#ends up recovering quick once the whole near death thing passes

[citrine-elephant]

thinking about the scene in vendetta, where arias does his grand reveal and leaves chris to die? chris seeing his comrade turned into a controllable weapon.

yeah i'm thinking of a tragic chreon moment like that

chris about to face a similar monster like that of arias. and with the cycle of retraumatizing these poor guys, a mirror of those events with another familiar face.

it's not meant to show off bioweapon tech. it's specifically to spite chris. bonus points if this is just after vendetta. leon's recovery leaves him far from that dark abyss and far closer to something hopeful. the edge of spring, of a new sunrise....

and there he is. glazed over eyes, those once intense blues faded into the haze of white, scratched with veins of infection. he doesn't focus on anything. not the man holding the reins of his leash. not his friend on the other side of the way.

his shoulders hang low with his body swaying gently, unsteady on withering legs. he looks as if the underworld was siphoning off his energy by pulling him in closer to hell. his soul, long gone now...

gaunt. whether it was torture at the hands of this new evil, or if its the infection eating him from the inside. to say it wasn't a literal visual embodiment of the saying, "shell of his former self," would be a blatant lie.

to see leon so weak, so frail. a brighter future just out of reach, snatched away. leaving him like this. except, so far as chris knows, there's no coming back from this.

visions of the future torment him more than anything this monster could say. visions of putting down leon. one last goodbye. one last gentle kiss to the shell's forehead. to wonder if leon even understood a goddamned thing going on....

[honeyabyss]

When Mc gets sick

Lucifer:

will scold the hell out of you

"didn't I tell you to take care of yourself?"

you can have only a slight cold and he will insist on you staying in bed for the rest of the week

humans are weak and die easily, and you're apparently stupid on top of that for getting sick even after his warning

will constantly sigh, scold and act like it's a huge nuisance taking care of you

says he doesn't care

actually cares a lot

keeps his brothers away from you, so you have peace and silence to recover

if your condition worsens he will grow panicked, he doesn't want to lose you!

will take you to a human world doctor so you can get the right treatment

after your recovery, he will be so paranoid and overprotective for the first few weeks, will wrap you up in blankets, constantly makes sure you drink and eat enough, will put his coat over your shoulders if he even just gets the idea you might find it cold

Mammon:

"that's your own fault!"

someone like the great Mammon would never get sick

leaves the room only to come back half an hour later panting and packed with bags full of medicine and other stuff you might need

he didn't know what you need so he got one of all

there isn't the right thing among it? oh well no worries he'll get you whatever you say

after all he cares a lot for his human, even though he denies it

he will keep you company and try to distract you from your pain through telling you about his new money making schemes, or try to get you to laugh through telling you about stories where he failed and received Lucifers punishment

he doesn't like that you  have to go through this so he tries to help you however he can

if you'll ask for some quiet time, he will struggle, it's not like he doesn't want you to have some rest to recover, it's just he is so worried and confused, he feels more at ease when you talk to him or laugh about his stories, if you answer that is prove you're still alive and breathing

once you've recovered everything goes back to normal, Mammon will be confident in his ability to take care of you...for now that is, it's probably diffrent once you're actually sick again

Leviathan:

stupid normie! An otaku like him doesn't get sick, because he never leaves his room and avoids interactions with others

he, of course, secretly cares though

"Mc? I brought you these anime that we can watch together to pass the time"

"oh and in case you want to rather read something in silence, I brought you some manga recommendations, but please don't sneeze all over them..."

does the online RAD lessons with you as he stays at home almost everyday anyway, so he can show you how they work and help you

he will awkwardly sit next to you on the bed, trying to keep a small distance between the two of you A) because he is shy and nervous and B) because he can't get sick, he would miss all his in-game raids

will ask if you want to play games as well, but soon realizes that you two won't be making much progress with your current reaction time, so he chooses an easy and fun game for you

he wouldn't admit it but he might have set the game to the easiest settings and he himself plays slower for you

he is actually kind of disappointed when you recover so quick, he will miss you now that you visit RAD again instead of doing the online lessons with him, but he is glad you're feeling better again...maybe you could stay home more often with him though?

Satan:

he will buy and read every single human medicine book so he can find the best solution to your illness

will obviously read them in your room, because he can't leave you alone in this state

makes sure to keep you warm and makes you herbal tea depending on your symptoms

will skip school in favour for your well-being, especially keeps this behaviour up when Lucifer gets mad about it

will yell at everyone who dares to try and enter your room while your still sick, how dare they disturb your rest

will get embarassed about yelling and actually being the disturbance to you himself, will apologize and leave your room to keep reading somewhere else, still checks up on you occasionally and brings you light novels to read so you don't get bored

will come in stumbling into your room with the perfect medicine to cure you, only to find that you're already feeling better

gets embarassed yet again, but says it was worth reading all these books as he can now react faster the next time you get sick

will keep a check on your health and make sure you're always taking care of yourself

Asmodeus:

keep your snotty face away from him, but also come cuddle

he is very conflicted, because getting sick is not good for his skin, but he also wants to make you feel better with his hugs

will wear a mask so he doesn't get infected that easily

Asmo doesn't know much about medicine but he knows that certain herbs are good for your health, so he'll make you a nice herbal bath to boost your healing

also will take over your skin care routine and adjust it while your sick so your skin doesn't get worse, says he will only buy a refreshing face mask, comes back with more stuff though... I mean what did you expect from him?

will stay in bed with you and constantly cuddle so you don't feel lonely

he will most definetly whine if you ask him for some space or alone time, but does comply...fo at most half an hour, look this is hard on him too! His darling is sick and he can't do anything but be a moral support for you

if you thought he stops to cling to you once you've recovered, then you're mistaken, he will give you so many kisses and hugs having missed being able to do that

Beelzebub:

"Will food make you feel better?"

"You don't feel like eating?"

the poor boy is so confused, you're going to die if you don't eat! He will ask Satan what humans need when they're sick

will make yoou the perfect meal based on your symptoms, he'll even hold back on eating from it

he has a huge smile on his face while he watches you eat what he prepared, he is so proud that you like what he made you

eat as much as you can, Beel will eat everything you can't, all this boy wants for you to eat at least a bit so you have enough strength to recover

you get cold? cuddle time!

there is no way Beel will leave your side for as long as you're sick, he'll hold you close and share all his warmth and food with you

is so happy when you're better again. Will celebrate it with inviting you to a restaurant

Belphegor:

being sick is like being sleepy right?

he will just go back to sleep next to you as if nothing happend

wakes up because of your coughs and pretends to be annoyed, but is actually worried

will leave the comfort of the bed to get you some medicine, before wrapping you up into a blanket burrito and cuddling into you

don't expect to be getting up any time soon, he wants to sleep...you better not have to go to the bathroom

sleeping is best medicine but Belphie takes this a bit to literally, you two will almost only sleep

once you're better he will still want to sleep using you as a pillow, good luck getting out of that situation

Diavolo:

"Are you dying Mc?"

"Barbatos turn back the time before Mc got sick! -Wait you're going to be okay?"

Don't scare him like that! He is always ready to save you from death!

He will let you live at the castle for the time being and appoints the best doctor to take care of you, because he still isn't completly convinced you're going to make it

Does his work in your room, so he can keep a check on you

will not do much work much to Barbatos dismay, Dia is just so worried about you and will constantly ask if you need anything

his breaks consist of hugging you gently and drinking some tea with you

he will literally cry and almost crush you in his hug, when you're finally healthy again. This man was so anxious about losing you, even thugh he could've commanded Barb to just turn back time

Barbatos:

*smiles*

he knew you were going to get sick, so he's prepared

knocks on your door in the house of lamentation, before you're even able to tell anyone that you're sick

made himself a very strict schedule for everything so he can help you and still attend to his duties as a butler

gives the brothers various tasks so they can indivdually take care of you in the time he isn't able to be there for you

he will get back to you in the evening after having finished all his work for the day

will make you a light dinner and sit next to your bed

stays with you until you fall asleep stroking you hair and holding one of your hands, when you wake up the next morning Barb await you with a small breakfast, if he stayed over night or left and came back in the morning will stay a secret of his

is relieved and at the same time sad when you've recovered, will miss coming over and seeing you, maybe you can return the favor and visit him at the castle sometimes...

Solomon:

is a human so he knows what to do...

but magic is quicker!

he tries to heal you with a spell, but he just end up making it worse

"Oh no Mc I'm so sorry! Let me make it up by taking care of you!"

undefined matter soup a la Solomon, "eat this", he said, "You'll feel better", he said ...you don't feel better...

the brothers will get so angry and throw him out of the house, he is only allowed to come back once you've recovered, actually scratch that he's not setting foot anywhere near you again if it were for the demons

but Solomon finds his way into your room through your window...will stay over the night, cuddling you and constantly apologizing

will laugh about the whole ordeal once you've recovered

Simeon:

he is so calm, like yeah? Humans get sick, but they recover soon if taking care of correctly

Simeon is just the best!

he knows the right food to make for you, will give you the best medicine and make sure you're taking it at the right time

will make sure you're always comfortable

bored?  "let me get you a book!"

tired?  "let me fluff your pillow so you can sleep better!"

he will sit next to you the whole time looking so calm and confident

he will pray for you to get better quick so you don't have to suffer too long

promises you to take care of you again if you get sick in the future, this man just wants to be there for you

Luke:

"Are you dying Mc?" Version 2.0

no seriously are you? Will you become an  angel? We can live together in the celestial realm and bake desserts for Micheal!

Mc why are you so angry? No you misunderstood I don't actually want you to die!

Is so sorry he couldn't protect you from getting sick, he will feel so helpless

Simeon and you will cheer him up and tell him there wasn't anything he could have done to prevent it

Luke will bake you light desserts so you can eat some sweets while recovering

will visit you daily with Simeon after school and tell you about the day

crushes you in a big hug once you're healthy again

[flooffybits]

Stay A While

Idol: Ha Sooyoung, Jung Jinsoul (Loona)

Anon: Yay. Okay so how about one with LOONA’s 13th member? Yvesoul are in a happy relationship and the 13th member who is especially close with them has feelings for both. She doesn’t say anything though, worried about making things awkward or interfering in what is already a happy relationship. So instead, she starts distancing herself to hide the symptoms. She doesn’t want to get surgery cause she can’t imagine not feeling the way she does but she also refuses to tell anyone so she starts getting worse and worse. Heejin, Lip and Chuu find out at some point by accident. The 13th member is really stubborn. Lots of angst and hurt feelings and protective members please. And a happy ending please (I was going for only angst but I’m too weak 😂) thank you so much in advance.

A/n: well since you asked so nicely 😂  i really tried to think of a way with making this interesting so i hope you enjoy! it’s really hard making this a happy ending but please ignore the crappy ending if you wish

Warning: blood, near death experience (sorta), heavy angst

☕buy me a coffee☕

You were known to be Loona's biggest fan, aside from Jiwoo, and your members and fans knew just how much you'd practically do anything for all of them.

It was what made you so likeable and the fans loved it when you would also try to hype them up whenever you get the chance to see them, making them feel as though you were the one who came to see them instead. 

Your selflessness was one of your greatest strengths, but as time passed, it began to serve as your greatest weakness.

A little after Sooyoung and Jinsoul had officially informed all of you about how they were dating, you were beginning to feel a bit off whenever you saw them. It made your chest tighten and your throat itches as though something was stuck in there.

But you were extremely supportive of the pair even before they had gotten together. While they tended to act like cat and mouse, you were always there to make sure neither girls went too far or simply became the subject of their teasing when they wanted, claiming that you were the maknae of your unofficial subunit.

It took you time to understand what was happening to you. While you didn't think about it at first, you were actually very fond of the pair, enjoying their company and the way they took care of you. While they did love to annoy you, Sooyoung and Jinsoul did their best to take care of you and look after you whether or not you were aware of it.

When the first petal came falling on the palm of your hand right as the pair informed you how they were going out for a date, you brushed it off, confused as to where the yellow petal had come from. But a couple hours after that, you find yourself lightheaded and weak as your coughing begins to worsen.

Haseul was quick in giving you some cough medicines and ordered that you get some rest even as you assured her you would be fine.

"Stop being so stubborn and get some rest. I bet you were staying up with Jinsoul and Yves again." The mention of the pair caused another itching sensation in your throat but you had done your best to suppress it, at least until your leader had left you alone in your room.

As soon as she was gone, you quickly covered your mouth as you entered another coughing fit, one that made you feel even worse than you already were.

But as soon as you pulled your hand away, you stared, horrified at the blood stained petals that stared back up at you.

When everyone had gotten home, you made sure to stay in bed, pretending to sleep whenever someone came into the room, but no matter how much you tried, there was no ridding you of the thoughts that swam through your mind, all centered around the petals you had flushed down the toilet and the blood you had to wash from your hands.

.. 

You knew what the disease was, what caused it. But all this time, you had merely thought it was a myth, nothing but a made up fable.

And yet you were a living proof that the disease did exist and that it was slowly eating away inside of you.

You didn't dare tell any of your members about it because you know that they would fall into panic. And with Haseul having only just recovered, you didn't want to make her go through another difficult event, especially not one that involved you possibly dying if you didn't find a way to rid yourself of disease.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Sooyoung came up to you once when you were eating lunch, alone, and you honestly weren't too sure if you were in the mood to talk. "You've been awfully quiet lately and we were wondering if there was something bothering you." She explains while you poked your food and avoided her inquisitive gaze. "Yeah, just a little tired."

That had been your answer most days. And while that was true, you couldn't exactly tell her the whole truth.

Her expression becomes pensive without you looking because there was clearly much more that you weren't saying. "Y/n, if you need help, we're always going to be here for you. Jinsoul and I might be dating and everything, but that doesn't mean we don't have time for you anymore." She says while reaching out to touch your arm and you do your best not to recoil and tear your arm away.

Instead, you slap on a smile, one that doesn't quite reach your eyes, before nodding your head. "I know, Yves unnie. Don't worry."

Sooyoung stares at you for a moment, clearly saddened by your reply because, one, she knows that you were lying. It was clear as day. And, two, you had stopped calling her Yves two months after you had debuted and got to know all of them, unless it was during interviews and filming.

She mutters a quiet okay before watching you exit the dining area and head to the bathroom.

While Sooyoung left to find her girlfriend, you grip at the sink as your body shakes violently, yellow and red quickly filling your vision when more of the flowers come falling from your mouth and you desperately try to wash them away, getting rid of any and all traces of your suffering, before you sit on the cold floor, back against the door as you bury your face into your hands to muffle the sobs that replaced the petals that left your lips.

..

It had been nearly two months since you found out you were suffering from the disease. Nothing you tried was able to ease the pain nor was anything enough to help you get rid of it. Each day was only making you feel worse and weak that it was a surprise how none of your members had caught on yet.

Maybe it was because you kept your time away from your members, reading and searching about any known cures until you decided that asking a professional would be where you would get the best possible answer.

They were surprised when you revealed to them the truth. While they knew that it was a very rare disease, finding out that you, a young idol, was suffering from it had them all trying their best to help you in whatever help they could offer until the doctor you had consulted explained to you the complications of getting the surgery.

The surgery, you had no problem doing. You were more than willing to go through with it, but when he told you that you would grow numb toward the person, or in your case people, along with the potential of forgetting those who were the root of your unrequited love, the idea was quickly thrown out the window.

Even when you tried to deny the fact that maybe you were feeling much more love for Sooyoung and Jinsoul than you were supposed to, you couldn’t push through with it. To be numb and risk forgetting two of the most precious people to you? That would not only be too much for you, but it would be heartbreaking for everyone else around you. And in the event you do forget your members, that would cause much confusion to everyone else.

You quickly declined after that and simply settled with painkillers just so it wouldn’t affect you as badly whenever you had a coughing fit.

You avoided the couple as much as possible because, to you, the less you saw them, the slower the petals would fill your lungs. It also meant avoiding the rest of your members as much as possible because you weren’t so keen with anyone finding out.

But once during practice, the sound of Jiwoo’s voice calling your attention had nearly caused your heart to drop in your stomach. “Yah! I told you to stop picking at your lips!” You flinched at both her words and the volume of her voice before a hand pulled yours away from your lips when you quickly went to wipe away the bit of blood after another couple of petals decided to present themselves to you.

Whenever you were around others, you always opted to dress in either black or darker clothing in the event the blood tried to stain them, making it easier to avoid suspicions.

You blink owlishly toward the older girl and rubbed the back of your head. “Sorry, force of habit.” You apologize before Jungeun was grabbing a towel to wipe it away. Heejin was already shaking her head as the ‘99 liners started to lecture you about the stupid habit you’ve actually gotten rid of. “What’s wrong though? I know that you only do that when you’re anxious about something.” She asks while peering at your face, only to see that there was no wound present on your lip after Jungeun pulled her hand away.

She had to take a closer look and you felt yourself begin to feel nervous with how close she was being, your heart thudding against your ribs while Jungeun made a sound of surprise by the younger girl’s sudden bold move.

“Yah! What are you doing?” The blonde questioned as she shook your roommate’s arm, but Heejin was adamant to find out what was going on as she took your arm gently, concern now all over her face as she looked at you properly, ignoring the weird stares sent her way.

But her attention is solely on you when she doesn’t budge. “What’s going on?”

You aren’t sure what to tell her. Aside from being your roommate, Heejin was the next person you were closest to aside from Sooyoung and Jinsoul. When you weren’t with the pair, you were with her and Hyunjin or Jiwoo, thus the reason fans shipped you so much.

Majority of the time you don’t spend with either Jinsoul and Sooyoung, you spend with Heejin and you basically tell her everything. The first time you met, Heejin decided to take care of you the best she could, and the longer time she spent with you, the more that feeling grew because she saw you so much like a sister.

"Are you really okay? What's going on?" She asked quietly and you don't know what to tell her. Even if you did lie, it was easy for them to detect it and they would pry the answer out of you no matter what. You try looking around in hopes of distracting them, but when you find none, you know that there was no escape.

However when you notice Jinsoul about to come over, you squeezed Heejin's wrist before shaking your head. "Not here, please." You plead, and the three girls look even more worried with your panicked state, seeing that Jinsoul was getting closer, her eyes narrowed on you and Heejin.

Reluctantly, the latter accepted your request and Jiwoo pouted at you. "Y/n, you better be okay." She tells you. "I don't want anything happening to you." She adds and you smile weakly, because you know this would absolutely break her heart once she finds out.

"I'll explain everything, later." Unless they forget, you know that it was inevitable at this point.

When Jinsoul is close enough, she takes a quick look at you and you offer her a small smile. "Hey, is everything alright?" She asks curiously and Heejin wraps her arms around you with a smile. "Yep! We were just playing around like usual." She replies when she sees the slight panic in your eyes. Knowing your relationship with both Jinsoul and Sooyoung, the potential of you being in trouble was something Heejin knew you wanted to avoid bringing up with the two older girls.

But with the protectiveness Heejin was showing had only agitated the older girl as she stared at you and Jungeun cut her off quickly by stepping in front of you. “Unnie, come on. Let’s get back to practice. I think our break is almost done.” With one more look at you, you sent the blonde a thankful smile as she pulled Jinsoul away.

Jiwoo stared at you for a while before pulling you into a hug. “I’ll wait until you’re ready to talk about it.” She mumbled against your shoulder and you gave her a smile as well when she pulled away and squeezed her hands.

With Heejin left with you, her concern was still visible in her eyes, but she decided it was best to let you explain when you’ve collected yourself and that you were in a less crowded space.

..

Haseul quietly stared at you with her brows pinched together in worry. When she didn’t see you with the rest of the group, she quickly went to wake you up, thinking that you may have overslept, only to find you curled up in bed, shivering with a high fever.

“I think we should call our manager.” Kahei’s quiet voice broke through the silence and the leader nodded absentmindedly as she reached to fix the blanket around you. “She hasn’t been feeling well this whole week. Has she been skipping meals or anything?” But the older girl merely shook her head. “I don’t think so. She’s been spending a lot of time with Heejin, but I doubt she has.”

There’s a light knock on the door and Yeojin soon comes in with a basin filled with water and a towel. Chaewon and Yerim were quick to follow before they settled on the other beds inside the room.

“Thank you.” Haseul took the basin and placed it on your nightstand, wringing the towel before she was wiping your face and forehead, dipping it back in the water and repeating her earlier action before placing it on your forehead to hopefully bring down your fever.

“What about our schedules later?” Chaewon asked softly and Haseul let out a sigh. “I don’t think unnie is capable of even getting out of bed. She’s too sick.” Yerim whispered as she watched you from the side and Yeojin nodded her head. “But I don’t want to leave unnie alone, either.” The maknae voiced out before Kahei gently patted her head. “We’ll think of something, don’t worry. We’ll even get her some medicine and food on the way back.”

A little before your schedule, Haseul has already contacted your manager to inform them about your condition and they agreed to let you rest after being informed of how badly you were feeling. And while everyone was busy getting ready, Heejin sat next to your bed, taking the seat Haseul occupied that morning and stared sadly at you.

“We need to tell them, Y/n. This isn’t going to do anything but make you worse.” She whimpered while gripping your hand and you crack a small smile. “You know I can’t do that. And even if I did, it’s not going to change anything. I’d rather go through with this without making anyone feel bad about me dying.”

But your words had managed to force tears in her eyes as she shook her head. “Don’t say that. Please.” She pleaded while trying to keep her voice from cracking and you squeeze her hand the best you could. “I can’t lie about this, Heejin. You, Chuu unnie, and Lip unnie know that I refuse to get the surgery and that it’s probably too late already.”

“But what if there’s another way. There has to be another way.” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince; you or herself. Heejin has known you since for a good two years, but those two years has already cemented you into her life and she has never imagined losing you so soon, especially not like this.

You try to say something, but once again, a cough interrupts and Heejin tightens her hold on your hand when the other is colored with the blood stained petals of yellow Carnations. She tries not to look at them, bringing the trash bin closer after handing you some tissues to conceal the petals, and then wiping her cheeks from the tears that had trailed down her skin.

She grabs another towel to wipe your hand before she sets it down next to the basin with a heavy sigh.

The door quietly opens behind her and Jinsoul peers inside, surprised when she sees the girl before she offers a small smile while stepping in, her girlfriend following close behind with a frown on her face. “How is she feeling?”

Heejin looked over her shoulder and she tried to keep her composure when she spoke. “She’s okay, just really tired.” She replies when she turns back to you, watching the gentle rise and fall of your chest after finally calming down from your wheezing.

Sooyoung stays standing while Jinsoul sits down to look at you closer. There’s a pang in their chest when they see you looking so small and fragile. Your face lacked color - life. It was like staring at a corpse, minus the breathing and it was terrifying to imagine, yet they didn’t know better.

Not the way Heejin did.

And seeing the way the younger girl held your hand and looked incredibly distraught by your condition had caused the pair to be even more suspicious than they already were.

“She’s going to be alright, Heejin.” Jinsoul says quietly, the smile still present on her features while Sooyoung purses her lips and Heejin bites her tongue to stop herself from saying anything.

No matter how badly she wanted to tell them, the faint squeeze to her hand reminded her that this was your decision to make. She was merely there to be your support system when no one else could.

But to see both Sooyoung and Jinsoul be so clueless yet speak so optimistically about you getting better made her nearly forget that she had promised not to tell anyone about your illness.

So instead of saying anything, Heejiin merely kept her mouth shut while she waited for the rest to call the three of them or for the two to leave her alone with you. But it seemed like they had other plans.

“Is there… anything going on between you and Y/n?” Sooyoung suddenly questioned after a few seconds of silence and the girl seemed a bit taken aback by her question before Jinsoul quickly intervened. “We’re not trying to be nosy! We just noticed how you’ve been so close recently and wondered if, maybe, you were…”

Heejin seemed dumbfounded by the assumption. In other circumstances, she would have laughed because, while she did love you to bits, that love was merely platonic.

“No. Y/n and I are pretty much like sisters so I doubt we’d ever be anything more.” She answered and the couple looked a bit tense now that she properly assessed them. “I know that a lot of people think and assume that we might be together, but that’s really not the case.” She explains with a shake of her head before she noticed you shifting in bed.

The movement catches the couple’s attention and they immediately look at you when your quiet voice cuts in on their conversation. “Heejin, I’m cold.” Sooyoung’s frown deepens before she was already heading to your closet and grabbing the thickest jacket that you had, which was something Jinsoul had given you on your first birthday with all of them.

“Do you want something to drink?” Heejin asked while brushing your hair from your face, replacing the towel on your forehead with a new one and Jinsoul shifted closer to gently touch your arm. “It’s okay, you’re going to be okay.” She murmured softly when she saw the grimace on your face and Sooyoung came back to gently put your jacket around you without moving you too much.

Heejin makes sure the heater is working, and when it’s time for them to go, she’s hesitant to leave your side in fear of losing you when she’s away.

“Come on, we have to go.” Hyunjin called after her, but when she saw the way her friend couldn’t seem to move from her place, she could feel just what the other did. So, she quietly walked over and rubbed her arm in assurance. “Don’t worry, when we come back, we don’t have to leave her alone again.”

The promise, though having good intentions, was obviously empty for Heejin. In the event that your illness took you away, there was no guarantee that you would be staying for long.

Jungeun and Jiwoo came in with frowns on their faces as they saw you, but they quickly masked their worries upon seeing Hyunjin in the room with you. “Hey, we have to get going or else we’ll be late.” Jungeun informs them and Hyunjin nodded before she gave her friend another pat on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”

“We’ll be back before you know it.”

..

Jiwoo glanced beside her and Jungeun kept her phone in her hand as Heejin anxiously stared out the window. They were finally heading home after five hours and the three were quietly hoping to arrive back to the dorm sooner.

And amidst the chattering of everyone around them, the three have been oddly quiet, talking between themselves. “You should really stop worrying, Y/n unnie will be fine.” Hyejoo spoke up with an encouraging smile. “It’s just a fever, she’s stronger than that.”

It was no secret that the young girl looked up to you so much. She’d been intrigued by you since the first time they met you in Canada, and her fascination only grew the longer you spent together. Hyejoo always found herself learning things from you and she appreciated it every time. Whatever secret or worry she had, you were always one of the people she would first approach.

“Olivia is right. I’m sure she’s feeling much better by the time we get home. We even have her favorite soup and medicines to help her feel better just in case.” Yerim stated happily while Heejin pursed her lips.

Jiwoo squeezed Heejin’s hand and nodded her head, making the younger girl slowly lean back and sigh, forcing her worries down as she shut her eyes and prayed that you were alright.

“Heejin looks really worried about Y/n.” Sooyoung muttered from her place and Jinsoul shook her head. “Y/n doesn’t usually get sick, so I can understand.” But her girlfriend merely huffed and crossed her arms. “I know that, but don’t you think that maybe there’s more to it? We don’t even worry as much as she does.” Jinsoul frowned at Sooyoung and took her hand. “Whatever is going on between Heejin and Y/n is none of our business. If they aren’t ready to tell us, then let them. We didn’t tell Y/n as soon as we started dating, either.”

Grunting, Sooyoung accepted her defeat because what Jinsoul said was true. It wouldn’t be fair if she demanded answers on whether or not you and Heejin were dating when they kept their own relationship a secret, but she just didn’t like the feeling that crept up in her chest when she sees or even thinks of you together.

By the time they all arrived at the dorm, the three were the first ones out, forgetting the food and medicine they bought for you in their haste at getting to you as fast as they could. The rest of the members looked worried and followed after them.

