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jahaerra · 3 years ago

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚, 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝

summary: Four years after fleeing from her father in Italy, Coraline meets her ex-boyfriend Damiano David again in Rotterdam. The two immediately reconnect and it doesn't take long for Coraline to realize that she never stopped loving Damiano.

Pairing: Damiano David x female oc

warnings: none

this is actually just an excerpt from my damiano fanfic on wattpad, which is already finished, my username on there is reflectingsouls and the story is called ‘Coraline’

There was a piece of paper on the pillow, creases in the paper as if it had been folded over and over again.

There were only a few lines on it, like a short poem, and I recognised my own neat handwriting.

❝ Our Story ends here and it has been fulfilling.

I'll miss you, terribly I leave you - lovingly.

Until the next life. ❞

I had left this note at his house before I had left Italy four years ago.

He had kept it and carried it with him all this time. A single tear rolled down my cheek.

Damiano opened the balcony door when he came out of the shower. The sound of the rain was louder, but the roofing of the balcony ensured that it did not rain into the room.

It was dark outside, no stars could be seen in the sky because it was so cloudy and even the moonlight seemed to be drowning under the impending thunderstorm.

I had put the note back on the pillow. My eyes wandered over Damiano. Once again he was wearing only sweatpants and no shirt. Il Ballo della vita. The dance of life.

I traced the contours of his muscles with my eyes and followed his every move. It was dark in the room too, we hadn't switched on the light, but I could see him clearly.

He folded a shirt and put it in his wardrobe, then turned to me and came towards the bed.

"Comfy?" he asked, the corners of his mouth twitching as he saw me lying there, wrapped in his blanket and with my head on his pillow. It smelled like him and that left a pleasant feeling inside me.

"Yes" I replied against the pillow and heard a soft laugh from Damiano. He settled down next to me on the bed, then his eyes fell on the note. He reached for it and let it disappear in his fist.

"Too late, I've already seen it," I said, smiling slightly at him, "I didn't think you'd keep it that long."

"The note was the last thing you gave me," he replied as if that was a justification for keeping it for four years.

"The last sentence always seemed to me like a promise that all was not lost. That there would be another chance for us if we met again under different circumstances," he added.

My chest ached when he said that. His voice was soft and rough, more so than usual.

"And now we are here, but we are plagued by the same worries as before," I murmured. Damiano frowned, "You think so?" "Yes, my father followed us here, he won't leave me alone."

"But now you are no longer bound to him. Neither is Sophia. You can stand up to him instead of fleeing, I can help you." "I don't know if I really can," I sighed with honest concern.

The rain continued to beat against the windows.

"You can, I believe in you," Damiano assured me. "I've waited for you to come back home," he whispered.

So, Marlena, come back home, I feel it's getting cold in here So, Marlena, come back home, I don't want to wait anymore

"I've wondered how often the world reminded you of me, because it wouldn't let me forget you," he added, and the words made my throat dry. "I'm no less broken than I used to be," I said in a raspy voice.

"I don't mind that"

"You say that now, but once I'm committed to you, you'll have the weight on your shoulders that I carry with me every day. You will regret loving me," I was convinced of what I was saying.

"Never say such a thing. I could never regret having loved you. We belong together, Coraline.", he rose from the bed, his voice sounding a little angry.

I, too, straightened up "Damiano, listen to me-", I begged him. His silhouette was dark as a flash of lightning twitched across the sky, followed by thunder.

I flinched because the loud sound startled me and it was like a reminder of all the broken pieces that made up my soul.

"I've already told you that, back in Italy, but I'm grateful we shared this time together. Maybe we found our forever at the wrong time, and someday, we can be back together again, but not while I'm still broken. I want to be good for you, I want to enrich your life and make you happy, and not be responsible for you worrying and suffering. I want to be the calm sea on a sunny day, but today I am the deadly waves during a storm."

Damiano listened to me without interrupting. His brown eyes watched me keenly as I spoke, while my voice grew louder and fiercer until I was almost shouting because I was so angry and desperate myself that I kept getting in my own way.

After I had spoken the words, there was a silence between us. I walked towards Damiano, who was standing in front of the open balcony door, the moon shining through the ripped cloud cover and illuminating his chest, making him look paler than usual.

He looked as if he was not of this world, beautiful and desperate.

The storm was raging outside, lightning was flashing across the sky and I didn't know what else to say to make Damiano understand what he was getting into if he wanted to be with me. I wanted to protect him, for his sake, from me.

It was when the thunder let out its loudest rumble yet that Damiano turned to me and spoke.

"You said maybe time will pull us back together again. Don't you think that time has come now? Don't get me wrong, I would gladly spend a lifetime waiting for you to come clean with yourself so that you can love me like you imagine if that meant we could be together again, but I don't know if we can ever be like other couples, I don't know if I even want that. Your past is a scar that you will carry into your future, you can't forget it, just like I can't forget you.", his voice was low.

"I'm not leaving you just because you're broken, I want to pick up your pieces and help you heal. You always act like it's impossible for me to be with you because you're so broken, but it matters what I think, it matters if I'm capable of having you in my life, and I am! I wouldn't have it any other way, Coraline!"He left me speechless. His loud and angry words sounded like pure poetry and they were meant for me alone.

I hadn't even noticed how the tears began to run down my cheeks, but they did. Silently and secretly. I felt the salt water of the tears on my lips. I was the sea. This sentence had burnt itself into my brain so much.

"But you said it yourself, Damiano. You said it in this song. Sea is inside of me and the sea drowns everything that comes near it. I don't want you to drown in my waves!", I spoke again much louder than before, Damiano's and my tempers were heated and like the storm that was raging outside, a storm raged between us.

"Well maybe my love for the sea is greater than my fear of drowning", his voice was raspy, rough and loud. Angry.

I sobbed as he crossed the distance between us, his hands finding my cheeks and wiping away the tears that ran down like a river. The startling gentleness of that touch was in harsh contrast to the angry words that had left his lips.

While the storm raged around us, Damiano lowered his head and looked into my eyes.

The deep brown was unfathomable, the pain and desire was in them.

"Coraline," he whispered much more softly than before, then his lips met mine and I was overcome by the most incredible feeling I had ever felt.

It wasn't our first kiss, but it felt like it was. His lips kept gently brushing mine, I felt the love he had for me with every touch. The thunder, no matter how loud, died away in my ears, while it felt like there was only Damiano and me in this universe.

I don't know how long we kissed, how long our lips met again and again, doing the dance of our lives, until Damiano broke away from me and rested his forehead against mine.

"Do you understand what I mean now?" he asked me with a slight smile, his breath quickening and I was sure his heart was beating just as fast as mine.

"Yes, yes I understand what you mean. I'm so sorry Damiano, I only ever wanted the best for you.", the tears had dried up but they seemed to come back into my eyes as I said this. The sheer magnitude of his love for me made me want to cry.

"The best thing for me is to be with you, Coraline.", he whispered and kissed my lips again, this time very briefly and light as a feather.

"I love you, Damiano," I said sincerely, looking into the eyes that I loved so much.

"And I love you, Coraline. Always," he replied so softly that I almost couldn't hear it anymore, then he put his lips on mine again and it felt like the hole in my heart was finally closed.

I wasn't healed, I was still broken, but I had Damiano, he loved me, and I loved him. Together we could do anything.

poem credit: n.m. sanchez

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pjisskullourful · 3 years ago

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. . ╰──╮𝕘𝕒𝕪 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙╭──╯ . .

👻Damiano X Ethan X reader

🌈 rainbow family part 4[complete series]

NSFW! 🚨swearing & mentions of naughty nighttime activities

° Damiano David & Ethan Torchio & female reader insert [throuple style] ||| Victoria de Angelis, Thomas Raggi & OC babies: Cosmo, Marsha & Sylvia

° 5 years on- the Happily Ever After of the throuple is going strong as they prepare for the next chapter in their relationship ||| Cosmo is 5, the twins are 2 & a new Måneskin album needs to be recorded

wordcount: 7,445

° thankyou to @superchrystaldrug for letting me brainstorm ideas & for encouraging my ridiculously fluffy headcanons💋

° I AM CORRECTING HISTORY!! haddon hall (where bowie lived/recorded so many iconic albums- late 60s & early 70s, the ziggy years!) was demolished in the 80s. but this is my fantasy & if i say that haddon hall was never demolished, then guess what- that mansion was never demolished & still stands in Beckenham. thankyou & happy reading

Haddon Hall - a mansion in England where David Bowie had lived and worked during the most pivotal moment of his career. It had been his home from 1969 to 1972 and now, for the summer, it was the home of you, your kids, the four members of Måneskin and Chili the dog. They hoped to tap into some of the magic that Bowie had sourced to create Ziggy Stardust, as they wrote their new album, recording from the modern studio that had been outfitted long after Bowie's time at the address.

It was an effort to shut out everything else and tackle the overwhelming feat of bringing a new collection of original music into the world, to write a new piece of Måneskin's history that would represent where they currently stood. They had the pressure of all of their past accomplishments and so many eyes upon them. They needed to get away from the other voices trying to chime in - the record company, producers, their manager. It had to be about the four of them again, a safe haven to create.

But there wasn't any option of you staying in Italy, away from your boyfriends for that time. Your kids needed their daddies close. There would be a distinction between work time and downtime - but there needn't be any separation between your family.

