#from my siblings running in the house and it shaking my shelves and her falling (from being too close to the ledge ig)

[boomerang109]

i am an incredibly sentimental person and lately i find myself remembering items i once had and wondering what happened to them and mourning them

[alecmagnuslwb]

Giving Home a Heartbeat - @doubleredweek Day 7

Read on AO3

Jason’s pretty sure that somewhere underneath all these boxes is the house they bought, he’s just not quite sure where.

“Jay Jay, Daddy stopped picking up boxes and sat down, so I’m picking up the slack!” Lian shouts over the distinct scraping sound of cardboard. Jason turns and there she is walking backwards her tiny hands pulling a box along that’s practically the same size as her not even breaking a sweat. Sometimes Jason thinks they really need to ask Jade about any superhuman abilities she might be hiding that could have been passed down.

Jason shakes his head and walks over to her lifting the box and sitting it over with the rest of the living room Jenga stack of cardboard boxes that is their life.

“Good work princess,” Jason says ruffling her hair as she sidles up next to him looking at all the boxes with a much more gleeful look on her face than the one he’s sporting.

“I am not slacking,” Roy shouts with a struggling groan. Jason turns back to the door watching as Roy takes a step through with three heavy boxes precariously stacked on top of one another in his arms blockading Roy’s body almost entirely from view. Jason rushes over to his side taking the highest one revealing Roy’s head his messy hair dripping with sweat and poking out wildly from underneath his backwards cap.

“These are the last ones and I just didn’t want to make numerous trips,” he grunts shifting the boxes in his arms. “Dick and Babs are taking the truck back and sweetly said they will not be coming back to help us unpack.” Jason rolls his eyes eight siblings, one younger than them aunt, two pseudo sisters-in-laws, a literal space traveling brother-in-law, three parental figures and one grandfatherly figure between the two of them and not one of them stuck around long enough to put all these boxes through the front door.

“We don’t know exactly how you want everything set up,” Connor had justified as he and Kyle started floating up into the sky and away as soon as the truck was full as if Jason, Roy and especially Lian wouldn’t happily boss them around with instructions of where to place things.

Stephanie, Tim and Damian even had the audacity to eat half the moving day pizza on their own, pick up one box together and then disappear. Teamwork Steph had called it before high fiving Roy and running after her boyfriend. Chaotic bisexuals Roy had sighed as they sped away on her motorcycle Damian already long gone slipping off like a silent shadow in the mid-day.

At least Roy and Jason hadn’t had to pay for the pizza they got one shared slice of, after twenty minutes of arguing about who should pay Oliver and Bruce had settled on splitting. Though knowing Bruce Jason would bet he added on a bigger tip when Ollie’s back was turned just to spite him.

“Do you think the Aqua Family treat each other this way?” Jason says watching as Lian tosses a small box up on the still covered in plastic couch and starts tearing at the tape.

“I bet they swim across the seven seas and happily move their family’s underwater décor without complaint,” Roy says as he slips behind Jason resting his chin on Jason’s shoulder. Together they survey the room with the knowledge that every other room in the house looks much the same, a labyrinth of boxes. It’s gonna take them weeks to unpack all the stuff from the workshop alone.

“I know we don’t know her as well as my dad and Bruce, but do you think if we put in a call to Zatanna she’d just,” Roy says flicking his hands around Jason’s waist in a pale comparison to the intricate patterns Jason’s seen her do in battle. “Ya know, poof and we’re unpacked.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Jason sighs. Lian has fully opened the box now pulling out item after item that definitely all belong in the kitchen not on their living room couch.

Roy faux cries burying his face in Jason’s neck sadly. Jason reaches up a hand only slightly condescendingly patting at Roy’s head.

“Alright, we gotta start somewhere. Lian’s room is the priority, you and I have slept on far more uncomfortable things than a plastic wrapped couch,” he says, they’ve already got a start in there anyways thanks to Alfred the only member of their families who’s not an ingrate setting up her pink and green matching bed, bookshelf, desk and wall shelves without even being asked. Jason survey’s the room eyes falling over to the kitchen. “I’d say we shoot for finishing the kitchen tonight too, but we can always just order takeout again.”

“More pizza!” Lian squeals in delight twirling a bundle of measuring cups around and around in one hand.

“No, we’ll get something else,” Roy says and Lian’s face drops just a little. “Something with lots of vegetables, like Thai maybe.” She perks back up at that.

“As long as I don’t have to eat peas,” she grumbles trading the measuring cups out for a ladle she taps delightedly on the boxes flap.

“Fine, no peas,” Jason says slipping away from Roy and grabbing the box Lian has been playing around with as she shouts triumphantly about the lack of peas in her future. He tosses the things she’s taken out of the box back in and slides it onto the kitchen counter to deal with later.

“Go to your room and start unpacking the boxes labeled books first okay,” Roy says lifting her up from the couch her legs sticking to the plastic as he does and settling her feet on the ground. “Put some on the lower shelves, but don’t try to reach the high shelves without Jay or I’s help okay?”

Lian nods furiously skittering off clapping her hands in joy, her light up Scooby Doo shoes going wild with every step.

“Promise, Daddy!” she shouts as she hightails it up the stairs and turns the corner sharply. A light thud earns their attention as soon as she disappears from sight followed by silence.

“Lian?” Jason shouts after her already braced to rush the stairs if she doesn’t respond instantly. Roy does the same.

“I’m okay, I just kicked a box over!” she shouts back and they both breathe a sigh of relief. “And it knocked over two more!” she says with utter delight causing them both to chuckle.

“If we want to get this house done before she’s out of high school, we’re gonna need to send her for an archery range day with grandpa tomorrow,” Roy says walking over to Jason. He hops up onto the kitchen island kicking his feet out back and forth.

“And maybe an ice cream day with aunt Emiko the day after that, just in case,” Jason adds on as he settles himself between Roy’s dangling legs his back to Roy’s front. Roy wraps his arms back around him, placing his chin back where it had been in the living room.

They both gaze out across the rooms, across their home, across what it will be in a few days’ time. Jason never thought he’d call Star City home, hell he never thought he’d get out of the Narrows, but here he is a homeowner with a man he fully intends to keep for the rest of his life and a little girl he considers his daughter.

“It’s gonna look great when it’s all set up,” Roy says nuzzling his face softly to Jason’s temple. “The perfect mix of superhero chic and parents of a five-year-old who only occasionally cleans up after herself.”

“An interior designers dream,” Jason chuckles leaning back further into Roy’s arms.

“Jade’s gonna hate it,” Roy laughs.

“Oh god, I’ll fly Alfred out to help me clean just to be sure it’s spotless when the time comes. When does she get back from South America?”

“The fourteenth, she’s taking Lian for the week, remember?” Roy says pressing a quick kiss to Jason’s jaw. The fourteenth, that’s plenty of time to make it look it’s best to at least cut her sly judgements in half.

They’re quiet for a while comfortably listening to the rustling sound of Lian tearing tape off of boxes above them. She’s probably gonna be wrapped in it by the time they get up here.

“We own a house,” Jason says breaking the comfortable quiet still stunned by the fact they’ve made it here. Six years ago he walked away from Roy, the worst mistake he’s ever made, and somehow impossibly when he came crawling back Roy welcomed him with open arms and now they’re here. It feels almost too good to be true.

Roy nods and Jason can feel his smile against his neck.

“Your stuck with me now Jaybird,” he chuckles and Jason pulls Roy’s arms around him tighter, happily stuck. They bask in each other’s arms a little longer when the sound of tape gets louder and more prominent followed by a giggle and comical ‘oops’ from Lian.

“We better go help her before she mummifies herself in packing tape,” Roy chuckles slipping out from behind Jason and making his way to the stairs taking them two at a time. Jason hangs back for a moment just looking one last time at the space in front of him, looking at their home before following the sounds of tape being unwrapped from clothes and the laughter of the two most important people in his world.

[mayraki]

CHAPTER EIGHT

“the midsummers night”

CHAPTER SEVEN

SERIES MASTERLIST

MY MASTERLIST

who is max belinsky?

concept boards for the new characters

a/n: oh god this is a long one. get some snacks and get ready! hope you enjoy :)

summary: Max Belinsky and JJ Maybank are the two troublemakers of Outer Banks. Going to parties, getting into trouble, having an attitude and being the two people you don’t mess with are the perfect ways to describe them. What would happen when the two people who seem to have trouble follow them around meet? One thing is fore sure, they didn’t expect this outcome.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving me.” Max said to her best friend, Sam, pretending to wipe a fake tear from her cheek. They were both on the porch of the Lester family. The three of them were preparing themselves for a trip to the main land.

“I’m going to be back two days from now.” Sam said after letting her backpack on the floor.

“I know. But with who else I’m going to make fun of the Kooks tonight?”

The midsummer. Another lame excuse for the Kooks to show how rich they were. Fancy dresses, expensive jewellery, and food that could feed the entire island for only the Kooks. It didn’t matter how fucked up the rest of the people in Outer Banks were, the midsummers would always be the most important thing for the rich people and their stupid need to do it.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to look for another date tonight.” Sam said with a half smile. “Are your parents going to come back tonight?”

Max nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I’m really excited. I haven’t seen them in a while.”

“I’m happy for you, Max.” Sam said before getting closer to her friend and giving her a little hug. “I wish I could stay and spend the night with your family, you know how much I love it. But mom insists that I have to be there when we visit my aunt.” She said and then her expression changed to a disgusted one. “I hope she doesn’t make me that hideous soup she does.”

“Sam! Let’s go!” Sam’s mom said when she walked through the door. She then looked at Max and a little smile appeared on her face. “Hi Max!”

“Hi Lila!” Max waved at her and then turned back to her best friend. “Alright, have a good trip. Don’t you dare forget about me or I’ll hunt you down and kill you.” Max said with an innocent smile.

“The worst thing is... is that I actually believe you’re capable of that.” She said before giving Max a last hug and walking to her family’s boat.

“JJ! Where the fuck are you!?” Max yelled once she entered The Chateau.

After saying goodbye to Sam, Max walked to the beach with her board next to her body because she had made the plan to go surfing with JJ just to prove a point: who was the better surfer. The competition was on. But when JJ didn’t show at the beach, Max got a sudden wave of concerned when the thought of maybe something happened to him, but a little anger appeared too, she didn’t like to be stood up.

The house was empty. No John B, JJ or any other Pogue smoking a blunt on the couch like they usually do. She walked to the kitchen and noticed some old beer bottles on the counter, but no sign of JJ.

The was no one in the bathroom since the door was fully opened and the light was turned off. John B’s room was also opened and no one was inside. JJ’s room was the only space left.

“JJ? Are you in there?” Max knocked the door twice and when he heard a male voice inside, she opened the door but not before closing her eyes. “You’re not naked are you?” She asked and JJ let out a little laugh.

“Open your eyes and found out, princess.” He said with a joking tone. Max opened her eyes to found JJ sitting on his bed with no shirt on and with a blunt between his fingers. “Wow, you didn’t even hesitate.” He said and Max just shrugged her shoulders.

“Nothing that I haven’t seen before. Where the fuck were you?”

“What do you me-” he was saying but when he understood, his eyes went wide open and he got up from his bed to walk towards Max. “Shit! I’m sorry, I totally forgot. Fuck.”

Max opened her mouth pretending to be offended. “You forgot about me?” She pointed at herself. “Bitch...” she said softly like it hurted her. But at the end of the day, she knew why he didn’t show up. “Admit it, you didn’t go because you know you can’t beat me.”

JJ quickly shook his head. “Nah, bullshit. I just spent the entire day talking to John B.” He walked back to his bed and rubbed his face frustrated with his left hand.

“Did something happened?” Max asked after seeing him let out a big sigh.

“No dude, just... he was so nervous about going to the midsummers. Sarah’s family invited him. I just helped him, he needed me, so...” Max nodded while walking to his bed to sit down next to him.

“What about Pope and Kie?”

“Kie is also invited and her mom is making her go. Pope has to work with his father. So, I guess I’m going to spend this lovely night alone, with my thoughts...” he shrugged his shoulders and that’s when an idea came into Max’s head.

“Hey... would you like to come to my house tonight?” As soon as those words came out of her mouth and JJ looked at her with a smile, she added. “My older brother likes to cook, and we have this special dinner on the midsummers night. You know, we don’t usually can afford having a big dinner so we decided to at least have one night where we can have as much food as we want and not feel guilty.” Max said with a smile.

“Really?” He asked. “That’s sounds fun.” JJ couldn’t remember the last time he had a family dinner, the thought of sitting in a table with parents and siblings was so far from what he knew.

“Yeah dude, I don’t think my parents are going to have a problem with that.” JJ furrowed his eyebrows when Max mentioned her parents. He had never seen them and Max never talked about them either, so when she said that with a smile on her face like it was nothing a lot of questions appeared on his mind.

“I’ll be there, then.” JJ said after couple of seconds in silence.

“Sweet.” She got up from his bed and walked to the door. “Be there around six. Don’t be late. And don’t stood me up again or I’ll cut your dick off.” She said with an innocent smile. JJ just let let out a little laugh at her craziness. But in the back of his head, he made the note to never stood her up again.

“Fred!” Max yelled once she entered her house. When she got no response she walked to the kitchen and a huge smile appeared on her face once she saw who was in front of her. “Dad!” She run towards him to gave her dad the biggest hug.

Ben Belinsky, with his passion for surfboards making and his funny personality there was no one who would not like him. His dark brown hair that would fall into his shoulders and his Hawaiian shirt, he gave Max the biggest smile while his arms were wrapped around his daughter’s body.

“I thought you were coming this afternoon!” Max said after breaking the hug.

“Well, we decided to give you and the boys a little surprise.” Ben said and on that moment, Fred walked into the kitchen.

“Almost everything is ready for tonight, dad.” Fred stood up next to Ben and it looked like they were twins, if you ignored the age gap. “Hi, Maggie.”

“Helloooo.” Max said with the biggest smile. “Hey, where’s mom?” She asked while looking around.

“She’s in the bathroom. She insisted she wanted to do it alone.” Ben said before helping Fred to put the plates on the kitchen table.

“Oh, since you are preparing that.” Max said pointing at the table. “You have to add another one.”

“Is Sam coming?” Fred asked but Max shook her head.

“No.”

“Then who?”

“Uhm.” For some reason telling her father and big brother that a guy was coming for dinner made Max nervous. He was just a friend! But her words weren’t coming out. She scratched the back of her head and looked down. “You know, this friend of mine was going to spend the night alone. So I figured... you know.”

“What friend?” Ben asked raising his left eyebrow expecting for her daughter to answer.

“Is it JJ?” Cody spoke behind Max.

“JJ?” Fred asked. Max turned around to see Cody and a little smile appeared on his face.

“Yeah, JJ Maybank. The guy that came here that night.”

“Cody.” Max said with a high pitch voice. “Shut the fuck up.” She whispered so only her little brother could hear.

“You had a boy over?” Ben asked and Max turned her head to her father.

“No, not like that. I mean, yes, he was here but-”

“I can assure you, nothing happened.” Fred interrupted Max. She gave him a little smile and Ben just nodded not fully convinced.

“Ok, but who’s this JJ Maybank?”

“Just a friend.” Max nodded.

“Alright.” Ben said. “Let’s just put another plate then, for this friend of yours.”

The walk to Max’s house was getting JJ’s nerves go to the top. He looked at the bag of chips he had on his hand and then looked up. He didn’t want to show up empty handed, so he went to the store to buy something but then stared at the shelves when the idea of buying a beer came to his mind, but soon erasing it since a teenager showing with alcohol wasn’t a really good first impression. So, a bag of chips was the other option JJ could afford and not look like an idiot.

He bit his lower lip when that familiar house appeared in front of him. That night came back to his memory and a little smile escaped his mouth. But when he got closer to the door, his nerves appeared again.

As soon as he knocked and Max opened the door with a smile on her face, he handed her the bag of chips. “I brought this, for your family.”

Max looked down at the bag and nodded confused. “Hi to you too, JJ.” She said. “Thanks. Come on in.” She stepped aside to let him in.

He looked around like he haven’t been in that same living room a couple of weeks ago. Fred walked into the living room and JJ locked eyes with him.

“It’s nice to finally meet the famous JJ Maybank.” He said while shaking hands with him.

“JJ!” Cody entered the living room to do the typical dude handshake with JJ.

“Why do I get the impression you’re so much more excited to see him than with me when I get home?” Max said.

“You’re not wrong.” Cody shrugged his shoulders and Max opened her mouth offended. JJ let out a little laugh and then turned her head to Max to give her a little wink.

“JJ, I’m Ben. Max’s dad.” Ben walked into the living room with a smile on his face. Max noticed the typical smile JJ had on his face went away, his expression changed into a more nervous one and he slowly and unsured walked to her father to shake his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Belinsky. And thank you, for inviting me.” Max furrowed her eyebrows. It’s like the confident and chaotic JJ was completely gone when Ben walked into the living room.

“Oh, please! Call me Ben, Mr. makes me feel super old.”

“Well, you’re not 30 dad.” Cody said and Ben turned to him.

“Thank you for that, Cody.” JJ and Max let out little laughs.

Ben gently grabbed JJ’s shoulder to walk him to the kitchen. “You better have an appetite, because this year my son has raised the expectation we had for him and the dinner.”

JJ and Ben walked into the kitchen followed by the Bilinsky siblings. That’s when JJ locked eyes with Gianna Belinsky, Max’s mom.

“Oh-” he said. His eyes went wide open at the image of one of the most famous surfers when he was a little kid was in front of him. Her long blonde hair was her main feature. He looked exactly like Max but with different color hair. The few people who would know Max as Gianna’s daughter would say that she got her attitude and rebelliousness from her mother. She had the same humour and temptation for getting into trouble, not giving a fuck about what people think and be the life of the party. Definitely like mother like daughter. But she grew up and gained a little bit of sweetness in here attitude. She was not a teenager anymore.

“Your mom is Gianna Riccardi, one of the best surfers to come out of Outer Banks?” JJ said after turning his head to Max.

She expected this reaction from JJ, it’s not like it was new from people to react at her mother like that, but it was not Max if she didn’t play along with it. So, she opened her eyes at the surprise and then turned to look at her mother, who had a smile on her face knowing what was coming.

“Are you?” Max asked pretending to be surprised. “What?! My whole childhood has been a lie?!”

“It was time for you to find out baby...” Gianna said playing along with a smile before turning her head to JJ. “It’s nice to meet you, JJ? Is it?”

“Yeah- Wow, sorry. I used to see you all the time on TV. You’re one of the reasons I love surfing so much.” He walked closer to Gianna to shake her hand since she wasn’t getting up. “I always wondered why you quit, it’s not-” he was saying but when Gianna moved backwards and the table wasn’t hiding her legs, JJ noticed the wheelchair she was sitting on. “Oh- I’m sorry.”

Gianna shook her head with a smile. “Don’t worry about it, I get that reaction a lot. It’s kinda fun to watch people’s face.”

“Remember that guy?” Cody asked. “He was so shook he didn’t know what to say and just walked away?”

They all let out laughs remembering the creepy guy. JJ looked around and a weird feeling appeared on his stomach. He didn’t know what it was, because he never got it before. Being surrounded by a family and enjoy anecdotes together wasn’t very familiar to him. He watched Fred slapping Cody’s hand when he tried to grabbed something from the table and he let out a little laugh. Ben went to help Gianna with her wheelchair while Max was getting the chairs in place. JJ stood there without knowing what to do, it’s like he was experiencing this for the first time and his brain was in idiot mode. Max walked closer to him and waved her hand in front of his face.

“Dude, did you saw a ghost or something? C’mon, sit down!” JJ nodded with a smile and sat down to the chair that Max pointed next to her.

“Talking about ghost-!” Cody said but Fred cut him off.

“We’re not going to talk about the supposed ghost you saw the other night. It was probably Max, you know she likes to walk around at night.”

“What? I don’t do that.” Max defended herself.

“Oh, yeah, you do.” Cody said before letting out a laugh.

“Unbelievable! My own brothers think I’m weird.” Max said and the turned her head to JJ. “JJ? Tell them I’m not that weird.”

JJ looked at her brothers and then back to Max. “You’re kinda crazy so I believe that.”

“Bullshit!” Max said lifting her hands into the air.

“Max, language.” Ben said. “But I don’t blame your brothers, you are your mother’s daughter.”

Max turned her head to Gianna who was looking at her husband surprised, but then turned to Max after letting out a sigh. “Men.” She said with a disappointing tone.

“Exactly.”

“But I’ve learnt over the past years that you don’t mess with the Belinsky women, so... y’all are amazing.” Ben said followed by Fred and Cody quickly nodding.

Everyone let out laughs and continued talking about the funny stories they had from the women on the family while JJ was enjoying the feeling he had in his stomach with a smile on his face.

“Ok, this is really good.” JJ said after taking a bite of the famous dessert Fred always did.

“It’s Fred speciality.” Gianna said with a proud smile.

“What’s in this?” JJ asked. He truly was enjoying that dessert like he never had a piece of chocolate before.

“Poison.” Max said innocently. JJ turned to her with a mouth full and she tried so hard to not let out a laugh.

“Max.” Fred said.

“Why do I believe her?” JJ asked and everyone laughed except for Max, who had a little smile on her face and shrugged her shoulders.

“Ok! who’s ready for the games?” Cody asked excited.

“Are you ready to lose again?” Max asked to her dad and Fred.

“We’re invencible!” Cody got up and walked next to her mom, to put his arm around her shoulders and flex his other one. Gianna let out a little smile.

“Well, this year we’re even. JJ can play with us.” Ben said and JJ nodded. “Are you good at charades?”

“I don’t know, but I really want to win so..”

“That’s the spirit!” Fred said. “Prepare to lose!”

They all walked to the living room but Max grabbed JJ by the arm to get closer to him. “You’re going down tonight, loser.”

“If that makes you feel better, princess.” He said with a smile and Max shook her head.

“Nope, your words are not going to annoy me. Not today. I always win.”

“We’ll see.”

“Oh! He’s the actor that I find really attractive!” Gianna said while pointing at the name Max had in front of her forehead.

“Mom! You literally think everyone is attractive when we watch movies!” Max complained.

“He has blue eyes!” Cody yelled and Max widen her eyes.

“Chris Pine!” Cody applauded. Max moved to the next one after checking the timer. “C’mon!” She said. If they win this round, they win the entire game.

“She’s from friends!”

“Courtney Cox!”

“Who says that on the first guess?! The other one!”

“Jennifer Aniston!” She moved the paper to the last card.

“Oh my god!” The timer was ticking the last ten seconds. JJ, Ben and Fred were holding each other’s hand with the hope they would lose. But when Cody saw the last name, he quickly got up and never said something so fast in his life.

“He’s the actor you like that I tell you it’s weird because he’s 40!”

“MATTHEY GRAY GUBLER!” Max yelled and then threw the paper on the floor.

Cody and Max walked closer to Gianna to give her a hug while Fred was covering his face with his hands, Ben was shaking his head and JJ was with a smile on his face while seeing the other team do a their celebration.

“We fucking won!” Max yelled excited and Cody went to Fred.

“You lose! You lose!” Fred grabbed the back of Cody’s neck and wrapped his arm around it. “Ouch!” Cody said when his face was on Fred’s armpit.

“Wait.. are we not going to talk about the fact that Max likes a guy that’s 40?” Fred said while Cody was trying to get out of his grip.

“Yeah... we don’t really need to talk about that.” Max shook her head while giving her mom a big hug.

Max went into a conversation about the actor she liked with her parents while Cody was still fighting against Fred. JJ looked around and the same feeling he had when he saw the family joking around appeared again. It was like he was watching a movie, something that was far away from him, something that he could only wished it would happen to him. Having a loving family. Enjoy every single moment they spent together. Joke around, have amazing stories about each other, fight but then say that you love each other seconds later. He wanted to be a part of that. But it seemed impossible for him, it was never going to happen. Not in his house and with the person he lived.

“I really want to see this Matthew.” Gianna said to Max and Ben turned her. “What? If he’s this good looking like Max is saying, I want to see him!”

“Alright, you have some 40 year old actress you would like to show me?” Ben said to Max and she face palmed herself at her parent’s game.

“Baby.” Gianna said. “You know no one compares to you. Besides, an actor who probably gets paid a million per movie and has a house bigger than the entire hospital, I definitely don’t want that. You’re the one for me.” Gianna said and Ben gave her a kiss on her cheek but then locked eyes with her.

“That was not sarcasm, right?” Max shook her head and then turned around to see her brothers still having a silly fight, she let out a tiny laugh but when she looked at JJ she furrowed her eyebrows confused. He was looking down while playing with the rings between his fingers.

“Dude, you ok?” She asked him after sitting down on the couch next to him.

“Yeah man, I’m alright.” Max didn’t believe him not even a little bit, so she turned her head to the door that lead to the little outdoors the house had.