Heejin quietly opened the door to your shared room, peeking inside to see if you were awake, but as soon as her eyes landed on your figure when she flicked the lights on, her heart dropped before she was running inside. “Y/n!”

Jungeun ran to your other side when Heejin tried to help you up from the floor and they gasped upon seeing the various bloodstained petals on the floor and the blood on your own hands. “Stop manager oppa! Tell him we need to go to the hospital!”

Sooyoung stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what was happening. She felt her blood running cold and she wouldn't have been able to move if Jiwoo hadn't ran past her, bumping into her by accident in her haste to call your manager and stop him from leaving.

Jinsoul pushed past everyone and ran to you, taking your face into her hands and shaking her own head as tears welled in her eyes as yours refused to open. "Y/n! Wake up, come on this isn't funny!"

She held a hand close to your mouth and nose before she pressed her head to your chest just to hear your heartbeat.

"Unnie, you have to move." Yerim said urgently while tugging at her friend's arm when your manager came running into the dorm. Haseul was doing her best to keep calm as she gripped Yeojin's hand in her own when they watched your manager pick you up from the floor.

He looked at all of them. "I'm not going to bother asking you if you'll be coming along, I just need you all to follow my instructions until we get help." They all nodded immediately and followed the man back down and to the van with Heejin insisting to hold you as your manager drove.

The poor girl was silently crying as she held your fragile form as close to her as humanly possible, Hyejoo holding your hand when she sat beside Heejin, willing back tears as the first girl wiped the blood from your mouth. 

The ride to the hospital was the longest and tense one they've all ever experienced, but as soon as they arrived, your manager quickly parked the van and went back to retrieve you from the girls before running inside with all twelve girls running after him.

"Y/n L/n." The man said quickly and the receptionist seemed surprised as she typed in your name, only to quickly rise to her feet, calling for the same doctor you had consulted with before nurses soon came over to get you and relieve your manager.

Seeing how quickly people were reacting with your appearance, all of your members looked on with confusion except for the three girls aware of your actual condition.

"What's going on?" Chaewon was the first to ask and all eyes turned to their manager, who looked just as troubled as Heejin, Jiwoo, and Jungeun. "What's happening to Y/n? What was that?" Sooyoung demanded, her voice growing more and more adamant as Jinsoul held her back.

"You know something and you aren't telling us. Y/n said it was just a fever." Haseul tried to keep her voice steady. "A fever doesn't make you cough out blood." The maknae said shakily, terrified of what she had seen.

All four of them exchanged glances before Jungeun let out a sigh. "Y/n is sick, but it isn't a fever or a flu." She crossed her arms to keep her hands from shaking. "She's suffering from Hanahaki. It's a rare disease that makes you cough up petals because of an unrequited love."

"Unrequited love?" Jinsoul muttered, her brows pinching together before she looked to Heejin. "Aren't you together? This isn't making any sense."

"Y/n isn't in love with Heejin!" Jiwoo cut in while hugging the said girl. "But we can't tell you who she's in love with either because she made us promise not to." She added with a grimace. "Y/n is dying in there! Whoever this person is needs to know and do something!" Sooyoung retorted and Heejin snapped to look at her. 

"It doesn't matter if the person she's in love with knows! They're happy and in a relationship. Y/n never wanted to ruin what they had so she kept her feelings under wraps no matter how much it was killing her! She didn't want to get the surgery because she didn't want to forget either of you!"

Jiwoo quickly took the younger girl by the shoulders when she had accidentally slipped up due to her emotions, but there was no stopping now as Sooyoung and Jinsoul went quiet after the sudden outburst.

“Forget us?” Jinsoul slowly released her girlfriend as she took a step forward and Hyunjin went to her best friend’s side to calm her down while Jungeun and Jiwoo decided to clear the situation up the best they could with their manager’s help. “We discovered Y/n’s condition a while back. And while it was the wise decision to pull through with the surgery, she declined for various reasons, the main one being that there was a risk of forgetting the person she has such strong feelings for.”

“She refused to do it, and it seemed like that there was no convincing her otherwise. It would also cause some trouble if she ever does forget both of you because that would be a major shift in your relationship and it won’t take long before people find out.”

“But what’s going to happen to unnie now? Are they going to operate on her?” Hyejoo questioned while the man shook his head. “I’m not too sure. We have to wait for her doctor to come back.”

The male paused, looking grim as he observed each girl, hesitating before finally breathing out. “In the event that this is the worst case scenario, I need all of you to be ready.”

They hated that he had opened up the idea of possibly losing you. While they all knew what this disease would entail, they just couldn’t accept the fact that they could permanently be losing you.

Led outside your room, the girls each waited anxiously for your doctor to come back and tell them what was the condition you were in. The overwhelming fear and anxiety bubbled in all of them and Haseul bit her lip as she did her best to keep a calm face whilst Kahei held her hand, running her thumb across her knuckles.

What seemed like years was only an hour and a half before the door slowly opened and your doctor came with a grim expression across his face. "How is she?" Your manager questioned and the man shook his head while glancing over his shoulder. "She's stable for now. It looks like she was choking on her own blood along with the fully bloomed flowers." He winced before letting a regretful sigh pass his lips.

"I highly advise that she get the surgery as soon as possible because at the rate we're going, there won't be much time left for Y/n." He informed them and Heejin slowly shook her head. "We can't… she doesn't want that."

No matter how much Heejin wanted you to get it, your wish was above her own in wanting to save you. And if she ever allowed it to happen without your consent, it would be in her conscience forever and she wouldn't be able to properly look at you, knowing that she had gone against your wishes.

"But what are we going to do?" Hyunjin questioned seriously. "Y/n is dying. If we don't go through with it-" 

"We know that, but this is Y/n's decision." Jiwoo cut in, a serious look on her usually cheerful face. "I want to help her. We all do. But Y/n made her decision clear ever since she found out. She doesn't want to be numb or to forget about Yves unnie and Jinsoul unnie and we can only respect that decision."

"Chuu is right. We tried to talk her out of it, but Y/n said she would rather die than forget the people she cares about. It isn't fair to you, but it isn't fair to her, either. She knows the risks and she knows the consequences but she chose to take her feelings to the grave rather than burden Jinsoul unnie and Sooyoung unnie with what she felt for them." Jungeun sighed while anxiously running her fingers through her hair.

"... Can we see her?"

The question was from Sooyoung as she stood stiffly next to her girlfriend, eyes trained to the door that separated you and them whilst your doctor nodded his head. "I recommend going in groups, just so she isn't disturbed or stressed out." He advised before excusing himself and giving the girls the time that they needed.

They didn’t need to discuss who would go first because the couple were already in front of your door as soon as they could and Jinsoul sucked in a deep breath before she slowly pushed it open and stepped inside.

Once there, they immediately spot your body laying on the hospital bed with various wires attached to your fragile form that it makes their own hearts ache at the sight.

Sooyoung quickly came to your side and instinctively reached to brush your hair, only to stop when she hears Heejin’s voice echoing in her head. Jinsoul looked worried before she placed her own over her girlfriend’s and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll be okay.” She whispered before pressing a kiss to her temple and then turning back to you.

Your face was peaceful, minus the lack of color and life in it. It was as though this was the first proper sleep you’ve had in how long and it pained them to know that you were enduring all of this for their sake.

“You’re such an idiot, I swear.” Sooyoung finally muttered as she let her hands fall to the sheets. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why couldn’t you have told us?” She tried to hold back a sob, but when you didn’t respond to her with your usual banter, it was getting harder for her to keep her composure. “You were pulling away from us because you didn’t want us to worry, now look at us.” Jinsoul sniffled as she wiped her cheeks.

“We could have avoided all of this.” She whimpered quietly while reaching for your hand, your usually warm skin now cold to the touch as she laced her fingers with yours. “Please, we’ll make it better. We’ll take the pain away, just please… please stay with us.”

“Don’t go, Y/n. We need you.” Sooyoung begged as she buried her face to your neck, clutching at the front of your hospital gown while Jinsoul placed her other hand on her back.

The clock was ticking and they knew that the other girls were wanting to see you as desperately as they did, Heejin most especially. So, forcing themselves to part from you, they held each other tight as they headed for the exit.

“... unnie.”

The pair stopped in their tracks as the weak rasp of your voice called out. Turning back, they saw that your eyes were still closed, but the small movement from your hands was all it took for them to know you were awake.

Running to your side, Jinsoul took your outstretched hand and pressed her face against your palm as her watery eyes watched you. “You’re okay.” Sooyoung breathed out as she stood behind her girlfriend.

You struggle to open your eyes, but as soon as you do, you immediately see them watching you with worry swimming in their own tear filled gazes. “Why are you-” You’re cut off by a cough and Jinsoul squeezes your hand when a bit of blood dribbles down your chin before Sooyoung wiped it away.

”Why are you crying?” You forced out, a frown on your features. But the question throws them off and Jinsoul can’t help but cry more. “What do you mean why are we crying? We found you nearly dead in the dorm, do you expect us to be fine?” Sooyoung snapped at you and you blink slowly while trying to properly decipher her words.

Their voices sounded so faint yet they were right there. Your vision was blurry and you had a great struggle with understanding everything they were saying. The only thing you could tell was they were crying, and you didn’t want that.

“I’m scared.” The words were hushed as they fell from your lips and Sooyoung squeezed her eyes tight just so she wouldn’t cry anymore than she already has. “D-Don’t be scared. You’re going to be fine. We’re right here.”

“We love you so much and it hurts that you’re going through this.” Jinsoul muttered against your palm, pressing a light kiss against it. “You should have told us, but we should have told you, too. We were just so scared of how you would think of us and-”

“Unnie…” Your breathing was growing weaker from all the flowers that have bloomed in your lungs. “It’s okay.”

It’s not your fault.

You don’t have to say it.

It isn’t your responsibility.

“Y/n, we love you, okay? We love you, too, just as much as you love us.” Sooyoung told you, desperate to make you believe that what they were saying was true. But the yellow carnations fell from your lips once more and she’s forced to wipe them away before Jinsoul stood properly to look at you.

They were desperate and time was running out. Either you believed them or they lose you forever. So, with a final resolve, Jinsoul leaned down, pressing her forehead against yours as her lips slotted perfectly against yours in a slow and tender kiss, one hand holding your cheek as you felt the wind knocked out of you.

She doesn’t give you time to respond because Sooyoung was quick to replace her, a little more aggressive, yet still gentle enough to not hurt you before she pulled away to kiss your forehead and the weight on your chest gradually began to fade away.

When they both give you enough space, your hand shoots to your mouth before your body is wracked by a violent coughing fit. Alarmed, the girls pressed the button on the wall to call for your doctor when blood slipped past your fingers and fell on the white sheets of the bed.

Everything happens fast as they’re basically thrown out of the room and your doctor hurries to check on you as the door closes. There are various things that they hear through the door but it dies down after a while, leaving a tense silence outside as the girls looked at the couple. “What happened? What did you do?” Heejin asked, terrified. But neither of them said anything as the door opened with your doctor looking perplexed but relieved.

“It would appear that Y/n will... no longer be needing the surgery.” He stated and Haseul’s shoulders tensed up as she came closer. “Why? Is she okay? What happened?” Your leader demanded and the male nodded his head before stepping aside.

“She’s coughed up quite a lot of the flowers, one of them containing the roots.” They were surprised by this as a nurse walked out of the room with the flowers in a plastic bag. “We’ll need an xray, but judging from that alone, it would appear that Y/n might be alright.”

Hearing that made Heejin’s knees buckle and she leaned on Jiwoo’s side for support whilst Hyejoo felt a lump forming in her throat when she gripped both Yerim’s and Chaewon’s arms and Kahei hugged Yeojin tightly as Junguen comforted her friends the best she could.

“We’ve taken off some of the machines and wires. She’s looking a bit better, just a bit more rest and food and I think she’ll be able to fully recover.” He informed them before turning to your manager, who smiled, feeling just as relieved from this whole ordeal.

All twelve girls entered your room when given the okay and you greet them all with a meek smile and a small wave of your hand. The color was back on your face and it looked like you have enough energy now compared to when they found you in the dorm.

Jinsoul and Sooyoung approached you with smiles on their faces. “You believe us now?” Sooyoung asked lightly and you blush, the red spreading to the tips of your ears as you slowly nodded your head. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. If we hadn’t been such cowards and assumed, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“To be fair, everyone else assumed we were dating.” Heejin piped up when she approached the bed to wrap her arms around you in a hug, kissing your cheek as she did, before Sooyoung gave her a warning glare as Jinsoul lightly pushed her.

Noticing the stare, your best friend laughed before she shook her head. “I mean, we do look good together. What do you say, Y/n? Will you date me instead?” You chuckled at your friend’s joke before giggling when you see the puppy eyes Jinsoul sent you and the slight huff that came from a pouting Sooyoung.

“I love you, Heejin, but you and I know that would be weird.” You give her a kiss as an apology, but she happily accepts it before turning to the other two. “Take care of her or else I’m really going to date her instead.”

“Yah!”

Sooyoung rolled her eyes in good nature before she took your hand. “We’re not letting go of her, you can bet on that.” Jinsoul nodded in agreement, smiling softly at you before she pressed a kiss to your cheek and you were finally able to smile a real one, one that showed the spark in your eyes and emanated the life that flowed through your veins.

And with a promise like Sooyoung’s and Jinsoul’s, you know that you wouldn’t have to hide your feelings or worry about the petals blooming in your lungs.

You were saved and they make sure to remind you that your love for each other was always going to be unconditional.

[puddygeeks]

Wᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ Dᴇᴀᴅ Oʀ Aʟɪᴠᴇ - Sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ Tʜɪɴɢs, Eᴅᴅɪᴇ Mᴜɴsᴏɴ/OC - Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Tʜʀᴇᴇ: Sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ Aᴅᴍɪʀᴇʀ

Masterlist

Episode: Pre season 4

Rating: Mature

Summary: Since she was five years old, Marcie Bell and Eddie Munson have been inseparable. There was never one without the other. That is, a near death experience with the Mind Flayer changed everything. Now, Marcie must navigate her newly realised feelings for Eddie, whilst facing down the Upside Down all over again. Whoever said love was easy?!

Fix it fic. There will be absolutely no Eddie Munson death here!

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Eddie Munson x OC

Status: Ongoing

My writing is entirely fueled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee  

Warnings: 𝑀𝑎����𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐷𝑟𝑢𝑔/𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑜ℎ𝑜𝑙 𝑢𝑠𝑒, 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑡/𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡, 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛, 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑛𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑎, ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑎, 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ, 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑈𝑝𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑟𝑦.    

Taglist: @toobsessedsstuff

♫  ♠  ♫  

Chapter Three

Despite finding that most of the week had flown by, Friday felt like the longest school day in existence. Life seemed determined to challenge Marcie today with her almost walking straight into Eddie every time that she left a class. By the third time that she had dived into the toilets to avoid him, she was tired of the cat and mouse game and found herself praying to simply make it to the end of the school day without incident.

Unfortunately for Marcie, she still had a free period in the afternoon and she knew for a fact that Eddie was all too aware of it. She had already considered going home early, dealing with any consequences of missing the final class of the day later. However, if she took this escape then she would have to catch the bus to work instead of getting a lift with Steve and Robin, and there was a solid chance that would make her late. 

Pushing aside her desire to run away, she resolved to simply spend time in the library where she was pretty sure that Eddie would never think to look. In fact, she suspected that he didn’t even know where it was. 

When the bell rang, she parted from Robin and marched at a high pace through the halls, determined to reach the library before anything could derail her. Yet, when she reached the final corridor to her destination, she found that the class filtering out into the hall was actually Eddie’s. She skidded to a halt barely a few steps away from him, frozen to the spot in dread as he immediately approached her, a wide smile filling his handsome features.

“There’s the girl I was looking for.” He cheered, oblivious to her internal screaming. “I know you’ve probably got plans for your afternoon, but could I borrow you for a little while? I won’t take up your whole free period, just literally like 5-10 minutes.”

Between the crowd of people who filtered around them to get to their next classes, there was no way for Marcie to make a quick escape. The longer that she held his gaze, the harder it became for her to refuse him. She fidgeted on the spot, gazing down at the floor as she struggled to think of a response.

“I’ve got to study.” She lied, fiddling with the sleeve of her jumper nervously. “If I don’t pass Mr Smith’s class, I’m not graduating.”

“I’ll make sure to have you back before his class starts and I’ll even help you study this weekend. I promise.” He suggested as the crowd bumped him closer to her.

“I’m busy this weekend.” She blurted before she could recover enough brain space to throw in some of her usual cutting humour. “Besides, how are you going to help me study? Isn’t this the third time you’ve taken this class?”

“Exactly! I’m an expert. I’ll come over whenever you’re not busy.” He answered, leaning down to meet her eyes and though she sighed in annoyance, she already knew that once Eddie set his mind onto something, there was no dissuading him. “Come on, Marce. I really need your help here.” 

Marcie chewed on her bottom lip as her willpower began to wane. Regardless of her cold attitude with everyone else, she had always been unable to say no to Eddie. It was endlessly frustrating to watch herself crumble to his every whim, meeting every request with adoring smiles and allowing every bad behaviour to pass with little consequence.

In a bid to break this cycle, she reminded herself of how badly he had hurt her feelings only last weekend. She tried to focus on the dull ache that still continued in her chest, and when that failed she lectured herself on how disappointed Robin would be if she gave up already. 

For a few moments, it seemed as if she could hold her ground as she pictured walking in on him kissing the party girl again, but then Eddie flashed her those big brown puppy eyes and as had been the case for years, there was nothing that she could do to resist him. 

“Fine. 10 minutes, maximum. And you’d better have me back in time for class, Munson, or I swear-”

Eddie didn’t wait for whatever threat she was brewing, grabbing her by the wrist to lead her through the halls. Despite her best efforts to quash her feelings for him, she couldn’t deny that even this small gesture had her heart skipping beats again. She hated herself for it, but part of her longed to slip her hand into his, even just for a few moments.

It was only when they headed out to the parking lot and he let go of her to get out his van keys that she grew suspicious of his intentions.

“Eddie. Where are we going that you can have me back in ten minutes?” She quizzed, crossing her arms as she paused by the van, but he continued to beam at her as if he was the epitome of innocence.

“Not far.” He teased as he opened the passenger side door for her. “You know I don’t break my promises.”

With one final warning glare, she climbed into the seat and allowed him to whisk her away. True to his word, the journey was short. She was surprised when he pulled onto the drive of Gareth’s house, but he didn’t leave her any time to question him as he ran around to open her door and practically dragged her into the open garage.

Once they were inside, he stood in front of Gareth’s worn out drum kit and spread his arms in an excited gesture.

“Am I supposed to know what that means?” She asked, peering between him and the set with confusion. 

“You seem like you’ve been stressed out lately. I know you never really had access to instruments growing up, but I know that for me, they really help.” He explained, whilst she continued to watch him in bewilderment. “I’ve seen you tapping along to music. You do it all the time. You’ve got a natural rhythm in you. I’ve just got this great feeling that you would be good at this.”

“I may not be musical, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how playing an instrument works.” She smirked. “You have to learn. And unless you’re about to give me a master class in the next…8 minutes or so, I need to get back.”

Marcie turned to leave, but had barely managed a few steps before he caught her up. He wrapped an arm around her back to turn her around and began leading her toward the stool behind the drum set.

“Just…humour me, okay. I really think this will help you.” He pleaded as he steered her into the seat.

The set was clearly well loved after many years of usage. Though she hung out with Gareth often, she didn’t really know him all that well, but whilst inspecting the wear on the top of each drum, it was obvious that he had dedicated a lot of time to this. She hadn’t really considered before how passionate each member of the band was, about both music and dnd, but now that she did, she found herself feeling a little jealous of them. She thought it must be nice to be so dedicated to something.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting from me here.” She commented, feeling suddenly self conscious as she fidgeted on the uncomfortable stool.

“Just try to give me a beat. Anything at all. It doesn’t even have to sound good.” Eddie offered as he ran over to hand her a pair of drumsticks.

Marcie closed her eyes and tried to distract herself from the fact that she could feel him staring at her. Part of her wanted to whack him with the sticks and leave, but she tried to be appreciative of the fact that he had gone out of her way to help her. She couldn’t exactly point out that he was wrong without explaining why she had been different, which there was no chance of happening. 

After a few moments of consideration, she decided that the easiest solution was to just go with it. Scanning her brain for anything that she usually tapped when she was thinking, she settled on a song and held the sticks up nervously.

The sound that followed was messy and amatuer, but within a minute or so she managed to find the rhythm that Eddie had been so insistent she had. Sure, she was probably using the wrong drums, or not hitting them in quite the right spot, but with a little bit of effort, she was almost able to replicate the very simple beats to We Will Rock You. 

After a few minutes, she found herself getting into it and her confidence grew. For the sake of making the most of the experience, she switched to a slightly faster rhythm from one of her favourite Corroded Coffin songs. Though it was again patchy, it was substantially better than she would have expected to be able to accomplish, and the look of satisfaction on Eddie’s face made it absolutely worthwhile.

Already growing tired as a result of her weak, inexperienced arms, she stopped and took a chance to catch her breath. It was only when she was able to tear her eyes away from the adoring expression that Eddie wore that she realised Matt, Jeff and Gareth had wandered into the room from the side door to investigate the noise. The latter of the group looked rather worse for wear, with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, but Eddie still turned to them with abundant enthusiasm.

“Guys, did you hear that? I knew she could do it!” He yelled, pride swelling in his chest. “Band, meet Gareth’s stand in.” 

“Wait, what?” Marcie blurted, turning back to Eddie who appeared only slightly sheepish. 

“Gareth is sick and we have a really important gig next weekend.” He explained, a cheeky smile now filling his face. “Sure, you’ll need a bit of practice, and he may even pull through in time anyway, but I think you’ll more than do in a pinch! You’re a natural, you already know all of our songs and let’s face it, you add some much needed sex appeal to the group.”

The more that Eddie spoke, the more her expression fell. Although she had originally been touched that he would do something so thoughtful for her, she couldn’t honestly say that she was surprised to find out his true intentions. No matter how much she adored him, she had to admit that he had a real selfish streak at times. 

Marcie rose from the seat, dumping the sticks on a shelving unit to the side and straightened out her clothes. It took all of her control to keep her temper in order, unwilling to add another outburst for Eddie to scramble to make up for, but she couldn’t help levelling him with a glare.

“Oh, great. You brought me to a sick person's house when I have to work this evening, and all of the weekend. And I thought you never took me anywhere nice.” She started, watching as the smile he wore weakened. “There’s one big problem with this plan, Eddie. I don’t want to play in your band! I don’t even have time to practise and thanks to you, I now have even less free time as you wasted my study hour. I mean, seriously. You didn’t even ask!”

Though Eddie seemed to realise now that this had been a terrible idea, Marcie didn’t have the time to wait for an explanation. She stomped past him onto the drive and could already hear him chasing after her.

“Wait, Marcie! I’m sorry.” He called as he jogged to reach her side. “You’re right. This was stupid. Let me drive you back to school.”

“Forget it. You were right, it’s not far. I’ll just walk.” She rambled, breaking away from him before she could say anything else that she might regret. 

“I’ll call you later!”

“Don’t!”

♫  ♠  ♫

If things were tense between the pair before, it was nothing compared to now. Eddie’s efforts to win Marcie over only strengthened her resolve to stay away from him and she took every available shift at the record store. Now that her time with Robin was mostly at work where they couldn’t escape Steve’s eavesdropping, she was proud to say that a large majority of their conversations didn’t even revolve around Eddie anymore. 

Although she was feeling good about this progression, she couldn’t deny a sense of nervousness that grew as Valentine’s day closed in. The halls were being taken over by variations of pink and red, students were already making romantic gestures and Marcie was considering whether she could convince her mom to let her take a sick day without having to explain the whole heartbreak situation. 

After a long night of nightmares and very little sleep, she woke on the morning of the 14th with a heavy feeling of dread in her stomach. Thankfully her mother had chosen to work an early shift, allowing her to get ready for school in much appreciated silence until her lift arrived. 

Seeming entirely too enthusiastic about the holiday, Steve had a romantic mix playing in the car. Whilst he focused on lecturing Robin about the endless possibilities that today could present to her, Marcie rubbed at her eyes and struggled to remain awake in the backseat. The whirlwind of emotions in her chest caused her to feel as if she were heading to her own funeral, rather than just another day in the hell of high school.

It was well known amongst her friends that this was her least favourite day of the year. Between the completely unnecessary PDA, the ridiculous concept of secret admirers that allowed social barriers to disintegrate and the constant pressure to find a date or be branded undesirable, she found the entire tradition anxiety provoking. 

However, this year her brain was almost exclusively dominated by the fear that Eddie might have a Valentine. No matter how well she was doing, she knew that if he decided to seize the opportunity to make any kind of advances on another girl, it could shatter her.

Steve parked the car in actual space instead of just pulling up at the front of school as usual and the girls rolled their eyes as he climbed out with them, a new found spring in his step. By contrast, Marcie found that her legs were shaking as they began to wander towards the entrance only to find a large, celebratory banner above the doors. She noticed that Robin seemed to be trembling slightly too, making a mental note to question this once they were alone.

Despite the blatant disgust of his company, Steve seemed as if his already bright mood was actually being fed by the atmosphere and he accompanied them all the way to their lockers. By the time they arrived at them, at least two people were greeted with flowers, leaving another to hold up a prom-posal sign. Marcie groaned in disgust, Robin laughing at her side as she accessed her locker with a sour frown filling her face.

“I should’ve given myself food poisoning.” Marcie mumbled as she slammed her locker closed in response to a girl nearby squealing in delight over being gifted a box of heart shaped chocolates. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”

Though he was generally clueless to her predicament, Steve had at least picked up that she was going through some kind of heartbreak. He smiled sympathetically, moving to her side and bumping his shoulder into hers.

“Don’t be such a downer, Marcie.” He chimed. “It’s like I keep telling Robin, today is all about possibilities. You might even be someone’s Valentine!” 

Marcie pushed him away with a chuckle, rolling her eyes at his ignorance. However, as he stumbled out of the way, she noticed a familiar set of eyes examining them from across the hall. Eddie appeared to have paused mid-motion at his locker, staring at Steve with the kind of hatred that she had never witnessed in him before. 

As fascinating as this development was to Marcie, she had to force herself to turn away before she gave him an opening to talk to her, but she couldn’t deny the strange feeling that remained in her stomach.

“That’s exactly what we’re worried about, Steve.” Robin scolded, pulling her attention back to their conversation. “If we can both make it through today unscathed, we’ll be happy. Not all of us want to be a total Casanova like you.” 

Steve remained for a few moments longer to point out that the girls’ attitude was likely the reason that they had never appreciated the holiday, before Robin grew impatient and sent him on his way. The entire time, Marcie was distracted by mentally repeating the mantra that it was just another day. She’d managed weeks without Eddie and there was no reason that today had to be any more difficult than any other.

“Hey, are you alright?” Marcie asked as she walked alongside Robin to their first period.

“Me? I’m fine. Just feeling a bit blegh today.” She answered dismissively, but her friend couldn’t help noticing that she was a little paler than usual. “Something about the crushing pressure of the day doesn’t really agree with me. Maybe I’m just sympathy suffering.” She teased as she bumped her arm into Marcie’s playfully.

The atmosphere in class that morning was electric. Everyone around her was on edge, counting down to the bell that would allow them to get back to making out in the halls, or leaving secret admirer cards. It was only her and Robin that seemed entirely uninterested, and she theorised that her friend would be more interested if she could be sure that Vickie would reciprocate her feelings. 

