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10piecechickennuggy · 1 year ago

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Magic and Secrets, Ch. 8 - Sanji x Witch!OC

WARNING: Mature content ahead!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece or the art featured above. This is a fan-created work featuring an original character.

Read Chapter 7 Here

Read Chapter 6 Here

Read Chapter 5 Here

Read Chapter 4 Here

Read Chapter 3 Here

Read Chapter 2 Here

Read Chapter 1 Here

“Shhh.” Sora’s delicate hands rubbed gentle circles on her son’s back. Her cheek rested against his crown of blonde hair as salty tears soaked into the blue cotton of her shirt. “Hush, darling. You’re safe now.”

Sanji sniffled, his tears continuing to fall as blurry eyes rose to meet his mother’s. “Why does father hate me?” His lip quivered as the question escaped unfiltered.

Her kind smile morphed into an uncertain frown. Her brows furrowed in frustration as she considered how to respond. “I’m sorry, Sanji.” She held him tight, burying his face into her shoulder. She couldn’t let him see her own tears which threatened to spill.

“Mom?” Sanji tried to push himself back, but found himself held in place by a firm hand on the back of his head.

“I’m sorry. So, so sorry.” Her voice had taken on a softer tone, barely audible as she began to pet her son’s hair. Golden lashes glistened with her guilt and sorrow. Every unspoken truth hung in the air, threatening to flow off her tongue.

Sora willed the waterworks away, releasing her strangling grip on the boy. When Sanji’s eyes met her matching crystal blue orbs, they had crinkled in a loving smile. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve brought today? That basket smells wonderful.”

Excited joy overtook the young boy, who scurried away to fetch the basket in question. Once returned to his mother’s lap, Sanji produced an array of treats. Muffins, scones, and cookies wafted their respective scents for Sora to take in.

Despite the cookies being soggy, the muffins having too much salt, and the scones being rock hard, Sora praised each of her son’s creations. The unbridled happiness which shone from his bright smile was worth every unpleasant bite.

When the boy had finally left for the evening, Sora found herself gazing out the window. Though her only view was the turrets of the adjoining snail, her mind was far into the future.

Would Sanji be alright without her? She could barely aid him in her current state, as evident by the boy’s constant abuse at the hands of her other sons and husband.

Curse that drug.

She scowled at her reflection in the glass. If only she hadn’t been so extreme in her rebellion against Judge. Had she not taken that accursed medication, she wouldn’t be bedridden and dying. If she’d only been smart enough to not -

No. Sora knew the dangers of her actions that day. She knew that taking the drug would cost her life. But without it - without its powerful effects, Sanji would be the same as his brothers. Sure, the boy would have been spared years of torment. But the retribution would have been his humanity.

Trembling hands muffled open sobs as the woman finally allowed her tears to fall.

***

“Wow, . . .” The word escapes Vera, less an exclamation and more a thought given unintended form.

“It is quite the sight.” Sanji speaks from her side, his smile broad. “Though, not nearly as stunning as you.”

Before the pair lay the festival grounds, countless lights glittering in the dark. Stalls advertising games and food littered the streets, illuminated by the warm glow of lanterns proclaiming good fortune. At the center of it all lay an effigy to the island’s guardian deity, a crowd dancing about the statue to live music.

Vera’s grip on Sanji’s hand tightened as she took in the scene. Though her expression held excitement, her stance betrayed uncertainty. She took a step closer to Sanji, her free hand raising to his elbow.

Sensing her unease, Sanji rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “It’s a lot to take in.” He spoke with a softened smile, his voice gentle as though any increased volume would frighten her away. “Why don’t we just walk around the festival first? We can see what all there is and then decide which stalls to return to.”

Vera nodded, the brim of her witch’s hat obscuring her eyes. She allowed her companion to lead the way, silently observing the sights and smells as they moved through the streets.

This was all so new to her. Festivals and celebrations were held frequently on Mariejois, but she’d never been allowed to attend. She was a slave, after all. Her inexperience kept her on edge.

How was one meant to behave in this situation? Would Sanji think her inept? Could one or two missteps ruin the prince’s perception of her? Was this date her only chance to win over her prince?

Wait. Date? Was this a date? Or was this simply two friends on an outing? Was he just being kind when he offered to accompany her? Sanji was holding her hand, but surely he had picked up on her nervousness. He was a gentleman - a kind, handsome, wonderful gentleman.

Knock it off, Vera!

A group of young children ran past the pair, laughter erupting from their small forms. One child, a boy around six, tripped in pursuit of his companions. He crashed straight into Vera, falling onto his behind in the aftermath.

Vera, who managed to stay upright thanks to Sanji’s quick reaction and firm grip, immediately turned to the boy in concern. “Oh my! Are you alright?” She leaned down, examining the boy for any injuries.

Tears welled in the child’s eyes as his mind processed what had just happened. Sensing his imminent meltdown, Vera quickly uttered a spell. “Here.” A colorful lollipop appeared in her hand, which she offered to the boy. “Candy always makes things better.”

She smiled down at the boy, who stared at the lollipop in surprise. When his chubby fingers stretched out to grip the stick, one of the other children rushed over.

“Don’t!” The other child pulled his friend upright, standing between Vera and the boy. This child appeared older, a scowl painted on his features. “She’s a witch. She’ll curse you!” The older boy’s eyes betrayed fear through his brave performance.

The younger child’s eyes grew in unison with Vera’s. How could she have forgotten? Prejudice against witches wasn’t contained to a single island. Had sailing with the Strawhats really made her guard drop so much?

“Go away, witch!” The other children had gathered now, one throwing a rock that landed at Vera’s feet.

“Hey!” Sanji stepped in, his voice an authoritative bark. “You little brats better watch it!”

The cook raised his right leg, which instantly became engulfed in flames. It was clearly a hollow threat, but the children cowered all the same. “You should be ashamed of yourselves, treating a beautiful woman like that. After she tried to help you too.”

The group scattered, shrieks of fear mingling with the boisterous noise of joyous festivities. Vera brought herself upright, dusting off the sheer tulle of her skirt. When Sanji turned to her with an expression of panicked worriment, she giggled.

“I take it you’re alright, then?” When she nodded, he released a sigh of relief. “I hope those kids didn’t ruin the evening for you.”

Vera shook her head, her chocolate curls dancing as she did. “Don’t worry. If I let every discriminatory child get to me, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything.” She offered him a reassuring smile as her hand reached for his. “And I intend to fully enjoy our time together.”

It was Sanji’s turn to blush. As their hands rejoined, he found himself at a loss for words.

Her resilience and kind heart were endearing. He’d been intending to monopolize her time at the festival simply to fuel his own interests. She was a gorgeous woman and he was a gentleman, so it was only natural he’d want to escort Vera to her first festival.

But was there more to his motives than he realized? Were his flirtatious nature and chivalrous duty the only reasoning for their current situation? Sanji wouldn’t deny he was attracted to Vera - he wanted to get to know her more. To know what her mysterious comments meant and perhaps peruse her romantically. But was there more to it than vague allure?

When Vera’s eyes lit up and she excitedly pointed to a food stall, the cook felt his heart thud just a little faster.

After their encounter with the group of children, the witch had miraculously opened up. It was as though the incident distracted the girl from her worries, allowing her to fully immerse herself in experiencing the festivities.

Sanji explained different foods and games, happily purchasing anything she wished to try. Childlike wonder had overtaken her as she bounced from stall to stall. Sweet and savory dishes were sampled, sugary were drinks guzzled, and many contests of skill were attempted. Sanji had even won her a prize at one such stall.

“Just drop a coin into the water.” The festival worker explained, gesturing to a large fish tank. There were bowls and cups of various sizes placed sporadically about the aquarium, each at differing depths. “If the coin lands in one of the containers, you get a prize.”

Vera eyed the possible prizes that could be won. Each dish had a corresponding color, which matched to different “levels” of awards.

“Something caught your eye?” Sanji had noticed her gazing at one of the prize walls, curious which difficulty he’d need to attempt.

Vera raised her hand timidly, pointing with a single finger towards one of the medium prize levels. “The hair comb with red gardenias.”

Three berries. That’s all the money it took for Sanji to win the comb. When his coin had landed in that purple wine glass, Vera had cheered openly.

She bounced with excitement as the comb was taken down and handed to him. She could hardly stand still long enough to allow Sanji to tuck the intricately carved piece of wood into the brim of her hat.

Her repeated thanks was like music to his ears as the pair continued through the maze of stalls.

The pair sat near a fountain, taking a much needed break while Vera happily munched on some fried dough. “This is delicious!” She spoke after swallowing a rather large bite of the crunchy treat. “How have I never had this before?”

Sanji chuckled, removing the cigarette he’d been smoking from his lips. “Who knew you’d like funnel cakes so much? I’d be happy to make you some for dessert one night.”

Vera had taken another bite, nodding enthusiastically at the prospect.

As she continued eating, Sanji finished his smoke. After stamping the remnants out with his heel, the blonde turned to his companion in amusement. “How have you never been to a festival before? Not even as a child?”

Vera finished her plate, wiping powdered sugar from her lips. She shrugged. “I wasn’t really allowed outside the mansion. And after I ran away, I was always too busy with my maid duties to ever do anything fun like this.”

Sanji halted his movements. His brows furrowed. “Apologies if this is overstepping, but you weren’t born into slavery, were you?”

Her spine straightened immediately, eyes like dinner plates as she mentally berated herself.

“Umm, n-no.” She instinctively moved her right hand to cover the slave mark which lay hidden beneath her sleeve. She looked away, mentally searching for a way out of the conversation. She was panicking. “Th-this was later. Ijust meant, youknow how parentscanbe. Alwayssooverbearing andcontrolling. Especiallywhentheyhateyourgutsfrombirth.”

As she babbled on, her words grew more quiet and jumbled. Her speech increased in speed until Sanji could barely tell she was even speaking the same language as him. The cook took her hand, the action mirroring their first encounter.

“Deep breaths.” He instructed, for both Vera and himself. “You don’t have to share any more than you’re comfortable with.”

Her thoughts were spiraling, scenes of abuse throughout key points of her life replaying in her mind’s eye. Beatings at her stepfather’s hand, Laura begging for mercy on her behalf, her own mother holding her down so she could be branded. Being sold into an arranged marriage, forced into slavery in her own home, and then made to be King Judge Vinsmoke’s personal harlot.

All the emotions of these events came crashing over her as though she were reliving them in real time. The fear, pain, and betrayal she felt as a child ripped through her very being. Her eyes appeared to look at nothing as a myriad of tears began to spill without her realizing.

“Why?”

The question wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. Herself, maybe. Her parents, more likely. But those answers would never come. She knew that, and still her soul longed for an explanation.

Why was she subjected to a life of misery? Her mother was the one who’d had an affair, resulting in her conception. Why was she the one to be punished? She hadn’t asked to be born - not to a cheating woman and not into a cruel household.

Why was she subjected to such barbarism? Why did her mother condone and participate in her mistreatment?

Why? Why? Why?

“Why what?” Sanji had gripped both her shoulders, searching her eyes for any sign she was still with him. His words felt like a far off whisper, meant to be heard by another set of ears than her own.

“Why was I born a Celestial Dragon?”

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pupmusebox · 2 months ago

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Little family reunion.

Resting still but moving about in bed more since the welcoming of twins to the royal family and looking at the slumbering twins in their soft crib near his bed, a relief and pleasant surprise to Venus when having done all right with the pregnancy while taking it easy before lifting his head of hearing someone enter the room. Stirring a bit under the soft blankets and blinking of who would slowly come to the bed before seeing someone other than Diavolo seated next to the bed.

“It really is you… Mother…”

Hearing those very words would bring tears to Venus' eyes and feeling so sad but happy at the same time for some reason, only to be met with a firm yet careful hug and crying when hearing this man crying quietly while hugging him. Oh how Venus' soul and heart would ache when this strange man was crying and doing his best to comfort them.

“It's alright to let your tears fall… shh…”

“Father was right… and we missed you so much, ahh…”

Venus was feeling more emotions flood out when tears rolled down his cheeks and letting out a little sob when Pride would be crying on the inside before peeking through to speak, “It's alright Theodan… my dear little dragon bird, hush… my little one…” smiling through tears when Theodan would break the hug a little while hearing Lucifer speaking and met with a tearful smile, “Grown up into a fine man haven't you? Haha, how's your brother Neo? Does he know yet or still waiting to be told the news? Oof!” met with a hard hug now and grunting softly when hearing his son's voice after so long.

“Neo is doing alright and he still hasn't made his way here to see you but he knows, Father was right of you… I thought we would never see you again. Not like how you were before but still… I can't believe it.”

“Haha, I'm surprised too… still am and it's been some years but I'm handling it fine. Even though I am a mere passenger in this human body, pretty sure that Dia told you hmm?”

“Adorable baby siblings… Neo will be screaming with joy at them but he'll hush up when seeing them napping, haha. Mmm… welcome back Mother.”

Purring when hugged by his beloved son and sighing a little while yawning for a moment, “Ahhh~ Hmm… I can say Venus is confused about you and your brother but he's a smart man when figuring out things, if anything you are making him cry a lot right now.” letting Venus come back and sniffling with that soft smile when shyly wiping away tears, “Theodan… mmm… nice to meet you finally, I sure made a darling son in my past life didn't I?” a bit bashful when Theodan is wiping at his face while having an emotional time but seeing this be one of the children he had in his past life.

“It’s strange yet not… at least to me, Father said it would be easy to recognize you and he was right.” cooing when having a moment of touching his Mother's face with that soft look in his eyes before sighing of hearing news of things that happened, “I heard of those lesser demons being a bother to you and frankly, I wouldn't mind being guarding my parent and young siblings…” Theodan would be looking at his little siblings with that deep purr and then back to Venus with that light nod.

“That's nice to know, mmm… to be honest I was a bit nervous of meeting you but I guess that would be pretty crazy huh? Since we're not so awkward with each other and all.”

“True… that and hearing my Mother's voice after so long felt like a dream but this be a dream come true, I better let you continue resting but don't hesitate to let us know if you need anything. All you have to do is just ask, heh.”

Watching Theodan get up to leave the room and giving a soft chuckle at how he looked now after so many years, “I will thank you, I do appreciate it. All I can say is that my lonely life sure has gotten quite interesting now, heh. So again soon Theodan and… tell Neo I say hi as well.” hearing the eldest born dragon birb snort before seeing them leave before feeling so emotional of this family that he come back to and happy of reconnecting again.

#drabble #{ Reincarnated Soul and Essence of a Lovely Bird Gem - Verse }

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erodasfishtacos · 3 years ago

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Acting Up (mini blurb)

thanks sm to Sarah who generously donated to my ko fi. she requested a blurb about mlbrry going to get ice cream as a family so here you go! with a little harry in DAD mode.

—

It was a hot night and the kids were a bit stir-crazy, so was eight-month pregnant YN in the house while Harry had been traveling to play.

“Mama, what’d y’want?” Harry murmurs, hand rubbing her bump as they wait with one hand as he has Ezra propped on his hip on the other side.

“Everything sounds so good,” She groans as she looks over the menu, pregnancy hunger was a real thing.

Her bump was bigger than any of her other pregnancy and she was quite miserable - though trying to make the best out of it.

“I’ll buy y’the whole menu,” Her husband replies as he reviews the menu board in front of them as well.

“Then I’ll be as big as house,” YN quips, hands running through Cash’s curly locks as he hugs her leg

“Just more f’me to love on,” He hums happily, moving to grope her bum a bit until she smacks his off with an eye roll.

He sees out of the corner of his eye his oldest taunting his middle child with goofy faces.

“Easton, enough,” Harry scolds as he sees Cash’s eyebrows furrow as he gets frustrated with his older brother.

Six and four - what an age.

The oldest stops at the firm tone of his father, huffing and giving his brother a dirty look before moving to stand next to his dad.

When they arrive at the order window, a teenage boy steps over to greet them, his mouth drops open as he sees who it is.

“Y-you’re Harry S-Styles,” The kid stutters, his face flushing red and his eyes wide as he stares at the celebrity.

Harry smiles kindly with a chuckle, “I am. Are you fan? Pleasure to meet you.”

“Daddy, why does he know your name?” Cash asked in confusion as he peeks around his father’s leg.

“‘cause he plays babeball, stupid,” Easton replies with an attitude towards his brother.

“Mama!” Cash shrieks offendly.

YN sighs, cupping Harry’s hand on her belly for moment, “Order me a banana split with peanut butter and extra strawberry. I’m going to go talk to East.”

YN pulls Easton to an empty table with enough room for the five of them and also to accommodate her belly.

“Why are you picking on your brother?” YN uses her mom mode voice as she watches her son pout out his lip.

“He stole my dolphin stuffie earlier!”

Of course.

“Is that the proper way to treat him though?” YN questions directly, tilting his chin up so she can make eye contact.

“No mama,” Easton mumbles, struggling to keep his mother’s gaze.

“Will you say sorry to him when he comes over?” YN encourages.

He agrees, lisps out an apology before Harry hands him a bowl of chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

After a few minutes, YN winces and stands from the table, a hand going to rest of her back.

“What’s wrong, mama?” Harry asks with concern laced in his tone. He was currently feeding Ezra little bits of strawberry that was dripping down his chin.

“Just my back is achey, I’m just going to stand and eat,” She grumbles, shifting her weight side-to-side as she takes small bites of her banana split.

“Stop it!” Easton whines when Cash sticks his finger into his older brothers bowl and submerges it in his ice cream.

“Cash,” Harry states, reaching for his middle son’s arm “Get y’hand out of your brother’s food, right now.”

Cash listens but snickers when he realizes he’s managed to annoy Easton.

When Harry looks back to his wife, he then hears Cash shouting, “No!”

The parents look back to see Easton with chocolate ice cream as his nice white shirt and Cash with a sticky hand of melted dessert.

“Cash!” YN scolds on frustration, they were really usually good with each other but today was not their day.

She sits down her food to rustled through the diaper bag for wipes. She cleans off Cash’s hands with a pointed stare as Harry reaches over to clean up Easton.

“You’re done,” Harry tells Cash firmly, picking up his son’s bowl that he hadn’t finished and dumping it in the garbage. “Y’don’t get ice cream if y’just goin’ to throw it.”

That sends the middle one into a meltdown and it makes it even worse when Easton taunts, “No more for you!”

It has Cash standing up and darting around the table but Easton sees him and gets up to bolt away from his grasps.

“Stop running right now,” Harry raises his voice, groaning when Ezra starts to whimper at the chaos and holds on to Harry tighter.

“Boys! Listen to your fa-“

Easton darts around his mother but Cash isn’t as agile yet and knocks right into the front of her calves causing her banana split to drop out of her hands and for her to stumble.

“Baby!” Harry panics, instantly moving forward to grab her arm and pulls her towards him so she tumbles into his chest instead of backwards.

“Oh my god,” YN whimpers, her breathing becoming quicker as her heart rate spikes from the scare, hands coming to her bump.

The boys are frozen still were they’re at. Eyes wide and tears welling at the fear their mother got hurt by them

“Mama, y’alright? Sweetheart, I know Y’got scared. Breathe for me,” Harry soothes more worried about his wife than scolding his kids.

“If I would have fallen,” YN is tearing up, anxiety spiking through her chest at the thought of the baby getting hurt.

Harry is breathing heavier than he’d like to admit too.

“Don’t cry, s’okay. The baby is perfect, y’keeing them so nice and safe, bein’ a perfect mama,” He assures her, kissing her temple and brushing away a tear.

Ezra is distressed too, of course the sensitive little boy is, chanting, “mommy, mommy, mommy.”

She clears her throat, smiling softly at her youngest boy, “M’okay, Ezzie. It’s all okay.”

“Mama, hold me,” Ezra begs, reaching out his arms to be switched to his mother but Harry holds him tight and shakes his head ‘no.’

“Not right now baby. Mommy doesn’t feel very good,” YN tells him, chest still pounding, back still aching.

And when their youngest starts sobbing, screaming that he wants his mother, well...YN starts feel overwhelmed by her two olders ones who are whimpering because they know they’re in trouble and Ezra tantruming.

“Sweetheart,” Harry can tell by the tears bubbling up along her waterline what’s going on, “Baby, y’okay. What do y’need?”

YN sucks in a deep breath, gathering her thoughts for a moment, “I just need a minute alone. You can have Easton and Ezra finish their ice cream. Then come after you’re done.”

“I can do that,” Harry replies sadly, he couldn’t stand seeing his wife upset or scared - it was one of the worst feelings for him.

When YN grabs the car keys and leaves towards the car, Ezra settles as soon as he’s being fed ice cream again. The boys hesitantly go back to their seats across from their dad.

Harry knows they’re young. They don’t understand what it would mean if they knocked their heavily pregnant mother over but it doesn’t mean aggravation isn’t running through him at the two.

“Daddy...” Easton sniffles cautiously, kicking his feet under the table as his chest shutters.

“Yes?” Harry answers calmly, looking up from Ezra to meet his son’s gaze - the same green eyes staring back at him.

“Do you and mommy hate us?” His oldest asks as he wipes his cheeks with the back of his hand.

“No, mama and I love you two with all our hearts. But daddy is very upset with you two right now, do you understand why?”

They both nod in agreement that they do.

“Why are we upset?” Harry prompts as he takes a wet wipe to rubs over Ezra’s strawberry stained face.

“Cause we made mommy almost fall,” Cash lisps shamefully.

Harry nods, “And we tell you very often that we have to be careful with mama because she’s got a baby in her belly and we have t’keep the baby safe.”

“Are we in trouble?” Easton voice is still quiver with his guilt.

“I’ll have t’talk to y’mom but if it happens again, y’both are goin’ to be in a lot of trouble and y’gonna get a consequence. Do you understand that too?”

They nod in unison. Easton hadn’t touched his ice cream again, gets up to throw it away as he loiters - looking towards the car where his mother is sitting away from them.

Cash gets up to but slowly walks around the table to his father.

“M’sorry daddy,” He squeaks tearfully, moving forward and digging his face into Harry’s bicep.

“Cash,” Harry soothes, grasps his son lightly under the chin, “I love you very much, okay? We just can’t do things like that. Y’need to listen to daddy and mama.”

He nods in understanding before crawling up into his father’s lap, right next to Ezra - who gives him an affronted glare when he realizes he has to share space with him.

When they’re done and Harry has let enough time past, he walks the little group of boys toward their SUV.

He opens the passenger side door where YN is reclined a bit, hand on her stomach and the air-conditioner blasting cold air on her face.

“The boys have somethin’ t’say,” Harry smiles softly, leaning over to give his wife a quick kiss.

“M’sorry mama,” Cash whispers.

“Me too, mommy,” Easton adds on.

“I forgive you both. You just have to be careful with me. You’re sibling is in here and we have to keep them nice and healthy, right? I love you two more than anything.”

#mlb!harry #mlbrry #mlb!Harry blurbs #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles writing

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 3 years ago

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Twisted Tarot XI — Justice

"At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst."

Justice, Upright: justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law

Justice, Reversed: unfairness, lack of accountability, dishonesty

He holds a reverence for all that is fair and just in the universe, believing in the goodwill of his fellow man over the wickedness they may bolster in their hearts. The truth may be an ugly thing, but he will inevitably cross swords with it. Nothing is as black and white as it may initially seem, not even truth itself.

Reveal the Shape of thy Soul...

... Silver!

A lie.

His entire life had been a lie.

If Silver weren’t already shaking so hard, he might have been bothered by the windchill, the rain pounding hard against his skin. It was cold and dark--and all he could do was huddle into himself to conserve his warmth. He grew ever smaller and smaller against the all-consuming tempest.

A boy of his tender age, more wracked by revelation than by the raging storm.

He wasn’t his father’s son.

He never had been.

And how casually Lilia had confessed to it, too. “You never noticed that our ear shapes were different until now? It is because we are not blood related. I am a fae, and you, my dear boy, are a human.”

Silver couldn’t tell if the wetness on his face were from his tears or from the rain. Likely a mix of both.

He sniffled, burying his head in his knees--but wiping his nose on drenched clothes would do little to drive the stinging betrayal away. His sobs were drowned out by the storm, yet the dread and the doubt still lingered, running their grimy hands all over him.

If it had all been a lie, then were his happy memories false too?

The thought sent another wave of sadness crashing into him. The young boy wailed again--just as a flash of lightning raced through the sky. With that brief flicker of light, the outline of a short figure emerged from the darkness.

Moments later, a crash of thunder.

He flinched, retreating further into himself.

“... There you are, Silver.”

He glanced up only to glare at the man he once called father.

Lilia was completely soaked, hair plastered to his face in wet clumps and clothes sticking to his skin. The shadows made it difficult to read his expression. Only his eyes stuck out. Big and bright, a deep, discerning red.

“It was reckless of you to run out into a rainstorm,” Lilia chided, slowly drawing closer. “You gave this weary old heart of mine quite a scare.”

“Go away. You’re... You’re not my real dad anyway!”

The fairy stilled.

“Oh, Silver.”

The boy stuffed his hands over his ears. He didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want to hear the name a false father had given him, didn’t want to hear Lilia calling for him.

“... You don’t need to accept me as your guardian. I won’t ask that of you.” Despite speaking softly, Lilia’s words rose above the storm, above Silver’s attempts to keep him out. “But please, come back with me. You will catch a dreadful cold if you stay out here.”

“Because I’m human,” Silver snapped, “and humans are different from fairies.”

“We are different.” Lilia bent, crouching to meet the child at eye level. Silver saw himself reflected in red. Small and sad and sobbing. “We are different, but that does not mean I cannot love you as though we were the same.”

“Liar.”

“You would not be wrong.” Lilia extended a hand out of habit--but Silver jerked away, refusing to let him stroke his hair. His heart sank, and he let his hand fall with it. “... I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me. That judgement should be made by you and you alone. It’s your life, so that is only fair.”

“... Why did you do it?” Silver demanded. “Why are you giving me the choice now when you didn’t give me the choice back then?”

“Why I did it? That is hard to say.” Lilia laid his arms on his kneecaps and rested his chin on top of them. In the darkness, his eyes shimmered thoughtfully. “I’ve seen a lot. Experienced a lot. This world is a wonderful one... but even the most wonderful of things has shadows that stir beneath it.

“I’ve seen so many of those shadows for myself, both the best and the worst parts of history. Time passes, and history repeats itself. The shadows grow, no matter how much I try to fend them off.”

Lilia laughed softly. “When you get to be my age, you start missing the feeling of wonder that comes with youth. But you, Silver... You can see the world through fresh eyes. You can experience all that this life has to offer. You give me something worth fighting for, something I wanted to shield from the darkness.”