“Would you like to go outside and have some fresh air?” He looked up at her and then nodded with a smile.

Ben followed her daughter and JJ with his eyes until they were out of his sight. Gianna touched his chest and then give him a warning look, which he responded with a sigh.

“Thank you for inviting me, I had a really good time.” JJ said once he stepped outside and they both walked closer to the fence at the end of the house. “Your family is awesome, dude.”

“Well, now you know where I got my coolness.” Max said with a proud smile. “And seriously, you don’t have to thank me, it was nice to win against you one more time.” A little laugh escaped her mouth but JJ just shook his head.

“And again. I’m guessing you’ll never let this go either?” Max quickly shook her head.

“Nope. But don’t beat yourself up, you’ll win someday.” She patted his shoulder comforting him.

“Oooh, when the day comes I won’t spend not even a single day without mention it. You just wait.”

“Alright, but I’m not gonna hold my breath.” Max shrugged her shoulders while JJ shook his head with a smile.

Max started to enjoy the sound of silence and the wind blow her face. JJ turned her head towards her and watched how she closed her eyes. Her hair was slightly moving and she started to make sound with her fingers against the fence. He noticed that she had a couple of freckles on her cheek and he wanted to count them. Some of them were more darker than others, and the ones that would go down her nose would me more visible because of the redness the sun gave her skin. He stared at her like it was a painting he wanted to know what It meant, what it was trying to say, a moving picture. He got the feeling that he could stare at it for hours until his eyes couldn’t be awake anymore.

But when he heard Gianna laugh coming from the house, questions appeared on his head. Max opened her eyes and then looked down.

“I’m guessing you have a lot of questions.” She said like she was reading his mind. She turned to him waiting for him to ask away, but he stood there in silence not knowing what to ask first, so she said for him. “My mom and dad moved to the main land a long time ago.” She started. “Not a lot of people know about this story.” She said softly. “Sam is my only friend who knows. Kie knows, but a little bit of the story since our parents were friends. And unfortunately, my ex knows too.” She took a deep breath.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” JJ said quickly.

“It’s alright, I kinda... want you to know. Don’t ask me why, because I have no clue.” She shook her head while JJ slowly nodded. “As you know, my mom... she was a professional surfer. She got the opportunity to go to a big championship at 20 years old. That’s when she met my dad. He was the one that did the surf boards for some of the contestants. Years went by, and they got married. But kept it a secret because my mom didn’t want her private life to be out there. Then, she got pregnant and Fred was born. Later, me. She was still going to competitions, with my dad, Fred and me on the side cheering her on. But it was all just a big secret she had. The little one of the family came and that’s when my mom decided to let the competitions go. We came back here to Outer Banks when I was 4. My dad opened a store called “The Water Breakers” and-”

“Wait, was that your dad?” JJ asked surprised. “My dad got my first surf board there, it’s one of my favourite memories.”

“Really?” Max said with a smile.

“Yeah, and I also remember that there was this little girl that was there all the time...” JJ was saying but when the vivid imagine appeared on his mind his eyes went wide open. “I had a little bit of a crush on her. I loved going on walks there because she was always with her skateboard playing around... and one day, I finally got the courage to give her a flower....”

Those words made Max opened a tiny box of memories she had on her mind. A little smile appeared on her face. “Oh my god... was that you?” She asked softly. “I can’t believe it!” They both let out a little laughs. “You had a crush on me? That’s embarrassing dude!”

“Oh my god.” JJ said before face palming himself. “Another thing you’re never going to let go!” Max let out a tiny laugh and then nodded. “So, you were saying...” JJ said to change the subject and forget the fact that he was talking to the first girl he ever had a crush on and just admit it to her.

“Yeah... right. Uhm, well, we spent a couple of years here. It was perfect, like a fucking normal family here in Outer Banks.... My mom always promised to take me to this beach she learnt how so surf. It was like a thing, when my big brother turned 12, she took him and it was my turn. I wanted it so bad. I remember thinking about it non stop, sharing that with my mom... one of the best surfers that came out of Outer Banks... wow.” She took a deep breath. “So, my birthday arrived and I couldn’t stop smiling. My mom was also very excited, sharing something she deeply loved with her kids? Yeah, she loved that... We got into the car and the next thing I know... I was at the hospital and my mom couldn’t walk anymore.” JJ looked down not knowing what to say. But then a sudden wave of needing to look back a Max made him look up at her. She was looking at the fence in front of her while biting her lower lip. He knew it was hard for her to talk about it, like it would for anyone. But this girl wasn’t anyone, it was Max Belinsky, and JJ wanted to admit it or not, he knew he had a different and special connection with her.

“Everything changed after that. Dad sold the store and all of that went to mom’s medical needs, but then he had to leave to the main land with mom because the doctors here couldn’t give my mom what she needed. I stayed here with my bothers trying to keep everything together and work my butt off to have a nice dinner. Fred wanted to go to college, but... it all went to shit.”

“What does your dad do there?” JJ asked softly.

“He works as a chef on the day and then as a bartender at night. They practically live on the hospital, because my mom can’t move a lot.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It was such a long time ago... but I still remember the day that I woke up at that hospital..”

“I’m so sorry, Max.” JJ said. She turned her head to him to give him a little smile. But JJ knew it was a little bit forced.

“It’s alright. We try to keep as positive as we possible can.” She said. “But enough of this sad story, this is a time to have a laugh. You know what we do with Sam-”

“Max! We need you!” Fred called from inside. She gave a little smile to JJ before walking inside.

JJ stood there processing every single word that came out of Max’s mouth. He could never imagine that someone like her would have a story like that. Someone that was always trying to make others laugh and making her every moment like the last one... now he understood. He was finally figuring out who Max Belinsky was. She wasn’t only the troublemaker, like everyone seemed to call her, she was way more than that.

“What’s up JJ?” JJ heard Ben behind him so he turned to him.

“Nothing much.” He said before letting his hands go inside his pockets.

“I hope you enjoyed dinner.” Ben said after getting close to him and standing next to the fence where JJ was.

“Oh yeah.” He quickly nodded. “I haven’t had something like that in a long time.”

“We like to have nights like this, you know? Since I don’t get to see my kids often.” Ben let out a sigh and then looked down. “Max is a special one. She reminds me so much of her mother when she was her age, looking for trouble, going to parties, and never failing on making others laugh.” They both let out little laughs. “How did you two meet?”

“Oh, uh..” the memory on the back of the police car appeared on his mind, telling her dad that they met on the way to the police station wasn’t the ideal option, so his mind started to look other options. “She’s friends with one of my friends.” He said and Ben nodded.

“Being my only daughter I always thought I had to protect her, but I truly know that she can take care of herself. She has proven that to me. But that can’t stop me.” JJ started to balance his body forward and backwards while listening to Ben’s words very carefully. “I will do anything to protect my little girl.”

“I get it- I mean I don’t- I don’t have a daughter” he added quickly. “I would love to have one with Max-I mean LIKE Max.. she’s so strong and has a really cool personality, you know?” He felt his heart beat faster. “She’s a really good... person.” On the inside JJ wanted to slap himself so hard and disappear, but when Ben let out a loud laugh his heart started to go back to his normal speed.

“All I’m saying, is that I’m not around all the time, and...” he looked down but then quickly went back to JJ. “please, take care of her.” “

JJ stood there in silence. Ben’s words were soft, he sounded like a true parent who cared deeply for his children. He hadn’t heard that tone in a long time.

“Sr. I will. I mean, as a friend, since... we’re just friends.” JJ added but then Ben let out a little smile and gently grabbed JJ’s shoulder.

“I know. But that’s the first thing I said when I met her mother-”

“Dad!” Max walked into the tiny backyard. “Mom needs you.” As soon as she saw her dad and JJ, she furrowed her eyebrows confused.

“Alright, see you inside.” Ben gave JJ a smile and then a wink. JJ let out a smile before Ben walked out of the backyard and Max got in front of him.

“What were you two talking about?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Surfing stuff.” He shrugged his shoulders with Ben’s words still on his mind.

“Alright...” Max said not fully convinced. “Let’s go inside, time for second dessert.”

“There’s a second dessert?!” JJ asked shockingly.

“Yeah! C’mon!”

“How can you eat that much?” He asked while they both walked inside the house.

“It’s my speciality, after being the one that reminds you of the embarrassing things you do.” JJ turned to Max while a giant smile was forming on her face. “You had a crush on me, you had a crush on me.” Max started singing while repeatedly touching his arm with her finger.

“Oh, I hate you Max Belinsky.” He said before turning around leaving Max behind. He said those words, but JJ knew that deep down, it was the exact opposite.

@iamaunicorn4704 @onceinagenerationrage @lasnaro @k-k0129 @x-lulu @oopsiedoopsie23 @baby-pogue @roamingmarauder @ponyboys-sunsets @agirlwholovescoffee @thorsangel @scandalousfemale @deviouscharitos @badbitsh13 @cilorawr @drewsephsmiles @ilovejjmaybank @corebore123 @starksweasley @rudths @allycat449-blog @netflix-imagines @alwaysasadaesthetic @queenofthepouges @jjsmaybcnk @sexytholland @xoxoalxssa @sadcupofcoffee @allielozoya @jjandreidsgirl @sarcasticsagittarius1998 @nevvvv @drewswannabegirl @outerbanksbro @itsyagirljay @alw4ysmaybank @mrsromangodfrey @kay667 @casper17 @jarahisendgame @niya-savage @scooby6 @dustyjjumpwings @sweetlysilent @alternativehp @stilinskingongo @renatafairchild @stfukie @chasefreakinstokes @beloved-vinyl-addict (+)

[e-king-court]

It’s that time of year again...

...and by that I mean it's my birthday.

 I don't generally celebrate my birthday. It became A Thing after my parents divorce, and since then, it is definitely a cursed day (last year I got a whole pandemic, so...)

This year, however, I decided I wanted to write me a story. Some months back, while scrolling through Facebook (I know, I know) I came across a post of a post that was a plot bunny. It was a tweet from user @JohannesEvans that read:

Hot goth in the woods that keeps answering the door and sighing and going "no, I'm not the witch, he lives over there" and points across the street to a dazzling pretty boy wearing a gold waistcoat who's waving excitedly at them

I immediately wanted to write it. So I did.

 Now, to no one's surprise, I didn't start this story until roughly a week ago, so... well, it's almost done. So, for now, just to say I've properly celebrated my birthday, please allow me to share with you the first half or so of this silly story. It's rough, really rough, and doesn't have a title. I'm not thrilled with it, but... guilty pleasures, etc. Enjoy!

Quiet. That’s what the little alternative community in the woods had offered. Peace, acceptance, solitude. Quiet.

So Locke bit back a curse when someone knocked on his door for the hundredth time that day. Poppy seeds scattered across his work bench when he jumped because of course he hadn’t used a measuring spoon. Why would he use a measuring spoon for the smallest ingredient? Obviously, pouring straight from the bottle is the best way to measure poppy seeds.

The knocking persisted. Locke sighed and set the bottle down with a thud and rattle of chains. He stomped his way up front and tugged the door open, startling the pair of young women standing on his doorstep. Their eyes widened and the three of them stared at each other for longer than Locke thought was polite.

“Can I help you?” He didn’t growl. This was good communication skills.

The two seemed to shake themselves. “Are you Mr. Devereux?”

Locke sighed. “Which Mr. Devereux?”

They blinked and exchanged a confused glance. “We, um… we’re looking for a spell.”

“Then you want the witch.” He pointed a long arm over their heads toward the obnoxious display across the street. “That Mr. Devereux.” As one, they turned and Locke followed their gaze.

Sebastian was lounging in a pool chair, a cheap thing with neon yellow piping and no pool in sight. He was surrounded by colorful plants, flowers, and enough suncatchers to make any light fairy jealous. Locke was dismayed to see that he was sunning. Long legs, waxed and bronzed, stretched up to the hem of a pair of nautical striped boyshorts. A too small gold waistcoat revealed a pierced belly button and parted with sequined lapels and a collection of charms and pendants against his chest and the hollow of his throat. Golden blond hair was classically cut, cropped close to the sides and left almost strategically messy on top. Locke was not surprised to see the flash of glitter, either put there intentionally, or polluted from the obnoxious, glittery, sun-shaped sunglasses taking over most of his heart-shaped face.

His smile was almost blinding as he waved. “Hey, gorgeous!”

Locke frowned as his face went hot and wished for the hundredth time since moving in that he was the kind of goth that wore full face makeup. “That’s the witch.”

The women gawked at Sebastian, turned and gawked at Locke glowering in the doorway, and then looked at each other.

“Umm… sorry,” the apparent speaker of the duo said, and they turned and fled across the street, whispering to each other as they went. Sebastian stood and stretched, that waistcoat riding higher and those boyshorts hugging… well, everything. Locke sighed and shut the door with a snap.

Newlight Falls was advertised as a quiet town with a village-like atmosphere, tucked away in the old growth forest and home to those who didn’t fit in elsewhere. It was home to all sorts of paranormals, which included an uncommon amount of witches, plenty of fairies, and the obligatory pack of werewolves. Being that it was only an hour away from three major cities, it had become a bit of a tourist attraction, replete with warm-weather festivals that the fairies almost exclusively coordinated. Locke wasn’t a fan, but they were good for the town and good for business.

Even with all that, Locke fell in love with the place almost as soon as he saw it. He’d found the listing on Will’o, trying to find something close to the doctors he needed, but not directly in the city. Not only was his dark little cabin perfectly suited to him, but being back in the woods meant plenty of shade and long trails that he could disappear into if the festivities got to be too much.

It was also supposed to be haunted, which, perfect, but so far he hadn’t experienced much more than a few things being moved and a book or two knocked to the floor. No great shakes, really.

With the image of Sebastian’s sparkling navel piercing embedded in his mind, Locke sulked back to his work room to clean up the poppy seeds and see if the tea could be saved.

“Locke!” Benji’s happy voice boomed, big arms open and face nearly split by his smile.

Locke returned his smile but stayed sequestered on the front stoop out of the sunlight. Benji came to him without question, wrapping him up in the kind of bear hug only large goblins could give. He grunted and gave Benji’s back a pat as the air was squeezed out of him. “Hey, Benj.”

“Good to see you, you look good. This place looks great,” he said, stepping back to appraise the front of the house. To most, it needed some work, but Locke was partial to the busted exterior shutters and chipping grey paint.

“Thanks, the web is real, orb weaver, real beauty,” he said, motioning to the port window overhead.

Benji’s smile went tight and strained. “Love it,” he grunted like it hurt. He cautiously turned his attention away from the spider. “Thanks for letting me come.”

“Of course! Make my favorite sibling miss Fairy Fest after listening to him whine about it for ten years? Fat chance. C’mon, I’ll show you your room,” he said, motioning Benji in.

Benji grabbed his suitcase and thundered up the steps. “This place has a guest bedroom?”

“Eh….” Locke whined and didn’t answer further. It did, but the guest bedroom was where he’d put his workroom and it would have been too small for his hulking brother anyway. Instead, Locke had cleaned up his own bedroom and got a cot for his workroom. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable, but he could deal with it for the week that Benji was visiting. It wasn’t often they got to spend time together one on one.

They wandered in. Locke waved over the small living room, through the doorway to the small kitchen and dining nook, the water closet under the stairs, and then brought him up to the attic that made his bedroom and the full bathroom for his use during his stay. Benji caught on quick, but didn’t say anything, no doubt having considered how small the house was.

“We’ll have to share the shower, but otherwise, this room is yours for the week. I, uh… can’t say I’d be real thrilled if you picked someone up at the Fest, but, I’ll be the best wingman I can be,” Locke said, drawing the curtains back from the port window to let some light into the room.

Benji chuckled. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Thanks, man, this place is great. Mostly,” he said, eyeing the spider visible through the window.

Locke smirked. “Ghost isn’t too rowdy, either.”

“Ahha, of course you’d have a ghost,” Benji said with a self-deprecating laugh. Locke’s grin went cocky and he thumped his way back down the stairs.

“I gotta make a product run when dusk rolls around if you want to see the town proper tonight. There’s not a lot except some kitschy shops, but you might like one of the little restaurants for dinner,” he said, wandering into the kitchen.

Benji hummed and sniffed the air, eyes landing unerringly on the box that took up most of the little dining table. It was full of Locke’s teas, creative little blends in labeled linen baggies waiting to be delivered to the shops in town he was contracted with. “Sure, I’d love to see the place.”

“Cool, you can carry the box,” Locke said, wandering back to his workshop. Benji’s laugh made the windows rattle.

A few hours later, with the sun set enough that it didn’t irritate Locke’s eyes and skin overly much, he was leading an easily distracted Benji through town. The whole town was decked out for Fairy Fest, covered in lights and flowers and full to bursting with fairies. They flitted about in showers of sparkling color, some already celebrating by tossing petals or handful of pixie dust over the myriad of tourists also steadily filling the streets. Locke would have felt out of place in all his black and chains, but there were plenty of darker fae around, too. If anyone stood out, it was his rather large foster brother, his impressive figure causing people to practically dive out of the way, even as poor Benji apologized.

“Stop apologizing, Benj, you’re only walking,” Locke said with a smirk.

Benji was all tight frowns. “I feel bad, though.”

“Don’t, you’re fine. This is us, though,” he said, veering for a shop door. Benji followed, uttering a few more unnecessary apologies as they went.

The dark little mystic shop was one of Locke’s favorites. It was an evening shop and sold pretty much the same stuff that the rest of the kitschy shops sold, but it was themed dark. Spangled black and purple curtains and tapestries kept most of the natural light out, the shelves all made of cast iron and mahogany. The goods skewed toward occultish, but nothing available to the general public could cause any trouble. Even the obsidian athames were blunter than a letter opener. There were more exotic wares in the back, but the owner, Ms. Gloushire, was highly selective when it came to those sales. Even Locke, who was a resident, didn’t have her convinced, but he was getting there. Not that there was anything fancy he needed for his teas.

Benji, of course, veered right for the collection of polished stones and crystals. Locke grinned and teasingly hissed for him not to touch all of them. Benji glared at him but didn’t put down the peacock ore he’d already snatched from the display.

“Ms. Gloushire?” he called when he saw the front end empty.

“Is that you, Locke!?” a muffled shout echoed from the back.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, sliding his sunglasses onto the top of his head.

A moment later Ms. Gloushire was whacking her beaded curtain out of the way and she smiled warmly at Locke before her eyes settled on Benji. “Oh, you have a friend today.”

“Yep. My brother, Benji,” he said. “I have the tea for you for the Fest. The Starry Night, Full Moon, and Crossroads.” He set his box down on her counter beside the register and pulled back the flaps.

Her face lit up and she rubbed her hands together. “Ooh, excellent. Everything work out all right with your last check?”

“Yes, ma’am, not problems at all,” he said, smiling softly.

“Good. All this newfangled equipment. I know it’s more convenient for the Norms, but electronics and magic don’t always mix well. But if everything’s fine, then it’s fine,” she said, casting her new POS system a distrustful glare as she dug into the box of teas. Locke just chuckled and waited patiently for her to finish her counting and inventorying. Satisfied, she marked it all down and set the box aside.

“All right, dear, everything looks to be in order. If I need anything else, I’ll call you,” she said.

“Yep, you know where to find me. I gotta stop at Coriander’s. You have a good night,” he said, flicking down his sunglasses.

“You too, Locke. Pleasure to meet you, Benji,” she said with a suspiciously sharp smile. Benji tittered nervously, thanked her, and they were off.

The stop at Coriander’s was brief and uneventful. Locke handed over the second box of teas, things packaged in lighter bags with more spritely names, while Benji was one again glued to the shiniest objects the shop had to offer. Even with Coriander chatting at top speed about a new topic every few seconds, they were done relatively quickly. He said his farewells to the bubbly sprite, flicked his sunglasses down, and turned toward the door, only to be blinded anyway.

Sebastian was in the doorway, pushing his outrageous sunglasses onto the top of his head as he meandered into the shop. As soon as he saw Locke he smiled and Locke frowned at the butterflies in his stomach.

“Hey beautiful,” Sebastian said, smooth and a little high. His eyes instantly flicked to Benji and his expression went briefly blank, before he smiled again and got a little swagger. “Well, well, who is this delightful new face?”

Locke glanced over his shoulder and wasn’t surprised to see Benji’s face dark with blush. His greenish skin and purplish blood made him look a little brown, but it was definitely a blush. Locke didn’t blame him.

“Sebastian,” he said. “My brother, Benji. Here for the Fest.” He cleared his throat before his voice broke and ignored the look Benji gave him.

Another expression briefly flickered across Sebastian’s face, this time more surprised than blank, and quickly settled into a coy grin. “Brother? Well, welcome to Newlight Falls, Mr. Benji. I’m Sebastian Devereux, Locke’s neighbor,” he said, sauntering forward and offering his hand. He was a head shorter than Locke, which had Benji nearly towering, but as usual Sebastian’s confidence was unwavering. Locke figured it would have to be with a neon pink sequin sarong over those...shorts.

“Good to meet you, Mr. Devereux,” Benji said. “Which neighbor would you be?”

“The one across the street, handsome. Incase you ever need to borrow a cup of sugar,” he said with a wink. Benji grinned stupidly and Locke nervously fussed with his lip ring. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I have some tea to stock up on.” He winked at Locke, who barely resisted watching as Sebastian sauntered past. He huffed, tugging his hood closer to his face, and hurried out of the shop, leaving Benji to scurry after him. Maybe the hood and sunglasses disguised his blush enough? He certainly hoped so.

--

“So how are the infusions going?”

Locke looked up from pushing around his caprese. “Hmm? Oh, they’re fine. They’re infusions.” He cut a bite of cheese and tomato. “I had one last week and I think I’m scheduled for the week after next. Mostly vitamin D right now.”

Benji nodded, obliterating a half-pound cheeseburger and fries. “I remember summers are harder.”

Locke shrugged. “Yeah, but being here has been really great. The woods are so dense that I don’t always get a rash, so I can be outside more during the day.”

Benji’s face lit up. “Oh! That’s really cool! Mom and dad will be happy to hear it. See? I told them this was a good move for you.”

Locke huffed. “What, me telling them how great it is wasn’t enough?”

Benji waved him off. “You know how they are, they always worry about you.”

It wasn’t unwarranted. Locke had been a sick kid with all kinds of health issues and sensitivities, not the least of which was chronic anemia. At the time, being in and out of foster homes like he was, it had been difficult to narrow down his symptoms. Until Dan and Lori snagged him, the pale, scrawny, constantly exhausted thing that he was, and gave him a solid foster home to grow up in. Within the first year they’d discovered he had vampire heritage, which explained the majority of his weird symptoms. It wasn’t enough that he had to have transfusions, but it still meant he was anemic and allergic to too much direct sunlight. After that, with the support of his new foster family, Locke improved enough that he was able to finish school, and even got a degree.

Now, with a healthy lifestyle, he could live pretty normally, even if he still needed to be monitored monthly. Newlight, on top of being paranormally inclusive, also happened to be an hour away from the office that handled his case, which was still better than the two and a half hours he’d been traveling while still living near Dan and Lori. They might not have adopted him, but they still considered themselves his parents, and made quite the fuss when he moved so far away from them.

“Well, I really am doing great. You can tell them that I'm happy and healthy and even the ghost doesn’t bother me too much,” he said.

Benji snorted. “Lori would flip her lid if she knew you had a ghost.”

Locke grinned and didn’t think Lori would honestly be too surprised.

Other than the caprese salad, the choice of restaurant had been deliberate. It sat across from a stretch of woods with a marked path, and that path just so happened to let out a few yards from Locke’s house. The dark fae of Newlight loved to fill it with all sorts of mischief, some of which was quite pretty depending on the mood. With it being tourist season, and the endless woodland trails a huge attraction, Newlight had strict ordinances for what was and wasn’t allowed on the public paths. Benji was hesitant to take the woods home, but Locke assured him it was quite safe so long as they stayed on the path.

True to form, the woods were full of eerie giggles and mysterious lights, shrubs shaking and twigs snapping in the shadows along the lit path. The usual lamps that ran along the ground had been replaced with overhead string lights, zigzagging back and forth  like a trail of will-o-the-wisps. Since the sun had finally set, Locke was able to shuck his hoodie and take off his sunglasses. Extreme temperatures had never really bothered him, but the summers could be pretty oppressive. It was nice to feel cool night air on his skin.

Half way home, a fairy appeared, a curvy woman in a diaphanous lavender dress and long, curling black hair. She hovered her way across the path, watching them with a wicked grin and shining black eyes.

“Evening, Iris,” Locke said casually. Benji made some choking noises behind him and Locke suppressed a grin, imagining his brother was blushing so hard he was almost purple.

“Hello, Locke. Who’s your friend?” she asked, moving a little closer.

“This is my brother, Ben.”