By second period, she was beginning to regret turning up to school at all. In her anxiety over today, she had forgotten that this was one of the few subjects she shared with Eddie. On most days she had learned to simply ignore him, burying her head in books but from the moment that she entered the room, she knew that he didn’t intend to make today’s class easy for her. 

It was unheard of for Eddie to be early to anything, especially school related. As if in anticipation of her finding someone to switch seats with again before he arrived, he was already waiting at his usual desk behind hers. Marcie hadn’t prepared herself for this possibility and as result, she found herself completely caught off guard by his fond smile.

Summoning all of her self control not to smile in return, she quickly settled into her seat, but no matter how much effort she made, she couldn’t concentrate. It felt as if Eddie’s gaze was practically burning into the back of her head.

The strain of trying to focus on the teacher rapidly burned through her already depleted energy levels. Mrs Webster's droning voice felt like a lullaby in the quiet classroom and she found her eyelids growing heavy. Her head bobbed a fed times, each met with a breathy chuckle from behind. 

However, after battling the feeling for more than half of the class, she didn’t even realise that she had drifted off. Swirling thoughts organised into barely formed dreams, until the vivid, recurring image of Eddie being impaled by the mind flayer sent a wave of panic through her body. Marcie started so hard that a frightened gasp escaped her lips and her chair scraped on the floor loudly enough to disrupt the class.

In a moment that made her blood run cold, the students all turned to view her. Even the teacher stopped to throw her a confused expression. With her brain still sleeping, she simply stared back with wide eyes at the stern older woman and stuttered as words failed her, inwardly cringing from the laughter and whispers that had spread throughout the students.

“Sorry, Mrs Webster.” Eddie announced from behind. “Think I startled her. I didn’t mean to kick her chair that hard. My bad.” 

“Try not to be a distraction, Mr Munson.” 

Marcie waited a few moments for the class to return to normal, before sighing in relief. Though she knew that it was a risk, she couldn’t simply ignore Eddie after he had rescued her. Steeling herself for his charms, she finally peered over her shoulder at him and felt her heart immediately skip a beat at the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. She mouthed thank you and quickly turned back before she could be pulled in. 

However, it wasn’t long before a note flew over her shoulder, landing on the pages of her open book. Willing herself to ignore it, she could only manage for a couple of minutes before she found herself unrolling the tightly folded shred of paper. She immediately recognised Eddie’s scruffy writing and couldn’t help smiling. 

MISS YOU, SLEEPYHEAD.

When the bell rang she leapt up from her seat and hurried to the hall before he could attempt to speak to her. She knew that she was wavering, but until she could be sure that she could handle being his friend without breaking her own heart, she knew that keeping him at a distance was the best thing for them both, no matter how much he tried to win her over. 

The moment that she saw Robin, she ran over to grab her by the arm and pulled her into the nearest girls bathroom. Checking that it was empty first, she turned to her puzzled friend with exasperation. 

“I need to go home.” She spat, running her hands through her hair with stress. “I’m going to crack. I’m reaching my limit here, Robs.” 

“Hey, it’s okay. No one said this was going to be easy, especially today.” She answered reassuringly, placing a hand on her friend's arm whilst she caught her breath. “What did he do this time?”

Marcie spent the next couple of minutes recounting the events of the class, whilst Robin listened with a growing frustration in her expression. Though she knew that her friend only wanted the best for her, she couldn’t help feeling as if she was disappointed each time that she gave in to her feelings and desperately wished that she could be stronger.

“I know how hard it is, Marce. It took me forever to get over Tammy. I’m here for you.” She breathed, allowing some of the anxiety to leave her chest. “Sadly, we both know you can’t afford to miss any more classes. You’re already halfway through the day. Let’s just grab our lunch and then we can take a walk and clear your head, okay?”

“You’re right. I'm just being dramatic.” Marcie sighed and gave her best friend a grateful smile.

They walked the halls in silence, Robin’s arm linked through hers as if she was lending her strength. She felt undoubtedly calmer thanks to her listening ear, but the chaos of the festivities around Marcie left her on edge. The feeling only worsened when they reached their lockers only to find a couple making out against them and Robin had to shove them aside to access the doors.

“Seriously. Get a room.” She spat as Marcie chuckled to herself and entered the combination to unlock hers.

The moment that the door swung open, her stomach lurched. Everything was almost exactly the same as she had left it, except for a single item that sat on the top. It was wrapped in brown paper which looked as if it had been used several times and the bow was so scruffed that she wouldn’t have been surprised if it was tied by a child. 

The presentation led Marcie to already suspect who this would have come from. After all, there was only one person other than Robin who could have guessed her combination. She froze to the spot, staring at the offending item as if it was a bomb that might combust at the first movement. 

“What’s wrong?” Robin enquired when she noticed her stunned expression. 

Unable to form any words, Marcie simply pointed. Her friend finished taking a long drink of water, her hands trembling on the bottle and placed it back in her locker before she leaned around to look inside. As soon as she noticed the offending item, she immediately hissed under breath. 

“If you want me to just trash it, I’m totally down.” Robin offered lightly, but Marcie shook her head.

With shaking hands, she lifted the parcel out to stare at it. She could feel Robin’s concern at her side, as she crept nearer to watch over her shoulder. For a few moments, she honestly considered handing it over until a time that she might be more equipped to handle what could be inside, but curiosity gnawed at her until she could stand it no longer. 

“Come on, Pandora. Open it.” Robin urged, earning a playful smile.

As Marcie separated the paper, she heard a familiar sound that she couldn’t quite place from inside. Hidden in another layer of tissue paper was a brand new set of drum sticks. She lifted them carefully out, before being distracted by something on the end. On the handle of each stick was a single word engraved, that when read together said Hells Bells. 

Marcie wasn’t sure whether to smile, or to be frustrated, when she noticed a note in the bottom of the packaging. She allowed Robin to take the sticks for inspection whilst she read the message. 

SORRY FOR BEING AN ASS. FORGET THE GIG. FEEL FREE TO USE THESE ON GARETH’S SET WHENEVER YOU NEED A BREAK. EVERY GOOD DRUMMER NEEDS THEIR OWN STICKS. E

Hiding further down the hall, Eddie watched a smile spread across Marcie’s face with butterflies in his stomach. He had worked hard to source the perfect gift for her, obsessed over it even. It had been a calculated risk after messing up with the drum surprise, but he was relieved to find that it had worked out. After all, his idea of asking her to join his band so that she would be forced to spend time with him had seemed flawless at the time too. 

He had to admit that he had missed seeing her happy. The distance between them pained him, but not as much as it did to see her looking consistently glum. It didn’t suit her, not after years of spending his days doing all he could to earn a smile. Now, he couldn’t even get her to speak to him. He had always feared that this day would come, when she would realise that she was better off without him, but now that it was here, he would do anything to turn back the clock. 

Eddie was pulled from his thoughts when a jock carrying a huge bundle of flowers almost bumped into him, exposing his position. He shuffled further behind the locker for a few seconds, ensuring that Marcie didn’t spot him, but couldn’t resist peering out again when he heard the jock clear his throat to speak.

“Marcie Bell?” 

When he realised that the flowers were being delivered to her, his mouth dropped open almost as wide as hers. She stared at the boy in disbelief, glancing at Robin for reassurance. It took all of his self restraint to not burst out and grab the guy, but he waited patiently to eavesdrop on what he had to say.

“Don’t thank me. I’m just the delivery boy. They’re from a secret admirer.” 

Somehow, this revelation only aggravated Eddie further. Without knowing who was responsible for this, he couldn’t scare them away. His only lead was the person they had chosen as their delivery boy. Whoever this mystery sender was, they clearly didn’t consider the fact that sending a jock might put Marcie on edge. In his mind, this meant that they must have been in the same social circles, sending another rush of anger through him.

Eddie continued to watch the girls once the jock had departed, analysing every minute reaction that Marcie displayed. For the most part, she seemed uncomfortable. The attention of people in the hall was clearly overwhelming, as she turned to face the locker to speak to Robin.

Now that he was unable to hear their conversation, he could do little other than try to unpick the puzzle before him. He turned to follow the idiot who had given her the gift, hoping to find something useful. There was something familiar about him, but despite racking his brain he couldn’t be sure why. After all, most of the jocks blurred into one for him. 

It was only after observing for a while that he realised the connection. This kid had been Steve Harrington’s biggest fan throughout his early high school years, practically behaving like his shadow. Steve seemed to hate it, but it wasn’t implausible for him to have utilised this resource to surprise Marcie. The very thought caused Eddie’s blood to boil, as he stopped dead in the middle of the hallway. 

If there was one thing that he was certain about, it was that he had been upstaged by Steve ‘the hair’ Harrington, and that could not stand. 

♫  ♠  ♫

Still feeling flustered by the entirely unexpected delivery of flowers, which were now hidden in her locker after the smell seemed to make Robin nauseas, Marcie wandered toward the canteen in a trance. She couldn’t imagine anyone who would want to do this for her, much less anyone who would have contacts in the basketball team. 

Whilst she grabbed a hot lunch, Robin was uncharacteristically disinterested in eating anything. She was quiet whilst Marcie ate, staring off into the distance and she worried that the spirit of the day might be affecting her more than she was willing to admit. Once she was done, Robin suggested that they get some fresh air before class started, leaving her friend to analyse her in concern as she followed.

They were almost at the doors when Robin haltered, bumping against the lockers in a disoriented manner. Marcie reached out to support her, but when their gaze met she realised how pale her friend was and noticed that her eyes were panicked. Before she could ask anything, she burst away from her to run to the nearest toilet.

By the time Marcie had caught up, Robin had already locked herself in a cubicle and was vomiting loudly. She could see beneath the dividers that she was knelt before the toilet, as if she had collapsed on her way in. Allowing her some privacy, she locked the main door to the bathroom before taking off her hoodie and using it as a barrier between her and the floor to allow her to sit outside the cubicle.

“How you doing there, Robin?”

The only answer was more retching and Marcie cringed from outside. Though she could do nothing to help, she was content to simply sit there in case her friend needed anything. It was at least somewhere that Eddie couldn’t reach her, which gave her a sense of relief that she’d needed most of the day.

She couldn’t be sure how long she had waited before the toilet flushed and the door finally creaked open. Robin remained sitting on the floor beside the toilet, her head leaned lazily against the wall. Marcie dug through her bag to find a fresh bottle of water. She handed it to Robin and kneeled before her to hold a hand to her forehead.

“You’ve got a hell of a fever, Robs.” She breathed, noticing at this proximity that she had dark circles under her eyes. “You need to go home.”

“No.” Robin groaned. “You need me today. I can stay.”

“You’re no help to anyone like this.” She smiled, shaking her head at her determination.

Marcie didn’t need any further proof of how incredible Robin was as a best friend. She always knew that she could count on her, but that didn’t mean that she would allow her to suffer on her behalf. Used to helping Eddie and his friends to nurse hangovers, she ran a paper towel under the cold tap and used it to cool Robin’s face. 

“Keep that on your forehead. I’ll be right back.” She breathed, but Robin grabbed at her with shaking hands. 

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to call Steve and ask him to take you home.” Marcie explained, ignoring the way that she delicately shook her head. “He’s got the day off. He won’t mind. Just sit tight.” 

As expected, Steve was grouchy about being disturbed, and even less impressed at the prospect of risking getting sick on his self proclaimed most important day of the year, but he agreed to collect Robin. Marcie held her arm as she helped to walk her out to the car, noticing that she seemed to be growing delirious from the fever. 

Steve opened the door and stepped back to allow her space to drop Robin inside. He remained a few steps away, his T-shirt hoisted over his nose and mouth as if it would protect him from her germs. 

“Are you going to be okay, Marcie?” Robin drawled as she tried to battle her into the back seat. “I feel so bad leaving you. What if he tries something?”

“I’m a big girl, Robin. I can handle myself. I’m more worried about you.” She soothed, using her distraction to lower her to sitting. “There’s your water and a paper bag if you need it. Make sure you get some rest! I’ll call you later to check on you.” 

After thanking Steve and watching them drive off, she returned to the toilets to wash her hands and generally freshen herself up. Despite reassuring Robin, she had to admit that she felt on edge without her. She knew that Eddie would be in her class this afternoon and there was still the mystery of the secret admirer to deal with.

Dealing with Robin had made her a few minutes late, but as she rushed to class she felt a knot forming in her stomach. Without her lab partner, she could be assigned to join any other group and she tried to think who she could choose to cause the least drama if she was given the option. 

Stumbling through the door, she paused to address the teacher whilst everyone else turned to face her. 

“Sorry I’m late, Mr Smith.” She panted. “Robin’s not going to make it. She’s gone home sick. I had to help her to the car.” 

“That’s fine, Miss Bell. That does, however, leave you with a predicament.” Mr Smith remarked, glancing across the room whilst Marcie waited awkwardly to take a seat. “You can sit with Mr Munson. His partner seems to be absent today too.” 

For a few seconds, Marcie felt as if her entire stomach had fallen out of her body. She thought she might be dreaming, that there was no way she could be this unlucky. There was a delay in her processing the information, until she turned to see Eddie smiling at her from across the room.  She gulped in dread at even the thought of spending an hour at his side. 

“Hurry up and take your seat, Miss Bell.”

People were beginning to whisper as she remained rooted to the spot and she had to force herself to walk toward the work bench. The drum sticks in her bag felt as if they were weighing her down, choking her with the knowledge that he had been thinking about her, even if only to get back into her good books. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at him as she slid onto the stool, busying herself with digging the textbook out of her bag.

Fortunately, Eddie didn’t try to speak to her and she was able to focus on listening to the lesson. Or at least, that was her intention. No matter how hard she tried to listen to Mr Smith, she couldn’t help from being acutely aware of Eddie. She twitched at his every movement, her heartbeat lining up with the rhythm of his breathing. It felt as if something was crushing her chest and making it impossible for her to take anything but shallow, nervous breaths. 

After a while, Mr Smith handed over to the students to complete their activities. With a microscope between them and several slides to examine, Marcie knew that ignoring Eddie was going to be impossible. Instead, she simply resolved to keep the conversation to a minimum. 

Eddie busied himself with setting up the equipment and she was content to leave him to it. For as long as they had known each other, he’d always been more technically minded than her, whilst she was the more academic of the pair. However, where she would usually watch his movements to learn, today she found herself simply staring at his hands. In her effort to avoid looking at his face, she ended up practically hypnotised by them and almost slipping into a daydream about the way that it would feel to hold them.

“Alright. Think I’ve got it.” He announced, leaning forward to bury the microscope beneath his unruly locks. “Yep, that’s a close up on the alien life form.” 

With a sly smile in her direction, he slid the piece of equipment closer so that she could take a look. Even then, she still had to shuffle into his space in order to reach it and she suspected that this was no accident. Peering down the scope, she found her heart hammering from their proximity, feeling her shoulder bump into his. 

“Hate to break it to you, but I think that’s a flea.” She remarked, glancing up to catch a playful expression on his face.

“What? No way!” He gasped, before examining some of the dials on the side of the microscope. “Look again. I know an alien when I see one. You just need some imagination. Here.”

When she looked down the scope again, Eddie began toying with the lenses. She couldn’t help giggling at his antics and realised that she had missed his eccentric sense of humour. Whilst making adjustments, his hand brushed over hers and she shivered at the sensation of the cool rings he wore against her skin. Despite being unable to see him, she felt her cheeks immediately flush with heat.

She cleared her throat and shuffled back from him, returning her attention to the worksheets that the teacher had handed out. Eddie’s gaze practically burned into the side of her face as she noted their findings. It took every ounce of her self control to appear as if she didn’t notice it and she could tell that he was considering his next words carefully. 

“I don’t know about you, but looking at bugs wasn’t exactly how I planned to spend today.” He commented as he arranged the next slide.

Marcie hummed, avoiding looking up from her paper. It frustrated her how difficult she found it to keep her guard up around Eddie, even when she was upset with him. Part of her still wanted to tell him to stay away from her, but the majority longed to slip back into their comfortable ways. 

“Did you manage to find a drummer for your gig?” She asked, keen to change the topic from the holiday. 

“Gareth pulled through, actually.” He breezed and she nodded. “It seems like it’s gonna be a good one. You’re gonna come, right?” 

For a moment, she couldn’t think of anything to say. In trying to avoid discussing anything Valentine’s related, she has simply steered herself into another problem. Ever since they formed the band in middle school she had never missed a Corroded Coffin gig. Regardless of how upset she was with him, there was something dreadfully final about the idea of breaking this streak. 

“I’m…not sure.” She admitted. “I think I might be working.” 

Panic and hurt flashed across Eddie’s face before he was able to cover it. Marcie felt a pang of guilt in her chest when he turned back to the slides, making it obvious that he was attempting to hide his distress. 

For the rest of the class, they worked together in almost silence, with Eddie only asking the occasional question and showing her forced smiles. Somehow, this was even worse than the tension of him playing around with her. It felt as if there was an invisible barrier between them, one that neither of them knew how to break down.

Moments before the bell was due to ring, Eddie cleared his throat and turned to view her, making his best effort to seem casual. 

“Got any big plans tonight, or are you fully committed to this workaholic thing now?” 

Marcie chewed on her lip, unsure if she could withstand his reaction to many more denials in one conversation. The finish line felt so close, but yet so far and she had to mentally picture the image of him smothering the girl at the party in order to stop herself crumbling into him. 

“I was going to be hanging out with Robin, but I don’t much fancy spending the night holding her hair back.” She remarked, checking over her worksheet to ensure that she hadn’t missed anything. 

Sensing an opportunity, Eddie hummed to himself and leaned on the bench. She could have sworn that he shuffled himself slightly closer, tilting his head at her in a movement that made her stomach fizzle. 

“Is that so?” He crooned, striking her with the smile that always made her knees weak. “Well, you know, if you’re not busy I thought you might want to keep up our anti commercialism tradition. Wayne’s working so I’ve got the trailer to myself. We could get pizza and watch a scary movie, like every year. What do you say?”

Marcie’s heart almost broke in her chest. Part of her longed to accept, but another was horrified that he simply wanted to return to the status quo. For a fleeting moment, she had believed that he was about to ask her on a date, but his true intentions had brought her crashing down to Earth with a bump. She felt foolish for getting swept up enough in the atmosphere of the day to think that any holiday could change things between them. 

Finally, the bell announced the end of class, but Eddie remained completely still as he scrutinised her reaction. As a result of a potent mixture of disappointment and anger from reliving the party in her mind, a new wave of strength washed over her and for the first time in their friendship, she allowed herself to be upset with him. 

“You know, Eddie, just because Robin isn't available, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have options for Valentine’s Day. Has it ever occurred to you that there are people other than you that want to spend today with me?” She started, throwing her things into her bag to allow her a swift escape. “Maybe you should ask that girl from the party? You guys clearly had such a connection.”

Marcie didn’t wait for his reaction, throwing her bag over her shoulder and rushing from the class before she could be struck with any further guilt. Regardless, it was obvious that her words had struck him, because as she stalked into the hall, she caught one last look at him over her shoulder, still frozen in place.

♫  ♠  ♫

[kaimelia]

Hi, I love your work. I hope you doing well. I was wondering if you have time and feel inspired would you be able to write an Amlink fanfic where Amelia and Link go away for the weekend or for work and they meet Amelia sisters.

Thanks,❤️😊😊

new beginnings

a/n: hi! thank you for the prompt and I hope you enjoy it!

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

"You wanna find someplace to sit?" Link laughed slightly, placing his hand on the small of Amelia's back as she gained her footing. She glanced back at him and narrowed her gaze. "What? You did last time, and you're looking a little out of it right now."

"Maybe just head back to the room," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "In conclusion, sound baths mess me up." He grinned and guided her down the hallways of the hotel containing the different conference rooms. "When's your thing again?"

"Tomorrow. You've got time to recover." Amelia sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder, Link's arm wrapping around her waist and supporting the weight of her body. "You look like you're gonna pass out." He watched as she shook her head.

"I'm fine-"Amelia's eyes widened dramatically as she stopped talking, and Link followed her gaze.

"Amelia?" Her body tensed as Nancy approached them, her arms outstretched to hug her sister. Link stepped away as she wrapped her arms around Amelia. "What are you doing here?"

"I-uh-Link's giving a presentation, what-uh-what are you doing here?" Nancy turned and eyed Link before holding out her hand. He shook it.

"Nice to see you," he muttered, pursing his lips in a tight smile.

"Likewise," she smiled, retracting her hand. "Liz and I needed an excuse to get out of town, and this counts as a work trip. You're giving a presentation?" She directed her question towards Link, nodding her head.

"Yeah, tomorrow. On the dangers of dependency and how physicians can take better steps to prevent it with their patients," he smiled politely.

"Where's Liz? You're sure Kathleen isn't with her, too?"

"We invited her, but she couldn't come. We should get dinner tonight."

"Yeah, so it can go like last time," Amelia shook her head. "I think we're good." Nancy reached out a hand to Amelia's shoulder.

"It won't, as long as you're not lying about who he is, but we already went through that." Amelia grimaced slightly, some of the tension in her face relaxing as Link placed his hand on her back.

"We're supposed to meet a friend of mine for dinner," Link said, shrugging his shoulders. "And, we're leaving tomorrow afternoon, right after my presentation."

"Oh," Nancy sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, we'll come to find you tomorrow? We haven't seen you in years, Amelia."

"Sure," Amelia muttered, forcing a smile on her face. "Yeah, you can come to Link's presentation."

"I think Liz got lost, I have to find her, but I'll see you tomorrow!" They waved goodbye as Nancy walked away, and once she was out of sight, Amelia turned to Link.

"If I had a nickel for every time we ran into Nancy somewhere we completely didn't expect," she ran a hand through her hair. "Thank you for covering."

"Of course," he smiled, "although I was looking forward to meeting your other sister."

"And you will, tomorrow," Amelia groaned, leaning her head back against Link's shoulder. "Do I have to?"

"I mean, I have to give the presentation, so I'll see them, but if you want, I can tell them you died after we went back to the hotel room."

"You'd be over my death in less than 24 hours?" He nodded firmly, the smirk on his face growing.

"Oh, yeah, you think you're special?"

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

"What're you thinking about?" Link asked, taking off his watch and setting it on top of the dresser. Amelia was collapsed on the bed behind him, staring up at the ceiling.

"My sisters."

"What about them?" He swapped his day clothes with pajamas and then sat on the bed beside her.

"They don't know about Scout. And, I didn't have a problem with that; we never saw them, they never made an attempt at reaching out, but seeing them today?" She rolled to the side, placing a hand on Link's chest and resting her head beside it. "I don't know, I know they're not going to be as close as Meredith and Maggie are, but I love the family we have for Scout, and to think that there may be more people to love him that I'm holding him back from?" Link glanced down at her and tangled his fingers in her hair.

"If you tell them, you're opening yourself up to criticism of every parenting decision you've made. This means staying in contact with them, Kathleen, and your Mom finding out. I mean, are you ready for that?" She sighed.

"No. But I don't want to keep them from Scout if they're willing to be family to him. He deserves to have as much love and annoying family around him as possible." She moved her head so that her chin was on his chest, and she was looking at him. "Your parents are the best grandparents there are. And, what if my Mom wants to take him for ice cream on the weekends and send him postcards from every place she visits?"

"When was the last time your Mom was in contact with Mer's kids? They're her grandkids, and I don't think I've ever heard them mention her before." Amelia looked away and sighed again. "If you want to make an effort with them, I will be by your side the whole time. But, just think about everything that's happened between all of you, and think about if you want that around Scout." He reached down to pull the comforter over them, and Amelia grabbed her phone from the bedside table. "What're you doing?"

"Facetiming Maggie. I miss Scout." He smiled and kissed the top of her head, grins covering both of their faces as the call opened to see Scout asleep on top of his Aunt.

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

"It'll be fine," Link muttered against her hair, pressing a quick kiss to the side of her head. "They're walking over here." Amelia smiled as her sisters approached them.

"Hey," she greeted, raising her eyebrows as Liz pulled her into a hug.

"It's been forever, Amelia; I'm so glad to see you!" She pulled back and stuck her hand out to Link. "Liz. And, I'm the last one to meet you." He shook her hand and introduced himself.

"And, the only one to meet him as himself," Nancy muttered snarkily, crossing her arms over her chest. Amelia refrained from rolling her eyes.

"We can't stay for long; our flight leaves in a few hours, and we still have to pack," Link smiled pleasantly, "but we figured we would stay to see you." They all sat down at the table in the cafe.

"So, what's going on with you two?" Amelia looked at Link, who placed his hand on her leg and squeezed gently.

"We just bought a house, one close to the hospital and to Meredith so we can be near her," Link spoke. "Other than that, working all the time. This conference is our first time away since the pandemic."

"A house?" Nancy raised her eyebrows. "Are you two getting married?"

"No," Amelia shook her head, breathing slowly to calm herself. "Just finding our own space. We were stuck watching Mer's kids for most of the pandemic, and we needed to get out of there."

"Mm, I would love to come and visit," Liz muttered, sipping her coffee, "I haven't been to Seattle since Derek needed a nerve transplant."

"Maybe we can all make a trip out of it?" Nancy added, leaning back in her chair. "We never see Derek's kids."

"Link and I have a son," Amelia blurted out, her eyes widening as soon as she said it. "Uh, sorry, I thought I should say that so you don't come to Seattle and surprise! There's a toddler running around our house." Link squeezed her leg again.

"A toddler? He's a toddler, and you didn't tell us?"

"Yeah, we don't exactly talk very often, and we were a little stressed with a newborn and Mer's kids during quarantine," Amelia paused. "His name is Scout, and he just turned two a few months ago."

"Can I see pictures?" Liz asked, leaning forward and clasping her hands together. Link smiled and pulled out his phone, opening the album with thousands of photos of Scout. He turned the phone to her. "He looks just like you, Link." Liz turned the phone towards Nancy.

"I'm sorry, how did you have a baby and not tell your family?" Nancy scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Family means being there for each other, and I didn't want to say anything after you and Kathleen spent a dinner throwing things in my face."

"After you lied to us." Amelia breathed out slowly and bit the inside of her cheek. "We're your family."

"I'm trying to move forward, and if you want to be part of the life that we have now," she motioned between her and Link, "you can. And if you don't, I have plenty of family in Seattle who will be there for us and our son. Family isn't just blood." Nancy held her hands up in defense.

"So, you don't want us in your life?"

"No," Link spoke beside her, squeezing Amelia's leg again as he sensed her upset. "We're saying that if you want to be involved, and you're willing to do that without constantly bringing up the past, we'd love to have you in our lives."

"I know my kids would love to come and visit," Liz smiled and handed the phone back. "They'll be so excited about their baby cousin, can I get your address to send things? A late birthday gift, so my kids have an excuse to buy too many baby toys." The neurosurgeon smiled and took her phone out.

"I'll text it to you," she whispered, trying to hide her joy. "We'd love to have you visit; he loves meeting new people ever since the pandemic ended."

"Does Mom know?"

"Not yet," Amelia clasped her hands together under the table. "We're figuring things out. And, I can't control whether you tell her and Kathleen, so I'll probably tell them soon."

"This is insane," Nancy shook her head, "this is insane."

"Nance, give her a chance," Liz looked over, watching as their eldest sister stood up and grabbed her jacket. "She's trying here; can't you give her some credit for that?"

