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wardog-of-the-endless · 6 years ago

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Wardog’s Fic Masterpost

You can find nearly all fics through my AO3 account, but here’s a list of links!

MARVEL

IronStrange- Tony Stark x Stephen Strange

Wishes (Better Left Ungranted)

General- Tony makes a few wishes, but some are better left ungranted.

‘Till Then

Mature- Stephen Strange is trying to work at Kamar-Taj when his boyfriend texts him... from his Malibu bed. Stephen opens a portal to talk to him about it and they wind up, not really talking about it. ( Tony Stark Bingo Explicit Card A4 KINK: Masturbation)

The Theory of Magic (Series)

General- A get together series in which Stephen Strange has a crush and actually makes a movie. Stories are Complete but the Series is Ongoing, available for expansion via prompts when open.

Remind Me

Study and Practice

Burden of Proof

Absence Makes the Heart

Time Heals All (Series)

General- Stephen Strange and Tony Stark are married. A little Team Cap antagonistic. Part 3 is a little Dark!IronStrange.

What the Doctor Ordered

Cloak and Dagger

Break Rules (Not Oaths)

IronPanther- Tony Stark x T’Challa

Hot Chocolate

General- (Fluff and Flirting)- So a combination of a prompt and a ship. From jacarandabanyan "Hot Chocolate" and bash-it-all's "IronPanther".

WinterHawk- James Barnes x Clint Barton

Nesting On Knives (Series)

Teen- Tumblr Prompt: 1.“Would you ever write WinterHawk?<3″ . Birthday Fic + Tumblr Prompt: All Avengers, clock, poking (+ Tony Stark) 1. Well-Armed (To Hold) 2. A Meddling Affection

WinterIron- James Barnes x Tony Stark

Children of Light

General to Teen- Slowbuild to WinterIron. Deals with the Death of JARVIS, the first activation of FRIDAY, and JARVIS’s eventual resurrection. (Note that J is the “Major Character Death” referenced.) This is angsty because I have FEELINGS about the loss of JARVIS and the fact that we never mourned him in MCU. Stories and Series ongoing.

Son of Stark

To Lose a Child

A Child’s Initiative

I Will Always Find You

General- Tony as Snow White, Bucky as Prince Charming in an AU snippet of OUAT.

Collision With a Dream

General- Bucky's walking along arguing about Russian Lit when he literally runs over his dream guy. Tasha does what she usually does, she makes it worse. That's alright, Tony's apparently the forgiving sort.

(You Wanna) Date My Dad

General- Featuring Harley Keener! "Would you ever write a fic where Bucky meets Harley?"

To Cure a Hangover (You Need Espresso and a Date)

General- Prompt: "Would you ever write: WinterIron with age difference? Like teacher!Bucky with Student!Tony? :P"

I Was Promised a Flying Car

General- Prompt: Would you ever write a fic where Tony and Bucky is bonding over being nerds/loving science? (And doing all kinds of wacky, mythbuster-esque experiments that Tony whips up any time Bucky begins a sentence with "I wonder what would happen if...?")So it's not "science" driven, but science nerd Bucky did spend his last night before deployment at the Stark Expo, staring at a flying car...

Mechanics, Millionaires, Models & More

General- Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne are friends from childhood. When Tony as a single dad catches the eye of the model James Barnes, there’s some mutual Instagram-Stalking and a lot of flirting.

Tony’s First Friend

Coping for An Age

(Walk Walk) Fashion Baby

Milkshakes and Motorcycles

Teen- Bucky, second to the Captain for the Howling Commandos, hears a scuffle around the corner and finds himself with an armful of just about the prettiest little lost lamb he's ever seen. Since Tony don't seem too keen on his now-ex, Bucky's gonna buy him a milkshake, wrap him in a leather jacket, and hopefully show him a good time.

Coffee, Curses, Kisses

General- Tony Stark drags himself out of his workshop on a regular Thursday morning. Well, mostly a regular morning. Except for Clint Barton lying on the breakfast bar in themed underwear. The theme is new, the rest is depressingly familiar. Ok, so maybe the rose petals are new too. (What the hell, Clint?) It's enough to make a billionaire grateful for the Avengers Alarm. Wait a minute, magic too? Fuck, this is just not Tony's day. (Until it really, really is.) (This is a Fill for Tony Stark Bingo 2019 S4: FIRST KISS)

Riding Roughshod

Teen- The Heroic Captain America wakes up in a world that is integrated far beyond what he would have dreamed of when he went into the ice, though he never expected to be a part of it. A pioneer of mixed-race teams back in his own day, the last thing he expects is to be called upon to do so once again, this time gathering a group of heroes from some rather unlikely places. If that weren't enough to worry about, there's a wild-card Soldier with a familiar fighting style making trouble at top-security bases all over the world... and a shiny red and gold suit that doesn't seem to answer to anyone. That's to say nothing of the kid genius that's supposedly behind it. ( This is a Fill for Tony Stark Bingo 2019 R4: Centaurs / This is a Fill for Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019 K3: Tony Stark/ Iron Man)

Love Like Knives

Mature- Winter wakes up Tony when he wants someone to play rough with.This is a Bingo Fill for Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019- U4: [Image: Winter Soldier holding a knife.]

California Dreamin’ A Beach Bums Verse

Teen- Note: A Special Collaboration Series! This is a WinterIron get together with puns, angst, fluff and more! Note that some fics may include Losers crossover characters! Also make sure to read my partner maevee’s stories!

Don’t Tell (Secrets) -Losers Crossover Fic

(Everyday Is A) Winding Road - Losers Crossover Fic

Mai Tai (Offer You A Drink)

When You Wish Upon A Stark -Maevee

We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Bucky -Maevee!

Adorato

Teen-James Barnes, the Winter Soldier, has been out of the ice and Hydra’s hands for a month the first time he hears a familiar voice. (A SoulMate AU)

True, Strong and Brave

Teen- Bucky Barnes moves into the tower and receives help from an otherwise elusive Iron Man. But when the team gets called out and things go wrong, Steve gets a reality check as to what has been done in his name. Bucky steps up, he's one of the few who can. (Team Cap Critical; Anti-Wanda)

Tired

General- From a Prompt on Tumblr: Random Sentence- “I’ll do it for you.”

(Were) Whisperer

Mature- In a world where Aliens rain destruction from portals through space, ancient Gods arrive on beams of light, and a certain Billionaire Philanthropist darts around the world in a metal suit: there really is a very high bar for what is considered "weird". Shapeshifters hardly register, having been long known. You’re either a Human, a Were, or a Whisperer. Most people can prove whether they’re the first or the second, a few will lie about being the third. Alternately, there's Tony. Tony Stark is one of the few people pretending the first and burying the third, and he’s more or less in the clear with it until Steve Rogers catches up with the Winter Soldier, and brings him home to Avengers Tower. Tony doesn’t have to say a word, the Wolf knows differently.

An Attraction

Jurassic World AU- Write... a crossover/au of the last non-marvel movie you saw and marvel (if ships, winteriron?). Essentially Jurassic World & Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Snippets with WinterIron. Originally Posted on Tumblr: Expansion Pack for AO3 Rolling Out Now!

Next Year Will Be Better

General- Just a quick story for Tony’s birthday. Pre-Slash Tony Stark/James Barnes, and Tony acting as IronDad to the Spider Son and his Potato Gun Son.

Let’s Go Dancing

General- This is a Marvel Universe-Center Stage Fusion AU that no one asked for and everyone is getting anyway. Tony dances for the American Ballet Company as their featured ballerino, performing under the name Antonio Carbonell. James and Steve are two of the ABC’s newest students, and James gets a chance to meet his crush on his first day. Just his luck, Tony is even better in person. (Natalia may have been setting them up all along.) This is a Fill for Tony Stark Bingo 2019- S1: Dancing

The B Team

Teen- Pepper Potts has had a long day that isn’t over yet, as Phil Coulson has just arrived on the doorstep of Tony’s Malibu Mansion to discuss Iron Man joining a new team. In most instances, it wouldn’t be enough to let him in the door, except he’s brought James Barnes along with him. Of course, he was probably expecting that James would be helping them talk business… But all the Soldier seems to want to do is get busy. (WinterIronWeek Day1/ TSB S2: [Image: Tony Stark working on IM in Workshop])

Done

General- Tony has just started prep work to remove the old arm and install the new one he's built, and already James is impatient. Or maybe he just wants to needle his boyfriend a little? Tony gets pretty cute when he's annoyed. (WinterIronWeek Day 2)

A Second Take, A First Impression

General- A drunk Tony Stark meets his Soulmate at a college party, but James is a gentleman (and Rhodey is scary) so nothing can happen until they’re sober. Tony wakes up at an ungodly hour of the morning, confused at his current predicament, and meets his (very attractive, very shirtless) Soulmate all over again. (He wishes he could forget all of this.) (WinterIronWeek Day 3)

Hunting For (You)

General- The Soldier has cleared the last of his required therapies, been gifted a new arm, and turned loose. The first thing he wants is to show Tony, up close and personal. Of course, there's a certain winged pest that is going to interrupt. (WinterIronWeek Day5)

WinterWidow/RussianRoulette- James Barnes x Natasha Romanova

No Fics Currently

Stony- Steve Rogers x Tony Stark

A Guardian of Light

Teen- a.k.a. that time Steve sank the Valkyrie in the Arctic and became a spirit-walking wolf to guide Tony, at Frigga’s suggestion.

Shield Studios Ltd.

General Audiences- All the Avengers in a non-powered voice-acting AU for an animated show called "Assemble" staring their Marvel counterparts. Tony/Steve have a mutual admiration/crush but it's not actually romantic and can be read as gen.

Assemble!

Phil’s Failed Plan

You’re Welcome to Try

The Vague & The Unmistakable

General Audiences- Looking back on it, there are several things that should have tipped Steve off that today was his Birthday. (Starting with the fact that it's suddenly clear Tony engineered every one of them.)

Stucky- Steve Rogers x James Barnes

No Fics Currently

Stuckony- Steve Rogers x James Barnes x Tony Stark

On The Wing

Teen- A Wing AU for Stuckony. Stories are Complete but the Series is Ongoing, available for expansion via prompts when open.

Fluttering

Turtledove

(I’ll) Be Good

Mature- So when the tumblr prompt "Would you ever write...ABO winterironshield with alpha Tony?" meets my Kink Card S2 Square "Alpha/Beta/Omega Society" this is where we end up.

Allergic to Coddling

From the Prompt: "Would you ever write Tony Stark having an allergic reaction to something and the rest of the Avengers babying him to the point of ridiculousness because they just love him so much?" Sort of Stuckony, sort of Everyone is Poly Because Avengers? Your choice.

Poly Avengers- Everyone Loves Everyone

Everybody Loves Me

From the Prompt: "Would you ever write a TonyXEveyone fic? Not exactly everyoneXeveryone, but everyone *in love* with Tony only?" Note this is a Partial Fill which may be expanded on later. Featuring Tales of Suspense Hawkeye/Comic Clint Barton, aka deaf and a dumpster kid until the end.

Non Romantic- No Shipping

Shut UP, Bucky!

Teen- From the hellscape of Discord Discussions I bring you: QueenWuppy: "During World War II condoms were not only distributed to male U.S. military members, but enlisted men were also subject to significant contraception propaganda in the form of films, posters, and lectures. A number of slogans were coined by the military, with one film exhorting "Don't forget — put it on before you put it in." "guys i was doing research and and steve and bucky were subjected to this". AKA Bucky makes SO MANY COMMENTS about Super Soldier Sized Protection. So many.