It was hardly a typical family summer holiday - but in his five years of life, you didn't think Cosmo had known many typical experiences.

The bed in the master suite was smaller than what you were used to sharing at home, it was similar to the size you had owned during the first few years of your relationship with Ethan and Damiano.

At first, you were mostly just relieved that you didn't have a growing baby in your stomach to rob some of the limited space of the mattress. But the closeness had led to some unexpected results - a tangle of legs was a perfect starting point for intimacy. And soon the three of you were moving in even closer, rediscovering one another's bodies and eliminating all of the space between you. You woke up with an erection poking you in the small of your back and you asked Damiano if he needed help handling that. What started off as teasing could easily escalate when your crotch was already lined up with Ethan's.

You were sleep deprived but happy. There was something in the air here in Beckenham that had lust pumping through your veins when one of your boyfriends gave you a certain look.

It had been the fourth night in a row - a feat unheard of since having Cosmo. You didn't fall asleep until after 3am, three naked bodies weaved together, blissfully happy but exhausted.

This was how Cosmo found you, bursting into the room after hammering on the shut door. It was barely past 3.30 but you all jolted awake, you were so close to the edge of the mattress that you almost tumbled out to the ground.

"Mama, Mama!" He wasn't crying, but there was definitely a panic in his voice. You switched on the lamp, grabbing for the sheet. "I saw a ghost."

"Ghost?" Ethan asked from beside you.

Cosmo came into the light and you were relieved to see his cheeks were dry. His hair was sticking up in all directions and you could tell that he had been recently awoken from a deep sleep.

You extended your arms out and he jumped up into the bed, crawling roughly across your body (when had he gotten so solid and heavy?) to put himself between you and Ethan. Damiano propped himself up, reaching over to smooth down some of Cosmo's hair.

"What happened baby Mo-mo?" You asked.

Cosmo sat up on the pillow, making sure he had the attention of all three of you as he started to explain. "I woke up 'cause I thought I- I heard something and so I woke up and then I see'd something- I see'd something glowing…" He was out of breath, talking loudly. "It was like a… uh, like a tall man and he was glowing, like the moon."

Damiano had gotten out of bed, pulling on a pair of underwear. There was a serious look on his face. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Nuh-uh. He just kinda pointed at me."

"Do you want me to come with?" Ethan offered.

"No, stay with Moe."

Although there wasn't any chance that someone could have broken in, the property was secured behind a fence, it was a private residence. But Damiano was prepared to take your son's words seriously, awakened into a state of focus. He switched on the hallway light and headed for the door directly opposite yours.

"Give him ten seconds." You told Ethan quietly.

"The ghost isn't gonna hurt Papa, is it?"

Ethan pulled the wide-eyed toddler into his arms, rocking him ever so slightly. "No way, there aren't any mean ghosts in this house, Mo-mo."

"All clear." Damiano shouted out from the other room. But he didn't immediately come back, probably performing double-checks on the window locks and in the wardrobe.

"Yeah, there's only nice ghosts here." You said to Cosmo who was beginning to settle in against Ethan. "'Cause the people who lived here were so happy. They were sharing their gifts with each other and then the world. This is a special place where creative people found their voices, they found the right colours to paint with and they made so much beautiful art here." You could see that his eyelids were looking heavier, that excited look out of his eyes. "What you saw was just one of those artists, they probably keep an eye on the house, like fairies, keeping that creativity alive. No scary ghosts, I promise you baby."

"He didn't look all that scary." Cosmo said, resting his head down onto the pillow.

"Yeah, maybe he used to stay in that room and he was just checking out how you had decorated it." Ethan said as Damiano returned to the room, looking far more relaxed.

"It must've been a shy ghost, he didn't wanna hang out with me." He climbed back into the bed, lying down behind Ethan.

"Don't take it personally Papa." Cosmo said.

"Thanks babe." Damiano said, half-laughing. "Are we ready to go back to sleep?"

"I get to stay here?"

"Yes Moe, you can sleep here." You said and you reached out, shutting the light off.

"Why are you all naked?" His little voice asked and there was an awkward pause, seemingly the other two were waiting for you to take the responsibility of answering this.

"Because buddy, Papa spilt his tea over on the chair that all of our jammies were on." You said and you heard Ethan snicker quietly. "We couldn't really sleep in wet clothes, could we?"

"No. You'd get sick."

"Exactly." You said.

………

The next day, you were working with Cosmo to create a sigil, drawing it out on paper - an attempt to signal to any potential ghosts that his room was his alone, not any wayward spirits.

You didn't know what the correct protocol was in this situation - your experience with the supernatural was very limited. But you wanted to support his curiosity, you wanted him to explore this potential. You had always wanted to see a ghost and you thought this could be a positive experience. You didn’t want this to be a scary situation for him.

You had gathered the information regarding this sigil online, reading what you could in between keeping an eye on the three kids. It seemed nothing was a guarantee in the world of spirits. But it was best to set the right intentions and you didn’t see why this couldn’t be a teaching opportunity. You could show your children to respect everyone.

You had drawn the lines of the sigil, getting the basis of the protection spell perfect. Cosmo picked his favourite colours to fill in the paper, making it bright and happy.

"Do we haf'ta call in the ghostbusters? Or a psycho?" Cosmo asked, his big eyes looking up at you as you sipped your coffee.

"Psychic, honey." You corrected. "And that’s definitely something we can look into. But if we were gonna call in any ghostbusters- it’d be the lady ghostbusters.”

“Yeah.”

There were heavy footsteps coming up the staircase into the living room. Thomas appeared from out of the basement recording studio. He was rushing, only slowing down once he spotted you and the kids.

"Hey, hey, it's not about to be naptime or anything, is it?" He asked, out of breath.

"No." Sylvia shouted - her favourite word.

You checked your watch. "That is actually correct, not yet. Why?"

"We need Cozzie. Well, all of you, if you wanna… But we've got this song and we think it's good, but we need to know if it's really good, if it's good enough for Cozzie to dance to." He said.

Cosmo had jumped up, looking at you eagerly. "Can we, Mama? Can we?"

"Of course, baby." You got up from the couch. "Let's go girls." Marsha had already moved away from the horse figures she had been playing with. "Do you want Mama to carry you, Sylvie?"

"No."

Cosmo led the way down the stairs while Marsha took Thomas' hand and they slowly moved to the stairs as well. Sylvia made her own way down the staircase, taking them one at a time with her arm reached up to the banister. You shadowed her, ready to catch her, but she didn't need your help. She confidently took on the stairs, a wobble here and there, but never toppling over.

The atmosphere in the studio space was entirely different, so much energy in the air. You almost felt like you could reach a hand out and just grab some of the creativity that the musicians were currently tapping into.

Marsha had joined Ethan behind the drumkit, resting her head against his. He was her favourite person in the whole world right now - her security blanket and her walking talking teddy bear. She could always be calmed down by him and she would cling to her dada. He had become quite skilled at doing things one-handed, spending more time than not, with the toddler held at his hip.

Sylvia had been scooped up by Damiano, but she wasn't paying much attention to him. She was looking around at all of the equipment, a look of concentration on her face. She always wanted to know exactly what was going on.

You saw Cosmo climbing up to stand on top of the desk Victoria was seated at. He was so sure of himself, making no nervous checks of how close he was to the edge. He was smiling widely and you could hear her joking with him already.

"You wanna press the button sweetie?" Damiano asked, holding Sylvia up by the speaker controls.

"No."

"You're right. I'm the one at work right now, not you. I'll do it." He caught your eye over his shoulder and winked.

He hit a few buttons and you were relieved when what came from the numerous speakers wasn't a deafening experience fitting for one of their stadium gigs. That was how they used to play new songs for you and the music got louder depending on their level of excitement. But there had been a lot more alcohol in those days and Damiano had since learnt to communicate to you with hand gestures, as opposed to yelling 'oh shit, here it comes' in your face as the song built to the crescendo.

This was a reasonable volume, loud enough to be heard clearly but not so loud that you would have children complaining about ringing in their ears for hours afterward. He started to bob to the quick tempo, smiling encouragingly to Sylvia.

"That's Papa!" She pointed to his face when the vocals came in.

Thomas was making his way to the middle of the room, nodding his head and copying the beat by tapping his fingers in the air. He was watching Cosmo, trying to inspire dancing from the 5-year-old.

You heard the restrained moment that signalled the build up to the chorus. Thomas had started to pump his fist above his head and Cosmo watched him, swaying his little body.

Then the drums came back in, quicker than before and Cosmo's face truly lit up. He cheered and jumped onto the floor, moving over to where Thomas was clapping. The two of them started to shuffle around each other, arms thrown about.

Damiano had come over to your side, shimmying his shoulders. He was singing to Sylvia, who was swinging her legs in time to the music. You let him take your hand and lift it above your head, sending you into a twirl.

Looking across the room, you saw that Marsha had one of the drumsticks in her hand. She was using it as a fairy wand, much to Ethan's amusement.

"What about this bit Cozzie?" Thomas asked. "Maybe we should dance lower for this bit."

"Yeah, lower." Cosmo mimicked Thomas' movements, bending his knees and bobbing down with each beat.