"No, she doesn't get to join the family when it's convenient for her." She took her phone from the table and dropped it into her pocket. "I'll see you later, Liz, and Amelia?" Amelia raised her eyebrows. "I hope you understand, and I hope that one day, you'll make an effort to be part of the family." She walked away, leaving the three of them alone at the table. Amelia sighed and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her forehead with her hand.

"I'm sorry about her," Liz whispered, glancing towards where she had left. "But, I'd love to hear more about your son, if that's okay." Amelia grinned and pulled out her phone, showing a picture of Scout with his birthday cake in front of him.

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

"Nancy hates me," she muttered, tightening her grip on the armrests of her seat, glancing as people hurried past the waiting area they had occupied in the busy airport.

"And, Liz doesn't." Link placed his hand over hers and squeezed lightly. "You found someone who wants to be involved, who wants to be family, and maybe the others will come around. And if they don't, we don't need them. We have a perfect family back in Seattle." Amelia looked into his eyes and sighed.

"How do you always know what to say?"

"Because I know you, and I can see the wheels turning in your brain, and I'm telling you to slow them down. Take a deep breath." She did and laid her head on his shoulder. "Whatever happens, you're always going to have everyone back home. Like you said, Scout deserves to have as much love around him as possible, and some people in your family might not be willing to give that, and we don't need that." He kissed her head and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I'm glad I told them, though."

"You've still got a phone call to make," Link muttered. "Unless you want your mother to find out through Nancy."

"I know, I know. And, I'll do it." She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath.

"I'm proud of you, you know that?" Amelia looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you."

[dangerous-mess]

Achilles Come Down

Characters: Shinsou x gender neutral reader

Contains: Mentions of suicide attempt, mentions of self harm, mentions of stress, mentions of minor character deaths, relationship issues, Pro Hero Shinsou. This story contains a lot of heavy and sensitive material, please read at your own risk. 

Word Count: 2.7K

Achilles, Achilles, Achilles come down. Won’t you get up off, get up off the roof.

Y/N stood near the ledge of the building, looking down at the chaos of the traffic below. The chill air blew in their face, making shivers cover their arms. Part of them wanted to back out now and just go back inside, where it would be warm, but the little voice within their mind told them this needed to be done. They needed to go ahead and be up here, and they needed to jump before he got home. Y/N knew that as soon as he got home from patrolling that it was over, they would be talked off the edge and back inside.

Y/N slowly and carefully sat down, wanting to spend their final moments, being at peace and calming their nerves before making the leap. Y/N never planned to end up nor did they really want to jump. But things had just gotten so tough lately and it was hard for them to find a reason to keep going. Sure, they had their boyfriend, but Y/N was beginning to feel more like a bother and problem than a decent partner, which was definitely putting a strain on the relationship.

Y/N was struggling with finishing grad school and was tempted to just give up most days, and with the recent loss of their mother, things had only become more difficult. Y/N was close to their mother, more so their mother was one of the biggest supporters in their life, so when she died, it was almost like Y/N was unable to recover. They went to therapy and found local groups to help deal with grief but nothing seemed to help. It didn’t help that their boyfriend, Shinsou was becoming busier being a pro hero, which meant he was homeless and less. So most of the time Y/N was left alone.

Though, in this time alone Y/N began to find ways to relieve any stress from school and to help the grief hurt a little less. They fell back into the hands of self-hatred and the cruel knife it wielded. As their mind wandered to the cruelness they brought upon themselves and looked at their scarred arms, it brought tears to their eyes. Y/N knew life wasn’t supposed to go like this, it was supposed to be a happy ending, just like they were promised so long ago. Their mother always spoke about how they would find their prince charming and would be swept away in a loving relationship and live happily ever after. And for a while, Y/N felt that they had found their happily ever after, but after the death of their mother and Shinsou’s work schedule, that ever after didn’t seem as real anymore.

You’re scaring us, and all of us. Some of us love you. Achilles, it’s not much but it’s proof.

Did Y/N still love Shinsou? Of course, they did, but things were more complicated now than ever before. He was gone so much, his work schedule hectic and with their classes and job, both of them hardly saw each other. Even in the shared apartment, they owned and the bed they shared, most nights the best was half full, one of them missing. At first, Shinsou not being home most nights really hurt Y/N, but as it happened more often they grew numb and used to it.

Y/N loved Shinsou, they remember the first day they met him. He came into the café that was closest to UA. He had come in one afternoon after classes had let out and ordered a black coffee with 4 espresso shots. Y/N remembers being taken back by this order, but still made it. Eventually, Shinsou became a regular customer and got the same order every visit. The more he came in, the more the two exchanged words and got to know each other. Y/N remembers the day they were brave enough to write their number on his cup and how nervous they were the rest of their shift. Shinsou, of course, texted them right away and they slowly began talking.

The rest of their relationship went from there, both of them growing closer every day. Y/N was there when Shinsou was moved to the hero course and learned to strengthen and embrace his quirk and what he could do. From there he graduated and started training and making his way up the ranks of being a pro hero. All while Y/N continued on with school in hopes to follow their dream of going into psychology and psychiatric work. Together they found a small place on the far side of town, a quiet and safe place for them both. A place they called their home and could be together after a long day, in peace. As the two grew older and their schedules grew busier they grew further apart. The talk of their future together became a distant memory and Y/N secretly longed for it.

When Shinsou was home, he hardly spoke much to Y/N. He would say hello and say a quick I love you, before going off to eat, shower, and sleep, all within that order. When both would be in the same bed, Shinsou no longer would hold Y/N and no longer let them hold him, they were just completely against any affection, which was completely odd for Y/N knew he loved affection. And as a very affectionate individual Y/N needed the affection as well, and just wanted to know they were still loved and appreciated by their boyfriend. Y/N knew they still loved and cared for Shinsou somewhere within them, but whether or not he felt the same was unknown. For saying the words “I love you” was one thing, but meaning it was another. For all they knew, it could be a force of habit for him at this point and he just didn’t mean it at all.

Remember your virtue. Redemption lies plainly in truth. Just humor us Achilles. Achilles come down, won’t you get up off, get up off the roof.

Some would claim there are other ways to fix issues and problems going on within a person’s life, but for Y/N this was the only answer. The main support from their mother no longer existed. Then there was the loving relationship that was failing and no longer sparked the same joy and happiness it once did. And maybe Y/N wasn’t to blame for it all, but they took it upon their self. In their eyes, it was their fault for everything, and maybe if they only focused and stopped worrying about things would have turned out differently. As time passed, Y/N became more anxious about going through with this. They had begun to have second thoughts and maybe, just maybe, there was another solution to their problems. But the voice in the back of their mind egged them on, convincing them that they needed to jump and sooner rather than later. This was the only answer, the correct solution that would make everything better for everyone. And Y/N knew if they were still on the ledge by the time Shinsou got home, it was over. They would break down and run to his arms, seeking comfort even if he truly no longer loved them or cared.

Y/N sighed and began to push their self up, finally done making peace with what needed to be done. They were ready to jump and finally be free. Their nerves began kicking in as they looked down and saw a small crowd forming below, clear they were concerned for Y/N perched upon the roof’s ledge. It was only a matter of time before a hero or worse Shinsou arrived at the scene.

The self is not so weightless, nor whole and unbroken. Remember the pact of our youth. Where you go, I’m going. So jump and I’m jumping, since there is no me without you.

The door from the roof access point slammed open and a voice called out, “Y/N, dear please get away from the ledge.” Well speaking of the devil, it was Shinsou. He must have heard the news about a crowd forming around Y/N and their building and assumed the worst, though it was unclear if the Shinsou on the roof was the pro hero or their boyfriend, both two different people.

Y/N shook their head, never once turning back to look. They knew if they turned around and saw his dark purple eyes it would be over. And Y/N had to do this, it was for the better, wasn’t it? “N-no I need to do this. It’s for the best, I can finally be free Shinsou. I can finally be free of all hurt and pain I’m feeling. Don’t you want me to be happy?” Y/N yelled back, their eyes never once leaving the ever-growing crowd below.

“Y/N, please don’t do this, we can get you help. We can work through this together sweetheart, just get down and let’s talk about this, okay?” Shinsou spoke, his tone of voice never shaking or quivering, almost as if he was incapable of any emotions or feelings. Y/N sighed, tears starting to form in their eyes. Of course even during their lowest and darkest moment, as they stood on the ledge, he didn’t truly care. Typical Shinsou.

Y/N went to respond to Shinsou, barely catching themself when they realized Shinsou ended his sentence with a question. He was trying to use his quirk on them, so they would get off the ledge and he could be the hero everyone loved and adored, but Y/N wouldn’t let him have that satisfaction. So Y/N resorted to simply shaking their head no.

How the most dangerous thing is to love. How you will heal and rise above.

Y/N could hear Shinsou’s feet tap against the rooftop, meaning he was moving closer to them. This only caused Y/N to let out a groan. God, why was he making this so complicated and difficult, didn’t he realize how better this would be? Could he just stop being the hero for once and let things play out how it should go?

“You were always too smart for your own good, Y/N. So I’ll make you a deal, I won’t use my quirk on you, but please just come off the ledge. Let’s just talk about it, explain to me what’s going on in your head. I can’t help you if you don’t let me in.” Shinsou pleaded, the sound of his footsteps stopping. Y/N turned out slightly, to see him standing only a few feet away, both of them a little more than arm’s length apart.

“Shinsou, just give up the hero act, alright? There is only one way I’m getting off this ledge and we both know how I’m going. You can’t save me, you had your chance but you were too absorbed in your hero work and being a hero to everyone else except to me. Just give up already, it’s over.” Y/N cried out, tears running down their face, as they locked eyes with their boyfriend. They watched as tears ran down his cheeks. It hurt Y/N to see him hurting so much but they needed to go through with this, it was the only way.

“Y/N….please. I love you, baby, don’t do this.” Was all Shinsou could muster out, a sob escaping from him. Y/N knew the man on the roof was no longer the pro hero but their boyfriend, which only made this so much more difficult. Part of them was tired and ready to fling them self off the roof and to finally be at peace, while the other half was tied down by the love they held and had for Shinsou.

You may feel no purpose nor a point for existing. It’s all just conjecture and gloom. And there may not be meaning so find one and seize it. Do not waste your self on this roof.

“You don’t understand, do you? I have to fucking do this Shinsou, I just need to go through with this but god you are making it so hard for me to jump. I hate that I love you and the feelings I have for you are the only thing keeping me on this ledge right now and I hate that. I hate the effect you have on me and how you just make everything so difficult!” Y/N screamed out, their entire body shaking, tears pouring down their face.

Slowly but surely, Y/N sat down on the ledge, just sobbing. Y/N could see Shinsou moving closer to them now but they were too tired to fight it anymore. They let their boyfriend come and pull them off the ledge and into his arms. Shinsou held them close, both of them crying. Neither said a word though, Y/N’s mind was still running, the urge to fling them self off the roof still a prominent thought in their mind.

“Shinsou...I need help. I don’t think I wanna die, even if every part of me is craving and wanting me to. Wanting me to hurt myself and others. Wanting me to just run and fall off this roof. I’m just so tired, I don’t wanna do anything anymore and just everything is falling apart.” Y/N cried more into their boyfriend’s hero gear, gripping onto the sleeve of his uniform tightly, scared if they let go, Shinsou would be gone and they would be alone once more on the ledge.

How the most dangerous thing is to love. How you’ll heal and rise above. Crowned by an overture bold and beyond. Ah, it’s more courageous to overcome.

“Sweetheart, we will get through this together. I’ll help you get the help you want and need and be there by your side through it all. I love you, I don’t wanna lose you.” Shinsou quietly whispered into your ear, afraid if he would speak up he would start crying once again.

“Shi...you don’t gotta lie anymore, I...I know you are losing feelings and it’s okay. You can move on and be happy being a hero with me supporting you in another way that isn’t your partner.”

Shinsou upon hearing this, gently pushed back and looked Y/N in the eyes. “Y/N, what are you talking about? I still love you so dearly and wanna be with you, where did that come from?”

“You’ve been distant lately and well I just assumed you no longer cared or worse...no longer loved me…” Y/N mumbled out, looking away from him, afraid to make eye contact with him right now.

He gently grabbed their chin and turned their head so they were looking at each other. “Y/N, I love you with all that I am. Without you, I don’t think I would have made it this far. I don’t think I would have become a pro hero or anything. You showed me what love is and I’m sorry I’m not the best at it giving you the same treatment and love you give me. And lately? God, I’m so sorry about lately and I know there are no excuses here. I’ve just been stressed from work and nervous.” He moved his hand so that it was on Y/N’s cheek. “It was going to be a surprise, but nervous cause I’m planning to propose to you Y/N.”

“Shinsou….I’m so-”

“Stop, you have nothing to apologize for one this matter baby. I shouldn’t have pushed you away the way I did, that’s my fault.” He placed a small kiss on their forehead.

And see life as a means to a triumph, today of all days.

Both slowly got up and went to the roof access door. It was going to be a long journey to recover for Y/N, but they were no longer afraid. Of course, there would be road bumps and difficulties along the way, these thoughts never truly going away, at least not overnight. But, with Shinsou by their side, it would be a little more bearable. They were given a purpose to live and keep going. Y/N had Shinsou and to some, that may not seem like much, but at that moment, it was just enough.

[sweatersstyles]

you bring me home

tw: death

word count: 2,356

This is a piece that was something more personal to me and I'm thankful to Olivia (@bfharry​) for allowing me to include it in her bf!harry fic-a-thon. My aunt died in early December of 2019 very suddenly. She and my uncle had been together for almost 20 years, but since common law marriage is not recognized in my state, her sister was in charge of all arrangements. Her sister lived in another state and basically just called and set up everything for her cremation over the phone. My uncle was too devastated to really speak up and say anything, so my family and I never truly got a chance to have the experience of a funeral for her. I never felt like I got that closure I needed, so for the past 8 months since her death, my brain has cycled through this vicious cycle of denial and depression, never fully reaching acceptance. This piece is basically just the experience I wish I had and Harry helping me through the grief process.

It's also the very first Harry thing I've ever written and posted here so any and all feedback is welcome!

also lots of hugs to @geoffwittek​ for reading over everything for me and being such an angel in general 

"Linds? We're gonna be late, love. Your family's still meeting at 3, right?"

His voice sounds distant, despite you both being in the same room. Your brain registers the noise but is unable to form a response.

He stands near the end of the bed, hands in his pockets, head down, "We don't have to go if it's too much for you. I'm sure your family would understand."

The black dress Harry helped you shop for 2 days ago lays, taunting you, at the end of the bed. You remember mindlessly wandering around before you had a breakdown in the middle of the department store. Harry had to sit with you on the bench outside of the store until you pulled yourself together enough to go back in.

Nearly a week ago, you had answered a call from home only to find your world turned upside down. Your Nanna cried on the other end, she couldn't believe the news was true either. It was so sudden and so unbelievably unexpected.

Your Aunt Linda was dead.

Thankfully, Harry had invited you over for dinner and a movie that night. You still don't remember how you stopped crying long enough to tell him the news. He held you on top of his chest, letting you sob until exhaustion took over and you fell asleep.

Currently, you were sitting on the side of the bed. Something in your brain had prompted you to gather enough strength to take a shower a couple of hours ago, but you hadn't had the energy to move since then. Harry's warm hand squeezing your shoulder brings you back to reality long enough to look at the clock and see you only had 10 minutes to get ready and be out the door.

"You coming back to me there, angel? Anything I can do to help you get ready for this?" he kneels in front of you, one hand on your thigh, the other cupping your face, wiping one of the many tears that were starting to form and fall.

"No, no, I can do this. I still wanna go. Just give me 5 minutes to get ready?"

"I'll go warm up the car." he leans up slightly and kisses your cheek before grabbing a set of keys off the dresser and disappearing down the stairs.

You throw the dress over your head quickly. Dread builds in your stomach but you push through, selecting a pair of pantyhose and taking longer to put them on than you have to spare, making sure you don't rip the delicate fabric. Shoes waited on the floor at the foot of the bed, a simple pair of black flats with a small silver buckle.

The bathroom lighting does you no justice as you try your best to do something to make yourself look somewhat presentable. You know there's no point in makeup, it'll all end up washed away by tears most likely before you even arrive at the funeral home. You apply a quick layer of moisturizer, hoping your skin will have a chance to recover before it's all washed away too. Your hair gets swept back into a low bun and at the last minute you grab a pair of earrings to loop through your ears on the way down the stairs and out the door.

The cold, winter air of December surrounds you as you make your way to the car. Harry was true to his word and had the car warm and waiting for you.

You take a shaky deep breath once you're settled in the passenger seat. Harry rests a hand on your knee, "You sure you're ready, peach?" you smile faintly at his nickname for you.

You'll never forget meeting him for the first time and comparing accents; your Georgia drawl versus his British one. Some nights when you were both delirious with sleepiness but unable to drift off, you would just exchange single words back and forth, trying to mimic one another. The nickname tended to roll off his tongue easier when you were in your hometown.  

You shake your head no. How could you ever be ready for a day like this? Despite she and your uncle never getting married, she always supported and loved you and your siblings as her own nieces and nephew from day one. How were you supposed to live without a woman who always had an encouraging or motivational word to offer when you were sad or frustrated? A woman whose light was so bright in your life that her absence surrounded you with a darkness you could never imagine pulling yourself through? ______________________________________________________________

"You're making your lip bleed, lovie. Here." He swipes a thumb softly over your bottom lip. He pulls a tube of lip balm out of his coat pocket and you gratefully take it and use it.

"I don't know how much longer I can do this, H." You look down at your hands, a few frayed tissues lay on your lap, messy and still wet with tears. Your gaze meets his, eyes pleading for some sort of escape.

His arm wraps behind your back and a hand rests on your side, pulling you closer to him. He kisses your temple, "Do you want to leave?" His voice is a low, comforting rumble in your ear.

You look around at the small funeral home chapel. Only two of the twelve long wooden pews were filled. Most of your aunt's family still lived in Virginia, where she was originally from, and none of them could be bothered to pay their respects here in small town, Georgia. You couldn't leave now.

He reads your face, a brief glance over your features, feels your body relax into his, "Just say the word if you change your mind, alright?"

You rest your head on Harry's shoulder for the remainder of the sermon. The preacher is nice enough, but the speech he prepared is all wrong. Your aunt would have appreciated this, but it just wasn't her. Wasn't an accurate representation of who she was and the impact she had on your universe.

The preacher finally wraps up with a prayer, asking all to stand and bow their heads. You've never known Harry to be a particularly religious sort, but he grabs your hand and squeezes as he bows his head. A quick and thoughtful reminder that he's still there. He's not leaving your side.

The small gathering of guests parades past the casket now, all expressing their final goodbyes as they pass. Harry stands back, quiet and respectful, letting your family through first before he rejoins you. His hand lands on the small of your back and wanders around to rest on your hip as you walk back into the lobby together.

You accept a few hugs and expressions of condolences from the few friends that came. Your hand stays loosely tied to Harry's the whole time, and he uses his free hand to greet everyone you introduce him to. Your family offers you a spot in the family car to the graveside, but you decline. Harry assures them he'll drive you to the cemetery safely.

The graveside service is thankfully quick. Another gathering of guests and more kind words from the preacher. A small prayer. Emotional exhaustion is settling into your body, and Harry easily supports your weight back to the car when the service is over.

"Your Nanna cornered me in lobby before we left the funeral home while you were talking to your cousin," he starts the car and fiddles with the controls, adjusting the heat, "she wants us to come to her house for a bit. Are you up for that?"

You nod your head yes, still not sure if your voice is strong enough to not break when you answer him. You know it will only be your family there. 8 people, including Harry. You could handle that.

"Should we grab a bite to eat before we go? You haven't eaten much today, honey."

You chuckle. The first genuine laugh in a week bubbling up through your chest. You stop when you notice Harry's adorably confused expression, his brow furrowing together with slight concern.

"Oh, no. You don't eat before you go to Nanna's house, trust me." ______________________________________________________________

Harry is a warm addition to the small house on the hill.

His eyes go wide when he sees the amount of food spread across your grandmother's small round kitchen table. His gaze follows everyone already seated around the table and then back to you. All you can manage is an "I told you so" shrug.

"Is all this just to impress me or..?" his voice is a whisper in your ear, but the kitchen is so small it echoes around to the whole table.

"No, babe. This is how it always is at Nanna's."

Your Nanna and Aunt Donna, who you're sure spent all day making everything, insist that it's not THAT much food, but you know you'll all be guilted into at least finishing a full plate AND taking leftovers home for later. You're thankful to see even your uncle has a plate in front of him, knowing his appetite hasn't been the same since he lost your aunt.

When dinner is finished, a pot of coffee is made and passed aroud to accompany dessert. The aroma fills the house, the strong scent a comforting reminder of your Aunt Linda. She always said she hated the taste, but loved the smell. You inhale, the essence surrounding you and bringing back warm and lovely memories. You catch Harry's eye, a small smile crossing your face.

He makes his way around the living room, refilling a few mugs along the way. The open entryway between the two rooms allows you to watch the path he takes. He stops where your momma sits in a green plaid armchair, her lips are moving but you can't make out what they're saying. They both look at you and he turns back to her, a charming smile lighting up his face.

By the time he makes it back to the kitchen, you've slipped into your Nanna's bedroom. You know it's normally rude to disappear, but this place is home. Had been your second home all your life and you knew no one would care that you were slipping your shoes off and crawling under the covers of the freshly made bed.

You hear a lull of voices outside the door, and you're thankful for the noise, for the small comfort of gentle chaos. If you listen closely, you could pinpoint individual noises throughout the house; your dad and Nanna talking politics, your momma and sister flipping through channels on the living room tv, your Aunt Donna and your uncle questioning Harry about his favorite British television shows. You hear water running and picture Harry, his tall frame towering over the tiny kitchen sink, helping with the dishes. You feel a slight bit of guilt for leaving him alone, but by the sound of his laughter, he's making himself right at home too.

You drift to sleep, and when you wake, Harry is next to you. His long fingers smoothing comfortingly up and down your arm, "You disappeared, love. Thought you might like some company. Hope you don't mind me joining you."

You shift your body closer to him, your head on his chest, his arm resting behind your head, "Is everyone still here?"

He brushes a loose strand of hair out of your face, tucks it neatly behind your ear, "Your uncle just left a minute ago, but everyone else is still around. Your brother called, said he was sorry he couldn't make it. I came to find you, make sure you were okay."

Your little brother was in his last semester of college. It was finals week and you know he would've been here if he could.

"I'm okay...I mean as okay as you can be after a day like today, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

You slip off the bed and Harry follows you, hands on your waist to steady your balance while you slip your shoes back on. He helps you remake the bed, and the two of you make your way back towards the kitchen, now quiet that everyone moved to the living room.

"Harry?" You turn back at the last second before you leave the room. He's following so closely behind you you end up pressed against him.

"Hmm?" He catches you, pulling you even closer, the light from the kitchen shining on his face.

"I haven't had a moment to thank you today. For all of it..dropping everything and flying out here with me, spending the whole day with my family, driving me everywhere, just being here with me. You've kept me sane and I could never repay you for something like that."

"You don't have to thank me. I wouldn't have dreamed of being anywhere else than right here. You needed me and that was all that mattered, everything else can wait."

______________________________________________________________

“Ha! Look at baby peach! How old were you here?”

Your lap was covered in pictures, the few favorites you had brought with you from home. Harry was plopped next to you on the couch. The picture in question is a baby picture of you, chocolate icing all over your chubby cheeks.

“That’s my first birthday party.” You giggle at his smile, the way he can’t stop staring at the photo.

You shuffle through a few more, Harry being curious about each one and questioning you about every detail.

“Who’s this?” The picture he hands you takes your breath away for a second. You forgot it was mixed in and he instantly knows by the tears filling up your eyes.

“It’s your Aunt Linda, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I didn’t know..”

“No, it’s okay. This is a good picture of her. She had such an amazing smile.” He rests his head on your shoulder. 

“She loved you so much, babe. She would be so proud of you.”

“Yeah, she would’ve thought you were pretty great too, H.”

[the-final-sif]

Per the anons in my inbox’s requests, I give you my sad ‘Katsuki is a dog person headcanon. Fair warning, this is a sad headcanon about Katsuki having a childhood dog. You know where this is going.

Now if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you probably know about my Katsuki getting kidnapped headcanon. Basically, the story goes that Katsuki was kidnapped and/or had multiple groups try to kidnap him for his quirk throughout his childhood, he just managed to escape and then never told anyone, because he's Katsuki and the day he willingly volunteers information about himself and/or the problems he’s struggling with is never.

At some point, someone in class 1-A asks Izuku whether Katsuki is a cat person or a dog person, because a group of them had been arguing about it. By this point most people have learned that it's much easier to ask Izuku for information about Katsuki than it is to ask Katsuki for information about Katsuki.

Lucky them, Izuku knows the answer! Kacchan's a dog person. Or at least, he was when they were growing up. He's not so sure that Kacchan's still a dog person. Kacchan doesn't like to talk about his dog or any dogs these days. Everyone is intrigued by that and asks for details, but turns out that surprisingly, Izuku doesn't know what happened. Not the whole story anyways. He does remember some stuff though.

Kacchan's dog was a big Tibetan Mastiff named Mamoru. Izuku can only  remember three things about him.

First and foremost, Mamoru was mean as hell to almost everyone. He barely put up with Izuku, he didn't like either of Kacchan's parents, he hated strangers. If they were alive odds are this dog hated them. Mamoru wasn't afraid to show that he hated someone either. He would get bitey/growly the moment someone got in his space and given his size and appearance, most people would back off quick.

Second, Mamoru loved Kacchan with all his heart. Even if he was a jerk to almost everyone else, this dog adored Kacchan. Every time he was around Kacchan's his tail was wagging like he was a puppy. While he basically never listened to anyone else's commands, he'd follow Kacchan's in an instant and picked up new tricks like it was nothing. When they were little he would even let Kacchan ride on his back. Kacchan was why that Mamoru put up with Izuku (or anyone for that matter), and also probably the only reason Mamoru wasn't put down.

The last thing Izuku knew about Mamoru was that passed away very suddenly when Izuku was 10 years old. He never found out how the dog died. Kacchan didn't want to talk about it at all, and his parents dodged the subject when it was brought up. Not even Izuku’s mom could get the story out of them. Mamoru was an older dog when he passed away, but he'd been fairly healthy, so it must’ve been something bad.

After telling them this, Izuku warns his classmates not to bring it up. Whatever happened is a sore subject for Katsuki. All of them can understand pet's death being hard, particularly such a sudden one, so they leave it alone.

They think that's that... only at some point, there's someone with a weird quirk that the class meets while out on a field trip. The person can let you speak to a loved one that passed away for a short period, although it only works once for each person. You can't pick who you speak to/see, it's whoever you miss most.

Most of the class is excited and gets some heartfelt words from their dead relatives, but Katsuki wants nothing to do with it. The person accidentally activates their quirk on him anyways, and everyone is expecting a relative or someone similar to show up.

Instead, in bounds in a giant, overjoyed dog; tail wagging, eyes shining and tongue out. Katsuki is totally frozen up. Everyone expects him to be happy, but he's not. He stares at the dog for a solid 4-5 seconds as the dog wanders over to him, whining for attention and trying to play. Then Katsuki turns on his heel and runs.

None of them are supposed to be out on their own, so his classmates try to follow him only to lose Katsuki, who doesn't seem to be able to hear them in his upset state.The whole class is super freaked out, and the ghost dog is getting really aggressive and upset at the class as they search.