The Most Powerful (Pillowfight)

General- In which Carol and Tony (aggressively) support each other and then do battle (with pillows) for their honor. Or each other's honor? It's unclear, things got out of control. (James Rhodes loves these idiots way too much.) (This is a fill for the TSB 2019 Square: T2: A BATTLE/FIGHT/CONFRONTATION)

We Can’t Plot Murder All The Time

General Audiences- From the Prompt: "Would you ever write Deadpool/Tony (IronPool? DeadMan? IronDead? Dunno their ship name :b)" AN: I don’t ship them so this is a non-romantic.

The Losers

A Touch of Grace

Gen to Teen- Cougar has a bad feeling right before the Fadhil operation, and he admonishes Jake to be careful. Jake mostly pays attention, but Cougs is pretty distracting. (Slight D/s tones and Subspace.)

If I Touch You, Will You Listen? (Cougar’s POV)

If I Listen, Will You Touch Me? (Jensen’s POV)

Tag (You’re It)

Teen- Jake hacks a new system for the express purpose of getting the Losers prank dog tags printed and delivered. Mostly because his Unit is full of people that make bad decisions, himself included. And also? To flirt with Cougar. Jake is willing to do stupid, stupid things in order to flirt with Cougar.

You And Tequila (Make Me Crazy)

Teen (and Up)- Fortalvarez Tequila is a family business that's been in operation for a hundred and fifty years. Currently, under the management of the family matriarch Constanza, the business will soon be passed to her beloved grandson Carlos. The problem is, Constanza does not care for modern technology or the fact that all of her grandbabies (but especially her favorite) are single. Her solution is a single advertisement for a new Social Media Expert, which is about to be answered by the very handsome (and rather impulsive) Jake Jensen.

#wakandan wardog #WinterIron #IronStrange #STONY #Stuckony #WinterHawk #IronPanther #Poly Avengers #Cougar x Jensen #Carlos Cougar Alvarez x Jake Jensen #wakandan-wardog #Wardog Writes Stuff #My Fic Post #Fic Masterlist

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thecorteztwins · 6 years ago

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HOGWARTS!!

[Thanks for sending! I put Maddy’s Hogwarts verse in for you :D]“No, no, we have to go back!” protested Madeleine “Maddy” Kaiser as Fabian dragged her and his twin sister, Anne Marie, away from the sound of the blasts and bangs and shouted screams. It was a good thing she was so small, because he was having to use all his own strength—and he was NOT a small boy—to hold on to Anne Marie. Anne Marie wasn’t saying anything, but she was struggling. Like Maddy, she wanted to go back and fight, to defend the castle and her friends.“You’re a Ravenclaw, Maddy—act like it! Be sensible!” Fabian ordered, “It’s obvious what they’re here for—the Aurometer! And you can’t give it to them!”“I won’t! I’ll be careful, I’ll—”And then Fabian pitched his sister headfirst at a pair of the gigantic decorative knights who lined the corridor wall…only, instead of smacking into them, the knights lifted their shields and swords so that Anne Marie tumbled down a dark hole behind them instead. Maddy stared at Fabian in shock, Fabian looked back with a blase expression, knowing that now she had no choice but to go after her girlfriend. Which she did, followed by Fabian. There was the sound of scraping metal behind them as the knights resumed their positions, and all the light went out.“Lumos,” Fabian calmly commanded, and Maddy did the same, albeit not so calmly, and their wands allowed them enough light to see that they there on a set of slimy stone stairs, in a passageway lined with equally slimy stone bricks. Anne Marie was there too, obviously just fine, and tried immediately to leave, but it was, as Fabian informed her, no use.“The only way out is forward, down the stairs,” he said, “Remember, just like we planned.”They had indeed planned this, rehearsing it like a fire drill for the past several months in preparation for whenever this siege finally came. But now that it was here, both Maddy and Anne Marie found there was an obstacle that they hadn’t counted on—their own hearts. It felt terrible, to leave everyone behind fighting for their lives, not knowing what would happen to them.“Don’t look at me like that,” Fabian said, “If those bastards get the Aurometer, it’ll be worse than ANYTHING they could do here. Besides, they’ve got to take on all the professors—and I wouldn’t fancy facing McGonagall when she’s mad. I’d take ten Snapes over that.”“Not just the professors,” Maddy remembered through her fear, “The castle—the castle itself too. Hogwarts has almost a life of its own, it’ll defend against intruders.”As if on cue, there was a sound like a bomb going off, and the walls shook, bits of muck actually flying off from the dripping bricks. “I wouldn’t want a castle mad at me,” said Anne Marie quietly. With that settled, the trio of fifth years—one Slytherin, his Hufflepuff sister, her Ravenclaw girlfriend–trod down the stairs, their wands continuing to light the way…til they got to…“A wall?” Fabian said, “Is…is that supposed to be here? Could we have gone the wrong way? How, there were no turns!”In all their rehearsals, they had not ever actually gone down the passage. The knights were enchanted to only open up for their escape during a real emergency. “You’ve got to break through it!” said Maddy, remembering the instructions. The other two looked at her, curious because in all the months they had gone over this, she’d never mentioned that.“It…there’s a weak spot,” she said meekly under their inquisitive gazes, “I’ll explain how I know later, Dumbledore told me just before he left, but now we’ve got to–”She didn’t need to finish, Anne Marie had already started blasting away. Anne Marie had a lot of raw magical power, and was good at offensive spells, but none of that was having any effect. The wall wasn’t even chipped!“It’s enchanted, Anne Marie,” Maddy repeated, “Just hitting it over and over won’t make any difference, you have to find the—”She was cut off by a sleek, zooming blast of magic whizzing past her, not from Anne Marie’s direction, but from Fabian’s. Unlike Anne Marie’s blunt battering-ram tactics, he had picked a more focused spell, on a more minute target—the upper left corner. The wall vanished.Maddy gaped at Fabian, “How did you know?”Fabian puffed out his chest, “I watched where she wasn’t hitting.”With the wall cleared, another tunnel was revealed, and at its end, a ladder. Anne Marie led the way, shoving aside the lid at the top of the ladder…which, it turned out, was not a lid, but a boulder. They had come out in the Forbidden Forest, just as planned. Though Maddy and Fabian were both rather now wishing they hadn’t–the forest was foreboding enough looking at from a safe distance in broad daylight, but it was evening now, which was quite dark under the thick shade of the tree canopy, almost night, and they were right inside it. They’d all heard the rumors of what lurked there, of course, and Maddy, with her reading, knew even more. She clutched her wand and shrank beside the taller twins, cowering but ready to use all the spells at her disposal if need-be. Fabian was clearly trying to stand stalwart and tall, or at least look like it, but he was obviously ready to bolt back down the ladder too. Only Anne Marie looked truly ready for anything that might be here.“Alright, so, r-remember the plan,” Maddy said, “Find the thestrals. They know to take us to Lady Dastoor. Once we give her the Aurometer, everything will work out fine from there.”Fabian gulped, and waved his wand, “Lumos.”The others did the same, and began to walk in search of the invisible horse-beasts. None of them could see them, for none of them had yet seen death, but Maddy’s good student status meant she’d paid attention in Care of Magical Creatures, and she remembered the special whistle that Hagrid had used to summon them. She had been practicing it too, knowing she’d need it for tonight. It took a bit more tries than usual to get it to come out though—she was so scared to make any noise at all!The forest itself was eerily quiet too. Most woods were quiet, of course, but they also always had some background buzz—insects, for instance, especially at night, or birds, or the sound of a squirrel dashing away from the brush at one’s approaching footsteps. Here, there was nothing, and that made it all the more terrifying…not, however, as terrifying as when they did hear something.“Is that a thestral?” Anne Marie said.“I don’t think so,” Fabian gulped, as out from the bushes stepped a large and beautiful silvery white wolf. It was a lovely creature—but intimidating. Especially here and now. Especially since several others then emerged from the darkness on all sides of them.“Werewolves!” exclaimed Anne Marie. She had the sense to be frightened of those at least—but she was still surprised at how lovely, how cute they were. Like big beautiful sled dogs, the most beautiful dogs in the world! She didn’t know whether to blast them or hug them!Fabian, though, had made up his mind, as evident by raising his wand and beginning a hostile incantation.“Wait, don’t!” Maddy grabbed his arm, “They aren’t werewolves!”

“Well, I don’t fancy being eaten by normal wolves any better!” he returned.“They’re werewolf cubs.”“What?!”Maddy then explained how a werewolf cub was a very different creature than a werewolf itself.“When two werewolves meet and mate under the full moon, when they’re both transformed, the resulting children are werewolf cubs—which are just regular wolves, but with amazing intelligence. Unlike their parents, they’re not aggressive, and they don’t want to attack humans any more than ordinary wolves, which really are quite shy creatures when they’re not suffering hunger or sickness that makes them desperate. According to Hogwarts: A History, Dumbledore once released a litter of these wolves into the Forbidden Forest, and their descendants grew into very intelligent, beautiful wolves. That’s what these are! That’s why the students here SAY there are werewolves in the forest, but they’re mistaken, it’s just these, and Dumbledore and Hagrid just kind of let everyone believe it since it keeps us out of the forest.”“Oh yes, because I was just dying to go in otherwise!” Fabian said sarcastically.“Are they friendly?” Anne Marie looked at the wolves curiously, who looked back at her just as curiously.“Well, they’re wild animals,” said Maddy in a doubtful tone, “Just because they’re not evil, doesn’t make them pets. I wonder what they want though?”“Dinner, maybe?” said Fabian, “Maybe the the only reason they don’t attack humans is because nobody is normally stupid enough to come in here and give them a chance!”“They’re not behaving aggressively, Fabian!” said Maddy, suddenly defensive of the creatures, “This isn’t hunting behavior! The circle normally is—but nothing else they’re doing suggests a kill. I think they’re just curious.”“Curious if we’re easy prey,” Fabian said, “Look, even if they’re big friendly puppies, we don’t have time for this—we need to find the thestrals. Go away, you big mutts!”And he fired a flare spell, sending the wolves running. Anne Marie and Maddy both turned on him angrily, but he scoffed away their criticisms, pointing out that he hadn’t hurt the wolves, and that, again, they needed to find the thestrals ASAP. So begrudgingly, the trio trudged on, Maddy doing the special whistle and the twins trying to imitate her. And then they heard the strangest sound yet—the whistle returned to them. They all looked at each other in confusion. Before they could figure out what to do, a laughing female voice taunted them from the darkness,“Looking for these?”Out from the mist and shadows stepped Selene. She hadn’t been with the others at the castle—she’d been here! She and her evil cohorts must have known the trio would escape and come looking for the thestrals! And clearly, Selene had found them first, for in one hand she was holding several reins, all of which led back to bridles that, to the trio, appeared to be floating in mid-air.“You cannot see them, I am sure, but they are lovely creatures. Quite ghastly,” Selene gloated, “And quite grounded, thanks to me. You shan’t be going anywhere tonight, children.”With her other hand, she raised her wand, smiling in vicious, delighted anticipation, “Nor any other night. Avada Kedav—AAAAH!”An explosion had just gone off at her feet. And then another. And another. Blast-ended skrewts were suddenly pouring in from around tree roots and out of burrows, and all were running towards Selene. In her shock and horror, she let go of the reins, and the bridles began to float rapidly back into the brush—the thestrals were running away.“What the bloody blazes—” Fabian started, but Anne Marie grabbed his hand and Maddy’s and led them after the thestrals. There was no time to waste.As they pursued, whistling and shouting coaxing reassurances into the night air in hopes the thestrals would hear, they passed another small army of skrewts…with the white wolves loping alongside them. It looked almost playful.“They’re herding them,” Fabian realized in shock.“They’re enticing the skrewts to chase them, then leading them to Selene,” Maddy corrected, also shocked. “Thank you! Thank you wolfie! We love you!” Anne Marie shouted.Maddy could have sworn that the wolf winked.