But when the next chorus began, Cosmo sprang back to his feet. He started to twirl around and Victoria cheered, her phone out, pointed to the excited kid. The smile on his face got bigger as he kept dancing in his little circle.

"He likes it, he really likes it." You told Damiano. "And why wouldn't he? It's great."

"Yeah, you like it?" He asked.

"Yeah and I liked it when you were humming it in the shower this morning and I liked it when you were humming it while you were peeling potatoes yesterday."

"It's good, huh?"

You gave him a kiss on the cheek before you got distracted by the definite end of the song. You looked to Cosmo, who had finished spinning. "Moe, what did we practice this morning?"

"Oh, right." He got a look of concentration on his face as everyone in the room watched him.

He took a couple of measured steps back then ran forward, picking both feet up at the same time. He landed upon his knees with enough momentum to slide a few inches. Then he punched the air above his head, holding this dynamic pose.

"Wow. That's your best big finish yet." Ethan said.

Thomas held his hands up to high-five Cosmo on both hands. "Awesome, you gotta show me how to do that."

"What do you think sweetie Sylvie?" Damiano asked. "Did you like it?"

"No."

"So you hated it?"

"No."

Victoria laughed. "Okay, I guess it needs some more work then…"

..........

Damiano and Thomas were the only two left in the studio at this late hour, they were locked away in the sound-proofed room, obsessing over the vocals for a ballad. The kids were all asleep, even Marsha despite her not being tucked into bed like her siblings.

She had refused to settle, whinging and forcing out some sobs anytime Ethan attempted to put her down. The only way to keep her quiet was to keep her with him. Her tears had dried as she twirled some of his hair around her fingers, perfectly comfortable wrapped up in his arms.

She didn’t stir when he joined you and Victoria at the dining table, she peacefully slept on as he was dealt into your game of poker. You were using pieces of candy in the place of betting chips.

“Remember when we used to play strip poker?” Victoria asked, surrendering more jellybeans to Ethan.

“Yeah, and you were just as terrible then.” He said, he was pushing his newly-won items into the order he had established, divided up into six colour groups, beginning with red and finishing in purple.

A sudden movement off to the left caught your eye and you quickly looked around, expecting to see Chili. But there was nothing there, that side of the room was empty, everything undisturbed.

“Babe, it’s your turn.” Ethan said and you turned back to the table. “Are you alright?”

“I thought I saw… where’s the dog?” You asked and she grabbed the paw of the puppy in her lap, raising this up to wave at you. “Oh, he’s been there this whole time, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah, is everything okay?” She asked.

You shook your head. “It’s nothing, I’m sure it’s nothing.” He gave your knee a squeeze. “I must’ve just spent too long today talking and thinking about ghosts, so now I think I’m seeing them.”

“So, you believe Moe, you reckon he really saw a ghost last night?” She asked, considering you over the top of her wine glass.

“Well I believe in ghosts.” He said. “I may not have seen any, but that doesn’t mean they’re not real.”

"They've gotta be, right? Otherwise, what's the option? Just nothingness, like Neverending Story?"

She shook her head. "Don't even go there… That movie just ruined me when I was a kid. Moe asked me if I wanted to watch it with him the other day, and I'm sorry you guys, but I lied to the baby. I said that I had to help Thomas write a letter to River. I don't know why, but that was the first thing I could think of."

“Maybe I’m just getting too into the idea of being in a space inhabited by Bowie, but do we need to consider the option that it could be his ghost?” You asked.

“I think that no matter what, when we’re doing press, we say that yes, we were definitely being visited by the spirit of David Bowie.”

He shifted uncomfortably, readjusting his hold on Marsha. “Isn’t that a little, um, disrespectful to his memory?”

“Oh please.” Victoria said. “It’s not like we’re saying he’s an incubus who was trying to impregnate me…”

“Who did what?” Thomas asked loudly, announcing his emergence from the studio.

“I’m just saying we could say far worse. And right now, we don’t have any evidence to suggest that it isn’t Bowie’s ghost…”

Damiano had come into the room following the guitarist and he moved over to put his hands over the ears of a completely oblivious Marsha. “Don’t say stuff like that in front of my baby.”

“Besides, it can’t be Bowie.” Thomas said, leaning down to help himself to some of Ethan’s candy winnings, disrupting the rainbow as he did so. “He’s a Buddhist so he’s probably already been reincarnated. They cremated him and scattered his ashes in Bali. Why would he come back here and repeat himself?” Ethan slapped Thomas’ hand away before anymore of his jellybeans could be stolen.

You sighed as Damiano placed his arms around your shoulders. “I can’t figure out if that’s depressing or comforting…”

“Either way, I’m sleepy and I’m gonna take this as an opportunity to tap out before Ethan starts lecturing Thomas for ruining the game and having no respect for the game of poker.” Victoria said and she downed the rest of her wine before standing up. She patted the thick fur on Chili’s head, the dog quite content to be carried around by her. “Come on Chili, last call to do your business.”

She left for the backyard, with Thomas soon after bidding the three of you goodnight, retiring to his bedroom upstairs.

Ethan looked at you - his eyes signalling a mild element of distress, either his arm had fallen asleep or he needed to pee. It was clear that this cuddle with Marsha had run its course for him. “Do you think- it’s worth a try- oh, but she could-”

“Darling, that baby is drooling on you. She is most definitely asleep. Just move slowly and make sure Big Ted is there to prop her against.” You said.

“Right.” He began to get up, a look of deep concentration on his face as he did so. “You two are gonna come up soon, yeah? ‘Cause I don’t have a Big Ted substitute for you…”

“Yes, honey.”

Damiano grabbed his hand before your boyfriend could take more than two steps away from the table. “Hey, happy birthday baby, it’s after one.”

“Oh, it is?”

Damiano put a hand to Ethan’s cheek, bringing him in for a soft kiss. Ethan stroked his back, the two of them sharing a smile. "Happy birthday, my love."

"I love you." Ethan pecked him again then stepped aside, moving over to give you a kiss. "And I love you."

You cupped his face, standing up to give him a deeper kiss. "Happy birthday baby daddy. Go put that baby to bed." You patted his chest. "We'll be up soon…"

He left for the staircase, one hand keeping Marsha steady. You turned to Damiano, putting your arms around his waist, with him embracing you. He placed some kisses across your forehead and you were ready to cuddle him for the rest of the night, as long as you could.

“Did you get the song finished?”

He groaned. “No, it just doesn’t… there’s something about it, that’s off.” You pushed your hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I’m not singing it right. Every time I finish a take, I think that I could’ve done it better. I don’t know how and it’s getting frustrating, so we just… we are gonna come back to it later.”

“You’ll get it Daddy, you’ll find the magic.” You said, giving his butt a couple of encouraging pats. “You always do. How’s your throat? Do you want me to make you some tea?”

“I’ll get it myself. You should go cuddle our man, get him warm for me.”

You smiled and kissed him. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

You let go of him, with him going into the kitchen while you went in the opposite direction to go back to the dining table. From the table you collected your phone and the baby monitor.

“I’m gonna-”

A squawk of upset sobbing interrupted your sentence, one of the girl’s voices coming through the speaker clearly.

“No, I’m not gonna go to bed. I’m gonna go check on that child.” You said to Damiano.

“Sylvie.” He said.

“It’s gotta be.” You agreed, heading for the stairs. “The way that girl is teething- you’d think she was a shark.”

“‘Cause sharks have so many rows of teeth, very good.” He said sarcastically. “And yet, it’s me who gets accused of making all the dad jokes.”

You made your way into the bedroom the twin girls were sharing. You found Ethan was already in there, holding Sylvia and in the process of trying to soothe her. Marsha was quietly sleeping in her own bed.

You approached Ethan in the room, illuminated only by the soothing slightly-yellow glow of the nightlight. You put your hand to Sylvia's back as she sobbed noisily, clearly putting all of her chest into it.

"It's her teeth."

"Teeth." She repeated in a pained howl.

"Oh, I know sweetie. Your teeth are so mean." You held your arms out and he placed her into your embrace.

"I'll go get your ring from the fridge, okay sweetie?"

You grabbed his wrist before he could leave to retrieve the soothing chew-toy. "No, no, no, you go to bed baby, I've got this." You started to lead the way out of the room, leaving Marsha to her rest. "I'll take care of this, you sleep."

"Are you sure?"

You bounced the crying little girl lightly. "Yes darling, please let me handle this."

He pecked you on the cheek, then kissed Sylvia on the forehead. You carried her down the stairs, cooing and patting her back - without managing to stall her crying at all.

"It's okay, baby. Mama's got ya, it's okay."

"Teeth." She weeped again.

"I know, I know. Shh." You entered the kitchen, heading directly for the fridge. Damiano put down his cup of tea as you grabbed out the chilled ring of silicone cushions. It fit easily into her hand - one of the water-filled bubbles curled into her fist while she deposited another into her mouth. “There we go - aw, isn’t that so much better?”

“Sylvie, why are your teeth so mean?” He asked, giving her ankle an affectionate squeeze.

You shut your eyes as you held your daughter close to your chest, rocking her gently and continuing to make shushing sounds. She wouldn’t abruptly stop crying and you hadn’t expected as much. She had to work herself down, but she was noticeably quieter. This would probably delay your own bedtime by about an hour and there was never any guarantee that she would settle back into bed - her inflamed gums may just irritate her all night.