Aizawa is called over, and now he's panicking because his kid whose been kidnapped before is off on his own and not answering his cell phone. Lucky him, when he starts trying to figure out how to find Katsuki, Ghost Mamoru barks at him, runs off a little ways, then runs back. He's been hostile towards everyone else, but he seems okay with Aizawa. He also seems increasingly agitated about something.

Taking the hint, Aizawa tells the rest of the class to head back to their meeting point and follows Mamoru, who leads him to Katsuki. Katsuki's curled himself into a small hiding spot, which was why he was so hard to find. Mamoru obviously wants to go comfort his kid, everything about him is drooping and he lets out a whine, but seems to think better of it. Instead, he takes a long look at Katsuki, and then shoots a pleading look towards Aizawa before he lets out a quiet huff and fades away.

That leaves Aizawa alone with Katsuki, a kid whose hard to understand on the best of days, and who is currently having a panic attack.

There's not much else he can do, so Aizawa waits it out. He sits beside Katsuki's hiding place and keeps things calm and quiet, waving off the rest of the class, and letting the other teachers know Katsuki's been found.

It takes quite awhile, but finally Katsuki recovers enough to speak. He still doesn't want to come out of his hiding spot though, and Aizawa doesn't ask him to. At this point it's obvious something serious happened, he just wants to know what.

Katsuki takes several tries to start,  this story is hard for him to tell, but eventually he manages to force out a "It was my fault." and after that, everything comes tumbling out.

He'd been heading back to his house all alone in the early evening one day. He was 10 years old, and he hadn't been paying attention to the people around him. He should've been paying more attention. He should've known better. But he didn't, and some goons got the jump on him. There hadn't been time for him to do anything. The men had been on him too quickly and gotten his hands locked behind him. Katsuki had tried to fight, but he hadn't been strong enough.

It was only a block or two from his house and if he'd just walked faster or not stopped to look at things, everything would've been fine. But he hadn't, so the men caught him. He was pretty sure he'd been attacked by those guys before too, so he should've recognized them. They'd already gotten his hands restrained, and they'd stuck him with a needle.

There was nobody else around, and Katsuki thought that was it. This was the time that they got him.

The men thought so too, he couldn't remember their exact words, but they were gloating. Going slower than they probably should've. They hadn't been expecting anyone to come help Katsuki. They hadn't expected anyone to care enough to help him. And they were sort of right, there weren't any people coming to help Katsuki, but there was a very loyal dog who heard Katsuki's muffled cries.

Mamoru didn't hesitate for even one goddamn second; he was on the man holding Katsuki like in flash, dagger like teeth digging deep into the man's shoulder. He went for the goddamn throat of the other one, the one who had some of Katsuki's blood on him.

Despite his best efforts, the dog didn't manage to kill either man, but he drove both of them off. He fought like a goddamn hell hound, as if he was made of nothing but of fury and muscle. Maybe in that moment he was.

Mamoru was so vicious and strong, that Katsuki didn't even realize the dog was hurt in the fight. Not until he'd managed to wiggle his way out of the cuffs and thrown his arms around his dog, only to jerk back at the wet feeling of blood soaking through his shirt.

The injury was bad. One of the men had had a knife and must've caught the edge of it on Mamoru's throat. Katsuki was drugged out, but he knew he needed to do something. Mamoru was somehow still on his feet, so he helped Katsuki get home, his condition getting worse and worse as they pressed on.

When Katsuki got home, there was nobody there, but he was able to call his father and through his sobs communicate the important parts of what happened. That some guys had bothered him and they'd hurt Mamoru. His dad said he'd be home as soon as he could, and to put pressure on the wound until then.

And here's the thing. That's good advice. Stopping the blood loss is really important when you have an injured animal.

But Katsuki was a 10 year old, he was on drugs, he was completely panicked and distraught.

And he forgot what was always coming out of his hands.

Nitroglycerin is toxic under the best of circumstances, but when an animal is already bleeding out, it's a death sentence.

The veterinarian tried to tell him afterwards that it probably wouldn't have changed anything. Mamoru was heavily injured and he would've bled out no matter what. He hadn't known, he'd been trying his best to help. It wasn't his fault. But Katsuki knew better, and his mother reminded him of that much.

On the drive back from the vet's office, his mother told him they weren't getting another goddamn dog to replace Mamoru because he'd probably kill that one too.

Katsuki didn't want another dog. He was too scared that someone would try to kidnap him again, and the dog would die again. Or he'd forget himself and end up killing the dog more directly. After that, he didn't even let himself go near animals. He wouldn't be near them, and he wouldn't touch them at all. Hell, he hardly even let himself touch other people after that.

When Katsuki finishes up his story, he looks ashamed and Aizawa is silent out of pure shock for several long seconds. First and foremost, he cannot believe that this was just something that happened that he had no idea about. Katsuki mentioned getting attacked by strangers at least once before he was 10 years old?? What the hell had happened in his student's childhood??? All of the implications of all of this are concerning him.

But in that same moment, he's suddenly rethinking Katsuki with this new information. Awhile ago Mic had made a joke about how Izuku follows Katsuki around like a puppy and all the teachers had laughed about it. Katsuki had gotten strangely angry about it, and suddenly it seems a whole lot less funny. Not only that, but how Katsuki reacted to All-Might's downfall after his kidnapping has a whole new light to it now. As do so many other little things.

It's hard for him to get any words out, but he manages a strangled "Kid..." and gently coaxes Katsuki out of his hiding place so Aizawa can just give him a goddamn hug for once in his life. And Katsuki is confused by this because he was expecting Aizawa to agree that he fucked up, but instead he's getting hugged and he really doesn't want to cry again but he's not sure he has a choice.

[gamergirl-niffler]

In Sickness And In Health

Sooo!

One day I go super inspired by THIS WONDERFUL ART

So I forced m wonderful and only @arthurbristow​ to write that idea with me. He was wonderful Rafe!

This just sweet fluff of our Angry ball of Rage - Rafe Adler and Sam :3

Hope you all will enjoy it!

Gif belongs to THIS PERSON  I had to add it this way bc tumblr IS A ASSHOLE! and every time I add gif from GIFs option he doens’t save them. LIke BOOOM it’s magically gone!

Maybe it was stupid. No, it was obviously stupid.

Rafe was a maniac, a psycho, he was ready to murder whoever was in his way to the treasure. Despite this, Sam felt bad for Adler. He was just blinded by the whole glory of the treasure, that's all. Sam knew the feeling.

After a few moments of silence, Sam knocked at the big, wooden once again, and still without a response. That was weird, he visited this place when he worked for Rafe. There was a nice, older lady that took care of the whole place and opened the door, always.

Sam sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Maybe he wasn't here? Maybe he went to some fancy and expensive clinic to recover? Drake wanted to turn on his hill and leave but he decided to try a doorknob. The door opened and this was a big surprise.

Sam walked inside to take a look.

The mansion was empty, there was no one inside. There was no alive nor dead soul around.

Did Rafe move out after this failed treasure hunting?

______________

He thought he had heard some strange sounds - he couldn't localizate them though. He wasn't even sure whether they were real nor his mind was tricking him.

He tried to roll on his side but realized his back was resting against the cold wall.

Finally, with all of his might, he sat on the floor and rolled his head back, resting it against the wall as well. "Help," he mumbled, not being sure if any soul has heard him.

_____________

Okay, there was a voice that meant that someone was here. The voice sounded quiet and really weak but it certainly was a male voice.

Sam went in the direction of the voice.

Good thing that the mansion was empty so it was easy to locate the poor soul that needed help.

He stopped in front of Rafe, he couldn’t believe his own eyes. Sam was shocked seeing Adler in such a state.

"Holy shit, Rafe. The hell happened to you?," He asked with a frown, approaching the other man carefully.

With barely opened eyes, Rafe tried to snort. "Are.... Ya... Kiddin'.... Me.... Drake?," he stammered weakly.

"You recognize me, that's a good thing. I hope," Sam helped Rafe get back on his feet. "C'mon, we will go to put you down and take a look at these wounds." Sam found Adler's bedroom easily, after all it was the biggest room in the whole house. After placing this wounded bundle of rage on bed, Sam looked around. "Okay. Now you stay here and I will go find an aid kit. I think I know where you have one."

Looking for the kit took a few minutes, but to Sam's surprise, he found few. Maybe it was Adler who was paranoid about his safety or the poor servants were simply ready for every occasion.

After returning to the bedroom Sam took a look at his former enemy. "Are you still with me?"

But Rafe was long unconscious. His breath was shallow, his chest was barely moving, his lips parted like he was about to gasp for air.

"Let's hope you won't die on me here. I am not keen on experiencing such a thing again. Hold on and I will take a look at you... even if after all of this I should just let you bleed to death," Sam said, sitting on the bed.

After removing Rafe's shirt Sam hissed at the simple view of his injuries. It was more than obvious that he did not take care of them even a little bit. Thankfully older Drake knew that to do, he had to patch himself up too many times.

The burning pain from hydrogen peroxide woke Rafe up a little; he let out a loud hiss and cursed a few times, fisting the sheets. "Leave me alooooneee...," he growled.

"If I leave you, you will die and you ain't dying today, I assure you. So shut up and let me work," Sam muttered, not stopping his attempt on cleaning the wounds to later try and stitch the bigger ones.

"It hurts you fucker, leave me alone!," Rafe tried to hit Sam's shoulder.

"It wouldn't hurt that much if you'd take care of them properly," Sam explained and looked at Rafe. A few days ago Adler was wielding the sword like a pro and now he didn't even have enough strength to really hit. Sam rolled his eyes and grabbed Rafe's hand, stopping him with ease. "You move again and I will tie you up to the headboard so I can do my thing," he warned.

"I'll start screaming, Drake," Adler warned, "And I have a loud voice though..."

He hated every second of Sam's presence in his mansions, in his room. Drake thought too much of himself. He wasn't a fucking nurse and he should simply call 911.

"Try it and I will gag you. I have experience in this," Sam hummed and looked at Rafe to wink at him. "Now, stay still or I swear I will knock you out to finish my job."

Rafe stopped shifting and laid there quietly, without whimpering and other sounds.

"Thank you. You see, it's not that hard," Sam chuckled and continued doing his thing. Maybe an hour later he was done. It for sure wasn't perfect but it was enough to help Rafe.

Sam looked at Rafe's chest wrapped in a bandage. "I will have to keep my eye on it. The change will be needed later, I will do this. You will have a chance to take a quick bath before putting on a fresh bandage.," Drake muttered, scratching his cheek.

"I'm not going to spend any more minutes with you. You bursted into my house like it was yours, ok, I'll forgive it," Rafe growled, he was fully awake by then. "You tried to help, nice. You did. Now you can leave. I can handle, happen to be the big boy."

"Big boy who didn't get the treasure, almost bled to death in his own mansion, probably lost everyone that worked for him and is kinda tied up to bed because I bet a hundred bucks that he won't be able to get up and at least walk to the door," Sam said and went to sit in the armchair near the bed. He pulled his cigarettes out and lighted one up, placing it between his lips. "Proof me I am wrong and I will go," Sam dared.

Rafe didn't respond to Sam's words; he got up and immediately pressed hand to his abdomen, hissing loudly, gasping as well.

Trying to pretend he's fine, he tried to walk to the door but after a few steps he simply sank to his knees and sat on the floor. "Don't you dare to smoke inside," he threw the older man a cold glance.

"Or what? You will crawl up here and bite me in the ankle?" Sam chuckled, looking at Rafe who was sitting on the floor. "Comfortable? I thought you could walk," Samuel hummed, mocking Rafe a little.

"Shut up and if you want to smoke, get outside on the balcony."

Sam smiled and got up from his seat to carefully pull Rafe up back to his feet then placed him back on the bed. "Try to not mess up your stitches when I am gone," Sam winked and went on the balcony to finish his cigarette.

Rafe put his head on the pillow and screamed in it, then gasped and rolled to his back, lying motionless on his king-sized bed.

After throwing away the end of the cigarette, Sam returned inside and looked at Rafe. "How do you feel?," He asked, flopping on the armchair.

"Be extremely careful when you sit on my favourite armchair," Rafe growled through clenched teeth. "Oh, so you want to talk about emotions!," Adler snorted and shook his head, hissing. "Let's talk then! Samuel Drake, the brother of sweet, charming, legendary Nathan Drake visits me and nurses me like a fucking baby! He orders me in my fucking mansion! I'm feeling fucking great!"

Sam blinked surprised, watching Rafe barked out all the words. He looked like a tied up animal that tried to be loud for the sake of being loud. It was annoying but it also was obvious that Rafe was kinda mad. "Well, I asked how do you feel after me taking care of your neglected wounds but I will take 'feeling fucking great' and I don't order you. You can do whatever you want," Sam shrugged.

"You came to watch me suffer, it's a victory, isn't it? Now you're free to go," Rafe grunted and rolled to his side.

"No. I came to check if you are fine, seeing that you are not I decided to help you," Sam answered, reaching for the book that was laying next to him. "If I would like to see you suffer, I would watch you bleed out to death and wouldn't bother to move nor touch you."

"Why are you touching my book?"

"Because I wanted to have a look," Sam flipped through the book and stopped at a random page to read it.

"You're still having my book in your hand. Have you at least washed them? No, of course, why would you care about washing hands. The bacterias will be distributed around here now," Rafe gasped. "Bring me water."

Sam rolled his eyes and went to get Rafe the water he requested.

By the time Sam came back, Rafe was already sleeping.

Sam smiled and shook his head, he pulled the blanket over the other man and then returned to the armchair. After placing the glass on the counter, Sam took the book again and started to read it. He was mentally ready for a long night, wanting to make sure that bundle of rage will make it through the night.

_____________

He didn't know how much time passed. He woke up covered in cold sweat; the fresh shirt he wore was soaked at the collar and on the back. He shivered. "Samuel?," He felt an urge to scream yet he cooled himself down. "Samuel? Are you here still? Samuel, I fucking need you."

"I am coming!," Sam yelled walking into the room. Before Rafe even woke up, Sam could see his state; he was tossing and turning in bed as much as his body let him, it was obvious that he got a fever. High one for sure, so Drake decided to go and find a thermometer and it wasn't easy in this big house. "So now you need me, huh?," He teased, handing Rafe the little device. "I bet you know how to use it, right?"

Rafe slipped the thermometer under his tongue and nodded head. "Mhm," he mumbled.

"Good boy. I am proud," Sam joked, petting Rafe on the head.

Rafe grinned only and almost bit through the thermometer.

Sam sat down on the bed and waited just like Rafe did.

Rafe was trying to run his glance off Sam but he couldn't. "Seriously? Yourgh.... Glaaaaayin...," He mumbled.

Sam rolled his eyes and covered his eyes with his hand. "Is that better?"

Rafe almost choked with laughter. "Way baaaattaaa."

"Great! I am glad to hear it, just give me the thing when you are done. After we know how high the fever is I will think what to do," Sam explained, waving his other hand around while the other stayed on his eyes.

Rafe laid quietly for the rest of the necessary time. Once the thermometer started beeping, a younger man poked Drake's ribs.

Sam jumped, surprised by this action. "Hey! Don't do that," He said and then took the thermometer from Refe. "Holly shit. Okay. That's high," Sam muttered. "You have 39° of fever."

"So what now, Mr Nurse?," Rafe asked.

"I am going to put a wet, cold towel on your forehead and I will go dig through your cabinets to find some meds. If I won't find any, I will have to go buy some," He shrugged.

"Don't leave.... I mean, they're in the cabinet, in the bathroom downstairs. Brown, little bottle with pills," Rafe quickly instructed.

Sam nodded. "Okay. I will prepare the towel there." He went to the bathroom downstairs. There he found a clean towel and put it into cold water. After that he looked for the bottle with pills. When Sam was fully ready, he returned upstairs. "Here, this should make you feel better," Drake said softly, placing a folded towel on the other man's forehead. Shortly after that, he prepared meds and water.

Rafe took the pills like a good boy would, he swallowed them with water and placed head back on the pillow. "Thank you," he whispered simply and closed his eyes, enjoying the coldness of the towel on his forehead.

Sam smiled softly and sat next to Rafe on the bed. "I will sit here to keep an eye on you. Sorry for looking at you but I need to make sure it won't get worse."

"Yeah, yeah, I understand," Rafe mumbled and closed his eyes. "Good night, Samuel. Sweet dreams about your baby brother you had lied to."

Sam chuckled and shook his head. "Good night and sweet dreams about treasure you had lost."

Rafe slept calmly till the morning

Sam stayed up as long as he could keep his eyes open.

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

First sun rays hot his face gently so he slowly opened his eyes, yawning like a little kitten. Rafe frowned a little as he felt something like a rumbling next to his ear. He opened eyes wider and paled: he was hugged to Samuel Drake's side, Rafe's arm wrapped around another man's chest. Adler looked down and recognized the sound - probably Drake was hungry.

Sam hummed and mumbled in his sleep. He was watching over Rafe for many hours, until he was too tired to sit. Wrapping arms around Rafe, Sam nuzzled to his neck. He didn't really care if this was a dream or if he really hugged someone. Just the warmth was so nice.

Rafe's eyes got wider. He tried to sneak out of the older man's grasp yet he was too weak to perform this. "Samuel. Samuel, halo? It's not funny," Rafe tried to struggle but soon he gave up and put his head to Samuel's chest. "What's happened to my life?," He whispered to himself.

Sam only pulled Rafe even closer, hugging tightly but not tight enough to hurt him more.

Rafe relaxed his muscles and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth that radiated from the other body next to him.

"I would never say you like to cuddle," Sam said quietly with his hoarse voice. His hand gently rubbed circles on Rafe's back.

Younger man didn't respond as he fell asleep again in the arms of Sam.

"Yes. You are a cuddler," Sam hummed and kissed Rafe's forehead, checking if he still had a fever by this action.

Rafe tightened his hug around Sam's waist and mumbled something; his bangs went messy.

_____________

It was at least half a month since Sam kinda broke into Rafe's house.

Half a month since Sam found Rafe bleeding and forced him into recovery under his wings.

"I think that's it. Everything healed nicely, without any complications. Bruises are gone and you build up strength," Sam said with a little shrug, he was honestly really happy with Rafe's recovery. "Guess it's time for me to go."

Rafe who came to the kitchen was putting his favourite black t-shirt on, presenting his well built abs with some scars to Sam. "I told you that you can stay, Drake. The house is huge enough for us two."

Sam smiled, looking at Rafe. "Oh I know that but I remember how much you wanted me to go and leave you alone. You tried to hit me. So, I don't want to stay longer than you can tolerate me."

"I don't mind you here, I thought I made myself clear on this matter before," Rafe said and sat at the table.

"By hitting me or biting me this one time. I still have your fucking teeth mark on my shoulder," Sam muttered.

"Sorry not sorry, dear, sometimes emotions are over your control," Rafe replied smoothly. "So what? Will you stay?"

Sam chuckled. "Emotions. You are just a fucking animal, that's all," Drake pretended to roll his eyes but smiled soom. "And what will I get for staying here?"

Rafe furrowed his brows and stretched his back lightly. He got up, walked to Sam and briefly kissed his cheek. "Is that a good fee? Are you happy now? If yes, take my card and go to the shop, we're running out of Pringles and beer.

Sam laughed and got up to grab Rafe and kiss him deeply, slipping his tongue into Adler's mouth. "Be back in half an hour. Send me the full shopping list via Text," Sam hummed after pulling away.

Rafe ran hand through his bangs that fell into his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, cool down a little with showing your affection, I know you more than like me, Samuel."

After one more quick kiss, Sam grabbed Rafe’s wallet and went to shop.

When Drake left the mansion, Rafe took a seat at the table again and smiled to himself. It was the very first time in a while when he felt purely happy.

[deliriousgeek]

She’s the Alpha (Owen Grady x Reader) .7

Masterlist:

Okay! Finally up to date! I’m so excited for chapter 8. Also, if you were expecting Owen and Yn meeting right away, my apologies. Yes this is a Owen x Yn fanfic buttt I really want to set up her position in the story. Don’t worry tho! Owen will be here very soon. So stay tuned! Enjoy <3

p.s. lemme know if you wanna be tagged :)

Chapter 7

My Apologies Ma’am

She couldn't believe her eyes. The monorail zoomed into the main part of the park. The ride started from the docs and passed all the way through a lush green forest, from there it went over a deep blue lake.

A lake?

(Y/n) had opted for a window seat. This way she could take in the gorgeous view of the tropical landscape. To say the island was beautiful would to be an understatement, it was absolutely breathtaking. (Y/n) almost entirely forgot the reason she was here.

You're not here to vacation, you're here to review.

Reprimanding herself (Y/n) pulled out her journal and began writing her discoveries. The park had a promising future. The main theme of the park, dinosaurs, had yet to be seen and visitors would still be enthralled with the landscape that served as a teasing preview of what was yet to come.

A light bustle of conversation filled the monorail once the conductor had announced over the PA system they would be entering the park. On Y/n's lap sat her journal, a gift from her father. (Y/n) tried to jot down the feelings and sights she was absorbing, but was slowly tuning out her thoughts as the PA system spoke.

Claire stood up at the head of the monorail and announced as the monorail went through the refurbished entrance gates. "Ladies and gentlemen welcome to, Jurassic World."

The gates opened and the monorail pushed through. A collective gasp of intrigue was heard through the cabin as the passengers got their first glimpse into the park. The monorail passed over a gorgeous deep blue lake that was said to hold one of the main attractions of the park, the mosasaurus. (Y/n) wrote down in her journal that having the monorail built just outside the mosasaurus exhibit, while being an aesthetically pleasing architect choice, may not have been the most passenger safety option. She also observed that overlooking the mosasaurus lagoon was the hotel and directly under the hotel was a beach. This beach, which was connected to the mosasaurus lagoon, was separated by two fences. Although the fences looked highly durable and built to keep the gigantic reptile from chomping on park goers, it didn't seem like the most viable plan. (Y/n) was sure to mention this to Mr. Masrani once they met.

Nit picking at first sight was not in (Y/n)'s personality, however, after hearing stories of the old unsuccessful park and their death count, she was not willing to over look any details.

The paleontologist side of her began to kick in and she was instantly intrigued by the creature lurking in the depths. How old was it? Was there only one? Did it hunt for itself? How deep was the pool?

Y/n would ask all these questions once she met with Mr. Masrani himself, which would be very soon.

The monorail had come to a slow halt and the passengers were directed off the vehicle into the hotel lobby. Claire was at the head of group announcing the schedule for the day.

"If you'll follow me," She smiled. "Your passes and wrist bands which give you access to the whole park will be in your room. Your rooms will be located on the 25th floor. My assistant Zora will be passing out room keys and numbers." A woman stepped out from behind one of the employee doors with cards in her hand, which she began to pass out accordingly.

Claire spoke again. "Once you receive your keys please feel free to head up to your room for a quick freshen up or roam the park if you wish. The meeting with Mr. Masrani will be held in the Apatosaurus Room in one hour. If you have any questions, I'm all ears." Her sentence ended with a business smile.

Y/n waited her turn for Zora to pass her the room key. After receiving the key and doing a once over of the group, y/n decided it was best to stay away for now and head up to her room.

Upon entering the luxurious hotel room Y/n was greeted with a wonderful view. She was greeted with the nicest scent of a freshly made hotel room which instantly soothed her body from the Isla Nublar heat. Once stepping in the room and shutting the door the AC began working wonders on cooling her heated skin. On top the queen sized bed that sat in the middle of the room laid a tray containing all the necessities for visiting the park. Her luggage was sitting in the corner the room near the entrance onto the veranda. A set of wide, brown-stained, rolling shutter doors blocked off her view from the rest of the park. Noticing the obstruction in her view she promptly set her bag on the bed, slipped off her shoes, and slid the doors open to the balcony.

With a short exhale of breath Y/n was astounded by the grandeur of the island. She could nearly see the entirety of the park. In her direct view the grand, green mountains served as a back drop for everything below. The Innovation Center stood like a beacon in the middle of everything. Leading to the Center was main street, full of shops, restaurants, bars, and things of that nature. To the sides of the street were enclosures, but for what she couldn't see. Observing the enclosures from a far wouldn't help her in determining an opinion on them. Y/n mentally noted that she would have to see those enclosures for herself. They seemed much too small, and Y/n hoped she was very wrong.

Letting her eyes roam over the deep, jungle green of the mountain terrain, Y/n saw a grey, out of place, building. It was nearly the color of rocks and probably could not be seen from the ground level. It was quite a distance away from the park and there were no monorail tracks leading to it. Y/n assumed it had something to do with the operations of the park and wondered if she could have a peak inside. A little digging into the park's business side wouldn't hurt. After all, that's what she was asked to do.

After letting the Costa Rican sun settle into her bones once more Y/n returned to her room, closing the door behind her. She checked her phone for the time and quickly donned herself with one of the passes on the bed and placed everything else in a purse she brought with her. Y/n unloaded only the necessities from her backpack into the purse. Heading to the bathroom of the suite Y/n did a once over in the mirror. Deciding the the humidity of the island was doing her hair no good she took it out of it's current state and redid it into a much more frizz-free style. Before heading out the door she briefly glanced in the mirror then, deeming her appearance business worthy she walked out the door in search of the conference room.

Y/n took the elevator down the lobby in which she asked a receptionist where the Apatosaurus Room was. After being given directions Y/n thanked the woman before heading a lounging area of the lobby. Checking the time again Y/n noted that there wasn't enough time to spare before the meeting to the explore the park. Although, there was time to jot down her first impressions of the it. Sitting down in the lounge area Y/n took her journal out from her purse and began to write.

She didn't write about the interior of the hotel or that there were not mints left on her pillow, but rather on the fact that when looking at the overall view of the park she was not impressed with the size of the enclosures she saw. Concern over powered the beauty of the park, though she did appreciate the island's well landscaped state it was not the reason she came. Concluding her writing with a note that said:

Opinion on enclosures will be revised after further inspection of park.

Y/n closed her journal and stood while placing it back in her purse. While Y/n's vision was occupied by securing her purse, her direction was veered into the path of the man walking opposite of her.  With a general sense of direction, lack of attention to his surroundings, and briskly paced walk, the man did not notice the woman slightly shifting into his path either. His focus was entirely absorbed in the files that he held and getting to his meeting on time. Before either of the two could register the collision, Y/n stumbling backwards until she was on the floor. This caused the man's head to snap up then back down to the woman on the floor.  Other passers by looked as well. The man's mouth moved quicker than his brain and before he knew it he was offering her a hand and an apology.

He helped her off the floor. "My apologies ma'am. I didn't see you there." When his eyes finally met hers he starred with an almost stunned gaze. Maybe it was the impact from their collision or the sincere gleam in her eyes, either way he nearly forgot how to breathe.

"Oh no sir, the fault is mine. I wasn’t looking where I was going." After dusting herself off and actually securing her purse she looked up and offered him a smile. "Sorry for the inconvenience. I'm in a rush." Noticing his lingering stare she cleared her throat, suddenly feeling like a display looked at through a glass.

Recovering from being stunned, he offered her a weak smile of his own. "I was too-” Realizing he was still late he closed the file, “-am too." He nodded his head. "Sorry again for knocking into you, ma’am. "

She nodded and replied swallowing thickly, her throat suddenly parched, "Right, I gotta go too. So sorry for bumping into you, bye." 

"Goodbye ma'am."

Then each walked their separate ways.