Her grin got even more mischievous. “Nice to meet you, Ben,” and she was off again, disappearing into the trees on the opposite side of the path. A symphony of chittering laughs hit them and Locke snorted.

“Wow,” Benji huffed as they kept moving, eyes nearly glued to the spot.

“She works in Mrs. Gloushire’s sometimes,” Locke said with a shrug.

“Oh yeah?” Benji mumbled absently, still searching through the darkness. Locke wanted to tease him, but it was his turn to blush when another fairy appeared.

“Hello, Galena,” he nearly deadpanned, glad it was so dark.

Galena was tall and willowy, built lean like a swimmer and burnished like bronze. He was dressed in what Locke could only call a poison green loincloth with a braided rope of poison ivy draped across him like a sash and pinning back half of his long, curling brown hair.

“Hello, Locke.” He did a little spin, purple wings beating wildly. “What do you think of my Absinthe costume?”

Locke blinked. “Isn’t that the same costume from last year?”

Galena scoffed. “You’re no fun!” he snarked, but blew Locke a kiss anyway and darted off again. Locke sighed and picked up the pace.

“Are the woods always like this here?” Benji nearly whispered to a chorus of laughter.

Locke shrugged. “No, they’re just excited for the Fest. It’s pretty quiet outside of tourist season.” Benji just hummed softly and got a little closer when something shrieked nearby.

[staywritten]

To Be Expected│Bang Chan

To Be Expected│Bang Chan

Synopsis: You sent your boyfriend to buy a pregnancy test, what could you possibly expect?

Genre: One shot, fluff, expecting parents

Word Count: 2412

Masterlist. AO3

This scenario also has absolutely nothing to do with my Dad!Chan series, this was just a one off idea and Chan’s my ult so I wrote about him again.

“Babe, which one am I supposed to buy?” Chris grumbled into his phone in English, taking salvation in hoping that the old man working couldn’t understand him. There was nothing more embarrassing than standing in a convenient store in the middle of the night looking at the various pregnancy test.

“I don’t fucking know Chris” you groaned pacing back and forth in your living room. “I haven’t done this before-just get all of them.”

“All? There’s like thirty different brands. Have you lost your mind?”

“Yes, Chris. Yes I have because SOMEBODY may have gotten me pregnant.”

“Don’t blame me for all of this, we’re a team. You’re equally responsible.” He sighed looking at the shelves “…Hmmm this should be fine right?” He shrugged, grabbing the more inexpensive of the brands. There was no way in hell he was going to leave this convenient store with only a pregnancy test. He grabbed chips, cookies, and drinks. Anything that’ll prolong the clerk from getting to the pregnancy test. “Babe, you want anythin?”

“Yes, I want to not be pregnant”

“Anything I can get you at the store?” he chuckled.

“Hmm maybe a bottle of soju?”

“How ‘bout somethin not harmful to the possible baby?”

“Good point... ice cream?”

“Deal” he smiled, tossing the ice cream on top and walking over to the counter. Fidgeting and clearing his throat as the clerk took out each and every item scanning and bagging them at arctic speeds. Luckily for him the old man wasn’t too talkative, but he did notice how he paused and side eyed him when he got to the pregnancy test. It was the same judgemental look he expected any grandfather to give him.

There was something about a pregnancy test.

The directions were so simple to follow. There really wasn’t any room for error, and yet you still had to read them over and over and over just to be sure you did it right. You even had Chris read over it a few times.

You set your alarm and then the anxiety set in. This was going to be the longest five minutes of your life.

How did you even wind up in this mess? You were always so careful. Very careful. You’d been on birth control for years it was like second nature to you. But one tiny slip up. One slight lapse in judgment. One bottle of soju too many and all your indiscretion was tossed out the window.

Laying on the bed with Chris you sighed. His king Charles spaniel Berry, tucked by the foot of the bed. It’s like your anxiousness was contagious. This was the calmest she’d ever been, it was like she was trying to ease your nerves. “…What if it’s positive..?” you fiddled with your nightshirt, your nerves restless. “What do we do?”

He smoothed down your hair in an attempt to calm you. “Then we’re gonna be parents.” he shrugged and laughed.

“…Can we afford to be?” you never wanted to be on a tight budget with a baby. You didn’t want to be in a position where you had to decide if you could afford to take care of another human.

“I mean we both have stable jobs. If anything we might have to dip into our savings to get by for a few months but we’re gonna be ok.” he shrugged “If we get desperate you know my parents will help out”

“Where are we gonna put a baby Chris…? There’s no room.” you released a deep sigh. You two had a nice little place. A one bedroom condo, with an office, that he’d turn into a studio. You never needed the extra room before but it became very apparent to you that children needed a nursery, maybe a playroom? Somewhere to explore and live, a place to grow, somewhere safe. 

A home.

“We’ll just get a bigger place” he gave you a warm dimpled smile. “We can get a house, with a playroom, and a little nursery for him, and a lawn.” he grinned. “I miss having a big back yard, running around in the back with my Dad, playing with my siblings...We can share all of that with him” he placed his hand on your stomach.

“Everything’s so simple to you isn’t it?”

“‘Course it is” he pressed a kiss to your hair line, brushing his nose down yours. “I love you, why wouldn’t it be simple?”

Then it dawned on you. 

This was a conversation you two never had. It just never came up, you knew he was good with kids and he always seemed like the kind of person that would want a big family, but you just never asked. Personally you wanted a family, maybe two kids but Chris was your partner, if he told you he didn’t want kids you weren’t sure what you would do. You loved him, but that was the one thing that could probably break your relationship, so you just avoided it. 

It was selfish, but you were scared. 

Before you knew it four years had passed. You two had a comfortable relationship, a cozy little apartment and dreams of the future. But was this something he wanted? “Chris...Do you want to be a parent?” you looked over to him. “No pressure but…? Would you want to?”

“You ask me this now?” he laughed ruffling your hair. “Of course I do. It’s a little sooner than expected but I always wanted a kid. And I mean we've been together for so long my Mum is pretty much just expecting it by this point.” he chuckled. “A little bub crawling around, I could even bring ‘em to work with me.”

“Really?” you sat up staring at him, a little dumbfounded. You partially expected him to say yes, you just weren’t expecting that much enthusiasm. “You thought about that?”

“Sure, little ankle biter at my shows. I can stay home with ‘em when you’re at work or I could bring him to my job. I’ll teach him all about producing and music. Whatever the Tike wants to know.” he chuckled “And it’s not like we have a shortage of Baby sitters, the guys could help out too”

He was always so passionate, and you loved that he was eager to pass that on. He was going to make such a great father. You turned on your side facing him, a smile on your face. “So you’ve already decided it’s a boy?” you brushed a hair out of his face.

He placed his hand on your stomach playfully. “Oh, a father knows. And that there is a boy.”

You laughed leaning your head on his arm and playfully hitting his nose. “I think you’re just afraid of a daughter.”

He leaned into you brushing his nose against yours, and a dazzling smile on his lips, his cheek dimpling. “Terrified.”

Pecking his lips, you grinned. “She’d have you so whipped.”

“Absolutely. Without a doubt. If she’s anything like you, the whole world will be hers.” he caressed your cheek lovingly. “She could just stare up at me with her beautiful doe eyes and I’d be a goner.” He brushed your hair behind your ear and smirked “Can’t let girls outnumber me between you and Berry I’m already weak, so I’m gonna hope for my little man.” seeing you laugh he couldn’t help but smile. “And she’d never be allowed to date so let’s hope for a boy”

He knew this was terrifying for you. You were almost shaking when you set down the pregnancy test. He needed to ease your mind. He had his own fears. Less so about financials and more so on if he would just be a good dad. Was he good enough? Was he gonna figure it out? Was he going to be the man you needed him to be? 

He wanted to be loving, he wanted to be their friend. But he needed to be stern. He wanted to raise them right. But he somehow knew he could if it was with you. “What about you Love? Girl or boy?”

You touched your stomach, mulling it over. “Hmmm… no preference. I just want them healthy.” Shrugging you looked at him. “Honestly, I would like one of each at some point. You ok with that?” you stroked his hand softly.

“Of course I am. We can have an army if you’d like”

“Woah, calm yourself. Let’s just take this one step at a time.” you giggled letting him pull you into his chest.

Suddenly being a mother was a lot less terrifying. You could picture it all so well now. You two could move into a new place after your lease was up. Paint the nursery, talk about baby names, pick out clothes. And you just knew your kid was going to be so loved. Between you two and your family, friends, and all of his members, they were going to have the best support system.

Hearing the alarm Chris jumped up. “You ready?”

“I-I…” shaking your head you covered your eyes. “I can’t look. You do it” That very anxiety that Chris worked so hard to disperse came rearing its ugly head.

He walked over to the counter in the bathroom and turned off the alarm on his phone. Walking out with the pregnancy test in hand he took a deep breath. “Ready…?”

“No. Yes. No” you groaned hugging the pillow to your body. “Yes-Ugh-Just tell me” your heart was racing a mile a minute. “Wait no” you huffed hugging your pillow to your body tighter. “I’m scared”

“Baby…It’s negative.” he set down the test on the dresser. He could pinpoint the exact moment your heart broke. “I…Babe…I’m sorry I-”

“….what?” you dropped the pillow, to look at him. Berry instantly going over to you and nuzzling you with her nose. “No…” your eyes glazed over as you shook your head. “No?”

His shoulders slumped as he walked over to you. He placed his hand on top of Berry, rubbing her head. “It’s…negative.”

“Oh that’s…that’s good.” you swallowed hard, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall from your eyes. “What a relief…r-right?” your voice breaking at every word. “Everything’s fine. Back to normal.” you forced a smile that didn’t reach your eyes.

“Babe?” he crawled on to the bed. “You ok?”

“No, I’m fine.” you sniffled. “I’m fine. I’m-” but the moment he pulled you into his arms the dam broke and you just lost it. “Why…why does it hurt…?” you gripped his shirt. “I didn’t even lose anything…right? So why does it hurt so much….?” you mumbled into his broad chest, your little hands clenching at his shirt. “I...Why am I crying… This is so stupid…” you sobbed.

“You know I love you right..? I love you with all my heart…We’ll get through this…” he rubbed your shoulders lovingly. “Baby it’ll be ok”

“Chris…I…I think I really…really wanted this baby…” you rest your chin on his chest, looking up at him. “I loved them already and they never existed and I…”

“I’m so sorry…” he felt helpless, all he could do was hold you. He had to be strong for you, you needed him.

It wasn’t as if you two couldn’t just get pregnant on purpose. This was supposed to be a good thing, wasn’t it? Now you two could plan your future better, right? Wait until your married, even more financially stable and plan for a child. And yet you couldn’t help but feel at a loss. This beautiful picture of your family was slipping away from you. And it broke you.

“…I just…need a minute…” you wiped your tears, moving out of bed, and walking toward the bathroom. On your way into it, you stopped at the dresser, looking down at the heartbreaking test. “…Chris…There’s two lines…”

“Yeah…”

“Two lines mean pregnant” you whispered.

“No, it’s not. One line is pregnant.” he dug through the garbage to get out the packaging. Reading over it his eyes widened. “Wait…no it’s not…are you…?” he looked over at you with wide eyes. “Are we- Could it have changed?”

“Maybe? It’s been a few minutes. I have to take another test now.” you looked back at him a frantically. “Should I?” 

He nodded “I think we should” he grabbed his jacket “I’m gonna go buy a new one”

“I’ll go with you” you threw on a pair of sweatpants and followed him out. 

After another run to the convenient store, another judgmental look from the old man working, and opting for a more expensive brand you found yourself in that same anxious position.

Just waiting.

Both of you refused to leave the bathroom, wanting to see the results the moment it happened. He gave your hand a comforting squeeze. “Baby you gotta calm down” he laughed nervously, he could practically feel your pulse. 

“I can’t~” you whined “I’m trying but like I’m anxious, what if it’s negative again?”

“If it’s negative then we both start planning for a kid ‘cuz it became real clear that this is something we both want” he pulled you closer, kissing your hand. “You want this and I want this, so even if you aren’t pregnant in this very second, we’ll still have a family”

And after three minutes you checked the test with him. 

You stared down at the test, it was spelled out and yet you still had to re-read it a few times just to confirm. “Pregnant…” you looked over to him, still blinking in disbelief at the words before you. “That…that says pregnant right?” your eyes filled with tears showing him the test.

“It says pregnant.” he grinned, hugging you tightly. “We’re gonna be parents!”

“We’re gonna be parents!!!” you cried jumping up with him.

“I’m gonna be a Dad- you’re gonna be a Mum.”

“We’re gonna have a baby”

“God, I love you so much!!” he pulled you into a kiss, hugging you tight.

“I love you too Chris…we’re…we’re gonna have a family!” you cupped his face. Berry barked circling you two, happily.

End.

Hey Friends! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ I hope you guys liked that! I realised that I never had a simple one shot for Chan and needed to change that. 

Fun fact I actually wrote the scenario a few years back for a different person, so I changed it a bit for Chan. It was nice breathing some new life into it.

Tags: @skzsprinkles @tophuphu @hugs4chan @channieboyo

[writing-for-me-at-this-point]

Firstborn | i. in sickness and in health

Summary: You make a pact with a demon, in exchange, you give him your firstborn.

Word Count: 2224 words

Page Count: 6.3 pages

A/n: so, my first series! hope you guys like it!

Tags: none :)

[ F I R S T B O R N  M A S T E R L I S T ]

        The song of nature seemed to irritate you with every passing day.

        Every day you heard it.

        The birds chirping to communicate with one another, the winds danced as their limbs created wistful music, an owl coos to its young, the shuffling of trees as their branches snapped gently against one another. Life went on, it was peaceful, it was thriving. The sun was shining through the horizon as it rose from the ashes of the night, blessing those who could walk into its rays with warmth that fueled humanity, something that your sister may never experience again.

        Finishing up your letter, you signed your name in the bottom corner, before folding the paper gently into thirds and placing it over the candle on your desk. The flame licked the paper before latching on, crippling it and its contents physically though the smoke carried them to its destination, your hand settling on the ash of the desk before using it to draw a small symbol.

        With your right pointer finger, you used the ash to create an arrow that pointed up your arm on the back of your left palm, adding three circles on the line and finishing it off with another line from one side to the other. Sitting for a moment, nature still called, your heart was still beating, your breathing was calm and even, and then you slowly stood before making your way to your sisters room. You knocked lightly, your ear against the door to listen to the broken air that escaped her lungs, but there was no response.

        Pushing open the thick wooden door, the room was quiet and settled, [ S/n ]'s breathing was as steady as it could be indicating her sleep. A sigh only escaped your throat, before you moved out of sight, following the long hall of your ancestral home that had shelves and shelves of medicines and other concoctions. 

        Your family believed in the old sciences, and even with all their accumulated knowledge in the Hold under the house, you couldn't find a damn cure. The tissues in her lungs had become mutated, they started to eat themselves while her body attacked it, the cancer was quick and deadly. It had only been three months. Three months and here is your sister, who stood proudly as a budding doctor, now an ill and fading flower whose never to return the next spring.

        Your temper was starting to rise again, your teeth were grinding against one another as you made your way to the porch of the house, wiping your hands on the trousers that were fitted to your form. The large blouse you wore was rather baggy, so you had it hold to your form with a scarf wrapped tightly to your waist down to your hips, your rolled up sleeves allowed your marked arms to be shown.

        "Yoohoo~ [ Y/n ], I'm here to bless you with my presence~" Solomon's voice had cut through your darkening thoughts, the irritated chuckle that you let loose made the magician beam in delight, the knocks on your door starting to rev up in energy.

        "Solomon, please, I need help. Not another migraine." You opened the door, his eyes looking down at you in shock, he had surely grown over the past few months.

        "You look absolutely decrepit." He eyes the bags under your eyes and dulled skin, the slouch of your back made you look even shorter than usual, and your hair that was braided had smaller hairs that stuck out from its ties.

        "Eat shit, little brother." You scoffed, watching as he rolled his eyes and made his way into the old family home, straight to the kitchen to fix himself a strong drink. The long midnight blue cape flowed behind him, the rest of his clothing was like that of any noble- only darker and accented heavily with golden threads, he always made sure to look his best even as a child.

        "Can I stay with you? Please?" The small boy looked up to you, his hand on yours as he stood next to your bed, stormy grey eyes begging for comfort. His hair was a mess, a large crow plush you had sewn was crushed between his arms, and his rounded, innocent eyes were stained pink, tears gleaming on his cheeks.

        "Mmhmm." You mumbled, shifting onto the colder side of the bed, allowing Solomon to enter the warmth and comfort only you could give him. As he settled, you threw the blanket on him, one arm going under his pillow to wrap around and allow your fingers to thread through the snowy locks, the other laying on his waist. He placed his head under your chin, and you felt his small shivers lessen as each moment passed.

        "Can... can you sing?" He asked, whispering as he kept the crow stuffed between you, laying the plushy near the center of your chest, innocent eyes shut peacefully for once in the entire night.

        "I can... hum? I'm a bit- too tired to... sing." Your voice was cutting out, fading into sleep and back to him, starting a small tune once you felt him nod. You continued until you could hear his breathing even out, your humming and the vibrations that came with it lulled the boy to sleep, so once you were sure he was at peace- you allowed yourself to fall into it as well.

        Solomon dropping a glass onto the table brought you back to the present, watching the baby you had always taken care of now curse himself for spilling some alcohol, so much has changed and yet you still saw the little boy who would follow you to bed every night in fear of monsters or even your other siblings coming to torment him.

        "God- fucking- damn it! These big ass cups always slip out of our hands- why, why do we still have these?" He complained, shaking the run off whiskey from his hand, turning to place a cup in front of you as he pulled a chair to face you before sitting down to start downing his drink. He made sure to leave the larger, original, bottle on the table between the two of you.

        And the silence settled in. You honestly didn't know if you were losing your mind, with your tempers threshold lessening each day and your self care plunging into its own despair, you held the same routine of searching for an answer that was the tether to your sanity. The same thing everyday. 

        Every.

        Damn.

        Day.

        What was that saying? Insanity is doing the same actions, expecting different results? That's it, your mind must be gone, it must have died once your sister became bed ridden- your mind decaying since then, and the dust that it had left during the winds chilled dance through the household. While nature sang.

        While it moved on.

        "It's bad. So bad." Your voice broke mid-sentence, ending as a whisper, deciding to stop talking and take a large swing of the burning gold.

        "I can tell. Her aura is... faint. I'm sorry to have left you alone with this. I should have come here sooner. I should have-'' His eyes watered, his grip tightening on the glass cup, deciding that even looking into your eyes would be disrespectful. Everything was rushing towards him now, though he held himself in a better manner than most, when it came to his family- came to you, he always was such a baby.

        "You had things to do. You're building your own life, Solomon. I wasn't going to hold you back from that." You sighed, this wasn't his fault, it wasn't anyone's fault. Well, maybe fate or destiny at this point. You were too tired to care.

        "I should have come to you though. Helped more. You didn't need to go through this alone." He still wasn't looking at you.

        "But I did. And I can't take that back. And neither can you. All we can do is move on." You slowly took his fingers off the glass, before taking them into your palm, rubbing his pale knuckles to sooth him- quite amusing to see the tension almost immediately leave his shoulders. His eyes were on your form now, not your eyes just yet, but you were getting there.

        "What are you thinking, in the big head of yours?" You mused, even if it was a whisper, you tried to lighten the air for him.

        "Well, this is one time I'm glad to pronounce I'm adopted, seeing that if I was related to you- well, I wouldn't have a head. A dome maybe?" His voice fell flat, before turning his head lazily to you, his teasing tone opposing the face he was making. You both chuckled before you felt silence throw her blanket over the both of you again, the air was still lighter than before.

        "You tried everything. Everything." He repeated, gazing at his hand in yours, switching the positions so that he was lightly rubbing the back of your hand. You sighed, nodding your head, and folding your other arm on the table to lay your head on it. Your breathing was even, Solomon's mimicked yours, but your heart was starting up just a bit.

        Solomon was thinking.

        Not the best of things.

        But we were desperate.

        "You tried everything. In this world. In this realm." He turned to look at you in the eye now, his grey eyes that usually held a warm and fuzzy gaze now were icy, you felt the shiver trail up your spine at this.

        "[ Y/n ], I have an idea. Please let me explain it first though." You nodded at him.

        "I- I have made progress in my studies in magic. A lot. And now, now I can contact beings from other realms, things that were never human." He took a deep breath.

        "Things like angels and demons, deities and protectors, and through this... I have made pacts with them. The angels are not allowed to interact with our world directly, something that was in place since many of their own fell from the realm, so we can't ask them for help- unless it's through prayer and at this point I'm sure they aren't going to." He shook his head with a sigh, your head slowly coming up as you straight, listening intently to him.

        "But, there are beings who can help us directly, who aren't inherently evil as the church made them seem. They are demons- that is a fact, but they were once angels, [ Y/n ]. Making a pact with one gives direct results, and usually making a pact is a symbol of trust due to it giving you some hold over the demon, but they can still make one for a price. And, though I know many, there are very few I can trust with you."

        "Are you trying to say... you think I should make a pact?" You questioned.

        "Well, yes, but please be open to it. Demons aren't evil by nature. They just live their lives at their pleasure, they indulge, some are fallen, some are born, some are created. They're like us, humans- just... just different bodies? You'll see what I mean if you agree." 

        "Agree?"

        "Agree to making a pact with one. I won't force this on you. I have made my fair share, but due to my reputation I don't think many would want to help me personally." He awkwardly chuckled.

        "And. I don't want to force anyone to help me as well." He finished.

        Demons? You didn't know what to feel at this point. You felt insightful- Solomon had explained it well enough, and he knew much about the topic, and you were desperate. You couldn't just leave [ S/n ] to just die, in pain, unable to even move on her own, not after everything she's done. Not after she had saved you and the rest. She deserved better. More than what life could give her.

        Did it matter then? It's not like the demon would ask for your soul, from what Solomon said, and you frankly are starting to care less and less if the demon was to ask for it.

        "Let's do it." You said, pulling his hand to you while looking him in the eye, his surprise was evident but the spark in his eye- it was dangerous.

        "I knew you'd always get into magic."

        "Hush. I never said I didn't approve. I just- I don't want to-" You stopped yourself, a harsh intake of air.

        "Lose control." He finished. You nodded again, standing up as Solomon followed quickly.

        "Don't worry, I'm a great teacher, and this is your first pact! It's important. That's why I have the perfect demon, he isn't too aggressive and is rather amusing, not to mention he has the best control of his abilities compared to his brothers." He tried to start up the lighter conversation, as light as it can get, but you appreciated the gesture.

        "Well then, what's his name?" You asked, moving back to your room, Solomon following you quickly.

        "He's the Avatar of Greed, considered a deity nowadays, but he is one of the highest ranking demons so he can pull through in helping [ S/n ]."

        "His name, Solomon. Not his life story."

        "Mammon."

[intergalxtic]

In The Netherworld

A little one-shot/drabble that’s to short to put on AO3!!

Barbara goes into the Netherwold, and meets someone unexpected...

After Juno died, the Netherworld changed. Miss Argentina became in charge, and her first order was to make the afterlife ever so slightly more entertaining. So instead of an empty abyss, it became a not-so-empty abyss with houses and shops and some boring attractions. 

She also created the waiting room, and made it possible for ghosts to come in and out of the netherworld, in exchange for community service and odd jobs. However, you can only go to houses, or where you died. If you go anywhere else, you get “sand-wormed” as Beetlejuice likes to say.

Today, Barbara is doing her community service. She likes to do all her hours in one day, so she has more time with everyone throughout the rest of the week. She loves spending time with Lydia, her and Adam often help her with the subjects she doesn’t enjoy as much. And Barbara admits, she cares about Lydia as if she was her own. She also loves to hang out with Delia, finding all her quirks interesting, even if it feels like she could snap at any moment. 

Barbara has just left for the Netherworld, ready for the easy stuff she’s been given these past weeks, but is greeted by a grumpy Miss Argentina, talking to herself while shuffling around some paperwork on her clipboard.

“Tina… are you okay?” Barbara questions her strange behaviour. Placing the clipboard under her arm, Miss Argentina rubs the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“Beetlejuice was in here before… he RUINED the reception area, you know how many files are in there?” Miss Argentina sighs, then mumbles something in Spanish. 

“Do you need any help with reorganising?” Barbara offers, her hopes for easy work going straight down the drain. 

“Yes! I’ve already got one other volunteer, but the more we have, the better.” Miss Argentina cracks a small smile, then leads Barbara behind the desk, into a dimly-lit room.

The room seems small, but then when Barbara looks harder, she can see all the shelves that are supposed to be filled with files. Paper is all over the checkered tiles, and Barbara bites her lip to stop her from laughing. Beetlejuice is definitely the culprit. She glances to the side, to see another ghost. Not at all normal, except this ghost looks a little bit like Lydia. Wait, what?