“Let me.” The transfer to his arms went smoothly. “I can’t go to sleep yet, I’ve still gotta make Ethan’s c-a-k-e…”

Despite your arms being empty, you continued to sway, in time with how Damiano held the upset toddler. “It’s so late. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you got something from the store, it’s not gonna make him doubt your love for him.”

“No, I’ve gotta.” He said, a determined look on his face. “This is something I can’t just buy anyways. It’s gotta be special, for him.”

“Alright. But no letting this one help you.” His version of the kids helping him in the kitchen was for them to do taste tests and end up with icing on their faces before the cake was out of the oven. “I’m gonna shower but I can help you put her down after that…”

You left the kitchen to the sounds of Sylvia’s crying getting quieter. He was humming to her, something calming but unfamiliar.

Your hot shower had you feeling all the more ready to fall asleep, even if it hadn’t completely eased the sore muscles in your back. You silently pulled on pjs in the bedroom where Ethan was sound asleep.

The rest of the mansion was silent and it seemed there was no one left to soothe, no problems left to solve on this day. You went back downstairs and with every step, you anticipated to hear Sylvia crying again - you just had to get within earshot of her powerful lungs. The kitchen was empty, Damiano’s cup of tea missing from the countertop.

You made moves to track them down, finding every room empty - until you came upon the recording studio.

You let yourself into the large studio space, where all of the lights were on. You could hear Damiano singing and looking to your right, you found him sitting behind the glass wall, laying down some vocals. Sylvia was in his lap, looking quite sleepy as she carried on sucking on her teething ring. His headphones were covering only one ear as he sang to the baby more so than to the microphone.

You sat down in front of the mixing deck (the majority of its buttons were still a mystery to you - Thomas had tried to teach you some of the ‘basics’ more than once, but it never stuck). You didn’t recognise the track that Damiano was singing over and you marvelled at how it could already sound like a finished song. You felt warmth filling your stomach as you listened to the unfolding ballad.

You lamented not having your phone in hand and therefore missing the chance to make any record of this moment. It was beautiful, taking your breath away how natural he was with your kids, being able to dedicate so much of himself to them without letting his career suffer because of it.

He finished singing and then the music reached its end. He looked down at Sylvia. “Hmm?”

“No.” She grumbled, making him laugh.

You put your finger onto the button that opened the communication from you to him and spoke into the microphone. “Hey, can you sing Beggin’ next?”

His head whipped up to look at you. “To quote our daughter: no.”

“No.” Sylvia echoed.

…………

“Dad, it’s your birthday!” Cosmo’s face was incredibly close to Ethan’s as your boyfriend remained laid out in bed. He hadn’t heard all three of the kids come into the room and part of you felt guilty for waking up from this deep slumber. But the kids were ready to burst with excitement, they wanted to lavish all of their affections upon him and holding them back wouldn’t have worked for long.

“Da-da.” Marsha sang out, the party horn between her lips was waiting to be fired off. She had to wait for Ethan to open his eyes first, that was the agreement that allowed her to have the noisemaker.

Sylvia was clinging to Damiano’s back like a monkey, bouncing as she looked over his shoulder. “Wake up, wake up.”

One of Ethan’s eyelids cracked open and Marsha gasped loudly. She blew into the party whistle, making a quick sound, before it flew out of her mouth. The toy collided with his forehead and now his eyes were completely open.

Marsha instantly moved over, puckering her lips as she did so. “Sorry Dada, I kiss better. I kiss better.”

“Papa, play the song quick.” Cosmo shouted.

It was complete mayhem, all before Ethan had been given the chance to sit up or even say anything. Marsha was covering his forehead in enthusiastic kisses as Damiano pressed a button to play the song he had queued up.

“When does he get to bit where we sing- where we sing happy birthday?” Sylvia demanded to know over the sound of the Stevie Wonder song’s intro.

“Happy birthday Dada.” Marsha said, throwing her arms around Ethan as he slowly began to lift himself up.

He pulled her into his embrace, his reactions delayed as he struggled to pull himself out of sleep. But he was smiling as he slowly looked around himself, getting a lay of the landscape that had appeared during his slumber.

“Happy birthday Dad.” Cosmo sprang forward next. “We made you a crown.” He brought the wreath of plastic leaves and flowers out from behind his back. The three of them had spent a lot of time getting the order of the coloured flowers exactly right, completing the headwear with assistance from Victoria.

“A crown?” Ethan repeated, eyes lighting up at the sight of the rainbow flower crown. “You made me a crown? Oh, that’s so beautiful. Do I get to wear it?”

“Yes, silly.” Cosmo said, moving to place the decorated ring onto Ethan’s head himself. “It’s your birthday so you’ve gotta wear it, all day.”

“And I’m going to.” Ethan said, the bright flowers nestled perfectly upon his un-brushed hair. “You couldn’t pay me to stop wearing this.”

Damiano led the singing when the chorus came in. “Happy birthday to ya. Happy birthday to ya.” Cosmo was clapping along to the beat while Sylvia went over to take up the remaining space in Ethan’s lap. “Happy birth-daaaay.”

Ethan nodded his head from side-to-side, a twin in each arm as Cosmo fixed his father’s hair. They were all smiling - for once Sylvia wasn’t on the verge of saying no.

You looked to the opposite side of the bed where Damiano was watching this pandemonium. He caught your eye and smiled at you - making you wonder if he was thinking the same thing as you, thinking about how much quieter birthday mornings used to be. They could get loud, but that was usually worked up to - in fact, it was on Ethan’s birthday that the twins had been conceived.

You heard laughter from the doorway, spotting Victoria and Thomas watching. Victoria had her phone in hand, the camera pointed to the bed. Thomas’ hair was sticking up in all directions and he rubbed his eye with the back of his hand, but he was amused nonetheless.

“We gotta make the birthday daddy his coffee.” She said, approaching the bed as the kids joined in on the second chorus. “Who wants to help and we can get all the presents together on the table for him?”

You gave Cosmo a few pats on the back to get his attention. “Everyone- everyone wants to help make Dada some coffee, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” Cosmo said, successfully tricked into leaving the room.

Victoria grabbed Sylvia from the bed and kissed Ethan on the cheek. “Happy birthday.”

“Cozzie, I’m half-asleep so I hope that you know what kind of coffee Dada likes…” Thomas said, taking Cosmo’s hand and beginning into the hallway. “‘Cause I don’t know where to start. How do you make coffee, we put jelly in there, right?”

He laughed. “No, silly Billy.”

“My name’s Tom…”

“No, not when you’re being silly, then you’re Billy.”

“Billy!” Sylvia cheered.

Once everyone else was out of the room, Damiano shut the door. With the music turned off, it was almost silent, almost peaceful. You moved over to snuggle into Ethan’s side, putting an arm around his middle.

“Your birthday wish wasn’t to sleep late, was it?” You asked as he linked his fingers through yours.

“No.”

“He’s too realistic for that.” Damiano commented, placing himself at Ethan’s other side and kissing him noisily on the cheek. “Happy birthday baby daddy.”

“Thank you.” He kissed Damiano quickly then kissed the top of your head. “And thank you.”

“We could try to delay them if you wanna go back to sleep for a while…” You said.

“No, it’s fine, I promise. I think I got enough sleep.” He said. “You idiots on the other hand- did either of you come to bed, like, at all?"

“Umm…”

“I got to Sylvia’s bed and I was just gonna lay down with her for a sec’.” Damiano said. “And then it was morning and Marsha was poking me.”

"We've got a fairy-themed tea party organised for this afternoon, so be prepared to wear wings and have glitter everywhere." You said.

"Yeah, I just hope it's gay enough for you…"

Ethan sat forward, flicking his hair back off of his shoulders. "Of course it will, did you not see my freakin' crown?"

.........

“Caw caw.”

You whipped your head around to where this sound had come from - finding Thomas and Sylvia standing at the edge of the sitting parlour. She was eagerly smiling, holding onto both of his hands and standing on his feet.

The other two adults in the room hadn’t noticed and so you were able to get up, responding to the signal without attracting any attention your way. Under the numerous cords of fairy-lights, Ethan and Victoria were too concentrated on the game of snap they were sharing with Cosmo. You had been playing as well, but after losing too many head-to-head rounds you had retired to the closeby couch instead.

It had been a fun day, everyone running around in colourful wings, so much laughter (a highlight for you had been an impromptu photoshoot out in the afternoon sun, Ethan in the sunshine, wearing his crown and wings as he pushed the twins on the swings - you had never seen someone so content with their place in the world).

But you were exhausted, already looking forward to the twins' bedtime at six-thirty. Even though this was a more laid-back party than all the hoopla that went into any birthday celebration for the kids, you could still feel that your energy had died off and you weren't anticipating a second wind anytime soon.

You followed Sylvia and Thomas into the kitchen, where Damiano was lighting the last of the candles that decorated this slab of cake.

"My bird call was good, huh Mama?" Sylvia said.

"It was amazing, sweetie and it sounded so realistic that nobody else heard it." You said.

"Wow, maybe one day she could grow up to be a spy." Thomas said and her eyes grew wide with excitement - you weren't certain that she had learnt the word spy yet, but she was just thrilled to be complimented.

"I figure me and Tom will carry it, and you and Sylvie can get everyone's attention by singing Happy Birthday." Damiano said.