#writing #fic #harry potter #hogwarts

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rhapsody-under-pressure · 7 years ago

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Moonlight Magic pt 4

It was nearly noon when Freddie awoke. He pushed himself up, barely able to remember much after Brian had come to get him. Mainly he could just see Brian heading over and barely waking up for a second while he treated some of his wounds. Brian practically had to drag him into their room, his body more exhausted than usual and excruciatingly sore once more. Freddie shivered again, still unable to feel any sort of warmth even with the heavy comforter of his bed draped over his body. He was clad in another oversized outfit and the gashes across his body were already starting to heal, the pestle that Brian usually used for treating them still sitting atop his nightstand.

“How you doing?” Brian asked from across the room, a book stretched out across his lap along with a large map decorated with various constellations.

“Tired.” He answered, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he brought his hand up to the opposing arm, feeling the still swollen cuts along his arm from underneath the sleeve.

“I got everything treated. You passed out almost as soon as I came down there. I just tossed on something to keep you warm since, well, that outfit didn’t really survive…”

Shame tightened his stomach even more so, eliminating any sort of possibly hunger he might’ve felt for those few seconds after waking. He avoided Brian’s concerned gaze, unable to face him right now and laid back down on the bed, turning onto his side and staring at the wall. Within a few seconds, the rustling of papers from Brian’s side of the room returned and he kept silent.

Flashes of last night began shooting into his mind, his body tensing and trembling every time they encroached on his thoughts. The beast slamming its body against the windows to try and smash it open, raking its claws against the glass to try and weaken it. Tearing the rug apart and crashing against the shield around the fireplace numerous times. Howls of pure rage and hunger continually echoed off the wall, its jaws soon latching down onto itself or bringing its claws up to draw more blood, gladly lapping up every drop that spilled out of its wounds.

It was so familiar, yet so new. Freddie was already cursing himself, trying to get his mind to shut up for a few moments so that he could try and get more sleep after having none the previous night. But how could he? Never once could he stop them, so why would he be able to do so now? He just wanted them to stop forever, but he’d made his bed, now he had to lie in it.

As soon as the wolf’s orange gaze shot into his mind, his eyes flew back open. His stomach churned inside of him, nausea staring to fill him up once again as he tried to refocus his eyes onto the now spinning room around him.

“Freddie, you sure you’re okay?” Brian asked again, Freddie only barely registering his lover’s words and automatically nodding.

“You look like you’re gonna be sick. I’ll get a bucket.”

He barely heard him walk around the room, his mind losing its fight against those memories he had tried so hard to lock up and forget, the battle ending quickly as they went free. The silvery glow of the moon lighting up the grounds as he cast the spell onto the grass for Brian to find him for them to spend their anniversary together while he thought about whether or not he should enchant the fire to be a delicate shade of purple instead of the usual warm reds and oranges. All those little animal noises that sounded from the woods that he couldn’t have cared less about, even the loud snarls he thought belonged to a bear or some other random creature that lived inside the forest.

That barbaric growl that came from his side echoed through his mind as he was suddenly thirteen again. He looked behind him, seeing that wild orange light glow from the beast’s eyes as it reared up onto its hind legs and let out its deafening howl. Shock held him in place for those few seconds that might’ve stopped all of this. He couldn’t move until the beast began moving.

One second. That’s all it had taken for it to be upon him. He leapt back, narrowly missing its snapping mouth. Yet he didn’t miss its slashing claws, feeling them dig into his leg and pull him down, the other set digging into his side. He reached out for his wand that was barely a few centimeters away, feverishly trying to think of something to get it off of him. Pain seared through his leg as its teeth sunk into his soft flesh, nearly reaching down to the bone. A blood-curdling cry of pain sprang from his mouth, tears immediately blinding his vision as the claws on his side raked down to his hip, the beast adding another attack on his side with the same paw.

He tried his best to free himself, focusing on trying to grab his wand to blast it off of him or at least shield himself from being hurt any further. Hot blood began gushing out of the cuts it already created, those menacing growls continuing to reverberate out of its muzzle. He tore at the grass, trying his damnedest to break free while the claws that were buried in his leg soon began grabbing at his back.

His hand finally came in tact with his wand. “Protego!” He tried, the shot disappearing in the distance.

He turned around to face the beast that was behind him, his eyes meeting that vicious orange stare that showed nothing but bloodlust. Its grey fur was marred with dark blood across its snout and shoulders, not a single ounce of morality or humanity inside of its untamed gaze.

“Pro-protego!” He tried once more, the scene slowly starting to go hazy around him as his breathing hastened, the thudding of footsteps and someone shouting his name slowly coming through to him.

“…die!? Freddie!?”

Instantly he was back in his bedroom, a small bucket at the edge of his bed and Brian’s panicked eyes looking down at him from next to his bed. Tears were still pouring out of the corners of his eyes and falling across his face onto the sheets beneath him. It wasn’t for a few more seconds did he realize he was clutching the scar along his left leg and was shaking violently. He fell over the side of his bed, grabbing the bucket Brian had brought in and let out the little bit of what he had in his stomach into it, soon feeling Brian’s hand on the back of his head as he held back his hair.

Brian began softly stroking his back as he finished vomiting inside of the small bucket, wiping away the small drivel on the corner of his mouth.

“I’m sorry…” He muttered through his shaky sobbing. “I wanted to be calm this morning a-and…I’m sorry…”

He let out a long moan of pain as he continued shaking in his seat. Brian didn’t press any further. Instead he moved closer, putting his hand over his shoulder and slowly running it along his arm. His ugly sobs filled their room, every image still pressed right up against the front of his mind and bringing back every emotion he had felt during the entire experience. Rage, fear, sadness, all of it. But the fear was the most prominent in his mind at the moment. Coming in contact with that beast again completely petrified him. Hell just seeing another one terrified him to no end.

“I’m sorry…” He repeated in a slightly louder tone. “I-I should’ve listened a-and I didn’t a-and it’s all my bloody fault that we’re stuck here and n-not home a-and-”

“Freddie, Freddie it��s alright.” Brian comforted in that stable tone, not once removing his hand from his arm. “There’s no need to be sorry.” He paused, looking down at the comforter before continuing. “It’s the past. We…We can’t focus on that right now.”

‘No it’s not alright!” He spat venomously. “Look what we have to do…” He said in a solemn voice. “We’re lying to everyone around us. Roger, John, our parents.”

“Freddie it’s not your fault.” Brian tried, Freddie fighting back another outburst as he returned to his sobbing. Brian didn’t say another word either, only continuing to stroke his arm as he brought his hand up to his leg. In an instant, Freddie fell over onto Brian’s lap as he now tried to slow his crying and get control over himself.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Brian told him in a gentle voice. “It’s hard having to do all of this. But we’re making it work. No one’s found out, have they?”

He shook his head against his chest, letting out a shaky exhale that was muffled in Brian’s clothes.

“See. It’s okay. Breathe.”

Freddie listened to what Brian was telling him even with that weight present upon his chest. That sick feeling kept its tight grip around him, forcing him to stay in place and stay quiet. All the images were still rampaging through his mind, making his stomach tense and miniscule and making it nearly impossible to speak anything even remotely coherent.

It was so easy…We could’ve had a normal school experience and you went and ruined it. He berated, his eye twitching as his mind continued to bombard him with everything he knew was true. It’s your fault. He’s just telling you what you want to hear so you can get off again and fuck around with your lives again. Get over yourself you prat. He’s gonna leave you and John and Roger’ll follow. You deserve it anyway. You’re just the burden on their lives.

He looked up at Brian for a second, seeing that hurtful confusion and desperation in his eyes as he tried his best to soothe him. God knows he doesn’t deserve any of this…A single memory began to resurface, the present sadness growing heavier and heavier at the old scene of Brian and him hanging out with Roger and John back in their third year, the sight of all of them smiling without a care in the world making tears return to his already bloodshot eyes.

“I miss when we were younger Bri, back when nights were just us screwing around and not us having to worry about me…biting you or hurting anyone…” Freddie admitted in a sad voice, guilt tightening its metal fist around his weak body.

“I miss it too but we still have many other nights for us to hang out and be together.”

“It’s not the same. You know it’s not. No matter what we do it’s not going to change.” Unless someone actually shoots me dead.

“You don’t know that. Good wizards are always out there trying to cure this every day. Someday they’ll find something for you.”

It’ll happen the day I die. That’s when it’ll happen. “I hate lying to them. I wanted to be home this Christmas. Not hanging back here again.”

“If you ever want to tell them, I’ll be there with you. They’re not going to shun you or-”

“It’s not just that Bri…What would everyone else think about them? My mother might lose her job because she’s got…got a monster for a son. And you won’t be able to do anything either o-or your family because you’ve ties to someone like me. You know Roger won’t dare to talk to you again because you’ve been with me and lord knows what John would do…”

The room fell silent, Freddie just curling up next to Brian’s body. Brian never let go for the next half hour, each of them silently sitting there as he tried his best to calm himself back down after slipping back into a flashback. It’s what you get for trying to act brave. You’re a coward and weak. Don’t think this’ll ever get easier. It’s what you bloody deserve. Every tremble brought a soft run of Brian’s hand along his arm, his eyes thankfully never growing blurry with tears again during that entire time. His thoughts remained persistent, yet none ever slipped out into the open. He’s doing this to shut you up. He just doesn’t want to hear you bitch anymore about your pathetic problems. You’re weak. No one would care for you if they knew what you are. You deserve this and you know it.

…

A thin layer of snow had blanketed the old, now frozen, layer beneath it from a few days ago. Grey clouds covered the sky, the metallic tang of incoming snow woven through the air as Freddie wandered around the grounds by himself. He was coming up to the courtyard where a few students were in, talking to each other or playing around with the snow. Brian had gone to the Owlery to send off a parcel to their parents, Freddie feeling glad that he had gotten something at Hogsmede for his parents, even though it was just a few sweets. He wasn’t sure what Brian had gotten, but he would make sure to find out later on when he saw him again.

He headed into the courtyard, looking around at the other students playing around, especially the small group of first years. Just two Gryffindors, a Slytherin, and a Hufflepuff playing together, to his surprise, like they had been friends for years. The dark-skinned girl giggled playfully as she was knocked over into the snow by the Hufflepuff, the two Gryffindors joining in the laughter. Freddie grinned too, admiring the innocence of those first years who were enjoying their first Hogwarts’ winter.

“Freddie! Hey!”

He turned around at the call of his name, seeing John rush towards him, a few other students watching as he dashed off. Concern was lurking under his grey gaze, but happiness was still lined across his expression.

“I forgot you were here actually. Where were you this morning to see Roger off?”