Barbara does a double-take, really getting a good look at her. She had pale skin and bags underneath her eyes. The black fabric of her shirt hangs off her frail-looking body, her hair platinum blonde with dark roots. Barbara assumes she was sick, and that’s how she’s died. 

“Are you done staring at me?” The woman smirks, her voice higher than Barbara expects. 

“Yes, Sorry, I- uh… you just look awfully familiar,” Barbara stammers, snapping herself out of the trance she was just in, and holds out her hand. “I’m Barbara Maitland.”

“I’m Emily.” Emily breaks into a grin, and shakes Barbara’s hand. “Deetz.”

“Deetz?’ Barbara’s mouth falls to the floor, and she is frozen to the spot. “Oh my gosh.”

“What?” Emily pulls her hand away, intertwining them together in front of her, exactly like Lydia does. “Do I know you?”

“No…” Barbara squats to the floor and picks up a file. Anna Brown, aged 43. “But…”

“But what?” Emily takes a file off the floor and flicks it open carelessly. 

“I don’t know how to say this…” Barbara grimaces, a million circumstances running through her head at once. “Your daughter and Charles kind of... live in our house with us. Lydia can see ghosts.”

“She what?” Emily grins even wider than before, then contorts into confusion. “Did they move house?”

“Yes, we live in Connecticut.” Barbara breathes out a breath she doesn’t know she’s holding, glad the conversation is moving smoother than she initially thought.

“Why did they move? We all loved that house.” Emily pushes a stray hair out of her face, then picks up another file. 

“Well… I don’t know one hundred per cent of the details, but I can tell you from when they moved in.” Barbara prepares the story in her mind, taking a pile from the floor. She starts explaining the story, and Emily pays attention to every little moment, as many questions formed in her mind.

“So Charles is getting remarried?” Emily says in a small voice. 

“Yeah,” Barbara awkwardly shuffles her feet, and to her surprise, Emily laughs.

“I’m actually happy for him. Delia sounds… lovely.” She says while placing the last of all the names that started with ‘A’ back into the shelf. “And Lydia got married to a demon then killed him, and now he lives with you?”

“Yes. They are very much like siblings,” Barbara rolls her eyes, remembering the chaos she had to clean up that very morning. “Wait, we forgot one.”

“This one?” Emily looks where Barbara is pointing. She picks up the folder and opens it, shocked to see the name. “Barbara? Do you want something interesting?”

“What?” Barbara her head around, leaving her body behind. Shit. She did it again. Rotating the rest of her body back around, she reaches for the file, to read Adam’s name.

Name: Adam Maitland

Age when died: 31

Cause of Death: Falling through floorboards of their house

Turn page for more statistics

Barbara almost doesn’t want to find hers, but there she goes, searching on her hands and knees. Who knew there were so many Barbara’s? As she searches, she realises maybe hers and Adam’s are connected, because they died together. Just when she’s about to stand up, she finds her name underneath.

Name: Barbara Maitland (née Miller)

Age when Died: 31

Cause of Death: Falling through floorboards of their house

Turn page for more statistics

“Do you wanna find yours?” Barbara asks, putting Adams into the shelf. 

“No, I already looked over mine when I first came here.” Emily shrugs, crossing her arms, examining Barbara’s confusion. 

“Right, you actually went to the Netherworld when you were supposed to,” Barbara whispers loudly, sighing in frustration at the remaining files. “We’re gonna be a while, why don’t we get to know each other?”

“Sure?” Emily giggles a little, and Barbara smiles at the resemblance between her and Lydia. “So. How did you die?”

fin.

Hope you enjoyed!!

[whatsseobb]

Something Old, Something New (Crystal x Gigi Fanfic) Chapter 2

AO3 Link

Synopsis: Crystal finds an enchanting jewelry box from the antique shop. Day by day, she discovers different journal entries hidden inside the box. Where is it coming from? What exactly is the music box? Most importantly, who is G? 

Chapter Two – The Fourth Letter

As far as Crystal can remember, the music box contained only three letters the last time she opened it. There were letters that were signed G. However, as she opened it the next day, another letter appeared. 

“Crys, hon! Time for dinner.” A knock on her door was heard and her mom peeked from the tiny space. 

“I’ll be down in a second.” She shut the box close and walked downstairs to have dinner with her family.  

The dinner table was topped with a variety of dishes. There were no special occasion, it was just a family tradition for them to have dinner altogether and spend some bonding time on a Sunday night. The table was filled with food that Crystal’s father cooked for them, one of which was her all-time favourite. 

The girl took her usual spot on the table, greeting her parents and her brother. They were having some conversation when her mother noticed how fast Crystal was eating. 

“Why are you in such a hurry, Crys?” 

“I just have a lot to finish for my school works.” 

She obviously lied. She was just too excited yet nervous to read the letter that appeared inside the music box. She wanted to find out who might have left the letter inside. 

“By the way, has anyone of you came to my room when I was asleep?” The teenage girl asked her family. 

“I did. I just took the laundry from your hamper. I see that you bought some new clothes again. Where did you buy them?” Her mother replied. 

“From Jackie’s. Have you seen any silver box on my table? Did you open it?” 

“Nope. I saw it but I left it there. Is it now lost?” Crystal shook her head. She crossed out her mom’s name from her mental list of who might have touched it. 

“How about you?” She darted her eyes towards her brother who was quietly eating his muffin. “You came to my room, didn’t you?” 

“I did not. I don’t want to be touched by all the glitters in your room.” The siblings chuckled as they continued stuffing their mouth with food. 

She was pretty sure no one from her family opened the box. It was still a mystery where the letter might have come from and she was determined to know the answer.  

As soon as she finished her meal, she dashed upstairs and locked the door behind her. She took the music box in her hands and opened the fourth letter.

The words that Crystal read felt as if she got it from an old book about teenage love. She shook her head and let out a soft giggle at how stupid yet cute it was. It was signed with the same letter G. She wished there was more. The story of the person who wrote it and the blue-eyed guy they met seemed fascinating for her. She wished there was more to read.

 After Crystal finished all her artworks, she read all the letters again. There were no dates written on it but she assumed she read it on reverse the first time. She also tried to arrange them according to the story written on it. Like a detective, the girl also examined the paper and handwriting on it. It was all the same. The letter G was written alike, so she knew it all came from the same writer. The edges of the paper had some sort of darkened effect, as if it was a vintage note from the past. The music box was a vintage trinket as well. More thoughts have entered Crystal’s mind as she continued to figure out the mystery behind the box and the letters.

 The following day, the curly-haired teenager chose to visit the shop again after school to ask if the owner knew who the former possessor of the said music box. It continued to be a mystery to her and she was keen to find out the answers.

“Ms. Crystal! Welcome back!” The owner greeted the girl with her friendly smile before she continued cleaning the shelves. The curly-haired girl walked towards her and tried to ask about the music box she bought a week ago.

“Ms. Jackie, do you happen to know where the new arrivals you had last week came from?” Crystal picked up a piece of figurine that was on top of the shelf. She also took a fresh towel and started helping the owner as she wiped the ornament.

“Oh, that came from a nearby town. I think it belonged to some Avalon family or something. It was just some things from this old house. Why?”

“Nothing really. I just found some letters inside the box. I thought it was empty when I first got it here.” She continued to wipe down some items, putting it back carefully on the shelves once she was done with it.

“Are there any love letters? Like the ones from decades ago when they used to write mails?” Jackie’s dark orbs lightened up at the thought of vintage letters. She just had this deep interest with old objects, especially the ones that have wonderful back stories.

“I don’t think so. The ones I read were like journal entries or something. They were just short.” The curly-haired girl stuffed her hand inside her pocket and took out a small piece of paper, one of the letters she found inside the music box. She handed it to Jackie who opened it carefully as if it was some delicate object that needed gentle care.

It took a while before the older girl started giggling with joy at the love note she just read. Crystal gave her the fourth letter which contained the short anecdote about the blue-eyed guy.

“This is sooo cute, Crystal. Are there any more of these?”

“I left them inside the box. That’s the only one that mentioned about a guy. Most of them were about studying and daily things. Nothing interesting.”

“I should inspect the other objects. I might find something like this too. Especially about the other guy. I wonder if they ended up together.” Crystal let out a soft chuckle at the dreamy older lady, shaking her head slightly.

“I’ll go check if there are any more hidden on some mysterious drawer or underneath it. Who knows? Anyway, see you!” She shrugged her shoulders before bidding the owner goodbye.

 The teenage girl walked from the store to her house, still thinking about the mystery behind the music box. She was convinced the letters were not there in the first place. Yet, how come there were letters that kept arriving almost every day. Were there any secret drawer I missed? Or was it like a magic mail box? She shook her head at the thought of the magic mail box. How come it would be an enchanted box, it was just a simple jewelry box with some soothing music.

As she reached her place, she plopped down on her bed and took a nap. She was too tired to check on the music box for any concealed pockets or drawers. She was too deep in her slumber that she reached dreamland.

In her dreams, she saw a tall girl wearing a blush pink dress cinched around the waist, the skirt falling down the side like a balloon. She was twirling around, dancing with her group of friends. Her luscious red locks were pinned on the side, showing her slim carved jaw. Her eyes were soft and gentle, looking at them made Crystal feel safe in her dreams. The faces of her friends were faded however it was clear that they were wearing almost the same cut and type of dress that the red-haired girl was wearing.

They started giggling, pushing the girl wearing the pink dress towards a group of guys who were resting near the parking lot. The taller girl took Crystal by the hand and tugged her towards the group of men. There, she saw a guy with golden blond hair, chiseled jaw that housed those deep-set eyes that were light blue. The tall girl giggled softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Crystal was just there, standing, as she watched the red-haired girl chat with the charming man. Suddenly, an enchanting music was heard. The tall girl took Crystal’s hand again and they started running towards the street. They ran and ran until the sky started to darken and…

 Crystal’s eyes gaped open, her chest moving up and down quickly as if she was trying to catch her breath from a long run. She was surely confused at such vivid dream that she had with her quick sleep. She looked around her room and noticed the jewelry box playing the same tune. She lifted the box and tried to look for a switch or a battery or something when unexpectedly, the letters fell down from the inside. There was something strange about the letters. Last night, she noticed how each notes was made from the same paper. This time, a peculiar looking sheet flashed before her. She picked up and certainly, a new letter arrived.

Crystal took out the aforementioned letter that was missing from the box. It was the letter that ‘G’ was talking about. How did she know it was not there? Was this box magical after all?

A surprising thought came upon Crystal. Her hand hurriedly grabbed a pen and a paper, scribbling some words.

A nervous look plastered on her face before she folded the note, shakily jamming it inside the box with all the five letters she have received. The fourth note was clipped together with her short message. She stared at the box, waiting to see if anything would happen. After a few minutes, she opened the lid and saw all the six letters inside.

“Maybe this was just nonsense.” She whispered to herself as she fiddled with the box. Her fingers found the screw that played the fine tune. She twisted on it and there, the jewelry box released the same soothing melody that she have heard in her dream.

The curly-haired girl then proceeded to do her school work. She had forgotten about the jewelry box or the letters as she was too busy with her tasks. She even fell asleep on the table in front of her laptop.

The next morning, her alarm went off. She quickly sprinted to the bathroom to prepare for school. She did not take long to fix herself and be ready for the day. As she was packing her laptop and books inside her bag, the music came off from the mysterious box once more. Anxiously, she opened the lid. She saw a black writing on top of the folded note.

[my-creative-hell]

Saved (Child au)

The store bustles quietly around Grave as she stares at the food in front of her, thinking on what she could make herself for food when she managed to get home, the afternoon wearing on as she tries to decide.

The rest of the store is fairly quiet, people getting on with their own days, wrapped up in their own worlds as they wander and shop, barely paying attention to one another as Grave scoots herself as close to the shelves as possible, not wanting to run into anyone.

But out of the corner of her eyes, she can see a small child wandering the store, seemingly alone as he carries his younger sibling in his arms, gentle and cautious as he walks through the aisles.

Tapping her feet gently, Grave waves to the small child politely, watching him wave back as he carries his younger sibling, who seems to be asleep as he moves through the aisle, no adult to be seen with them as Grave keeps an eye on them.

“Are you lost or somethin?” Grave questions, frowning as she lowers her voice, making it soft as the elder child jumps.

“W-What?” He questions gently, looking around himself as he focuses on Grave, seemingly unsure of the action.

“Sorry! I just wanted to know if you were lost cuz you’re kinda alone…” Grave explains, tapping her feet as she grows slightly worried for the children.

“M-My dads somewhere… I’m not sure where.” The child explains, backing away from Grave as he looks around himself.

“Do you need help finding your dad?” Grave asks, frowning more as she watches the child look to the floor nervously, nodding in a silent answer. “What does he look like?” Grave questions, thinking through her options as she watches the kid think.

“H-He has black hair… a-and he’s wearing a suit.” The child explains, trying to focus on Grave as he adjusts his grip on his sleeping sibling.

“Alright, come on!” Grave exclaims softly, keeping her pace slow enough for the child to follow her as she walks, keeping an eye as he walks besides her, looking around the store in search of his dad.

“What’s your name, by the way?” Grave asks, trying to keep gentle conversation as she walks, a calming smile on her face.

“M-My names Jake…” The child explains, looking up at Grave as he follows her through the store.

“Huh… that’s a nice name! I’m Grave, its nice to meet you.” Grave explains, glowing softly as she walks with the child.

“Its nice to meet you t-too…” Jake mumbles softly, looking surprised as he looks ahead of Grave, pausing in his step.

“What’s wrong?” Grave questions, frowning in concern as Jake shies away from her, able to see a well-dressed man ahead.

“That’s your dad, right?” Grave questions quietly, feeling worried as Jake nods, the man walking over to them.

“Hey Jakey, you bothering the nice lady? Come here.” Smiling fakely, the man ushers Jake quickly away from Grave.

“He wasn’t bothering me at all! I was just helping him find you.” Grave explains, feeling concerned as Jake steps to his fathers side.

“I’m terribly sorry, my son has a terrible habit of wandering away from me and getting himself into trouble.” Jake’s father speaks again, smiling as Jake stands beside him silently.

“I-Its fine, there’s no need to apologize or anything!” Grave exclaims softly, smiling despite her discomfort and concern for the situation.

“Well thank you for returning my sons to me, I’ll be sure to have a talk with them about running off.” Jake’s father explains, holding onto the childs shoulder as he speaks. ”Y-You’re welcome…” Grave giggles quietly, feeling nervous as the man squeezes Jake’s shoulder gently.

“We had best get going young lady.” He explains, smiling coldly as he holds onto Jake firmly.

“O-Okay… bye, I guess.” Grave nods, waving as she walks away, trying not to worry as she see’s the man grab Jake’s hand firmly, preventing him from moving away.

Frowning, Grave moves into another aisle as the man pulls Jake away, walking in the opposite direction. Pretending to look for something, Grave tries to stop worrying about the off feeling in her stomach as the man pulls Jake away, talking to him in a hushed voice.

Tapping her feet, Grave glows; feeling slightly worries as she watches Jake lean away from his father, looking uncomfortable. Watching him, Grave frowns, feeling something off about him as he pulls Jake out of the store with him.

Feeling uneasy, Grave follows them silently, watching the man drag Jake along as he winces at the strong grip on his arm. Frowning, Grave continues to follow, walking faster as she feels anger boiling inside of her for the children.

Dragging Jake in front of a door, the man leans down to speak to him, his face cold and frustrated with the child as he flinches away.

“Hey sir, I-I think you dropped this!” Grave exclaims, pulling something out of her pocket as she thinks on the fly.

“Excuse me?” The man questions, pushing Jake back, causing the child to fall over onto the floor a Grave approaches him, landing a solid punch into his jaw.

“Oops, my bad!” Grave exclaims, the man backing away as Jake cowers away, shaking as he lies on the floor.

“The fuck?!” Seeming surprised and angry, the mans exclamation is harsh as Grave approaches him again.

“What? I’m just giving you what you dropped!” Grave explains, punching him again as he begins to look angered, Jake hiding away with his younger sibling. “Fuck are you gonna do?” Grave questions harshly, glowing as she allows her anger to spike.

“The fuck do you even want?” The man growls out, his teeth bared threateningly at Grave.

“I don’t have to tell you, dude!” Grave exclaims, a malicious smile forming on her face as Jake lays on the ground, shaking fearfully. Frowning, Grave watches Jake, wanting to be able to help despite currently being in a fight.

“What? You want the stupid fucking kids or something?” The man questions, snarling at Jake as he shakes.

“Did you just call them stupid?” Grave questions, frowning more as she watches the man pull Jake off of the floor, pinching his face roughly.

“Yes I fucking did. He’s stupid and useless. A good for nothing mistake his mother should have gotten rid of, and don’t start me on his brother.” The man berates the children harshly, Jake flinching at the cold words.

“Close your eyes, okay?” Grave warns Jake, her voice deceptively soft as she pulls a knife out of her pocket, the scared child obeying her quickly, squeezing his eyes shut.

Smiling gently, Grave slashes at the man harshly, watching him cough up blood as he snarls at her in response. Smiling more, Grave stabs into his abdomen, watching him drop down happily as Jake shivers, keeping his eyes shut as told.

“Are you okay with being touched right now?” Grave questions, putting her knife away as she speaks calmly to Jake, who keeps his eyes closed in panic as he nods, too shaken to speak.

“Sorry…” Smiling softly, Grave gently picks Jake and his smaller sibling up, keeping her voice hushed as Jake hides in her, keeping his eyes closed as his younger sibling stays asleep beside him.

Glowing softly, Grave warms up the two children as she walks, watching Jake snuggle into her as he keeps his eyes shut, feeling exhausted. Smiling, Grave walks faster as Jake relaxes into her, seemingly dozing off, exhausted from all the panic he had gone through.

Moving to her house quickly, Grave clips inside as Jake shifts in her arms, unconscious from the panic as he rests on her. Thinking, Grave moves into one of the guest rooms in her home as Jake’s younger sibling yawns, nuzzling into her gently.

“Fffuck, I don’t wanna put you down…” Grave complains, sighing softly as she whispers, the younger sibling making a soft noise as he snuggles into her comfortably.

“…Fuck it.” Moving into the living room, Grave sits down on the couch as the younger sibling coos softly, sucking on his fingers as he dozes on Grave.

Smiling, Grave pets the childs hair gently, listening to him coo again as Jake shifts carefully in her arms. Glowing softly, Jake pats his head as well, keeping gentle and calm.

“S-Shaun…” Stirring slightly from his sleep, Jake mumbles softly as he shifts, leaning into Grave’s touch. Watching Jake, Grave thinks of saying something, though she shuts her mouth as he stirs more, still feeling panicked as he leans into her.

Petting his hair gently, Grave hopes to calm Jake down as he opens his eyes slightly, groaning softly as he wakes up. Smiling gently, Grave taps her feet softly as Jake wakes up more, jumping as he notices Grave in front of him.

“Its okay, I’m not gonna hurt you. I promise.” Grave reassures him, dropping her voice to be soft and quiet as she speaks.

“Shaun?” Jake questions, shaking slightly as he watches Grave, feeling concerned and panicked of their situation.

“He’s right here, don’t worry.” Grave reassures him, shifting to allow Jake to see him sleeping brother, watching him relax slightly at the sight, though he remains on guard, weary of Grave.

“Do you wanna watch TV? O-Or eat something?” Grave questions softly, tapping her feet as she thinks through her words.

“N-No hurt?” Jake responds, his voice almost inaudible as he looks away from Grave, clearly feeling nervous.

“Of course not!” Grave exclaims softly, frowning as she shakes her head, trying to convey her negative feelings to the child.

“None? N-Not even a little?” Jake pushes, not seeming convinced as he watches Grave curiously.

“Nope! I’m gonna keep you safe.” Grave explains, shaking her head again to push across her point.

“Safe?…” Jake questions, looking confused as he glances to Grave, curious and afraid all at once.

“Yes, safe!” Grave exclaims softly, smiling gently as Jake frowns, nodding gently in response for her. “Do you want anything?” Grave asks gently, wiggling as she lowers her voice, speaking softly.

“Not supposed to speak…” Jake mumbles softly, looking surprised as he fiddles with his hands, casting his eyes away from Grave.

“Well… you can speak here! You don’t have to be quiet all the time.” Grave explains, frowning softly.

“W-Why?” Jake questions, looking down at the couch as he fiddles with his fingers nervously.

“Because if you don’t speak, nobody knows what you want or need! And I need to know what you need to take care of you.” Grave explains, glowing softly in worry for the two children.

“But annoying…” Jake argues gently, humming softly as he keeps his gaze off of Grave, playing with his hands.

“Its not annoying at all! It’s the opposite, actually.” Grave reassures him, frowning as her worry for the children grows.

“It is?” Jake questions, looking up at Grave questioningly, not seeming to believe her words as he speaks.

“It is, its very important!” Grave reassures him, making Jake look surprised as he plays with his fingers.

“U-Um… uh.” Not sure what to say, Jake mumbles quietly, tripping over himself as he tries to form a sentence.

“When was the last time y’all ate something?” Grave questions, thinking on her feet as Jake looks away from her.

“I-I ate… three days ago? Shaun ate t-two ago…” Jake explains, Grave now noticing how small the two children looked, malnourished and neglected.

“Yeah, that’s bad.” Grave comments, getting up off of the couch and moving into the kitchen, Jake watching her as he holds onto Shaun nervously.

“What do you wanna eat? I’ve got…” Trailing off, Grave looks into the fridge. “So much more stuff than I thought…” She comments.

“W-We normally eat whatever f-father gives us…” Jake explains, watching Grave curiously as she taps her feet against the ground.

“Well, you’re not with him now, so you can pick whatever you want.” Grave explains, thinking for a moment. “I could give you some options if that’d make it easier?” She offers, Jake nodding as he curls up nervously.

“Food, babey!” Grave exclaims gently, pulling out some spaghetti, chicken tenders and pizza for Jake to choose from.

“Whats that?” Peeking from the couch curiously, Jake points the pizza, speaking softly as he gestured.

“Its pizza!” Grave explains, frowning softly. “You’ve never had it before?” She questions softly.

“Not allowed…” Jake explains, shaking his head as he huddles into himself gently, watching Grave.

“You can have pizza here!” Grave exclaims softly, smiling as she glows. “Do you wanna try it?” She offers, Jake biting his lip as he nods.

“Fuck yeah!” Getting some plates, Grave pauses as she realises something. “Oh wait… sorry, I shouldn’t say that in front of you.” She explains, putting the pizza on the plates into the microwave.

“Father said it a lot…” Jake explains, lying down on the couch as Shaun sleeps beside him silently.

“Oh… well he shouldn’t have.” Grave explains, frowning softly as Jake shrugs in response.

“D-Doesn’t matter.” He explains, shivering slightly as he lies down, trying to stay out of view.

“It does!” Grave exclaims, frowning as she pulls her hoodie off, Jake jumping at the loud voice. “You cold?” She questions softly.

“N-No…” Jake lies, shaking his head as Grave frowns more, knowing she couldn’t believe him.

“Mhm, sure you’re not…” She mumbles, handing Jake the hoodie. “Also sorry for raising my voice.” She apologises, feeling guilty.

“Its okay… I was rude.” Jake admits, curling in on himself as Grave shakes her head in response.

“You weren’t being rude at all! And please take the hoodie, because I know you’re cold.” Grave urges him gently, Jake whining quietly, though he listens, taking the hoodie from Grave and slipping it on.

“Pizza time!” Giggling at the gigantic size of her hoodie on Jake, Grave takes the pizza out of the microwave as Jake sits up, poking Shaun gently as he naps.

Wiggling, Grave taps her fingers on the table excitedly as Shaun yawns, rolling over as he stirs slightly.

“Have you ever had fruit punch before or nah?” Grave questions, thinking as Jake shakes his head, Shaun opening his eyes slightly. “That’s changing too!” Grave exclaims, grabbing some cups and juice for the two bois.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” Grave comments softly, her voice soft as Shaun coos, nibbling on his hand as he wakes up, sucking it gently. “You good?” Grave questions, lowering her voice as Jake flinches.

“H-He’s fine.” Jake answers quickly, making Grave frown in concern at the obvious lie he told.

“Are you sure? Cuz you can tell me if something’s wrong…” Grave reassures him, watching Jake bite his lip nervously.

“He’s small… very small.” Jake explains, hugging Shaun close to him gently as he struggles to speak.

“Like underweight?” Grave questions, glowing softly in concern as Jake frowns, Shaun cooing softly.

“H-He doesn’t talk a lot… cant really. He doesn’t act his age.” Jake explains more, trying to force the words out.

“Oh… well that’s okay.” Grave reassures him, smiling gently as Jake helps Shaun sit up properly.

“Father said he was an idiot.” He mumbles softly, looking downcast as Shaun wiggles in his arms.