"Gre-"

"No." Sylvia declared.

But before anyone had the chance to stop her, she had spun around, confidently making her way out of the kitchen. "Haaa-ppy…"

"Okay, shit, we're going now, I guess." Thomas said, shuffling over to help Damiano lift the cake.

You rushed out after her. She was skipping her way across the floor, singing as she went. You started to sing as well, trying to impress upon Ethan that everything was going according to plan. Despite not being in on the plan, Cosmo and Marsha didn’t have to be told what was going on - they were singing as well. Victoria had pulled her phone out, recording Ethan as the presentation of the cake unfolded.

“Cake.” Marsha exclaimed as she climbed up to sit in Ethan’s lap.

“Happy birthday grandpa.” Thomas said and he ruffled Ethan’s hair once the cake was placed onto the table before him.

“Is this a giant ice-cream sandwich?” He asked, mouth agape and his eyes wide with genuine wonder that only he could tap into. There were times when he seemed equal to the kids on a level of how easily he could be amazed. This was due to him refusing to take anything for granted - he wanted to be delighted by life.

Damiano was smiling, practically glowing with pride as he crouched down next to Ethan’s chair. “Not just an ice-cream sandwich, babe. If you’ll remember for me- Australia, 2023 and we discovered the ice-cream sandwich you had been waiting your whole life to discover.”

Ethan looked about as shocked as he had upon you telling him you were pregnant, both times. “It’s a Golden Gaytime?” Damiano nodded, watching Ethan’s reactions as Marsha inched forward, aiming to start blowing out the candles. “Where did you find a Gaytime cake?”

“I made it for you, my love. Happy birthday.”

Ethan continued to be shocked almost-speechless. He just stared at Damiano, unable to believe what your boyfriend had created. Then Ethan grabbed Damiano to pull him in closer and cover his face in kisses, making Damiano laugh.

“Dada, Dada! You gotta blow- you gotta put the candles out. ‘Else your wish won’t come true.” Marsha insisted, tugging on Ethan’s arm to get his attention.

“It’s so many candles though, baby. I’m gonna need a lot of help. Sylvie, Mo-mo - can you please help us?”

Damiano had gotten to his feet, moving over to stand next to you. You instantly wrapped your arms around his waist, needing something to hug as this adorable moment brought threatening tears to your eyes. The two of you watched, independent and not needed for this moment as the three kids sat upon Ethan’s lap. You could just watch and admire, admire how this interaction could not get any closer to perfection than what it already was.

“We made that.” Damiano whispered to you as the four other members of your family noisily blew the candles flames out (Sylvia by far the most enthusiastic).

“You made the cake.” You said.

“I meant the family, sweet thing.” He corrected gently. “That’s ours, that fairytale that we somehow plucked out of the air and brought into reality.” You held him tighter, face buried into his shirt as Thomas helped Ethan begin to cut the cake up. “People can say whatever they want about traditional family values- I’d choose this every time, every second of every day in every timeline.

“I don’t know how we did it, but somehow, we have kids who are the perfect embodiment of our love. No one is luckier than us.”

“Shut up.” You said, your shoulders shaking as tears tracked down your cheeks. “God, you’re the worst. Why don’t you just show me Mufasa’s death scene while you’re at it?”

He cradled your face in his hands, wiping at your tears. “Sorry, I just got to thinking and- I’ll stop now. Can you forgive me?”

“To quote our daughter: no.”

He laughed, wrapping his arms securely around you again. You sniffled back any further tears that could be shed and looked over to the table again. Ethan instantly caught your eye, his brow furrowed in concern and he raised his hand- forefinger and thumb curled to form an O.

You nodded and lifted up one hand- your thumb, forefinger and pinky finger standing straight up, signing to him I love you. He smiled and blew you a kiss.

……….

“Mama, is your tummy really still mad at you?” Cosmo asked as he climbed up onto the bed where you and Damiano had been lying together.

You hadn’t been out of bed for long yet today. You had gotten up to check on the kids as Damiano got their breakfasts organised. But your stomach had curled, your throat filling with a sour taste, when he had tried to offer you a cup of coffee. You were tired (despite having just woken up) and you would have appreciated the caffeine to bring you back to life, but you feared what reaction this would set off in your tummy.

As you headed back to the bedroom, you had grabbed Ethan. Speaking quietly, you had asked if he could stop by a pharmacy during his walk with the twins, Victoria and Chili.

The five of them set off for a peaceful morning walk (Cosmo had a new video game that Thomas was teaching him how to play) while you laid out in bed, joined by Damiano. He had brought you a cup of ginger tea, which you had only taken a few tentative sips of. You rested your head on his chest, soothed by the warmth on your cheek, coupled with the rhythmic rise-and-fall and his hand stroking your hair.

Cosmo crawled closer, curiously peeking at you. You gave his cheek an affectionate pinch. “Yeah, honey. Too much birthday cake.”

“You need me to kiss your tummy better?”

“Papa’s already been trying that.”

“I can do better- I can do it better.” He said, leaning down to cover your stomach with noisily, slobbery kisses.

You rolled onto your back, giggling, helpless to push him off. He wasn’t interrupted until Ethan entered into the master bedroom, a plastic bag in hand.

“You got Mama’s medicine?” Cosmo asked.

“Sure did, buddy. Hey, Aunt Vicky said Chili still had some zoomies to get out after the walk- did you wanna go help her throw the ball around with him out back?”

“Okay.” Cosmo said, shuffling over and jumping down from the bed.

“And see if the girls wanna go with you, yeah?” Ethan said.

“Okay, Dad.” Cosmo said, disappearing out of the room and immediately shouting out the names of his little sisters.

“I didn’t get seven.” Ethan said as you got up, taking the bag from him.

“That’s alright.”

You went into the bathroom and pulled the plastic pregnancy test out of its box. You sighed as you lowered down your pants and underwear - you had a feeling that you already knew what the result would be, without needing to pee on the stick.

You made quick work of completing the test, making your way back into the bedroom to wait with your boyfriends. You put the test on the bedside table and Ethan set a timer on his phone.

You shut your eyes as you felt Damiano stroking your back. You couldn’t determine exactly when conception could have happened, there had simply been too many nights of passion during this work holiday. You were visited by memories of Ethan on top of you, your foreheads pressed together, sharing such intense eye-contact that you thought he could fuse his soul with yours. Nights of Damiano reducing you to begging as he called you that old nickname that could make your knees weak- avida.

You heard Ethan’s phone ring and you opened your eyes, looking over to where you had put the test. “Can you check for me?”

“Sure.”

Damiano placed a kiss onto your cheek and offered you a hand to squeeze. You looked at him and nodded, you were already thinking of the ways the house would have to be altered to ensure the comfort and the safety of a new baby.

“Pregnant.”

“Knew it.” You said and threw your arms into the air.

“Well I guess we made more than an album.”

Ethan groaned. “Your dad jokes get worse with every kid…”

--- --- ---

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ykaaaras · 2 years ago

Text

The Preacher: Chapter 1

Pairing: DAMIANO DAVID x fictional female insert

Chapter summary: After badly incident, Damiano helps Medusa to remember what had happened.

Content: angst, hurt/comfort, priest Damiano David, supernatural, mention of religion, mention of possession, a little bit of fluff, anxiety, fear, hospital

Word count: 6.2k

Warnings: mention of suicide, mention of homicide

Medusa woke up in pain. Her legs felt numb and her half-open eyes were flickering painful bright light flashes. She couldn’t remember what had happened. Medusa tried to move. The pain just got even more intense and Medusa decided to stay in her position and wait till someone found her. On the other hand, she knew that she must get up because otherwise, she could be found by someone she wouldn’t expect to be found by. She couldn’t recall why she was laying here. Did someone try to kill her? Or maybe she tried to kill herself? Medusa released a quiet sigh full of pain. It was hard to even open her eyes fully. However, she had to find out where she was laying.

When she opened her eyes, the view didn’t focus immediately. But soon she realized that she was laying on cement paving. Somewhere above her head prevailed big noise. Far away on the horizon, she could see the rows of apartment buildings. Also, Medusa comprehended that she layed near water. Because of her perception of where she was Medusa felt cold and she started to shiver. She still couldn’t move her legs. She wanted to shout, but it would probably be hopeless and even impossible. Her mouth was locked. Someone should take her from here.

Finally, Medusa slowly and sorrowfully began to roll on her back. When she succeeded, above her she didn’t see the sky, but the hood of steal, which covered whole her eyesight. Medusa snored another sigh. What if her bones are broken, was the first thought after she got a little bit conscious. The pain was unbearable for real. She tried to kill herself, she remembered finally, and she got too scared. She didn’t succeed? Or maybe she was in hell? Suddenly she heard steps approaching, the sound of shoes clapping on the paving, while they were getting closer to her. Medusa got scared and closed her eyes, she wanted to let whatever that was think that she was dead. Her wish to be found suddenly disappeared. She was worrying that it wasn't the help that was coming. To be honest, she understood that she was rather dead.

