbin’ on the top. It was a play on the name ‘Robbie Rotten’, and it had been one of the many nicknames she made up for him.

Robbie started to sing along to the melody when the song looped. 🎶You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You n-never know dear, how much I lo-love you. So please don’t t-take my s-sunsh-shine away.🎶 Robbie sang, his voice breaking as he felt tears well up in his eyes.

Chase, Jamie and Henrik listened to the heart-wrenching singing from the door frame. Immediately, Chase was the first to start crying. Jamie brought Chase into a hug and not long after, Jamie was crying too. It was Henrik that ended up walking up to the boy, kneeling down in front of him and pulling him into a hug. Robbie broke down crying almost immediately after he was comforted. Henrik held onto him for a good while before he cried and sobbed.

Robbie ended up crying in that old bedroom for a while. His cheeks were super stained with his salt water tears by the end, and his hair was a dusty mess. As a matter of fact, everyone’s hair was dusty after that trip. Everyone took a shower one at a time, and ridded their bodies and hair of the dust that accumulated in the house. The boys got dressed into their PJ’s, and Robbie decided to go to bed earlier than usual. Though this was a very unusual occurrence for a child, let alone Robbie, Chase let him go to bed early so he could process everything that happened.

Robbie laid with his dog stuffy Bacon in his hands, and silently cried to himself while the Sunshine music box played beside him on the bed. He missed them. He missed them so much. What did they do to deserve getting cut up so badly? Why did the man do it? Why them? And…why was Robbie the only survivor? Is there a secret behind his rare circumstance that Robbie isn’t aware of? Did the evil man who killed his parents know about it? And lastly: Was this turnout just a weird coincidence?

...Or planned?

#an unexpected roommate #chapter 10 #non-ticklefic #pure hurt/comfort #bittersweet

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