“... What’s that?” Silver’s voice was nearly a whisper.

Another bolt of lightning struck the earth--and in that moment, Lilia came into focus. His face was as wet as Silver’s, and the little boy couldn’t tell if it was from tears or from rain.

The very same as him.

An undeniable truth.

The fairy grinned toothily. “A Twisted Wonderland where you can live safe and happy for the rest of your days. A just world where no one needs to cry or say good-bye too soon.”

Hope for the future.

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obsidiancreates · 3 years ago

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Born This Way (Because Of Negligence Towards Basic Scientific Safety)

(IDK how far apart the Fenton kids are in age, so Jazz is an Undetermined Age Where She's A Toddler But Also Very Verbal. Maybe it's the Genius Genes letting her learn faster. Let's go with that.)

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Maddie coughs, spitting out another glob of ectoplasm. "Well, at least know it's not an issues with the cooling system."

Jack sneezes out the ectoplasm stuck in his nose, and then grins and stands triumphantly. "Still a step towards success!"

Jazz frowns from where she's playing with her doll, safe within a Fenton Anti-Ghost Toddler Chamber. "Mommy, you should cover your mouth." She points at her own mouth. "Mr. Wummy on TV says dat getting weird stuff in your mouth is bad."

"Mr. Wummy is a cartoon, dear. We're seasoned scientists, we know what we're doing." She wipes herself off, and sits down. "If there were any side-effects to accidental ecoplasmic consumption, we'd know."

"But what if Danny doesn't like it?" Jazz point at her mother's belly.

Maddie pats her belly. "The baby is still just a fetus, sweetie. It can't tell what it does and doesn't like yet. And why are you so sure it'll be a boy?"

"Because I'm your baby girl. So now you need a baby boy!"

Maddie tilts her head and smiles lovingly at her daughter. "Oh, you're adorable." Nothing cuter than Child Logic.

Maddie stands back up, and puts her hands on the workbench. "Now, let's see about that firing mechanism..."

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Maddie brushes her teeth, sighing when her toothbrush comes away glowing green. "We really messed up a lot of experiments today. I think I swallowed a whole ghost's worth."

Jack spits a similarly colored mouthful of toothpaste foam out. "At least it doesn't taste as bad as it smells."

Maddie puts her hands on her belly, the bump now quite obvious. "II hope we're right about it not having side effects."

Jack's expression softens. He gently pulls his wife into a comforting hug. "The doctors all say he's as healthy as can be, Mads. You don't need to worry."

"I still worry anyway, though."

"Of course you do. You're his mom! But we'll worry together, and if you ever need me to, I'll do the worrying for us both! While you relax and give him more tips on how to avoid ghosts once he learns to walk."

Maddie giggles, and sighs. It'll all be fine... nothing to worry about.

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Jazz has her arms crossed, a teddy bear hanging from one hand. "Five times!"

"Yes, and did we mention we're so proud that you can count so we-"

"Five times!" She shouts again, waving her little sticky toddler hand at them. "I saw you eat the bad green stuff five times!"

"We didn't eat it," Maddie says patiently, "It got into our mouths by accident."

"You swallowed it!"

"Only a tiny bit, only on accident, dear."

Jazz puts her hand on her mom's belly. "Danny is gonna be here soon and he's gonna be mad!"

"He won't even know it happened, sweetheart."

"Yes he will! He'll be the smartest ever, just like me and like you and like daddy! And he'll be so upset and never stop crying!"

"Babies do that anyway, sweetie." Maddie rubs her belly. It's true, Danny is due any day now. And yes... there's been some extra Ectoplasm Incidents lately. Maddie just can't stay awake sometimes, and... well. That's not exactly good when working on ghost hunting machines.

"Your baby brother will be perfectly fine," Maddie assures. "He's a healthy baby boy, and he'll be just as healthy when you meet him."

Jazz lights up at the mention of meeting him. She can't wait!

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Jazz bounces excitedly in her dad's arms. She gets to meet her baby brother! Finally! She's going to read him bedtime stories, and protect him from closet monsters, and show him how to throw a tea party!

Jack chuckles. "Calm down, sweetie, you don't get to play with him quite yet! He's still very fragile."

"But he's okay?"

"Yes, he and Mommy are both okay. Better than okay."

Jack knocks on the hospital room door, and they enter.

Maddie is holding Danny, and it looks like she fell asleep. Jazz gasps, even though all she can see so far is the blanket bundle.

"He's tiny!"

"Very." Again. Ah well. Jack had always hoped one of his kids would groww up to be taller than him, but maybe it'll have to be a grandkid.

He walks over, and smiles at his sleeping wife. "Okay, let's be quiet," he whispers. "We don't want to wake mommy."

Jazz nods seriously.

Jack sets her on the bed, and Jazz carefully crawls closer to Danny. She moves the blanket to get a good look at his face, grinning widly-!

She frowns. "Where is he?"

"What?!" Jack hurriedly picks up the bundle, making Maddie startle awake. "Holy-"

"Jack? Honey? What is it?!" Maddie's tone becomes increasingly panicked.

Jack, looking a bit pale, hands the bundle back to her. She gasps.

It's empty, and freezing!

"Where- where is-"

And then suddenly. He's there.

Fast asleep, wrapped up snug and tight. His little face still red from being brand-new to the world, his tiny tongue sticking out of his mouth slightly as he snoozes.

He disappears again.

Maddie thinks she's about to pass out.

Finally, Jazz breaks the horrified silence. "I told you to cover your mouths!"

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Danny sleeps all the way home, and all the way up to his room. Jazz is waiting by the bassinet, and peeks in as soon as he's placed down. She frowns. "Mommy, his hair is white. He's not old."

Maddie sighs. "No, he's not. Apparently it just... does that, sometimes."

Danny yawns, and opens his little eyes. Jazz's own eyes widen as well. "He's glowing!"

"Yes... that happens too."

Danny screws up his face, and starts crying. Maddie picks him up and rocks him. "Poor baby... he's so cold."

"Why?" Jazz tilts her head.

Maddie sighs. "Well... your father and I... we think he's half-ghost."

"How?"

"... Probably... the ectoplasm," Shame burns in Maddie's veins.

Jazz, wide-eyed, reaches to to try and touch Danny. "Is he dead?" She doesn't sound sad, because it looks to her like even if he is dead, he's still alive.

"No!" Maddie shuts the idea right down. "He is a very healthy, living boy! But he's... different."

"Are you gonna trap him?"

"Wh- Jasmine, why would you ask that!"

"He's a ghost."

"No! No, we never treat him like any other ghost. And he's only partly ghost, so it barely counts. Now, Mommy has to feed him so he can go back to sleep. How about you go pick a movie for tonight?"

Jazz nods. She takes that job very seriously. There's a science to picking movies.

She heads off, and Maddie looks at Danny's sniffling little face. His eyes are back too baby blue, but his hair isn't quite black yet.

At least he's still visible.

At least the side effects seem mild.

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It's about 6 am when Jack bolts up too use the bathroom. On his way back, he decides to check on the kids.

Jazz is asleep, cuddling a stuffed animal. Jack smiles.

Danny is also asleep, wrapped up in a cute little onesie and floating above the bassinet FLOATING ABOVE THE BASSINET?!?!

Jack runs over and grabs Danny from the air, pulling out a Fenton Ghost-Whapping Baton!

And then he looks at Danny, who's whining, and sees sleepy glowing green eyes looking at him.

"Oh. Um, sorry, son." He puts away the baton. "I thought a ghost was stealing you."

Danny yawns. Jack sees a cold breath puff out of his son's mouth, despite the room being temperature-controlled to keep him toasty during the nights.

Jack puts Danny back into the bassinet. He leaves, and comes back a little bit later with some equipment.

He sets up a rudimentary ghost-shield to keep Danny from floating away during the night, but won't trap him. He can still float a little, if need be.

"The scariest ghost we've faced yet," Jack mumbles. He kisses Danny's forehead, and sits there until Danny falls asleep. By then, Danny is human again.

Jack leaves, and in the morning he and Maddie begin working on some upgrades for Danny's room.

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Danny babbles happily as Jazz plays peek-a-boo with him.

"Boo!"

Laughter.

"Boo!"

More laughter!

"A-boo! A-boo!" Jazz can't stop grinning. She's a great older sister! Look at her go!

She takes Danny's hands, and moves them over his face. "Now, where's Danny? ... Here he is! Oh."

Danny isn't there. But his clothes are, and something's inside of them. And Jazz is still holding two chubby baby arms, even if they're cold and invisible.

Jazz stares for a second, and then speaks. "... Peek-a-boo?"

Danny reappears, and squeals with laughter!

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Maddie sits down to give Danny his bottle. She's brought him out shopping with her so she can grab some replacement parts that fried in their latest invention, the Fenton Ecto-Extractor!

Jazz had thrown a fit when she'd heard the name, and it startled Jack so bad he'd turned it on too early and it completely collapsed on itself! It took half an hour to convince Jazz that they weren't trying to use it to make Danny normal, just using it for themselves now that they know it can cause... strange things, to happen.

Danny drinks the bottle with no issue, and burps as soon as she starts his back. Really, he's a pretty easy baby. Except for the ghost part.

Maddie is getting him back in the stroller when Danny's face screws up. She watches a cold, visible breath leave his mouth, and then he starts to scream. Sobbing, wailing baby screams, attracting the concerned and/or annoyed attention of most people around them.

"He's just tired," she assures loudly. His breath is still puff out in cold clouds, even though it's perfectly warm in the mall.

Maddie quickly picks him back up and hugs him, bouching and singing to try and calm him down.

Danny starts to quiet down. She puts him back in the stroller, but as soon as she does (as soon as he looks behind her with those bright, bright green eyes) he starts crying again.

She sighs and picks him up, hurrying back to the car. She'll just come back for the parts later. Clearly, something is upsetting him.

Something that she just can't see.

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Jazz leans away from Danny, grinning. "There!"

Danny is propped up on her bed. Maddie and Jack needed to quickly decontaminate themselves, and so Jazz had to watch Danny for just a minute.

And in that minute, she's does some redesigning.

Danny's fluffy white hair has a little bow in it, and she's put some of her kiddie makeup on him.

Danny disappears for a second, and the bow falls. When he reappears, it's not on his head anymore. He looks at Jazz blankly.

Jazz crosses her arms. "No fair! I was making you pretty!"

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Maddie stumbles into Danny's room. She flicks on the light, and turns off the Fenton Ghost-Shielding Hanging Mobile. She reaches in and pulls the crying Danny out of the bassinet, shushing and rocking him.

Danny's eyes are bright green again, and Maddie can see his breath. "Oh, you always get so worked up when this happens," she says softly. "Is the cold upsetting you?"

Danny doesn't answer, just cries more.

Maddie takes him to her and Jack's room, and lays down with him on her chest. Jack rolls over in his sleep and puts his arms around her, cradling both of them.

Danny falls back asleep soon, and Maddie sighs. She can still see his breath, but at least he's calm now.

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Jazz holds up her drawing, and shakes her head. She goes back to scribbling, and moves closer to Danny. "This is black," she says to him, pointing at the crayon she's using. She picks up another color. "And this one is red."

Danny stares as Jazz keeps scribbling. Jazz assumes that means he's learning.

"I'm going to let Mom and Dad know I saw this in my closet," she says seriously. "I think people know you're special and want to steal you!"

Danny blows a spit bubble by accident, and laughs when it pops.

Jazz's eyes hold more determination than ever. She scribbles with the fury of a million warriors. "You're very valuable." She learned that word yesterday. "So you need lots of protecting."

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"Do you think this will make her feel better?" Maddie asks as she closes the panel.

Jack lifts his soldering mask and nods. "If one thing can make a person feel safe, it's fifty anti-ghost devices hidden in their walls!"

"I just worry about that doodle. What if something really got in?"

"Mads, you personally handcrafted every single sensor put up in the kids's rooms! If a ghost had gotten in, we'd know! To get past then they'd need deep knowledge of exactly how our deigns work and how they detect ghost energy, and no ghost has that!"

"You're right, you're right. Still, I hate to think she might be having nightmares about something like that. It looked like it had devil horns."

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"Peek-a-boo!" Jazz grins at Danny. "Peek-a-boo!"

It never gets old for him! No matter how many times they play, Danny loves it!

"Peek... a-boo!" Jazz does little jazz-hands.

Danny disappears, and Jazz grins. "Where's Danny? Where'd he go?"

Danny reappears, and-

"B-b-boo!"

Jack and Maddie dart into the room! Maddie swoops Danny up, eyes wide!

Danny giggles, and says it again. "Boo!"

Maddie and Jackie both tear up. In unison they shout, "HIS FIRST WORD!"

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Danny gnaws on the toy with his little baby gums.

"I can't believe it. Already teething," Maddie sighs, holding him. "Seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital."

Jack wipes his eyes. "He's growing into a young man already."

"Oh, Jack, stop it, he's not nearly a young man."

"But he will be before we know it!"

Maddie pats her husband on the back comfortingly as he begins to blubber.

Maddie closes her eyes, thinking about those early months with Danny, figuring out how to prepare for his floating and invisibility, learning to not panic when his eyes and hair changed color, learning that sometimes when they do his clothes change color as well...

She's startled out of her thought by something warm and wet on her lap.

She looks down to see the teething toy on her thigh... and a whole lot of nothing where Danny's head should be.

Then it' back when she blinks, and he's beginning to whine for his toy.

She quickly picks him up off her laps and retrieves it, giving it back to him.

So... the ghost abilities are still developing, then. She'll have to let Jack know about this later.

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"Daniel Fenton," Jack says, the most serious Jazz has ever seen him, "You're in big trouble this time, mister. I don't know how you did this-"

Jack shakes the empty tube of baby snacks, safe for teething babies.

"But I will get to the bottom of it!"

"Look like he already did," Maddie jokes, setting Jazz's breakfast down for her.

Jazz laughs, because it sounds like a Smart Adult Joke and she thinks those are funny, even when she doesn't understand them.

Danny babbles, smacking his chair's food tray.

"Oh no you don't, mister! You're getting regular baby food this morning and that's all!" Jack grabs the jar of food, and holds up the spoon. "Now, here comes the Fenton Ghost-Tracking Copter!"

He puts the spoon up to Danny's mouth-

-and right through his head.

He gasps and pulls back, and Danny's head reappears. He babbles, smacking the tray again.

Maddie drops her fork. "I can't believe I forgot! That's what I was going to tell you about!"

Jazz looks at her parents. "You didn't know he does this?"

They both gawk at her. "You did?!"

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Danny reaches up and grabs Jazz's nose. Jazz wrinkles it, and he laughs.

Jazz sticks out her tongue and crosses her eyes, and Danny laughs even harder!

Jazz looks at her parents as they finish setting up the picnic blanket. "I'm the funniest big sister ever!"

"You sure are, sweetie!" Maddie scoops Jazz up and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "You get it from me."

Jack laughs. "It's true! Your mother could get the whole Ghost Hunting Club laughing out HAZMAT suits off all day long back in the day! ... 'Course it was just the three of us, but still, three's a crowd!"

"May as well have been doing stand-up," Maddie says, setting Jazz down on the blanket.

They enjoy the little outing, the sun shining but not beating down, the cool breeze just enough to crispen the air but not freeze.

And then Jazz looks at Danny. She sees glowing eyes, and a puff of breath come out of his mouth. "Uh-oh. Mommy! He's gonna cry!"

Maddie picks Danny up right as he starts to wail. She hugs him, and is shocked. He doesn't feel cold this time!

Is he just cold inside?

Or is there some other problem?

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Jack rubs his ears. "That child wails like a Banshee!"

"He could very well be doing exactly that," Maddie points out. "We still don't know what other abilities he'll develop as he ages!"

"Or how well he'll be able to control them. ... Mads... should we homeschool him?"

"It's a little early to worry about that, Jack."

"I know that tone, you're worrying about it too."

"... We can't just keep him isolated from the rest of the world, Jack. It'll be unhealthy for him. And what if it makes him lean into his ghost side too much?"

"So you think we should let him go to school."

"Yes. ... But not pre-school. We'll teach him to not use his abilities around other kids, and then send him to Kindergarten."

"... Alright, Mads. If you think that's what's best, then that's what's best!"

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"Come on, that's it! Yes, yes, WHOO!" Maddie picks Danny up as soon as he walks over. "Who's a strong little Fenton? Who's the best little boy at walking in the whole wide world?"

"Danny!" Jazz cheers from the couch.

"Danny!" Maddie and Jack both cheer at once.

Danny laughs and squeals, kicking his legs and flapping his arms. His first proper Walk! Not just a step or two and then crawling, that was real walking!

Jack takes Danny, holding him aloft. "You're a real butt-kicker in the making, son! You'll be as strong as your old man someda-"

Jack feels something bump him, hard.

He shouts as he goes down! Danny going with him!

But as Jack meets the floor, he feels Danny's weight disappear from his hands!

He lands with an "oof", and looks up to see Danny floating above him, surrounded by a faint white aura. Danny looks down and babbles, sucking his thumb. Then... he moves.

He's only ever floated in place before. But as he looks down at his dad, he kicks his little legs and moves! Moving right across the room!

And then he looks behind his dad, and his breath comes out in puffs. He starts crying and wailing hysterically.

Jazz peers at where Danny is looking. "Mommy, hit the air with the stick!"

Maddie gently grabs Danny. "Why, sweetie?"

"Danny is scared! So we have to protect him!"

Maddie grabs her Fenton Baton, and gives the area Danny was looking at a good thwack. She expects it to go right through the empty air.

Instead there's a loud zap! There's a cry of pain! And then a semi-transparent form zooming out of their house!

Maddie's jaw drops. Jack scrambles to his feet and grabs every ghost weapon in radius, forming a protective circle around the family with them!

Maddie looks at Danny, who's now calm.

And his breath isn't visible.

Hmm...

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"We're just seeing if my hypothesis is right," Maddie assures.

Jazz sobs, clinging onto her leg. "NOOOO! HE'LL GET HURT! OR STOLED!"

"Stolen, sweetie. And Mommy and Daddy would never let that happen."

Jazz scream-sobs again.

"What if we can promise you the ghost will be in a big, big box?"

Jazz looks at her mom with watery eyes. "Like around Danny's crib?"

"Yes, like that."

"But-but he's so little."

"It'll just be a second, sweetheart."

Jazz sniffles again. "... Can I hold the stick?"

Maddie smiles softly. "Yes, sweetie, you can hold the stick."

A couple hours later, Jack and Maddie return home with a ghost in a box. It's yelling something, but the box is soundproof.

Jack sets the box down, and goes to grab Danny. He comes back, and holds Danny firmly while walking towards the ghost. Danny's eyes are covered by a too-big hood on his little shirt. He can't see, or hear, that there's a ghost nearby.

Danny's breath comes out a visible puff about two feet away from the ghost, and he starts crying. Jack steps back a ways, and Danny's breaths become normal again. He settles down.

Jack walks closer. Puff of breath, and crying.

Jack steps back. Normal breath, calm Danny.

"He can sense ghost's," Maddie says, looking in awe at her baby boy. Her face breaks into a grin. "He's his own portable ghost detector! He'll never be caught unawares, he'll be able to always defend himself!"

She runs up to Jack and hugs them both, kissing Danny's little forehead. Danny babbles.

"He'll never be caught unawares," Maddie says again in relief. "Oh, this makes me feel so much better."

"Mommy? ... Does that mean we're haunted all the time?"

Maddie's relief hardens and breaks in her chest.

All those times Danny's Ghost Sense has gone off inside! All those times!

She pulls away. "Jack, we're upping our security!"

Jack nods. "Time for FentonWorks 2.0!"

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Danny giggles as his dad chases him around the house. He phases through doors and turns invisible in hiding places, always giving himself away with laughter.

Jack grabs Danny just before he phases through the next door. “Gotcha!”

Danny laughs, happy little kid squeals that you can hear through the whole house. Jack puts Danny on his shoulders and heads into the kitchen. “He’s getting pretty good at running! Say, whatcha making, Mads?”

“Meatloaf. Would you mind helping?”

Jack sets Danny down at the table and helps Maddie make dinner, while Danny eyes something on the counter.

“Cookie.”

Maddie looks over. Danny is staring at the cookie jar. “No sweetie, no cookies yet.”

“Cookie!”

“Not yet.”

Danny starts to cry. “Cookie!”

Maddie walks over, and gives Danny his binkie. Danny refuses it af first, but once he has it he calms down fast.

He looks at the cookie jar still, though.

And, slowly, he lifts out of his chair. He kicks his little legs, pushing himself forward. He plops down on the counter, and reaches into the jar with an intangible hand.

He pulls out not one, but two cookies!

He gets so excited that he starts waving his arms, making happy noises.

Jack looks over. “What? Maddie, he’s gotten into the cookie jar!”

“I’ve got it!” Maddie walks over and scoops Danny up in his old Anti-Ghost-Phasing Blanket. Soft, warm, and totally ghost-proof.

Danny whines. “Cookie!”

“I said not yet, honey.” Maddie grabs the cookies and puts them on the counter. She safety pins the blanket around Danny like a little cape, except it takes away his powers.

Danny sits in his chair, throwing a fit! But to no avail. Eventually he just sits there, tear-faced and angry.

And then Jazz walks in. She looks over at the cookies, and then at Danny.

She walks over and snatches them off the counter as quick as she can! She casually walks over to the table, and hands them to Danny.

Danny brightens up. He shoves one cookie in his mouth, and gives the other back to Jazz. His original intention.

Jazz smiles, and scarfs the cookie down just before Maddie turns around.

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“Why?” Danny looks at his mom with wide, innocent eyes.

Maddie’s heart aches. “People might get scared.”

Danny frowns. “Scawy?”

“No, no, you aren’t scary. But the... idea of ghosts, for a lot of people, can be scary.”

Danny thinks, and then walks over to the fridge. “Scawy.”

Maddie looks at the drawing Danny is pointing at. It’s Jazz’s drawing of The Ghost.

The one that’s been haunting them for months.

Black horns, it looks like. Red eyes. Deathly blue skin. It makes Maddie shiver, knowing it had direct access to her children for so long.

Danny starts to cry. “I scawy!”

Maddie scoops him up. “No, no sweetie! You are nothing like that monster, nothing like it at all! And you never will be, I promise!” Maddie hugs him tightly. “Oh, my poor baby... how about we take a break? Do you want to help Jazz paint something?”

Danny sniffles, and nods. They head upstairs, leaving the talk for another day.

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“Kindergarten, Jack,” Maddie says, packing the little lunch box. “He’s already in Kindergarten!”

Jack is already openly sobbing as he makes Jazz a sandwich.

“Do you think he understands what he needs to do?” Maddie asks no-one in particular, just worrying.

“He understands perfectly!”

Maddie jumps a little, and turns around to see Jazz smiling proudly. Danny stands right next to her, a shyer smile on his face. Maddie tears up at the sight of him with his little backpack and school outfit on.

Jazz looks at Danny. “Go ahead! Show them what we practiced!”

Danny puffs out his chest to look strong. “I won’t go through anything, turn invi-invisi- um, turn not-seeing-me, I won’t fly, and, um... and if I feel another ghost, I’ll use this!” He pulls his little Fenton Emergency Pager out of his pocket.

Maddie wipes her eyes. “Perfect, honey,” she says, letting the pride seep into her voice. “Oh, my baby boy! Growing up so fast!” She picks him up and kisses his face. Danny wraps his arms around her neck.

“Do I have to go, mommy? They’ll think I’m scary.”

“Oh, honey. You aren’t scary, I promise.”

“... What if I need to be scary?”

“Mommy will come be scary for you.”

“She very good at it,” Jack chimes in, shivering a little as he remembers the time a ghost attacked while Maddie was buying Danny’s first pair of little shoes. By the time it was over, Jack almost pitied the thing.

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Maddie gives Danny one last hug. “Remember, calls u anytime you need us, okay?”

He nods. “I love you, Mommy. I love you, Daddy. I love you, Jazz.”

“You’re just going to school, not saying bye forever.” Even as Jazz says it, her lip wobbles and her voice cracks.

Danny floats up to the car window give her a hug, before being quickly held up by Maddie to cover the power use.

“That’s the only time today you’ll do that,” she reminds him.

Danny nods.

Eventually... the goodbyes are done being dragged out. Danny’s family drives away as the teacher leads him inside.

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Danny sits on a swing by himself, not sure what to do.

Usually at home he plays using his powers. He doesn’t know how to be good at tag without making it so people can’t touch him, or how to play hide-and-seek without turning invisible.

He kicks the sand. This is stupid. He misses Jazz. He can play with her.

“Hi.”

Danny looks up. Another young boy is standing in front of him, holding some kind of electronic. The boy holds out his hand. “I’m Tucker.”

Danny shakes his hand, focusing very hard on keeping it a real hand. “I’m Danny.”

Tucker shows him the electronic. “Want to play my game?"

Danny looks at it. It’s a coloring game. He nods.

They pass it back and forth between each other for a while, both coloring in different parts of the same picture.

Eventually it’s time to back in. Danny and Tucker ask if they can sit closer together.

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“So, how was it?” Maddie asks, gripping the steering wheel tightly as she picks Danny up. “Have fun?”

“I made a friend!” Danny yells! “His name is Tucker and he’s really nice!”

Maddie relaxes. “Oh? How did you meet?”

“He let me play his coloring game!”

“That’s wonderful!”

“We made a tower out of blocks and it was the strongest ever! And I never used my powers!”

“I’m so proud of you, sweetie!”

Maybe Maddie can stop worrying now. ... Probably not.

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“What if we gave it big scary horns?” Danny says as he doodled something in crayon. “Like the thing that watches my window.”

Tucker looks at him with wide eyes. “A monster watches you?”

“My parents don’t let it touch me. They hunt ghosts.”

“Oh. Do you hunt ghosts?”

Danny shakes his head. “I’m too little.”

“Oh. Me too.”

“You should give it bat wings.”

They both look up. The quiet girl who usually sits in the back is standing in front of them, her hair pulled back in a tight black braid and her clothes perfectly pressed.

Danny looks at the drawing, and nods. He adds the wings. “We’re drawing the monster from that story we heard today.”

The girl sits down. “I bet it had claws. And could breathe black fire!”

Danny adds them on. “You’re really smart!”

The girl nods. “I am.”

“I’m Danny.”

“I’m Tucker!”

The girl grins. “I’m Samatha.”

“Wow... that’s a long name,” Danny says, eyes wide. “My sister has a long name too. Do all girls have long names?”