“J-just felt ill…You saw me a few days ago. Brian stayed up there to make sure I didn’t get sick all over the bed.”

John’s own concern darkened his eyes even more so as he nodded. “Well you look a bit better now.” He said.

“Yeah, well, just needed some rest. Feeling much better after last night.”

Again, John only nodded. Remembrance lit up his eyes as he reached into his pocket, unfolding a sheet of paper. “I was wondering if you’d help me do some more reviewing. It’s been a while since I’ve done any and, well…yeah.”

“Oh come off it. I doubt you’ll need much. You’re one of the brightest in your year.”

“Well yeah but I just don’t wanna fall behind in herbology. It’s not exactly my strong suit.”

“C’mon then. Library’s got to be dead right now.”

Without another word, they headed out of the courtyard. John stayed at his side, fiddling around with his shirt while they walked along the silent corridor.

“Why’re you two staying back again? You did the same thing last year and the year before.” John commented, still avoiding any eye-contact with him.

“Ah…Well, we’ve a lot going on with our classes. I mean, we’ve N.E.W.Ts this year and last year was O.W.Ls so we needed to study for those. Fourth year was the s-same thing. Just a…bunch of studying. You know how Ravenclaws are!” He responded, pulling a weak smile that didn’t gain one back from John.

“I mean…Has something come up at home? If that’s the case, you can tell me if you want.” He gave a painful laugh and continued to stare at the ground. “Has someone passed?”

I still couldn’t go home even for that. “No…Everything’s fine at home. Just a bunch of crap at school we’ve to deal with.”

“But why stay back just for studying? Surely you can bring some books home if you really need to study.” He paused again, stopping in his tracks. “You sure nothing’s gone wrong at home?”

“I’m sure. It’s just sometimes I prefer studying where it’s quieter.”

Still, John didn’t seem convinced. Yet he kept silent and picked up his pace again, treading ever so slightly behind him as they continued in silence. His nerves began picking up. Why the sudden curiosity? John really never was pushy or intrusive, so where could it have come from? He wanted to say that something would happen if he went home, but he just couldn’t since John would continue to question him after that, then again, he seemed to do that regardless of his answer. Maybe it was just John’s own home life that was bothering him and made him want to make sure they were both alright.

They soon approached the library, John holding open the door for him as they headed in. As expected, no one was in there besides the librarian herself, who was decked out in a red and green cloak now that the holiday was upon them. The room now smelled of pine needles, either from an enchantment or because of a tree they couldn’t see from where they were standing.

“C’mon, there’s this book for herbology I need. Something about how to grow certain plants or whatever.” John explained, pulling him down towards one of the many rows of books.

Freddie merely followed, still wondering what on earth was on John’s mind. Was he regretting staying here and Roger going home? Surely he could’ve just stayed over Roger’s if his parents were going to be absolute prats again. He watched John search for the book among the shelves, trying to see if there was any sort of abnormality in his face or movements. But it was the same stuff as usual. Perhaps John just didn’t feel like going home. Some students do just hang back because they feel like it.

Once they sat themselves down, John pulled out the book he had grabbed and Freddie laid back in the chair. His body was continuing to berate him for doing so much when it desperately wanted to rest after spending so much of its energy in the last twenty-four hours. His eyes slowly shut, wanting to just drift back off into sleep once again. He tried closing his eyes, only to be greeted with a sudden flash of orange and jerking him awake, his hand instinctively rushing to his scarred leg and clutching it in his palm. Thankfully, John either hadn’t noticed or didn’t bother to ask this time around.

“Okay so we’re supposed to go over this stuff about a charm to help with growing certain plants. No idea why we’re using it to be honest if we’re just gonna let them all grow on their own.” John said while browsing through the book on the table.

Freddie barely heard him, his whole body starting to groan as the wounds strewn across his body began to ache again. All the fresh cuts and bites began pulsing almost in synch as he wrapped his arms around his stomach and tried steadying his breathing.

“You want to get the nurse? She might know what to do.” John asked.

“N-no, no I’m fine, just sore.” He admitted.

“I can see that. Makes sense though. Werewolf bites end up hurting every now and then.”

It was as if time stopped moving. His chest was punched by some invisible force as ice shot through him, his eyes flying open a mere second after the words escaped from John’s mouth. He looked down at the young fourth year, seeing a grim look in his eyes as he tried once more not to face him.

“I-I’m sorry they’re bothering you…D-do you want me to go-”

He didn’t let him say another word. Using all his remaining strength, Freddie jumped up, grabbed John by the arm and lugged him out of the library. His jaw clenched as he felt his heart steadily beat faster and faster, blood pounding through his body as each muscle violently tensed. He threw both of them into a nearby classroom, locking the door behind him as he looked around, thankful that it was empty besides a spider crawling around in its web above them.

“H-how the hell did you…How can…I…We didn’t even-!” Freddie cried out, the rest of the panic now making him start to tremble once more. He knows. How many others do?! Oh lord the whole school probably knows and you’ll be thrown out! Everyone’ll know. Everyone…every-

“Freddie! Hey, it’s okay.”

“No it’s not!” Freddie barked at him, clenching his fists as his body collapsed against the wall, slowly sliding down to the stone ground. “I-We didn’t want anyone a-and you found out about it.” He whipped his head in his direction. “How’d you find out?”

John was completely taken aback, his mouth hanging open as he stuttered while trying to find the right words, holding his hands out in front of him and gesturing around him as though that was getting his point across.

“I-I mean…” He began as his words came back to him. “I did see those scars while you were in the bathroom…But I just thought it was a dog or something until I’d done my dark arts homework and I got distracted and went back to my others books.” He swallowed thickly, looking as though he was going to be sick himself. “…I read some stuff on nocturnal animals.” He admitted, straightening himself out ever so slightly. “You’re always sick near the full moon and a hell lot better after it and we never see you when it actually is a full moon…”

Look what you did! Oh god they’re all gonna know…Brian’s gonna flip. His eyes darted around the room as he made sure no one else was really in there, not even a ghost to spy on their conversation. All he got was his heavy breathing, the pounding of his heart against his chest, and John’s wide-eyed stare that was full of terror and guilt.

“J-John please…Please tell me you didn’t tell anyone. Even Roger…” He begged, flashing a pleading glance his way with his eyes as wide as they could go.

“No! No of course not. I didn’t want to blab about something that I might’ve just been guessing at. I-I was just guessing at it earlier in case and-”

“Please…Please don’t.” He sobbed, his eyes starting to grow blurry with tears once again. “I-I didn’t want anyone to know…”

All he got was a concerned nod in response. He looked down at him with worried eyes. “Who does, you know, know?”

“Brian and me. That was it. No teachers, no students, not even our families.”

“Is that why you don’t go home during the holidays?” John tried, even though the growing shadow in his eyes answered the question for him.

And yet he nodded, wiping away the tears that were streaming out of the corners of his eyes. “I-it always happens around the holidays.” He explained, his usual fears starting to arise once again. “I can’t hurt them…Even them knowing will ruin them...” He whispered softly. He looked back up at the startled Hufflepuff. “John please, please don’t tell them. A-anyone. Roger, a teacher, even the bloody nurse here! Lord if my family found out…Or some random stranger overhearing it and letting it spread around a-and-”

His words suddenly stopped as they returned back to just being the usual thoughts. He grabbed a fistful of his hair in his right hand and bit down onto his whitening knuckles on the opposing fist. John took a seat next to him, bringing his knees up to his chest and lazily laying his arms over them. Freddie managed a look towards him, seeing a similar distress that he had seen far too many times in Brian’s own expression.

“I won’t.” He finally said. “I mean, really, I don’t even want to tell anyone. What good would it do?” He asked.

Freddie didn’t respond, his mind still telling him otherwise. He’s gonna let it slip out. Everyone’ll know and you’ll ruin everyone else’s lives. The entire world will despise you for what you are.

He felt John’s hand on his leg a moment later. Freddie looked down towards him, not an ounce of hostility inside of his eyes. Actually, all Freddie could really find was a much more hopeful light inside of his face. No fear, no anger, no disgust. Nothing that showed he was upset with what he was.

“Freddie, really. I’m not gonna tell. Why would I want to hurt both of you like that? I may not know a damn thing about actually dealing with this but I know that it’s got to be hard.”

They both remained silent for the next few minutes, John not pressing for any questions or even moving from his spot. Freddie’s body was still at a conflict with itself. Anger’s fight with his relief was the most obvious, making his stomach feel sick from the overwhelming, contrasting emotions quarreling with one another. He was relieved that John wasn’t going to blab about this to everyone but he couldn’t help but let those worrying thoughts convince him otherwise. How everyone was going to find out because he had screwed up or that they were going to make the same mistake eventually with a family member or Roger or a teacher. What if he bit someone because they got too nosey and followed them? What if their lives were ruined too because he’d screwed up in the first place?

“When did it happen?” John finally asked, Freddie returning to the present at his question.

His body turned to stone as all those memories he was trying to fight back from earlier resurfaced. That grim scene of the foreboding forest in front of him, darkness encapsulating him, the only light coming from the moon hanging above him, those deathly snarls from behind him while he clawed at the bloodstained grass, that orange gaze…

“T-third year…” He told him. “I-I had gone outside on the full moon a-and a rogue one was out near the forest…” He swallowed thickly. “It got me on my…my leg.” He instantly grabbed his left leg, feeling the protruding scar through his trousers. “Brian found me…”

“Are the…the other scars I saw from that one?”

“No…When they’re isolated they attack themselves. Almost every one I’ve on my body came from me.” He continued, John’s face going white at the admission.

“How did you hide it then? Surely you can’t just sneak outside like that?”

“John please…I-I don’t wanna talk about it right now.” He begged, his body still feeling stiff and uneasy after just telling him the most basic recreation of what had actually happened.

“That’s fine.” John told him softly. “That where you were last night though? Not just feeling ill.”

“Oh trust me!” He said with a crazed laugh. “You feel like your insides are poisoned when it actually happens! And before that you feel like your whole body isn’t yours and that you’re some host for a hungry parasite waiting to finally take it as its own.” He admitted, his body growing even sicker at the thought of the previous night. John, somehow, had grown paler at his outburst, Freddie wishing he could slap himself.

He sighed heavily and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry…” Freddie said softly. “Everyone in this world hates us. Even most of us can’t stand what we are. L-letting anyone else know would e-end…badly.”

Pain and regret tore at his heart, pushing it right up against his throat. They had tried so hard and for so long to keep it hidden. So damn hard. Risking everyone’s safety around them by hiding him for an entire night, putting so much stress upon themselves to be leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of their year, and then having to lie to everyone they came across so that they wouldn’t dare think that. How could that be fair to the others who hadn’t done anything wrong? Hell, how was it fair to Brian who just wanted to protect him right from the start?

“I’m sorry…” John said solemnly. “I-I should’ve brought it up in a different way instead of just blurting it out.”

He forced out a painful laugh. “It wouldn’t have mattered…Nothing really matters to me.” He muttered. Doubt swarmed his mind, that old urge to have the beast from so long ago actually kill him. Maybe then he wouldn’t have to ruin everyone’s lives around him. At least then there wouldn’t always be the damn risk that he would end up killing someone.

“Y-You wanna go back up to the room? Might be better than, well, down here.”