“Your father was the actual idiot.” Grave comments, scoffing as she rolls her eyes, Shaun babbling softly as Jake looks at her in surprise. “What? Its true! He had less common sense than a person with half of a brain!” She exclaims softly, smiling as she looks at Jake.

Feeling unused to this kind of attention, Jake flashes Grave a small smile as she mumbles something under her breath, wiggling as Shaun squeaks happily.

“Have m o n c h!” Grave exclaims, handing Jake the food and drinks gently, watching him take his own.

“T-Thank you.” Jake speaks gratefully, helping Shaun to take his food in his small hands as he speaks.

“No problem!” Grave exclaims softly, thinking as she watches Shaun. “Help?” She asks him, Jake nodding for Shaun as he looks at Grave, babbling softly.

Nodding, Grave sits beside Shaun ad he wiggles, babbling happily as she assists him in eating his food properly.

Giggling, Grave glows as Shaun babbles more, eating his food happily as Jake keeps an eye, eating his own.

“Do you like it?” Grave questions, flicking her eyes over to Jake for a moment as he nods, smiling gently.

“Good, I’m gad you do!” Grave exclaims, tapping her feet happily as Shaun babbles, eating his food quickly.

“Jeez, don’t eat too fast.” Grave warns him, chuckling. “You don’t wanna choke or anything.” She continues quietly, Shaun giggling, babbling his response. Glowing happily, Grave boops his nose as he snorts, swatting her hand gently.

“Mmmsorry.” Grave lies, smiling as Shaun blows her a raspberry, falling on top of her as he moves. “You’re so silly!” Grave exclaims, giggling softly as Shaun snorts again, Jake finishing his food quietly.

“You good?” Grave questions, looking to Jake as she wiggles slightly, Jake nodding in response as he scratches at his arm gently, feeling grimy.

“You probably need a bath…” Grave comments softly, speaking quietly as she thinks out loud, Jake looking at her in confusion. “You dunno what a bath is?” Grave questions, frowning as Jake looks away from her guiltily.

“Its okay! Its not your fault if you don’t know…” Grave reassures him gently, not wanting to make him feel worse as he sniffles, scratching. “Do you wanna see what it is?” Grave asks, wishing she could hug Jake as he looks at her, nodding silently.

“C’mon, it t i m e.” Grave speaks seriously, giggling as she picks Shaun up off of the couch, Jake following her as she walks into the warm bathroom.

“You can pick whatever soap you want! There’s apple, vanilla, lavender, the orange one doesn’t smell like oranges but its here so…” Grave explains, Jake nodding as he sniffs at the soap, handing her the vanilla one gently in decision.

Smiling, Grave lifts the soap for Shaun to sniff, watching him squeak happily as he sniffs the soap.

“Aw y e a h, vanilla bois.” Grave jokes, giggling as she glows softly, Jake smiling softly as he bounces happily. “Ah yes, the water seems very w e t today.” Grave comments, turning on the water to wait for it to warm up, Shaun babbling softly as he sucks on his hand.

“Don’t take a million years please.” Grave pleads, putting the plug in the drain as the water runs warm, Shaun babbling as he leans into her gently.

“Do you want a bubble bath or just a normal one?” Grave asks, smiling as she taps her feet, watching the water rise as Jake nods curiously.

Putting soap in the bath, Grave holds onto Shaun as she ripples the water, feeling him bounce as he babbles softly.

“Clean puddle time!” Grave exclaims, turning off the water as the bath finishes running, Jake nodding as Shaun giggles. “Do you want me to stay here and help or do you got this?” Grave questions softly.

“S-Stay…” Jake mumbles softly, looking away from Grave nervously as he thinks it over. “I’ll stay, then!” Grave exclaims softly, closing her eyes as she wiggles, listening as Jake lifts Shaun into the bath, getting in himself. “Can I open my eyes now?” Grave questions.

“Yeah…” Jake answers quietly as Grave plays with her fingers, trying to keep still as he speaks

“I can see now!” Opening her eyes, Grave smiles brightly as Shaun babbles, splashing the water around happily. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Grave reassures Jake, leaving the bathroom as he nods, scrubbing Shaun’s hair as she grabs some bath toys, able to hear the young boy giggling.

“Here you go!” Returning, Grave puts the toys in the bath gently as Shaun squeals, quickly picking one up to splash it into the bath water happily.

Laughing quietly, Grave glows softly as Shaun babbles, Jake attempting to clean him off as he squirms in the bath. Sitting on the floor, Grave hums softly, unsure of what to do as Jake helps Shaun, trying to reach his back.

“Do you want me to help or no?” Grave questions softly, playing with her fingers as Jake nods, struggling. Obliging, Grave scrubs his back, humming softly as Jake relaxes, accepting the help.

Poking his nose gently, Grave giggles as a genuine smile forms on Jake’s face as they clean up.

“Happy?” Grave questions, watching Jake nod as Shaun wiggles happily. “Do you wanna get out now?” Grave continues, Jake nodding again, lifting Shaun’s small form out of the bath for her.

“Here!” Handing them some towels, Grave watches as Jake wraps Shaun up first before doing himself, Shaun reaching for Grave as he stands in the bath.

Leaning down, Grave picks Shaun up gently, listening to him babble as he kisses her nose gently. Gasping softly, Grave feels tears spike in her eyes as Shaun babbles again, gently wiping underneath her eyes as he notices.

“Thank you…” Smiling gently, Grave glows softly as Shaun giggles, bouncing gently in her arms as she speaks, voice soft and quiet. Smiling, Grave kisses Shaun’s nose gently in response, Shaun squealing in response as he hides from view.

“Hey, no hiding!” Grave exclaims, laughing as Shaun giggles quietly, Jake stepping out of the bath with a towel around him.

“I can’t find your brother! Apparently he’s very sneaky.” Grave jokes, trying to keep a straight face as Jake giggles, poking his younger brother gently. “That’s just a towel!” Grave exclaims, smiling as Jake giggles more, Shaun popping out from his hiding space.

“He’s here!!!” Grave exclaims softly, Shaun giggling as he pats her gently. Smiling brightly, Grave pokes at his nose as he snorts softly, bouncing in her arms as Jake smiles.

“Damn, y’all need clothes…” Grave mumbles to herself, frowning as Jake nods in response. “Come on, I have a brain thing!” Grave explains, walking out of the bathroom, Jake following curiously as Shaun wiggles happily.

Walking into her room, Grave opens the closet as Jake stands watching, trying not to drip onto the floor or get anything wet.

“Um… shit.” Grave comments, pulling out a hoodie and an oversized shirt, trying to think as Jake giggles softly, Shaun squeaking a he pats her. “You cant… but…” Grave argues with herself, covering up her face. “Hhh this is fine.” She comments.

Babbling, Shaun pats Grave’s face as he senses the panic coming off of her in waves, not liking the negative emotion.

“Thanks…” Grave comments softly, trying to force a smile as Jake frowns, trying to come up with a solution.

“Mmm we could wear pyjama shirts and tie the shorts?” He offers quietly, trying to appease Grave.

“I mean… that could work.” Grave concedes, tapping her feet against the floor as she tries to still the thoughts in her head, Jake giving her a gentle smile as he pats her arm.

“Still need to but some…” Grave comments, pulling out some pyjamas as she places them on the bed gently, Jake looking at her inquisitively as he helps Shaun dry his hair. “Are you tired?” Grave questions, glowing softly as she thinks.

“Yeah but its okay.” Jake responds carefully, nodding as he helps Shaun slip into his pyjamas.

“No its not, you need to sleep.” Grave argue softly, frowning in concern as Jake puts his own clothes on.

“Used to not sleeping a lot.” He explains, shrugging as he pulls Shaun onto his lap carefully.

“That’s not good at all…” Grave comments, frowning more as her concern for these children rises.

“I know…” Jake admits, allowing himself to sit back on the bed with Shaun as he speaks.

“You need to do that… like now.” Grave comments quietly, keeping her voice soft, not wanting to scare them.

“Okay…” Jake relents, giving in as he nods, holding Shaun close to him as he squeaks softly.

“Thank you.” Grave speaks softly, watching Jake smile as he pulls Shaun into the bed beside him. “Do you want the door open a lil or do you want a nightlight on? O-Or both, both is also fine.” Grave explains.

“Can we have a nightlight?” Jake requests quietly, fiddling with his fingers nervously.

“Of course you can!” Grave exclaims, turning a nightlight on for them. “Anything else?” She questions softly, watching Jake shake his head in response as he tucks Shaun into the bed.

“Goodnight!” Kissing both of their foreheads gently, Grave smiles as she leaves the room, closing the door silently behind her as Jake smiles, curling into the bed as he and Shaun fall asleep quickly.

Grabbing her wallet and jacket, Grave layers herself up quickly, leaving the house and walking quickly in the direction of a store, insistent on getting clothes for the two children she now had staying with her.

“How did nobody see this asshole?” Running into the body she had left in the alleyway, Grave glows softly, flipping the corpse off as she wanders into the store. Moving into the children’s section, Grave selects a fair amount of clothes that will fit the small children at her home.

Moving to the checkouts, Grave pays as quickly as she can, bagging up the clothes as she leaves once again, wanting to get back to her home as quickly as possible, not keen on leaving the two children alone.

“Yay…” Arriving home quickly, Grave allows herself to relax as she realises the two children are still in their bed, smiling as she locks the door behind her, able to hear them shuffling in their sleep as she moves into her lab room, directly next door to them.

Sitting down, Grave can hear Jake cough quietly from their room, shifting in the bed as she frowns, listening to Shaun babble quietly. Hesitating for a moment, Grave pulls some things out of her cabinet to work on, keeping her attention on the children.

As she moves, Shaun babbles again, but it sounds more distressed as Jake whines softly, making Grave frown as she puts her stuff down, leaving the lab quickly in concern.

Whining again, it’s louder now as Grave opens the door; able to see Jake curled in on himself shaking, Shaun starting to whine softly now. Moving inside, Grave thinks over what to do, not sure if she should touch them as Jake whines, tears forming in his eyes.

Deciding quickly, Grave shakes Jake gently, feeling him stir slightly as he cries, Grave continuing to shake him gently as her worry grows. Flinching, Jake sits up quickly as he wakes up from his nightmare.

“Sorry, I had to wake you up…” Grave apologises, frowning gently as Jake starts to calm down, wiping away the tears on his cheeks as Shaun wakes up, babbling softly.

Opening her arms, Grave pulls the children in for a gentle hug, Shaun squeaking as he hides in her, Jake returning her hug shakily.

“Its okay, nobody’s gonna hurt you anymore… I promise.” Grave mumbles softly, petting their hair as Jake nods, nuzzling into her as his shaking calms, gentle kisses pressed onto their heads by Grave.

“Guess what?” Grave questions, petting their heads as Jake calms down, Shaun babbling as he clings onto her happily. Snuggling into her, Jake sniffles quietly as Grave opens her mouth, shutting it again as Shaun giggles, patting her face happily.

“Do you want some hot chocolate? It’ll help you feel better.” Grave offers, smiling gently.

“Hot chocolate?” Jake questions, looking confused as he shifts his gaze up to watch Grave.

“You’ve never had it before?” Grave questions, gasping softly as Jake shakes his head in answer. “Oh n o, I’m changing that right now.” Grave explains, hugging Jake tighter ass she rubs their heads, feeling Jake nod as he leans into her comfortably.

Picking them up gently, Grave leaves the room as Jake hides in her, Shaun squealing excitedly, giggling as he bounces. Moving downstairs, Grave walks into the kitchen as she carries the children, grabbing the necessary equipment as Shaun babbles, kissing her cheek as he wiggles.

Squeaking happily, Grave kisses him back, hearing Shaun squeal as he wiggles happily in her arms.

Making the hot chocolate, Grave smiles kingly as Jake snuggles into her, poking his nose gently as he giggles, hiding in Grave as she wiggles happily.

“Aw, where’d he go?” Grave questions, faking sadness as she frowns, able to hear Jake giggling as he snuggles into her. “Oh, he’s gone forever!!! What ever shall I do?” Grave exclaims, being dramatic as Jake squeals happily, clinging onto her.

“He didn’t even get hot chocolate for the first time! What a cruel world!!!” Grave exclaims, finishing the hot chocolate as Jake giggles more. “I dunno if I’ll ever be the same without him!” Grave exclaims, squeezing him gently as he pops out, giggling.

“I found him!!!” Grave exclaims, feigning surprise as she smiles, making Jake giggle as she plants a kiss on his forehead. “For you!” Grave smiles, handing him the drink carefully.

“Warm…” Jake comments quietly, smiling as he handles the hot chocolate carefully in his hands.

“Well, it is hot chocolate. It’s supposed to be warm!” Grave explains, watching Jake grin as he nods, Shaun squeaking excitedly as he wiggles. “And for you, sir!” Grave exclaims, handing Shaun his plastic cup carefully, doing a silly voice as Shaun babbles, chewing his fist gently.

“What flavour is it?” Grave questions, referencing his hand as she taps gently, listening to Shaun babble more, nibbling his fingers. “Blue raspberry, got it. Seems like a popular flavour.” Grave concludes, Shaun giggling loudly as he buries his face in her comfortable.

“So small…” Grave comments, squeezing him gently as Shaun giggles, Jake taking a sip out of his drink. “You like it?” Grave questions, watching Jake nod as he sips more, smiling.

“I wanna show you something…” Thinking, Grave moves into the living room as Jake tilts his head curiously, turning on the TV as she sits down. “Its TV babey!” She exclaims, Shaun squeaking and wiggling excitedly as Jake looks at her curiously.

“You watch stuff for entertainment! And you can learn things!” Grave explains softly, smiling.

“Whats this?” Jake questions, pointing to the movie playing on the TV as he smiles, feeling comfortable.

“Finding Nemo, its pretty good.” Grave explains, looking at the TV as Jake starts watching, Shaun bouncing as he chews his hand, Grave holding onto the both of them gently, warming them up.

Relaxing into Grave, Jake watching Shaun bounce as he watches the film, Grave humming as she mumbles something under her breath, prompting Shaun to pat at her face curiously.

“I love youuu.” Grave explains, giggling as she pokes his nose, listening to Shaun giggle as he hugs her, Jake curling up as he grows tired again.

“I love you too!” Grave exclaims softly, pressing a gentle kiss to Jake’s forehead as she returns Shaun’s hug gently. Smiling, Jake snuggles into her comfortably as he grows warmer.

Smiling, Grave glows softly as Shaun lets out a quiet yawn, Grave looking down at him curiously.

“You sleepy?” She questions softly, Shaun nodding in response as he snuggles into her gently.

“Good!” Grave exclaims softly, pressing their foreheads together as Shaun squeaks happily.

“Thank you mommy.” Shaun mumbles softly, closing his eyes as him and Jake relax into Grave more.

“Y-You’re welcome…” Grave responds softly, smiling as tears well up in her eyes, making it hard to talk as the two children drift slowly off to sleep in her arms, feeling safe and protected as Grave drifts off with them.

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

All Those Things They Couldn’t Say - A Runaway Baudelaires AU

{ao3} {tumblr} {masterlist}

Chapter Six - Violet breaks a Birdcage

Klaus had already run to a far corner, standing on a chair to grab a thick book. Violet placed Sunny’s cage on a table, re-tying her ribbon and considering. 

“This looks to be wrought iron.” she said, feeling the metal. “It should break under pressure. But the question is how to apply pressure that won’t hit Sunny…” 

“This book seems to be on pet bird care.” Klaus said, sliding down onto the chair. “Let me see if there’s something here.” 

“Bite.” Sunny said stubbornly. 

“No, no biting.” Violet felt the bars. “Maybe-” 

“Oh, wow.” Klaus blinked at the book. “This is not the proper storage cage for pet birds. It’s far too small-” 

“Is that important?” 

“No, but it is interesting.” 

“Sunny’s in a cage, Klaus.” Violet glanced at Klaus, and then flinched. “We need to swipe some ointment for that bruise. It looks bad.” 

Klaus glanced down. “It… it feels bad.” 

“Klaus-” 

“How’s your arm?” 

Violet bit her lip. “If I’m focused, I don’t notice it. So let’s focus. Is there a bit on how to open a cage if you don’t have the key?” 

“I’m looking for this type.” 

Violet paused. “Go look for books on lockpicking. Or…” her eyes lit up. “Find something heavy. If we slam a thick book against the lock, it may break. It looks a bit rusted, that should help-” 

“Violet.” 

“Look, I know you don’t like using books as projectile weapons-” 

“The door’s opening.” 

Violet started, following his gaze towards a door they hadn’t noticed before, in the back of the room. It was, indeed, slowly swinging open. 

Violet grabbed Sunny’s cage and ran to a bookcase that stood in the middle of the room, as part of a column of similar shelves, followed quickly by Klaus. They ducked behind it just as the door swung open, and Violet held her breath. 

They heard the woman who lived there enter, mumbling something under her breath as she shut the door behind her. There was a few fretful noises of items jumbling up; she must’ve been carrying all of her gardening tools. There were some footsteps- shit, she was heading this way; she’d have to move between the aisles of shelves to get back into her house, she could spot them… 

Klaus edged towards the end of the shelf, and Violet quickly caught his drift and followed, while Sunny grabbed the bars of her cage and tried not to make any noise. Slowly, the children moved to the side of the shelf, waiting. 

Just as they saw the woman out of the corner of their eyes, stepping into the aisle and carrying a gardening bag, they ducked down, almost throwing themselves onto the other side of the bookshelf. They heard the woman stop walking a moment, and they froze, panic entering them, wondering if they’d been spotted, if she was going to turn around and see them. 

But after a moment, she just shrugged and continued walking. 

They waited until they heard the door close to breathe again, and then Violet said, “Heavy book. Go.” 

Klaus nodded and ran between the shelves, as Violet pushed Sunny’s cage against a shelf. Sunny edged herself into the corner, and gave Violet a trusting smile. “Tuo,” she said, which meant, “I know you’ll get me out, don’t look so worried.” 

“I’m not worried.” Violet lied. 

After a moment, Klaus returned with a dictionary of some language the children couldn’t speak. “This might work.” he said. 

“This will work.” Violet nodded. “Sunny, stay in that corner. If you think we could hit you, tell us to stop.” 

“Tsurt.” Sunny said, which meant something like, “It’s okay, I’m sure you won’t hurt me.” 

“Just be careful.” Violet said. She studied the lock, and then lifted the heavy book. “Klaus, step back.” 

Klaus obediently retreated a few steps, and Violet took a deep breath, and then slammed the book onto the lock. 

It wiggled and creaked, and Violet took another breath. That was a good sound, very promising. She’d just need to keep hitting it. She slammed again, and again there was a creak. She shut her eyes, scooted a little back, and then proceeded to slam the book against the lock as hard as she could and as fast as she could. She pounded and pounded, ignoring the loud pangs of the lock hitting the book and cage, of the book sometimes hitting the table Sunny’s cage sat upon, of Klaus gasping beside her and trying to say something. She couldn’t listen right now. She had to get Sunny out of there. 

Finally, after what felt like forever, after her hands had started to feel numb, after the wound on her shoulder started to hurt with the rapid movements her arms were making, and pain started spreading through her, she slammed the dictionary a final time, and with a loud, but satisfying clang, the lock sprang open, crashing onto the edge of the table, and then toppling to the ground. 

Violet tossed the book behind her, ignoring the flares of pain from her hands and shoulder, and she reached for the cage door, fumbling with the handle in her haste. Klaus ran forwards, too, just as Violet swung the door open. 

Sunny let out a cry of joy and leapt forwards. Violet caught her and hugged her tight, holding her up so that when Klaus raced to them, he could hug her, too. The three siblings embraced a moment, trying not to cry as they heard the cage door swing, and Sunny clung to her older siblings and muttered something about knowing they’d get her out. 

Then, after a long moment, they heard a voice behind them. 

“E-excuse me?” 

Violet whipped around, still clinging to Sunny, while Klaus hastily let go and reached in his pockets to see if he had a weapon available. 

The woman who owned the house was standing behind them, eyes wide. Violet swore under her breath. 

After a long moment, Sunny said, “Shit.” 

The woman jumped, and Violet ran over her options in her head. They could run, but the woman might make noise, and attract attention from next door. Not a good idea. They could fight, but they didn’t want to hurt this woman, she seemed innocent enough- just a bit surprised at finding three dirty and wounded children in her library with a broken birdcage. 

So Violet whispered to her siblings, in a low enough voice that the woman couldn’t hear, “C.” 

At that, Klaus promptly burst into tears, and Sunny let out a soft wail. Violet wasn’t quite as good at crying on cue, but she did scrunch up her face, adjust her position so that her wounded shoulder was in view, and pleaded, “Please don’t tell anyone! We’ll leave, we just needed to open the cage!” 

The woman’s face fell into a look of startled sympathy, which was exactly what the siblings had been hoping for. “Oh my goodness! Oh, dear, don’t cry, children, it’s alright, I’m not mad!” 

Sunny continued wailing, to send the point home, while Klaus just grabbed Violet’s non-cut arm, burying his head in her shoulder. Violet said, “We’re- we’re sorry, please don’t tell anyone…” 

“Oh, children, it’s okay.” the woman moved forwards, putting a hand on Klaus’s arm. “It’s okay. You’re not in trouble. What’s going on? How’d you get in here? Why are you hurt?” 

“It’s… it’s a long story.” Violet made herself tremble, and said, “I’m Malina. These are my siblings, Louis and Presley. Do you live here?” 

The woman nodded. “My name is Justice Strauss. You children look hurt- why don’t you come with me? I can get you some food and try to help with those…” she glanced nervously at Violet’s cut and Klaus’s bruise. 

Violet bit her lip. “We’re not supposed to go with strangers-” 

“I understand that, but I also want to help. Here, why don’t we say this- you three won’t be separated, and I’ll stay in your sight at all times. Will that help?” 

Violet glanced at Klaus, who looked up at her and gave her a subtle nod. 

“O-okay, but you…” Violet took a breath. “You have to promise you’ll help us.” 

The woman nodded. “I promise.” she said. “Now, let’s get you some food.” 

Justice Strauss brought them to the kitchen, where she pulled out some cookies for them, and then she sat beside Violet, working on bandaging her arm. 

“Now,” she said, as Sunny, sitting on Klaus’s lap, reached for yet another cookie, “What happened?” 

Violet glanced at Klaus. They hadn’t had time to come up with a convincing story, and he was the best at that. 

“We lost our parents at the store yesterday.” Klaus said. “And some scary men took us away and hurt us. They left to get their boss, and we managed to unlock a window and run away.” 

“They put Presley in a cage.” Violet said, flinching as Strauss tied the bandage. “So we had to take that with us. We were breaking it open when you found us.” 

The Justice nodded. “That would explain the noise, and the cage. I can’t imagine who would put an infant in such a thing.” 

Violet considered shaking a little, to sell their fear, but that might disrupt the bandaging. “We don’t know what they wanted with us, but they said if we went to the police they’d find us, so we were just hiding out until our parents… til they find us. They’ll protect us.” 

“Now, children,” Justice Strauss said, “It is best to go to the authorities. If they threaten you to keep you from going to the police, that means they’re scared you will.” 

“But we don’t want to get kidnapped again.” Klaus mumbled, reaching to stop Sunny from taking another cookie. “We were hoping to just find a place to sleep and then wait for our parents to find us.” 

“Children, as much as I trust you have the best intentions, it really would be best to contact the police. They can help you.” 

Violet, Klaus and Sunny shared a doubtful look. 

“Well, it’s getting dark. I don’t want you wandering around at night.” Justice Strauss finished tying the bandage, and continued, “You can stay here tonight. I have a guest room, but there’s only one bed, I hope that’s alright.” 

Violet nodded. “Louis and I fall asleep very easily. But only if you’re sure- I’m sure we can find somewhere else tonight.” 

“Nonsense. I’m not about to let you all out when you believe yourselves to be in danger.” Justice Strauss said kindly. “I’ll show you to your room, and while I don’t think I have a crib for Presley-” 

“Lindell,” Sunny said, which meant, “I can sleep on pillows and blankets.” 

Klaus translated for her, and then said, “Thank you so much, Justice Strauss. And please don’t tell anyone where we are.” 

Justice Strauss looked a bit distant and unsure. Then, she said, “I’ll make sure you children are safe.” 

Violet and Klaus shared a worried look as they stood. 

The guest room was quite large, with a long desk, several lawbooks stacked atop it. The bed was pretty big, too, and all three children could easily fit onto it without problem.

“Justice Strauss, are you a lawyer?” Klaus asked, running his hand over the books with interest. 

“She’s a Judge, Kl- Louis.” Violet sighed, sitting down on the bed with Sunny. “That’s why she’s called a Justice.” 

“Oh.” Klaus’s face went a bit red. 