Samantha thinks. “I dunno. I haven’t met all girls.”

“Oh. We don’t know all boys, either.”

They spend the rest of free time coloring. Once it’s over, Samantha moves to sit with them.

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“So, how was today, sweetie?”

“I made another friend! She’s really good, and her parents make her have long hair but she wants it short, and we made this with her!” He shows Maddie the drawing.

Maddie grimaces a little, but turns it into a smile. “It’s lovely, dear. Looks... a little like Jazz’s picture.”

Danny nods.”The monster in the story lived in the window. So does this ghost.”

“... What?”

“He lives by my window. But he can’t come inside, so I make faces at him and make him mad.”

Maddie speeds up a little. “Danny, we’re going to be altering your windows when we get home. Okay?”

“Okay.”

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Danny leads Sam and Tucker to his room with his tiny arms full of snacks. He brings them inside, and proudly stands in the middle. “This is my room!”

"Cool!” Tucker exclaims. “Whoa, you have a computer?”

Danny shakes his head. “That’s to keep ghosts out. Ghosts hate us.”

“You’ve seen some?” Samantha asks, eyes wide.

Danny grins. “So many!”

“Can we see some?”

“Sure, I can even-”

They hear a gasp in the doorway. Turning to look, they see Jazz. “Danny, you didn’t let me meet your friends!”

Danny looks horrified. “Oh no!” He runs over and pulls Jazz into the room. “This is my big sister Jazz! She’s the coolest big sister!”

“I’m Tucker!”

“I’m Sam!”

Jazz grins. “Guess what I learned yesterday?” She points out of the room. “How to use the remote!”

The trio of toddler’s eyes sparkle. They cheer for Jazz as all of them descend, ready to Take Control Of The TV!

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

“-and this is The Box Ghost,” Danny says, showing his friends the doodle him and Jazz made at home. “He’s silly. He wants to be scary, but he isn’t.”

Tucker and Samantha nods like it the most important thing they’ll ever learn.

Danny pulls out the next drawing. “This is Scary, the ghost from my window.” It’s a new drawing, a little more detailed thanks to Jazz being better at drawing now. And Danny having seen the face so, so many times. “I don’t see him anymore. Mom and Dad kicked him out of the window.”

“He’s ugly,” Samantha says, wrinkling her nose.

“He looks stinky,” Tucker agrees.

Danny looks over at the window. “Shhhh! He’s here!”

Tucker and Samantha look at the window. They see nothing.

They look back at Danny. They see little puffs coming out of his mouth, and his eyes are the wrong color.

Danny pulls his pager out. “It’s okay. Mommy will come scare him away.”

“We can’t see him,” Samantha says.

Danny nods. “He’s hard to see.”

“Do you have to have glowy eyes like yours?” Tucker asks. “I have to have glasses. Are your eyes like Ghost Glasses?”

Danny thinks, and then nods. “I guess so. ... OH NO!” He covers his eyes. “You aren’t supposed to see that!”

“Why not?”

“Mommy said it’s a secret! You’ll think I’m scary!”

“But it’s not scary.”

Danny tilts his head, still covering his eyes. “It’s not?”

“No, it’s cool!”

He slowly uncovers his eyes. “... Do... you think this is scary?” He holds out his arm, and makes it invisible.

Tucker and Samantha gasp! Danny pulls his arm back, about to cry. They think he’s scary, they won’t be his friends anymore-

“That’s so cool,” Samantha says.

“I wanna do that!” Tucker exclaims.

Danny can’t believe it for a second. And then he grins. “I can do more stuff too! I’ll show you at my house!”

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

Maddie paces the floor while Danny sits on the couch, his little face burning with shame.

Jazz sits next to him, arms crossed. Jack stands in front of him, Maddie pacing beside her husband.

“You told your friends?” Maddie asks again.

Danny nods, keeping his head low. “I didn’t mean to. I saw Scary, and my eyes turned green, and I can’t fix that.”

Maddie sighs. “I know, sweetie, but you showed them more after! We caught you flying them around your room! How can you even carry both of them at once?!”

“It’s easy when I’m a ghost,” he says, still keeping his head low. “Everything’s easy when I’m a ghost.”

Maddie stops pacing. “Oh, sweetie... I know it must be strange for you to suddenly have to hide it.”

Danny nods. He sniffles a little.

“It’s for your own safety, son,” Jack says. “You understand that, right? We just want you to be safe.”

“Other kids can be mean, Danny,” Jazz says. “I’m smart, and some kids are mean to me for that.”

“But Samantha and Tucker aren’t mean!”

“No, they aren’t,” Maddie concedes. “... I guess what’s done is done. Danny?” She kneels down in front of him and gently lifts his head up, wiping his tears away. “We aren’t mad. We’re worried. They’re your friends, but they also don’t understand this the way we do.”

“... Can you make them understand?”

Maddie nods. “We’ll absolutely have a talk with them. You can go get them from your room right now, even. But Danny? No-one else. Okay? These two kids are the only kids you will ever tell. Promise?”

Danny nods, still sniffling. “Promise.”

Maddie puts on her HAZMAT glove and holds out her pinkie. “Fenton promise?”

Danny links her pinkie with his, letting it go ghostly. “Fenton promise, Mommy.”

“Okay. You can send your friends down now.”

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

Danny waits for his mom to come pick him up, Samantha and Tucker sitting next to him.

Samantha looks up suddenly. “I don’t like my name.”

Danny and Tucker look at her.

She stands up. “From now on, my name is... is Sam!”

Danny and Tucker clap, because they learned that’s the polite thing to do when someone has a dramatic moment like this. They learned it from watching the older kids do a play.

Sam sits back down. “I’m Sam,” she says happily. “Sam.”

“Sam is a good name,” Danny says.

“Easier to write,” Tucker says.

“Yeah.” Sam is very proud of her new name.

They wait a bit longer, and a long black car pulls up. Sam stands up, but her parents don’t step out.

A tall, white-haired man does, one none of them have ever met before. He smiles down at them. “Hello, Danny. Hello, Danny’s friends.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m a friend of Danny’s parents,” he says, giving a slight bow (or maybe just bending over to hear them better since they’re so much shorter than him).

“I don’t know you,” Danny says, accusatory. “Mrs. Emma told us about people like you!”

The Man shakes his head. “I’m not a stranger, I promise. Your parents and I are very close.”

“I don’t know you,” Danny says again. He steps between The Man and his friends. “I’m gonna tell Mrs. Emma on you.”

“Danny, really, your mother called and asked me to pick you up.”

“You liar! She always picks me up!”

“She’s fighting a ghost right now.”

“She leaves fights to come get me!”

The Man sighs. He grabs Danny’s arm. “Stubborn like your parents. Come on, I promise you’ll be fine.”

“NO!” Danny yanks his arm, trying to get away. “LET GO OF ME!”

“Stop making a scene!”

“LET GO! YOU-”

Danny gaps, a puff of breath coming out and his eyes turning green.

“S-Scary,” he whimpers. “SCARY! MOMMY! MOMMMYYYY! SCARY HAS ME!!! HELP!!!”

Danny yanks again, Tucker and Sam finally running inside to get Mrs. Emma!

The Man scowls. “I’m trying to help you, little badger!”

“YOU’RE THE SCARY IN THE WINDOW!” Danny looks at him with bright eyes, tearful and afraid. “GET AWAY!!!”

Danny’s little hand glows green, and suddenly The Man is clutching his stomach instead of Danny’s arm. Danny runs inside, right into Mrs. Emma’s arms. He sobs to her as she frantically calls the police, trying to read the plate of the car speeding off into the distance.

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

Maddie hands Jazz a Baton. “This is in case this ‘Scary’ come after you,” Maddie says, still shaking a bit. “Okay?”

Jazz nods.

“Danny, this is for you.” Maddie hands him a black-and-white suit. “This is to keep other ghosts from sensing you, okay? So wear it under your clothes.”

Danny nods, still crying.

Maddie looks at Sam and Tucker. Their parents were late picking them up, but with the attempted kidnapping it was decided that they’ll stay with The Fentons for a few hours until their parents could get them.

“You two get these.” She hands them Fenton Pagers, and Fenton Fun-Sized Ghost Stunners. “They can hurt people too, so only use them on ghosts. Or if someone tries to do... what you saw today, ever again.”

Sam and Tucker nod.

“And Danny? From now on, wait with Mrs. Emma until we come inside to get you.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“And when I get my hands on this ‘Scary’, I promise you’ll never have to worry about him again.”

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

Danny looks around to see if anyone is watching. He, Tucker, and Sam are crouched under a desk in the classroom while everyone else is out at recess.

He holds out his hand to the stack of paper, and closes his eyes. For a second, nothing happens.

And then it glows green, and a small beam shoots from his hand! Tucker and Sam gasp!

“You’re like a superhero!” Tucker exclaims, standing up.

“A ghost superhero!” Sam says, standing up too. “You need a superhero name!”

Danny shoots up, smiling widely. “What should it be?”

They all think for a long, long time.

Sam perks up. “I know!”

She grabs a book from the corner. The book is a Halloween one, mostly for pictures with just a few words. She flips to a page, and points to it. “This word! It means Ghost!”

Danny and Tucker peer at it. “How do you say it?” Tucker asks.

Sam grins. “Phantom!”

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

“Phantom?” Maddie says, looking at the doodle.

Jack nods. “Apparently Sam came up with it! Our boy wants to be a ghost hunter after all!”

“Superhero, this says.”

“Same thing!”

“Jack, what’re you making there?”

Jack holds up the suit, one of the prototype Anti-Ghost-Detection suits for Danny. “I got out my old needlepointing stuff and am making him a superhero costume! See, it’s a P!”

Maddie squints, trying to get a better look at the outline. “It looks like a D.”

Jack looks at it. “Hmm. I guess from some angles. But it’s a P! Or, DP! Danny Phantom!”

Maddie’s expression goes soft. “Awww! Okay, you keep making that, and I’ll hang this doodle on the fridge! But no actual ghost fighting until he’s at least fourteen, right?”

“Absolutely!”

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

Danny steps into the school “Halloween Party” with his hands on his hips and a bright grin, looking like a mini-version of his dad behind him.

“Aww, and what are you dressed as, Danny?” Mrs. Emma asks.

“A superhero ghosthunter!” Danny says proudly. “My parents made this for me!”

“It’s great,” Mrs. Emma says genuinely. “Alright, go mingle! We’re going to make paper jack-o-lanterns later so now is the time to trade candies!”

Danny walks over to his friends, still striking the pose. Tucker, dressed as a robot made out of cardboard boxes, pouts in slight jealousy as Danny comes over. Sam, dressed as a vampire, grins. “P for Phantom!” she yells.

Danny runs over faster. “Yeah! My dad put the logo on!” He shows it off proudly. “I’m gonna be the best ghosthunter ever!”

“You can work from the inside!” Tucker says, getting over his jealousy thankfully quick. “Make them think you wanna haunt stuff too!”

“Yeah!” Danny strikes another pose. “But I’m actually going to catch them all, because I’m Danny Phantom!”

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

Danny and Jazz are playing with dolls in the living room. “Pow! Take that!” Danny shouts, making his doll punch Jazz’s.

“Nooo!” Jazz cries out in a husky voice. “But how? I’m The Scary! Nothing can not fear me!”

“I don’t fear you!” Danny waves the hand of his doll, making laser noises. Jazz shakes her doll around, making dying noises. “I’m Danny Phantom, the strongest ghost boy ever!”

“Nooooo!”

Maddie chuckles, watching them. “That Scary better watch out for more than just us.”

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

“Where are we going?” Danny asks again.

“It’s a surprise!” Jack says again, still as excited as when the road trip started.

Danny huffs, looking out the window again. “Why couldn’t Sam and Tucker come?”

“Because they’re spending Summer visiting their families,” Maddie says. “And so are we, sort of.”

“I though Auntie lived in Spittoon,” Jazz says.

“She does! This is different.”

After hours (years in the minds of the kids), they pull up to a mansion. All fo the boredom washes away instantly, Jazz and Danny cramming into the window to see it!

“Are we rich?” Jazz demands to know.

“We’re well-off, but not quite. Welcome to your honorary Uncle Vlad’s house!” Maddie cheers.

“Vlad was out best friend in college!” Jack says, grinning. “He got back in contact with us a few years ago and we’ve been thick as thieves since! He asked us too come over this weekend, and we thought we’d surprise him and let him meet your two at the same time!”

Danny and Jazz cheer! THEY GET TO STAY IN A MANSION!

The family piles out of the car, and stand in front of the door! Maddie and Jack make sure Jazz and Danny look extra nice, and ring the doorbell!

It takes a long minute, so they ring it again!

Finally, a man opens it up! “Oh, Maddie, Jack, I’m so sorry I didn’t hear-”

Danny shrieks. His eyes are glowing bright as they can, his breaths giant puffs! He holds up his hand and send a little beam right into Vlad’s side!

Vlad falls back with an “Oof!”

“Danny!” Maddie scoops him up. “What on earth has gotten into you? Oh, Danny!”

Danny is sobbing pointing at Vlad. “It-it’s him! The-The Scary! He-he tried to take me!”

Maddie and Jack freeze. Slowly, they both look at Vlad. Jazz pulls out her Baton.

“Vlad?” Maddie says coldly.

“Didn’t I only invite you two?” Vlad wheezes.

Jack points a ghost detector at Vlad. It goes off.

“Now, now, I can explai- AGCK!”

Jazz starts happening him with the Baton before he can finish his sentence. Maddie hands Danny to Jack. “Sweetie, close the door and take Danny back to the truck. I need to have a word with Vlad.”

Jack does as told, holding Danny in his lap and soothing him.

“He-he tried to take me,” Danny sobs again.

“Don’t worry, son.” Jack hugs him tightly. “No-one’s ever going to be able to do that. We’ll always keep you safe. We promise.”

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

“And what do we always wear while testing new devices?” Maddie asks, handing Danny a Fenton Ghost-Zapper that would use Danny’s own ghost energy to work.

Danny grins, and puts it on. “Face mask!”

“Because?”

“Because lab safety is very important!”

Maddie grins. “That’s right! And who do we thank for reminding us of that every time we’re in the lab?”

Danny points. “Jazz! Thank you, Jazz!”

Jazz grins proudly.

#danny phantom #Danny Fenton #Jazz Fenton #jack fenton #maddie fenton #vlad masters #vlad plasmius #kidnapping tw #attempted kidnapping #fanfic #my attempts at fanfic

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insomniac-dot-ink · 3 years ago

Text

Headlights Girl

Genre: Urban fantasy + wlw romance

Words: approx. 8k

Summary: The story of a girl with headlamps for eyes and the moth-girl she meets along the way.

My book 🌸 Ko-fi 🌸 Patreon

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

Most humans carry the night with them. Even during daylight hours, they can shut out the sun, turn off the light, recede into themselves and into that soft secret place behind their eyes.

Did you know certain animals don’t have eyelids? Gecko’s have nothing between them and the violent sun which wishes to cook the colors of their world. They have to use their tongue. Dust and sand and rain, can you imagine? I was obsessed with lizards as a kid.

I stacked up books on snakes and lizards and skinks. I traced the way that sand snakes crested across the dunes, sideways and wrong. I put glue on the pads of my hand and tried to climb the walls of my room— I didn’t even get one handhold up. I went to the zoo and peered into their cages, up on my tiptoes, trying not to smudge the glass or breath too hard. I tried make out their triangle heads and slow tongue-flicks, but they each shrank away deep into nooks and crannies of their cages. Most things do when I look at them.

Most humans carry the night with them, right there behind their eyelids is an entire world of darkness. I have something else inside me, not quite, not soft, not secret. They called me “headlights girl” in the newspapers.

There were even stranger kids born in the Age of Spirits. I checked. Every morning of fifth grade, I scanned the papers for mentions of “oddities” growing into anomalies.

A boy who could breath fire. A girl with leaves sprouting from her head. A kid with antennae that could taste the wind. There are stranger things than me in the age of beasts and magic. My father called it the “Epoch of Bastards,” sons and daughters of flickering fire elementals and wind ghosts who seduced half-asleep ladies from their beds.

He didn’t look at me much growing up. And I knew what he meant. I knew what he was getting at by calling it the Epoch of Bastards. Growing up, I played in my little puddle of carpet on the floor as he blustered in and out of rooms like gale force winds. He’d be looking for his keys or a left shoe or wallet since he was going out, out, out. I think I missed him at first, in the way you miss strangers you’ve never met.

Later, still on my puddle of carpet, still on my island, I would glare at him with that sour, acid taste in the back of my throat. Acrid, smoky, I would barely blink as he passed; he’d jump when he turned too quickly and accidentally fell into my path. Later still, I would begin to wish they were both like that—blustery and calling people names, gone more often than not.

It sometimes felt better than hearing my mom weep to herself on the couch. I wish she’d do it in her room or outside or anywhere else than that theatrical sobbing in the middle of the house, a naked heartbeat to the place. She spoke to her friends on the phone in that same watery voice, handkerchief in hand and sniffling, she spoke to them more than me.

What else am I supposed to do? This isn’t how it was supposed to be. She’d wail, just a bit, and then find a new thing to wail over. They could barely afford to send me to That School. They could barely afford the special doctor’s appointments for my eyes. They barely knew what to do with me.

Sometimes, I wanted to shout right back: It’s not like I didn’t want to be here either!

But she wasn’t talking to me.

School wasn’t much better. We weren’t the same, not really. None of us were the same age or had the same affliction. Plus, most everyone else stayed in dorms where they bonded with secrets and whispers and hiding from matrons. It wasn’t the same.

They called me The Lighthouse and Car Face and Nightlight. Sometimes they’d give me a few bucks to close my eyes so they could see my face. I did it. They’d laugh and reassure me I was as ugly as you’d think. Or beautiful. Or perfectly average-looking or I had a pig-nose or unibrow. I’d never seen anything but the blinding light of my own eyes in the mirror so I could never contradict them.

A boy with antlers handed me a twenty for a kiss in the 6th grade. I closed my eyes for that too. It was chapped and dry and he ran away with a screaming laugh afterward. There are stranger kids than me, I reminded myself. So why do I feel so much stranger than the rest of them?

I was 16 when I heel-toed my way down the stairs toward the front door. A duffel bag slung over my shoulder stuffed with loose clothes, change, a bath towel, three books with broken spines, all the tampons in the house, and a Swiss-army knife.

I hoped to stuff as many cheddar-cheese sandwiches in my sack as possible before the midnight bus came, but he was at the kitchen table. I don’t think either of us expected it, like running into your teacher at the mart and you’re both buying the same brand of toilet cleaner. There was a beer in front of his idle hands and he still wore his rumpled work shirt. He glanced at the bag on my shoulder for a long minute.

Finally, he sighed like I cut him off in traffic.

“Gimme a moment.”

My father leafed through a wad of cash he kept in a safe. He handed me almost three hundred bucks and we nodded at each other. At the time, I thought there was a kind of satisfaction to that nod, an endnote.

I was out the door before the midnight bus arrived.

Only three people were at the terminal. None of them looked at me with my pack and my knife stuffed in one hand and my eyes glowing. They did look at the glow, but not for long.

Remote and empty like maybe the world had ended and the last bits of if were nothing but strangers not making eye contact.

Finally, I watched the headlights of the midnight bus approach through dense summer night. I was struck by the thought that it was like looking at like, the glow of my eyes against its eyes. Can a bus be your father? Can your father be a man after all this time? Will your mother come looking for you?

I got on the bus and kicked my feet up against the seat in front of me. Scrunched into a ball, crossed my arms over my chest, and watched the trees turn into flickering bodies of shadow with each passing mile. ------------- My feet moved like tides. They tossed me against nameless city streets and toward empty forested slices of land. I stumbled into the painted deserts toward the west. I dipped my toes into the neon districts of the east with lights brighter than my own. I slept on benches and in kid’s treehouses and hunched my shoulders against brick walls of back alleys.

No one touched me. Maybe they’d approach now and then, but I’d open my eyes and they’d see nothing but heaven or devils or an absent lightning-God father that would smite them. I was the daughter of spirits after all.

I found my way to the ocean; beaches where other stragglers gathered and it was easy to stretch out on empty pieces of warm sand. I didn’t talk much by then, I didn’t like to; people stared whether I was speaking or screaming and clamping down on my jaw so hard it ached. Sometimes I get yelled at: Turn that off! No phone lights in here. You’re blinding me, bitch!

I’d never seen a movie in any theatres, but I could imagine what it’s like.

It was crowded, but I liked that ocean city, despite myself. It had pale buildings built into cliffs, narrow winding sidewalks where cars couldn’t fit, reckless bikers, and crushed seashell parking lots. I liked the tang of salt in the air and the way my hair crinkled from the ocean water as it sun-dried. I camp out on beaches and bummed cigarettes and hotdogs off strangers. I was good at taking care of myself once I got into a rhythm.

I had a tent by then and even an enormous sun umbrella to keep any prying eyes away. I still liked to sleep under the stars most nights though.

I often dreamed of sinking to the bottom of the ocean. I dreamed of descending on pointed ballerina-feet to the silted black bottom. I’d be weighted down through the cold and the silence to where no human being had ever been. I’d open my eyes there, open them all the way, lightning-bright, and unflinching. In my dreams, the salt didn’t even sting. I lit up the world, the whole untouched world of whales and fish and terror and maybe I’d do something good then. Maybe I’d do something good and bring the sun to places that had forgotten it.

I hated those dreams.

I met Mags on the beach after one of those dreams. Mags had one eye and twelve teeth and carried around nothing but string and scissors everywhere. She smelled like seawater and burning kelp, dank and crusted over. Her clothes were neat despite her leather-cracked skin and arms and neck covered in tattoos of shipwrecks. We ran into each other at some bum gathering and she cackled and pulled me aside.

“What’s your name?” Her voice was old creaking wood. I didn’t answer. “I could give you one.” She offered with a grin that was more empty space than anything.

“Nana.” I gritted out. “You want something?”

“Not sure. What do you want, kid?”

I glared openly, my beam of light slanting. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come here.”

I didn’t know why I was chosen.

Mags liked me more than I deserved. I pocketed her last pair of socks when she wasn’t looking. She never mentioned it and dragged me down to the community showers to get clean with soap and shampoo. She took me to the soup and salad restaurant for something that wasn’t burnt or freeze-dried or from a convenience store. She cackled, she spat when she talked, people shot her looks as well.

I thought she was normal, not touched by the spirits, but she liked me more than most people and I didn’t know why.

“You like art, kid?”

I snorted. “No.”

“Why not? You broken?” Yeah. Probably.

“How am I supposed to know?” I snapped back.

“Lippy squirt. Come on, I’ll show you something worth your forked tongue.”

She heated the needle before she used it, red hot and untouchable. She dipped it into deep black inks, only black and sometimes red, she called them the only colors that matter. She shows me how to prick the skin and clean it. She showed me how to slowly, painstakingly etch images. I wasn’t sure I liked it, there was something so permanent and intentional about the act.

I watched her lessons though: stick and poke to her right foot, all over those fine little bones that must hurt, in and out, a little bloody.

It took her six hours to make a tiny shipwreck right above her big toe. It was a narrow schooner going under and I was the only witness. She made the waves come to life and crash against its sides and sometimes I forgot to blink. She didn’t seem to mind.

She washed another needle. She heated it red-hot. She dipped it in ink and handed it to me.

I still wasn’t sure I liked the permanence of it, but I told myself I was bored and it was something to do. I decided quickly I did like the bite of it, I liked the focus it took, and the ability to pull something from nothing.

I practiced all over my thighs first, there was enough meat there and it was easy enough to reach: a lizard design that looked like nothing but squiggles, a TV set playing static, a tiny smudged skink with its tongue out. I practiced designs in the sand and then on paper when Mags splurged on pen and paper.

Mags took me to the museum on Sundays. They were always free on Sundays.

Something stirred in my chest, even as the guards yelled at us about how flash photography wasn’t allowed in the museum. Even as I was shooed out of exhibits for ruining the paint. Still, an ache so old it rotted roared to life in my chest.

I stabbed in and out, gentle, a collection of stars right above my right knee. A winding sand snake on my wrist, and then finally, something good, something that gave people pause and reason to stare. I made it in the mirror: a ghost on my collarbone. Shadowed and intricate and yet simple, I put a ghost right above my collarbone and it bleeds more than any of the others.

That was a good year or so; one of the best I could remember.

I didn’t want to leave the ocean city though and Mags said she had to keep moving. She had places to be. She gave me a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“You're a gem, kid. You’ll knock ‘em all to the pavement.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You’ll be back?”

She cackled. “Wouldn’t miss it. You know me.” She winked as she turns to the bus, my second father. “You think I’ll miss your great becoming, kid? I’ll be back.”

I wanted to make her pinky-promise like I was a kid again begging one of the others to tell me if I’m beautiful when I close my eyes. I couldn’t do that; I waved as she tottered up the steps of the bus and was taken away with the tides of her own feet.

A had a moment of thinking it was the end then; I was ready to get back to my real normal. I was ready to disappear again. But even shipwrecks with no witnesses leave things left to be found.

------------ I got an apprenticeship. Technically, Mags talked them into it and I just followed up when I had nothing better to do.

I didn’t think I’d like it much, but couch surfing and camping out was the pastime of the especially young. And I’d lost my giant umbrella.

It was a small shop that smelled like bleach and dried flowers. A tattoo parlor in one of the steep arts districts neighbored by food trucks and beaded necklace shops.

Penguin Davies and Bitch-Annie ran it together. Davies walked like he’d never encountered land before, and Bitch-Annie had a throw-pillow embroidered with “If you don’t have anything nice to say then come sit next to me.”

Davies was covered in nothing but birds and dizzying M. C. Escher house-designs up and down his chest and arms. Bitch-Annie had topless mermaids and pinup girls across her shoulders and legs. She’d been asked to leave a number of stores before the children started staring or thinking thoughts.

Neither of them had ever met someone like me. It was not that type of town. I rankled at most their questions, a cat meeting a steel brush. Where are you from? What’s your family name? What kind of school did you go to? Is your sight better than other people you think?

I brushed off anything more personal than my favorite type of soda. Bitch-Annie called me “Shadow” probably as a joke, probably. Davies said I must be possessed by the ghost of some dead star: a blackhole that takes everything in and lets nothing out.

Neither of them let me touch a needle in those first six months. They had me practice on pig skin and trace designs and stand by their shoulders as they worked. I felt like a dental assistant except I was the hanging light shining into open mouths instead of anything with a pulse. I stood at their shoulder as they drew thick lines and thin dots and made hearts and wolves and names of dead lovers come to life.