Freddie nodded, John helping him up from his seat on the ground. Again, neither of them spoke as they made their way up to the Ravenclaw tower. He figured John wasn’t going to press for any more answers to the questions that were flying around in his head. Then there was himself. He was still pissed beyond belief that someone else had found out. Yes, he was happy that it was John, someone whom he was close to, and that he hadn’t reacted negatively. But there was still that ever-sickening feeling that this ploy they had kept up for so long had finally started to come to a close. Someone else knew about it. It wasn’t just their secret anymore. They didn’t have any control over John and if it ever slipped out to Roger-

“Freddie? The riddle.”

He snapped out of his trance, looking down at the metallic eagle that was awaiting his answer. He asked for it to repeat it, giving the answer a moment later and heading into the common room.

“C’mon then. You can hang out in here for a bit.” Freddie offered.

“Are we allowed to-”

“It’s a holiday anyway. Teachers aren’t going to give a shit about that right now.” He explained, watching as John hesitantly stepped inside.

“It’s so different from Hufflepuff’s.” He commented. “Lot more blue.”

“That tends to happen when your house colors are blue and gold.” Freddie said.

“Yeah…But there’s this different feel with it too.” John replied as they continued into the common room. “Have you ever been inside another house?”

“Only Gryffindor. Roger had us over in there one night because of a party after they’d won the Quidditch Cup.”

“Lord you should see him at one of those games! He’s such a prominent voice in the crowd I can hear him across the field.”

“It’s Roger, what’d you expect? The guy could be heard from across the school!”

The two of them sat down inside of the common room, each taking a seat on the opposing couches while John’s face continued to darken. On the other hand, his eyes were starting to brighten up at whatever thoughts were roaming around in his mind after the mere mention of his boyfriend.

“Well someone’s getting all shy!” Freddie announced, John pulling a bashful grin a second after.

“W-well yes. Oh Fred you know what he’s like but he’s just so wonderful.” He gushed as he clasped his hands while he nervously kept his arms between his legs. “He actually is quite sweet. You know that anyway. But he’s so selfless and energetic that I could watch him for hours. He always puts everyone else above him to keep them safe and I swear he’d take a death spell right to his chest to save any of us. Just ‘cause he’s a bit loud at times doesn’t eliminate that.”

“Look at you, standing up for your boyfriend.” Freddie said, grinning as his face went even darker at the comment.

“You’re one to talk. Roger’s told me all you two did when he got here was frot over one another in public.” John retorted.

“Just like you two are doing now so hush.”

“Prat.”

“Bitch.”

Both of them gave a heavy fit of laughter, John’s embarrassment vanishing in an instant. Freddie leaned back into the couch, sighing as he stared up at the intricate designs across the ceiling of the common room. You gotta tell Bri while John’s here. It’s gonna kill him though. It’s better than lying. What if he gets mad at him? He’s not. John’s fine. He’s okay with it. Just remember that, he’s okay with it.

…

It was nearing mid-afternoon, the castle still alive with those who were in it. Brian made his way into the Ravenclaw tower, pushing some old papers down to the bottom of his bag as he shut the door behind him. The flames cast that soothing blue light along the walls, the heat hitting his face as soon as he entered, Brian’s whole body relaxing after spending ages in that frozen dungeon of a classroom.

As he entered the common room, he immediately took notice of Freddie and John sitting in the couches, still chatting about whatever it was they were talking about. The room went deathly silent, any sort of cheer vanishing and was replaced with cold fear. Freddie soon took notice of him, his gaze going dark as John fell silent as well. His face was more fearful than Freddie’s. Why? Well that he didn’t know…

“Freddie, what happened? You two look petrified.” He asked instantly, not wanting to ignore anything bad that might’ve happened, especially with Freddie being in that vulnerable position after this morning. “Something happen with Roger? Or your parents?”

The only response he got was a shrug from John and a shake of the head from Freddie. He dropped his stuff onto the ground and headed over, sitting on the couch Freddie was sat on. Guilt and fear was etched into his face, forcing him to look over to John. A similar one sat upon his face with lines of worry mixed in.

“Brian…” John started. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was this, well, big.” He stated, swallowing thickly after getting his sentence out.

“Wait, what’s ‘big’?” He asked. His mind instantly went to Freddie breaking down without him around, suddenly throwing it all onto John. It’d explain the worry on John’s face and the guilt on Freddie’s. But why the fear on both of theirs?

“He…He knows.” Freddie muttered in a venomous voice. His grip tightened around his body as Brian’s stomach instantly shrunk, the blood draining from his face.

“A-about what?” He asked. A small sliver of hope sat at the back of his mind. That John had only guessed about some other ridiculous thing. But that terrible look in Freddie’s eyes shut down any kind of chance it was really about anything but that.

“I-I didn’t mean to intrude on it…Honestly! I-I just…Noticed some stuff and took a guess…” John stuttered, obviously terrified that he would lash out at him.

“B-but how?” We were so careful.

“I-I saw some of those…scars on Freddie’s torso. Him missing on the night of the full moon only strengthened my guess…I brought it up to him earlier and well…”

He paused, his eyes still wide with fear. Brian leaned back, holding his stomach to try and control the storm of emotions that were swarming around in his mind. Confusion was the most prominent, sadness lurking beneath it with a twinge of anger at himself for not doing a better job at keeping it hidden from anyone else. Everyone’s gonna know and it’s your fault. You can’t protect him if they all know.

“Brian, I-I promise I won’t tell anyone! Even Roger. I’m okay with…with being quiet about it.” John mentioned.

His grip on the door tightened as he shut it behind him. The smallest twinge of anger began to boil up with that dazing crash of desperation. He managed a look over at Freddie, his face hanging low as he avoided any eye contact with him.

“Please…Please don’t tell anyone. We’ve kept it between us since third year.” He told John in a low voice. “You know how people would react to it. It’d spread everywhere. Two students keeping it a secret from the most prodigious school around here? God, all three of us would be hounded or isolated…”

“I know…Trust me, I know. People never take kindly to these sorts of things and finding out their kids have been at school with a werewolf wouldn’t be taken lightly.”

Freddie’s whole body twitched as his jaw clenched up at the mere mention of the beast’s name. He laid his hand on top of his leg, Freddie not even looking over or even registering that he had touched him. John pulled himself into a closed position laying his arms loosely around his knees that were now pressed up against his chest.

“I-I don’t know if it would mean much…” John began, looking nervously up at both of them. “I-I mean I get keeping it a secret but I didn’t think nobody else knew. Heh…Two students managing to keep a secret that long and little ol’ me noticed it before a teacher.” John paused, looking towards them before going back to his original statement. “But I don’t mind helping out. I-if you want I mean…”

Brian’s curiosity broke through the rest of his emotions. John took notice of this and brightened up a bit, pushing himself up and pulling a weak smile. “I-I mean two is better than one, right? And Fred…I know you didn’t want anyone else to know but I’m okay with helping you two out. If anyone gets on your case I’ll stand up for you or if you need any help when Brian can’t be there, I can take his place.” He paused, looking down at the ground again. “I don’t know how hard it’s been on you two for the past few years…But now that I do know what’s going on, I don’t want to sit around and do nothing. I wanna be there and help out the best I can.”

He looked over at his partner, seeing a slightly hopeful light in his still dark eyes. Freddie managed to push himself up, looking over at John whose happiness had immediately vanished. John shrunk back as Freddie crossed his legs and leaned forward, balancing himself on his elbows on top of his legs.

“I’m alright with it.” Freddie stated bluntly. “John, just please don’t tell anyone. Don’t let the teachers or another student know, alright?”

“Yeah! Yeah that’s fine!” He piped out, adding a glance his way. “Brian, this can at least take some stress off of you. Having an extra hand should help out a bit and now you don’t have to make up shit with just me anymore.”

He was hesitant. They’d gone so long on their own with this. How could they suddenly bring someone in? There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that John would be quiet. But there was still such a risk having someone else involved, especially someone younger than both of them. Roger would be furious if John ever got infected and wouldn’t stop until he found out who did it. If he ever found out it was one of his best friends…it’d crush him to have to choose. Then what would they do? Harbor another werewolf in the school? Hell he had no idea what two of them in the same room would do to each other…

Yet out of their two friends, John most certainly was the one who, if he had to choose, he’d rather have find out. He practically worshipped learning how to defend himself against these sorts of creatures and was easily at Roger’s level in that class. He loved all those magical creatures too and that did include what Freddie was. Plus, he was their friend. He wasn’t going to go talk about it to others if they told him not to.

“Alright…I mean, we’ve time before anything has to be done.” Brian said while scratching the back of his head. “But I mean…It shouldn’t be terrible. Thanks, really.”

“For what?”

“Not telling. The help too.” Brian finished, John merely shrugging and pulling a much more convincing smile than earlier. Brian couldn’t fight the one spreading on his face either. The sheer relief of it all that John wasn’t going to spill the secret out was truly something he had only hoped for if they ever found out. Freddie too seemed a bit better, albeit still looking a bit upset for whatever reason.

“Is there anything you want me to do? I mean, I know it was last night. I can get something if you use a healing potion or maybe-”

“They don’t bloody work.” Freddie growled venomously.

“No John. It’s alright.” Brian interjected, wishing he hadn’t seen the scared reaction from John. He searched quickly for some kind of conversation changer. “Isn’t it time for dinner?”

“Aren’t you two gonna eat?”

“Later. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” Brian continued. Though he was hungry, Brian couldn’t help but see that pleading shadow in Freddie’s eyes that begged him to stay. Something lurked at the corner of his gaze, his mouth ever so slightly open, the sentence he wanted to say hanging at the edge of his lips.

John merely nodded, getting up and straightening out his clothes. He gave a quick goodbye before heading out, Freddie getting himself into an even more closed position and staring into the blazing fire.

“It’s my fault…” He admitted absently. “He…I was in the bathroom yesterday a-and looked under my shirt. John came in and…”

“Freddie, it’s alright. People have scars.” Brian told him. “Besides, I’m sure your parents have seen them at least once. John’s just an animal geek. That’s the only reason why he noticed.”

“So? What if Roger walked in…?” He asked, Brian already knowing what scenario was going through his head.

“Fred…I highly doubt Roger would hate you. Or anyone for that matter. If John’s okay with it, surely other people would. As I said, the only real reason John knew was because he’s obsessed with this stuff, not because we made it obvious.”

But even Brian could barely believe his words. While it wasn’t a giant leap for John to guess at what happened to Freddie, it still took a good amount of observation. What if others did know? And they just didn’t tell them or speculated it with others and were called crazy? His stomach grew sick at the thought. Brian these are kids. They’re not going to be that smart. John only found out because he obsesses over these sorts of things and hangs out with us all the time.

“It’s alright. It’s John anyway. He’s our friend and he’s already shown to be more than happy to help out. He’s not mad or anything. That’s good, right?”

“I know it’s meant to be a good thing.” Freddie began, pushing himself up and putting his focus down onto the ground. “But still…I should’ve been more careful or told him that it was just a bad dog attack or even a bad encounter with a hippogriff so he’d drop the thought.” He paused, running his hand through his hair and heaving a heavy sigh. “I just can’t believe our luck that he’s actually alright with this.”

“He’s our friend. He wants to help and yeah he’ll be a bit naïve with it at first; he’ll get used to it quickly.”

“And Roger’s our friend too and we know how he feels about this sort of stuff. Oh yes let’s kick all of them out of society because of the threat they pose. I’m close to agreeing with him.”