“It’s quite alright.” Justice Strauss said warmly. “If you children need anything, my room is right down the hall. I have a phone in the kitchen and in the living room, and you can take whatever food you need. Tomorrow morning I’ll see if there’s more we can do about your injuries.” 

“Thank you again.” Violet said, though she actually did mean it. “There are plenty of adults who would’ve thrown us out or called the police.” 

“I’m sure there are, but I can never stand to see someone in need of help.” 

After that Justice Strauss wished them goodnight, and then went to bed. 

“She didn’t even ask why we had so much shit in our bags.” Klaus said, after a second. “She seems very naive.” 

“Very trusting.” Violet bit her lip. “Feel a bit bad about all the lies.” 

“It’s better than telling her we’re on the run for our parents’ crimes.” Klaus said. He sat beside her, putting an arm around Sunny, and said, “Do you want to sneak to the library and take first watch, or should I?” 

“I’ll go. Wake you up in a few hours to switch.” she said. She looked down at her baby sister and said, “How are you feeling? Did you get hurt inside the cage?” 

Sunny shook her head, and then said, “Dian,” which meant, “I like Justice Strauss, do you think she’ll let us stay a while?” 

Violet and Klaus glanced at each other, and then Klaus slowly said, “Maybe.” He glanced down, and then said, “Violet?” 

“Yes?” 

He took a deep breath. “If… if Mr Snicket is dead… can anyone clear our parents’ names?” 

Violet was very, very silent. Then she said, “I’ll come get you when it’s your turn for watch.”

[redflowerwind]

The things we give

Summary: Charlie is willing to give, and MC is willing to take. But overworking and burn out is a common threat that all geniuses face.

Or: Charlie has to deal with a very burnt out MC. Slight angst. Fluff. Supportive!Charlie because he’s a cinnamon roll.

A/N: this is my last piece for Hogwarts Mystery Event Day 7: Free Day! I’m glad to have been able to participate in it.If anyone has any suggestions on what to write next, please don’t hesitate to ask! @hogwarts-mystery-event

The first few days of spring were marked with a mixture of torrential downpours, blooming flowers and chilly weather. The last puffs of draft wind did nothing to help against the chill, though the scent of wild grass brought tidings of warmer weather as the sun began to peak out more each day. It made the first full day of sunshine all too tempting to resist as both students and teachers alike flock to Hogsmeade that weekend. Everyone seemed happy, after all who wouldn’t be?

Allison wasn’t, that’s who.

Whilst everyone was out and about enjoying the brief stint of fine weather, she was stuck inside the castle doing homework. This was because this was a day where she could have been running around like a lunatic in Hogsmeade with Penny and Tonks, enjoying the sun and fresh air and a fresh pint of butterbeer. But instead, she had dragged herself to the stupid library. She couldn’t even go out to the castle grounds and spread her work there. Instead, she was forced into sitting inside the stuffy room and suffer through a mountain of potions, arithmancy and transfiguration.

“This sucks.” She grumbles, flipping through her battered copy of Numerology and Grammatica as she scribbles furiously into her parchment, “I should have taken Divination instead, at least you get to make up stuff.”

Charlie leans over her shoulder and takes a look at her work, frowning at the list of numbers that went on to the end of the page, “Wow, are you gunning for Professor Sinistra’s job or what?” He asks just as Allison flips unto the next page.

“More like she’ll have my head if I don’t get this done by Monday.” She replies, not looking up as she sucks on the tip of her quill before scribbling down ever more numbers. Her brow is furrowed as she turns back to the book and scans it, seemingly deep in thought.

“She really works you all hard, doesn’t she?” He says, eyeing the pile of books she had stacked around her, some covered heavily in dust and most smelling like old moldy paper, “I mean, when was the last time you even slept in your bed?”

Allison grabs another book off the tall pile and turns to him, raising a brow, “if you think this is bad, wait till next year. Also,” she clears her throat, “I’m not sure why it concerns you whether I sleep in my bed or not.” She says huffily.

“It does when your snoring is loud enough to wake up the whole house.” He smirks at her, thinking of the time he found her curled into a ball and fast asleep in the common room in the wee hours of the morning, “That was an erumpent’s level of snoring.”

Allison blushes bright red, and Charlie finds it funny with how it clashes with her silver hair. Her round face doesn’t make her look any less like a tomato. He surprisingly likes the look on her.

He feels his stomach flutter.

“Oh, just shut it would you.” She hisses out, just as Madam Pince pops out behind a towering book shelf right behind them and shushes them both loudly. She shoots them both a dirty look before skulking back behind the shelves.

They get back to work immediately after that and spend the next few hours in total silence. Allison finishing up her arithmancy homework and Charlie just lazily sketching through the latest developments of their Cornish pixies. It’s almost 3 when Allison finally rolls her parchment into a tight scroll and shoves it into her bag with her 10 or so books. She takes a long yawn and stretches, her head spinning slightly as her back emits a loud crack.

“Gonna take a break? You’ve been here for at least 6 hours. We can go grab some food.” His suggestion is turned down as Allison shakes her head and pulls a couple books nearer to her.

“Make it 8. You can go ahead if you want, I still have so much more to do.” She groans, ignoring the grumbling from her stomach.

Charlie reaches into his own bad and pulls out Spellman’s Syllabary, “nah, I need to finish up my ancient runes homework, unless you don’t mind sharing?” He adds hopefully.

“Unless you’re offering me your firstborn child, you know my answer is no.” She smirks at him, and it zaps him with a surge of electrifying energy he doesn’t recognize.

“Boo Hoo. You know I can’t do that.” He pouts, “imagine what my mum would say!”

Allison snorts, cracking her stiff knuckles. “You have like 6 other siblings, it’s not that bad. It’s for your own good.” She ends in an insufferably high voice she picked up from Angelica. Not one to give up so easily, Charlie pulls another trick up his sleeve.

“If you trade me your Charms essay I’ll let you look at my Transfiguration homework.” Charlie offers. While Ben was the best at Charms in their class, Allison’s work wasn’t too shabby either and he could use some help.

“Nice try Charlie, but I finished my transfiguration essay before you came in, though I wouldn’t mind checking your Banishing charms essay.” She adds after a thought, pulling out her another roll of parchment and her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. After her last potion exploded and sent nasty green gas throughout the dungeons, Snape saw it fit to punish her with a 12 feet long essay on the uses of standard ingredient.  

“Hopefully it’ll get through that thick skull of yours not to mess up so badly the next time you brew a simple common antidote, though I highly doubt it would.” He sneers as Merula makes faces at her behind him.

“I got to get start on this baby right here.” She pats the book with a grimace. Her past few potion classes have been a nightmare, and she swore if that kept up Snape would force her to drink her potion.

“He’s a real git, I can tell you that.” Charlie adds sympathetically. “I mean, did you even see what Ismelda did last class?”

“Nope,” She sighs and feels her shoulders throb as she started her essay, “I was too busy fighting off green gas remember. But Snape isn’t wrong though, my last few potions have been total bull crap.”

“Well, I’m sure if you focus more-“

“Now’s not the time for this Charlie-“

“Maybe pay closer attention-“

“Charlie-“

“And tried harder-“

“I am trying Charlie!” She snaps, fuming. He recoils immediately, looking as though her words burnt him. He stares at her with hurt eyes and she’s sure they did. But she’s too frustrated to apologize.

“Oh, why don’t you just take a walk or something. It’s a perfect day to be out, no point staying here with me.” She says, ignoring the soreness of her wrist as she attacks the essay. He doesn’t say anything, but neither does he leave.

“I’m sorry”, he mumbles some time later, and she grunts in response. Allison knew that Charlie didn’t deserve the short end of her temper, but her frustration had continued to mount further as another half an hour passes.

“Stupid, stupid book!” She spits out, slashing her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi furiously with her quill, she had barely made a dent in the essay, “Why on earth would Snape even want this essay for? It’s not like memorizing a hundred ways to deskin a puffer fish is going to help me!” She growls.

Just as Charlie opened his mouth, Madam Pince appears again. The old librarian looked ready to shush them once again, but her eyes fall onto Allison’s old textbook and she screams.

“Defiling a library book! Get out! Get out the both of you!” She screeches, lunging for the book. Allison immediately grabs on to it tightly and pulls.

“It’s mine! That book is mine!” She shouts back, but Madam Pince is mad with rage and she continue to pull relentlessly until Charlie kicks her in the shins. They then shove everything into their bags and makes a run for it, all the while hearing Madam Pince screams echo behind them.

“That old bat is mad I tell you,” Allison huffs, panting heavily as she rests herself against a wall, “now I won’t be able to finish this blasted thing in time.” She sighs. The late afternoon air is heavy and humid, unsurprising considering the amount of rain they have been getting. She looks around, squinting at the unfamiliar layout surrounding them.

“Do you know where we are?” Charlie pants out, she shakes a head and looks through her bag to make sure she has everything with her and gasps.

“What is it?” He asks as she proceeds to dump everything out and sift through the remains. Scattered pieces of parchment lie everywhere and the ground around her is covered in books.

“I lost my quill!” Allison cries out, angrily digging through her stuff. Charlie bends down to help her but there is no quill in sight.

“I must have left it at the library.” She moans, slapping her forehead repeatedly. “Can this day get any worse?”

“Only if you want it to be.” Charlie offers her bag back together with a book, their fingers brush when she accepts it and together they start packing things up.

“Where to now?” He asks, offering her a hand, and proceeded to grunt under the weight of the books in her bag as he pulls her to her feet, “God, you could lose some weight!” He teases.

Allison slaps his hands off, “I’m on a diet, okay?” She says, blatantly ignoring the pile of honeydukes chocolates she had stashed underneath her bed.

“Sure.” From the look on his face, Charlie seems to know about that stash of chocolate too.

Allison is about to make a swift rebut when they hear a nearby classroom door suddenly creak open. They both look at each other and draw their wands out. A couple years in Hogwarts have thought them that wondering into places blindly is a mistake that only idiots would make.

Unfortunately, they were also the type of idiots to walk straight into danger rather than the opposite direction.

“What is this place?” He mutters. The ceilings are unbelievably high past the threshold, and every inch of the place is covered with crate upon crates of parchment and books. There’s a desk and a chair in the middle, and it’s a complete mess of used ink bottles and broken quills. Strange diagrams are propped up against the walls along with handwritten notes pasted beside them. Its horribly dusty and he sneezes.

“Jacob’s room.” Allison states, her voice very small, “We found another one.”

She’s standing by the desk, holding something in her hand. Charlie approaches her and sees her sifting through hundreds of pages of writings, the words matching the same notes on the walls. He comes in closer to look at the words before she promptly tosses it all to the floor, her eyes glinting wildly.

Without another word, she turns back to the desk and proceeds to swipe everything off the desk. Ink bottles shatter when they fall to the ground, dried ink breaking into pieces.

“Hey-Hey! What are you doing!” He grabs unto her arm, and he feels her tremble violently.

“Allison, please calm down. Come, take a deep breath with me, let’s count to 10. I promise it’ll help.” He holds on to her until her ragged breaths even out and releases her. She still doesn’t speak and saunters off to a different part of the room.

Giving her the space she needs, he goes through the desk. The writings are too messy to read and seem to be written in either some sort of code or a totally different language all together. He starts to think the room was a lost cause until he feels a tap on his shoulder.

Allison is standing there, her expression unreadable as she holds up a picture. It’s tattered and faded, but he can clearly make out the images of a young Jacob Reed and an even younger Allison waving happily at him.

Charlie grins softly, pointing at a younger Allison in the photo. “Look at you, I can barely recognize you. In a dress and all, you look so prissy.” He laughs, turning to face her and his smile drops immediately. Allison stares at him with wide eyes, and he recoils when they start to overflow.

“Hey, hey. I didn’t mean that,” he sets the photo down, and instantly found himself grabbing her arms, “I like you. I mean the you in the photo. I-I also like you now, but you look very cute then! I mean, you still look cute now!” He fumbles, and laughs awkwardly, feeling the ends of his hair standing on edge. But she looks to the floor and Charlie resists the urge to shove his foot into his mouth.

The floor is littered with teardrops.

And without thinking, he engulfs her in a hug.

He’s taller than her now, the top of her head brushing his nose. Her hair tickles his cheek, and he can’t help but note that she smells strongly of fresh laundry and wild grass. He feels her stiffen as she immediately begins to pull away from him.

“It’s not that.” She mumbles out, pressing her palms against her face, “I lost my quill.”

“We can get a new one?” He suggests nervously. Allison shakes her head violently.

“I lost my quill. I lost my brother. I lost my home. I can’t even brew a single potion right without something exploding in my face now.” She spits out, fingers clenched into tight fist, and she bangs them against her face.

Charlie takes hold of them immediately, “Hey don’t do that! Look it’s not your fault. Whatever happened here, it’s not your fault.” She brings herself closer to him and buries her face into her hands and lets out a sob.

“It isn’t your fault.” He repeats, still holding onto her hands as he rests his forehead against her. “It really isn’t.”

“I know it’s not, I know! But,” Allison pauses and looks up at him, and he sees for the first time what years of desperately trying to hold everything together could do to a person.

Her blue eyes are flooded, rimmed red and puffy from tears, and he doesn’t miss the circles under her eyes, or the dryness of her skin. Her face is unusually gaunt under the dim light, her bony wrists shake furiously, looking so very young. She looks absolutely broken.

“I tried so hard, Charlie. I really did. I tried so, so hard.” She whispers, “I thought if I just focused on school, on work, on anything, then I’ll be ok. I really thought I would be.”

“I wanted to leave it all, to just walk wherever my feet would take me and never look back.” She smiles painfully, shuddering as he breathed in. He feels her wrist shake even more, “but I just couldn’t, Charlie. I kept going back to the very thing that was hurting me even though I knew that it would eat me alive.”

“And look where that brought me.” She looks down to the ground, “I scared everyone away. I lost so many points, Gryffindor is losing and now everyone is in danger because of me. But I still thought I could do it all on my own, I believed so much in myself that I couldn’t see how it was pushing everyone away, pushing you away.”

Allison stops shaking, gently pulling away from him and he lets her go. “I’m sorry Charlie. I’ve been a real prat to you.”

“Yeah you have been.” He says lightly, punching her lightly on the head. She looks to him. “But at least you know it too now, and you’re willing to change.”

“But what if it’s too late? What if we can’t fix it in time? What if-“ She starts again, panicked, but he holds out a hand. She stares at it.

“Leave tomorrow’s troubles for tomorrow. Trust me on this, Allison. I’m here for you. We’re all here for you.” He says firmly and looks right into her eyes, “Ben, Rowan, Tonks, Tulip, Bill, you can trust us. We’ll help you.”

She lets out a watery laugh, and her reply makes his heart jump to his throat.

“Don’t forget about yourself.”

The grin that spreads across his face is uncontrollable, especially after she takes his hand into her smaller one.

“Of course I won’t. I’ll be there for you too, just like how I am here now.” He reassures her, and the look on her face makes him feel like the luckiest boy in Scotland.

Charlie isn’t sure how it happened, but suddenly they were both sitting against a few crates, Allison cradling the old photograph in hand. She stared at it blankly for a moment before suddenly pulling up a blanket over them both and leans on his shoulder.

“I’m so tired Charlie.” She says.

I know.

“I think I’ve been tired for a long time.” Her gaze is distant.

I know.

“I just keep going and going.”

You do.

“But I just can’t find the top.”

There is no top.

“I’m all burned out.”

You are.

“I have been, for a long, long time.”

It’s alright.

“Can you read to me?”

He grins and leans in closer to her. She’s soft, and warm, and she’s sitting next to him.

“Yes, do you want to hear more about dragons?”

“I would love to.”

They rest there, silent except for the soft hum of Charlie’s voice as he recites stories of dragons and fairies, and gradually they both began to relax. Sometimes he too would just stop to hear the chirping cicadas roaming the castle grounds, and they would smile at each other, noses bumping. Charlie is still all too aware of how her hand was still wrapped around his, and how they filled in his gaps just perfectly. The small window was their only way to keep track of the time and under the blanket, both of their eyes started to droop, and before any of them knew, they fell into a deep slumber.

Love is strange, it’s patient, tender and kind.

It’s also very mysterious.

Just as the bright April sky faded away to inky darkness, they both knew deep down what this all meant.

And at that moment, everything changed.

Bonus scene:

Bill knows something is up between Charlie and Allison.

To the untrained eye, their relationship looks almost the same, Almost.

There are more shared looks now, soft whispers, knowing smiles and plenty of brushing fingers. Allison braids Charlie’s hair almost every other day now and Charlie sits next to her at almost every meal. In the evenings, they sit side by side near the fire place in comfortable silence.

Oh yes, Bill knows something is up, he notes as Allison erupts into laughter when Charlie broadcasts his ability to push milk through his ear, and he smiles, turning back to his book.

He isn’t going to say anything about it until they do though.

That is until the whole house decides that blowing milk out of one’s ear was the apparent best way to greet someone.

[astra-knights]

Crashing Seas: Aphmau AU

Word length: 3900+

Summary: Ever since the early death of Mermaid Queen Rachel, King Derek of Atlantis shuts out anything from the Mainland and forbids interaction for the safety of his home. His eldest daughter Melissa has other plans and strives to discover more about the world she is forbidden to see with her brother, Aaron, and many of her closest friends. When she happens to meet a beautiful Mainlander girl named Lucinda, would Melissa risk all she’s known to know more about this girl and her world, or is she doomed to fail?

Note: This is based loosely on the Little Mermaid Disney film with unique twists and character changes, I hope you all enjoy! If you’d like to be added to the tag list, send me an ask or a dm <3

Tag List: @ptsdaaron

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter One: Breaking from the Wreckage

 Melissa was laying on her seabed, staring out the open hole of her bedroom. She was waiting for the sun to rise high enough to light the waters she lived in. She had her arm under her head, her brown hair floating around her. She was getting anxious, that was one of the reasons why she was awake before the sun touched the seafloor. She wanted to go scavenging again, and today was the best day for several weeks. Being the crowned princess was a pain, Melissa had to take extra classes, do extra public events, and have less time to herself compared to her younger brother Aaron. Even though they were two years apart, they couldn’t be more different. Melissa was excitable and adventurous, often the one getting caught in trouble out of the pair. Aaron was quiet and reserved, he knew how to not get caught. Despite the differences, they pulled a lot of adventures together. Their proudest adventures were scavenges from sunken Mainlander ships, finding new and interesting gadgets that they knew nothing about as Merpeople but were fun nonetheless. The two siblings loved their scavenges since it gave them a reason to get closer together. Ever since their mother died, their father had become distant and cold to them, so they relied on each other to keep afloat.

Sunlight broke through the water, fracturing in beams across the pale seafloor; the water went from a deep blue to a green-teal right before Melissa’s eyes. She smiled. She swam out of bed and went across the room to Aaron, shaking his shoulder rather aggressively, she whispered, “Aaron! Aaron wake up!”

Aaron whined, stretching a bit. He turned over and opened his eyes a sliver, the deep ruby color shadowed by his lashes, “Whhaaattt?”

“We need to leave, now!” Melissa said with excited urgency, “We’ll only get a few hours!”

Aaron rubbed his eyes, yawning, “What time is it?”

“Sunlight just touched,” Melissa replied.

“Sweet Irene, Melissa, how long were you awake?” he asked, sitting up.

Melissa hesitated.

Aaron looked at her, his face showed concern. “Were you thinking about Mom again?”

Melissa didn’t say anything, which only confirmed Aaron’s concern. She changed the subject, “Anyway! I saw this old wreck the other day over by the ravine, it’s close to falling in. We should head there first.”

“I, um,” Aaron didn’t want the subject to change quite yet. He didn’t like that whenever their mother was mentioned, everyone shut down on him. He had questions, he was missing some pieces, and no one will give him any. But he decided to leave it for now and he said, “Alright. Lead the way.”

Melissa grinned and swam over to the open window, looking over her shoulder to make sure Aaron was following. Melissa led the way to the ravine, careful not too swim too fast since Aaron tended to lag behind as he got lost in his thoughts. The swim to the ravine was far from any of the outside villages so they didn’t have to hide from the curious eyes of their people. Their father, King Derek, kept them on a tight leash ever since their mother died so it was rare to see the royal siblings out for a swim on their own without supervision. So, to keep their father from hearing about their adventures, they traveled early and away from anyone who could see them.

They arrived at the mouth of the ravine, Melissa stopped a little over the lip and looked for the ship. The ship was broken in half, the front of the ship was lost to the ravine, but the back of the ship sat balanced on a ledge several meters down into the ravine. The sunlight exposed the ship’s golden accents that would have been hidden in the darkness otherwise, that’s how Melissa found it. She smiled when she saw it, her whole body felt tingly with excitement as to what they would find down there. Aaron swam up next to her, he looked down at the broken, barely stable wreck of a ship and said, “Tell me you’re not serious.”

“Oh come on, Aaron,” Melissa said with a grin, “Live a little.”

She swam down towards the ship, Aaron followed with, “If I die I’m blaming you.”

Melissa was too excited to listen to her brother’s concern as she entered the large hole of the ship. She looked around the dim area, awed by the curious environment. She couldn’t name the objects around her like the globe, the astrolabe, the chart of the stars, the pens and ink wells, they were all foreign to her, but they were so interesting. Melissa approached the astrolabe first, it rested on a desk with an overturned chair nearby. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands as Aaron went over to the shelves. He picked up a small snow globe, though he didn’t know what it was. He shook it and watched the small flakes of fake snow float around, settling down on the plastic snow covered houses.

“Hey Aaron, check it out!”

He turned and saw Melissa looking through the astrolabe’s scope, she was smiling at him. She could see his face clearly, especially the amused look he gave her as he said, “You’re a child.”

“I prefer an adult that knows how to have fun,” she said with a grin. She lowered the scope, “What did you find?”

“Some—uh,” Aaron waved the snow globe around, showing it’s floating snow, “glass, ball, thing. It’s cool.”

“Oh!” Melissa said as she swam over to inspect it. She shook the snow globe vigorously, watching the blizzard of fake snow swirl around, “Awesome. We’ll have to take it to Dante, along with this thingy,” she said, holding up the astrolabe.

Melissa looked around for a bag or a crate to put the stuff in as Aaron moved over to the globe in the corner, he spun it around and watched it lazily as he said, “You know he doesn’t know what he’s talking about right? He doesn’t actually know anything.”

“He knows more than you,” Melissa defended, “He had a childhood friend on the mainland, he showed Dante all sorts of cool gadgets.”

“Ah yes, the boy with white hair,” Aaron said with a scoff, crossing his arms, “That doesn’t sound made-up.”

Melissa sighed as she over turned an open wooden crate, placing the astrolabe and the snow globe inside before picking it up, she turned to look at her brother. Aaron was playing with the globe, spinning it and stopping it before spinning it and stopping it again. Something was eating at him, that was obvious. Melissa swam over with the crate, she rested it on her hip and said, “Do you know where we are?”

“Not really.”

“We’re right,” Melissa spun the globe a bit before finding their home. Her finger tip covered part of the large tip of the Mainland and she slid it down a few degrees and stopping, “here.”

“How’d you know?”

“Mom showed me,” she said.

Aaron looked at Melissa, “We had one of these?”

“Not really, Mom found one and showed it to me,” Melissa said, “I think it’s a globe, if I’m remembering right. I think Dad got rid of it after she—” Melissa stopped herself.

Aaron looked over at his sister. Now was his chance. He swallowed and said, “What happened to her?”

Melissa didn’t reply. She turned away from the globe and said, “Let’s find some other things to bring to Dante.”

Aaron got upset and spun around towards Melissa as she packed the crate with other trinkets, “Why won’t anyone tell me anything? I’m not a child any more than you are!”

“It’s not important Aaron, just drop it,” Melissa said.

“It’s not fair!” Aaron shouted, “Why won’t you tell me anything? Why do you keep having nightmares about Mom? Why do you go out of your way to find these—these pieces of junk, when you know Dad hates it?”

“This isn’t junk, Aaron, they’re part of entire world!” Melissa defended, “An entire world we know nothing about! How can we just ignore them when bits of their culture are falling into our home every day?! You can’t expect our people to just ignore it.”

“So we go against our father, the king of Atlantis, to prove a point?” Aaron said, crossing his arms and leaning against a beam on the ship. “That’s a bit childish for the future queen of Atlantis.”

“Oh whatever, I won’t be queen for decades,” Melissa said, “And until then I’m going to do whatever the hell I want,” she turned and grinned at Aaron, “with my partner in crime.”

Aaron rolled his eyes, a tug of a smile on his face, “You’re not winning me over with that lame title.”

“Would you prefer…Double Trouble?” Melissa said with a growing grin.

“Don’t make it worse.”

“Couple of Dudes.”

“Please stop.”

“Beauty and the Beast.”

“Now you’re just insulting yourself.”