The footsteps approached even more. Medusa put all the strength into herself and her body so she wouldn’t move, pant, or breathe even though it was very hard. The sleeve of her yellow hoodie was bloody and she couldn’t pay attention anywhere else. Blood, that means something was broken. But it would be stupid to hope that she’s whole, she fell from the bridge it was weird that she was alive in general. Someone stood beside her. Medusa got deadly scared. She felt that there were three men and a girl. Medusa tried to convince herself that she never met any of them, but deep inside she felt like she knew them from somewhere. They observed Medusa for some time. Then the girl leaned in front of Medusa, but she didn’t squat, just stood.

“You think she’s alive?” asked her.

It prevailed a little, short silence among them. They were watching every shudder of Medusa, and she wondered how obvious that she was alive.

“I don’t know. Check it,” answered one of the men.

“Isn’t it obvious, can’t you see that she’s breathing?” the man who said it seemed quite perspicacious, or Medusa just couldn’t hide well enough. “Check her pulse, Victoria.”

Victoria squatted down and put two of her fingers on Medusa’s neck near her jawline. Feeling cold Victoria’s fingers Medusa flinched unwillingly. She felt how Victoria smiles.

“Alive,” informed and stood up.

Victoria — thought Medusa — a name so heard and voice very not of the stranger. Who was she? And what they intended to do to Medusa? Now there’s no point in pretending. She loudly moaned with fear and pain. Couldn't speak. When she tried to say something, she just felt that she gargled with blood. She hardly opened her eyes again and began to look around. At first, she was scared to turn her eyes to strangers. But when she dared, her eyes expanded even though it was painful. She saw them somewhere for real. But where the fuck? There was a man with long, black hair, the other was tall and blond, Victoria, and then it seemed there was... a priest? He wore a white collar that is worn by priests and he had a little pendant with a cross on his neck. Medusa frowned as much as her strength let. He seemed probably the most seen of all of them. And his smile with dimples on the cheeks looked intimate. Medusa didn’t get why he was smiling, she didn’t understand what they were talking about in general. She was in a strange trance, the only thing that she still cared about was what they were going to do to her. Suddenly, that priest came near her and squatted just like Victoria did before. He attentively looked at her face, then to her eyes and Medusa shut them, she felt a little bit uncomfortable.

“You don’t remember me?” he asked gently. Medusa shook her head a little bit. The priest sighed. “She needs to be taken to the hospital,” he said to others. “Call the ambulance.”

Medusa could hear a phone signal somewhere, someone was talking about an injured girl. The longer Medusa layed the colder she got and the pain was jolting even harder, so she started to shiver more and more than before. She felt how dark haired man saw that she was cold and that she’s shaking uncontrollably. He came and took off his jacket. He lifted Medusa a little, it hurt so bad.

“Shhh…” he comforted her and wrapped her in his jacket. Medusa could feel the warmth and a pleasurable scent. Eventually, her teeth calmed down chattering. She heard the sirens.

While she was ferried into the ambulance car, she couldn’t stop moaning, and when she was moving her pain got a dozen times bigger. But finally, she was laid down and bright and almost painful lights started to flash into her eyes.

“I’m going with her,” said someone of the four. “Ethan, you can take my car.”

A few minutes passed and the priest came to the car. He sat near a paramedic in front of Medusa’s bunk. Medusa got surprised. Why him? She was wearing an oxygen mask on her face which helped her breathe. Medusa was so scared, but she felt that he was looking at her and she could not turn her gaze to him. His eyes were slightly brown and now he looked gentle and good-willing. If Medusa ever saw him, she remembers only dark and predatory ones, which probably weren’t inherent for a priest. Something was wrong. Something was so weird.

He leaned towards her. Medusa shivered with fear. She turned her head to the other side so she would avoid eye contact.

“Don’t be scared,” whispered him. “No one is going to hurt you anymore.”

Hurt? Medusa thought that she tried to kill herself. If someone did hurt her, then who? Medusa hadn’t turned her eyes on him yet. Even though she wanted to ask him what he was talking about, she didn’t dare, and to be honest she wasn’t even able, even if her body was about to relax bit by bit, her tongue was still locked. Everything she could do was shake her head and that’s what she did, started to gently shake her head. She was sure that he was smiling.

“Everything is fine,” said he leaning back. “Now you’re safe.”