Pushing aside the uncomfortable interruption Y/n headed to the meeting. Approaching the halls that led to the conference rooms she began to prepare questions for Mr. Masrani in her head. If there was a time for questions she would be sure to ask them. Seeing a sign that read "Apatosaurus Room: 2:30 Meeting" next to a closed door Y/n made her way to the door, and walked in.

Who's the man? 👀

Lol, see ya next time

@littlegangrel @thebadassbitchqueen

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Eidolon 12 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary:  AU: What started off as the result of a simple act of rebellion ends up causing his life to spin out of control. How will young Danny cope with the results as well as a past that has a strange habit of coming back to haunt him.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, kidnapping, and various other things

Chapter warnings: Forced feeding of a drink

Parings: hints of Danny/Sam much later on

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr

Chapter 12: Entrapment

It was difficult to tell how much time had passed since he had been in the room. There was no apparent clock, even if he could swear he could hear the soft, steady ticking of one, and he didn't carry a watch or phone he could check. Danny's eyes wondered to one of the white walls for a moment as he tried to imagine it with a non-frosted window. Even a glance outside would be better than nothing. At least then he could tell for certain if it was day or night.

Heck, even watching the scenery for a while would be an improvement over his current activity of lying face up on the eerily pristine bed and staring at the ceiling. He had already checked the entire room (including under the bed) six times for anything he could use to at least get out of the room, and he could only do that so many times before it started to get to him. The exhaustion didn't help. While he was searching, his limbs had decidingly refused to remain normal for more than a few minutes at a time. From the time the strange occurrences began, he had experienced a few bad days, but nothing compared to this particular one. It was almost as if simply being in the room was making it worse.

The ceiling held no answers or a hidden plan of escape, but he continued to stare at it anyways. He knew he should be trying to escape while worrying about Winston and his friends, but he was unable to summon the effort. It was almost as if an odd hollowness had replaced his heart. He slowly sat up as he considered the strangeness of it. Maybe it was just that exhausted, or maybe the room was getting to him more than he thought.

.....

A sweet smell caught his attention as he opened his eyes. Groggy and confused, he slowly sat up and stared for a moment as his brain tried to process what he was seeing. While he had been asleep, someone had placed a silver tray which held a small pastry and an unknown drink with a strangely appealing color on the floor. He was rather surprised he could see it from his location, but perhaps whoever had put it there had placed it there on purpose.

Curious, he slowly crawled off the bed and moved over to it. The pastry didn't seem like anything special, but he was starting to feel hungry and allowed himself to try it. The drink was different. He noted that whatever was in it was thicker than water and gave off a strong yet attractively sweet smell. It was also an unusual green color, which was what made him wary of it. The drink looked a little too much like the antifreeze he had occasionally helped Winston put into his car. He was probably being paranoid, but he was locked in room without any apparent way for him to escape. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that whoever put him there was going to eventually kill him. Isn't that what usually happened to kidnapped kids?

His eyes widened as the weight of his previous thought hit him. When a child went missing, didn't the news usually mention it was nearly impossible to find the child alive if the child couldn't be found within twenty four hours? And didn't adolescents fall into the same category when it came to the statistics? Panic welled up in his chest as he stared at his hands. Exactly how long had he been in the room? If anything, he was probably didn't have much time left. Well, he wasn't going to give up without a fight!

A guttural yell escaped him as he charged the only door in the room. The wood quivered for a moment as he bounced off of it and landed painfully on the floor. Undeterred and filled with resolve, he rushed it again and again with similar results. His whole body began to ache from the effort, but it wasn't enough to make him stop. He didn't want to die. He couldn't die! Not while his friends didn't know where he was (if they even knew he was missing), nor while Winston was still in the hospital. He just had to escape!

But he couldn't do anything if he was exhausted. After bouncing off the door about ten more times, he allowed himself to relax and rest against the side of the bed for a little before he tried again. His right shoulder was throbbing and his butt was sore from hitting the ground so many times, but he tried to ignore the pain as he examined the door. What was it made of? Steel? There didn't seem to be any sign of damage on it, but he had to have done something to it. When he recovered more, a closer look would be in order. Aiming for a weak spot would be far more beneficial than continuing to blindly run at it.

A though occurred to him as he looked at the door. Maybe he could pull the pins out of the hinges… It was so simplistic, it could actually work. Curious as to why he didn't think of it earlier, he slowly stood up and limped over. Wow, ramming it had taken more out of him than he thought.

He ran his fingers along the frame as he tried to find some sign of the hinges, but quickly realized it was futile. This door opened from the other side… There went that idea. Well, while he was there he might as well check the door for any signs of damage. There wasn't much to find, but there was some near the stubbornly locked doorknob. It wasn't as much as he had hoped but a few more hits to the right side of the door should be enough to at least get him out of the room. From there… he would have to wing it. He just hoped there weren't any other doors like the one currently keeping him captive out there. This one was bad enough.

Deciding it was not the best of ideas to attack the door again in his current state, he headed back towards the bed and laid down. He stole a quick look at the platter of food before he buried his face in the pillow. He was starting to get a bit hungry, but there was no way he was going to eat poisoned food. A growl combined with a gnawing feeling in his stomach entertained him as he drifted back into sleep.

…

"Why… won't… this thing…. Break?" Danny yelled as he kicked the door. After waking up, he had resumed his task of running at the door, but after no further progress, frustration had taken hold of him. He sighed as he banged his head off the door. If he couldn't get past something as simple as a door, how was he going to escape?

A clicking sound caught his attention. Glancing down at the doorknob, he noticed movement. Suspicious, he backed away and waited. The doorknob continued to rattle for a moment before a hard yank pulled the door completely open. The man who was revealed glanced at the door carefully before looking at Danny and smiling. "What exactly have you been getting yourself into? Hmm?"

"Y-you!" Danny stammered as recognition hit him. Vlad Masters had done well on his promise. Somehow the man had managed to take him from the police station and put him in this prison of a room. This was a worst case scenario… well, maybe not the worst. At least this man didn't particularly want to kill him, he hoped. "Where am I? What do you want from me?"

Vlad shook his pointer finger as if he was telling off a young child. "All in due time, my boy. But first, I must ask, how are you feeling?"

A blank stare was the only response Danny could give as he tried to process the question. This man kidnapped him and then turned around and asked about his condition. Was it him or did something just not add up?

Vlad took a couple steps into the room and glanced around. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the untouched tray of food Danny had carefully moved out of the way. "I see that you didn't touch your snack. I had a servant place it there in case you got hungry… It's been a couple days since I placed you here. You really should eat something…. Or at the very least, have a drink."

A couple days? He had been here for a couple days? Jeez… this room really did steal all sense of time. He shook his head. He would have to deal with it later; there were more important problems… like getting away from the madman in front of him. "Sorry, but that's been the last thing on my mind," he snapped.

Danny watched carefully as Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. From the limited interactions he had previously had with the man, he had learned enough to know Vlad was slightly annoyed. "Come now, Daniel," Vlad's tone almost matched the vary one Winston had used in the past when he was trying to convince him to do his chores. "Believe it or not, I do have your best interests at heart. Starving yourself isn't going to accomplish anything and neither is repeated throwing yourself against the door. You'll just be doing more damage to yourself than to it."

"Says the man who kidnapped me."

"I don't expect you to understand the reasons for my actions… at least not yet…" The older man moved to the tray to retrieve its lone cup before turning back to him. "But I assure you, everything was done for your benefit."

"Sorry if I don't believe you…"

"I assumed you wouldn't listen. We'll discuss this later once you've calmed down."

"'Calmed down'? Calm down! You've fricken kidnapped me! How the hell am I supposed to calm down?" His fists were balled and his shoulders tense as he spoke. It was taking almost all of his will power to not punch him in the face. Actually, that might not be a bad idea. Vlad didn't look all that strong, and he was a business man (they don't have time to work out)…. One good punch to the face should knock him out. And with the door finally being open, he could make his escape.

Without another thought, he charged Vlad. The older man looked surprised as Danny's fist came close in on its target. Danny smirked as he had a clean shot, but stumbled in horror as he landed. Instead of hitting a wall of flesh, his fist along with his body just passed through the man. Unsure exactly what happened, he slowly backed away. Glancing to his side, he realized he had a clear shot to the door and made a break for it.

Before he could even get through the opening, a strong pair of hands grabbed him from behind. He fought, flailed, and yelled in an attempt to break free, but whomever had him had a grasp like a vice. Apparently tired of his antics, his captor spun him around , let him go for a brief confusing moment, before using one arm to pin him against his body and to grab his chin with the other.

Being unable to move his head, Danny had no idea who was keeping him from escaping. Or, for that matter, where he had come from since it seemed like only Vlad had come alone. However, the person holding him felt unusually cold, almost as if he had been standing in a walk-in freezer just prior to him grabbing hold of him. Whoever this person was, he was a major obstacle in his goal to escape.

"Hold him still," Vlad commanded of his unknown aid as he approached the pair. Danny felt a little more than unnerved as he watched. There were no traces of kindness on his face, just a cold, calculating, business-like stare which sent shivers down his spine. "Daniel, I was hoping you weren't going to force me to do this, but as you've been rather uncooperative, you leave me little choice."

"W-what are you doing?" he stammered as Vlad held out the cup of the strange green liquid to him.

"It's simple really. You're body is already in the middle of realizing what it really is. This can take some time, but I know of a way of… let's just phrase it as 'speeding up the process'."

"I don't want any!" Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew it was a very childish thing to say, but he was absolutely terrified of whatever the drink or Vlad was going to do to him. "Get away!"

"You're in no position to give orders boy," the person holding him hissed into his ear and adjusted his grip so he could open his mouth by putting pressure on his cheeks.

Danny tried to break out of his captor's grasp, but he was far too strong. He barely managed a wiggle when Vlad poured the liquid into his open mouth. Unable to move, he was forced to drink the entire glass. Despite its sweet odor, it had a terribly bitter taste which was coupled with a burning sensation. It was enough to make him gag, and his stomach didn't appreciate it any better than his taste buds. The man who was holding him decided to let go of him, allowing him to drop to the floor, just in time to allow him to retch.

It seemed to take several long moments for him to regain control of his stomach. Once he did, he stole a look at Vlad, who seemed had a cold air of amusement around him. However, his attention was quickly taken by the figure besides the billionaire. It appeared to have a masculine shape, but it was clearly not human. Its skin had a sickly blue sheen, and its eyes were a sickening familiar soulless glowing red. An ethereal glow surrounded it as it floated a few inches off of the floor. Danny felt unnerved as recognition hit him; even though he had never seen it clearly before, this figure was the very same creature that had cornered him in the graveyard.

Vlad caught Danny's gaze and smiled. "I see you've previously met my associate, Plasmius."

Plasmius…? Why did that name sound so familiar to him? Wait… Winston had mentioned a person by a similar name when… His eyes widened as recognition hit him. "I d-don't understand…. W-why do you know it?"

"Whatever do you mean, my boy?"

"Winston… Winston said that he… it… attacked my parents. It's the reason why they're gone!" He weakly tried to stand, but his previous injuries from hitting the door suddenly seemed amplified making it incredibly difficult. "I don't understand. He said you were friends with them! Why… Why would you work with the thing that took them away?"

"It's rather simple, Daniel," the creature, Plasmius, told him with a wave of the hand. Without wasting another minute, it drove straight into Vlad. Horrified, Danny stayed rooted to the spot as Vlad's eyes glowed red for a moment. As they faded, a black ring which cackled with slight discharges of energy appeared around the man's waist. It then split into two and each one passed over one have of the body: one towards the feet, the other, the head. As they passed, Vlad's being was quickly replaced with that of Plasmius'. When the rings disappeared, Vlad Masters was gone; only Plasmius remained.

There was no way he had just witnessed what he did. It had to be a dream! There was no way a man could turn into a monster! It just wasn't possible!

"Can you really not believe what you just witnessed?" Plasmius asked as it floated closer to him. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to run, but he couldn't. His fear had rooted him to the spot, and he was about to pay for it dearly. "Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius are truly one in the same even if one appears human while the other, a ghost." And, as to prove its point, it summoned the black rings again. Once they disappeared, Vlad Masters carefully dropped to the floor while continuing to move. "You asked me why I attacked your family. There are several reasons, but I suppose the primary one involves you."

"W-what do you mean…? Ugh!" As he spoke, a wave of pain raced through his body, dropping him down to his knees. He tried to steady himself by using one of his hands, but it refused by slipping through the floor instead of offering support. Danny stared at his arm in horror as the translucent appearance of his hand began to spread upwards towards his shoulder.

A chuckle escaped Vlad as he watched Danny's predicament with a sickening satisfaction. "Isn't it obvious? You're a lot more like me than you realize." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Do you believe in curses, Daniel? Even if you don't, you should as you're living proof of one. Legend states a family once delved too far into their work of studying the afterlife. To make sure their secrets would never be known, several powerful spirits cursed the family. Fifteen generations would pass before a male child would be born to them who neither completely belonged to the material or spirit realms…"

"Though this boy would appear human for his first fifteen years of life, he would come into his monstrous inheritance on his date of birth and forever after walk as a symbol of chaos." Vlad then knelt down and grabbed the boy's shoulder to make it easier for him to stare into his eyes. "Do you get it now? Everything I've done was to get a hold of you and the power you will soon possess."

"Y-you're lying! There's no way…! I can't be anything like you! You're a ghost… Th-they're dead! I'm not… I'm not…!" Danny pushed the older man away from his as he scooted backwards towards the wall. None of what he… no, it, said made any sense. Curse? Spirits? Did it mean it was going to turn him into a ghost too? He shook his head to try and clear away the thought. Vlad had said he wasn't going to hurt him… but that was before he showed him what he really was. What was he going to do?

A creepy laugh rang through the room. Vlad sneered at him as his laugh died. "Whoever said you had to die to become a ghost? But, you'll find out what I mean soon. It appears that the concentrated ectoplasm I gave you is finally starting to take effect." A satisfied look crossed his face while moving towards the door. "I'll be back to check on you in a few hours. I'm sure you'll be a lot more cooperative when I return."

Danny barely noticed when Vlad slammed the door closed. His body was starting to feel like it was on fire burning, yet freezing him as it began to consume him. He convulsed as his body tried to reject the unnatural feeling, but it was to no avail. Time which was already slow within the room seemed to come to a crawl as the pain took precedence over every other thought.

Unsure what drove him to move, he tried to force himself to the bed. It wouldn't accomplish much, but its promise of comfort appealed to his wreck of a body. Every step was sheer torture, but the call of the pristine sheets was enough to force him to keep moving.

Another wave of pain rocked his body, sending him to the floor mere inches from his goal. He groaned in agony as he realized it was getting worse. In a last attempt for some stability, he desperately grasped at one of his bed posts as another convulsion coursed through his body. The pain that accompanied it was even more intense than the previous time.

He could barely move as the pain seemed to burn throughout his body. In a desperate attempt for salvation, he reached out his hand in hopes someone or thing would show him mercy and save him all the while wondering what he had done to deserve such a fate…

=========================================================

Notes: A couple of different things here.

1) Danny's thoughts and feelings being affected by the room is not as farfetched as some people might think. Prolonged periods in a purely white room can cause aspects of sensory deprivation (a disconnect with ones senses). Some people use sensory deprivation for reflection or meditation without negative effects, but it has been known to drive people insane. Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia has several examples of this in its history.

2)The statistics of finding a child alive 24 hours after abduction is horrifying nonexistent. While it is true that sometimes a captor will keep the abducted child alive for years, cases like that are so rare that if the police can't find sign of the child within a day, they know they will most likely not find the child alive.

3) Antifreeze does usually have a sweet odor (unless bittering agents have been added as a deterrent), and sadly, ectoplasm sometimes reminds me of it.

4)Do you recognize the last few sentences of this chapter? You should. They're a more stylized version of the opening I have in the 1st chapter.

[thesaunatest]

MY HUGE THEORY ON EL’S PLOTLINE IN S4

before you guys even start, YES I know that 99.9% of what I say is going to be wrong but this is literally just for fun.

its march 1986, middle of the school year and el HATES school

when we left her she was barely literate and had just started getting accostomed to speaking full sentences, NOWHERE NEAR a 9th grade level, so shes struggling in her classes to say the least

on top of that, she barely knows how to socialize with other people, so shes evidently getting picked on

with joyce and jonathan both working to keep the family afloat, will and el get left alone alot

but outside of the party, they socially have nothing in common

in fact, will is adapting to the new town a whole lot better than el. he fit right in with all the creative kids he met in class, but el didnt mesh with that crowd

anyway, our girl is sturggling

the only time she really has fun is when she visits hawkins, or when someone from the party visits them

which leads us to spring break

mike obviously comes to visit, and el doesnt want them to waste a single second so she begs mike and will to come explore the town with her

at this point joyce is already in her detective mode, hatching a rescue plan for hopper so she doesnt notice theyre gone

and jonathan is battling the heartbreak of nancy ghosting him when she was supposed to come visit

so the trio goes off on an adventure without anyone noticing.......... or so they think

because brenner is back, and he knows el is with the byers, but he cant go and snatch her because he doesnt have the resources all the way in california

in fact, he doesnt have the resources at all. his numbers experiment is seen as a catastrophic failure that lead to the deaths of hundreds of lab employees

the only way for him to redeem himself in the community, and gain his funding back is to present his peers with proof that the project can work, so he needs to get one of his numbers back

el is the only one he can track down, but he doesnt think he can do it himself. if she saw him, she could just kill him with her powers, he assumes because he doesnt know she lost them

so who does he employ to get el back to hawkins? lonnie byers

its almost too easy. it doesnt take much to bribe lonnie, and hey, its not like its his kid. so lonnie accepts the bribe, and goes all the way out to california to find el

he shows up at the byers house..... only to find it completely deserted. so he waits

and the trio finds him there after their day out (why are you here? what do you want? where are mom and jonathan?)

and lonnie, being as crafty as he is, comes up with a good excuse on the fly (hes craftier than i am because i genuinely have no idea what he would say)

anyway, he gets them in his car and on their way back to hawkins

jonathan shows up after theyve already left, and is too stoned tired to think anything of the empty house

and joyce is already halfway to russia

will knows his father. he knows that his father doesnt give a shit about him, the family, or anything about hawkins. he knows that his father wouldnt get involved in anything unless he had something to gain. so hes wraking his brain

maybe.... lonnie pulls over to take a suspicious phone call? maybe will figures out an inconsistency in his story? either way, the gang is onto lonnie and figures that they gotta get away from him and get back to joyce and jonathan

they tuck and roll out of the car. idk. all that matters is that they get out of there

as theyre rolling out of the car, el bonks her head a little and has a quick flashback to her time in the lab

since her intuition is always spot on, she takes this as a cue the breener is back and lonnie is working for him

she tells the boys it isnt safe to go back to california or hawkins, so they come up w an alternative plan, somewhere neither brenner nor lonnie would think to look for them

and while theyre on the road, they stop at a diner to eat (dont ask me where they got the money) and we get will leaving an emotional voicemail home, probably sobbing to jonathan about how much he means to will, which gives el an idea

because who has the resources to help her, as well as a desire for vengeance on brenner? kali

el uses her superb hitchiking skills to get them to chicago

maybe she just has some hints of her powers left, but it isnt too hard for el to find kali

she explains everything thats happened, and lets kali know that if she want revenge, the opportunity is hers

unfortunately, lonnie was hot on their trail, and called for reinforcements

theyre ambushed by the few employees brenner has working for him. initially, everyone is hiding, assisted by kali’s powers

but el knows they arent leaving empty handed, and would rather get taken away then have kali’s freedom taken from her

so el reveals herself, followed by mike because he wont leave her, followed by will because he wont leave mike

all three get taken away, back to hawkins lab, but now kali is even more motivated to bring down the lab once and for all

so kali and her gang get to hawkins, almost simultaniously with jonathan, who has been looking for his family in a frenzy since the morning he woke up to find eveyone gone, without even a note or a phone call, as well as argyle, who came along for the ride

the video store is being used as home base this season, so thats the first place they go, where they find steve, shortstaffed and not knowing whats going on because the whole team ditched him

they catch him up to speed on how EVERYONES GONE and steve catches them up to speed on how EVERYONE IS GETTING MURDERED

meanwhile, brenner has three predicaments

1) no matter what he does to el, what kind of torture he inflicts, she isnt using her powers because she doesnt have them. she tells him this several times. he refuses to believe it

2) lonnie byers is demanding his payment, which he didnt recieve because the deal was that he bring el to them, and he couldnt even do that

3) he has to find a way to dispose of mike and will, who he had no intention of bringing into the lab but theyre here and they know everything

and this is the moment where mike screws up by letting them know that people know theyre in the lab and people know about all the experiments and any second now, someones gonna come banging that door down to save us. nancy, jonathan, steve, robin max, lucas, dustin, kali-

and the second mike says her name he knows he screwed up

brenner decides in that moment that all he can do is round up everyone involved and get rid of them. conveniently, the string of murders occurring will serve as a good cover for what happened to them

and this is the part where joyce, murray, and hopper get back to hawkins

this is also the part where nancy and robin and the gang get back to hawkins

so nancy and robin immediately go to the video store armed with all the new information they learned from victor creel

..... and are met with jonathan, argyle, kali, and steve in pandemonium

they close the store for the day, and get ready to storm the lab

they realize that they need something from the school, so they head there to pick it up

and soon after arriving, theyre met with the all to familiar hawkins lab vans

they make a hasty escape, taking out some of the goons but they need to find a way to get the rest off their trail

they head for the woods, hoping to hide out in the cabin

meanwhile, the russia crew has taken the mostly demolished cabin as their haven to recover from whatever injuries they sustained

theyre all running through the woods, but they realize the people from the lab are closing in on them

and then nancy and jonathan pass a very familiar tree

they use whatever weapon they have on them to break through the bark, and head into the upside down

the lab people keep going into the woods, eventually finding hopper’s cabin

epic showdown between the russia crew and the lab people, joyce, murray and hopper win, they realize the lab is back, immediately head there realizing theyre gonna have to rescue someone

nancy and robin use the info they learned from victor creel to keep the gang alive in the upside down, max, argyle and eddie are freaking out because omg we’re in another dimention, we get some big reveal about the truth about the upside down and the gang makes their way out and head to the lab

and while this is all happening,we get some super emotional monologue between brenner and el (ala-the last 10 minutes of the truman show) and brenner realizes that el isnt going to be the naieve superweapn she used to be, and decides the best thing he can do with el is give her the standard punishment, time in the closet

and being in the closet triggers all sorts of flashbacks and emotions (mbb’s opportunity to show off her acting chops for an emmy)

joyce and hopper bust into the lab like they did in season 1, but this time they dont get caught

they decide to split up to cover more ground, and hopper finds el in the closet

and around the same time joyce finds mike and will and gets them out of there

here comes the REAL emotional performance

hopper sees her, we get a teary eyed “el!” “dad!”, and then hopper gets pulled away from el by lab workers

exactly the same way terry did

we’re watching this happen from el’s perspective, with a heart-wrenching “noooooooooo” from el, accompanied by cuts to every time el has had to be separated from someone she cares about (terry, the s1 ending, billy dying, her leaving kali in s2, saying goodbye to everyone on moving day, her being separated from mike and will when they got to the lab) accompanied by some terribly sad 80s song, then back to the present moment, she reaches her hand out and boom, the guards go flying. her powers are back

except she doesnt have control of them the way she did before, and now shes bringing the whole building down

her and hopper race to the the first floor, and meet joyce and the boys, they get out of the building at the very last second, and the whole thing collapses.

eventually they find the other group, the whole team is now together, they go and take down the big bad from the upside down, joyce almost KILLS lonnie

nancy and robin drop a huge bombshell that has to do with hawkins/the upside down, specifically pertaining to el, which they pieced together after talking to victor creel

we get a massive cliffhanger, season 5 starts like 10 minutes after the ending of season 4

[pochapal]

rank every year of the 2010s from best to worst i want some pochapal lore

[warning for discussion of my fucked up mental health and my myriad traumas. we’re really opening the pandora’s box here gang]

ok time for me to overshare on the internet again! super long post because i can’t shut up and you asked for it. anyway, by objective ranking: 

#1: 2012 - halcyon era, my personal peak. spent the whole year writing hunger games oc fics with my deviantart fanfiction besties whom i still think about all the time and always hope are having the best possible day. if you were here for this era understand i still hold you so closely and dearly in my heart <3. 

#2: 2013 - god i was such a good example of a human being back then. was the year my writing like actually took off and i had a healthy balance between creative stuff and a social life (said social life consisting of spending lunchtimes at school breaking into classrooms and discussing fandom shit with five other people. reading homestuck updates in the music room on one person’s really shaky mobile data...legendary). highlight of the year and maybe my life was in the april of 2013 when i got out of failing to submit a hard deadline essay by telling my english teacher i wrote a whole novel over the two week break and then producing said novel. god i wish i had that level of like. fucking confidence back me back then knew what i wanted and how to get it. 

#3: 2010 - the last year of childhood. i was 12 and played pokemon all the time with my friends and went places and had a moderately successful youtube channel and it didn’t matter that i was bullied so badly at school because i was basically high off life. summer of 2010 was so good specifically. i’d used to get the bus with a friend and go see movies and break into historical sites and get into normal childhood mayhem and maxed out my pokewalkers twice a month and i was buzzed because i had two (2) whole friendship groups to choose from and that was such a huge deal to me the terminal social outcast. it was so simple and carefree and even though everything and everyone involved in this era grew up to suck except for one specific person i kinda really miss it.

#4: 2018 - this was the first year i wasn’t depressed to the point of nonfunctioning. it was 20gayteen, i was on antidepressants, i was as close to thriving as i got at uni (going into town with people once a week, attending art and culture events, getting good grades across the board), i started to write for fun again, i got my cat whom i love dearly, i was exhibited in my uni’s city’s literature festival, GOD i actually nearly attended a pride event that year can you imagine. this year was basically my life’s second peak. miss getting the 8am train and daintily sipping on a cherry coke to keep me from passing out. wish this time could have lasted longer.

#5: 2019 - kinda absolute middle of the road year not for lack of anything happening but because the overwhelming amount of good and bad things cancelled each other out. so like there’s the fact that i was at the top of my uni game this year, was basically making the first steps into a professional writing career (covid i will never forgive you for killing all that dead </3), finally saved up enough to buy myself a gaming pc, and the summer after the homestuck epilogues, but equally 2019 was the start of the Pochapal Gender Fiasco which is by far the most horrible thing i am still currently undergoing and i burnt myself out mentally about halfway through the year (being stuck overnight in a hospital for a panic attack absolutely horrible horrible irredeemable) and then got like super death plague flu that i was sick with for three months (literally recovered less than a month before rona hit. god’s cruel karma.). so like...it kind of averaged out? the good shit was good but not as great as other years and the bad shit was awful but nowhere near as terrible as it could have been. gotta give a shoutout to 90% of my current mutual cohort for following me in 2019...omelette route gang make some noise !!

#6: 2014 - oof. this year essentially marked the start of a four year long downward mental health spiral because everything fell into awful alignment. i’d just turned 16, finished secondary school, had all my friends up and ditch me at once, was home alone for a whole summer, and was hit with Sudden Intense Body Image Issues that i couldn’t explain until uh. after very recent developments lmao. this one goes out to the me of july 2014 who did nothing but lay in bed and listen to the same two marina albums on a loop because fuck i’m attracted to men and also my facial and body hair are really starting to come in and if i think about this for too long i will literally kill myself because oh god i can’t handle getting older which is clearly and definitely the issue going on here. my brain fucking broke super hardcore and it’s a miracle that an overeating disorder was like the worst thing i walked away with. 