Melissa busted a lung laughing, she had to grab onto the nearby shelf for support. Aaron began to laugh at his sister’s hysteric laughing. Their relationship had its tensions, as many relationships did, and they always seemed to bounce back. But no amount of teasing and subject changes would stop the growing tension between the two.

When the laughter died down, Melissa said, “C’mon, grab more stuff.”

Aaron swam to the other side of the room to grab more trinkets, he grabbed a few before swimming back to his sister and putting them in. Once Melissa was satisfied with their haul, they left the wreck and swam out of the ravine. A few hours had passed while they were down there, so they were running low on time before they had to do royal obligations for the day. Melissa looked around cautiously before she said, “Hurry, let’s go to Dante.”

Melissa led the way to Dante’s cove located closer to the Mainland shores. Aaron followed after her, watching her with mild upset. He couldn’t help but kick himself for being so easily persuaded to change the subject he wanted to talk about for years. He knew that the Mainlanders were responsible and that her death was the reason for the ban of Mainlander interaction and objects, but there was more to it. He could feel it, he could see it in his sister’s eyes and his father’s cold shoulder, there was something he was missing, and it was his right to know. She was his mother too. He could feel his bond with his sister growing thinner and thinner the more she avoided his questions and changed the subject. He felt torn between knowing the truth, and keeping his best friend. He had no idea what to do.

Melissa swam to the mouth of Dante’s cove before stopping, she called inside, “Dante! You home?”

There was a clatter and a crash from inside followed by Dante’s voice echoing through the cove, “You scared me Princess, come on in.”

Melissa led the way into the cove and Aaron lagged behind. Dante’s cove wasn’t his home but it might as well be. It was a secret cove that was full of Mainlander trinkets and tools like hammers, screws, wrenches, clogs, and other bits of things. He liked messing around with Mainlander items to see how they worked and functioned. Since he was young he always had a fascination these types of objects, and then King Derek banned anything from the Mainland, so Dante moved to a secret cove. The only reason Melissa and Aaron knew about it was because Melissa wanted to know about the objects they found, and Dante was suggested. They had an agreement, keep Dante’s cove a secret and he’ll give any knowledge he could about any objects the siblings find.

Dante was swimming around his cove, rushing to tidy up his messy workspace with pulled apart objects and such. He pushed a crate onto one of the ridges in the cove as he looked over his shoulder to see Melissa and Aaron enter, “Ah, there you are. Sorry about the mess.”

“Is it messier than usual?” Aaron asked, looking around, “I didn’t notice.”

Melissa gave her brother a look as Dante swam down to them, he noticed the crate and put his hands together, “More goodies for me?”

“Sort of,” Melissa said, “Mind taking a look?”

“Anything for you Princess,” Dante said with a smile, “Put it on my desk.”

Dante led the way to his work bench, Melissa eagerly following. Aaron kept a few feet away, arms crossed, but his eyes on Dante and Melissa. Melissa put the crate down on his work bench and leaned on the table with excitement as Dante rifled through the objects in the crate. He pulled out the snow globe Aaron found and examined it, first the miniature snow-covered buildings and then tilting to look at the base. When he saw the floating snow, he shook up the globe and watched the fake snow fly around. He smiled, “I know this, it’s a snow globe. My old friend Travis showed me one when I was a kid.”

“Is that the guy with white hair or is this a totally new ‘friend’?” Aaron asked.

“Aaron,” Melissa warned as she gave him a look.

“May I remind you that you have a friend with bright red hair?” Dante said, “And my hair color isn’t exactly normal either.”

“Oh, so white hair is totally plausible then?” Aaron said, sarcastically.

“Absolutely,” Dante said with a tight smile, making Aaron roll his eyes. He added, “Careful, you keep doing that and your pretty eyes will get stuck there.”

Aaron glared at him and Melissa stepped in, “Aaron don’t be a jerk. If you’re going to be trouble, then watch the entrance.”

Aaron felt hurt that his sister didn’t take his side and he tensed up before he backed down and mumbled, “I’ll stay.”

Melissa nodded with vindication before she returned her attention to Dante, she leaned forward, “Go on, tell me more.”

Dante smiled at her and picked out something, the astrolabe Melissa was looking through earlier. He said, “Ah, beautiful,” Melissa smiled, excited to Dante put a name to the object she found. He looked it over and said, “This…this is a, uh,” Dante glanced at Melissa’s excited expression and felt a bit of guilt before he said, “This is obviously a…Scope…ilizer. Yeah, Scopeilizer.”

Melissa beamed at the name as Aaron snorted and said, “Yeah, that’s a real name.”

“Aaron!” Melissa scolded, glaring at him.

“Oh come on, that was totally a fake name,” Aaron argued, “He hesitated!”

“I just, forgot for a bit,” Dante defended, digging himself deeper into the lie he was building, “But it came to me in the end.”

“Thanks so much Dante,” Melissa said to him with a smile, “You have no idea what this means to me, to us. You telling me about these objects, helps me understand the Mainlanders more.”

Dante smiled a bit, “Anytime, Princess.”

“Gross.”

“Alright Aaron, swim along we’re leaving now,” Melissa said as she picked up the astrolabe and the snow globe, “You can keep the rest of the stuff Dante.”

“Very kind of you Princess, swim safe,” Dante said as Melissa swam towards the mouth of the cove.

Aaron hesitated, staring at Dante with both annoyance and confusion. Aaron was curious about his motives, what reason did he have to lie? And rather poorly too.

“Aaron! Come on!”

Aaron left the cove and swam after Melissa, who had waited for him. As they swam back towards the palace, Aaron said, “We’re cutting it close, aren’t we?”

“Don’t worry so much, we’ll make it,” Melissa said.

“But our cove—”

“Don’t worry about the stuff now, we’ll just hide it in our room for the night,” she said.

“Melissa—”

“It’ll be fine Aaron, trust me.”

Aaron didn’t trust her, especially with the very thing that could cause their father to burst into hellish flames. Aaron held his tongue, though he didn’t like it. They swam into their window and Melissa hid the items under her bed quickly as the door opened, revealing their father’s personal advisor.

“Morning Ein,” Aaron greeted, eyeing his very suspiciously acting sister.

Ein was the son of the former advisor to the king, and with his father’s recent retirement Ein was made the new advisor. He was good at his job and the siblings enjoyed having someone they grew up with in charge of their everyday life, rather than a bitter old man. Ein rested his hands behind his back casually and greeted, “Prince Aaron, Princess…Melissa?”

Surprised by Ein’s presence, Melissa slammed the top of her head on the base of her bed as she tried to get out. Ein had an amused smile on his face as Melissa showed herself out from underneath the bed, she smiled sheepishly and said, “Ein! How are you?”

“After that, much better,” Ein replied with a cheeky grin.

“If our father giving you trouble again?” Aaron asked as Melissa straightened.

“You know it’s illegal to talk bad about the king.”

“Since when?” Melissa asked.

“Since both my job and family pride are on the line,” Ein said with a small smile. “Either way, your father wishes to see you both before we start our schedule for today.” He waved towards the doorway, “Shall we?”

Ein led the way down the hallway as Melissa and Aaron followed. Melissa whispered to Aaron, “What do you think Dad wants to talk to us about?”

“Probably your terrible table manners.”

Melissa elbowed him, “Be serious.”

“I am.”

Melissa hit him, making Aaron’s teasing grin grow. Ein stopped at their father’s throne room and he said, “Here we are.” Both siblings straightened immediately in attention as Ein opened the doors and said, “Your highness, I present your daughter Melissa, and your son Aaron.”

Melissa entered first, followed by Aaron. Their father had his back to them, hands clasped. The two siblings could feel the rising tensions in the room, Aaron swallowed nervously. Their father said, “Thank you Ein, that will be all.”

Ein closed the door and they were left alone with their father. Derek turned to face his children, his face was sunken with the grief of losing his wife for many years and the isolation he caused because of it. He looked at his children as if he was seeing them for the first time, they looked a lot older than he remembered. When did they stop being so young? Melissa felt the awkward tension building and decided to speak, “Good morning father,” Derek looked at her, “Did you sleep well?”

“No,” came his blunt reply, “No I did not.” Melissa felt tenser now. Derek said, “I didn’t call you here for pleasantries. I called you two here to tell you, that from now on you two will be in separate rooms.”

“What?” Melissa said with sudden surprise, forgetting her place, “Why?”

“You need to focus on your preparations to take on the throne,” Derek said, “I want you to be ready when the time comes.”

“Which won’t be for several decades!” Melissa argued, “Father, please—”

“This isn’t up to discussion,” Derek said harshly, “You’re lucky I’m even telling you beforehand. Ein convinced me to on your behalf.”

“Father, please, we need each other,” Melissa said, desperate. She needed Aaron in her life, she wouldn’t survive otherwise; she couldn’t handle feeling alone. “I need him.”

“He’s holding you back,” Derek said. “My decision is final. Aaron, you are to move your belongings to a room on the other side of the palace—”

“Father!”

“You are not to visit her during her lessons, you are not to distract her from her duties as the future queen, do I make myself clear?”

Melissa looked at Aaron, wanting him desperately to say no, to tell their father off. But Aaron’s face was blank, he had shut himself down emotionally. He responded, “Yes, sir.”

“Aaron,” Melissa said, hurt by his betrayal, “Aaron, no.” She turned to Derek, “Father please don’t do this. We’re all that’s left for each other.”

“We’re done here,” Derek said as he turned his back on his children once again. “Ein! Take my children to their room, have Aaron pack and prepare Melissa for her lessons.”

Ein entered at the call of his name and after hearing his instructions, Ein replied, “Of course, sir.”

Melissa wanted to scream, shout, cry, something. But all she could do was glare at her father’s back with frustration and anger. Ein led them out of the room and back to their own. Aaron began to pack his belongings numbly, slowly, while Melissa sat on her bed in quiet thought and Ein stood out in the hallway. After a few moments of heavy silence, Melissa said, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Aaron said, “What would I have said? He seemed pretty set on everything.”

“You could have backed me up,” Melissa said, “Actually show your support for me for once.”

“Are you serious right now?” Aaron said, “I’m literally leaving to go to the other side of the castle and never see you again, and you wanna start a fight?”

Melissa sighed, hanging her head. She couldn’t fathom being alone in this hell of a castle without her best friend by her side constantly. She didn’t want to be alone. Who would she talk to late at night? Who would help her with her lessons? Who would keep her secret with her? Who could replace someone like Aaron in her life? She didn’t mean to start crying and she sniffled, wiping her nose, “No, no, sorry. I just…I don’t want to lose you Aaron.”

Aaron had stopped packing, he hesitated before he said, “You won’t lose me Mel. You couldn’t if you tried.”

Melissa looked up at him and smiled. Aaron smiled a bit back, Melissa swam over to him and hugged him tight. Aaron held onto her, he was afraid of losing her just as much as she was of losing him. It was then that Melissa was struck with a wonderful, and very bad idea. She pulled away and whispered to him, “We should go see a Mainlander ship. A real one! Tonight, after sundown!”

Aaron was confused, “Wait, what?”

“You should come to me since I’ll be more guarded after my argument with father,” Melissa said, beginning to brainstorm. “We should bring Dante along too!”

“Wait, wait, Melissa—”

“No, no, you’re right, too many people involved,” Melissa said, “It’ll be us two, a duo mission.”

“Melissa hold on,” Aaron said, finally getting her attention, “It’s one thing scavenging a wrecked Mainlander ship for trinkets, but going to a live one? With Mainlanders on it? With spears?”

“Aaron you worry too much! We’ll be careful, we’re always careful,” Melissa said. She took his hands and said, “Please, Aaron, one final mission for us as a team. Our biggest plot yet. We’ll just watch, no interaction.”

Aaron hesitated, this had “bad idea” written allover it, like a majority of Melissa’s ideas. But the pleading look in Melissa’s eyes made him reconsider it. This was going to be the last fun thing Melissa would be doing for a while, and the last fun thing Aaron would do with his best friend at his side. He tightened his grip on her hands with assurance before nodding firmly, “Alright. Let’s find ourselves a ship.”

[sansaurora9904]

Chapter III

Wooyoung knew that when San promised to save him that something was gonna go wrong.

And he hated that he was right.

It's been 4 years since he last saw the black-haired male.

4 years since the love of his life disappeared.

4 years since he felt the bond almost shatter.

Wooyoung sighs softly and gets up from his bed, quietly unlocking the door and peeking out. He quickly packs a bag with clothes and some food and hides it in the closet.

He walks out of his room and heads to the kitchen, nerves working quickly as he turns on the light. He grabs a few ingredients from the fridge and starts making food, working quickly as possible before Minhyung comes back.

He finishes and sets his plate down on the table with a can of beer. He drops in 5 sleeping pills and mixes them well. Once he hears Minhyung walking in, he cleans up everything and puts everything back in its place.

"Wooyoung?"

"Yes Master?"

"Is dinner ready?"

"Yes it is Master. It's on the table."

Minhyung nods and sits down, grabbing his fork and starts eating. Wooyoung watches him from the side, nervously shifting in his place as Minhyung takes his time to eat.

Minhyung reaches for the beer can and gulps it down in one go. Wooyoung watches him as his body twitches and his head falls on the table, the pills working quickly as he put 5 in the beer can.

Wooyoung quickly walks back to his room and takes the bag from the closet, running out of the house into the deep forest. Once he's far away from Minhyung's pack, he shifts into his wolf form and places the bag straps around his neck, the bag hanging and reaching the ground a bit.

Wooyoung breaks into a full sprint, running as fast as his small Omega body allows him to.

Wooyoung never found out where his parents are, doesn't know who they are or their origins, which packs they were from, never knew if he has siblings or not.

Wooyoung has been alone his whole life. When he met San, something changed in him. He wanted to feel wanted, wanted the attention of the Alpha, wanted to be a good Omega and bear pups for his Alpha.

Wooyoung knew that when he and San met for the first time, they were destined to be together. He knows the Moon Goddess set them up with a purpose. A purpose they both have to fulfill.

Wooyoung stops and hides into a large bush that was covered with thick layers of snow. He lays down on his stomach and rests his head on his front paws, body shivering as the cold and harsh weather worsens. Within a few tries Wooyoung manages to close his eyes and fall asleep.

When Wooyoung wakes up in the morning, his body is stiff and numb. He can't move his limbs, however he manages to raise his head up and howl as much as he can. Feeling heavily exhausted, he lets his head drop back down and close his eyes, his system sending him into deep slumber again.

(¿-¿)

When San rested fully, Seonghwa trained him to be a better Alpha, to be stronger, faster, wiser. Within few days he gained his strength back, his body healing much faster as he got stronger and stronger.

The youngest member, Jongho, trained him in physical strength while his mate, Yeosang, taught him emotional strength. Their teachings were helpful for San, allowing him to know when to show his emotions and when not to.

Seonghwa taught him physical strength as well, but it was mostly combat and to know what kind of strength you should use between your enemies and loved ones. Seonghwa's mate, Hongjoong, taught him about Omegas, everything from the basics of courting to mating. Hongjoong knows it was, and still is, on San's mind. He can tell how much San loves his mate.

"Kids, dinner!" San hears Hongjoong from downstairs. He also learned that Seonghwa and Hongjoong developed a habit of calling the younger members "kids", which also included their own sisters.

San gets up from his bed after he fixes it, making sure the pillows are just the way he likes it. He grabs a clean shirt from the closet and puts it on, the long sleeves making it look like he has sweater paws. He chuckles at the irony and heads downstairs to the kitchen, watching the two kids run excitedly to their parents.

San has to admit that Sooyoung and Soojin have brought a lot of happiness to Seonghwa and Hongjoong, the two males much happier and chirpful since he last saw them.

San walks into kitchen and realizes he's the last one, again. If anyone noticed, no one said anything. San mentally thanks Seonghwa and Hongjoong, knowing that the two mates understand what he feels.

He takes his plate from Hongjoong and utensils from Seonghwa, sitting down on the kitchen island and eating quietly.

"Mama!" Sooyoung asks excitedly.

"Yes baby?" Hongjoong looks down and carefully picks up the blonde girl, setting her on the counter gently.

"Who's Wooyoung?"

San knew the kids were gonna ask that question. But how do you explain to a 4 year old child that your mate is forced to be a sex slave his whole life?

"He's a friend baby. He's on a trip." Hongjoong lies. He knows he can't tell her the truth, she wouldn't understand.

The 4 year old nods and reaches out for Hongjoong again, the white-haired male taking her in his arms and resting her on his hip. Sooyoung wraps her small arms around her mommy's neck and rests her head in between where his shoulder and neck meet.

Hongjoong kisses her head softly and walks upstairs to her room. He meets Seonghwa in there who just finished making the bed. He changes her into grey pajamas with wolf imprints on it and lays her down on the bed gently, pulling the covers over her and kissing her forehead softly.

Seonghwa goes to him and kisses his shoulder softly. Hongjoong looks at him with soft eyes and Seonghwa smiles, pulling the Omega close and walking out of the room after turning off the light.

The mates walk downstairs and head into the kitchen, seeing San washing up his plate and utensils. The Alpha hums softly and dries the porcelain plate, putting it back into the shelves and cleaning up the small mess he made while washing the items.

Hongjoong goes to him and kisses his temple softly."Go and sleep Sannie." San nods and walks back to his room.

He closes the door and heads to the bathroom, he takes a quick shower and changes into sweatpants only. He turns off the lights and lays down onto the fluffy mattress. Once he closes his eyes he falls into deep slumber.

When San wakes up, it's morning. He sits up and ruffles his hair, his mouth turning into a yawn as he looks around. He spots snow on the window.

He gets up from the bed and walks to the window. The snow is  heavily thick, no trace of life present.

'San?' Seonghwa calls him through the pack link.

'Hm?'

'Jongho and I are going out, gonna go and scout. Wanna come with?'

'Yeah. I'll be downstairs shortly.' San replies back and changes into black turtleneck, black jeans and black boots.

He walks out of his room and meets the two Alphas on the porch, the two conversing about something. Seonghwa notices him first and greets him with a nod.

"Okay, there's a small blizzard coming soon. We're gonna scout around our border and come back if we find nothing. Understood?" San and Jongho nod.

Seonghwa nods back and shifts into his wolf form, his pitch black fur and red eyes standing out with the white snow. San and Jongho follow him, the two Alphas shaking their fur. San's fur was black as well but with a white strap going from his forehead to his nose and red eyes with small blue flicks.  Jongho's fur was a mix of dark orange and dark brown with red eyes as well.

Seonghwa goes first, the two following him as they look around. After a bit Seonghwa tells them to separate and the two do as told, both going their own way but still in their border.

San runs the scouting around northeast. The place there had little snow due to the fact that it was heavily surrounded and covered with very thick trees and bushes.

A howl, small but weak, rings in the air.

'Hwa?'

'We heard it too. Stay still until Jongho and I arrive.'

'Okay.'

San decides to half obey and half disobey the order. The howl was too much familiar to him. San gets up from his sitting position and heads to the sound, stealthy making his way to it.

He sniffs the air. The scent of apples is heavily present in the air.

He hears Seonghwa and Jongho behind him, the two Alphas following behind him. San crouches down in front of a large bush and tucks his tail in, his flight or fight alert on.

He slowly approaches the bush and using his paws he removes the snow. He steps into the bush and looks down at the sleeping and shivering body.

Wooyoung.....

'Hwa, Jongho, help me put him on my back. He's freezing.'

Seonghwa and Jongho nod, helping him put Wooyoung's shivering body on his back. He stumbles a little from the sudden weight but recovers quickly.

This is gonna be a long day.

Previous Chapter : Next Chapter

[donutpwns]

Journey to the Roots - Part 6

Part 5 - Part 7

They’re doing the talking in unison thing again. Great. And the eye thing, that’s back. Lovely, this is just what Stan needs. He says a prayer to all the gods he doesn’t believe in anymore as he moves in the circle to recheck the knots because he’d rather not get stabbed again. He’s going to be limping for a while as is. Or risk them hurting themselves or Ford going crossbow happy again.

“OH HO HO, TIED UP, HUH? WELL ISN’T THIS CUTE!” the twins laugh that fucked up laugh that sends a shiver down his spine. His brother isn’t handling it much better what with the way he’s twitching next to them. “MAN, THIS HAS TO LOOK VERY MESSED UP TO AN OUTSIDER! TWO GROWN MEN WITH SMALL CHILDREN TIED UP! IT’S HILARIOUS!”

Ford’s got a notebook in one hand, repeatedly tapping his index finger against the paper impatiently. “Stanley, are you finished?” he is pointedly not looking at the kids which seems to just amuse them as they wiggle in their seats.

The knots are secure as they can be; Stan wishes they had zipties or duct tape instead. That’s the stuff you wanted to use if you didn’t want people escaping. Which, you know, screwed up thought to have about kids, but what was to be done. Stan takes one last moment to use the last bit of rope to tie the kids’ hands together, making sure they stay in contact even if they try to pull away. Stan doesn’t know what would happen if this weird connection thing was broken while he and Ford were in their heads, since that was apparently what they were about to do, but he’d rather not find out.

“Alright, Poindexter, say whatever stupid nerd words you need to for us to do the thing.”

Ford's face pinches in a way that would be comical in any other situation. “Put your hand on Dipper.” He orders as he places one on Mabel’s head. The gesture is distinctly lacking the affection Stan had seen before; it was good to know that Stan wasn't the only one fond of the kids relatively quickly, despite Ford having attempted to murder them.

A glow surrounds them as Ford begins reciting the spell. Stan feels a warm tingling run across his skin; not unwelcome given how cold this damn house is. It’s making his eyelids heavy and he can see the kids’ heads beginning to nod as their eyes begin to glow with a pale blue light.

When he blinks, the living room is gone and instead he’s staring down a twisting hallway. The pain in his leg is gone as well.

It’s like a library. The walls, as far Stan can see, are lined with shelves upon shelves of books of every shape and size. None of the shelves seem to fit together, each set a different shape, size, and color, like they’ve been forced next to and on top of each other. The books are all different too and seem to have no order; some upright, some on their sides or leaning diagonally to against another, some are even backwards with their spines to the wall. A librarian’s nightmare; it makes him think of Ford’s house.

He grabs a book at random, tugging it off its shelf and being surprised to see that it appears to be homemade. A scrapbook, like the kind his ma used to make with their school photos and Ford’s report cards and pictures of Stan’s boxing matches. The cover is scratchy with glue and glitter, clueing him into the identity of the author. When he opens it, the inside isn’t paper with pasted images but instead plays a moving image that takes up the full page.

It’s Mabel, laughing as she chases Dipper with colorful candy worms hanging from her nose. He’s laughing too even as he runs from her with screams of how gross she is. She tackles him and then they’re wrestling as she tries to force him to eat one of the worms. True siblings. It's almost painful to watch even as a small smile tugs at his mouth.

“It’s their memories. That’s what the mindscape is, Stanley.” Ford is at his shoulder, watching the younger set of twins laugh with a tired look on his face. He has a gleam in his eye though, “Their connection must’ve forced their own personal mindscapes to fuse. Fascinating.”

That’s not the word that Stan would’ve used to describe two minds forced to mold into one. Perverted, maybe. Twisted. Twins could share almost everything but their minds should be their own. No matter how much he missed his brother, how much he missed their old bond, he’d never want Ford in his head. It messes with him, the idea of the kids in his head like they'd said. Even now there are thoughts and memories he wouldn't want anyone to see, who knows what he'll add to that in thirty years. He hopes they didn't see anything too bad.

“Have you done this before, Ford?” he tries to imagine it, either his brother or his own version of this place but nothing comes to mind. He doesn't know Ford anymore and has spent a good portion of the last several years trying not to know himself. A place built around his own mind seems like a scary place to be; he didn't even like being in his own head metaphorically.

Ford shakes his head, moving to trail his fingers over some books on another shelf. “Never anyone else's, just my own. Bill likes to find me in my dreams, when my body is too worn down to work.” his mouth clamps shut as soon as the words leave him, as if he's just remembered who he is talking to. He shakes his head, “We just need to find Bill before he can do too much damage.” And with that they start walking.

It feels like hours that they just walk, taking the occasional turn. Ford keeps his back to him and keeps muttering to himself. Stan’s not sure what he wants to say but feels like he should say something. They were just walking; wouldn't it be the perfect time to talk? Even if just to make a plan. How much does Ford know about Bill, about what’s going to happen? Did Dipper tell him whatever it was that Mabel was too scared to tell him?

A book falls from a shelf, clattering loudly to the floor behind him. Stan turns to stare at the item; this one isn't a scrapbook, but a small leather-bound book. When he picks it up he can see a golden image of a pine tree on the front. Was this one of Dipper’s memories?

Casting a look towards his brother's retreating back, Stan says fuck it. The twins lost their memories, right? Maybe this is one of them; maybe it'll help them figure out how Bill got in their heads. That made sense, right? Right. He nods to himself and opens the book. Anything is better than just walking aimlessly.