Medusa moaned quietly, his voice so calming and for a moment she thought she was safe for real. Lights became brighter and Medusa hardly shut her eyes. She still tasted the blood in her mouth. They injected her with some kind of medicine, and probably Medusa was creating the danger herself, but she was afraid that she was poisoned, but how the fuck she could not trust the priest? It got hard to breathe under that mask and she couldn’t understand why... Shouldn’t it help to breathe instead? Medusa began to squirm, she wanted to jump out of the car, ran into the street, and she wanted to kill herself again, but this time she wanted to succeed. When the paramedic noticed her squirming, he tied her hands tighter to her bunk. She felt a prick in her side.

~~~

She couldn’t believe it. She woke up in the hospital, and the first thing she saw was the dropper on the side, above her head. The first thing she heard was noise in the hallway. The first thing she realized was that she was not alone in the ward. Medusa turned her heavy head. The four people who were with her under, probably, a bridge, were here. Victoria has worn a white robe, the priest was leaning on the windowsill, the tall one sat on a chair in front of the bed, and a man with long hair was also with a robe and standing near Victoria. Medusa couldn’t understand why they were there and what they want from her. Maybe she had made some kind of crime? When Victoria noticed that Medusa woke up, she came closer.

“Medusa,” her voice tone was gentle and friendly but also strict. “Can you speak?”

Medusa wanted to shake her head saying no, but then she realized that maybe she can… A little bit.

“I… I…” she took a deep breath. “Don’t… Know…”

“Hmm…” Victoria chuckled quietly. “Could you answer a few questions?”

How could she answer any question if she doesn’t remember anything? Everything she saw in front of her eyes was the top of that bridge and later that priest in the ambulance car where was flashing bright lights. Medusa turned her eyes to him. He leaned his head against the window and looked directly into her face, when their gazes met he smiled a little bit, and friendly and softly blinked with one of his eyes. Medusa felt herself blushing. She was curious if Victoria noticed it. It’d be very awkward.

Medusa nodded. Victoria smiled again.

“Well, first of all, do you remember what happened? Do you remember who are we?”

Medusa shook her head.

“No,” said as clearly as she could. It was too scary what can come back to the head.

“And maybe if you think a little?” lifted her eyebrow Victoria, but seeing how Medusa was ‘thinking’, she realized that the girl’s brain was probably deeply damaged. “It’s okay,” Victoria comforted her. “You’ll remember it eventually.”

Medusa sighed hard in disagreement.

“...Or we can introduce ourselves… Once again. Would it be acceptable for you?” asked Victoria.

Medusa squirmed in her bed. If she’d remember, maybe she’ll feel any better, maybe the headache she felt because of trying to recall anything, would quiet down.

“Okay,” mumbled she. “I… Think it’d be better."

Victoria nodded. She reviews all the people now in the ward and starts to name them.

“I am Victoria de Angelis, a psychiatrist,” she showed to the man near her. “This is therapist Ethan Torchio, the guy sitting next to you is medicine student Thomas Raggi, and there,” she waved her finger to the priest. “A priest and exorcist Damiano David. We work with any kind of people who in any way, psychologically, emotionally, or physically are or were experienced possession. Does it say something to you?”

Medusa’s temples got tense. It was hard to digest this much information. However, her head started to flash flashbacks. The bridge she fell from… Could it be related to exorcism? Now she realized that whatever reason she felt from that fucking bridge was, it wasn’t suicide. Something frightened her. Medusa shut her eyes, then opened them again. Suddenly, she remembered the pain right before the fall. The pain was tearing. Someone was screaming very loudly, probably, herself. And she remembered words, a lot of words, like prayers. Then she ran away from the building she was in before and fell, that was everything she remembered for now. Did that… Damiano was with her? Or maybe they all? Perhaps her memories were lying to her. Now she couldn’t know if she can trust even her own head. Medusa looked at Victoria, can she trust her? She couldn’t recall what these people were even if they introduced themselves to her. They could lie to her, they could hurt her if they wanted. Maybe they were possessed themselves. Although Medusa was thinking such things, she realized that she didn’t answer Victoria’s question.

“I don’t know,” when she speaks it gets hard to breathe and she could still taste the blood in her mouth. “Probably not.”

Victoria sighed quietly.

“I think she needs special treatment,” said her to Ethan and he nodded.

Hearing this Medusa got confused and liven up a bit, she squirmed heavily.

“What’s the special treatment?” she asked even though it was too hard to do it.

Victoria and Ethan both turned to Medusa.

“Nothing scary, darling,” Victoria consoled her. “It’s just that we are gonna meet you more often from now on, more often than ever, more often than we did the last time, to ensure you a fledged safety.”

“Where I am?” Medusa suddenly felt the itch to know where she was. She got the fact that she was at the hospital but didn’t think about which till now. She remembered that Victoria introduced herself as a psychiatrist, not like the ordinary doctor.

“‘Casa di Cura Samadi’ psychiatry hospital of Rome,” Victoria’s voice was so casual that Medusa actually calmed down a little, even though she found out that she was at the psych ward.

Then Medusa got another thought if she was here and can’t remember anything, she still perceived that she had a family. Mom, dad, and maybe even a sister. They weren’t here. Remembering them was way easier, even though it seemed that they were light-years away from her, hiding somewhere in the corners of her brain. She wanted to know where they are now and how long she didn’t see them.

“Where are my parents?” this question made her voice shudder because she understood that she was afraid of knowing the truth. She wanted to come back to normal life even if now she was only imagining that she has one.

She saw how all four looked at each other. Then all of their glances stick to Damiano as if he should explain everything to her.

“Your parents…” began saying him. “Are high up above us.”

“Damiano,” said Victoria a little bit angrily. “Just say it so she’d understand.”

Damiano rolled his eyes. As a priest, he was quite weird…

“They’re dead, Medusa. I’m sorry.”

Medusa frowned. If she was in a different situation, a different position, it would be really sorrowful to hear that, but now it was hard to grasp. She even didn’t wanna ask what had happened to them. She felt like the answer wouldn’t cheer her up. Her hands started to itch so she frightened and squeezed her fists. What if she has done something to her parents herself, indeed? Her eyes fearfully stuck to Damiano. It was he who told her that her parents are dead. It means he knows more. But even though the fear to hear something she wouldn’t like to hear was strong, however, she must know. It was her right.

“But… But… What happened?” she asked. “In… In general?” Because of the blood taste in her mouth, she felt nauseous.

It was a short silence in the ward. All eyes stuck to Damiano again. He probably knew what happened the best. He probably was there when it happened.

Damiano switched position, he sat on the windowsill.

“Should we tell her?” asked his colleagues.

At first, they just shrugged, then nodded. Damiano sighed, he looked Medusa in the eyes. Medusa was looking at him. Her eyes were wet.

“You were possessed,” he explained. “You and your friends arranged the show about the four horsemen of the apocalypse from biblical legend, you thought you were the Death,” he scratched the top of his head as if he knew that what he was about to say will be the most unpleasant part. “You killed your parents and from three of your friends, the only one left — your sister. She’s with us, we have her. Your friends were never possessed, all the time while you thought you were real Death, they were just playing… When the exorcism was performed on you, you succeed to run away from the building, but not for long, when you felt that the demon isn’t in you anymore, you felt empty and jumped off the bridge. That’s all, now you’re here,” he got silent and tilted his head so he could see Medusa’s reaction.

Medusa’s eyes were wide open, she sat just like she was frozen. Her eyes were even wetter, it looked like she was about to cry.

“It’s safe here,” added Damiano comforting. “There’s nothing in you anymore.”

“But…” stuttered Medusa. “I?... Did… Kill them.”

Damiano nodded.

“How?” asked Medusa again.

“It will be better if you wouldn’t know, sweetheart. I’ve told you a lot, it’s enough stress for this time.”

Victoria, Ethan, and Thomas who were listening, now moved a little bit. The nurse sneaked into the ward and turned the light on. It was getting dark outside. So many things started to spin in Medusa’s head. She has a sister but can’t remember even her name.

‘Sweetheart…’ Medusa thought. What kind of relationship she had with Damiano, besides that he was a priest? She felt him a quite warm feeling and attachment, even though she understood that only now. The feeling came unexpectedly, something in Damiano’s movements reminded her of that, but he just changed his legs' position from one to another and crossed his arms on his chest.

Medusa felt tired. Exhausted. She just woke up but her body wasn’t relaxed. But she was afraid to fall asleep, afraid because they could come back. Medusa was used to seeing chimeras in the city between corners of the churches and funny spirits from various epochs, she even used to give them names if they wouldn’t have them already. However, now everything didn’t seem so fun. Now she was scared of them. Damiano, psychiatrist Victoria, and her colleagues will leave now and she’ll be left alone with her horrors again. She didn’t wanna that Damiano leave.

“Well, I think it’s time for us to go,” said Victoria. “You, Medusa, should rest and sleep for real. In case of emergency, the nurse is waking in the hallway.”

Medusa shook her head. Victoria stopped surprised, but didn’t say anything. Damiano also stood as if he was thinking if he should leave or maybe stay. He really saw that Medusa wanted that he’d stay here with her. Finally, he probably decided to leave with others, but he was stopped by the voice of Medusa.

“Damiano,” she said quietly. “Could you stay?”

Damiano smiled gently.

“Well, maybe I can. For tonight,” answered him watching how Medusa calmed down a bit and her worrying facial expression turned into relaxed, and she squinted a little bit as if she’d want to sleep indeed. From her mouth escapes an unwilling yawn.

When they left, Damiano came near the bed and leaned onto the handhold. His sleeves were rolled up and Medusa could see his tattoos.

“So you wanna say something to me?” asked him still smiling.

Medusa lowered her eyes. She wanted to know everything and how it happened. But she didn’t know how she should ask him to tell her this. She wanted that Damiano would be here when she gets sleepy. She felt like he was the only of those people whom she can trust. Is it because he was a priest? Medusa was never this religious to crave the closeness of a priest. she even was afraid of the church, it's teaching, and God. But this man was different, he did something to her that made her want that he wouldn’t ever leave.

Damiano came around the bed and sat near Medusa. He knew exactly what she wanted to know and he knew every single answer, to what she cared about. But he didn’t intend to say anything anyway unless she ask it herself. Damiano guessed that many of those things can frighten her. He was interested can she still see the creatures and spirits that she saw before the exorcism. He squinted and ran his eyes around the corners of the ward.

“Are we alone?” inquired him smiling cunningly and seeing how Medusa die away a little. She didn’t understand what he has in mind, so she nodded cowardly.

“Why?” her iris were moving while she was looking at Damiano, they were full of fear and anxiety. “Someone else… Has to be here?” when she talked her voice was shivering, she didn’t want that someone would interfere between her and Damiano.

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

“I think there’s nobody here,” her heart was jumping, she felt like something should appear here or that she has to see something. Damiano noticed it and comforted her.

“It’s okay, Dussy, if you don’t see anything in the ward, it means there’s nothing here.”

His words calmed Medusa down. She released a silent sigh full of relief. Her gaze caught Damiano’s hand placed near her hip. She wanted to take it and squeeze it, so she lifted her palm slightly, hoping that Damiano will notice what she wants. She saw a mischievous smirk on his face when he took her palm himself. What a unique priest he was, the thought was flying through Medusa’s brain. When they were sitting in silence for a while, finally Medusa found enough courage in herself to ask:

“What happened to me?”

Damiano lifted his eyebrow.

“I thought I’ve told you what happened to you already.”

Medusa shook her head in disagreement. That what he said was too little for her to understand what happened in very truth. Damiano sighed but not pitiful more like with a little surprise. He considered what he should say.

“You don’t remember what life you lived before jumping off the bridge? Not even a little bit?”

“No,” silently admitted Medusa. “Just I somewhat remember you.”

Damiano’s eyes got wide open for a second.

“What do you remember about me?” asked him with pure curiosity in his voice.