“Fred don’t think that. It’s Roger. You know what happened with his grandfather. If he even found out about what happened to you I doubt he’d isolate you. He might actually try to find that one for you!” He tried in his best hopeful voice, glad to see a small light back in Freddie’s eyes.

“It’s just scary. We’ve been doing this by ourselves for so long…”

“I know but now this can be easier! John knows so much on how to deal with these creatures and all those other ones at night and how to defend him and us against them pretty damn well.” You know there’s a chance he could get hurt too…He’s younger than both of you and Freddie won’t forgive himself if he hurt anyone. He shook his head, shooing the thoughts out of his mind and laying his hand atop Freddie’s lap. Freddie gave him a hopeful look too, pulling a weak smile and leaning over, throwing his arms around his neck and pulling his body closer. Brian sighed softly, savoring the warm touch of his lover’s body and running his fingers through his hair, gladly taking the time to enjoy the fleeting moment of peace.

…

The bed creaked loudly, suddenly taking Brian out of his sleep as he looked over to see Freddie baring that sweet smile and clad in what he assumed was a new sweater and an old pair of trousers. He could already hear Twilight and Clover down the stairs, chattering away while they waited for him to wake up.

“C’mon love, John’s waiting downstairs too. I invited him to come up here with us for the morning.” Freddie told him.

After blinking the remaining sleep out of his eyes, the realization that it was Christmas morning struck him like a boulder. He sat right up, giving his head a quick shake and looking over at his boyfriend who was holding out his hand to help him up. Without hesitation, he took the help and Freddie helped him out of bed, his lover flattening out his wrinkled pajamas for him and untying the knot on his trousers.

“It’s Christmas morning. No need to look formal for John and me.” He explained softly.

Sweet pastry scents wafted up from the common room, those decadent warm fruits and spices making his stomach growl. John was sitting in front of the fireplace once again, gently petting Twilight while Clover groomed herself. Miscellaneous gifts were around the couch, each with a little nametag with its correspondent written in various fonts, depending on who it was from. Right on top was a large box that held his mother’s script on the little tag and Brian could almost smell the desserts through the wrapping.

John reached out to the small platter in front of him that held the various pastries, deciding to take a danish with a yellow center. Freddie took a seat next to the gifts, Brian sitting next to him and taking one of the sweets with a red center and white drizzle.

“Happy Christmas Bri!” John said happily after he swallowed his bite. “I’d brought up some stuff from the dining hall so we could eat together. Found it more fun than being down in the dining hall to be honest.”

“Good idea there. Honestly, that place isn’t the best, full or empty.” Brian admitted after taking a bite of his pastry, feeling glad to find that it was a strawberry flavored one.

Each began opening their presents. John’s family hadn’t sent him anything besides a small wrapped brownie that seemed to have gone stale or was as hard as a rock anyway. On the other hand, Roger’s gift of an old signed copy of Fantastic Beasts immediately brightened his mood as he held it close to his chest and delicately laid it next to his lap. Both he and Freddie had chipped in on getting him a new scarf that was charmed to become the colors of one’s house along with a few treats from Honeydukes. Brian had brought out his penguin that his parents had gotten him and let the small pin waddle around at his side, only to fall silent a moment later. His mother had, as expected, sent another whole basket of homemade desserts ranging from her own fudge to mini muffins stuffed with miscellaneous fruits or chocolate.

“Oh fuck! I left your gift upstairs, gimme a second Bri.” Freddie said suddenly, leaping up from his seat and dashing back upstairs.

The fire sparked violently, yanking his attention away from Freddie as he turned towards the fire that was now devouring the brownie that John’s family had sent him, tearing at the old plastic and treating it like a piece of charcoal. Resentment burned beneath his eyes while the expected sadness still lingered.

“I’m sorry they’re like this even at Christmas.” Brian told him softly.

“Like it matters. They’re like this anyway. God just because-” John started, his anger starting to rise to the surface, only to be cut off by Freddie heading back into the room with two packages on top of his scrawny arms, the massive one giving him the most trouble. John got up, not saying anything else about what was on his mind and helped Freddie carry the package over to him.

“You’ve no idea how hard it was to keep it hidden for so long! All those muggles nearly killing me while I tried to get it. But I just had to get it for you.” Freddie said with a grin.

Without even waiting a second, Brian tore open the packaging, seeing a large brown box inside of it. He ripped the tape off, opening it up to find a brand-new record player sitting inside. He immediately went speechless, quickly turning over to hug his lover while trying to keep it steady on his lap.

“How’d you even guess-”

“I know how much you adore muggle music and you having to go months without listening to anything is dreadful. Besides, what good is wizard music all the time anyway?” He finished, motioning towards the second gift he’d gotten.

In an instant, he was on the thin package, tearing off the wrapping paper and staring wide-eyed at the new Beatles’ album A Hard Day’s Night.

“Jesus Fred! How’d you even get a copy? They were sold out the day it came out where I lived.” John exclaimed, leaning forward to marvel at the new album.

“I have my ways. Glad I got it though. Almost had to tear it out of some broad’s hand and keeping it hidden was a pain in the ass.”

“Freddie…really, thank you!” Brian said breathlessly as he delicately placed it on the couch behind him. He reached over to the last gift that was under the tree, seeing Freddie’s name scrawled out in his own handwriting. Excitement began bubbling up inside of him, only growing stronger with every passing second.

“Now your gift.” He began as he handed it off to him. “I hope you’ll like it.”

He watched as Freddie slowly opened up the gift, staring with his mouth gaping open at the old grey cat that rolled back and forth on the covers beneath her in the little picture on the top of the book. Her green eyes looked directly at him, her mouth moving as though she was letting out a meow. Freddie opened up the little book, seeing a bunch of moving pictures of his dear Charlotte over the years that Brian had taken. His finger traced along one from their first year, Freddie holding Charlotte up to his face and baring a wide grin, his eyes beaming with adoration and the scene ending with him breaking out into a laugh.

“That one was from when we first began hanging out.” Brian explained, Freddie only giving a sad smile as he looked down at the picture of his beloved cat.

“Oh lord I miss her…” He commented while looking across at the other pictures that were on the first page of the book. He wiped away the small tear that was falling down across the side of his face. “Thank you Bri…” He finished, leaning forward and replicating his hug from earlier.

With all the gifts unwrapped, the three of them had only a mere second to relax after cleaning up all the wrapping paper. A deep hoot sounded from outside, an insistent pecking soon following.

“Zephyr!” John shouted as he got up, unlocking the window and letting in the giant snowy owl. A large, green envelope sat inside of his beak, Roger’s handwriting sitting on the front.

“Just in time.” John said to himself as he took the letter out of Zephyr’s mouth, handing him a piece of bread from the breakfast platter, the owl giving a loud hoot afterwards.

“Thanks…I dunno how it got here so fast.”

“He must’ve gotten it out as soon as he got home.” Freddie suggested as he came over and began petting Roger’s owl, it’s giant yellow eyes brightening up as he gladly took to Freddie’s gentle stroking.

However, John had gone silent, hardly listening to anything Freddie had just said. Brian sat up a bit, trying to get a better view of John from his seat on the couch. His hand was cupping the side of his face as he read Roger’s letter to himself, his eyes going slightly misty while reading it.

“Oh he’s such a sweetheart. A complete dork at that…But still.” John whispered as he tucked it away in his side pocket. He looked up at the both of them, looking slightly embarrassed at his reaction. “It’s the first Christmas we’ve spent apart…Least since we got here.”

He walked over to where Freddie was standing, holding out his arm for Zephyr to jump onto. The large bird gladly did, John leading it over to the window and letting him fly out. John stared out into the sky, watching as the owl’s large frame grew smaller and smaller until it vanished from sight.

“Why didn’t you go back?” Brian asked as he stood up and headed over to where Freddie was standing. “Did something happen at home again?”

“Nothing different from the usual.” John told them bluntly. “Why else do you think Roger never stays at my place?”

“You still could’ve stayed at his. He did offer…” Freddie brought up.

“And his family would’ve questioned me about why I was there and not with my family and I just didn’t want to deal with that. Not again. Besides…P-part of it was because of you Fred.”

“Me?”

“I…I was worried about you two.” He admitted. He turned to face them and leaned back onto the windowsill. “This would be the third year you two have stayed back here. It’s not like you two are falling behind in class and would fail if you took time off.” He paused, looking regretful as though he had done something terribly wrong. “A-after I saw you in the restroom earlier this week…I thought something was up and decided to stay back in case something happened. It really only hit me that night of what might’ve been going on and I didn’t want to have had that realization back home while you two dealt with it again by yourselves.”

John looked up at both of them, concern darkening his eyes while hope lit them right back up. Brian looked down at his partner, a guilty and hating shadow casting itself over his face as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. He brought his hand up to the center of his back, running his hand across his spine while he brought his hand up to his mouth and nervously chewed at his nails.

“Honestly…I thought I was being ridiculous about it. But I guess stupid things can be the truth.” John bit down on his lower lip. “I-I guess what I’m saying is that I wanna help. I-I know a lot about them and, as said, some more help should be a good thing. I promise I won’t tell anyone! If anything happens to Bri then you’ve me and…” His voice trailed off as he looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry for confronting you like that. I didn’t know how else to bring it up. I hadn’t known but now that I do I wanna be there to help you guys out. You’re my friends. I don’t want to sit by and do nothing when I could help out with this.”

“We kept it secret for so long…” Freddie said absentmindedly. “I-I thought we were doing the right thing or just enough so no one would ever confront us about it.”

Brian felt his body tense up for a split second as Freddie’s jaw clenched. “John…Thank you…really. I’d be fine with having you help out.”

His face brightened up. “A-and you Fred?” He asked hopefully, Freddie giving a small nod in response. “T-thanks! I-I’ll try my best to help out with this. I mean…Being a werewolf is hard enough in itself-Fred you okay?”

As soon as the sentence left John’s mouth, Freddie freed himself from his hold around him and crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the ground and sighing loudly. “I know what I am…Just not used to hearing it aloud.”

The room fell silent as John headed over to where they were standing. Brian could only think back to when he and Freddie had been discussing it with Madame Jones. Ever since then neither of them had dared to say it and even the sheer mentioning of the beast by name would only make Freddie feel even worse. He hadn’t ever slipped up with it and all he could hope for was that John would learn eventually not to bring it up. Even though he knew John had a lot to learn about what was going on, Brian could only focus on how different it’d be now that someone else knew about what they had kept secret for so long.

#Such a shocker #Moonlight Magic #Fanfiction

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scottieswan · 8 years ago

Text

Red as the Rose

Chapter Two also available on AO3 and FF.net

Only moments ago, David had been riding in formation with his men, on a perfectly normal patrol of the forest. Lancelot was telling another joke, when every man fell silent, the ground turning white into snow. It hadn’t snowed in his kingdom since summer began.

The men drew their swords in anticipation of thugs and ruffians of the forest, not evening stopping to think a pack of hungry wolves would descend upon them.

David hadn’t had a chance to think, his horse throwing him to the ground, his knights scattered and their grunts of pain and exertion heard through the clearing.

He pulled himself up to standing, his sword laying in front of him as a wolf sized him up, teeth glinting in the low light.

“Nice dog?” he tried, arms spread wide hoping the animal could see he didn’t want a fight.

A growl bit out from the beast as David lunged for his sword, the snow breaking his fall. He scrambled around to pull himself to his feet, and took off at a run, he looked over his shoulder but could no longer see his knights. The lack in concentration caused his foot to catch on a root, meeting the floor once again.