Mabel has her ear to a door, dressed in a long night shirt. Stan can hear, muffled by the door, the sound of Ford's voice, though it's gruffer than normal, “Okay, Stanley, here's the deal. You can stay here for the summer to watch the kids. I'll stay in the basement to try and contain any remaining damage. But when the summer’s over, you give me my house back, you give me my name back, and this Mystery Shack junk is over forever. You got that?”

Did that mean that Stan and Ford don't make up? Stan had thought…if they lived together in the future, didn't that mean they had gotten past it all? Thirty years and still Ford hasn't let go of it? Does he get his brother back only to have them still be at odds? From the sounds of it he's only around to watch the kids. Was he still homeless in the future, only staying with Ford as a convenience? Just something to make Ford's life easier temporarily before being booted again?

Mabel’s voice draws his attention back to the memory and out of his own head. “Dipper, you don’t think we’ll turn out like Stan and Ford, do you?” she sounds so nervous, that's what catches Stan’s attention, watching through the pages. The twins are each sitting on beds now.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, they used to be best friends but then they got all stupid. Can you promise me you won’t get stupid?”

Dipper laughs, “Not stupider than you, dumb-dumb.” Stan hears the sincerity behind the teasing, the love mixed with a child’s fear. Fear of ending up like their stupid uncles. Stan sincerely hopes they never do. Hopes they can always reach for each other.

“Stanley, we don't have time to be pawing through each of their memories. We need to—" Ford comes over, face shifting from irritation to surprise as the journal replays the memory. Mabel has left her bed to listen at the cracked door again. Ford's words ring out, the promise that the end of summer will be the end of Stan’s time there.

Stan’s own voice sounds out next, punctuated with “as far as I'm concerned they're the only family I have left.”

Ford’s got that set to his jaw, the one that always made him look so much like their dad. Stan used to tease him about that when they were teenagers. Now it didn't seem so funny. Nothing really seems funny anymore.

“Heh, guess we never really get better, huh, Sixer? Stubborn old men.” Stan tries to joke, tries to shove down the bubbling black mass that's trying to crawl up his throat, the words he's sat on for ten years. This wasn't about him; it was about the kids, that's what he needs to focus on. He snaps the book shut and moves to put it back on a shelf.

Then Ford speaks because of course he does. “I suspected you must have apologized or something, if we were together in the kids’ time, but I guess I was wrong. How irresponsible am I in the future that I have you watching them?” he says the last part quiet, like he's speaking to himself and not Stan.

It still sets Stan’s blood to a boil; the wriggling black mass crawls to settle in his chest, constricting over his heart. He holds the book to his chest. “Just as irresponsible as now, it seems. Putting the kids in enough danger that I don't want you near them.” He thinks of Ford pointing that crossbow at them with a crazy look in his eyes.

Ford scowls at him and that just makes Stan feel smug. “Yet you're the one still staying at my place in the future.” He shakes his head, “There isn't time for this. We can argue about this later."

“I think we should argue about it now.” Stan throws back, childish but determined. He wants a real reaction out of his brother. Wants to force him to take him seriously, to acknowledge him. “Would you have called me for help with this...this Bill stuff, if the kids weren't involved?”

Ford's face shifts and he looks away, looking uncomfortable. “I may have considered asking you to take some of my research away. As far from me as possible.” He shakes his head again, the dad set back in his jaw, and rubs at his eyes under his glasses. “We don't have time for this. I'll indulge in your insipid desire to fight about this once we've handled Bill, Stanley.”

As far away from him as possible. That's all Ford had ever wanted from him, wasn't it? Distance. And if he could hide something he didn't want anyone to see then that was just a bonus, right? Because no one ever gave Stan a second glance, a second thought.

“Insipid, huh?” his throat is tight, he has to scrape the words out. But once he does the dam breaks, “Because I'm the dumb one, right? The one with no future, the one just clinging to your coattails. Just a dumber, sweatier version of you!” Stan’s breathing is heavy and his eyes are burning. “You think I didn't hear any of that, Stanford? You think it was a surprise for me when Dad threw me out? Well, guess what, I'm not as fucking stupid as everyone thought!”

Ford looks affronted, fists clenching like he has a right to be mad, “I never said you were st—”

“You never had to! I was right outside the door, Stanford! When the principal was telling Ma and Dad about how worthless I was and you couldn't be assed to say a word in my defense. I thought at first it was cause Dad was there but no, you just cared about your damn school.” he fists a chunk of his own hair in frustration. He could still hear it; hear his Ma being the only one that cared what happened to him while Ford didn’t care. Then you better visit me on the other side of the country! “You were the one person that was supposed to see that I wasn't the piece of shit everyone else saw, but that's all you ever saw. I was just a big dumb convenience to have around, ready to be ditched at the first chance. It took me a long time to get that you never gave a damn about me. But hey, maybe I am an idiot, cause I was hoping you'd prove me wrong. Hoping things would be better but you're still a selfish piece of shit. That's the Pines’ legacy: pieces of shit.”

Ford takes a deep breath and— oh. Oh that's not fair. “You think I don't care?” Ford shouldn't be allowed to have that look on his face, like he's the one that's been hurting for ten years instead of Stan. He wasn’t the one that got left behind. “Is that what you've thought this whole time? That I didn't care about you? You're my brother!”

Stan scoffs and looks away if just to not have to see that look on his face. It's not fair. “That didn't seem to matter back then. Or anytime in the past ten years. And this,” he shakes the journal in his hand, “proves that it never will. But at least I get smarter about it.”

He wanted to save him, that's why he came here. Wanted to prove something, maybe to Ford or himself. See what I can do. Don't throw me away. But if thirty years can't heal this then Stan’s sure nothing can. He'll never get that back and once this is all done then it's just going to be Stan again. Alone for thirty years while he waits for Dipper and Mabel.

“Stanley—” Ford starts but Stan is done. Even a gambler like him knows when the odds are too bad, knows that sometimes you have to fold. He doesn't have an ace in his sleeve this time. His throat is tight enough to threaten to cut off his air, his chest empty now that the black thing inside of him has been released.

“Come on, Ford. We’ve wasted enough time. The kids are waiting.”

-----------

It took me a long time to get that you never gave a damn about me.

Is that really what Stan thought? That Ford didn’t care about him? Sure, he was angry at his twin, had resented him for the majority of the last ten years but…he hadn’t really ever wished ill upon his brother, had he? Sure, he’d had the dark, hateful thoughts right after Stan had been thrown out and sporadically throughout college but…he never actually wanted his brother hurt. Stan was the Alpha Twin, strong and silver tongued; he’d said he didn’t need anyone and Ford had believed it.

Stan is so dirty, so greasy and filthy beneath the clean jacket, cheeks sunken and dark bags under his eyes. The way he’d barely flinched when he’d burned his wound shut. What has Stan done to warrant that, to be able to do that? It strikes him for the first time that he's never thought about what Stan has been doing the past ten years; he's never wanted to think about it, has always shoved thoughts of Stan as far away as possible. The thought makes him uncomfortable now that he's face to face with his twin, the heat of Stan’s anger filling the small space.

Stanley had betrayed him; Ford had a right to his anger, his resentment. West Coast Tech was more than he'd ever thought to dream of; of course he'd jumped at the chance for it. Stan was supposed to be happy for him. What was a stupid childish dream compared to something as real as a prestigious college? The chance to have his own future, not half of one. The chance to be a singular individual instead of half of a set. Hadn't Stan ever wanted that too?

I was right outside the door, Stanford!

Ford could barely remember them talking about Stan in that meeting; he'd been so excited and focused on his own future. One son that'll be in Glass Shard Beach forever. Was that what the principal had said? Preposterous. Stan was always meant for a bigger life than their home town. Ford had known that even back then. Had trusted that fact any time an inkling of worry for Stan had brushed his mind. It was so obvious it hadn't needed saying.

Hadn't it?

His brother’s shoulder brushes his as he pushes past to resume their walk down the hallway. Ford wants to grab his brother to stop him; wants to explain this all away but he can't find the words. He wants to know what leads up to the conversation in the book, what Stan will want his thanks for. What happens to them in thirty years? How does Bill end up in Stan's head? The idea of Bill hurting Stan, the thought that he already has, boils him from the inside. No matter how he felt about his twin, no one was allowed to hurt him. Especially not Bill. Never Bill, never Stanley. Ford wouldn't allow it.

So you're the only one allowed to hurt him, Sixer?

A chill runs down his spine as the words echo around inside his head and he spins around, frantic as he looks around. He knows that voice, the one that’s been tormenting his sleeping and waking hours. It no longer bleeds into his own internal voice as it once did; he can hear the differences now. This voice is poison. He can hear the faint echoing laughter, louder than the whisper; he’s vaguely aware of Stan stopping ahead of him in the hall.

He swallows thickly, fingers tapping at his sides. “Show yourself, Bill! I know you’re here!” of course Bill couldn’t resist messing with him, prying into his thoughts. As disturbing as it was, it was at least opportune for them. Easier for them.

The laugh is even louder. “OH ALRIGHT! YOU CAUGHT ME, BUDDY. TURN AROUND, BOYS.”

They turn together and there he is. Bill is floating in front of them but it’s not the Bill Ford knows. A long, jagged crack runs down the center of him, like a broken vase that’s been pieced back together, and a rip is torn through the stupid top hat he wore. Still he has that insufferable cocky look to his eye as they stare each other down and he twirls a cane in one hand. He touches the end of it under Ford’s chin before he slaps it away.

“That’s Bill?” he hears Stan say from behind him, voice filled with disbelief. “This is your conman? A broken triangle with stick legs and a bowtie? Really, Ford?”

Ford feels his neck heat at Stan’s words. Stan doesn't know how charismatic Bill can be, the way he can target exactly what you want and promise you just that. He looks simple and that's part of the trick. He ignores his brother in favor of squaring his jaw and glaring at the demon. “You've looked better, Bill.”

“I'D SAY SO HAVE YOU BUT THAT'S A LIE THAT GETS ME NOTHING. THEN AGAIN, ADD A LITTLE GRAY TO THOSE TEMPLES AND I'M SURE SOME CREEPS ON THE INTERNET WILL DIG IT.” Bill holds his middle as he laughs at his own joke, the cane having vanished without Ford seeing it do so.

Master of the mindscape.

Ford swallows thickly, wishing he had one of his guns if just for the symbolic safety. “What do you want with the kids, Cipher? I know you, there's always an end game.”

Bill begins moving around them in a circle; Stan’s shoulder presses to his as he moves in closer to keep a distance from Bill. Ford presses back, just a bit, but never takes his eyes off Bill.

“HEY DON'T GET SHORT WITH ME, FORDSY.” his eye moves in a way that Ford has learned to read as a grin, the bottom lid taking up most of the singular eye. “I WAS INVITED HERE, SAME AS YOU.”

Invited— That meant the kids had made a deal, didn't it? How could they? Dipper said he’d been tricked before, that he knew Bill made bad deals. What could have happened to cause them to do it? And both of them, it shouldn't have been possible. If Bill could do it with two people…Ford was suddenly reminded of the various times Bill had offhandedly suggested telling Fiddleford. Ford had thought it was for just another body for Bill to use when even Ford's was too exhausted to work. But could this be what he wanted? No, it made no sense, splitting himself. Bill was broken; this couldn't have been what he wanted.

Bill let out a sigh that sounded like a parody of dreamy, propping his hands right above his bowtie. “I FORGOT HOW YOU LOOKED, ALL IN YOUR OWN HEAD. FOND MEMORIES.” He claps his hand, moving in three quick circles around them, too fast for them to turn with him. “NOW, FOR WHAT I WANT, OHH IT'S SO SIMPLE. YOU'LL LOVE IT, FORD, REALLY I'M DOING YOU A FAVOR, TAKING IT OFF YOUR HANDS. SOMETHING COMPLETELY WORTHLESS AND UNWANTED. YOU WON'T EVEN MISS IT.”

Ford thinks about his single remaining journal, the one he was going to ask Stan to hide away, and the machine that sat in his basement. The tingle of fear that Dipper may have gotten down there while Ford hadn’t been paying attention, that Bill may have gotten to it, resurfaces. “I'm not giving you the portal, or any of my journals, Cipher.” He forces the fear out to keep his voice steady.

Bill waves a hand and makes a sound that sounds like a blown raspberry, despite his lack of a mouth. “OH I DON'T NEED THAT ANYMORE. OLD NEWS. BOOORING, GET WITH THE TIMES, STANFORD. THAT’S SO THIRTY YEARS AGO. NO, WHAT I WANT IS…”

There's a burst of energy that sends Ford slamming backwards into one of the shelves, several books clattering to the floor. One falls opens and the air is filled with the sounds of water splashing and people laughing. There’s the smell of lake water coming from the pages. When Ford looks up, his heart threatens to choke him.

Bill has Stan backed up against the shelves across from where Ford fell, the cane back and shoved under his brother's chin. “I WANT STANLEY.”

Ford scrambles to his feet, ready to run over because Bill is not allowed to hurt Stanley but Stan holds a hand up. His brother doesn’t look scared or agitated, like he was not ten minutes ago when he was yelling at Ford, but looks almost bored with the situation. “And what do you want with me? I ain’t exactly the prime beef of the Pines’ twins, you know.”

“OH I KNOW YOU MUCH BETTER THAN ANYONE, STAN. I’VE KNOWN YOU LONGER THAN YOUR OWN BROTHER HAS AND I KNOW JUST WHAT YOU CAN DO.” Bill practically purrs the words, which just makes Ford’s insides boil and twist even more. He pinches one of Stan’s cheeks. “THAT’S WHY I WANT TO MAKE A DEAL WITH YOU, STANLEY. YOU SHAKE MY HAND AND I LET THE KIDS GO BACK TO THEIR OWN TIME.”

“No!” Ford tries to rush forward to try to forcibly pull his brother away from the demon. The breath gets knocked out of him as soon as he takes a step and he finds himself being lifted off the ground. It feels like something is clamping down on his chest; he has to remind himself that he doesn’t really need to breathe in the mindscape to squash the panic down. “Stanley, he’s not—“

Ford’s own voice cuts him off, radiating from Bill himself. “I’m giving you a chance to do the first worthwhile thing in your life, and you won’t even listen!”

Stan does react to that, Ford sees it, the smallest flinch before he looks away. “…I’m listening.”

ffffffff�� Ƕ2

[sublimeperfectionland]

New Moon of the Dark Kingdom Chapter Hundred and Eighteen- The Mary Sue Factor

Zoisite and Kunzite have found true love, but when some old friends, a vengeful god, and a pair of evil twins are gunning for the Shitennou all at once, life is not going to be easy

[Scene: Neffy's mansion during a divination with the Celestial Seeress Astraea. Beryl and the Shitennou are watching the blurred out twins head for the master bath]

Jeddy: Are you certain that girl is really eleven? Because I'm having a hard time believing it.

Neffy: Why? Because your "fun game" with the handcuffs, whipped cream, and nazi uniform just turned into a Scavenger Hunt?

Jeddy: No. Because i have a really hard time believe some eleven year old girl with a killer body just developed a weapon that can destroy a god.

Beryl: That's because of your male chauvinism.

Jeddy: No. That's a trick that the finest minds in the universe have puzzled over for centuries and she figured it out in her first dozen years of life? We're entering into Mary Sue territory here.

Astraea: Except "Mary Sues" as they are referred to current vernacular, are universally loved, and this girl is a pariah-despised and rejected by those of her peerset.

[The image show El glowering at her locker, while other girls whisper in the background]

Astraea: Her brother, on the other hand-

[The image shifts to Dev sitting on the grass, strumming his guitar, surrounded by a circling of fawning female admirers. He stops and reaches behind the ear of one of them, producing a heart shaped lollipop, which he hands to her, much to her delight the applause and fawning coos of the others.]

Beryl: We get it! She's The Misanthropic Genius while he's the Affable Dumbass!

Astraea: There is no indication the male's intellect is substandard. In fact, to the contrary-

Beryl: Whatever! The point is we are dealing with a couple of Half-Sues! How do we exterminate these two little brats before they cause any real trouble?

Kunzite: I'm still not convinced that is the answer. Everything we have seen so far indicates to me that this is simply a pair of gifted but misguided orphans who are being coached and manipulated by a higher power. If we kill these two, he will simply replace them. It is this "Big Daddy" of their we should focus on, not his expandable pawns. We might be able to use them to draw him out.

Neffy: Good luck with that. What sort of callous White Light bastard sends a pair of sad little eleven year-old tykes to take on an evil god, while he sits back home, eating bon bons and awaiting news of their gruesome passing?

Jeddy: Oooh! [raises his hand because he knows the answer to this one] Albus Dumbledore!

[The others give Jeddy a dirty stare and he lowers his hand, chagrined]

[On the ceiling as the twins shed the last of their clothing and enter the shower.]

Neffy: [looks at the osburred silhouettes through the shower curtain with open disapproval] Oh, look. The brother and sister are taking a shower together.

Kunzite: So?

Neffy: So?

Kunzite: Need I remind they are not human and shouldn't be held to this world's standards of behavior? For all we know, this culture's taboos against communal bathing with siblings might seem outlandish to them.

Beryl: Yes. I have to agree with Kunzite. They're just getting cleaned off. Even obscured, I can tell this is hardly erotic.

Neffy: Stop making excuses for them, you two. This is just sickening and weird.

Jeddy: No kidding.

[They emerge from the shower, cleanly scrubbed and wrapped in towels. Their long wet hair is now honey blond and past their waists.]

Neffy: There you go, Kunzite. We're witnessing their blond phase.

Kunzite: [doesn't bother to hide his grin] I forgot how cute they were.

[El opens a drawer under the sink and produces a pair of hair cutting scissors]

Kunzite: Oh, no. Don't do it.

Jeddy: Spoiler alert - neither of them have long blond hair in the present day.

[Dev turns and El snips away at his hair until it's shoulder length. Kunzite watches mournfully as each long strand falls to the tile floor. Then El hands her brother the scissors and turn as he trims hers down to medium length. Then they run their hands over each others hair and it darkens at their touch, chestnut brown for him, mahogany red for her.]

Kunzite: [smiles wistfully] What a tragedy. They both look so plain now.

Jeddy: Plain?

Beryl: I think not!

[The twins step apart to inspect each other and themselves in the mirror, then clasp hands and hold each other close as they bring their faces together.]

Neffy: [hinked] Oh, great. They're going to make out now. I just know it.

[They kiss as as they do, their veins glow and their bodies emit a cloud of dark energy.]

Neffy: Behold, the fearsome power of Twincest!

[Some of the veins seem to writhe like snakes below their skin.]

Jeddy: (Tentacle porn twincest at that.)

[The ground beneath them buckles and the house starts to shake as if in the grips of a power earthquake. Things fly off shelves, windows shatter, wall tear, ceilings flake and fixtures explode and the twins take no notice as the purple energy congeal behind them.]

[The house nearly collapses around them by the time they break off the kiss, the dark energy forming a swirling portal. the continue to hold hands as the towels morph into the matching outfits and they step into the portal and vanish.]

Jeddy: Wait...what...did...they...what?

[Kunzite's ice blue eyes go wide with a terrible comprehension.]

Kunzite: WAIT! GO BACK!

Beryl: Go back?

Kunzite: TO RIGHT AFTER THEY BUTCHERED THEIR HAIR!

Astraea: Very well.

Kunzite: NOW! SHOW US THEIR ENERGY LEVELS!

Jeddy: We've already see those. They are lower than min-

[A caption appears in front of each of them, reading ".51769 DIOS"]

Kunzite: KEEP THEM UP WHILE YOU REPLAY THIS SCENE!

[As soon as the twins clasp hands the numbers start to rise.]

Beryl: How on earth.

[As the scene progress, the numbers skyrocket, rising so rapidly they can't be read. The number tops out right before the portal appears, stabilizing when they are at 1.03538.]

Neffy: [wideeyed] My god.

Jeddy: [wideeyed] Literally.

Beryl: Wait, these two are Chaos Deities who somehow mask their full power?

Kunzite: Not at all. Seeress Astraea, can you confirm that energy levels elevate like whenever they have contact with one another, and at no other time?

Astraea: I can, and they do.

Beryl: But...how?

Kunzite: They aren't just twins. They are Symbiotes! They are able to pool their energy and when they do, they are capable of reaching full god level.

Neffy: [awed] This is why they were able to defeat the Death Phantom.

Kunzite: Separately, they were no match for him. But together...if they touch...they are stronger than he ever was, at least five times over.

[gaybagwrites-blog]

Skeletons In The Closet

Word count: 820 Notes: this is an assignment for school, and i know i have to post the prompts but let me have this i’m actually quite satisfied Warnings: don’t read if any of the following make you uncomfortable/uneasy/are a trigger: blood, knives, death, police, corpses, murder

I didn’t mean to kill her. The impulse just came, and sooner than I could think anything, I had grabbed a knife and driven it deep into my best friend’s stomach. Ever since we were kids, Ali and I were practically siblings.

Now, though, things are different. Ali… well, she talks too much. Talked too much. It wasn’t bad at first. Then things got worse. She became nosy— finding ways to figure out what I was doing and what my family was doing at all times, spilling our secrets, and acting as though she was getting revenge for some unknown terrible deed. Later, after all of that, she found my files, and things went downhill.

I stand above her thin, limp form, a knife dripping scarlet held tightly in my left hand.

“Chris?” says a familiar voice from beyond my front door. I can’t quite place it, but I know I’ve heard it somewhere before. The doorknob twists, but the door itself doesn’t budge. “Chris—Chris, I heard something— or, uh, someone, fall? A-and I’ve… I’ve got your lunch? Can you, uh—” The knob jiggles once more. “Come on, just… let me in. I’m worried, Chris.”

No time to be worried about who’s outside, I remind myself. All I have to worry about is hiding the evidence. Tightening my grip on the knife, I shove Ali’s lifeless body into the pantry, which is devoid of both shelves and food, nearly knocking over a porcelain vase. I scramble to straighten it, clinking my knife against it and making a high-pitched ring sound throughout the house. Wincing, I curse myself.

The knob twists again, followed by footsteps and objects sliding on concrete.

“If you don’t open this door I’m getting your spare key.” A deep breath. “Just let me in, Chris.”

I rip the rug up from in front of the door and fling it on top of Ali’s blood. Sliding some boxes over it, I set the knife behind the boxes and applaud myself mentally.

The lock clicks, and I curse myself again. Why do I have to get myself into these messes? Sprinting to the kitchenette, I attempt to make it appear that I’m busy cooking something, all the while still cursing myself, my brain, my decision-making skills, my terrible friendships.

Time stands still as the door creaks open and my visitor says, “Hello? Chris?”

I’m in the middle of cursing myself three million times as I have a sudden realization.

This isn’t a random concerned neighbor. This is my sister. That’s why she wouldn’t just give up. That’s why she tried to find my spare key. That’s why she has my lunch. That’s why she won’t believe I’m cooking something. That’s why I—

She screams. I run to her, shouting, “What, what, what is it? What happened?”

Her hands shaking, she points to the boxes and my good old bloody knife. “B-bl-blood… what… what is th-this…?”

I look to where she points, my mind scrambling for an excuse. I feel sweat on my brow.

“Oh-oh, uh, that’s where that went!” I swallow hard. “I, uh, I was trying to make some frozen steaks, ‘c-cause I forgot you’re coming here, and, uh, I dropped my knife coming over here.”

She narrows her eyes. “What about Ali?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Who?” I ask, trying to play it off as a joke.

Something changes in her expression. Her dark eyes seem to glaze over, her fear turning to terror.

“You,” she whispers. “You k-killed… Alison… you…” Her black hair falls over her eyes as she steps away from me. “Monster. You monster. How could you?”

Falling to my knees, I clasp my hand around hers. She screams again, but I shush her.

“Please,” I beg. “Call someone. Anyone. I… I don’t deserve to live with… with this.”

Her eyes widen, but she nods, taking out her phone and dialing three digits. “Hello? Police? Yes, I… I’d… I need to report…” She swallows something, glancing at me. Her eyes are shining bright with tears. “There’s been a murder.”

After speaking for a few minutes with the police, my sister ends the call, tears welling in her eyes. She’s hurt, I know… yet I can’t help but wonder why. I killed Ali, not Mom, or Dad, or Grandma, or her.

“You never answered me,” she says after a moment. “You never answered when I said ‘how.’ But that isn’t the real question, is it? I want to… I need to know why. Why—after all these years, all this time, your bond—would you kill her? Why would you?”

I smile slightly, hearing sirens wail in the distance. “To stop her from telling you.”

She wipes her eyes. “Telling me? Telling me what?”

Suddenly, I grin, snatching the knife and plunging it into my sister’s stomach.

She coughs, spitting blood into my face as she falls.

“W… why…?” is all she says before her body goes slack.