They asked me to stand still and stop wiggling the light. I almost walked out several to find a new cliff to crash against, almost.

No one had ever expected anything of me before. They never expected me to show up somewhere or do something well. No one really cared if I went to school or if I did my homework, if I dressed well or went to bed on time. And no one kept any tabs on me at all after I took that first bus. That’s how I liked it.

I should’ve left, tattooing didn’t mean anything to me, not really. But Bitch-Annie stomped up to my attic-apartment one morning and threw pants at me.

“Get up, Shadow,” she barked. She was sterner than Mags, no hint of humor in her eyes. “I told you 9am so I expect 9am.”

“The fuck!?” I was eloquent in the mornings.

“Pants, shirt, shoes, and bra if you don’t want that desk idiot staring at something other than your eyes all day.”

“Are you serious?”

“Serious as a root canal. Mags swore up and down about what you. Let’s see some of that, up, up!”

I grumbled. I put on everything but the bra. No one ever expected me to be anywhere before and 9am shouldn’t have even been a concept much less a real thing. I told myself I hated it. I’d leave the next week. Or maybe the week after that or in just one more month. I kept a bus ticket under my pillow but every time the date arrived I shrugged and made myself busy.

There’d be no harm in having a savings too and seeing what all the fuss was about with having a dishwasher and a kitchen.

I wasn’t an artist of course. I didn’t understand what everyone else was seeing when they looked at the “old masters” paintings of water or war or lovers pulled apart. I didn’t feel anything in front of stain-glass windows in churches or mosaics on walls. Maybe there really was something wrong with me, my eyes. I didn’t let up though. I put on pants for it after all.

Penguin Davies hovered by my shoulder when I made my first real design.

“Mm.” He rumbled deep in his chest. He’d gone grey at an early age, had tired eyes and quick hands. The desk kid said he’d been in medical school once, a surgeon. It was hard to tell. Davies muttered a lot, stared off into space too much, and laughed like it was always a painful surprise

“Perfectionist,” he muttered at me as I start over on a crappy unicorn design. “That line was barely off. You’re being a perfectionist, Nana.”

I scowled over my shoulder and let the full weight of my light hit him across the face. “Got a problem with it?” I challenged. He chuckled darkly. His grin was crooked like a broken door handle. I tried to hide my work from him with my shoulder. “It’s not done yet.”

“It’s late.” The rest of the street was dark. I knew that.

“I said I’m not done yet! You can go home.”

“Hmm.” He scratched his grey beard.

“What?”

“Look at you. You know who makes the best artists, Nana?” He was always a bit of a philosopher. Maybe he used to study that before medicine.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. I’m working on it.”

He gave my shoulder a light push. “The ones that don’t quit.”

They let me touch a needle gun after that. I told myself I’d only sign my new apartment lease as an experiment. I didn’t have to actually stay. I’d just run from the ink on paper and hope no one chased after girls with eyes that glow.

I didn’t break my lease. I drew suns and moons, trees and fireflies, hunks in speedos on tipsy college girls who swore they were sober and erotic vampires on the chests of men getting their first divorce. I had to give two refunds for a duck that turned out lopsided and a tattoo of someone’s dog which I swore really was that ugly to begin with.

There was one at the end of that next year though, another college girl with perfectly white piano-key teeth. She asked for a stick and poke, that was what I was best at anyway, she asked for a butterfly. Butterflies were easy, I could do the little ones in my sleep. She wanted one all across her back, she said I could make it look however I wanted. So I did. Wings like fringed shawls and straight heavy lines combined with wispy swirling ones. It was dark, black ink with red highlights and gray shadows under each wing to give it movement and flight.

I hid my smile when I finished and showed her the results in the mirror. She went to my bosses and jumped up and down. She pointed and babbled, ohmyspirits, the best thing I’ve ever seen! Fuck. I should pay you double! Where did you get this girl?

I held myself perfectly still and studied the ceiling until my eyes dried out.

I took the long way home that night. I stopped once, at the corner where the midnight bus arrived, and watched the the passengers trudge off. I didn’t expect to see Mags again so soon, not really, but sometimes I wanted to show her: Hey, maybe your work wasn’t all wasted. Maybe I did start to become.

---------------- “I’m getting you chocolate.” Annie spat, her thick arms flexing as she cleaned off the spotless counter. “I’m getting you fucking chocolate, Shadow, ‘less you tell me what flavor you actually like.”

I hung at the back of the shop next to the narrow window that faced the road. I let the sun warm my face in thick strips and watched the bicycles pass. “It’s not my birthday.”

“Tell us what your actual birthday is then, you sugar-toasted tart.”

I shrugged. “Not today.”

“Well happy fucking birthday. You’re turning two. You came to work for us two years ago today, washed up from the beach like a deranged feral cat, so this is your birthday now.”

I rolled my eyes which served to look like a flashlight given a shake. Annie spent another minute splashing disinfectant on anything that might have had even a passing conversation with a germ.

“You talk to Birdie?” She asked, but mischievously this time. I responded by setting my mouth in a hard line. “You’re turning twenty-something and you’re not even talking to Birdie, are ya?”

“I’m not telling you what I’m turning. It’s still not my birthday.” I dodged inelegantly.

“Birdie will give you a proper go-around. Even shadows like you must need a little rub now and then.”

“Go dunk your head, Annie.” I huffed.

“Afraid you’ll blind her in bed?”

I turned with a snarl. “I’ll start with you.”

“I’ve seen you flipping through those poetry books, every word about hands or mouths or rosebuds.” She gave me flat a once-over. “You’ve got a sweet tooth in you.”

I dragged myself over to the desk to snarl at her some more, but Annie was already putting her hand up and going toward the backroom.

“I’m getting you a chocolate cake either way.”

There must have been a proper way to get her to never look at my little leather poetry books again, the ones with watermarked pages, the spines broken-in, and words that oozed. No one had to know that I could read, much less that I read that.

The door dinged instead.

“Excuse me.” She walked in. Her. “Is someone, um, named Nana here?” I turned before I could stop myself. That was still my name. And it was still my work.

Twenty-something, curtains of straight black hair falling in her face, pinched nose, thin energetic lips, shorts that gave way to milk-dipped legs that never seemed to end. A slight girl in a university t-shirt. College kids came in often during their breaks, but this one was a bit different. My eyes dragged up and fish-hooked there.

Feathered tendrils sprouted from her head and reached toward the ceiling. Long and searching, a pearly green color that reminded you of leaves or plumage.

I knew within a moment where I’d heard of this: Antennae Girl. The newspapers ran our stories close together along with the boy that breathed fire and the girl with roots growing from her head. We were all born in the same year during the epoch of monsters and bastards.

I think she recognized me too.

We stopped like heartbeats seizing up before the ambulance could make it. A confused, unnatural silence. I glanced at the door and considered making a run for it.

She cleared her throat first.

“Someone said that Misty’s butterfly tattoo came from here?” She blinked once and I noticed how her feathered antennae seemed to twitch. I averted my eyes so I wouldn’t blind her. She took a step forward. “So are you . . . Nana?”

The door was right there.

“What do you want?” I had been spending too much time with Bitch-Annie.

“A tattoo?”

“What kind?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Then why are you here?” I grunted. Footsteps came in from the back room. I was examining the smudged off-white tiles of the floor one by one.

“I wanted to . . . hey, you can look up if you want.” She said, curiously, softly. I didn’t look up. “I’m still figuring out the design.” She trudged on ahead.

“Fine.” I pivoted away. “But we’re busy. Come back later.”

A hand slapped across my shoulder. “This is Nana.” Annie stopped me from leaving. “Don’t let her eyes fool ya, it’s her personality that’s actually the problem. You saw her butterfly you said?”

“Yes!” She gushed. “It was gorgeous.”

“It was fine,” I corrected.

“It’s her birthday today.” Annie shared because she could and because she was a failed evil villain still trying to get her kicks in.

“Oh cool, happy Birthday.” A deep pause followed that could fill oceans. “You can look up. I don’t mind.” She repeated.

I opened my eyes wide and lifted my chin in one jerky motion. A beam of fluorescent headlights hit her across the face. “Is this what you want?” Venom dripped from my lips. This was why I tried not to talk too much.

The young woman squinted for a moment before covering her eyes and nodding. “I read about you,” she stated as if it was nothing. “I’m turning twenty-two this year . . . so I guess, you are too?”

“What?!” Delight filled Annie’s entire expression. “Hot damn! Twenty-two?” I groaned deeply. “Hey, you, girlie,” she addressed antennae-girl, “you want to come out for drinks tonight?”

I tried to protest as quickly as possible, but somehow didn’t summon the words quickly enough.

“Sure.” She agreed. ----------------------

The night was humid and clung to us like a second skin. I wandered through the hilly streets with Penguin Davies wobbling beside me. The desk kid—Daft Jeff, said Davies had some inner-ear problem that made it hard for him to keep his balance. Annie said he just didn’t belong on land— he couldn’t walk straight unless something was tilting and rolling under his feet.

Davies made his way up the hill, faltering and missing the musical beats of it. He refused to let me steady him and I refused to have him sing to me. It was apparently my birthday.

“Someone saw your design.” He noted on the downhill.

“Yeah. Some college girl.” I grumbled.

“What’d you think?” He asked in his usual mysterious way.

“She just wants a good look.” I returned in a neutral tone. “She read about me in the paper. All she wants to do is look.”

“She saw your design.” He paused. “And Jeff said she was like you.”

I blinked hard so the path ahead was eaten by shadow and Davies stumbled. “Not all of us have to be friends . . .” I said sourly and didn’t fill in the rest. “I’ve met kids with antlers and frog-hands before. I doesn’t mean anything.”

“Any of them come visit?”

“They’re smart enough not to.” I snark. “But the ones who manage to be pretty don’t have the brains to stay away.”

“Mm.” He made a soft sound. “What kind of tattoo do you think she’ll get?”

“How should I know? A heart or anchor or something dumb like that.” I walked on ahead. “Maybe I’ll give her a quote from some dead poet.”

“You like poetry.”

I huff dramatically, “Not what I mean. Girls like her don’t like my type of poetry, you know I’m saying.”

“What kind of girls?” Davies was patient. I hated that about him.

I stopped at the corner to let him catch up. “Don’t play dumb. Hot ones, college ones, getting a degree in money or music. They don’t watch over their shoulders enough or know when to stay away.” I scuffed my shoe on the ground. “Whatever.”

Davies was still thinking. I considered pushing him over. He finally spoke up again as we approach the bar, “That sea witch ever show up again?”

“Mags?” I snorted. “No. Why?”

“Cause I’m sure she’d like to see this.”

I didn’t say anything else as we reached the doorway. -------------------- The bar was loud. More people than I liked came to my “party.” I should have seen it coming. If the cliff city liked one thing it was an excuse to drink.

I crammed myself up against the bar and ordered a gin and tonic before the rest of the night crowd could arrive. Birdy was holding court at a corner table and waving at me. “There she is! Someone put a blanket over Nana, lights out, party up!”

Her puns usually left something to be desired. She sang “Blinded by the Light” every time she saw me for half a year.

I drank half my gin and tonic in the first gulp as a new stream of townies burst in. They arrived to buy me birthday beers and shout their opinions on the shitty new chain restaurant on 3rd street. I was almost tasting the bottom of my second glass when someone tapped on my shoulder.

I barely looked over.

The girl with sheets of black hair and a practiced-appearance stood before me—like she was at dress rehearsal and expected everyone else to know the lines as well. She carried a baby-blue bike helmet in one hand, and I noted there were two hand-drilled holes in the top.

“You.” I was tempted to shake her hand like I might make this a transactional hello and goodbye in short order.

“Hey.” She smiled, hesitant, like maybe the food on the fork might be too hot. “Nana, right?”

“Yep.” I sighed the word real long and heavy. “Listen, I really can’t give you a tattoo if you don’t know what you want.”

“No, no, I get it. But I want you to know . . . I didn’t know it was you.”

“Uh, okay. Though I’m pretty hard to miss over here.” I was looking at the dirty wine bottles stacked near the ceiling. Her antennae hang over both of us like fern fronds.

“No. I mean, when I saw the butterfly. That’s when I wanted to come here. Not after.”

��After what?” I was gonna make her say it.

“After I found that it was, well, you know, Headlights Girl.”

“Mm.” I was spending too much time with Davies. “You want something to drink?”

She sighed as well, real long and heavy. “Sure.” She took the seat next to me. “I’m Park by the way.”

“Park.” I rolled the name around in my mouth. “And you already know me.”

“I don’t think I do.” She laughed, sharp and bristly like something you can get cut on. “And I’ll have a beer. . . but only once you look up. Come on, I’m not like that.” I looked up. Her face was bright, round like the moon, her grin was sneaky and unearned. “There we go.”

She waved over the bartender Kipp and ordered her dark beer.

“It’s not really my birthday.” I informed her, dumbly. Every word felt dumb and clumsy all at once.

“Why not?” She was teasing. I knew that.

“That’s not how birthdays work.” I informed and wished I could backtrack into hostility again.

“Oh darn,” she winked. “And here I was about to make it my birthday too.”

“Uh, well,” I really should have left when I had the chance. “It’s not too late?”

“That’s the spirit!” She laughed, fuller this time and rounded. I looked her straight in the face and then quickly looked away again. Her grin was aimed at me, somehow, and seemed to reach high cupboards inside me you usually needed a stool for.

“Park,” I repeated the name and shifted in place. “So did you go to Haveryards or Simmons?” There were only two schools in the country for spirit bastards like us. Haveryards was close enough for me to get bussed to—an hour one way and then an hour home.

“Neither. I went to public and then Bakerville Uni.” She rapped on the counter. “Hey, you want another gin and tonic? Or I’ll mix you up something.” Her eyes flickered over everything. “I bartended my way through college so I can make a mean margarita.”

“Oh, Bakerville U., yeah. That ones close.” I stuttered a bit. She was leaning across the counter and trying to get Kipp’s attention a second time. My words were feeling dumber and dumber by the moment, perhaps losing all shape and meaning altogether. “That’s where you went?”

“How’d you guess?” She said playfully and pointed to her t-shirt. She finally got the bartender over. “Right, you want something hard? Vodka maybe? A mule?”

I scratched my chin. “ . . . I don’t care. I’m easy.”

She rolled her eyes and I knew she must feel me staring. “I can’t imagine shopping for you for today then.” She snickered and climbed over the counter. “Happy birthday, how about one chocolate mule for a free tattoo?”

“You wish.” I made a face. “You don’t even know what you want.”

“And you do?” She was still grinning, somehow. “I’ve decided I’m making you the equivalent of all the soda flavors mixed together at once. Close your eyes.”

I closed my eyes and I tried to turn off my thoughts. It was bright as knives inside my skull; I carry the daytime with me. Panic threatened to rise up (for no reason of course), but a soft hand brushed against mine, soft like sheets in fancy hotels and flower petals. I peaked and Park slid a full murky glass toward me.

“Drink up.”

It was sweet. It wasn’t even my birthday. I didn’t care. She called it a chocolate-mule-Park Special and maybe chocolate really was my favorite flavor. -------------- Park started coming around. She rode a sky-blue bike with a white basket and rusting hinges. I couldn’t imagine doing all the hills in the city without any gears, but she managed. She said she was figuring things out after graduating. She said she liked it here.

I grumbled when she came by. I complained like Annie when Wicker the cat visited: Get that thing away from me. I hate that. Smells awful. I’ve got allergies. Put that away, it’ll kill me.

I never said anything when Annie left fish heads out and bowls of milk of course.

Park smelled like sunscreen and breath mints. She had strong opinions on everything from street paving techniques to which sun hats went with which dresses. She invited me on walks. She invited me to help her change a flat tire. She invited me to the corner shop to help her pick out bottle can openers.

I said no. Sometimes I said no. I started to say yes.

“Look at this,” she liked to show me things. She liked to show me pictures of squirrels on her phone and weird pieces of glass she found. She liked to point out new restaurants (that I’d already been to) and play videos of funny traffic jams.

This time she held up a seashell. It was rounded and flat with a swirl in the center.

“I’m looking.” I said carefully.

“Watch how it catches light.” I shun my eyes on it and she moved it back and forth. There were bits of silver veins caught in the cracks of it.

“There’s tons of those.” At this point, I had valiantly refused to be impressed by even her cutest squirrel pictures.

“Ugh.” She pouted. “Are you kidding? I spent all morning looking for this.”

“They're right by the surf. I could find you five bigger ones than this before sunset.”

“Alright, hot-shot.” She jut her chin out and jabbed my shoulder. “Prove it.”

I said yes to that one. I left right after my shift ended with the sun setting in the waters like a stabbed orange bleeding out. I met Park by the parking lot with drooping palms trees lining the sides and lost flipflops everywhere.

“This is where you went wrong.” I announced. I couldn’t help it. “This is the tourist beach. You have to go somewhere real.”

“Alright, alright. You’ve already established you’re the hot-shot here. Lead the way.”

She followed me. I ignored how she lingered by my side. I ignored how her hand wrapped around my arm as she stopped us to look at a tiny horseshoe crab. Her hand was soft, like velvet, soft enough to smother something in my chest.

I found two seashells with streaks of silver and rainbow through them, both bigger than my palm. The sun was a flat line on the horizon before I could find a third and Park hooted.

“You said before sunset! It’s sunset, baby, pay up.” She called. “And you were so sure you were a better seashell hunter than me.” She tsked.

I scanned the ground more quickly. “It’s barely nighttime.” I pointed to the sky. “And I can keep looking. I have the built-in equipment for it.”

“Oh I know.” She planted herself on the soggy crusted sand and sat down in a heap. “But can you find why kids love the taste of not doing that? Take it easy. Take a seat.”

“So pushy.”

“You know me.” It was fond. It had only been a few months, but there was something fond there.

I ran a hand through my short choppy curls. “Fine.” I sat next to her, not too close. “It’s your loss.” We both looked out at the gently lapping waves, foaming and anemic. She let a long breath of air and for a moment I considered brushing her hair back. It was always in her face.

It was a quiet moment, bottled, and pitching toward something. Like the the moment where you miss a step on the stairs and the certainty of the fall was right there.

I was the one that scooted a little closer.

“I’m considering getting a storm cloud,” she commented off-handedly. “Can you do storm clouds?”

I made a sound of consideration. “Sure.” I glanced toward the opposite corner of the night sky. “I think I’ve seen one of those before. Big puffy wet things?”

“Kinda fluffy? You’re getting there.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” I’m smiling, which is alright since there’s no way she could see it. She’s silent for another moment longer.

“Or would you make fun of me if I got something like a butterfly? Like your other one.”

“A storm cloud butterfly?”

“No. The cloud would it’s own thing.” She chewed on her bottom lip, ragged and chapped. “I mean, I’ve been doodling some ideas. And tattoos should be personal, right? So I thought a storm cloud might be fitting. Kids used to pay me a couple dollars to predict the weather. It could be a memorial to childhood entrepreneurial spirit.”

I watched her speak and something beat inside my chest like a second animal. I wanted to be closer. I wanted to feel velvet again.

“Why?” I rasped after a moment.

“Uh, why did they pay me? It’s just something I can do. Whenever it's going to rain or storm or be sunny out. I dunno, I don’t know why the rest of you can’t sense it.”

“And you didn’t become a meteorologist?” I smiled a bit bitterly.

She made an indignant noise. “And you didn’t become a professional lighthouse?”

I choked on a laugh. “Not yet.” A quiet consumed us from both sides, I made sure my light didn’t crash into her. I made sure to look at anything but her. She’d have to squint if I did and cover her eyes and I’d be there, ready to run her over.

“Kids in my class paid me too.” I barely realized I started speaking. “They slipped me a couple bucks to close my eyes so they could see my face.”

“You got money for that?”

“There wasn’t always much to do. Teachers were quitting all the time and sometimes it was just the TV. I dunno, they paid me. Then they’d giggle and run away afterward.” My voice sounded automated like the announcer at an airport, informing travelers their flight was canceled. “They always said I had a pig nose or a unibrow or looked like the lead singer of that Minx girl band-- super hot, but you know, it didn’t matter.” The laugh that escaped was high, girlish in a grotesque way. “Since, you know, no one would ever see it.”

“Kids are fucked up.” Park contributed simply.

“Adults are too.” I sniffed. “Everyone wants a light show.”

“Oh.” She said slowly. “Is it . . . is it bad I wanted to meet you then? I mean, I wanted to see the art first, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a factor.”

“No.” I said quickly. I lit up my own lap and empty hands. “Does it matter?”

“I never went to those schools,” she said hesitantly. “My parents fought them, said the schools were unfit. They shouldn’t be able to force us there. And that I wasn’t even dangerous since,” she gestured helplessly upward, “I just have these. So then, well, I never really met anyone else like me.”

“I mean, everyone’s different. It’s not . . . a big deal.”

“You’d think so,” she commented sardonically.

I folded up into myself like a complex origami piece. “Yeah, well, sometimes I wish I was dangerous. Actually dangerous.”

She giggled. “Didn’t you just say everyone’s different? I’d say everyone’s dangerous too. Just gotta find the niche.”

“Oh yeah,” I dared to turn toward her. “What’s yours then?”

“My danger niche? Hmm.” She was leaning now, pitching forward like a wave come to drown me. “I do have a few tricks up my sleeve I’ll admit.”

“You have a pair of wings hidden away?” I stopped breathing as her hand lifted up, strange and all at once. I wasn’t ready.

“Here.” Her skin was against mine. She cupped my cheek with one velvet-hand. It was heated cashmere, tiny feather-light hairs on her palm. “Feelers.” She whispered with a hesitancy there.

“Ah,” I was indulgent. I closed my eyes. I leaned in. “And you want to put a needle over these?” I put my hand over hers, loosely, so she could pull away if she wanted to. Tiny hairs pulsed there with some kind of life all their own.

“I wanted . . .” She paused and I peaked open my eyes. I could see every detail of her face, illuminated. “I dunno.” She finished. “I guess I just wanted whatever I saw there, before.”

“In the butterfly?”

“In the butterfly.” I turned toward the ocean, but my hand remained over hers. “I’m not sure how good it will be a second time. It’s not like I’m really an artist. . .”

“What did you want to be?” Soft.

“Who knows. I mean, I’m glad my parents didn’t try to fight the schools. Being there during the day was better than being home, listening to my mom crying all the time and my father exploding . . . They wouldn’t have wanted me home.”

Before the sunset, when I was walking over, I thought maybe we’d kiss that night. I thought I’d feel that first electric pulse and maybe we’d climb into the ocean and swim in circles, laugh until the moon rose. I thought maybe I’d get something out of my system and there wouldn’t be anything left to say or do.

I’d kiss Park, once, and she’d be satisfied. She’d understand. She’d go on her college path and I’d go on on mine.

But the words spilled out, unbidden. Park stayed in place, steady and unflinching. That made it worse, so much worse.

“My parents weren’t like yours.” There was an accusatory edge to it. Don’t you know? I wanted to shout. Don’t you know? Even without the eyes or the school bills or the bus.

“Hey,” she cradled my cheeks with both hands now and smeared the tears away from one eye. “Hey, listen, I know. Alright? I know.”

I scowled back at her feathered little feelers.

“It’s not about the damn antenna or head beams or anything else.” I tried to pull away. “Even the kid with the antler’s kissed me and I didn’t stop him. I ran away from home and my mom never came looking. It didn’t matter. It doesn’t matter! You wouldn’t even get it. You wouldn’t get it!” I squeeze my eyes closed. “You were wanted.”

Slowly, like an awkward animal burrowing into soft earth, she pressed her forehead to the crook of my neck. I could feel us both breathing in, strong and steady. She was lean and silky, and I swore I can feel her heartbeat hammering through my throat.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered. I inhaled her sunscreen scent. “I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know. But I could.”

“Why are you here?” It was miserable and wet, I hated that my eyes were so different and yet still the same. Could still spill over like theirs. She took a long breath but didn’t move away.

“My last girlfriend broke up with me for being . . . sensitive and I thought maybe if I got a tattoo, I’d stop feeling so much. I’d prove something. I’d feel everything less, you know? It would hurt and then it wouldn’t.”

I took that in a parsec at time. “Are you,” I sniffed. “Are you alright?” Her legs and arms were plastered over mine. “You’re so soft, but, but I don’t want to,” I wipe at my face like it didn’t matter. “Hurt you.”

“I know.” Her face was still pressed to my neck and her lips fluttered across the hallow of my skin. “I didn’t want to hurt you either.”

A stillness settled into my bones. I glanced toward the moon, and it was like looking at like, a terrible moon to another moon. I gathered myself. I took a deep breath. I flattened.

“I shouldn’t have said all that.” My voice had dried up. “We led different lives.” It wasn’t her fault if she was wanted.

“No.”

“I wasn’t thinking . . .”

Her hand wrapped around my wrist. “I talk to Annie sometimes when you aren’t there.”

“Okay?”

“And Davies. And that front desk guy.”

“Daft Jeff. Yes.”

“They all say the same thing . . .” I blinked a couple times. “That I really should wait for you to give me the tattoo. You have a steady hand and an eye for detail.”

“Alright . . .”

“That someone taught you tattooing the right way. They wanted to show you the right way to do it.”

I snorted despite myself. “It’s not that hard. Mags was batty. Who knows why she showed me how to pick up a needle.”

“Don’t you see? They say they wouldn’t know what to do without you.” She was still there. She wasn’t moving, almost in my lap now. “You were wanted.”

“Park?” My voice cracked like a question.

“And you come with me to restaurants and help me buy bottle openers. You find shells for me and help me fix tires.” Her breath was hot and dragged across my cheek. “You are wanted.”

I blocked out her face, her voice, I turned on the sharp white sun inside and for a moment I imagine never opening my eyes back up again. Maybe I could make it night forever inside myself as well. Wouldn’t you rather have something quiet inside?

She wrapped herself around me, fully, one long arm at a time until it was cocoon. Soft. “Listen, sometimes the first people aren’t the right people. Sometimes your first relationship isn’t the right relationship. Sometimes you’re sure the world is one way, and like, always one way . . . and then it rains and the whole world is different again. You know? People pass.”

“My parents aren’t the weather.”

“But they’ll pass.” I should have pushed her off. But even against that, even those words— I liked being held, indulgent as chocolate and twice as guilty. “People sometimes feel forever, especially those kinds of people.” I was off again. “But it rains. And hey, I always know when it’s going to rain.”