Rolling over from his position on the floor, he swung his arm round and the hilt of his sword collided with the head of the wolf, that had chased him through the woods, which in turn snarled and bit into his right leg.

Blood immediately started welling up and oozing from the rip in his trouser leg, David screamed in pain, swinging his sword again, aiming to kill this time. He managed to catch it with the blade but not before it’s claws slashed down his left side leaving deep gouges.

A flash of lightening lit up the clearing, seconds later a deep rumble of thunder echoed through the trees, the wolves whimpering in fear and retreating to the cover of the trees. David struggled to look around in confusion, trying to figure out the source of the noise. Mere moments ago, the sun had been shining brightly in the sky, how could it suddenly be storming?

He shuffled backwards until his back was against a tree, breathing as deeply as he could, while he assessed the injuries.

“Snow is going to be furious.” He chuckled to himself despite the pain lacing through his body, “Lancelot? Where are you my friend?” David asked to an empty forest.

He waited a moment, using the tree to pull himself to his full height, attempting to walk back to the clearing but finding nothing. His eyebrows pulled together, where had everyone gone?

“Lancelot?” David shouted, louder this time, only hearing the wail of wolves in the distance.

He decided not to stay out in the open anymore, perhaps they had sought refuge in the trees? The sun was beginning to lower in the sky and David swallowed hard, if he couldn’t find his way home by the time the dark came, he would be stuck here for the night. The sound of howling wolves sent shivers down his spine.

“There has to be somewhere nearby to find safety for the night.” He concluded, surely if he carried on walking he would eventually find a place to rest for the night, his injuries gave a twinge of pain and he realised he might not have all night.

As he limped from tree to tree, allowing them to take his weight, David realised this was not the greatest plan he’d ever had. Arguing with himself whether he should carry on walking or stay put and wait for someone to find him, he felt as though he walked through a web, a strange rippling feeling flowed over his skin.

And as if by magic wrought iron gates, rusted and dirty appeared before him. He shook his head, closing his eyes as if the castle would suddenly disappear. The gates opened of their own accord, and a man came running down the path, David blinked hard, clearly his imagination was running wild.

“Are you alright my friend?” The figure asked, blurring the closer he got, David felt weak, shaking violently before his legs gave way.

He heard the figure shout to him to stay with him as the darkness surrounded him, and he lost all consciousness.

~BATB~

David groaned, his body feeling tight and stretched. He quickly assessed himself, he was feeling pain still, although much duller, he was lying down on something soft and there was someone leaning over him.

He sat up quickly, as far as he could, and the woman leaned backwards to avoid bumping heads with him,

“Where am I?” he questioned quickly, looking around as if he could answer that himself by determining the objects in the room.

“You’re still injured, lie back down dear.” David looked up into the face of a kindly old woman, “My name’s Granny, you rest we’ll look after you.” She smiled affectionately towards him.

“We shouldn’t be doing this. He’ll cause us nothing but trouble, what if the master finds out?” A woman in dark clothing, stood tall and proud, she swirled round, her dress twisting around her legs, sharp eyes turning to Granny.

“Well, we can’t leave the man injured, now can we?” The man in the corner argued, he turned to David, reaching out a hand towards him, “I’m Robin by the way, that’s Regina over there, the one with the stick up her a-”

“Ask not.” Granny snapped, rolling her eyes, “They fight those two, just leave them be, they can fight over anything and everything.”

David’s eyes flicked between Robin and Regina, each giving a distasteful stare to the other.

“The master?” he asked, trying to push himself into a seated position, “Where is he?” he directed his question towards Granny,

“Oh, never you mind about that- would you like a spot of tea? Nothing seems so bleak after a cup of tea-” She started, leaning towards the tea trolley,

“There isn’t time for tea!” Regina snapped, waving her arms wildly around her, “He could get us all killed! I refuse to be part of this.”

“Thank you for your hospitality, but I really must be going…” David made to stand, wincing and falling back to the sofa he was slumped upon, Granny laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

As Regina stormed for the door, every candle in the room was extinguished plunging them into darkness, David sat up straight once again, alarmed and barely feeling the pain through the adrenaline pumping through him.

“I told you” Regina hissed into the blackness, “Now we’re all in for it.”

The wide doors on the far side of the room were thrown open, and banged upon the walls behind them. The air became thick and clammy as David fought for every breath, his heart hammering against his ribs.

“Who dares to enter my castle?”

David could feel Granny shuffle, clearing her throat before replying,

“He’s injured my lord, we thought best to tend to him before he’s… no longer with us.” Although the slight tremble gave her away, David thought she spoke with confidence almost daring the voice to defy her.

“That wasn’t your choice to make, was it now, my dear Granny” The voice sneered at the old woman, a tall figure shrouded in black, a fraction darker than the room itself, David could just make out a face twisted into repulsion from the light of the moon.

“I had no part in this master. I told them to leave him be to die.”

“Regina!” Robin elbowed her in her side, “My lord, we only meant to fix him up until he can make his way home, he’s the-”

“I know who he is. I know who everyone is.” The voice silenced him, “Very well then, if our guest wishes to stay, how about we offer a more comfortable room for him?”

His stomach dropped as the moonlight glinted off teeth, curled up into a sickening smirk. He felt a hand pull at the neck of his shirt, pulling him backwards his skin dragging harshly across the cold, rough stone.

“Master!”

“Stop it, no you can’t!” The chorus of protests were drowned out by an almighty growl,

“This is my castle, and you are all mine! You will do as I say or you’ll all find yourselves within the dungeons too.”

David hissed in agony as he was hauled up the stairs and thrown into a cell within the dungeon, the door slammed closed as it echoed through the empty walls. It was dark down here, there was water all over the floor, a leak dripping from the ceiling into one of the puddles, a shiver ran down his spine as it looked up at his captor.

“What? Never seen a Dark One before?” it growled out, “Name’s Hook” he held up a long glistening hook attached to his left forearm.

“Please enjoy your stay” he cackled before he retreated down the stairs, the door thumped shut with a final bang and he sighed deeply, how would he ever escape?

~BATB~

Emma had been riding hard all afternoon and finally arrived in the eastern fields, she leapt off her horse, still holding the lit torch she had carried with her. She crouched down towards the ground, she hadn’t remembered it snowing recently and yet the ground was covered in a thin layer of the stuff.

Her mother had taught her how to track since she was little, she picked it up with ease as she had most things, sword fighting, archery, even dancing and small talk.

She saw scuffles on the ground, deep gouges in the mud and snow where a fight had obviously taken place. She followed each set of footprints but they all stayed within the clearing, she observed the edges of the clearing until she came upon broken twigs hanging from the trees, she smiled to herself proudly as she began to trace her father’s footsteps.

“I will find you father, I will always find you.” She vowed to the sky, still following the path he had left for her.

On the snow, there was a pool of blood followed by several streaks and her stomach twisted uncomfortably, he was hurt and she needed to find him quickly, that was an awful lot of blood on the ground.

Racing through the trees she could see the steps becoming longer and dragging more, clearly her father was losing his strength by this point and the knot in her stomach tightened even more.

Suddenly the blood and tracks stopped, she whirled around trying hard to find the next steps but found nothing. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she felt a strange prickle coursing through her blood.

She edged forward until she touched something solid, something there wasn’t there; pushing forward, she felt as though she was walking through the thick goo the castle serves for pudding sometimes, until she was through the other side.

She was shocked to see a castle standing before her, tall towers, intricate designs surrounding the gates and doorways. She could see another thick layer of blood upon the snow and she was no longer afraid; her father was all that mattered now.

She squared her shoulders and walked towards the huge doors, finding them open she pushed herself inside ready to face someone, anyone who might be in her way.

But she found nothing, nobody. She huffed, relieved for a moment to gather her thoughts, still carrying the torch; she held it high to light the room as best she could.

There were chairs along the walls, a great chandelier hanging overhead, curtains pulled shut over the windows.

“Father?” She called out shyly, taking hesitant steps at first.

“Look Regina, a girl!” Robin whispered, nudging her with his elbow,

“I know it’s a girl. She shouldn’t be here.” She turned to walk away, barely noticing Robin leaping from his hiding place and racing up the stairs, “Robin!” She hissed,

“Who’s there?” Emma called, swinging her torch around to see better only to find an empty hallway in front of her.

The sound of footsteps could be heard and she turned to find a light filtering down from the stairs, expecting to find answers there, she followed the light. No longer taking small hesitant steps, she had no idea what condition her father was in, she didn’t have time to waste.

She flew up the stairs two at a time, the light seeming to get further and further away from her, twisting around the spiral staircase going higher and higher.

“I’m looking for my father, please! Slow down!” She implored, “Please, he’s hurt”

She continued racing up the stairs until suddenly they stopped, the hallway twisted round and then evened out to show a heavy wooden door.

Emma placed the lit torch in a holder just above her and turned to pull the heavy door with both hands, grunting with the effort. Once opened she slipped inside, plucking the torch out the holder and headed forwards.

“Father? Are you here?” she called,

“Emma!”

“Father!” Emma dropped to her knees outside his cell, hand reaching inside for her father.

He gathered her hand in his and kissed her knuckles, smiling at her gratefully. His back was to the cell wall, dried blood had crusted on his thin shirt and he was looking very pale.

“How did you find me?” He asked weakly,

“Mother taught me to track well, we need to get you out of here, you’re hurt.” She tugged hard on the bars but they wouldn’t budge an inch, she looked around for something to use, “It’s okay papa, I’m going to get you out, just stay with me.” She pleaded.

“Emma, you have to leave, he’s here.” He swallowed hard, eyes begging,

“I’m not leaving you.” She vowed,

“You have to! Now go, I’ll be okay.” He gave her knuckle one last kiss before letting go of her hand,

“Who would have done this? You’re a King, they cannot do this to you!” She argued, her chest puffed out, shoulder straight and head tall, looking every bit the princess she was.

He shook his head, “Please, just go, look after your mother and the baby, we will see each other again.” He reassured her, giving her a comforting smile.

“No. Not until you tell me just who did this to you.” She was stubborn like her parents and would refuse to move until she got her answer.

David opened his mouth to answer when a cold gust came through the tower, and the torch Emma held flickered low, threatening to go out.

“Well, I do believe that would be me, Princess”

#OUAT cs CSff CaptainSwan

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gardenthegates · 8 years ago

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Water Under the Bridge

Chapter One: A Rocky Start

Description: In the years to come, people would often ask Caiwen Lavellan how she could have fallen for the Dread Wolf himself. And her answer was always the same; She didn't, she fell for an apostate named Solas.

A look into the moments that snuck up on both of them, and captured both their hearts.

Link to AO3: Here Up to Ch. 9 available there

Caiwen Lavellan was not someone who was easily disoriented. Years of training to be her clan’s leading huntress (17 out of her 27 total to be exact) meant that she was quick, observant, level headed (for the most part) and poised. So the sensation of waking up in a human prison of some sort, chained, already being shouted at in Common (words of accusation? For what?) shouldn’t have shaken her. But then she felt it. Her hand. Her bow-steadying hand. It ached. No – seared! She couldn’t remember a time a pain shot through her whole body from a focal point like this.