Medusa shrugged. She recalled his aura, maybe a scent or a voice, just like others but way stronger. She remembered… Affection. Dependence. She couldn’t understand it herself.

“Just…”

Damiano chuckled quietly, so Medusa did the same. Her laugh cheered Damiano up and now to be honest he didn’t wanna tell her anything so he wouldn’t ruin her now little bit improved mood. Saw how Medusa slightly smiles, take a breath and lower her eyes. Then she got upset and stuck pleading glance to Damiano again.

“But why?... Did I jump off the bridge?”

Before everything, Medusa used to go to school. It should have been her last year, but on her eighteen birthday, she celebrated with a knife in her hand, against her parents’ and friends’ throats. Now Medusa was a little worried that she could go to jail, she was an adult when she did that after all. But the scariest was the fact that she really did that herself, it seemed even stupidly unreal, incomprehensible and so so sick. When she thought about it her hand starts to shake, and the nausea of the terror begins to pulse in her stomach. Even though she couldn’t perceive it yet, she knew that a few hours will pass and she will start to miss her parents and friends. She knew that she’ll be filled with self-loathing and she’ll start to regret she didn’t die while jumping off the bridge. Which, to be honest, was really very weird. How?

Damiano thought a little, it wasn’t easy to find words that could explain to a girl why she killed so many people.

“You’ve read a book. About four horsemen of the apocalypse, the book marked a deep impression in your brain, just like teenagers start to obsess with tv shows and, well, books as well. Instead of creating a blog on the internet and writing fan fictions, which would be quite weird, because the book was written in the past century, you’ve decided to recreate the plot in the form of a comedy,” Damiano watched Medusa’s reaction to this. She listened with lowered eyes. Damiano could only imagine how she feels. How fucking scared she had to be now. “It doesn’t say anything to you?”

Medusa shook her head once again. She couldn’t recall what kind of book it could be.

“What kind of book that was?”

Now Damiano shook his head a little bit, he slightly smiled and released a small giggle.

“I won’t tell you, because what if you’ll decide to read it again one day.”

“In the form of a comedy?” asked her. “What could that be?”

“Well, the game, small tricks with friends. To neighbors, classmates, family and etc. I don’t think that it was a serious intention to hurt anybody. But playing with such things when you’re in such a mental state as you were then, is really dangerous. Biblical topics aren’t funny after all, they can come true fast if only someone has a wish.”

Medusa got cold. She kind of heard what Damiano said, but her brain didn’t process it. She was distracted by the feeling that there was someone else in the ward. But then she ran her eyes around the room, she didn’t see anything so she came back to Damiano and tried to remember what he was talking about.

“Did I have some illness?”

“Not really,” replied Damiano. “However, you experienced some kind of traumatic events, parents’ divorce, school stress, and difficulties, seasonal depression, and also you showed symptoms of false memory syndrome, which can seriously drive you crazy.”

Medusa nodded, even though she wasn’t sure what that is. She didn’t wanna ask, it would be stupid to ask about feelings you felt yourself. But on the other hand, he was a priest and probably knew what she was feeling better than she did herself. She had no idea what she should ask next, finding out other details was timid.

“Do you want to know more?” asked Damiano as if he had read her mind.

Medusa nodded her head hesitantly. Damiano noticed her confusion.

“Well, we may not speak about it,” he slapped his palms gently on his knees and wanted to stand up. “I think it’s time for you to sleep.”

“No no,” started to protest Medusa. “Tell me more, tell me everything.”

Damiano sat again on the bed.

“It could be disturbing,” he warned.

“I know,” admitted Medusa. “But maybe if you’ll tell me I’ll remember something?”

Damiano shrugged. Medusa noticed that it didn’t seem he’d believe in this.

“Why I didn’t die jumping off the bridge?” Medusa remembered the fact that seemed the most illogical to her.

“Luckyness?” laughed Damiano. “There was still the demon’s power in you that affected you physically. That’s my theory.”

Medusa frowned her eyebrows. That sounded horrible. She squeezed her blanket in her fists. Damiano was talking to her so gently even though he said such terrible things and Medusa started to feel like crying. Tears appeared in her eyes, but they didn’t run. Something scratched in the corner of the ward, behind the nightstand, and Medusa flinched immediately turning to that side.

“What?” asked Damiano and Medusa felt the interest in his voice. He didn’t hear it?

“Nothing…” Medusa lied, not knowing why. “It just seemed to me.”

Damiano nodded incredulously. But his gaze was still stuck in the corner in which Medusa was turning her head. He knew very well that she had heard something there. A girl could have seen supernatural creatures from her birth and Damiano was sure that even after this accident nothing really changed. Even though he sent away the demon which made her think that she was Death and kill people, he couldn’t cure her of this ‘illness’. Not yet. Medusa shivered but still wanted to know what happened next.

“How did it go that... I’ve killed them all?” she asked and even from that word she felt bitterness in her mouth.

“Because of bad being of yours and involving into the role, the demon possessed you, not so hard to grasp, huh?” Damiano grinned, but it wasn’t funny for him, he wasn’t mocking. “When everything started to turn crazy, your parents tried to reach your psychiatrist…”

“Victoria?” Medusa interrupted him, remembering that the doctor who was here not so long ago introduced herself as a psychiatrist. That’s why Medusa felt that she knew her from somewhere.

“Yes,” Damiano agreed. “It’s her. You used to visit her for some time before everything. She used to prescribe you sleeping pills and meds that help you to concentrate at school.”

Medusa was curious why she did badly at school, but she didn’t wanna that Damiano would discontinue telling her what happened to her parents and friends. It was so weird to perceive, how interesting what you felt and what life you had, while you don’t remember anything. The sound from behind the nightstand caught Medusa’s attention again, she curled up cowardly, whatever that was, she was the only one who heard it and she got more and more scared. What if that thing there looks scary, or even worse — it can hurt her? Maybe she should tell Damiano, maybe he could help, he was a priest after all…

“You didn’t like that your parents wanted to help you, usually demons hate when someone is trying to give help to their prey. And your friends got bored playing this game, because whatever you did something always got wrong or unsuccessful, usually what you wanted and never them. Long story short, during one sleepover demon cut through their throats,” Damiano got silent. “Your sister is still alive though, she helped to find doctors and doctors helped to find me. Now you’re clean,” he added.

Damiano wasn’t sure how much he can help saying that she was safe and free from the demon, because knowing that you killed all your loved ones now in any way should feel wrecking. He saw how a single tear dropped down Medusa’s cheek. She sat stuck her eyes to some corner of the ward, but not at the same where she heard the sound. She wasn’t thinking about the creature right there hiding behind her nightstand, she was overwhelmed by the horror which was covered by what Damiano just told her. Perception probably hit hard. One moment Damiano doubted if he did good, however, then came a thought that she deserves to know, she won’t live without any memories and especially this cruel forever. That would be even more inhumane than she felt now.

Prevailed the silence. Medusa began to snort until it became sobbing. Her crying sounds filled the whole room. Damiano looked at her face, how she was covering it, trying to stop dropping tears. Then he gently took her hand and exposed her face. Medusa wasn’t looking him in the eyes, she tried to shut her own as much as possible.

“Dussy, look at me,” comforting and almost lovingly he said to her. “Come on, look…”

Damiano knew that now he couldn’t let a girl out of his sight never. She was the most vulnerable than ever. He also was curious. Curious about what she sees and if he can send it away, even though that not as like the usual demon. He and the group of medics are going to work with this girl as much as it takes.

Medusa didn’t dare to look at Damiano. She didn’t dare to open her eyes in general. She rather doesn’t see anything than know in what reality she was. But Damiano started quietly and softly talking to her.

“I know that it’s insanely scary, but you have to understand that it’s over now… Leave your pain to God. You didn’t do that of your own will, Medusa, I know that you’ll miss your parents and your friends, but we’ll survive that grief and horror. Okay?”

Medusa was shaking her head.

“No…” she said silently. “It can’t be…”

Medusa imagines how she should have done that, how it should have looked like. She, a knife and the blood of loved ones on her hands. All the scariest views were standing in front of her eyes and none of them probably was as scary as it was in reality.

Damiano released a sigh full of sympathy. How else he could have helped her?

“Medusa, you must look at me,” even if he didn’t want to this time his voice sounded demanding and even strict.

Medusa shuddered because of his changed voice tone. She reluctantly and cowardly pulled her hand off her cheeks and hardly met Damiano’s glance. He smiled.

“That’s it. Just like that.”

“I’m scared,” whispered Medusa. She looked at Damiano’s face, it seemed that she was asking for all the possible help and safety that he can provide. Finally, she even decided to admit that, besides everything, she heard sounds from behind her nightstand. “There, behind the nightstand is something… I’m so scared.”

Damiano looked behind it. He was interested in what kind of creature she’d see there, but he didn’t wanna make her look. It was enough stress for this person tonight.

“I understand that you think that what you hear is real, but there’s nothing, trust me. No one can’t hurt you. A little bit unpleasant and that’s it,” he told her. “If you want, I can bless you and the room, if the creature is evil, felt God it’ll leave.”

Medusa snorted and nodded.

“And if it isn’t evil, I’ll still hear it?”

Damiano shrugged.

“Probably, but it couldn’t hurt you.”

Medusa nodded one more time.

“Okay,” said she quietly. “You can… Bless me…” it was a weird word for her, she had never been blessed before. She hasn’t understood how it works, religious classes at school were boring and lifeless, just Damiano looked different to her. He did something to her, she’ll never forget, even though she doesn’t remember how it happened.

Damiano switched his position. He leaned back and the dignity that was inherent to a priest appeared in him, but at the same time, he seemed relaxed and calm. He lifted one hand and made a cross sign in front of Medusa.

“In the name of Father, and the Son and Holy Spirit. Amen,” said he gently and then softly touched Medusa’s forehead with his thumb drawing there a small cross.

Medusa feeling his finger on her forehead closed her eyes and blushed. Down her cheek dropped an unwilling tear again.

“Here you go,” smiled Damiano. “Now you could sleep in peace.”

Medusa opened her eyes and quickly swiped her tear with her baby pink pajama’s sleeve. She didn’t know how she should feel. Will Damiano leave now? She didn’t want to sleep alone, even if nurses were waking in the hallway, Damiano was her small land of safety, at least for now. She still could hear the sound but she calmed down knowing that she has to trust Damiano. No one could hurt her while he was here, and that was the reason why she didn’t wanna him to leave. Horror about the parents and friends had come in waves, making her flinch.

“Are you going to leave?” asked her with fear. She was scared of a positive answer. “Please stay,” added quickly.

It’s going to be hard for Medusa to sleep. Seemed the night was full of nightmares. She needed, that someone would be here beside her when she’ll woke up at night not knowing where she is and screaming in pain with every flashback. She was so scared of it, but that was what gonna follow her for no one knows how long. Maybe for decades, maybe for whole her life, and even after death…

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart,” Damiano comforted her.

Medusa released a sigh of relief. She adjusted her pillow and lay down. She was still looking at Damiano, at his face, and saw how he smiles. Then she gathered enough courage to take his hand again, but this time herself. His palm was so soft and warm. She squeezed it hard, and Damiano wasn’t resisting. Medusa closed her eyes, if he’ll be here and held her hand, maybe she will succeed to sleep for real, maybe the nightmare will be easier.

“You’ll be here while I sleep?” asked Medusa again, she wanted to be sure.

“Yes yes, I’ll always be here,” he calmed her down. She squeezed his hand so hard that he even felt pain, but he didn’t mind. Let the girl settle down.

Damiano knew that now they’ll spend so much time together. He knew that now he has to protect her from she wouldn’t be doing any bad things. Now he was about to take her with him and be her protector for as much time as it takes.

A/N: This is a very first fic I've ever written. The story will go on :) Thank you for any kind of attention. ❤️

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