I hiccupped; a smile found its way uninvited onto my face, unsure and just wobbly on its feet as Davies. I glanced down after a deep breath. Park grinned back at me and it reached the highest shelves of me all over again.

“So what happens when it rains again? Do you people like you pass?”

“Nah, not me. I don’t know how.” She winked. I didn’t notice that we’re lying flat now, stars and carpet of black above. “You can’t get rid of me. You haven’t given me that tattoo yet.”

The sound of shushing waves filled the midnight air and the moon looked down like that very first bus arriving to get me all those years ago. I wrapped my arms right back around her. She didn’t seem to mind that I was sticky or strange or sometimes kept tearing up all over again even after we’d stop saying anything worth tearing up over. ------------------

It happened. I felt like I should have been more prepared, brought flowers or poetry or earned it through honored warfare. But it happened. I was wearing ripped jeans, a spotty t-shirt and my breath smelled like coffee. We were looking for Park’s lost earring along an overgrown hill she usually biked along.

I found it, one shiny red dewdrop in all that green. Park pointed at some clouds that looked like my last “abstract” tattoo. We lay back in the grass and let the sky pass overhead. She giggled and touched my wrist, side by side. I let her.

“Summer’s almost over.” I mumbled it first.

“Yeah?”

“You find your next step then, college girl?” I tried to keep my tone light. She turned to be on her side.

“Maybe.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Oh, you know. This and that.”

“That does not sound like a college-girl plan.”

“Maybe I’ve got other plans. Maybe I’ve got other priorities, huh?”

“Ridiculous.” A playfully push her shoulder. “A lousy seaside town really isn’t priority material. There’s only one bookshop you know.”

“Two thank you very much. And that’s not my priority either.” Her voice wavered.

“Are you going to share with the class?”

“Is the class ready?” She whispered and I turned toward her as well now, taking in her perfect round face and question-mark mouth.

“I have been.” I matched her whisper. I tremor from my center outward and hopes she can’t tell.

“Do you know what they say about moths?”

“What?” I gave a breathy laugh. It wasn’t what I was expecting. “I’ve heard of them.”

“They tell your fortune.” She was grinning in that way that put out a stool and reached up. “I used to cry a lot growing up, because some kids said that moths are just evil butterflies. I was sensitive and ran all the way home. I threw myself at my mom’s feet and threw a fit about how moths were just evil butterflies. They were just ugly, wicked versions of a good thing.”

“Evil? Well, I suppose you are rather sinister when you haven’t eaten.”

“Shut up. I’m telling you something.” She put a hand on my shoulder. I inhaled deeply and turned over in place to face her. Only the shallow breeze kept us apart.

“I’m all ears . . . though maybe not as many as you.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“What can I say? The sun is adorable. I take after him.”

A finger ghosted over my cheek, tracing the arc of my cheekbone. “Well, you’re not so bad behind those headlights too. Some of us have good day vision you know. And good taste.”

I wished those words didn’t make my chest do funny things. “Thanks.”

“Do you want to hear what my mom said or not?”

“That you shouldn’t worry about evil butterflies?” I wiggled closer. “Because you’ll be really hot and funny and smart one day. So who cares if you’re evil?”

“Yeah, those were her exact words.”

“So?”

“So,” a firm hand took my chin. “Look at me.” I looked at her. I was glad she couldn’t see the flush in my cheeks in any way. “Moths show good fortunes she said.”

“Right. Lots and lots of good fortune.” I breathed, dumbly, of course. She was close and sweet and there was hair in her face. The fronds of her antennae tickle right past my ear.

“They can help you find good fortune. They’re good omens. You know why?” Park’s lips were barely moving as she spoke, hypnotic and unhurried.

“Why?”

“Because they follow the light.”

It happened all at once. Like every cheesy love poem or bad lyrics I wrote in my journals at night. It was every cracked-spine of a book using words like “rosebud lips” and every overdone song about people who find their way to each other.

I kissed her, leaning in with no life vest on or readied crash-landing position. She kissed me and my chest filled with her, breathless, drowning, soft as dreams and stranger than hope. I cradled her and she dragged me closer and closer until it was nothing but floods and brimming.

I’d been nothing before I think, I’d been an island that waits, a bus that leaves, a shadow that hides. And then I had been hers. ----------------- I was strolling home from work along the main road. The thin strip of sidewalk was streaked with bleached sunlight and the salt air was thick enough to burn throats. It was the long way home, but I was in the habit of going back to this corner.

The bus pulled up with little ceremony. It was an interstate one that crisscrossed over empty bellies of land. I stopped in place to watch, just in case, as I had many times before.

A silver head bobbed down the steps and planted herself on the concrete, unbelieving. She took an enormous noisy sniff of the air. “Not so bad!” She bellowed.

“Are you?” That wasn’t meant to be my first word. She was more stooped now and wearing shiny things on her wrist that clanked. She’d lost another tooth. “Mags.”

“Eh!” She yelled and waved frantically as if I hadn’t shot up another inch since I last saw her and started wearing clothes without holes in them. Her eyes sparkled as she tottered over. “So how’d you do, kid?”

“See for yourself.” I smiled. It was nice when the tides came back in. Mags gave me a thorough appraising. “Like this I guess.” I held up my hand. I wiggled my ring finger at her, heavy with a silver band and glittering opal.

“That’s my girl! Always knew you’d find your feet.” She cackled. “Am I too late to give you away, kid?”

I shook my head. She waddled over to me so I could take her hand. I took her home to show her my art and new tattoos, I showed her our terrible one-eyed kitten, Basket (Wicker’s son), and the little house we styled ourselves. I showed her our shoe closet and our queen bed, our messy kitchen and busted screen door. I showed her the moth tattoo over my heart, and Park showed her the matching lighthouse one over hers.

I tried to thank her, of course, I tried to say I owed her more than she knew for picking up an angry, dirty kid and seeing something in her. I owed her everything. But she just patted my hand and said that it’s not about our debts in life, kid. It’s about the becoming.

-----------

If you enjoyed the story please consider donating to my ko-fi or supporting me on patreon (even a dollar helps!), check out my Sapphic fantasy book as well!

#wlw #sapphic #found family #urban fantasy #writeblr #magical realism #fantasy stories #short story #writing #lesbian romance #patreon late release #femslash #f/f #8k #my work #long post #long post cw

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h2bakugou · 4 years ago

Note

Ahh hey!! Okay so um..can you do Bakugo helping reader who has severe family issues and she’s trying to put on a brave face but when he asks her if she’s okay she just breaks down in tears. (Omg I’m sorry if this sounds so personal 😭💜but thank you for your time!!💗)

a/n: hey hun! of course! i think i wrote something similar to this with todoroki? i can’t remember but that’s beside the point lol. much love to you anon <3 !! i’m sending hugs n kisses <33

headcanon: them comforting their s/o who breaks down in front of them

key: (y/n) - your name / (f/n) - first name / (l/n) - last name / (e/c) - eye color / (h/c) - hair color / (y/q) - your quirk

warnings: fluff, swearing, angst, mentions of family issues, mentions of trauma

;cut for length;

»»————-　★　————-««

katsuki bakugou

»»————-　★　————-««

Shutting things out and putting on a brave face was just how you learned to deal with your past, with your family.

It was easier to act fine when you weren’t.

Letting yourself be vulnerable, how could Bakugou ever like someone like that?

He never seemed to suspect anything, at least that’s what you thought, what you believed.

You didn’t want to put your burdens on him, he had his own things to worry about.

Bakugou noticed the little things.

How you would instinctively flinch when someone raised their voice at you, or how you always acted obediently when elders were talking. There was no hesitation or disagreement, even when it seemed unfair.

Even more so, when your parents showed up for some parent-teacher meeting, you looked like a deer in headlights, frozen in time.

You barely spoke, you acted like the perfect daughter, and every stare in your direction caused your posture to stiffen, a smile to rise to your quivering lips, your trembling hands were forced to stay still as you handed them whatever it is they asked for.

Bakugou couldn’t keep ignoring these signs. It wasn’t like he was blatantly just unbothered, no it bothered him a lot. He bit his tongue when he watched your father’s scolding gaze burn holes into your hopes in dreams when he called your hero career ‘unnecessary and pathetic.’

He couldn’t fight it any longer when you sat quietly in his dorm, having just talked to your folks on the phone.

You were mostly quiet the entire conversation, he could hear your parents yelling at you through the speaker despite it being pressed to your ear.

“Are you okay?” Bakugou asked, completely out of the blue. You glanced over your shoulder at him and closed your eyes.

A shaky breath passed your lips and you turned to crawl over to him.

“No, no.” You cried, hugging him like a stuffed animal. You held him as close to you as you could, your hands grabbing handfuls of his crimson-colored shirt.

Bakugou was quick to grab you, holding you to his chest as you sobbed, your tears staining dark spots onto his shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Bakugou’s voice was soft, an opposing feature to his usual demeanor.

“I’m so tired.” You mumbled, wishing you could just ignore what was going on.

It was a constant battle between you and your parents. You just wanted them to be proud of you, you wanted to see them smiling at your graduation, cheering you on as you landed your first gig at an agency, hell maybe be those over-bearing parents that blab about how their child is amazing at book-clubs and sports bars.

But you’d never experience that.

“I just want them to be proud of me.” You could barely speak, you were shaking and it was hard to breathe, tears were spilling from your eyes like a broken faucet, and your nose was beginning to run.

“I know.” Bakugou’s quiet voice paired with his gentle hands began to calm you down as you wept.

“It will never be the same, but I’m proud of you.” Bakugou couldn’t give you parental love, all he could provide was his own form of love. But he knew someone who could.

It wouldn’t be the same as your own parents, but he knew more than anything that you were loved so dearly by his own folks.

So later that day, after wiping your tears away, he made a quick call and the two of you rode over to his house.

“It’s so good to see you again! I hope he’s not being too much trouble.” Mitsuki gave you a warm hug, one you wanted to last forever. You didn’t even realize you’d started crying again as you hugged her.

“Let’s-oh, hey are you alright?” Mitsuki’s red eyes filled with worry as she hugged you close to her. Bakugou turned at the sound of sniffling.

“Y-yeah. I’m all good. Just happy to see you.” You pulled away, quickly apologizing for staining her peach-colored shirt.

“Let’s look at embarrassing pictures of Katsuki!” She grinned, knowing just how to cheer you up. Bakugou erupted with anger as he quickly tried to salvage the photo album but it was too late.

Bakugou let it slide though. Watching your face light up, hearing your laugh as you looked through pictures of him as a kid doing silly things, he was happy to see you smiling again.

“You’ll have to bring over a photo album so he doesn’t feel so left out.” Mitsuki laughed. Your smile began to sink.

“I uh...” You stared at your lap. Bakugou looked up from preparing lunch to look at you.

“I don’t have any pictures from my childhood. At least, none in an album.” You admitted, embarrassed. Mitsuki’s heart dropped. Sighing she quickly stood and scrambled through a felt storage cube on a shelf.

Humming satisfied, she yanked Bakugou away and practically tossed him over the couch onto you.

You stared at him for a few seconds before hearing a click.

Snapping up to the sound, Mitsuki stood with a camera in her hands, smiling.

“Starting today, we are making a photo album! Katsuki! Smile!” Mitsuki yelled at her son, forcing the blonde boy in your lap to smile. You began to smile again as you wrapped your arms around him, tickling his sides as Bakugou hunched forward, a genuine smile on his lips.

The sound of another click set off.

It was the beginning of a plethora of photos. You began filling up an album with the Bakugou’s, ones on holidays, even on class trips.

Your favorite was one Mitsuki took of you and Bakugou asleep on one another from a long holiday road-trip.

With your head on Bakugou’s shoulder, his head resting over yours, Mitsuki had turned back and snapped a photo while Masaru drove.

Time began to heal old wounds, though there would still be scars. But even with scars, you could look back at memories from the healing process, and find good that had blossomed from the bad.

You loved Bakugou more than words could describe, and for this, and so much more, you were smitten.

As was he for you.

»»————-　★　————-««

masterlist

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latte-fairytaekwoon · 4 years ago

Text

𝐷𝑎𝑑! 𝐴𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑧: 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝐵𝑎𝑏𝑦 𝐼𝑠 𝐵𝑜𝑟𝑛

❥𝓚𝓲𝓶 𝓗𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓳𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓰

"Is this Kim Hongjoong's number?"

"This is him speaking. How can I help you?" He answered as he continued to scribble on the notepad.

"This is only to inform you, your wife went into labor and she's already-"

Hongjoong didn't even wait to hear the rest as he ran out the door and quickly hailed a cab to drive him to where you were. He was nervous, but more than anything, he was excited. Finally you two were going to meet your baby. Not able to contain his happiness, he of course called the other guys since he wanted them there to share in his joy.

Before the cab could fully stop, Hongjoong was already sprinting out of there and immediately asked the receptionist where you were located. As soon as he saw you, he went to your side and held your hand.

"I'm here love. I'm here. Everything is going to be fine." He lovingly assured you, placing tiny kisses on your palm every once in a while.

He still held your hand throughout the entire process, enduring the pain of you crushing his fingers, but he immediately forgot about it when he heard the soft wailing of your son. He only let go when the nurse waved him over because from the beginning, he stated his firm intention of cutting the umbilical cord. Although he was shaking from all the emotions he was feeling, he safely got through it and began tearing up as he held his son for the first time. Hongjoong sat down next to you so you could see the beautiful creation you brought into the world. Looking over at you, he pressed his nose against your temple, nuzzling you gently.

"You did a wonderful darling. Look at our son. He's absolutely precious."

He couldn't stop praising you for all the work you did, you were beyond amazing to him at this moment. Right then, the door opened and San poked his head in.

"Can we see the little minion now?"

You and Hongjoong chuckled as 7 more heads popped in and scattered around to look at their leader's baby and first ateez baby.

"Awww he's so cute!" Seonghwa cooed, feeling somewhat jealous.

"He's got his momma's eyes." Yunho pointed out.

"And his dad's height." Mingi couldn't help but tease Hongjoong.

"He'll grow ok?!" Hongjoong was about to start nagging, but the little baby began fussing slightly and he was quick to hush him.

"No no, it's ok. Daddy didn't mean to raise his voice."

You chuckled at Hongjoong. Your son was barely alive for 15 minutes and he already had his father wrapped around his tiny finger.

❥𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓢𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓱𝔀𝓪

"Seonghwa.....I think my water broke..." You stood there rather calmly, one hand on your belly as you let your s/o know.

Unlike you though, Seonghwa began freaking out. He immediately went to the closet and grabbed the bag you two had already prepared for this specific moment. Seonghwa was running back and forth from the house to the car, then back in the house to leave things ready, all while you just stood there watching him. You were barely taking one step and Seonghwa immediately scooped you up to drive you to the hospital.

Even at the hospital, he was freaking out even though you two already had everything prepared for when the baby arrived. You were still pretty calm, until you actually went into labor. It was excruciatingly painful and you felt like you were going to die.

"Baby it's ok. You're doing fine, it'll all be over soon." Seonghwa encouraged you, feeling bad that you had to go through all this pain by yourself while all he could do was hold your hands and give you words of encouragement.

But it was all worth it. All that planning, freaking out, all that pain, you completely forgot about it when you held your baby girl in your arms. You were so overcome with emotions and could barely contain your tears.

"Seonghwa....it's our baby..." You sniffled as you caressed her tiny cheeks before looking over at him.

Seonghwa was just as overwhelmed as you. He was crying even more than you.

"I know sweetheart. She's so beautiful..." Not able to hold himself back, he tenderly kissed you before continuing:

"Just like her mommy." He giggled when he succeeded in making you blush.

You both agreed not to let anyone see her until you were fully recovered and also because you both wanted to bond with your daughter first, with no distractions. So it wasn't until 2 weeks later when you guys finally had the boys over to meet the baby. Seonghwa was proudly showing her off while he fed her her bottle of milk.

"Look at how fast she eats. She's such a glutton." He chuckled as he cooed at her.

Wooyoung, who was standing next to him, just watched him in amusement.

"You know..I never thought I'd say this, but parenthood really suits you Hyung." He patted the older member on the shoulder.

Seonghwa felt immensely happy hearing that. For so long he had wanted to start a family with you and now that he had it, his world was absolutely perfect, because you and now your daughter were in it. He couldn't ask for anything else....

Except perhaps.......another baby?

❥𝓙𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓨𝓾𝓷𝓱𝓸

Yunho was focusing on trying to be there for you, be your energizer, especially right now while you were in pain.

"Come on baby! Push! You can do it! I know you can!" He kept cheering you on.

You let out an intense groan.

"Yunho baby I know you're trying to help but please......shut up and let me concentrate!"

Yunho didn't take it offensively. He could only imagine the pain you were going through and it broke his heart to see you in so much pain. He wished he could find a way to stop it, but he knew it was impossible. And it was even worse for you because you had double the work since you were carrying twin girls. Yunho tried to stay positive and bright for you, but the more he saw you in pain, the more he felt bad.

"Baby...I'm so sorry you're going through this-"

"You better be! You and that monster cock of yours that just had to get me pregnant with 2 kids!" You interrupted him in your chaotic state.

Hours later and you welcomed your twin babies. They were so tiny that Yunho could perfectly fit them in his large arms.

"Oh my God....they're gorgeous and beautiful and..."

Yunho couldn't contain himself anymore, he bursted out sobbing uncontrollably, which made the nurse take away the babies and give them to you just in case he dropped them or something. It took him quite some time to compose himself.

"Haha! Cry baby!" San teased him when you told them all about the experience.

"If you were in my place, you would have cried to." Yunho pointed out as he carefully showed Mingi how to hold one of the babies.

"Wow! For being Yunho's daughter, you sure are tiny." Mingi smiled at the little girl.

"Uh.....Y/N...I think this one is hungry..." Hongjoong told you when the other girl started nuzzling her face into his chest, causing the rest to laugh at how awkward he was.

"Here. I promised to show Seonghwa how to feed them anyways." You said as you took back the baby.

"Yay!" Seonghwa happily exclaimed.

"Why does he get to go first?" San pouted.

"Don't worry San, you'll get a turn. After all, you guys are also their family." Yunho nudged him with his elbow.

"But obviously I'm the favorite uncle." Mingi piped up.

"Says who?!" Jongho protested.

You and Yunho just watched them argue as they fought about who the babies would like more, knowing fully well they'd love all of them equally.

❥𝓚𝓪𝓷𝓰 𝓨𝓮𝓸𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓰

Your tight grip on Yeosang's hand was very painful for him. When you asked if you could hold his hand, he didn't think you'd be crushing it to the point his bones cracked. He swore you popped something.

"Ok honey just breathe in, breathe out. Remember the- ugh! breathing exercises." He grunted out suggestions in the midst of your and his pain.

"Oh look! I see his head!"

The nurse instructed you for just one more big push, which it took a lot of strength on your part, but nonetheless you did it. Yeosang decided to do the dumb mistake of peeking over to see his son come out of you, but as soon as he did, his eyes went wide, he felt shocked and actually fell to the floor, nearly fainting but didn't actually.

As soon as you got over the pain and were breathing normally, you looked over at Yeosang who was still on the floor, looking up at the ceiling in a daze.

"Oh stop being such a baby. You weren't the one pushing him out." You rolled your eyes at him.

Finally composing himself, Yeosang looked at his newborn son, happily cradled in your arms. He couldn't believe you two actually made such a perfect little angel.

"Wanna go meet daddy?" You asked the baby before placing him in Yeosang's embrace.

Yeosang just stared in awe at his son, silently admiring all his features as the realization hit him that he was real and he was finally here.

"My son..." He murmured before leaning in to kiss the baby's nose, making the infant whimper softly.

"Oh look. He gets shy and fussy with affection just like his father." You teased Yeosang.

Knowing Yeosang wouldn't plan anything, the boys organized themselves to welcome you both home when you were finally released from the hospital.

"Surprise!" They all yelled as soon as you two walked in.

"Move aside bitches! The godfather is coming through!" Wooyoung pushed the others away to see the baby first.

"Strike number 1." Yeosang warned him, not at all pleased by his friend's swearing.

"See? This is why I should have been the godfather. I'm a better influence." San piped up, making them all groan.

"I've been his friend the longest! I get privileges!" Wooyoung shouted while he rocked the baby.

"Which can get revoked very easily." Yeosang reminded him as he took away the baby from Wooyoung.

"My turn! I wanna hold little Sangie!"

But before Seonghwa could even reach for him, Yeosang stopped him.

"None of you are touching my son. He does not like being touched by strangers."

They all looked back and forth each other before staring at Yeosang with a dead panned expression.

"Wow. Not even a week old and you're already turning him into a grinch like you." Jongho stated, causing all, even you to laugh.

It didn't matter. You knew your son was going to be raised and smothered with a lot of love, even if he didn't want it.

❥𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓢𝓪𝓷

San gently held your hand, occasionally placing his other hand on top of it to caress it in an attempt to calm you down.

"You're doing such a good job honey! Such a strong woman you are!"

Nothing could keep the grin off his face. Since you told him you were pregnant, he was already beyond happy. It was like he was in paradise all those 9 months and now he felt like he was on the brink of seeing heaven, while you felt like you were in hell from all the pushing you were doing.

"Wow....13 lbs/6kg. He's certainly a big boy." The nurse told you.

You whined as you let your head fall back on the pillow. He was definitely not easy to push out. San on the other hand took that as a good sign.

"That means he'll be tall and strong, just like me."

As soon as the boy was put in his arms, San let out a half-choked squeal. His eyes started brimming with tears as he held him out for you to see.

"Look. See that beautiful person here? That's mommy."

You let out an exhausted sigh, but smiled nonetheless when San got closer so you could get a better look at your baby. San helped you hold him since you were too weak and drained to hold him by yourself.

"Hey, you did an amazing job. Thank you." San bent down to kiss your forehead.

San made sure to help you out in everything when you got back home. You two were so busy trying to adjust to having a baby around the house, you forgot to introduce him to the other guys and even forgot about your first child which was currently being babysat by Yunho and Mingi.

"Yo! Forgot something?"

Right away, Byeol jumped out of the tall man's arms and into the house, already making a run towards her favorite spot.

"Wait Byeol!" You and San chased after her, realizing the baby's crib had taken over her favorite spot.

You both stopped as you saw Byeol perch herself on the crib's railing, looking intently at the figure in front of her. Seeing a strange creature, your son immediately reached his hand out, trying to touch her. Byeol only leaned her nose in, sniffing him slowly before allowing him to pet her ears.

"Oh my God...so cute." San gasped as he clutched his heart dramatically at the sight of his two babies meeting.

"Yo! Now that they've met, can we meet him?! We're family too!"

You both laughed and allowed each and every one of the boys to come meet the baby, safely guiding them through it since Byeol already became possessive and protective over the boy.

❥𝓢𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓲

All the boys stood outside the delivery room. Between your wailing and Mingi's screams, they couldn't tell who was the one who was actually giving birth.

"20 bucks he faints." Jongho looked over at Yeosang.

Taking his hand out and shaking it, Yeosang agreed.

"Bet. I say he cries for 5 minutes straight."

Meanwhile it was a mess inside the room. You were in so much pain, clasping Mingi's hand so fiercely that the poor boy was on his knees, trying to get your grip off him. Every time you let out a particularly loud scream, Mingi would scream even louder than you.

"Why are you screaming?! You're not the one pushing a baby out!" You scolded him.

"I'm sorry! You're just being very scary and I'm in pain!" He whimpered as he once again tried to pull his hand away from you.

Gripping his hand even tighter, you locked eyes with him.

"Pain?! You don't know the half of the meaning of that word Song Mingi! Mark my words, make me go through this again and I will cut off your dick!"

Your threat shook him so much that he finally passed out onto the floor, laying unconscious for a while. He was woken up several minutes later by Yunho.

"Hey? You ok there buddy?" Yunho carefully helped him up from the chair.

"What happened?" Mingi asked.

"You fainted and now Yeosang owes Jongho 20 bucks." Hongjoong casually stated as he stood next to you, with Seonghwa beaming at his side.

"Can I hold her now?!" Seonghwa whined, stomping his foot impatiently.

"No Hwa! None of us are holding her until her father holds her first!" Hongjoong firmly said.

Remembering where he was, Mingi quickly got up and went over to see his daughter. He covered his face as he peered down at her.

"Do you wanna hold her?"

He instantly nodded and allowed you to place the baby in his arms. You were afraid because his hands were trembling so much, but once the baby settled into his embrace, Mingi was relaxed and smiling down at his bundle of joy.

"Hi my little angel. I'm your daddy." He introduced himself before placing a gentle kiss on her tiny head.

All of the boys were cooing at the scene, some like Seonghwa and San were already crying. Yunho wrapped an arm around his best friend, congratulating him on becoming a father.

"Ok now can I hold her?" Seonghwa asked again.

Sighing, Mingi reluctantly handed her over, pouting as he watched them all hoard over his daughter.

"Mingi, you'll get to have her for a lifetime. 10 minutes of them with her won't kill you." You assured him.

He huffed and let out a tiny whine as you laughed.

"Oh you're whipped. Definitely whipped now."

"Been whipped for her since we found out she was coming for your information."

❥𝓙𝓾𝓷𝓰 𝓦𝓸𝓸𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓰

Wooyoung picked up his phone that was ringing. Upon seeing your caller id, he immediately smirked.

"Hello my beautiful baby mama. What service do you need today? Chocolate? Ice cream? My loving arms" He offered.

"Get. Here. Now! Baby on the way!" He heard your desperate voice say.

"Wait what?! You weren't due for another week!" Wooyoung said as he began picking his stuff up.

"I don't care! I'm going into labor and I really need the father here right now Woo!" You cried out, already tearing up from how scared you were.

"Listen baby it's ok. I'll be there soon ok? Don't hang up. I'll be here the whole time until I get there."

Wooyoung definitely did not hang up until he saw you, laying there on the hospital bed.

"I'm sorry I'm late." He sat down beside you. Holding your hand, he placed a kiss on your fingers.

"It's ok. She just decided to come a little early I guess." You chuckled softly.

When the nurse asked you if you were ready, you immediately gulped. Sensing how scared you were, Wooyoung cupped your face.

"Hey look at me. I'm here with you and we're going to get through this together all right? I'll be right here just as I have been all this time... now do you trust me?"

You trusted Wooyoung with your entire existence. He was supportive throughout the entire ordeal, praising you and holding you after you finished pushing out your baby. Wooyoung made sure you were ok and weren't too exhausted. You both held your baby daughter and were already in love with her.

And when you introduce her to the other members, they were head over heels for her.

"She's so tiny!" San said as he waved a rattle in her face.