#7: 2015 - downward spiral year two!! i was so volatile this year it was such a mess. i was totally socially isolated after a brief stint of falling in with a group of people at the start of my first year of sixth form until january where in quick succession a) it turned out every single one of these people was friends with the person who sexually assaulted me whom i obviously had a lot of complicated feelings towards and b) baby’s first crush came out as bisexual but in the “women and also trans women” kind of way which tore me up so terribly in ways i couldn’t begin to understand. no words for the experience of seeing a girl kiss a boy and crying so hard at night you threw up because you could never be her no matter how much you wanted it. actually kinda get the sense what was going on there was bigger than just some crush lmao. then after that i was so mentally ill i basically attended school less than half the time and it was the only year in my life i failed my exams. i ended up having to resit my entire set of first year a level exams because jesus christ was i in such a bad way it was a miracle i even showed up to them. all i did was either have anxiety attacks or enter bedbound depressive slumps for weeks at a time. but it’s okay because it gets worse.

#8: 2016 - downward spiral act iii: the spiralling. prefacing this by saying that i actually had two whole good months (april - may) in that i was functioning enough to do my exams and finish school with decent grades. the rest was super extra mega terrible. my school attendance for year 13 dipped below 65% and literally the only thing that kept me from being kicked out was the fact that i was naturally smart at the subjects i took and also because the school would have a lot to answer for after letting me get to that state despite having a hefty file on how damaged i was. keep in mind every single part of this was fully untreated btw - i was just floundering around and letting it all fester. i spent three solid weeks going to school but locking myself in the bathroom all day every day and having mental health episodes then going home like nothing else happened only to continue the breakdown that night. then things got kicked into fucked up overdrive when i moved out to uni and was cut off from what little support structures i did have. it was so bad all i did was cry all the time and never went anywhere to the point where three separate sources recommended me to the wellbeing and crisis counselling service that i stopped going to after two sessions because i was fucked up in ways cbt techniques could not even touch. at least i tried to make an effort for the first two months of uni which like. good for me?

#9: 2017 - what lieth at the base of the spiral. helltrench year. i was at literal rock bottom. i stopped going to class, i didn’t hand in a single piece of work. i lied to my parents and would book trains each day only to go back to my student flat and sit there and contemplate suicide. like i would just slump on the floor in a catatonic state and vividly contemplate one of four or so ways i could end my own life. i only didn’t because i wanted to wait until the summer to collect my last student loan and transfer it to my parents as an apology for my death which obviously didn’t end up happening. honestly i can’t remember much of the first half of 2017 that’s how bad it was. i remember taking a gender studies class and the teacher made it Weird that i was the Only Male Student in the room and then she sent me a scolding email after i walked out halfway through a class and never returned. apparently i got into a lot of online discourse in this year but i don’t remember anything other than being put on a blocklist by the milkfic author over ace discourse which is funny if you have the context. mostly i just baited terfs and weirdo freaks to get them to say horrible things to me as what i guess amounts to some kind of digital self harm. anyway breaking point came in late august when i got kicked out of university and then nobody could ignore it any more so there was no choice left but for me to seek out help and recover enough to function which luckily i did. i really Do Not remember 2017. you could tell me anything about that year and i’d probably believe you.

#10: 2011 - extra circle of hell for this little fucked up gem of a year. on the surface it wasn’t actually that terrible, until the Summer 2011 Domino Effect Of Bad Shit. up until like may/june it was a pretty all right year! i was 13 and had a surprisingly successful youtube channel uploading pokemon soundfont remixes to an audience of i think ~350-400 subscribers at my peak? anyway then i got hit with the early summer triple combo of childhood friends moving away, cute and quirky sexual assault at the hands of a person in my friend group, and then having some Really Great and Super Appropriate interactions with adults on deviantart. like obviously there’s the actual ptsd-inducing event which totally disrupted and killed the person i was right up until that moment and reshaped every facet of my life for better or worse (there’s an alternate timeline where that didn’t happen and i got into electronic music and/or coding instead) but really it’s the events that followed in its wake which were kind of more fucked up. so like all of a sudden i was super aware of my body and me growing my hair out and being mistaken for a girl in class suddenly became this Less Innocent thing and i ended up spending hours overnight going to transgender questioning forums and looking up hrt timeline videos and having the wikipedia article on tracheal shaving saved because it was a life raft to me whose voice was imminently gonna deepen and i was simultaneously reeling with constant trauma flashbacks and the whole thing was so so fucked up. then i was on deviantart and i don’t remember exactly how but a small group of furry guys ten to fifteen years older than me started messaging me and encouraging and requesting me to produce nonsexual fetish stuff for them and talking to me about stuff like if i’d ever thought about growing up to be gay and i didn’t think anything of it for a long while because they called me a very talented writer and it felt so good to have someone be nice to me after being so alone and isolated for months on end. anyway the only reason i got out of that before it got bad was because they invited me to one of the big furry sites and i was weirded out because i thought it was a porn site and thinking about sexual stuff was a huge trauma trigger so i just ended up blocking them all and pretending like it didn’t happen. at the time half this shit didn’t bother me but in retrospect holy fuck 2011 was such a damaging year. to think if like three events didn’t happen i wouldn’t be the fucked up mess you see before you today.

god fuck this turned out super long but i’m not apologising because this was a therapeutic exercise for me and also constitutes as one of the biggest pochapal lore dumps of all time. come get your food or whatever.

[lisinfleur]

T&T - Chapter 11: The Dance of the Tides

Author’s Notes | Everything that has a beginning has an end. Every living thing is fated to die. It’s the natural course of life. Words | 2365 ⁑ Warnings: Mentions of death, blood, some ANGST.

Every light comes from the darkness and without its counterpart, the light would be unable to exist. This was a lesson Ivar had to learn the worst ways possible: from the darkness of his father's death came the light of his dawn as a leader; from the darkness of his worst mistakes, came the knowledge that made him stronger.

From the darkness of Brynjar's end would come the light of his rebirth...

Yet, that was a moment he tried to postpone as much as he could. However, despite all the efforts Atli and the healers of the kingdom placed in keeping the king's life, it seems his heart was only waiting for the serenity of a good heir to succeed his crown so he could finally rest.

The old king's health declined quickly. Iliana was heavy-pregnant yet when the king asked his men of trust to be called and Ivar knew it was time to say goodbye to another of his greatest friends in this lifetime.

One by one, the men closest to the king were called near his bed, receiving gifts of gold from their king and his last words of gratitude and blessings. Not a single one of them left the room without paying their respect to the man their king was seeing as a foster son, someone they knew would be their king from now on.

"Hail King Ivar," something Ivar listened to dozens of times that night.

The last ones to come inside were Atli, Iliana, and Ivar himself.

There was sadness in Atli's eyes: Brynjar had been his king throughout his whole life and he was a boy when his father took him to attend to Brynjar's father's burial. Now, he spent the whole day preparing what Brynjar himself had ordered for his own. It was easier to understand the tears he saw in his father's face when the time came to bury his king. Now it was Atli's time to pass through the same.

"You did nothing wrong, my friend," Brynjar's hoarse voice sounded serene as his eyes landed over Atli.

His words closing even more the young man's throat.

"I could have done better," Atli said, causing the old king to giggle in his bed.

"Boy... What can we do against fate?" Brynjar said, silencing Atli who knew the answer to that question. "When the time comes and the gods call, there is nothing a simple mortal can do against it. The thread ends for each and every one of us. Death comes for each one of us. Everything that lives is fated to die and the time came for me such as it will come for you all one day. Mourn me not, Atli, my friend. For I had a good life, I made my name great, and after my departure, my fame shall speak about me. And if the gods decide I have a place among the Einherjar for the battles I fought in my life, then may my voice speak about your name, my dear friend. And if the golden doors remain closed after my departure, then, may your voices speak about my name someday."

Atli bowed in respect and Brynjar's eyes turned towards Iliana and Ivar. The old man smiled. Brimir, son of his blood, shamed his name and stained his legacy. But Ivar somehow got a place in the old man's heart and there he was: the son Brynjar asked so bad the gods to give him, the good wife he asked Brimir could someday find... The grandson he wouldn't know, unfortunately.

"My wife named my son," he mumbled when Ivar came to sit by his side, holding the old king's hand. "I wasn't here when Brimir was brought into this world: the war claimed my attention the same way it did through a huge time of his life. But I wouldn't name him Brimir... You said you wanted to name your son after me, as a way to bond our lineages..." Brynjar said, trying to clear his throat, make his low voice more audible.

And Ivar nodded along with Iliana who was fighting her tears back into her eyes. The old man was weaker. She knew the time was coming.

"Name him Vali," Brynjar mumbled, smiling. "I know it's a boy. I can feel it when I look at your queen, boy."

"Powerful and strong," Ivar said, recognizing the meaning of that name and smiling back at the old king.

"It was the name I wanted for my son. Then may it be the name of my grandson to come... For you, Ivar, you were the son I asked the gods to have. You became the son of my heart. Take my blessings, my lands, my legacy, boy. And use it to recover what is rightfully yours."

"I will," Ivar mumbled.

Few words in his mouth since his blues were teary. Brynjar was pretty much a friend, but he also figured as a father for Ivar and it was the third time he was saying goodbye to a father figure like that.

First, Ragnar, his blood.

Then, Floki, his teacher.

Now, Brynjar, his friend and hope.

The old man's fingers pressed Ivar's hand in a weak grip Ivar answered with a stronger one. And Brynjar smiled, looking at the younger man in front of him.

"Pour some mead for me. Feast and drink in my honor. But do not mourn me tomorrow, Ivar, my son, my friend. Cause my legacy is safe and I'm happy to leave it in your good hands. I did everything I wanted in this life, I lived everything I wanted to live and built everything I wanted to build. Now, I wanna rest. Now, it's your turn, Ivar. Make your father proud. Both of them."

Ivar nodded, feeling the grip of Brynjar's hand relaxing slowly.

Brynjar took a deep breath, smiling at Ivar one last time.

"Ah, son... There is nothing better than lay your head on your pillows and carry no regret when you close your eyes."

One last sigh and the eyelids of the old king closed itself to never be opened once again. Brynjar relaxed completely and Ivar felt the weight of losing his father one more time clenching the heart inside his chest - the old man was dead, but there was a smile in his face.

Not like Ragnar, Brynjar went to his grave without regrets or resentment, with the tranquil expression of a man who did everything in his life and was certain his legacy was well cared for.

The sea of those lands saw a flaming boat one more time that night and once again as a king, Ivar sat on the throne that was once occupied by his friend and now, belonged to him.

Iliana by his side in the second throne Brynjar had ordered the blacksmiths not long ago. Their hands holding one another, their thoughts far away in time as the feast in Brynjar's honor was being celebrated like the deceased king had desired.

The hall remained opened for a whole moon. Earls from all the earldoms came to reinforce their oaths of loyalty to the crown now in Ivar's head, all of them invited to stay for Ivar wanted to speak to them at the end of that period.

It just served to have the house full when the first sounds of Iliana's labor could be heard from the Hall of the Thrones.

Unlike the few women Ivar had ever heard, Iliana wasn't screaming. Instead, she grunted and growled in such a strong voice that it could be heard outside the king's room through the hall where the Earls were all reunited around the table, waiting for the news about the new heir to be born. Inside the room, Ivar was drinking with Atli by his side - anxiety and fear in the king's trembling hands holding his cup Atli was preventing him from filling too many times.

"Calm down, my friend. Everything happening here is normal, the midwives here are the most competent of our kingdom. Your child and wife are in good hands," Atli tried to calm his friend down.

But Ivar couldn't stop looking at the bed where Iliana was once again curling herself against the rounded belly in another grunt that sent cold shivers down the king's spine.

"What if my child is like me, Atli?" Ivar poured his fear looking into his friend's eyes. "Everybody said mother yelled in pain when she was giving birth to me! They said it took hours from her! Almost a whole day! What if..."

"'What if' is too much of a vague thing to put your thoughts into, my friend. All women yell in pain when bringing life into this world. This is part of their burden such as protecting them is part of ours. Nothing is out of the normal so far, but tell me, my friend, didn't you live your life? Aren't you a man like me, like all the others? Even better, sometimes? Stronger, good-minded... If it is the gods' will that your child will be like you then may it be strong and wise as you are. May it be intelligent and astute like its father! Stop thinking bad things, my friend... Look," Atli pointed as the midwife positioned in the middle of Iliana's legs. "Your child is coming into this world," he mumbled in Ivar's ears, over his shoulder, as the young king was looking at the bed where his wife was making the hugest efforts to put his child out of her belly. "Bless it, Ivar. This is your work in this scene: your child will come to your hands after nine moons into your wife's belly. Don't you want to receive it with clean hands and blessings?"

Ivar's mind was clouded. Iliana's pain was too much for him but at the same time, there was the midwife, announcing his child was already coming.

"I can see the head, my queen, be strong now!"

"It came right," Atli said, bringing some tranquility into Ivar's heart. "The child turned properly. It will be quick now."

"Oh, gods!" Iliana moaned.

And so, Ivar saw when she almost sat at the bed, looking at him. Her face was changed into such a fierce expression, her eyes full of strength when she tensed her body completely, grunting between her teeth as everything on her was focused on a single task.

He could remember himself. His growls in battle, the tension of his muscles, the strength, the pain. That was Iliana's battle. She wasn't a warrior like him but her heart was full of fire like his own and for a moment, Ivar lost himself looking into her eyes, seeing once again all the reasons why he fell in love for that woman so deeply.

Atli's pat in his shoulder woke him up from the trance his thoughts threw him into. His friend was smiling; a strong cry invaded Ivar’s ear.

"It's here, my friend," Atli said, smiling.

And Ivar saw when Iliana fell back on the bed, panting in relief. The midwife coming closer to deliver her the child she brought against her chest, ignoring it was covered in blood and screaming, still connected to her by the umbilical cord the midwife held, calling the king.

"Come, my king. Your son awaits," she said, smiling.

Atli pushed Ivar's back a little, stimulating his friend to move towards his family.

"Go, Ivar. You must separate him from his mother and chant his first blessings."

Ivar was almost slowed, stunned by the sight of a dream happening in front of his eyes. The midwives finished cleaning Iliana, covering her, and Ivar came closer as the others slowly went away, giving him and his new family some space. He took the cord in his hand, feeling as it was yet throbbing with life. His eyes looked at the perfect child slowly ceasing its cry over Iliana's chest as she opened her dress, allowing the newborn to suckle from her breasts full of milk. The cry ceased completely and for a long moment, Ivar observed that scene in front of his eyes.

How many times did he dream about that moment? How many nightmares he had, thinking it would never come?

Iliana's warm hand touched his face, showing his senses it wasn't a dream. She was real, their child - healthy and big - was also no dream. It was happening.

They were waiting for him.

A single tear rolled down Ivar's cheek as he forced the teeth against each other, biting and parting the cord, rolling the remaining to rest over his son's belly. A beautiful boy, big, even burly! Ivar's fingers touched the child slowly, feeling its face, its arm, sliding through its body, touching its perfect legs. Ivar giggled when the boy kicked reflexively, probably feeling tickles from his touch on the sole of his small foot.

Another tear came, stubbornly wetting his face.

Iliana, on the other hand, had her tears rolling freely over her smile.

"Our beautiful Vali is here," she said, remembering the name they had agreed to give their child.

"My child," he mumbled, looking at her. "Our child," Ivar corrected. "My most beautiful dream made flesh and bones. I couldn't be more grateful. I think there is nothing in this world I wanted more than this moment."

Iliana smiled, gently caressing Ivar's nape before he leaned his face to touch her forehead with his, kissing her mouth tenderly.

"You made me complete. You brought my dearest dreams into this world."

"There are many more to come, my love," she smiled.

More children, more dreams, Ivar smiled back.

And after chanting his blessings to his son's ears, he took his time, lying beside them, petting his family as if there weren't more than ten earls outside waiting for his news and words.

The whole world could wait. Ivar had fought his whole life for that moment and nothing would take it from him.

Even because, soon, he would have to leave them both: a new fight was coming.

And this time, Iliana wouldn't be able to be there with him...

Do you like my work? Support me!

Tagged ones:

|| @bluearchersstuff​ || @ivarswickedqueen​ || @directionlessbuthappy​ || @akamaiden​ || @bang-kim-bap​ || @cris101071​ || @elysias-temple​ || @alicedopey​ || @captstefanbrandt || @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla​ || @lol-haha-joke​ || @readsalot73​ || @rekdreams247​ || @slutforasoldier || @naaladareia​ || @laketaj24​ || @therealcalicali​ || @grungyblonde​ || @arses21434​ || @honestsycrets​ || @rabeccablake || @2thequietone4​ || @blackspiritshake​ || @vikingsbifrost​ || @wallabieswisher​ || @sincerelysinister || @lyanna-the-giantsbane​ || @chinduda​ || @isthat-tyra98​ || @xinyourdreamsx​ || @littledeadrottinghood || @thiahilmarsdottir​ || @queenbeeta​ || @notyouraveragegirl17 || @winchesterwife27​ || @gold-dragon-slayer​ || @mzliterarydreamer​ || @youbloodymadgenius​ || @alwaysbenhardysgirl || @marvelouuse​ || @tgrrose​ || @lif3snotouttogetyou​ || @lordsexmachine​ || @deathbyarabbit​ || @ietss​ ||  @hissouthernprincess || @thorins-queen-of-erebor​ || @aperfectly-imperfect-perfection || @didiintheblog​ || @choppedroadwolfathlete || @h-e-a-v-y-l-e-a-t-h-e-r​ || @heavenly1927​ ||  @jjlizz​ || @alexhandersenx​ ||  @ivarthebloodyking​ || @lauraaan182 || @alexisshoto​ || @letsloveimagines​

Want to be tagged? Ask me!

[foursideharmony]

Mana-Shock

Everybody—well, @today-only-happens-once and many of her followers—has been shipping Virgil with magical exhaustion lately; what choice did I have? Only I figured I'd up the ante: life-threatening magical exhaustion! And then the whole thing got away from me. Whoops!

Genre: Fantasy AU, drama

Word Count: 2,395

Summary: Sorcerer!Virgil overdoes it while fighting a demon. Like, way overdoes it.

Ship: Platonic LAMP (Roman-centric)

Warnings: Exhaustion of various kinds and degrees. Risk of death/mention of dying. Very minor blood. Food. I think that's it.

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

At last, it was almost over. That much was definite. But it still remained to be seen which way it would end.

Dark energy rippled across the battlefield in waves, each one striking the demon with nigh-cataclysmic force. It was a wonder, Roman thought, that Virgil was still holding himself upright, even with Patton bolstering him. Humans weren't meant to channel that much energy of any type at once, let alone Dark energy...but then again, Virgil wasn't entirely human, was he? Roman couldn't remember how far back the demon ancestor was—five or six generations, something like that, it didn't really matter, he was human enough, he had a soul, they'd proven it—but Virgil was certainly drawing on every scrap of that heritage, turning the demon's own power back on it. It was Logan who had figured out the key to defeating it, and Roman who had chiseled way at its physical form until it was vulnerable to sorcery, but only Virgil could properly handle the energy infusing its lair, having soaked in just from the dread being's presence over a period of time.

Virgil was hammering the demon with its own leftover energy...and it was costing him. Oh, was it costing him. They had known it would, that a demon this size would never go down easy, even if they had discovered how to destroy it, but Virgil hadn't hesitated to volunteer. It had to be done, so he would do it.

Roman was starting to think he had never grasped the true meaning of courage until now. It was easy to be “brave” when you had inherited the Sovereign Sword (against which no evil can stand!) and an Achilles Amulet—when your own survival was all but assured and your personal victory was more than likely. Virgil was stepping up even in the absence of such guarantees, and Roman felt a little ashamed to have considered himself a hero by comparison.

The demon roared—an oddly metallic sound—and flinched back a few paces. Virgil continued to press the attack. Shorn of its physical form, the demon was incapable of striking back as long as Virgil's assault continued, which meant the entire venture hung upon his stamina. If he held out long enough to destroy the demon, they would win. If not, it would recover and they would fail. And probably all die. So far, so good...but then it happened.

Patton's spell—the twin gold-white auras as he funneled his own spare mana to Virgil, to help him keep going under the onslaught of the tremendous power he was manipulating—flickered and went out. Patton staggered against a tree, panting, his face ghostly white and slick with sweat. “I—I'm spent!” he gasped. “No more left!”

Now Virgil was on his own, energy-wise. So he planted his feet ever more firmly and, with a faint growl, doubled his channeling rate.

The entire space of the forest glade seemed to warp and twist as the Dark energy was sucked from the environment and beamed back at its original source. The demon let out a wheedling whine; Virgil answered with a wordless roar. And Roman felt like a moron for thinking the young sorcerer had been tapping fully into his demonic heritage before, because now his teeth were lengthening and sharpening before all of their eyes, and his fingers were extending into claws, and there was a faint purplish glow coming from his eyes that seemed to somehow infuse certain things in the glade, causing the sorrel blossoms and the white mushrooms and Roman's own jacket to glow in response.

“This is insane!” Logan wailed. “He can't possibly—”

And then two things happened at more-or-less the same moment.

The demon exploded...well, no, exploded was the wrong word. It blew away, like the ashes of burning paper in a stiff wind, but the wind seemed to come from within it, blowing outward in all directions. Either way, it dissipated, hopefully destroyed but if not, then at least banished back to the Nether Realm of its origin.

And Virgil collapsed.

There was no dignity to it—he simply folded up, one second wobbling on his feet and the next sprawled on the moss, motionless. The other three let out shouts of horror and scrambled to his side. Patton, stiff with fatigue, fumbled in his pouch for his Heart's Eye while Logan checked Virgil's vital signs on the mundane level.

“How bad is it?” Roman asked.

“Bad,” Logan said flatly. Virgil's skin was so drained of color that it appeared almost gray, and his breath came in shallow, rattling gasps. Patton found the crystal he was looking for and peered through it at the fallen sorcerer.

“No...” he murmured, “...no, no, please! Virgil!”

“What?” Roman begged.

“His aura...it's gone!”

“Mana-shock,” Logan nearly whispered. “He completely drained himself. He's dying.”

“No—he can't—we have to do something!” Roman protested. “A mana transfer can save him, can't it?”

“Transfer from where?” Patton said mournfully. “I'm all tapped out, and you and Logan aren't mages. All we can do now is try to keep him comfortable.” He shrugged off his sky-blue cloak and laid it over Virgil like a blanket.

“We still have mana,” Roman pointed out. “We just don't know how to access it at will.”

“And therefore, we cannot offer it for transfer,” Logan said.

“Well, I don't accept that!” Roman barked, springing to his feet. “I'll—we—I...how much time does he have?”

Patton shrugged. “An hour, two hours at most. His power has already started feeding on his base life-force. Once that's gone...so is he.”

“Time enough,” Roman said. “I will figure out how to access my mana and save him! I swear it!”

He strode away from the somber group, his mind racing. Gaining conscious access to one's mana wasn't exactly easy—otherwise everyone would be a mage—but it wasn't exactly hard either. What it was, was unique to each person, to the point of near-randomness—some people found their technique in desperate circumstances (such as this, he thought glumly), while others stumbled across theirs while letting their minds wander. And every mage described their mana differently. Patton compared his to the reservoir of water underneath a kitchen and himself to the pump, while Virgil (oh gods, Virgil) had always said that using his was more like stepping backward into a shadow and letting it flow into and through him. Roman's sword instructor, Mr. Leo, said that for a battle-mage like himself, mana was just one more weapon in the arsenal, with its own associated fighting stances and moves, there to be taken out when needed and put away afterward.

A sudden thought struck Roman. He drew the Sovereign Sword and stared at it. Its light was subdued, without a nearby force of evil to contend with, but he could still feel its power humming, rattling him right down to the marrow of his bones. His eyes widened with realization.

He rushed back to the others, waving the Sword recklessly in his excitement. “I've got it! Sword! Mana!”

“Slow down,” said Logan.

Roman took a moment to get his words in order, giving him more than enough opportunity to take in the scene—as he had left it, more or less, except that Virgil's breaths had gotten weaker and his discoloration more pronounced. Even an hour was looking like a long shot.

“The Sovereign Sword uses the wielder's mana to trigger its powers,” Roman explained. “I can't tap my mana on purpose, but the Sword can! Can we use that somehow?”

Patton blinked. Then he blinked again, furrowing his brow. “Maybe I can...” he said in a voice that barely dared to hope. “Bring it here.”

Roman offered the Sword to Patton, but the healer only lightly grasped the blade, positioning his thumb on the edge so that it barely nicked the skin. He closed his eyes as a bead of blood welled up around the steel, and Roman recognized in his posture and breathing the signs of the slightest degree of meditative trance. After a moment, Roman felt a minute nudge at the core of his being, and Patton's eyes flew open again.

“Yes! I might be able to use it as a conduit! Oh! Quick! Roman, here, hold it so the tip rests just over his heart, like so! Logan, more trail mix please!”

Logan pulled a small muslin bag out of his pack and tossed it to Patton, who poured nuts and dried fruit from it directly into his mouth, hastily chewing and swallowing. Then he shifted position, taking hold of the Sovereign Sword again and wincing as the sharp edge settled back into the cut on his thumb.

“Okay, Roman,” he said. “This won't hurt. But your mana's not used to being tapped in this way and it might resist. If you feel a sudden urge to pull back, you need to..,to not do it, okay?”

“Okay,” Roman said, his voice cracking slightly.

“Logan? Please watch Roman for signs of exhaustion. It shouldn't take much of his mana to give Virgil a chance, but if it fights too hard, he could still be at risk, and I won't have the instinctive sense of when to stop like I would transferring my own mana. If Roman looks like he's in danger of passing out or anything, make us stop. I won't risk anyone else.”

“Of course,” said Logan.

Patton paused, using his free hand to stroke Virgil's bangs away from his ashen face. “Hang in there just a bit longer, kiddo,” he said. “We've got a plan to save you after all.”

They began. Roman hadn't known what to expect, but he was startled anyway at the sensation of something grabbing at his core, exactly where the nudge had been earlier. He started to flinch away from it, but stopped himself just in time. Still, it felt weird, like ghostly fingers fidgeting around inside his soul and flicking away bits of it. The remaining portion throbbed in protest and tried to push the fingers away, and it took all of Roman's will power to overrule the urge. He felt a whimper escape his lips.

“Patton, this is hurting him,” came Logan's voice, distant and fuzzy, as if coming through layers of wool.

“No!” he gasped. “Keep going! I'm all right!”

“His mana is fighting harder than I expected,” Patton said wearily. His voice, oddly, was as clear as a bell. “I don't know if...”

“Keep going!” Roman said again, even though he was starting to feel light-headed. “We can't fail!”

And with that, it was as if a window opened up before him, and beyond the window was a table, and on the table was an ornate oil lamp, its flame burning bright and strong. A breeze, somehow visible, was flitting in and out of the window, plucking at the flame, which flickered evasively. Roman understood at once, and he reached through the window, scooped up half the flame, and handed it to the breeze, which fluttered off somewhere. The window slammed shut.

Roman opened his eyes just long enough to see Virgil suddenly draw in a deep, desperate breath. Then the trees of the glade closed in and everything faded to black.

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

Roman awoke, and there was a window. But this time it was his bedroom window, and the light coming through it was morning sunlight. He felt heavy and slow, and it took some more waking up for him to realize that it was because someone had left three or four extra blankets on top of him.