It was green. And glowing. Magic – she suddenly understood. At the same time it was impossible, she was no mage. Folding the fade around her will was never a talent she possessed, unlike her kin back home. Fear slowly clouded her vision, and clawed at her stomach so that she barely made out the words the Seeker spat down at her.

At first she assumed they caught her spying. Innocent as her mission may have been she knew instinctively that because of her tapered ears she was suspicious to these southerners. In the Free Marches elves were disliked and mistrusted on the whole as well, but at least her clan (one less prone to nomadic practices than others she knew of) had a tenuous relationship with the nearby human cities and tradesmen.

Here she was an intruder, a stranger. They had no way of knowing she was only here to keep her clan as safe as possible. She knew their ignorance of her intention was not their fault. And yet. She words of the Seeker finally took form through the haze in her brain. The conclave was destroyed, people were dead but she was not. Why her brain could not conjure any image of the last few hours (minutes? Days? How long had she been down here?) she could not fathom.

“You think I’m responsible?” She asked incredulously. Hundreds of people dead. She’d never so much as killed one. Boars and bears and rams sure but never a person.

“Explain this.” The woman spat in her thick Nevarran accent, holding up her hand as a particularly powerful spasm of pain shot through it and – was that sparks? She dared not wince; she could not show weakness. Not here, not in front of these strangers’ eyes so full of accusation and conviction.

“I-I can’t.” She stammered out, hating the shake she could not hide in her voice.

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I don’t even know what that is.” The confusion and panic she felt in her gut was creeping into her voice despite her attempts at steadying herself. It was all she could do to not cry out at the pain from that mystery on her hand. She figured if her choices were a shaky voice or tears, she might as well go with the better option. “Or how it even got there.” Instead of Caiwen’ denial placating her, the woman before her growled and lunged forward

“You’re lying!” Before Caiwen could even react, a second women, one cloaked in shadow despite her brilliant red hair, pushed the desperate Seeker off of her.

“We need her Cassandra.” The woman shot back tersely, concern seeping into her voice despite her strong stance. Well, at least Caiwen wasn’t the only one who couldn’t hide all of herself right then.

“Whatever you think I did, I’m innocent.” She managed to make her voice sound a lot more confident and strong than she was currently feeling. But then the red haired woman asked her what she remembered and she lost any sense of confidence she had mustered before.

“I-I remember…” Spiders. Millions of them. She hated the insects normally but these – all spiky and beady eyes and pincers and huge – “…running. And these creatures were chasing me. And then…” A soft glow, an outstretched hand finally hope in this wretched wasteland “…a woman?” Even as she said the word she couldn’t be sure if it was right. “A woman?” Caiwen’s own amber eyes met the woman’s, she saw hope suddenly flare up in them but she could not decipher why. “She…reached out to me but then…” Nothing. Blank. It was gone, whatever fleeting memory or dream she was grasping at dissipated in her mind.

“Go to the forward camp, Leliana, I will take her to the rift.” The other woman, Cassandra, at least sounded calmer now. That did not stop the surge of unease that washed over the elf at the thought of going anywhere alone with this woman. But then she was reaching down, unchaining her but still not removing the ropes around her wrists. She felt certain enough to ask now, even if she did not know if she would like the answer.

“What…did happen?” Cassandra shifted uncomfortably, suddenly unsure herself. “It…would be easier to show you.”

The sun blinded her for a moment. No it was the wrong color for the sun. As her eyes adjusted to the sight she felt a stone in her stomach. This wasn’t right. There was…a hole? In the sky. It was swirling and massive and terrifying and green. The same sick green of her hand, which was tingling in…recognition?

“We call it the Breach. It’s a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour.” She felt the stone in her stomach shift again. Demons. Definitely not good. “It’s not the only rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave.”

Explosion. Ok. At least now she knew what everyone was talking about, even if she still didn’t know how she fit into this just yet. She was faintly aware of herself questioning how any kind of explosion could do…well that, and Cassandra assuring her. This didn’t feel real. It had to be some sort of night terror. But no her hand sparked again and pain shot through her body at an unexpected velocity, sending her to her knees.

“Each time the breach expands you mark spreads. And it is killing you. But it may be the key to stopping all this.” The matter of fact tone of the Seeker both calmed and infuriated her, and reminded her so much of her Keeper. There is danger, its not a question but a fact, and you must deal with it da’len.

“How?” Was all she could grit through her teeth, hand clenched around the searing mark as the pain ebbed and flowed through her palm.

“It may be the key to closing the Breach. Whether that is possible is something we will discover shortly. It is our only chance however. And yours.” The edge was back in her voice, sharp like the sword at Cassandra’s waist. These insane accusations (didn’t humans ever hear of proof) ate at the knot of fear in her throat and she could hear the anger boiling in her own voice.

“Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice.” The woman’s lip sneered in distaste as she yanked her to her feet.

As she was pushed through their camp she felt more than heard the anger emanating off of the people around her. Eyes alight in rage and hurt focused on her, as Cassandra confirmed her suspicion of everyone’s blind hatred. She had been disliked by people before, but this pure seething hatred, more like a giant wild animal than a throng of people, was something she had never experienced directed at her, let alone for something she didn’t even do (for now, despite her gaps in memory, she was sure none of this could have been her doing). Cassandra talked of their Divine (dead?) and her good works, bringing the Templars and mages together like this was something Caiwen had expressed distasted in. Didn’t she, didn’t anyone, know that this stupid war effected her people too? Why did they even think an elven clan would take interest if it did not. They didn’t want this meaningless violence to continue any more than their human counterparts did.

“There will be a trial. I can promise no more. Come.”

And with that the ropes on her wrists were gone and the Seeker was leading her up the mountain pass. It took some convincing to let her keep the bow she grabbed but a few quick shots to a rage demon behind the Seeker quickly made up the woman’s mind. Up and up they ran, cold ate at her but it distracted her from the pain, from everything that she needed to tune out and so she welcomed it. She was on the hunt now, bow comfortably grasped in her left hand , the pressure felt welcome against the sharp sparks of hurt there. Her ears twitched and she hurled an arrow at a demon creeping up behind them. For once she didn’t even know who the prey was. She had a bad feeling it was her this time.

And then Cassandra was leading them to a fight. A dwarf and a man were fighting off demons around a smaller version of the Breach above. No not a human man, an elf, a mage. He was clanless, his face as bald as his head but his strong features moved like the hunters she ran with, his weapon a staff instead of a bow. Muscles twisted and stretched, magic shooting from both him and his staff in a way she wished she could imitate with an arrow. She fired off a few more shots, felling the weakened opponents at they ran up to the two strangers.

“Quickly! Before more come through.” And before she could marvel at the depth of his voice or the raw panic and adrenaline threaded through it, his hand was on her wrist and she felt sparks. Her confusion heightened as she realized the sparks were coming from her. Her hand sparked and throbbed and stiffened as a green light connected the rift and her mark, until she could no longer stand it and she pulled her hand back into her. It felt like pulling a rope, one that was once attached to something heavy and unmoving, but suddenly detached with such force that it temporarily knocked the wind out of her. And suddenly, the pain was gone. Not entirely but lessened to such a wonderful degree that she felt tears of relief prick at her eyes.

She turned suddenly to the strange elf next to her, his hand a sudden absence her body regretted.

“What did you do?” She heard the wonder in her own voice, felt her eyes go wide but for once she didn’t feel like schooling her emotions.

“I did nothing.” His face broke out into a triumphant grin, like he was proud of himself, proud of her, and his eyes lit up in a way that made her whole body ache for a minute. Finally, someone who didn’t wish her dead. Yet, at least. “The credit is yours.”

“I did that?” She looked down at her hand again, doubt rippling through her body. That was definitely magic and she was definitely no mage. “Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon her hand.” The wonder and curiosity he exuded made her feel like a puzzle he had solved. The thought thrilled and infuriated her at the same time. She didn’t want this, ask for this, even know how to use this and here this strange man is, giddy as the thought of such power thrown upon her. “I theorized that the mark could close the rifts left in the Breach’s wake, and it seems I was correct.” Oh. So not proud of her, but proud of himself. His joy turned to smugness and she felt the relief warring with pure annoyance.

“Meaning it could close the Breach itself.” She had forgotten about Cassandra, and the dwarf for that matter.

“Possibly.” And suddenly those giant blue eyes were on her again, the smugness still sitting on his face but now it was overshadowed by a smile that stopped her dead. “It seems you hold the key to our salvation.” It was like the wind was knocked out of her all over again. The weight of his smile, of the sudden responsibility he landed on top of her. Everything was too much. This was not what this mission was supposed to be.

“Good to know.” And just like that she was grounded in the present again. “Here I thought we were gonna be ass deep in demons forever.” The dwarf cocked his crossbow and sidled up to her like a drunkard in a tavern. Yet somehow it was charming rather than sleazy. She fought the urge to grin. “Varric Tethris. Rogue, storyteller and occasionally unwelcome tagalong.” He punctuated his introduction with a wink aimed at Cassandra, which made the woman’s lip curl in a sneer. Ok, she definitely liked this dwarf.

“Are you with the Chantry, or…?” The elf chuckled and she felt another flare of annoyance, despite how brilliant his smile was or the rumble of his voice.

“Was that a serious question?” Well it wasn’t her fault she barely knew anything about these crazed Andrastians or their ways. She didn’t even know anything about what happened in her own recent past.

“Technically, I’m a prisoner, just like you.”

“I brought you here to tell your story to the Divine. Clearly that is no longer necessary.”

“Yet, here I am. Lucky for you considering current events.”

“It’s nice to meet you Varric.” She interjected, taking on her best ambassador voice. She was here to do her people proud after all. And she felt a kinship to this trapped dwarf already.

“You might reconsider than stance. “ the elf interjected dryly, one dark eyebrow cocking up, even though mischief glittered in his eyes.

“Oh I’m sure we’ll become great friends in the valley, Chuckles.” Well that certainly was an odd name for anyone, let alone the elf in front of her. And that was when Cassandra piped in again, arguing with the dwarf, Varric, about whether or not he’d be coming.

“My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions.” Her breath faltered again under his direct gaze. “I’m glad to see you still live.”

“He means ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept’.” Her natural suspicion of strangers fell over her shoulders as she examined him. For something no one understood, he understood a lot.

“You seem to know a lot about this.” He grinned smugly again, even though she was not trying to stroke his ego he seemed to take it that way.

“Solas is an apostate.” Cassandra quipped, as if that would explain it all.

“Technically all mages are apostates now Cassandra.” He focused his gaze back on Caiwen, as if to answer her unspoken question. “My travels allow me to experience much of the fade. Far beyond any circle mage.” He grew solemn then, the joy from before vanishing as quickly as it appeared as his seemed to remember everything around them. “I came to offer my help with the Breach. If it does not close we are all doomed, regardless of origin.” No pressure, then. Instead she swallowed the lump in her throat and asked him what he would do when it was all over. When not if. “One would hope those in power would remember who helped. And who did not.” Not such a different mindset than what brought her to the conclave in the first place. “Cassandra. You should know the magic at work here is unlike any I have ever seen. Your prisoner is no mage, but I have a hard time imaging even if she was, that any mage could have such power.” “Understood.” And with that they were heading towards the next forward camp, seemingly forgetting her behind.

Varric turned to her and grinned. Tapping his crossbow affectionately he said, “Well…Bianca’s excited.”

“You named it?”

#solavellan #lavellan #female lavellan #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #solas #dread wolf #fen'harel #inquisitor

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