"And so quiet. Wooyoung, are you sure you're the father?" Yeosang teased.

"Hahaha. So funny. Keep it up and you'll be demoted from godfather to mean uncle." Wooyoung threatened him as he held up the spoon he was currently using to pour the cake batter into a pan.

"Peekaboo!" Yunho exclaimed as he played with her, the little baby looking not at all amused and instead looking over to where you and Wooyoung were.

When she began fussing around, Wooyoung immediately rushed over and picked her up.

"All right which one of you made her cry?" He glared at them.

All the members pointed fingers at one another, not wanting to face his anger.

"Damn. Becoming a dad made him terrifying." You thought to yourself.

❥𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓙𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓱𝓸

When Jongho felt you stir in the middle of the night, he knew something was up.

"We should go to the hospital. Just in case."

Refusing to hear you protest, he lifted you up and placed you on the backseat of the car. Not even 5 minutes later, your felt your water break and you were so happy Jongho decided to take extra precautions. He called his Hyungs to let them know where he was and although he didn't expect them to show up, they did nonetheless.

"We gotta support our baby even if he's having a baby of his own." Mingi stated.

Jongho was more nervous than you were. His hands were shaking and he could hardly hear any instructions the doctor was giving. He is too lost in his own thoughts, worried about what was going to happen and most of all, if he'd be a good father.

"Jongho?"

Your voice snapped him back to reality and he was by your side immediately.

"Yes baby? What it is? What can I do?"

You smiled and held out your hand.

"Just hold me please. That's all I need."

Jongho gladly held your hand in his, kissing you gently before the pain kicked in. Jongho was tense the entire time, unable to speak and much less say any encouraging words to you, which he felt bad about. He only focused on holding your hand and making sure you were doing ok. When you were finally done, he helped you lay back down on the bed, knowing you were completely exhausted.

"Congratulations. Your baby boy is completely healthy."

When Jongho held his son, he was overcome with joy. He giddily sat down beside you.

"Look baby, isn't he handsome?"

Jongho carefully placed him on your lap so you could carry him. As soon as you pressed him to your chest, the boy was already looking for food, making you both giggle. Jongho just watched as you breastfed the baby, still not over the fact you two were actually parents now. Stroking your hair, he kissed your nose.

"Thank you." He whispered softly.

The tender moment was interrupted by the other members no longer wanting to wait and walking in. Jongho let out a high pitched squeal before pushing them back out.

"Wait! We want to see your mini hulk!" San struggled to stay inside.

"Not right now! He's getting fed and I don't want you guys seeing that!" Jongho slammed the door behind him, happy they didn't see anything yet.

Right now it was an intimate moment and he didn't want the 3 of you to be disturbed. He just wanted some time to enjoy you two for a moment.

Gifs not mine. Credit goes to their respective owners

#ateez #ateez reactions #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #ateez dad au #dad!au #dad!ateez #ateez fluff #ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez yeosang #ateez san #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez jongho

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lyallblacklupin · 3 years ago

Text

Just like fire.

After years of regrets and sorrows, Remus tries to apologize to Sirius for his own mistakes, despite the fact that he has been hurt by the very same person who he wants to say sorry to. The years of damages has passed, should they give each other a chance, or start fresh with new people in life to forget their old wounds?

Tags: Heavy Angst, Fluff, Post-Azkaban, Angst with Happy Ending.

Sirius walks in the kitchen, completely heedless of Remus’ presence—or he pretends to be heedless after he catches the sight of Remus. He walks promptly, not limping but flinching at his aching bones. This is how Sirius Black has become: broken. And he has not just broken out of thin air, it has taken fourteen years which includes the twelve years of unjust imprisonment and two years of being a prison escapee, and Merlin knows how many more to go.

Half of Sirius’ time is spent in thinking about death and longing for it. Remus can tell because he has witnessed the hunger of dying in his eyes when he’d sit alone with himself, and the other half is always occupied in worrying about Harry Potter who is last person keeping him from dying out of misery; his dear godson only. Otherwise, he’d have been free.

He stops at the stove and boils the water on the kettle. He doesn’t have his wand so muggle way it is. Muggles have been growing on him, a lot. He keeps talking about them with Arthur. Remus is glad that if there is anything Sirius is looking forward to the order meetings is for the conversation with his new friend Arthur Weasley, who also attains the equal amount energy for the same subject. It makes Remus happy to witness that they have any reason to—even temporarily—lit up in the times of war. However, Sirius never smiles. He nods, or makes a funny face. He only smiles when Harry visits.

“If you want for yourself, it’s still in the kettle.” Sirius says without looking, and begins to walk out of the kitchen but Remus rises from his chair.

“Sirius.” He stops but doesn’t turn to face Remus.

“What?” His voice cut through Remus’ heart.

“I was hoping we could have tea together?” He tried, his heart hammering in his chest.

Sirius finally turns and hold his gaze. After a lingering eye contact, he nods and brings Remus’ tea with pink mug that has a David Bowie on it. He is slightly hopeful that Sirius has kept it because Remus gave him on their sixth year Christmas holidays. But he highly doubts that Sirius remembers it. Sirius sits across Remus’ seat. The silence is irksome.

“I want you to know that I’m sorry for…all that—“

“Define ‘that’, Remus?” Sirius’ facial expressions are blank but very grave.

“For believing the murder of Lily and James was because of you.”

Sirius scoffs, and Remus wants to scream because deep down inside he doesn’t feel he deserves it. He suffered too for twelve years. Even so, he tries to sustain the ceasefire he is trying to build between them.

“I should have believed that you would never have done anything like that to the Potters. You loved them more than anything in this world and—“

Remus pauses because Sirius is shaking his head with a manic smile playing on his lips.

“Wrong. I didn’t love them as I was supposed to. It wasn’t that I didn’t, but it was more like I couldn’t. My fucking stupid heart belonged to just one person that time as if my life would end if I stop centering my life on him.”

Remus swallowed. He knows that no kind of eloquent words are going to be good reply to what Sirius has said, so he says, “You did. Love them, that is. I know that.”

“Oh what did you know!?” He shoots up so violently that the chair collapses down on the floor that Remus inhales sharply, “You were out there kissing Dumbledore’s shoes!”

He knew that this will happen, that he will be humiliated again just like the times in the first war when Sirius would scream at him for going on the secret missions and not giving a clue about when and where he would go and come back, and for not being there for his friends and family. But in reality, all Remus did was to protect the order, and the people he loved. However, the questions still pops in his head, ‘for what? How did he not see it that they were breaking apart?’ It feels like he was watering a dead plant over and over again during the severity of lacking water, but the plant didn’t revive, and the precious water spilled into filthiest vain. Despite of that, Remus shuts his mind and chooses that pettiest way to get back at the person who endured twelve years of imprisonment for the crime he never committed.

“Don’t you dare!” Remus rises from his chair too, leveling up at Sirius, “Don’t you dare go down there again after all these years!”

“WHY NOT!?” Sirius yelled anyway, “YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THIS NOW! YOU NEVER BELIEVED ME! EVEN BEFORE YOU THOUGHT I BETRAYED JAMES AND LILY!”

“WHEN DID YOU BELIEVE ME!?” Remus is now few inches away from Sirius. He wants to slam him against the wall and put some sense into him because he still cares about him, no matter what.

“WHAT!? You made me this way! You build this mistrust with your hands! Don’t you dare forget that!”

“I did!? Or was that you!? Who didn’t believe me when I said I was not allowed to tell to anyone!”

“I WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ANYONE!” Sirius’ voice breaks poorly that hits like a dagger in Remus’ heart. Sirius holds himself by the chest and leans down to rest his torso on the kitchen table, breathing heavily. Remus instantly feels the stinging in his eyes, and followed by the hot tears spilling from them. He comes behind Sirius, and places a hand on his back.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Shut up. Just shut up.” Remus whispers, and pulls Sirius up in his arms. He sobs and sobs, and Remus sinks down to the floor with him, squeezing him tightly in his embrace. “You are right. You were never just anyone. You were never…” He tries to put his feelings into words but Sirius interrupts him.

“You stopped loving me.”

Remus feels his stomach twist but what comes out of his mouth is a laugh. An empty laugh.

“Hell, I didn’t even stop loving you even when I thought you killed James and Lily.”

Silence.

“I was disgusted by myself. I used to feel so filthy. To want you even after believing you ruined my life by walking away so brutally, killing my friends. Killing my reasons to stay on this planet. I wanted to hate you. I couldn’t. I didn’t think that I even deserved to go to their funeral, you know…because I thought I’d be downright hypocrite to grieve for their loss when I was actually grieving the loss of you. I’d dream about you. The only thought keeping me sane and alive. Sirius, I’m not sure if this makes sense to you…I don’t even know if I’m asking you to love me back or what, but I have always loved you, mostly when I shouldn’t…”

Sirius is staring at him with his tears streaming so rapidly down his cheeks. He is trembling as sobs are racking through his body, his breath hitching every now and then. Remus’ heart breaks to see him like that. It is like Sirius is cleansing himself with all of the unwanted darkness off his soul by spilling all the expanse of pain in form of tears. Remus can see that he is not stopping himself from weeping. He seems lost somewhere, with his eyes shut and his hand on his mouth.

“I am not defending myself,” Remus whispers once he notices Sirius is just sniffling and wiping the dampness from his face, “I never meant to bring that up. I just want to let you know that whatever you went through had not even a single place or moment you deserved to be at.”

Sirius looks up with wide teary eyes, staring at Remus’ hopefully. He looks innocent and raw.

“Tell me,” His voice rough with tears but still a whisper. He clears his throat, “that I deserved all of that.”

“That is not true.” Remus says instantly, his hands grasping Sirius’ wrist instinctively, fearing he might fade away with the wind swooping in from the kitchen window.

“It is,” He says in the weakest voice, “My mistakes brought me here. For not trusting you enough…”

No words comes out from Remus’ mouth but they are caught in his throat like a lump. He can feel their prickling. The silence stretches on, smoothly breaking by the sounds of fire battling the wind filling the kitchen. There is also some faint sounds of dripping water from the tap into the basin. Someone must have forgotten to turn it fully. Huh, wizards.

“You are one celestial presence on the world, Remus Lupin, aren’t you…” Sirius chuckles softly, leaning back on the paddles of the chair to rest his back on them. Remus doesn’t understand but Sirius continues, “You are…this sacred or a saint-like wizard—half-blood werewolf whose father committed suicide because he thought he was the reason for his son’s affliction, and whose mother faded away with grief…”

Remus’ heart feels fragile in his chest, fearing it might break again after the poor mending.

“Merlin puts a very heavy price on people to pay who hurt Remus Lupin, who mistrust Remus Lupin...who thinks little of Remus Lupin.”

There is something strange in Sirius’ eyes. There is surrender and envy but Remus stares back into those glistening, and almost-silver orbs with courage to find what he wants. And he does. There it is. Love, swirling into the diffusion of grey and blue.

“I paid twelve years of losing myself and my family for mistrusting you, Remus.”

“I’m sorry…” He doesn’t expect his voice to whimper but it does because his chin is trembling and he is trying hard to gain composure. He is trying so hard with his clenched jaw, and balled fists in either sides of his lap. But Sirius put a thumb under his chin, and he shudders.

“You’re so stupid, Moony.” Sirius whispers when he is just an inch away from his lips.

“I know,” And just as those lips touched his, he feels a tear trickle down his cheek before Sirius has completely captured his mouth. They move languidly but cautiously, scared they might break each other again with haste and roughness. They don’t trust themselves to be firm either. Remus doesn’t. But when Sirius pulls back a little, he comes back and kisses him again decisively on the lips.

“I don’t know if it is still worth it,” Sirius says when both of them are resting their foreheads against each other, breathing in and out one and other, “But I want you to know that I don’t blame you for anything. Maybe I did. Just to keep myself sane by pretending to believe the lies I made within my already suffocated brain.”

Remus lets out a small laugh, which follows by Sirius’ arms wrapping his waist.

“I hope you can still accept me despite of everything, Remus.”

Remus hold his jaw, and tries to smile at him because he still feels like it is not enough. Nothing is enough with Sirius Black. It is always so much, even in this flickering flame which is almost dead. He knows that it will ignite again to fiery life once they become one. They are dangerously perfect for each other. He leans in to kiss the back of his ear, and inhales a whiff just like the wolf would do when Padfoot would return on first full moon after the summers, to recognize his mate. Sirius smells of rain and cigarette, mixing the aroma of the tea that has been sitting out in two mugs before their argument.

“I do. And I hope the same from you for myself?” Remus cringes after he realizes how lame they sound next to Sirius’ words. After few minutes which feels like hours to Remus, Sirius gropes his hands to hold both of his wrists, with his eyes still locked with Remus. He then bends down to press a lingering kiss on the right, and then on the left. Remus just looks at him, feeling utterly weightless in Sirius’ hands.

“I will not fail you again, Remus.”

“I trust you. I love you,” Remus says with all of the broken words spilling out his mouth, “I love you so much. I will not let you go. I will not let you be alone.”

They embraces each other again, just enjoying the warmth and the closeness. It reminds Remus of their time at Hogwarts when their limbs used to be wrapped around each other at every possible free period, smoking cigarettes at the Astronomy Tower.

“Don’t make such promises, my dear Moony.”

“You’re just saying that because you’ll be annoyed of me for sticking around you all the time.” Remus wipes his tears, and Sirius helps him too with his sleeve, shaking with silent laughter.

“Yeah, maybe. Just don’t follow me in the bathroom.”

“Can’t make such promises, my dear Padfoot.”

Thankyou for reading!

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lxngbottom · 4 years ago

Text

Mistakes That Last Forever. | N.L. (Part 2)

in which neville tries to get his life back.

warnings: mentions of cheating, swearing (lmk if there are more!)

im crying over this fic PLS

(PART 1)

—

the shower felt wonderful as it collided with your skin. the stress that had been building up from the past week due to seeing neville, and work, was seemingly all being washed away. you could hear neville jr in the living room, muttering small scenarios as he used his imagination to play with his toys.

but, the small peace that your house held was soon disturbed by your house phone ringing. you sighed, hoping that it wasn’t your boss demanding at you turn in that article draft you had promised him.

“mummy! the phone is ringing!” your son called out, and you could hear that he had ran to the bathroom door in order to inform you.

“um—i know!” you replied, “can you be a big boy and answer it for me? just like we talked about?! ask to take a message, okay?”

“okay!”

you heard his hurried footsteps exit the hallway, and you continued your now, limited shower as quickly as you could.

neville jr reached up and picked up the phone, putting it to his ear in excitement. this was the first time you let him use the adult phone, and he couldn’t be more thrilled,

“uh... hello? longbottom—well... y/l/n residence!”

he made an odd face as he realized he has already messed up what you told him to say if someone had ever called.

the person on the other line smiled to himself, hearing that small, fragile voice. he sounded just like he used to when he was younger.

“hi... is your mum there?” neville asked awkwardly, shifting awkwardly in his seat as the realization that he was talking to his son was hitting him.

neville jr crooked his lips as he looked down the hall, “um... she’s in the shower...” he began to try and remember what you had told him to say, “uh—um... merlin... oh!” he finally remembered. “can i take a message for you?”

the boy had such a sweet voice. he was filled with such innocence. the shame of missing out on his son growing up had already hit neville, and he had been in a big slum for the last week due to that.

“yes... can you tell her that neville called? it’s important that she knows...”

neville jr then furrowed his eyebrows, “hey! that’s my name!” he snapped, “i didn’t call my own house!”

neville on the other line chuckled at the boy’s obliviousness, “no! that’s my name, too, lad. i’m—uh... your—“

just as he was about to tell his son the truth, you came stomping out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around your body, and your hair as well. you ran over to your son, who was still holding the phone.

“who is it?” you asked, already grabbing the phone from his grasp,

“uh... neville? he has the same name as i do, mum!”

your heart dropped to the pit of your stomach, and you tried to play it off by sending your son a small smile.

“that’s... nice, sweetheart. but... go play for a few minutes, okay?”

the boy nodded his head, and went right back to the center of the living room, and continued to play with his cars. you glanced over at him, putting the phone up to your ear, hands shaky from anxiety.

“hello?” you started, looking down awkwardly at the numbers on the phone.

“oh... hey, y/n.”

yep. it was neville.

“how did you get my number, longbottom?” you asked in a low whisper, glancing over at your son once more,

neville let out an awkward chuckle, “well... it’s not that hard to get into contact with the journalist of the daily prophet, y/n.” he teased slightly, maybe trying to lighten the mood, “i just need to talk to you.”

you sighed, gritting your teeth slightly, “about what, neville?”

“about... seeing him. seeing both of you. ever since i saw you both last week... i haven’t been sleeping, or eating... i want to make things right. i deserve that, y/n. i need to see my son...”

you knew it was coming, but, you had hoped it would at least be a few more years.

“neville—“

“y/n, i can’t keep doing this. i can’t keep walking throughout my life miserable. i know i’ve done awful things to you, and i know there is nothing in this world that i could possibly ever do to make it up to you. but, please... that’s my son. maybe this is my opportunity to do the right thing. an opportunity to get my life back...”

you huffed at his words, “you didn’t even know he existed until a week ago!”

“yeah, because you never told me! you know for a fact that if you would’ve told me the truth, that i would’ve been there for everything! there’s a lot i have to owe up to, but don’t forget that you lied to me! you kept me away from my son for his whole life because you were hurt over a mistake!”

“a mistake that you made, asshole!” you clapped back through teary eyes, “i figured... hey! maybe if neville wants to go back to being an immature teenager and cheat on me, then how in world would he ever be a good father?! i wasn’t even sure that you would even be committed to him, neville! because, you sure weren’t committed to me!”

the tension that radiated through the static on the phone was terrifying. the only thing that could be heard was your small sniffles, and neville’s agitated sighs on the other end. you were so hurt. you had always been so hurt due to what had happened.

“y/n...” neville sighed, “please. just let me make this right. let me make it up to you... and to him. please... i’ll do anything.”

you thought for a moment, considering all of the positives and the negatives of this whole situation. you knew he was right, he did deserve to see his son. but, you didn’t know if that would be the right thing for your son himself.

“fine...” you breathed, “you can come and see him. i’ll send you an owl, soon...”

neville had never felt more relieved.

“thank you. thank you, y/n. i promise i’ll—“

but, you cut him off by slamming the phone back onto the hook. your face fell into the palm of your hand as you let out a small sob, overwhelmed by the sudden old feelings that were rushing back into your veins.

“mummy...”

you didn’t look at him. you couldn’t look at him.

“you’re crying, mum. what’s wrong?” he asked, slowly walking over to you, “was it that man on the phone?”

you finally looked down at him, seeing the worried look etched across his round, chubby face. you crouched down to meet his height, reaching your hand up to caress his face gently. you had always done that, because it was something that you always did to neville when he was worried or sad.

“mummy’s alright, baby... she’s just stressed out. but... i need to talk to you about something, alright?”

that’s when his face became even more worried, “as i in trouble?”

you chuckled through your tears at your son’s overthinking, “no, no, of course not. it’s just... there’s something i haven’t told you...”

“what is it, mum?”

you sighed, finally ready to have the talk.

—

that morning had started off chaotic. it was a mix of you trying to get ready, neville rummaging through his closet in order to find the perfect outfit, as he was a big boy now, and he wanted to get ready all by himself.

“neville longbottom! have you brushed your teeth?!” you yelled from the living room, trying to pick up the small mess of toys that was spread throughout the floor.

neville in his room widened his eyes, realizing that he indeed had not brushed his teeth.

“i’m going to take that as a no!” you yelled, referring to the silence, “go and do it, please! he’ll be here at any minute!”

neville jr was probably just as nervous as you were, as he had subconsciously had always questioned where his father had been, but never asked. but ever since that long conversation the two of you had, he was finally ready to meet him. you on the other hand, felt as if you could throw up at any given moment.

you were only in your bra and underwear as you cleaned, trying your best not to mess up your applied makeup. you ran to your room after you were done, and started going through your closet. you and neville jr would always wake up late, as for some reason, you two loved getting your beauty sleep. the both of you were used to rushing through your shared home, getting ready while doing ten other things at the same time. time management was definitely something you needed to teach him, and maybe even teach yourself.

“mum! i can’t find my socks!” you heard your son call out, his voice shaky.

“um—check in your top drawer, sweetie! there should be a clean pair in there!” you yelled back, slipping on a sun dress and zipping it up in the back. you looked in the mirror, and noticed that you hadn’t even done your hair. it was still wet from the shower you had taken,

“fuck!” you groaned, running to your personal bathroom and grabbing your hairbrush.

“mum! that’s a bad word!”

“i’m sorry! i’m just really stressed out! are you almost ready?”

there was silence for a moment before he responded, “um... yeah?”

he wasn’t ready, of course.

you felt as if you could crack at any moment, but you were trying your best to hold back the tears. maybe this would’ve been a lot easier if you two had actually woken up when you were supposed to.

that’s when the doorbell rang, and your heart seemed to stop beating for a moment. you sighed, mentally preparing yourself as you grabbed your flats from your closet, and walked through the house to the front door.

when you arrived, you shakily unlocked it and opened the door.

that’s when you saw him. he held a small bouquet of flowers in one hand, and a small gift box in the other. he smiled at you, taking in how absolutely ravishing you looked.

“um—come in...” you told him, opening the door. he stepped in, and began to follow you through the house, leading to your living room. “just—ignore the mess, please! we woke up late, and i didn’t have time to clean the kitchen and—“

“hey, hey, hey...” he interrupted you, setting the items down on the couch. “it’s fine, y/n. i understand... no need to explain.”

you looked over at him, and for a moment, you began to get lost in his gentle eyes. neville had always been so patient with you. he never judged you, nor ever would judge you. he knew you from the inside out, and he could tell how stressed out you were in that moment.

“mummy!” you heard, and the two of you whipped your head around to see a struggling smaller neville, trying to get his sweater on over his jumper. you giggled as his head was getting stuck in the hole, “it won’t go on!” he huffed aggressively, his arms flailing around.

you walked over to him, and pulled the sweater vest down over his head easily. he looked at you for a moment, an appreciative smile on his face. but then, he caught a glance at the smiling man that stood just ways away from you. he hid behind your leg, still nervous out his mind.

“neville...” you muttered, trying to get him to not be so shy, “come on...”

he shook his head, now burying his face in the material of your dress.

you looked over at neville, who had a sad look on his face.

“he’s shy... but... he’ll come around.” you reassured the man.

of course he was shy. he was neville longbottom’s son for merlin’s sake.

neville wearily made his way over to the both of you, the gift box now in his hand. he crouched down by your knee, letting your cherry blossom lotion take over his senses.

“this—it’s for you...” he offered, holding the gift box up to the small boy. neville jr peeked his head around your leg, eyeing the color wrapped box. “go on... it’s yours...”

neville jr finally gave in, his childish mind not being to help itself as he reached out, and grabbed the box from his father’s hand. he slowly showed himself, ripping the wrapping up.

he squealed when he finally got it open.

“mum, look!” he held the toy up in his hand, “look how cool!”

you smiled down at your lovely son, “i see it, honey. what do you say?”

neville jr looked up at his dad, batting his eyelashes a few times.

“thank you...”

neville sent him a sweet smile,

“no problem...”

—

the day had been simple. you, neville, and neville jr did nothing but relax, play with toys, talk about your old days at hogwarts, ordered pizza for lunch, and you even made a nice dinner by the time the night had came along. it brought you a feeling of serenity, as this had always been your dream for you and neville.

“can i have a goodnight kiss?” you asked neville jr as you tucked him in. he nodded his head, and pecked your cheek, then settled back into his blanket.

“goodnight, mum...” he told you sweetly,

neville watched as you tucked your son in, glancing around the boy’s room every now and then. he had noticed how much of an amazing mother you were the whole day, but, he would’ve never expected less.

neville jr looked over at the tall man, hiding his face shyly.

“goodnight, daddy...”

the nickname made you look over at neville, who seemed to be in some sort of state of shock. but, he sent the boy a small smile.

“goodnight, nev. get some rest...”

you stood up from your son’s bed, and slowly made your way towards the door.

“will you still be here tomorrow when i wake up?”

the question made you and neville’s head turn, and you were still trying your best to hold it together.

neville wiped his nose awkwardly, “not sure about that one, lad. but, i’ll definitely see you in a couple of days. maybe... you can come to my house and meet my pets, huh? that sound good?”

the question seemed to be aimed towards your son, but just by looking at neville, he seemed to be asking the both of you.

“yeah... that sounds good...” neville jr replied, offering the both of you a weak yawn. he rubbed his eyes, and cuddled into his stuffed toad.

you smiled as you turned the light off, and neville stepped out of the room.

“goodnight, darling. i’ll see you in the morning.”

and with that, you closed his door softly, and began to walk back to the living room.

neville watched as you started to clean up, even at one point offering to help you.

“it’s fine...” you told him as he went to pick up a toy, “i don’t need your help...”

you hadn’t noticed it, but neville definitely had. you were now crying, tears streaming down your face as you continued to pick toys up, and set them into the box that sat beside you. the emotions from today were now taking an affect on you, and as much as you tried to ignore them, your body needed some sort of release.

“y/n...” neville muttered, and you looked over at him, breaking his heart when he saw your eyeliner smudging, “what’s wrong?”

you sighed as you picked the box up, and put it back in its place over the by the couch.

“nothing... just exhausted. i have to get something into my boss for work, and i just—“

“don’t lie to me.”

you furrowed your eyebrows at him, “i’m not—“

“yes, you are. i can tell.” he interjected, walking closer to you. “you can tell me... please tell me.”

you pondered for a moment, wondering if you should actually let the words slip your lips.

“it’s just—“ you began, trying to collect your thoughts. neville gazed at you intently, “it’s just hard seeing you. and... seeing you with him is even worse.”

“why?”

you bit down on your bottom lip, something you had always done when you were trying to hold back tears, “because... i suppose i just thought that—maybe... that would’ve been us. all these years... you would’ve done all the stuff you did with him today everyday. i had always dreamt of us having a family together... but... i just wasn’t good enough for you.”

neville’s breath hitched at your words. he felt his stomach churn with guilt, and sadness as well.

“y/n... you were more than good enough for me. i was just—a fucking git. i was so... stupid for what i did. and, i probably won’t ever be able to make it up to you...”

you chuckled nervously, “well... at least there’s a chance to make it up to him.”

he stepped even closer to you, only a small gap between your nervous bodies. he slowly reached his hand up, and wiped away the single tear that was treading down your cheek. he ran that same hand through your hair, that familiar feeling settling in, ever so present between you both.