A tidal wave of memory engulfed him and he sat bolt upright, flinging the blankets away. His head spun but he ignored the sensation. “Virgil!”

“Roman?” came Patton's muffled voice from the other side of the door. “Was that you I heard?”

“Yes...?” Roman replied. “You can come in if you want.”

Patton opened the door and entered, carrying a tray of some kind of pastry. Roman's stomach growled, but the vertigo chose that moment to reassert itself and he dropped back onto the pillows. “How are you feeling?” Patton asked.

“Pretty wiped out,” Roman confessed. “But forget about me. What about—?”

“—Virgil?” Patton beamed. “He's going to be all right. We saved him—you saved him. I don't know how, but you gave me more than enough mana to transfer without killing yourself. Now here—eat up, build back what you lost. I brought you some cheese-and-berry tarts. They're loaded with calories and nutrients, just like my trail mix.”

“Not sure I'm up to eating just yet,” Roman muttered. “If Virgil is all right...can I see him?”

“If you like,” said Patton, “but he won't have anything to say. He'll probably sleep for a couple more days yet.” Roman made a noncommittal grunt and Patton hastily continued, “Aw, don't look so crestfallen, kiddo! You accomplished something amazing yesterday! How did you do it, anyway?”

Roman opened his mouth to reply, but found the memory of how he had accessed his mana flowing away from him. Something about a window and...a candle? “I...don't remember,” he admitted. “I guess I'm still not a mage.”

“Well, that's okay. Mage or not, you're the best swordfighter I've ever known. And you're also a hero. We still have our dear friend because you wouldn't give up even when it seemed hopeless, and because you put yourself at risk for him.”

“I thought you'd be mad at me about that, actually,” Roman said. “You didn't want me to take that risk; I remember that much.”

“Wellllllll...it all worked out for the best, so I can't be too upset,” said Patton. “I might feel differently later, but we can cross that bridge when we get there. Now eat up; get your strength back. I've got the kettle on and I'll bring you some tea as soon as it's ready.”

“Actually,” Roman said with a yawn, “I think I need some more rest first.”

“Suit yourself. I'll leave the tarts here for you; promise me you'll eat something when you wake up again?”

“Sure thing, Pat,” Roman said. His eyelids drooped.

He had drifted off again before Patton was fully out of the room, a flame burning resolutely in the darkness.

[eorzeanharmony]

Fallout

After the events of a terribly off-track recon mission at a remote Garlean castrum, the infiltrators ended up leaving with one more person than they came with... a near-mortally wounded young soldier kidnapped rescued by Deccan Aurelius. 

With the youth near death from his injuries, the rogue tesserarius had to find someone to help... 

(forgive the back-and-forth tenses; this is a transcript of RP rather than short fiction.)

Adelle hurried out through the door to a hallway in the rear of the house, dressed in her usual brown cloak and skirt. One sleeve looked s bit charred, but otherwise there wasn't so much as a thread out of place. The small raen woman who had greeted Deccan, Naino, bowed at the waist and slipped downstairs to put together a tray of tea and cakes. From the hall was the busy chatter of people, the guffawing laugh of someone amused and a hammer as another person did their best to repair a ceiling. A small green Au Ra glanced their way and vanished out the door trailing pipe smoke, and a raven haired Roegadyn excused herself as she dragged in several planks of dry wood. "Lovely to see you again, Deccan. Come, I have a private office where we can speak. Do you have a preference for tea or coffee?"

The big blond man nods.. he looks a bit different than the last time she saw him; short leather jacket, tank top, denim pants, practical boots but all in shades of dull tan and brown. Instead of the gunner's goggles he'd been sporting the night before, he wears a simple pair of frameless glasses on his aquiline nose. They don't seem very strong, though... the lenses don't distort his pale green eyes much, if at all. Odd. "Ah.... thank you for seeing me...." Dec glances at the few people in the area, "Actually... I think your office is probably advisable, given the circumstances."(edited)

"Certainly," she smiled, and gestured for him to follow down the winding corridors and a flight of stairs. Adelle opened the door and peered in, then urged him to make himself comfortable. The room was quiet, save for the heavy tick-tock of the chronometer, and smelled faintly of citrus and dried roses. A second desk faced them on the opposite side of the room, surrounded by bounty posters, armor polish and hunting gear. "Mist's desk," she explained as she claimed her usual high back chair. "Now please, speak freely. I keep the same privacy and discretion here that I do in my infirmary. Whatever you can tell me about my possible patient would be welcome."

Deccan's pale gaze seems to track around the room with an inordinate amount of care and practiced method, even as he eases himself into the proffered chair. It's like he's looking for.... something. Guards? Wards? Cameras? ...All three, likely. Eventually though, it returns to Adelle. "He was... ah. Rescued from the site of a conflict between Eorzean and Garlean forces. Though..." The man fidgets quietly. "his wounds predate the incident. I've been doing what I can to care for him, but he's got internal injuries and I think he's going septic. He's young, he has his whole life ahead of him... I don't want him to die...."

Adelle leaned forward. With her gloved fingers laced on the desk she frowned, and the branch-like scarring that curled up the side of her face tugged awkwardly at the corner of her mouth. "Which side was this man on? I assure you now, it makes no difference to me other than knowing how to help him." Her brows furrowed. "Well, if he will accept my help. That is a factor as well "(edited)

Deccan sighs, frowning vaguely, and tangles his fingers together. It's this behavior that may well indicate his 'fidgeting' is less displacement activity and more the fact that the scruffy blond man's hands shake nigh constantly. "He's... Garlean," the blond admits quietly. "That's why I was resistant to bringing him to more, eh..." He fishes for a good word, "... commonly accessible clinics, or the Conjurer's Guild. As for accepting your aid, he doesn't want to die either. Like I said, I'm no medicus... but I...remember that the one that had been seeing him indicated his chance of survival was low..." He scowls distantly at his hands. "I don't know, maybe it is too late, but I have to at least try."

"Does he receive aetheric healing without issue, or should I plan for other means?" She reached for a mosaic, gem-encrusted fountain pen and began scribbling on a sheet of loose parchment. "I could always use aetheric means and stabilize him after the fact..." She mused, tapping the pen against the desk's surface. "What are the extent of his injuries as you know them? And does he speak Eorzean?"

"I don't know," he admits, honestly enough. "I haven't really had a problem with it, but I know some people are really prone to aethersickness just from the exposure. As for his wounds... I'm pretty sure they're from arrows, or some other piercing weapon. But either he wasn't recovered quickly enough, or they were poisoned with something... or I don't know, that part of La Noscea is a jungle and who knows what could have gotten to him..." He wrings his hands a little more, "I'm sorry, I don't know more..." As for speaking Eorzean, he nods, though the question surprises him. "He does, yes..."

"Easier for me, then. I can explain things to him. I am unfortunately a bit rusty..." She continues to write, scribbling various tools and medicines and potions. The Elezen lifted a hand to her linkpearl. "Naino? Forgo the tea. Can you see if Silas is available? No, not Cassius. The first Silas. Thank you." She smiled. "You have told me plenty. Who is he currently with? Do you leave him alone?"

Deccan nods slightly. "He's... at my place. He's safe; it's quiet there and I know no one will find him. I don't really have a choice but to leave him alone... but I did set up a bit monitoring system that alerts me if something happens. I don't leave him alone for very long, though." He pulls out a battered Garlean-made tomestone and shows it to her.

She nodded, although the tomestone gave her reason to pause. Adelle seemed to stiffen some in her comfortable chair, and drew in a deep breath as though to steady herself. "We will need to go swiftly then. Naino will let me know if Silas is available, although I am beginning to see that you are...quite desperate. What would you have done if I had reported you to the authorities for harboring what amounts to a criminal?" Adelle capped the pen and slipped it into her desk. "How long has he been ill?"

Deccan fidgets with the 'stone quietly. "I... don't know," he admits, frowning a little. "Milloux knows about my background; I figured if she vouched for you, you would at least be inclined to hear me out instead of just... following the party line." His pale eyes lift, "I'd like to think that was a point of common ground, actually," he continues. "I've been talking to him. Explaining things. He's no criminal, I know that much... just a soldier in a war that was set in motion by forces none of us can stop. All anyone can do is try to stem the bleeding..." He sighs, pushing himself to his feet, "I can't answer that either. I don't have any of his paperwork... but I know he's not doing well. Maybe... about a week?"

"So long?" Her sapphire eyes widened. "Twelve, then perhaps we have even less time to discuss this than I thought." Adelle stood and rounded the desk, hurrying to the door. She left it open as she nearly ran down the hallway and passed off the note she'd scribbled to someone else, then made her way back to the office. On her return she had a weathered, walnut cane in hand. Expertly she clipped it to the mount sewn into the back of her cloak, and beckoned for him to follow. "My apologies. I had no idea it had been so long. I would have suggested I come your way at once. I have my staff preparing my things for me. Is there anything else I should know?"

Deccan jogs after her, now looking more concerned than he did at the start. "Ah... not that I know of. I live... um. You know where the Sultana's Breath is, yes? In the Goblet. I can meet you there..." At least it's not anywhere strange or unfamiliar.

"I do. Which ward?" She glanced briefly back over her shoulder at him and paused briefly at the infirmary door. Her leather medical satchel was already within easy reach, and clinked tellingly as she snatched it up. Dozer perked his head at the sight of her and wagged his tail. After a moment of hesitation she whistled, and the little terrier bolted to her side. A few commands had him sticking close, his attention fully on her. He didn't even go for a sniff of Deccan's boots.

"Twelfth ward," the big man says, stuffing his tomestone back into his pocket. "We can take my airship if you don't mind close quarters. It's not really intended to carry more than one but I'm sure it'd be fine since I didn't exactly arrive with cargo onboard." That said, he goes to head back outside, presumably toward his transportation.

She shook her head. "I will meet you there. I can take aethertyes without complication."

He doesn't seem all that surprised. "Well... all right. Don't go to the front door, go around back. I'll be there as soon as possible." The airship -is- there... small, single-man, and obviously an Ironworks manacutter, although it looks kind of banged up and secondhand. The big blond vaults into the cockpit, straps in, and starts it up, hovering just for a moment before wheeling to one side and lifting off, accelerating into the southern skies.

—————————————

Adelle was quick to bid farewell and, after Naino explained where Silas could be found in the house, hurried to find him herself. Peering in through the doorway, the elezen waved toward him. "Silas! I have a patient I would appreciate your help with. A Garlean man, and it sounds like he has been through more than I would like for a patient. I offered my help before I had the full story, and now I think it might be helpful to have you along. We will be at the Sultana's Breath apartments in Ward twelve. I have to hurry there, but please meet me if you can."

It would take awhile before Deccan manages to catch up.... airships, however fast, aren't instantaneous and can't compete with simply teleporting from place to place. If they go around the back, as instructed, they'll find... well... a small cactus garden, and one of the maintenance entrances. It lacks the ornamentation of the front portal, has a 'NO ENTRY' sign on it, and is, of course, locked.

"seventy and seven hells, Adelle." He sat bolt upright, turning to flash a hint of a panicked glare "what does he know?" Silas stood, closing the notes he had been working on, and began putting together his field kit. "And what do you know of the patient? How old? Is he military? Do you have a name?" He sighed, shaking his head and waving her off. "Never mind, hurry, I get it. I'll see you there, go."

She'd rushed out the door the moment he agreed, Dozer racing at her side. Thankfully getting to the Goblet was a mere blink, and another still to get to the apartments. Even better, she was a familiar enough face to ignore. Most people knew the blue duskwight with her little terrier who went from clinic to clinic, or chased him around the pool. So it meant nothing to simply wave as she meandered with the little alibi to the rear of the building. She lingered there while Dozer sniffed at the sand, ushering him away from the threatening cactus thorns. Now and again she lifted her head to shade her eyes against the sun.

It takes... an unfortunate while for Deccan to get there, around half a bell... though that in itself speaks to how fast he was moving. The battered manacutter has to take a sweeping arc around the apartments before he can bring it down behind the building... there's actually a cleared spot of desert where he's plainly been parking it, and he does so now. He vaults out of the cockpit and jogs over to the maintenance door. Dec pauses, glancing at the unfamiliar face but... he's with Adelle, and she did say she was bringing someone, so he doesn't object, instead moving to unlock the door. "This way. Watch your step..." He waves them both in, checks the exterior, then locks it again, before moving off down the hall. After passing through what's obviously the gardeners' workshop, he moves off down a bare hallway... then another, then past some storage rooms... a low rumble almost more felt than heard indicates their proximity to the great furnaces that heat the building during the icy Thanalan nights. He comes to what looks like the door to yet another storeroom... though this one has a rather more modern looking lock on it, for all that it's nondescript, blends into the wall, and only has a single red light on it. He produces a cermet key and swipes it.(edited)

Adelle followed with some small degree of worry, and let out some of the tension in her shoulders with a breath. The air still moved around her, caressed and whispered against her skin. She could feel earth and stone surrounding them, and water bubbled through pipes and faucets. She kept her attention on her surroundings, listened as much as she was able and then... She stared at the small device in undisguised shock, and at her side Dozer scratched behind one ear. Seemingly no threat, then. "Who knows you are down here, Deccan?"

He shrugs, "The gardeners. The maintenance men. That's all. It's... well... They aren't paid that well by the building supervisor, and I offered to help them out in exchange for a corner no one was using. Everyone's happy..." And the building officials have no record of his presence. He pushes the door open into a narrow cement corridor, unpainted, lined with pipes and slowly-rusting grilles. There -is- light here, filtering through dirty, somewhat cracked windows, but it's still dim, and the rumbling from the furnace is clearly audible. It's also warm and somewhat damp.

Deccan waves the two of them in, and once again ensures the door clicks shut behind them, the light turning back to red from its brief-lived green state. "He's right around the corner here."

Adelle swept her hand forward, and at once the air began to stir. A gentle breeze lifted in the enclosed room, ushering away the promise of mildew and rot. She'd seen what a nasty bit of lingering, damp air could do in the dark: she did grow fungus as a hobby. "Hello?" She called and, after a moment - "[Hello?]"

There might have been the hint of rustling, though it stops at the sounds of voices. Deccan speaks quickly after her, "It's me, I brought help...." The voice that responds is weak, and slightly slurred. [... pyr Aurelius? Did you... find a medicus...?] Dec winces visibly when the speaker uses his title, but just makes his way around the chain link gate to where, yes, a small living area has been set up. As long as one isn't claustrophobic, it's actually fairly comfortable, with a rug, a large cot, a low table with some few personal things on it. It's also occupied by the slight figure of a young man, his blue hair damp with sweat and his color... somewhat hard to determine, actually, in the dim light. It's not enough to conceal his bruise-darkened eyes though, or the unpleasant scent of someone with grave issues. To his credit, Deccan does seem to have propped the windows open here to let in the dry desert breeze, but it hasn't done much for the temperature, only the humidity. The air movement brought by his visitor does seem to help. [Leth, this is Adelle. You're going to have to trust her, even if her methods are unfamiliar. All right?]

"Sea and skies..." She muttered, and all doubt and unease was gone. She hurried forward and bowed as quickly as she could while still being polite. Her Garlean was out of practice and oddly accented to even her own ears. "[I am Adellenne. A Conjurer, but I know healing methods you will be comfortable with. This is my Second,]" she gestured to Silas. "[What happened? I need to know details so I use as little magick as possible.]" Her gaze drifted to Deccan. "Fresh water, boiled, and a lantern with an exposed flame." Adelle spun her hand in a lazy circle and drew in more fresh air through the window. The breeze smelled of spices and heat and sand and - distantly - the promise of a rain shower. "And clean bedding."

"I just changed it this morning," he protests, a little defensively. He -has- been doing his best to care for the youth, and there's a basket of soiled linens shoved up next to a stack of crates to back up his protests. "But... uh. I can probably scrounge up another set, just a moment..." Dec sidles around Silas and goes in search of sheets and the other items. The young man on the cot is obviously beyond the point of really caring who's asking him questions, and is probably just doing his best to stay awake and coherent. [We were ambushed on patrol... I couldn't really even see where they were coming from, it all happened so fast. I took a few arrows in the fight, but... I didn't think it was that bad... at first... they were only arrows...] He sort of trails off into a mumble, then forces himself awake again. [I was in the medical bay... when, um.] He stares at the ceiling for a bit. [... pyr Aurelius sort of, um. There was some kind of attack or something, haywire magitek armor units... I don't know what happened, but the next thing I knew, pyr Aurelius was running out of the Castrum with me. I... he said he was rescuing me...] Leth may or may not be sure this is what happened.(edited)

Adelle explained each step as she did it. She checked for fever, checked his pupils for a basic response, quickly unbound the bandages and even just how much give his skin had to it. "My first thought is cellulitis. This is not poison, it would show in his eyes and gums more than this. Likely just an infection, but very deep." She murmured to Silas, and half to herself. "[Breathe deeply for me, please.]" Adelle was already rummaging through her bag for what appeared to be a simple wooden tube. The elezen worked smoothly but quickly, and all the while slipped back into cooling the room and freshening the air.

Leth seems a bit happier just with the gentle drop in temperature, but it's small improvement. Unbinding his wounds at least proves that Deccan is at least well-skilled in field medicine; they're all packed well with gauze and while they could stand changing at this point, the dressing is probably only a couple of hours old. Still, the wounds are ugly; bloodless in the center, surrounded by halos of bruise-black and scarlet. It's the beginnings of tissue necrosis, although it seems his caretaker's efforts have held off the worst of it. The young soldier makes a few quietly distressed noises as she examines him, but he's too strung out at this point even to complain loudly. Deccan returns some time later, with a couple of (mismatched) sheets and one of the gardeners' lanterns. He hands these to Silas, who is a pair of apparently unoccupied hands, then goes to boil some water. Fortunately... that's not a big deal; Dec is a severe coffee addict, and there's a giant magitek pot in the other... well... 'room' is probably inaccurate, but. 'Space' will do.

Silas sets the lantern within Adelle's reach, but not so close as to be in her way. His grim silence breaks as he sighs, shaking his head at the sight of the wounds. "What in the hells are they teaching nowadays" he mutters to himself, low under his breath as he opens his own supply case, taking out what appears to be a heavily modified imperial shadow's visor, putting it on and playing with several dials on the side, the lenses on the front beginning to glow. " I hope you've something in mind Adelle. I've not got much in my arsenal for shite like this what ain't basically a knife."

Adelle looked at her gloves and stripped then from her hands, then pushed up her sleeves. The roping network of burn scars was on full display now. "Break a window, I need as much air and access to...to everything as I can possibly get. Silas, we need to cut away the dead tissue before I do anything with Conjury. If Garlean medicine could not save this man, then it means traditional means will not work." She reached into her bag and withdrew a vial of swirling purple liquid flecked with unfortunately recognizable pieces of morbol vine. "[I am going to do what I can, but it will hurt. Without my help you are more likely to die than not. Am I being clear?]" She held the vial out to him. "[This will make you sleep without dreams while we work.]"

Deccan returns with what's obviously a paint can, albeit one that's been thoroughly cleaned. Steam curls from the top as he sets it down on the low table by the head of the cot, next to the lantern. That done, he moves back to sit on a crate near the boilers out of the way, watching them. He does seem to be watching Silas more than Adelle... probably because he's got that visor on. For his part, Leth just nods vaguely; he's plainly having visible difficulty staying conscious, his violet eyes drifting closed despite obvious effort to the contrary. He -does- shoot a glance toward Deccan, as if confirming that this is all right, but eventually disengages a hand from under the sheet to take the vial and down it. Apparently he's not too sick to make a really disgusted face, though. "....ugh!" [What was in that st...mmngh...] Well, so much for 'barely conscious'.

Adelle reached out the moment he began to slump, familiar with the potency of her sedatives. The next moment she was laying him back and set Silas with the task of cutting away what was left of his clothes. "We need to cut away the necrotic tissue. It is already setting in, and combined with the fever he has very little time left. I can feel it, even without reaching out. I will be using Conjury on him but...as little as possible." Vials and bottles were withdrawn from her bag as she cleaned the wounds as well as her hands, and a sharply sterile smell filled the small space. "We cut away the tissue here, here and here. There, as well. Surgical debridment. Once the diseased flesh is removed I mean to use Conjury to..." She heaved a sigh and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. "I mean to use Conjury for his fever and the infection in his blood. The moment I pull out my cane there is a vial of amber colored liquid with a pink label that you need to force down his throat. I used it to treat aether sickness in the past. It should keep him from going into shock." The elezen looked to Deccan. "After that, I have other treatments I can provde you that will help him recover. We get him through the surgery, keep him from slipping into shock, and we should be in the clear. I think he would prefer aether sickness to a coma or losing any limbs."

Silas cut away the youth's clothes, and turned back to his supplies. He pulled out what once was the core of a magitek bit, rotating it in his hands until he found the right side, activating a thin line of light which he passed around his hands and, rolling up his sleeves, his forearms. "How steady is your scalpel, Adelle?" He lifted the bit into the air, setting it floating, the light still beaming downwards. "If you want to save your energy for the fixing, I can do the cleanup. I've got an extra vial in my bag for y' as well, in case it's more'n you're expecting."

Deccan just shakes his head. "Do what you have to do," he rasps quietly. "Honestly... aether sickness passes, and I at least know how to deal with it. Better some fugitive malaise than... dying slowly on a cot in a warzone because your medicus has better things to do with his time..." His tone remains soft, but tinged with bitterness. A glance to the man standing nearby, then back down to the wounded soldier. Distractedly, he fumbles at a pocket in his coat with shaking fingers, then seems to clamp down on the habitual behavior and lowers his hand. Not that it stops twitching. "I just wish I could've done more for him," he mutters.

"Steady. This sun is fine so far, but I would appreciate having my strength reserved for the finer sealing of blood and organs. I have some concern that the infection is heading towards his heart." She glanced briefly at the bit and offered a wry smile before her gaze lingered on Deccan. "Take a few steps back, please. Once we start working I will need to be monitoring him fully and cannot worry about where you might be standing." She commanded Dozer to lay down toward the entryway, well out of sight and reach, then returned to Silas. "Ready when you are."

Deccan grunts softly. He'd thought he was out of the splash radius, but... he drops off his crate and moves back past the chain link gate before finding another crate to park on. It seems he still wants to watch... probably unsurprisingly.

"He should be fine," Adelle urged Deccan as she looked once more over the wounds. "Silas and I work well together, and I have yet to lose a patient. I even managed to sew the entirety of a man's fingers back to his hand. They even work." Hopefully the words were a comfort. The elezen sterilized the surgical tools she'd brought along, and laid them carefully on the nearest surface. At least she knew what she was doing.

Deccan nods a little, his gaze once more flicking over to Silas. HIs expression drifts thoughtful for a moment, brows furrowing, but then he seems to just shrug whatever it was off and move on. Not for the first time (or likely the last), he goes for his coat pocket... only to once more stop himself. Instead, he just stuffs his hands under his arms. A slight nod, "I figured," he says quietly. "Milloux wouldn't have suggested I speak with you if she didn't think you were good...." He glances out the dirty, slightly cracked window at the desert beyond. After awhile, he adds softly. "....Thank you for agreeing to help."

It was easy for Adelle and Silas to fall into the usual rhythm of surgery. The air continued its steady whirl around the room as it kept fresh air moving in the small space, and the light from Silas' bit cast a bright enough glow to work without difficulty. They worked in tandem with one another - passing tools, cleaning skin, adjusting position - like a well oiled machine. The lack of humidity in Ul'dah barely left enough sweat for her to bead on her brow. She could almost feel the infected pockets of flesh be removed, felt the grip of the fever loosen...Adelle kept her eye on the wounds and the moment she felt they were clear, she thrust her cane over the man's body and stretched out her hand. A new ethereal light flooded the narrow chamber. She could see it even with her eyes closed. There! There was the worst of it! If she could just... Adelle clenched her hand as though she'd crushed something in it. "I-I think...I think that should do it."

If nothing else, the young soldier is... above all... young. And with youth comes a certain degree of resilience and vibrance of life. It was still bad... another day or two without direct care and the likelihood of sepsis and organ failure would have been nearly unavoidable. But care he received, and his body... his aether, still present even if displaying that curious stubborn inertia that his people's do... actually seems to respond without unexpected resistance as she draws out the poisoned aether that remains after the poisoned tissue has been excised. He's going to have some nasty scars, but at least their area is comparatively small. All this while he hasn't stirred, still sleeping the dreamless sleep of the excessively drugged, but his fever-sweat is already starting to dry rather than being replenished. Deccan, for his part.... just watches. He notes the bit, notes the procedure... but says nothing; barely even moving. In truth, he seems a man to whom watching in stillness is... if not natural, then carefully trained. There's not even any sound from him until she speaks. "He'll... recover?"

She staggered back with a nod and the foul taste of rot at the back of her throat. "I have two bottles of a tonic you can give him over the next few suns. No more than one spoonful every four bells, but the fever will break and he should be back to his usual self in no time," Dozer finally approached - the little dog left his commanded place to set a paw on her foot. She looked down at him and sighed, then withdrew a bottle of white pills from her pocket. The Elezen swallowed one dry. "I should be going. If he does not wake by noon tomorrow, get an ammonia capsule and break it under his nose. That should work."

The big blond Garlean nods a little, looking between the two, then rummages a card out of his pocket and a pencil. He scrawls a pearl number on the back, then slides off his crate to offer it to the healer. "I don't have much," he says quietly, looking between her and her associate, "But... I owe both of you. If you ever need anything... information, contacts, even my rifle, for all that I'm not what I was anymore... don't hesitate to call me. Okay?" The card is for the Shroudrose Teahouse... a cream colored rectangle with awfully floral and feminine lacework printed all over it. The pencil marks on the back are rough and dark, as if he had trouble controlling the pencil, but they're legible.

She reached out to take the card, and offered him a small smile. "Information and contacts might be helpful, actually. We will be in touch. I would like to come check your ward within the next few suns, if that is permissible. Unless you have another healer you work with at the Teahouse?" Adelle pocketed the card without a second glance. "If not, just watch for the brightening of his eyes or a return of a fever. You did a fine job keeping him alive. If not for your help, he likely would have died well before we arrived. It is more likely than not that you saved his life."

Deccan nods again. "...Of course. Just ping me and I'll let you in. The...ah. maintenance guys won't let you in otherwise...." A pause, then he looks a little wry, "Well, unless you pay them to. Anyhow..." He trails off, looking at the pale figure on the cot, "... I'll be sure to keep a close eye on him. And give him the tonics when he comes to. "Ah... there is one healer," he admits, "But she's been very busy lately and I haven't seen her in some time. Family business, I think." He ventures a slight smile, "Oh and... if you come by sometime, order whatever you like and tell whoever's on the counter that it's on me. I still haven't gotten them to add bagels to the menu, but they keep telling me it's not -that- far off..."

"I will certainly take you up on that. As soon as he wakes enough to move, have him sit up for a bit and change the sheets. Conjury can make things heal almost too quickly, and we do not want him forming anything that will not flex with his movements." She gave him one last smile. "You did well, Deccan. Get some rest." Adelle scooped Dozer into her arms. "We will go without being noticed. I promise."

Deccan offers her a slightly wry smile, "I will. It... won't be the first time I've dealt with physical therapy to counteract keloid contraction." He sighs, moving aside so they can go. "Thank you again...." A glance back to the figure on the bed, "... though we've both got a long road ahead."