“yeah... but something tells me that you want me to make it up to you, as well, y/n...”

his touch was so gracious. it felt so familiar, and you couldn’t help but to fall into it. his thumb caressed your skin, feeling all of the familiar bumps and roughness. he felt as if he collapse, as he was only just now realizing that he was finally touching you again.

“it doesn’t matter what i want, neville. that hasn’t mattered since i had our son. all that matters is him now.”

neville took a beat of silence before responding, his eyes trailing to your lips.

“it does matter.”

that’s when he planted his soft lips upon yours, relishing in the serenity of you.

it was a kiss that was long overdue. a kiss that said so much but nothing all at the same time. oh, how he missed you. and oh... how you missed him so much more.

when you two finally pulled away, his palm still rested against your cheek, and he admired you.

“i’m sorry for everything. but what i said was true... i want my life back. and y/n... you and neville are my life.”

#harry potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter imagines #harry potter smut #neville longbottom #neville longbottom imagine #neville longbottom imagines #neville longbottom smut #neville x reader #neville x y/n #neville longbottom x reader #neville longbottom x y/n

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closedmadness · 4 years ago

Text

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄

summary: maybe all of the things you’ve gone through was just challenges that prepared you for a better life — you started thinking that way after sweet pea literally saved your life and made it even better. part 2 of heartbreak

pairings: sweet pea x male reader

warnings → swearing・fluff・serpent initiation・light verbal fight

a/n: since part 1 ended in heartbreak (which the title is) this one will not be. I didn’t know you guys are gonna love that one thank you for your comments🥺 check out the navigation in my profile for tagging system!

Tag: @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e @wizard-of-yeet @akwardpikachu

“i won!” you yelled over sweet pea’s groans of defeat, jumping up and down happily as toni and fangs snickered from their place.

you’re currently playing pool with sweet pea at the serpents bar and spending your time with them. you should actually be at school in this hours, but you skipped them with a permission from your father and hang out your friends instead.

after it was revealed that your father is the serpent king, you slept at sweet pea’s trailer with meeting him in your mind. at first you didn’t know if he remembers you or even think about you, but they told you he has been telling the serpents about his son that he regrettably left alone.

you could still remember the first meeting with him.

“he talked about you a lot, (y/n).” sweet pea said, his expression soft as he looked at you.

a genuine surprise appeared on your face and you raised your brows, “he did?” sweet pea nods in confirmation. you looked down, not having expected that your father still remembered you.

you were pretty sure in your entire life that he would’ve forgotten about you, moved on with his life and started a new family. being told he has been regretting his decision and telling his serpents about his son was totally not what you expected. your mother pretty much made sure you knew that you don’t matter, that your father was so sick with the idea of having you, so you don’t know how to react after knowing that he cared about you all along.

“he’s still looking for his son.” toni told, catching your attention. “he told us he went to get his son, but wasn’t able to because his wife never allowed.”

you looked down; it was making you emotional realizing your father cared about you all this time. “sweet pea...” you called, pulling on the sleeve of his leather jacket. “take me to my father.”

sweet pea didn’t have to be told twice. he pulled you with him and exited the trailer — accompanied by his two friends — entering the whyte wyrm. there were serpents everywhere, but sweet pea paid no attention to them and swiftly pushed pass them, making sure none would pick a fight with you by holding your hand, toni and fangs keeping you close with them, following behind you.

all four of you reached the very end side of the bar and your eyes caught the sight of a dominant looking man in the center — probably in the age of 30 or 40 — sitting on a chair with few other old serpents surrounding him.

“(f/n).” sweet pea caught his attention, standing in front of him.

“what’s up, sweet pea?” his rough voice asked, averting his eyes from the serpents around him to the boy. the said male didn’t say anything, instead just moved out of the way to reveal you.

the older man, who you assume your father by what sweet pea called him, looked at you and instantly froze in his place. many emotions swirled in his eyes and expression as he looked at your face, then at your whole body, like he couldn’t believe if what he was seeing is real. he almost don’t believe it. so he slowly stood up from the chair and walked over to you, step by step carefully, as if afraid you would disappear from his sight.

you looked up at him and slightly shrunk as he was tall and practically towered over you. the two friends encouraged you by patting your back, sweet pea just squeezing your hand before going over to the side to watch the whole scene.

“(y-y/n)...?” he stuttered your name as he slowly lifted his hands, afraid that you might not have been his son that he always looked for.

you slightly flinched, but stayed in your place, knowing your father is different from your mother. “dad?” your voice called him weakly, as if you were afraid he’s not your father. before you could process anything, he pulled you in a warm and tight embrace, a light sob leaving his lips.

all the serpents present in the bar stopped what they were doing after hearing their leader’s sob to see him holding you tightly, and they focused their attention on you two.

you hugged him back before breaking down suddenly, tears escaping your eyes from the relief of finding your father and a sob leaving your lips, turning into a quiet cry of anguish afterwards. everyone who heard your quiet cries felt their heart clench at how broken you sounded, but they also heard a cry of relief in it, and they couldn’t help but frown in sadness at the reunion happening in front of them.

your hold tightens around him and he realized just then that you’re afraid he might leave you again. “i won’t leave you again, son. i promise. from the bottom of my heart.” he told you firmly as he tightened his embrace on you as well.

after you calmed down from your break down, a chuckle left your lips as you pulled away from his warm embrace to look at his face. “i missed you, dad. i- i thought you forgot about me.” you sniffled.

he wiped your tears and gave you a sad smile. “i missed you too, (y/n). i forgot about your mother, but never you. i always thought of you and regretted not taking you with me, even if it means you’re gonna have to live as a serpent.”

you sniffled, “i would rather live as a serpent than with her. it’s been really awful, she never went to rehab and continued doing drugs. she rarely ever gets home and when she does, all she do is hit me and complain about my existence. it’s really exhausting, dad.”

your father’s expression darkened at that as toni, fangs and sweet pea all winced. you furrowed your brows and looked at them quizzically after hearing their winces, only to receive a shake of head from them. they knew how (f/n) is when a family of his gets hurt, whether it’s a serpent or a real family member, and you telling him about your horrible mother made them already know what she will go through.

though, before that, (f/n) pulled you in an embrace again. “you will never have to go back to her again, (y/n). i’ll take care of her. of course, only if you want to.”

“sure, dad. only if you promise to make up for the lost times.”

he smiled happily, “i definitely will.”

you smiled at the memory and looked at sweet pea, who was pouting due to his defeat. if it weren’t for him saving you, you wouldn’t have met your father. you won’t admit out loud how thankful you are, though.

“(y/n)~” your father’s cooing voice called and you turned your head, only to have him crash you in a tight embrace. you chuckled at him and hugged back, enjoying and loving how he shows you his love with just little gestures.

sweet Pea, toni and fangs watched from the side, the raven haired boy smiling at how happy you looked in the arms of your father. toni saw his loving gaze and nudged him, “you’re making heart eyes to him again, sweets.” she teased, making fangs snicker.

sweet pea rolled his eyes, “yeah, whatever.”

“dude, we’ve only known him for like, three weeks and you’re already head over heels in love with him.” fangs deadpanned, grinning widely.

“can you blame me?” sweet pea snapped, returning his gaze on you laughing with your father. “he’s so precious, like, he isn’t like any other northsiders we encountered.”

“and he’s hot.” toni added, making him glare at her but nod in agreement nonetheless.

“isn’t this his fourth time skipping school to hang out with us, though?” fangs asked realizing.

“he only go to school if he feels like it. (f/n) gives him permission to skip and whenever he doesn’t give him permission, he goes to school.” sweet pea answered with a shrug, not really bothered by the fact that you skip school just to hang out with them.

he was rather happy that you’re choosing to be with them instead of your friends at northside. it just proved to him that even a northsider like you can choose the southsiders. besides, this way he could easily make efforts for you to date him.

you went back to sweet pea with a pout after a talk with your father. “pea~” your whine filled his ears and he quickly turned as you dive into his arms. “dad said i should go to school more instead of hanging out with you guys here.” you pouted, looking up at him.

his eyes lingered longer at your pouty lips before moving his gaze up to meet yours. “i think your dad is right, (y/n). we’re really happy that you’d rather hang out with us than your friends at northside, but you don’t go to school for nothing.” he softly said, stroking your hair.

you nuzzled your face into his chest, enjoying the way his hand stroked your hair gently. “yeah... if you say so, pea.”

“we agree with him, but thanks for asking, (y/n).” toni jokingly said and laughed, earning a snicker from fangs and a muffled apology from you.

“but didn’t your dad say something else?” fangs asked and toni nudged him strongly with her elbow, making the former wince in pain and rub the spot above his hip.

you stayed silent for a moment, but spoke nonetheless. “he asked me if i want to be a serpent.”

sweet pea gently cupped your cheek with one hand and raised your face up. “well, what did you answer him?”

“i told him i want to, and that i will participate in the initiation instead of being pardoned just because i’m his son.” you stated and closed your eyes, placing a hand just above his. “it would be unfair for me to join the serpents without doing the initiation you all have gone through.”

their hearts warmed up at your words and a satisfied smile made its way upon sweet pea’s face. “are you sure, baby? joining us have a lot of consequences.”

you smiled at the nickname. you and sweet pea had a lot going on, both of you acted like a couple but never really asked out each other. “i don’t really care as long as i have you, fangs and toni.” you said making sweet pea chuckle, while toni aweed and fangs swooned. you were so sweet.

the four of you began to play pool once again with the serpent’s initiation in your mind.

tomorrow, you’re gonna be one of the southside serpents your father leads and you couldn’t be any more happier.

“Hey, (Y/n)!” Veronica greeted you as all the corefour entered the student lounge.

You smiled and nodded at her, greeting back. “Hey, Roni.” Your eyes then darted back to your phone that you were holding, sending a text back to Sweet Pea.

As Veronica, Archie and Kevin sat on the couches, Betty and Jughead looked at each other and frowned before sitting down as well.

It has been four weeks since the extreme heartbreak and meeting the Serpents. You’ve been less hanging out with the corefour, but only when Betty and Jughead would tag along for a double date. If it isn’t a double date, you would hang out with them but pay little attention to the couple. Kevin, Archie and Veronica noticed you distancing yourself from the couple, but didn’t say anything because they knew how you felt about the news. Though, they were thankful you’re not ignoring them. They wouldn’t have handled it if you did, since you’re a kind of person who smiles at everyone and gives them attention even a little bit.

“(Y/n).” Jughead called and the three you considered as your best friends stopped their conversation to listen.

“Hmm?” You just hummed in response, raising your brows and eyes still facing the phone screen.

“What’s happening to you? The days you don’t come to school are increasing more and more.”

You rolled your eyes mentally. So now he notice. “I’ll come to school from now on, don’t you worry.” You replied with gaze still on your phone screen. “And it’s none of your business.” You added.

All of them snapped their gaze to you surprised. You never talked to anyone like that, let alone Jughead, your best friend since childhood. Well, to you he��s no longer your best friend.

“What’s up with you? You know I notice that you’re ignoring me and Betty.”

“You only notice things that are convenient to you.” Your neutral and void of emotion strung a core into his heart. It sounded so dead, like you no longer had a heart to him.

Jughead and Betty looked at you in disbelief, while the others exchanged a uneasy glance. They knew something was wrong with you, and Veronica isn’t stupid to know you no longer had a thing for Jughead, but this was not what they expected to hear from you. Clearly, you moved on.

The beanie wearing boy shakes himself out of shock and frowns. “Did I do something wrong to you?”

You looked up from your phone and his breath caught up in his throat; your face was void of all emotion. “No.” That was your only answer as you looked back at your phone.

Jughead’s frown deepened as he and Betty made an eye contact. What is wrong with you?

Today is the day of your serpent initiation.

You were feeling nervous, constantly fidgeting with your fingers and lips pouting. Your fidgeting fingers were interrupted by Sweet Pea, who took a hold of your hand after noticing you were nervous.

“You’ll do great, (Y/n). I know it. You’re strong.” He comforts with a small smile on his face.

You smiled at him, relief and calmness washing over you at his warmth. “Thanks, Pea. It really means a lot.” You said and squeezed his hand.

A comfortable silence fell on the two of you as the time of your initiation slowly comes. Sweet Pea wondered what to say in this situation — you’re going to have the initiation in a few minutes and he hasn’t told you anything encouraging yet. He was worried about you.

“Hey, uh... (Y/n)?” Sweet Pea called your name, rather nervously. You looked at him questioningly. “After your initiation, do you want to go to Pop’s together? I mean, like a date?” His tone was filled with fear of rejection.

He knew that you were in love with Jughead and didn’t want to do something that will make you remember what you had to go through while being in love with him. This is his first time having someone who cares for him deeply as he does for them, so he didn’t want to ruin whatever you two had. Asking you out on a date is the hardest thing to do, specially since you’re his best friend.

A look of surprise coated your face at first, making him prepare himself for the rejection, but what you said next surprised him. “Sure, Sweet Pea. I was wondering when you’d ask.” You giggled, a damn laugh that he always loves to hear.

Relief washes over him as he sighed, a happy smile making its way onto his lips for a moment before it was replaced by a smirk. “So you were waiting for me to ask you out, huh?” He teasingly said, letting go of your hand and wrapping his arm around your waist instead.

“Maybe, maybe not.” You grinned.

Sweet Pea chuckles and pulls you closer, cupping your cheek with his free hand as he leans in to give you a short, but sweet kiss. A laugh escaped both of your lips while still maintaining a very close distance, your noses touching and lips barely.

Someone clearing their throat interrupted your sweet moment and you turned to see your dad standing there giving Sweet Pea a look. Instantly, Sweet Pea let go of you and straightened himself. You laughed, noticing his nervousness upon getting caught by your father.

Your father gave Sweet Pea a look that says ‘we will talk about this’ before turning to you. “Son, it’s time for your initiation. Are you sure you can do this?” His concern made you smile.

“I’m good, dad. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Just like that, the three of you went outside where your initiation will be held. Luckily for the both of you, Sweet Pea wasn’t allowed to join in the initiation since he and your dad will be having a conversation. It’s an order from your dad that no one can say against.

As the initiation started, Sweet Pea stood at the side worriedly together with your father, who was looking at him rather than you. He could hear the sound of a fist colliding with your face and he didn’t want to see his son going through the initiation.

“Do you really love him?” (F/n) suddenly asked Sweet Pea, causing him to avert his eyes from you to him.

The raven haired boy nodded without hesitation, “I do. Very much. Whenever I’m around him, I get this feeling that I should protect him. You know how selfless he can get.” He stated, turning back to see you getting punched again, but standing back up nonetheless.

Sweet Pea knew how strong you are. You wouldn’t back down easily, and maybe that is why he didn’t stop you from going through the initiation even when it was painful for him to watch you getting hurt.

(F/n) nods, a whole part of him agreeing to Sweet Pea that you can be really selfless at times. He could remember the time his heart broke when he saw you still caring for your mother even after everything you’ve gone through with her.

“He really is selfless. But he won’t back down without a fight, I know that. He could beat up anyone in the Serpents if he wants to. They wouldn’t stand a chance against him.” (F/n) laughed proudly.

Sweet Pea chuckled, “I agree. He’s kinda scary when he’s mad.”

They both turned back to the initiation, only to find you still standing even after all the punches were thrown. You stood your ground, fists clenched on your sides, blood running down your face and soaking your shirt. The last punch was from a serpent who had a brass knuckle and getting punched by him hurt a lot, but you didn’t give up and still stood. A cheer of happiness came from the Serpents after the initiation was finished.

Sweet Pea’s smile was huge as he rushed over to you, gently cupping your face with his hands. “You did it, baby. You did it.” He cheered, causing a small smile to appear on your face.

He was quick to lead you inside to treat your wounds, Toni and Fangs already waiting there. “You did it! You fucking did it!!” They both cheered, jumping up and down making you chuckle.

Sweet Pea starts to tend to you, treating the wounds on your face as gently as possible with the first aid kit. “You still have one initiation left, so until then I’ll make sure you’re healed.”

“And then a date after that initiation.” You added, making him smile and nod.

Toni and Fangs gaped at your conversation. “Hold on! You’re going on a date?” Fangs asked. You and Sweet Pea didn't answer him, just looked at each other and grinned. That was an enough answer for them.

“Finally! Took you two so long.” Toni grinned teasingly, causing you and Sweet Pea to roll your eyes.

Your father entered with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen him have, holding a new serpent jacket as he approached you with open arms. “(Y/n), son, you made it!” He hugged you tightly and you hugged back, feeling safe and secure in his arms. He pulled away to give you the leather jacket and you took it, wearing it and smiling proudly at yourself.

Everyone cheered and congratulated you, including Jughead’s father FP Jones. “(Y/n), congratulations!” He gave you a short hug, to which you returned.

Despite what his son did, you never blamed FP and became friends with him. You didn’t take your anger towards Jughead on him simply because it wasn’t his fault. He’s just Jughead’s father. You like him as a person and as your older friend, what Jughead did doesn’t matter anymore.

“How does it feel to be an official member of the serpents?”

“Amazing.” You answered with a big smile.

FP smiles and nods his head, but then frowned after remembering his son. You told him about what happened between you and Jughead, he felt sorry for what his son did to you. He just feels glad that you seem fine now. “Uh... (Y/n), you want me to tell Jug about you joining the serpents?”

The mention of Jughead’s name no longer affected you, and FP showed a small smile when he noticed you didn’t even flinch at the sound of his name. “No, he doesn’t need to know. It’s not his business.” You replied.

FP nods and was about to walk away when Sweet Pea appeared behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, hugging you from behind. “Babe, can’t you just skip the last initiation? We could just go to our date.” Sweet Pea whined.

You chuckle, “No can do, Sweets. I have to finish the entire initiation.” You turned around to face him while he still hugged you. “Can you wait for a little bit longer?” You asked while grabbing his face, but he went past your hands and nuzzled his face on your neck.

“I’ll try.” He managed to tell you, his voice muffled. You giggle and pet his hair, to which he whined approvingly.

FP blinked at the sight of them, shocked at the way they act. He always felt there was something between you and Sweet Pea since you two did a lot of PDA sometimes, but this was new since you always only held hands or hugged. FP turned to (F/n) quizzically as Toni and Fangs giggled at his reaction. “Oh, apparently, they’re together.” (F/n) said with a shrug, no longer bothered that his son is being touched by Sweet Pea.

“Since when?” FP asked.

“Before the Initiation.” You and Sweet Pea answered simultaneously without looking at him. FP gaped which caused Toni and Fangs to burst into laughter, holding their stomach as tears appears on their eyes from laughing too hard.

After a while, FP got over the shock and smiled. “Glad to know you moved on, (Y/n). You don’t deserve all the pain my son caused you.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t deserve my precious baby.” Sweet Pea stated possessively.

(F/n) whisled, “Possessive much of my boy, Pea?” That caused a laughter to erupt in the Whyte Wyrm, making Sweet Pea grumble and tighten his hold around you.

You smiled happily; at first, you wanted to end your miserable life to get an eternal peace. Your life only consisted of heart break and pain that you thought you were beyond saving. But Sweet Pea showed up and everything became better. He gave you a new life, a much more better life that you’ll always be thankful for. He did so much for you and you plan on doing the same thing.

“Sweet Pea?” You softly called, turning your head to look at him.

“Hmm?” He hummed with his eyes closed just enjoying your presence in his arms.

“Thank you. I love you.” Sweet Pea opened his eyes at that, a grin taking over his lips as his eyes sparkled in joy. If it’s possible, he would ask you to tell him that three words everyday.

“I love you too, (Y/n).” He replied, giving you a kiss.

Toni made a face, “Get a room!”

Okay, so going to school wearing your own Serpent jacket probably wasn’t the greatest idea. Wherever you go, everyone stared at you and giving you dirty looks, as if you’ve done the most shittiest thing. You could only careless though.

“Hey, guys.” You greeted the corefour plus Kevin after entering the student lounge and dropped on the couch, beside Veronica. They gaped at the sight of your jacket, emotions swirling in their eyes. You swore you could see a disgusted look in Betty and Jughead’s faces, but all you needed was Veronica, Archie and Kevin’s reactions.

“Oh my god.” Veronica breathes out and pushes your shoulder gently to look at the logo on your back. “Whose jacket is this? Is this yours?” She asked, but there was no hint of distaste in her tone.

“Yeah, I just joined them yesterday.” You shrugged nonchalantly.

Archie raised his brows, “Is that why you have some injury on your face?”

“Yep.” You replied. Their reaction was totally amusing, except for Betty and Jughead’s. They look at you like you’re the most disgusting person in the world. Eh, not my problem. You thought as you pulled out your phone.

Someone snatched your phone and you looked up to see Jughead standing, glaring at you. “So this was why you’ve been avoiding and ignoring us. Because you were planning on joining that gang.” He spat in anger. Betty stood beside him with a glare as well.

You just raised your brows at him, uninterested in whatever drama he’s trying to cause. “What the hell, (Y/n)!? Have you lost your mind? That gang doesn’t do anything right! They’re drug dealers, vicious people, living with violence!” He continued. The way he described them struck a core to you, something in the way he called them made something inside you snap.

You were up on your feet in an instant, gripping his collar and glaring at him dangerously. A gasp came from Veronica and Betty, but you ignored them and tightened your grip even more on Jughead’s collar. “Listen here, Jones. You don’t know anything about them and you have no right to judge what they do for living. They’re people — an actual, decent people who cares for a stranger. Not a drug dealer, not a violence freak, they’re humans. And say one more fucking thing about them, I won’t hesitate to give you what you deserve.” You threatened while showing your fist.

“(Y/n)... Jug probably deserves it, but slow down.” Archie says from behind you, confusing Jughead as he looked at Archie then back at you.

Hearing the ginger’s words, you reluctantly let go of Jughead’s collar with a glare still plastered on your eyes. “You know nothing, Jones. You don’t even know anything about what happened to me this past few weeks.” You spat. Hatred completely plastered your face as you moved your glare towards Betty, who flinched in surprise at how scary and intimidating you looked. The disgusted expression no longer visible on her face.

Jughead frowns, “What are you talking about?”

“See? You know nothing.” You said mockingly. “That day you informed me you and Cooper started dating was the day I was planning to die.” You admitted and they looked at you in shock, mouth opening slightly. “My mother always abused me, physically and mentally. Hell, even emotionally. And every time I tried to tell you, you ignored me and shrugged my problems off because it wasn’t ‘important’ to you. Cooper has always been your first priority, wasn’t she? That’s why you chose to abandon me when I needed you the most. I needed your help, but you ignored everything and went on and on about this girl.”

Jughead opened his mouth to come up with an excuse, but you quickly shut it down. “No excuse would be enough to explain what you did. Now, I’m just giving you the taste of your own medicine. I don’t want to see your face ever again because every time I do, I get the flashbacks of what happened. You were with a girl having the time of your life while I was suffering at the hands of my mother.” You glared at the couple with disgust. “I’m in disbelief that you even consider me as a friend, because I don’t anymore.”

The harshness of your words seemed to wake up something in Jughead as his breath trembled, feeling his eyes burn as tears starts to gather. “What- how would that explain why you joined them?” He stuttered, the disgusted look in your face making him lose any hope.

“They saved me from all the misery.” You felt a single tear roll down your cheek. “They gave me a home. I was able to start over because they were with me every step of the way. They taught me the importance of my life and loved me, cared for me more than anyone ever did. More than you did, more than my mother did. I joined them because they’re my home, and to prove that I don’t need you.” You stated coldly.

Somehow, for some reason, everyone heard Jughead’s heart breaking. The devastation on his face was enough for them to know he cared about you all along, but didn’t do enough to show it. Painful thing, though, is that you don’t care for him anymore. Your cold words and gaze told them you really had enough of him.

Veronica stands up and places her hand on your back. “(Y/n), come on. Let’s go. He’s not worth it.”

You stayed silent for a second before replying, “You’re right. They’re not worth it. He didn’t need me in his life — obviously I don’t need him in my life too. Just wanted him to know that.” You said calmly and walked away together with Veronica, leaving the others alone.

“You didn’t tell him about the heartbreak he caused you.” Veronica stated once you two were out of the lounge.

You scoffed, “He doesn’t need to know. Besides, my heartbreak doesn’t matter anymore.” Curiosity sparked in Veronica as you said that with small smile on your lips.

“Ohh.” She smirks, “Who’s the guy?” She asked teasingly which made you laugh. Veronica never failed to be your friend — she’s accepting and kind, sometimes a bitch, but that’s who she is. You’re sure she’ll always be your friend.

“He’s the one who found me contemplating my life.” You smiled at the memory. “He looks tough and scary, but he’s such a sweetheart. Cares for me the most, treats me right and gives me the love he claims I deserve.” Your face softens as you tell her about Sweet Pea, like you weren’t angry just a few moments ago.

Veronica stared at you as you talked; she could see the change. Your eyes spark more now and had a life of joy, even happiness. It had enough light. Your face seems a lot brighter and happier, no sign of heartbreak in sight. You looked as if you didn’t go through that extreme heartbreak and misery while living with your mother. You look healthier and more joyful, your smile now reached your eyes. She felt relieved — the Serpents seems to be the ones who changed you for the better and she couldn’t be more happier. They may be a gang, but she knew they’re good people.

“You seem a lot happier now, (Y/n).” She said, smiling softly.

A smile appeared on your face. “I am, Roni. I really am. No lies, no hiding, genuinely.”

“It feels as if the heartbreak didn’t happen.” She comments and you chuckled in agreement. “I’m glad he’s treating you right. You have a new life now, I’m a little sad that you might forget about me, Kevin and Archie.” She jokes.

You frowned, “Hey. I’ll never forget any of you. That’s a promise.” You held out your pinky finger and she chuckled, intertwining it with her pinky finger as well to promise. Your phone dings as Sweet Pea’s name appeared on the screen with a text; ‘I will pick you up today. Don’t go anywhere.’

Veronica peeked, seeing what was written and smirked. “Oooh, that’s the dream boy.” You laughed with her and nodded, agreeing.

There’s no need in telling Jughead you already have a new love, or prove to him that you’re better without him. He’s gonna know that either way. Maybe sooner than later, but you don’t care about that as long as he wouldn’t get in between you and Sweet Pea. Now that you found a new genuine and real love, there’s no way you’ll let anyone tear you two apart.

“(Y/n)—”

“Stop it, Jones!” You shoved Jughead away as soon as his hand grabbed your arm after the school ended and glared at him. “I told you, I don’t want to do anything with you. Why is it hard for you to understand?”

“I want to make it up to you!” Jughead made a move again to touch you, but you quickly smacked his hands away.

“You can’t when I don’t want you to.” You spat and walked away, only for him to grab your arm again stronger this time. The other corefours and Kevin yelled for Jughead to just let you go, but he doesn’t listen.

Just as when you were about to punch him in the face, someone pulled you away from him and felt a warmth on your back. “Get the fuck away from him!” Sweet Pea shouted angrily at Jughead, embracing you with one arm and pointing at him.

People around the school whispered and gossiped to each other as Sweet Pea continued to glare at Jughead, while you start relaxing in his arms. “Sweet Pea,” They were surprised at the softness in your voice. “Let’s just go, he’s not worth it. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Baby, he was touching you without your consent.” Sweet Pea clenched his jaw, still glaring at Jughead.

A look of surprise flashed across their face, except for Veronica who already knew about Sweet Pea. You glanced at the beanie-wearing boy and shook your head, gently grabbing your boyfriend’s hand. “It’s okay. You came. If something happened, dad’s gonna take care of him.” You softly say, rubbing circles on his hand with your thumb.

Sweet Pea looks at you and his eyes immediately softened, looking down at your intertwined hands, then looking up at you before back at Jughead. “You touch him again and I’ll break your face.” He threatened and pulled you with him towards a car, Fangs and Tony inside of it.

After getting into the passenger seat, you waved at Veronica, Archie and Kevin to say goodbye as Sweet Pea pulled off of the parking lot.

“That’s him? Your ex best friend?” Toni asked as she pointed outside at Jughead, while Fangs stared at the boy. You nodded with a tired sigh, having enough of dealing with that ex best friend for today. “Yikes, Sweets is much better than him.” She grimaced and earned a laughter from Fangs.

“Much, much better.” You agreed and looked over at Sweet Pea, who also looked back at you before pecking you on the lips quickly. Grinning widely, you intertwined his hand with yours as he drove the car towards the Northside.

Entering the bar, you quickly made your way towards (F/n) and pulled him in a hug to which surprised him, but hugged back nonetheless. “What’s wrong, prince?” His gentle voice asked, stroking your back. You just shook your head and continued hugging him to let him know you appreciated everything about this new life.

“What happened, Sweet Pea?” Your father asked Sweet Pea next, who came in with Toni and Fangs after you rushed towards him.

The tall serpent sighs, “That Jones boy was bothering him in school. He was really annoyed.”

“Is that true, (Y/n)?” (F/n) pulled away from you to ask and you nodded your head. “Yeah, but I’m okay, dad. I know you’d kick his ass if he annoyed me more than he already did.” You joked, earning a chuckle from him.

After that, you pulled Sweet Pea to the side to have a talk with him. “Pea, thank you for everything. Really. And I want you to know that I’m not going away.”

That made him grin widely, pulling you in a hug as he nuzzled his face in your neck. “You don’t have to thank me, (Y/n). I’m not letting you go now that I have you.” You smiled, hugging him back and closing your eyes as you enjoyed his scent.

This is your new life; happier, brighter, lovelier new life that you’d do anything to keep. You’re happy and content now — there’s nothing else you would ask for. Everything you went through was painful, but perhaps it was just a step to your happiness and you felt glad that you managed to endure it.

Having Sweet Pea with you is enough — no heartbreak, no suffering, no sadness. Just love, happiness and contentment.

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vestzmc · 4 years ago

Text

Ok I’ve been thinking about this for a long while after watching the stream a second time but bruhh since Karl said that the second game was canon instead of the first game, blind villager Corpse is then canon! So now imagine this poor orphan boy Robin stumbling into a village that has a dislike to orphans due to them taking up resources and the only one who defends and takes him in is this blind man who has long discarded his old name and is called Corpse by the townspeople.

- SPOILERS for those who hasn’t watched Karl’s VOD -

Corpse takes care of Robin after seeing how reliable he could be and hearing his story on how he lost his parents. He listens to the orphan ramble and talk, often telling Robin to describe him what the world looks like and what he sees, what’s going on in the village or how his day has been. Robin was his eyes and his company along with his housemate Cornelius who would enjoy Robin’s rambling as well in their small home. Corpse had offered the Cornelius his home due to people already taking most of the village houses. He can’t hear the man a lot as he’s not very talkative, often preferring to read a book than starting up a conversation. The other villagers says he looks really strange but he was a blind man so who was he to judge. That was fine by Corpse. It was a family found in dark times.

Murders started to arise, causing the village’s civilians to change from their nice personalities into desperate accusers as the murderers hide under the cloak of night. Corpse is a blind man but he still experienced the night someone broke into his home and killed Cornelius. They knocked him off to the side as he heard them slaughter his partner while binding a gag over his mouth to prevent him from calling out for help.

The village accused him and Robin of the murder the next morning. The people were to choose who to be executed after the village meeting has came into a conclusion. He tries to tell them they weren’t guilty which was immediately ignored. Robin cries quietly by his side.

“Robin.”

He hears a sniffle, then a watery reply. “Yes Corpse?”

“What does the jail look like.”

Robin gave a pause, wearily looking over to where they’re being lead to.

“It’s small, box like. It seems to be made out of dark stones. There’s two levers for the door and the lava pit. Some bars are by the side of it’s doors.”

Corpse gave a thoughtful hum. The place doesn’t sound inviting at all.

“Corpse I’m scared.” Robin whispers, hand clutching the blind man’s own.

“It’s gonna be ok, it’s gonna be ok.” Corpse reassures the boy, the orphan, his son. They’re going to kill his family. Steeling his nerves as Robin continues to hold onto him like a lifeline he waits for the votes, praying for it to be him.

Corpse has lived his life, Robin hasn’t.

And his wishes comes true. The decision has fallen and they call for Corpse death. He hears Robin screaming and crying, a couple of grunting and exclamations of “ow he bit me!” some distance behind him as he enters the jail.

“No, no, no - Corpse!!!” Robin begs by the bars, holding out to him.

“It’s gonna be ok, don’t worry Robin.”

“Corpse,” Robin sobs as he holds on to his hand desperately. “You were like a father to me.”

The words sent painful warmth to the blind man’s heart. He’s glad, he’s so glad he brought some joy into the life of a child who has lost everything. Is about to loose everything. He felt the floor disappear underneath him and the heat of fire rushing up to consume him. The last thing Corpse heard was Robin screaming.

The village went back to their homes, paranoia still going through their head. Not Helga though. She went around making a ruckus along with much noise which bothered the other neighbors. She has always lived her life wild and free despite her age which is quite impressive.

Robin slept at the jail, not wanting to go back to the house. Small and empty with lingering traces of a life he used to have before this village has gone mad. Corpse and Cornelius is gone. There was no point. He wants his parents, he wants his family. He wants to be in Corpse warm embrace again as he tells him about the insects and bugs he had found on his walk through the forest or listen to Cornelius complaining about how much Jack keeps making fun of his name. No longer does he have anyone to describe what a sunset looks like, nor anyone to teach him how to read fairy tales and write.

He never spoke another word till he died the next morning by the hands of the people who never cared for him in the first place.

#i think my hands got possessed #jesus #dream smp #i speak #tales from the smp #the village that went mad #tubbo #dreamwastaken #spoilers n stuff #this is angst what did you expect #tales! corpse

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sarcasticallybee · 4 years ago

Text

Love through the blood and tears

Laito x reader

Summary

You lived with the sakamakis before Yui. You're a failed experiment to Karlheins. When his spawn fail to kill you he takes matters into his own hands when you're alone.

You screamed as Karlheins kicked you into the wall. He was angry. Angrier than you'd ever seen him.

You'd only ever seen him 3 times before this and each time it was a family meeting. You weren't invited.

"What did I tell you!? You're supposed to be dead. Dead. Dead. Dead." He kicked your stomach with each 'dead'.

"Sir-" another lung crushing kick.

"If my ignorant sons won't kill you I'll do it for them!" He snarled. Reaching down he gripped your hair, yanking you up.

"Please," you sobbed, "please stop."

Your face was swollen from crying and loose hair was sticking to your cheeks.

"I'll leave. I'll go away. Just please. Please stop." You lied, sniffling trying to tug his hand away from your scalp.

"Like hell." Then he threw you.

You flew into the staircase the railing breaking, splinters of wood falling to the ground with you.

You screamed as you skidded across the floor, the broken pieces of railing surrounding you.

"You think you have the right to ask me for mercy. The audacity of humans never fails to amaze me." He laughed.

"Stop!" You begged as your head pounded. Looking up you felt something warm dripping down your face. You reached up to wipe it away and winced. Blood.

"Oh how easily you bleed." Karlheins mocked.

Sitting up you pushed yourself away from him. It was nearing 2 in the morning. The boys and Yui should be here any minute.

"I don't know why you're doing this, but please just leave me alone." You whimpered grabbing a piece of the railing.

"You can't stop me, you won't stop me." He growled stepping closer.

You pushed yourself up and ran in the opposite direction, towards the door.

"Pathetic." He sighed annoyed. You didnt stand a chance.

You flew into the nearest wall coughing as the air left your lungs.

"You. Can't. Run." He grinned his fangs showing. His hand tightened around your neck and the other pushed the hair out of your face.

You cried out when he slid his thumb over your forehead, the blood smearing onto it. Then he licked it.

"You're still so sweet. A shame." You could feel the tears well up as you began to realize you were alone. No one was going to save you.

Closing your eyes you went limp in his hold.

"Please don't tell me you just fainted. That would take the thrill out of killing such a meaningless creature." He mock pouted. You didn't open your eyes. You knew if you did he'd snap your neck.

You didn't want to die. You don't want to die. There was so much more you wanted to do. Needed to do. Laito. You wanted to tell Laito you loved him. You wanted to see him laugh at you as you got flustered. You wanted to promise him you'd never leave him, like his mother did. That he was your one and only. Fuck. You couldn't die.

Opening your eyes you met the eyes of the man who helped create your lover. The man who helped destroy his idea of love. The man who wanted to kill you.

"No." You said your voice cracking a little.

"No?" He laughed as if you'd told a joke. "You're telling me, no?"

"I will not die. I refuse to die." You snarled as you began to claw at his arms.

"Fucking hell." The vampire sighed. "Too bad. I'm going to-" he was cut off as the mansion doors slammed open.

"Y/n are you okay?! I smelled-" Laito stopped in his tracks. You could only imagine what he saw.

"Father. What the fuck are you doing?"

"Laito, Laito, Laito. I told you and your brothers to kill this thing." Karlheins tutted as he threw you to the ground in front of him. In between him and his sons.

You cried out as you crashed to the floor, your head spinning momentarily.

"Your point?" Laito asked as he took a step forward.

"My point being since you all were too incompetent, I'll do it for you." Your eyes widened before you felt his grip on your ankle.

"No!" You looked up to see Laito leaping at you, as his father dragged you upwards. You hung in his father's grip.

"Laito please. This girl is no longer necessary." He sighed shaking you. You blinked away the tears as they slid down your face, dripping onto the floor.

"To you." You heard Laito say, muffled by the ringing that was in your ears.

That was the last thing you heard before Laito launched at you and his father.

The other 5 brothers stared in shock as they watched Laito fight Karl, trying to get to you. Reiji nearly jumped when Karl threw you to the side. You crumbled to the ground without a sound.

Ayato held on to Yui watching as Laito fought for you. He'd never seen his brother look so desperate. When he saw you get thrown into the wall he lightly pushed Yui to the side, behind his other brothers.

Karl was distracted by Laito so he ran, scooping you up into his arms, nearly dropping you again when the scent of your blood actually hit him.

He knew he had to get you away now though. Laito cared about you. More than he'd seen Laito care about anything.

Running back to his siblings he slid to a stop as Karl walked right in front of him.

"Tsk." Ayato clicked his tongue. "Hey old man, you're in my way."

"Ayato. Give me the girl."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"You deaf? No."

Ayato glared the vampire king down. He wasn't going to give in. Making eye contact with Laito and Reiji he nodded

Faking to the left he sped to the right giving your crumpled form to Laito as Reiji blocked Karl.

"Damn it. You boys are so troublesome." Karl snarled pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Then leave." Shu raised his eyebrows.

"We didn't invite you." Kanato agreed hugging Teddy.

"She is going to die. With or without me." He hissed at the siblings glaring at Laito in particular.

"Fuck off." Laito growled. With that their dad was gone, and the house was covered in your blood.

You groaned as your head pounded. Your eyes were crusted shut and your hair was sticking to your face with blood and tears.

You tried to open your eyes but they refused to open. Reaching up with your right hand you nearly screamed in pain. Your ribs ached. Your arm felt like it was dislocated. Or it had been. Everything hurt.

Reaching up with the left you rubbed the crust away, your eyes opening slowly. You weren't in your room. You were in Laitos' room. The green comforter was heavy, and the curtains were closed.

"Laito?" You called out quietly, shocked by how croaky your voice really was. You saw a figure in the corner and tensed up.

"Not Laito." I heard the voice answer. Your eyes widened as you tried to throw the comforter off of yourself.

"Oh no. Don't even try that." The voice chirped as they jumped at you.

With him closer you noted that the male was blonde with blue eyes.

"No!" You screamed as he shoved you down, straddling you.

With him on top of you, he wrapped his hands around your throat.

"You've caused quite a lot of grief. Now you'll die." You struggled under his hold as he cut off your air supply.

"Noo!"

Jumping awake you reached for your throat. Laito. You needed Laito.

You winced as you pushed the comforter away. You were in a pair of shorts and one of Laitos' button ups.

Pushing yourself off the bed, your legs collapsed underneath you. You cried out as everything crashed into you.

"Laito!" You cried tears streaming down your face.

"Y/n?! Y/n! What's wrong?" Laito held your face in his hands. Crying harder you reached up to hold his hands to your face.

"Oh Laito. I love you. I love you so much. I know you said never say I love you, I know you said never to but i-" you choked on your tears. "I love you, Laito." You cried collapsing into his arms.

You felt him stiffen up as you sobbed into his shirt. You shouldn't have said anything. You should've just let Karlheins kill you.

"I'm sorry." You heard Laito say.

You felt your heart stop. He didn't love you. He didn't love you back. You made a fool of yourself. How could you be so stupid? You were so-

He must've felt you freeze because he held onto you tighter.

"I'm- I meant I'm sorry that I wasn't here when you needed me. I- I think I love you too. Seeing you like that, like this it kills me. I care about you so much. I care so much and it scares me."

Looking up at him you reached around his neck and pulled him into you.

"I'm okay I think." You whispered. He laughed at you before pulling away slowly.

"Y/n. Can I- can I kiss you? Please." Staring into his eyes you laughed.

"Just kiss me." You shook your head pulling him onto your lips.

It was a passionate kiss. The kind that makes you lose your breath. Yet it was soft. So soft. His fangs grazed your lips slightly, and it made you smile.

Pulling apart he stayed close to your lips, holding onto your face.

"I thought I lost you." He whispered.

"I thought I was never going to be able to tell you I loved you." You whispered back.

That caused him to let out a loud laugh.

"You nearly died and you were worried you hadn't told me you loved me?" He breathed out.

"Yeah." You sighed looking into his eyes. "Yeah."

#laito sakamaki #laito x reader #laito sakamaki x reader #diabolik lovers #angst #laito x reader angst #laito sakamaki x reader angst

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icefire149 · 3 years ago

Note

Fluff prompts. 51 + destiel :)

Heyyyy there <3 I'm so sorry how long this took to write. Between my own life throwing hurdles, THIS FIC.....this fic just kept throwing me in the trunk and taking control of the car. I'm so sorry it sprung a million miles away from fluff immediately. I don't know why when I mediated on the prompt my mind went this way and didn't stop. I hope you still enjoy what ended up happening anyways <333

#51 “I will love you forever and when ‘forever’ ends, I’ll love you some more.”

Dean’s heart stopped the moment they fell through the portal rift. His body hit the bunker floor with a loud thump, but so did Castiel’s. It wasn’t until a moment later when Cas wiggled to sit up, slamming the palm of his hand onto the floor as he gasped for air, that Sam felt his stomach drop.

“Dean?” Sam shouted, dropping to his knees at his brother’s side. He shook Dean’s shoulder with increasing roughness.

With wide eyes, Cas pushed forward searching Dean’s face for any sign of life. “He was…..Sam, he was just-”

“He’s not breathing.” Sam muttered in shock before surging forward to start pressing on his brother’s chest. “What did he do, Cas! A deal?”

“No!” His whole body started trembling. What he wanted was to lay his hands on Dean’s head and wake him up, but there was nothing he could do now. His fingers lightly grazed across the bandage Dean quickly taped on his neck. There wasn’t an ounce of grace left.

Squeezing his hands into fists, Cas glanced around the room. Besides the three of them and the bowl the brothers must have used for the spell, the room was bare. “Where’s Jack?”

Sam kept his eyes glued to his brother’s face. His jaw tightened. “A lot’s happened since you died. Jack’s God now so he left.”

“He’s what?” Furious, Cas pushed Sam’s hands aside and took over compressions. He slammed a single fist into Dean’s chest, rocking the man’s whole body from the impact. Still, Dean didn’t wake.

Cas leaned close, listening and feeling for breath against his skin. His mouth quivered as he sat up feeling for a pulse. “No,” his voice commanded.

He started compressions, pressing harder than Sam dared. Dean’s limbs convulsed. “You failed, to mention, that you let, our son, become God,” he growled in between beats, letting his eyes trail up to Dean’s face. “You promised, me, forever! You promised. You promised.”

“You’re….breaking his rib cage,” Sam’s voice broke. His eyes were wide with horror as he watched his brother’s chest concave more than he thought possible. “Cas?” Sam’s voice shook. He rested a shaky hand on the angel’s shoulder.

“You don’t, get to die,” Cas mumbled, ignoring Sam’s presence. His hands paused for a moment as he took a deep breath. The sound of his own heart racing was like a loud boom, pounding on his eardrums. “Jack Kline, you will come home right now.”

Cas resumed compressions. Again, and again. He blinked the beading tears away, but they quickly filled his eyes. His hands, the bunker, Dean….they all blurred away as he kept beating to the rhythm of his nightmare.

The tears ran hot down his cheeks while he blinked. He needed to keep Dean in his sight. Dean was his beacon home. Sniffling, Cas couldn’t stop.

Sam withdrew his hand. “Cas?” his voice was so small and afraid like several decades were suddenly torn away.

Then as Cas pressed, he finally turned to glance at Sam. His voice cracked, "We're gonna need an ambulance."

At that, Sam flew to his feet, feeling for his phone before spotting it on the nearby table. He was unlocking it when a blinding light filled the room.

"Castiel?"

“Fix him.” Cas didn’t look up. He kept pounding on Dean’s chest. His compressions had only lessened a fraction in strength.

But Jack didn’t move from where he stood on the other side of Dean. His gaze moved over to Sam, and the fear circling there twisted the hunter’s gut into knots. “But I…..” Slowly, he dropped down to a knee, and then the other. “Cas,” his voice cracked. “There’s a bigger picture that I’m apart of now. I promised to protect it. I promised not to interfere.”

“And I, promised, to protect you,” Cas answered, halting compressions. He remained hunched over Dean with his hands still pressed over his heart. The angel’s eyes squished shut as quiet sob tore through him.

New tears slid down his already soaked face, hugging his jaw. “I can’t do that without saving him one more time. He promised me forever.” His gaze slid up to meet his son’s with fiery determination. “Jack, it’s too soon to be his time.”

“Okay.” Jack laid his hands next to his father’s. He closed his eyes, and breathed.

Dean gasped awake with three sets of eyes staring at him from above. The angels withdrew their hands.

Sam fell back into the chair at his side. His whole body sagged with exhaustion. “Thank you.”

“What happened?” Dean’s stare bounced back and forth between everyone. He slowly sat up, and Jack collided into him first.

Pressing his chin into Dean’s shoulder, Jack collapsed into him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

A few coughs tore through Dean’s body, but he kept a hand on the center of Jack’s back the whole time. When his breathing settled, Dean hugged him back. Also with his free hand, he laid a hand on Cas’ knee.

“I felt it….when I healed you. Everything,” Jack confessed quietly. “Your heart gave out.”

Dean snorted at that. “That’s not much of a surprise, kid.” His eyes met his brother’s. “Sammy’s been telling me for years the bacon was gonna get me.”

“No.” Jack hung on tighter. “It was grief. The loss of Cas…….me. It weakened your heart, but I knitted it all back together again.”

“Oh.” Dean’s grip on Cas’ leg tightened.

“I didn’t know you would miss me.” The words came out quiet enough that Dean wasn’t sure if Jack meant to speak them out loud. And then Jack started to let go, but Dean held on tighter.

“I’m an expert at messing up….heh, well, everything in my life, but yeah, of course Jack. Of course, I missed you.”

The rest of the day felt almost too good to be true. They all climbed into the impala -Dean drove much to Sam’s dismay- and they went out to their favorite diner closest to the bunker.

Over their favorite meals, Jack began going over his progress and plans for all of creation. There were several parts where his excitement was palpable, but he clearly was trying to be mature about the situation under Cas’ scrutinizing eye. Sam followed after, explaining in detail the spell work him and Rowena poured over crafting the past several months. Intermittently, Dean cut in to proudly point out where his research came in handy and how him and Eileen went about gathering the ingredients.

Afterwards, Jack looked up from his dessert with chocolate syrup smeared at the corner of his mouth. His eyes narrowed as he studied Dean closely. “Now that Castiel is free, what are you planning on doing now?”

Surprised, Dean leaned back in the booth. “That’s not my call.” He wrapped an arm around Cas’ shoulders. “Any ideas?”

“No more dying,” Cas answered firm, taking a long drink from his beer. His steely gaze slowly moved to each person at the table. “That goes for all of you.”

“And you too,” Jack pressed.

“Of course.” Cas shivered involuntarily. “I’m not planning on returning to the Empty any time soon.”

“You shouldn’t, ever,” Sam answered. “That was the push behind removing your grace. Without it the Empty shouldn’t have any claim over you.”

“Thank you,” Cas answered, picking at the label on his beer bottle.

“You’ll never go back.” The tone in Jack’s voice lifted Cas’ gaze to his. “When the time comes, you’ll have a place at my side. Forever.”

Smiling softly, the tension drained away from Cas’ body. “Thank you, Jack. That’s an honor.”

“You’ll all have an important place,” Jack continued happily. “Mary too. And my mother.”

That night had a difficult start. Jack reluctantly left for Heaven. He promised to return for the following weekend to discuss his duties further with Cas. And Cas, he held onto his son for so long that Jack in between his laughter had to appeal to Sam and Dean for help getting free.

It wasn’t long later that Sam got up from the library chairs they were all located at and rested a hand on Cas’ shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re back. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight Sam,” Cas answered. He watched Sam cross over to Dean and punch his shoulder teasingly.

Once Sam was out of sight, Dean’s gaze landed on Cas. Dean rubbed the back of his neck. “Today, uh, didn’t exactly go as planned, but….I’m glad it happened.”

Cas’ stare hardened. “Dean, you died.”

“And I got better.”

Sighing, Cas’ gaze fell to his lap. He chewed at the inside of his cheek. “I can’t do that again.”

“Well, I can’t watch you die for….what? The fourth? The fifth time?”

Wincing, Cas nodded. “You asked me earlier….or rather, Jack asked you, what we’re planning on doing next and-” He sat up straighter in his chair and held Dean’s stare. “I want us to retire from hunting.”

Gobsmacked, Dean blinked. “Retire?”

“Doing research. Providing assistance on the phones….that’s all still acceptable and I’m willing to compromise on that.”

Dean chuckled, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Cas repeated, not quite believing what he was hearing.

“Yeah.” Dean nodded with a grin. “I’ve been bugging Sam for a couple years now about retiring…..especially if Jack could make things better...like the future that you saw.”

“Oh.” Cas tilted his head a bit. “I didn’t realize that you took that to heart.”

“I didn’t at first,” he admitted. “You died, and I figured that it was all one huge manipulation. Gabriel’s illusions. Lucifer’s lies.” Cas nodded, and Dean continued. “But then, you came home and….it became hard not to see so much of...you in him.”

“He’s a good boy, but I’m afraid that you’re placing too much….credit? On my shoulders.”

Dean’s grin widened. “Jack’s good, because he has the best father to emulate. There’s nobody else that fights….and sacrifices...to do the right thing like you.”

The corner of Cas’ mouth curved. “And they’re probably better off for it….”

“Cas, come on.” Dean sighed. “Okay, you did your big speech about how you see me….well suck it up, because you need to learn to see yourself the way everyone else sees you.”

Cas rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious,” Dean pressed. “Like yeah, things don’t always go as we planned. I sure as hell know Chuck didn’t plan on being fired and left in the dirt, but….the point is that, you’re probably the best guy in existence.”

That knocked the air out of Cas’ lungs and slapped a goofy smile on his face. “You’re biased.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m wrong, and I’m not.”

Cas shook his head, but that smile was still firmly there. “Thank you, Dean.”

“Come on,” Dean said standing up. He reached a hand out towards the angel. “It’s time for bed.”

Without hesitation, Cas took his hand but he didn’t rise from his chair. He stared at the marvel that was Dean’s skin pressed against his. It was callused in a few places, but still softer than Castiel imagined.

His gaze lifted up to meet Dean’s and a pang of anxiety wrapped around his chest. The joy slipped from his face.

“What’s wrong?” Dean’s grip tightened.

“What if I don’t wake up? Statistically, there’s a chance I’m still asleep in the Empty.”

Dean tugged Cas’ arm, and the angel let himself be pulled forward and engulfed in Dean’s arms. They clung onto each other tightly.

“You’re here,” Dean pressed. “This is real. I’ll remind you every day if I have to. I meant what I said when you woke up.”

“And then you almost didn’t get to fulfill that promise.”

“I would’ve,” Dean said, in a matter of fact. Pulling back, his eyes trailed over every inch of Cas’ face. He brought a hand up to cup the angel’s cheek, and then Dean leaned forward to press a kiss to Cas’ forehead. “Where ever my soul would've ended up, nothing was gonna change. I’d still love you.”

Cas raised an eyebrow. “So you’re promising, forever-forever?”

Chuckling, Dean dropped his head so his forehead was on Cas’ shoulder. “Yeah,” he breathed, laughing still. “When forever ends, I’ll just love you some more.”

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#spn #my writing #despite this taking me a million different directions i'm really happy with how this story came out #i'm incredibly fond #i'm sorry for the initial pain. it gets sweet!

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