#hawks: 'so anyway here's a bag with the remains of the man I killed inside'
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BnHA Chapter 240: PLIFF
Previously on BnHA: Shigaraki âThanosâ Tomura gleefully reduced an entire city to dust while laughing maniacally. You know, villain things. He almost turned Re-Destro to dust as well, but Re-Destro got around that by chopping off his own legs. Like it was no big. I still havenât quite managed to process that yet. Anyway, so everyone was real impressed by Tomura at this point, because how could you not be, and to sum things up, Re-Destro basically accepted him as his lord and savior and handed the Meta Liberation Army over to him. So now Shigaraki Tomura, noted crazy person and heir to All for Oneâs empire, who has just upgraded his quirk so as to be able to destroy basically anything within an unknown range without even having to touch the thing directly, and who has also pledged to destroy the entire world, has an army. And he also has Gigantomachia, who was watching him all hearts-in-eyes while he did his thing. So all in all this has been a very productive arc for the League of Villains. And meanwhile, the League of Everyone Else may want to think about changing their name to âLeague of People About To Be Incredibly Fucking Screwed.â
Today on BnHA: The League of Villains, in what is clearly the best rebranding move since New Coke, renames itself the âParanormal Liberation Frontâ, a.k.a. PLF, a.k.a. PLIFF because thatâs what it instantly became in my head and you canât stop me. Among PLIFFâs Finest is newly initiated member Hawks, whose mystery bag is finally confirmed to have contained exactly what we all thought it was going to contain. I donât even want to talk about that. Iâm still in denial. But also weirdly thrilled. Iâm terrible. Anyway, so Hawks is all â:) weâre fucked,â agreeing with the consensus the general fandom has come to over the past week, and palling around with his new best friend Dabi as he frantically tries to come up with some kind of plan. Maybe the heroes can try rebranding themselves as âthe Supernatural Emancipation Cavalry.â That wouldnât really solve anything, but itâd be funny to watch the villains come to realize theyâre being mocked. Sorry but yâall brought this on yourselves.
(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)Â Â
so I received an ask from a very kind anon warning me to be careful of spoilers for this chapter. thank you, anon! rest assured that I have been very cautious, and am pleased to inform everyone that Iâm diving in spoiler-free this week. so bring on your Kacchan hero names, your Best Jeanist heads, your new Deku quirks, and whatever other twists you want to toss my way, manga. but especially that first one. this arc has been fantastic, but now that itâs wrapping up, I miss my kids and I would like to check in with them soon. they grow up so fast and time is precious
so apparently the title for this chapter is âPowerâ, which could mean lots of things, but I imagine itâs not something that bodes well for our heroes. honestly does anything bode well for them at this point. theyâre not having much luck on the boding front
oh cool, a time jump! so this is apparently now one week after âthe deadly battle.â wow, way to sum everything up in the blandest terms possible while still being accurate. like, yeah, that is what it was, but somehow it doesnât quite communicate the full magnitude of what actually went down, you know?
anyway so the town basically looks like it got hit by a fucking meteor
new crack theory that a time-traveling Shigaraki Tomura is what actually killed the dinosaurs
wow would you fucking look at this
I guess this is the BnHA version of âan unfortunate training exerciseâ
also I like how they didnât think it would be believable that one sleepy boi could cause all of this destruction, so they amped it up to twenty fucking guys instead. sob. why did they even bother giving Tomura an army. he is an army
lol the bullshit continues
âreporting to you live from Deika City, an innocent and wholesome country town in no way affiliated with an extreme right-wing quirk supremacist movement, where citizens recently found themselves victims of an entirely unprovoked attack by no fewer than twenty, and definitely more than six, villains. the brave citizens proceeded to fight them off, and definitely killed them all and didnât surrender to them and elect their leader as their new god. also the president of Detnerat just happened to be there. just coincidentally. he definitely was not the one who instigated the entire thing. when asked for comment, Mr. Yotsubashi responded, quote, ânonsense, Iâm no hero. would you call a man a hero just because he fought off an army of villains alone and selflessly sacrificed his own legs to ensure that justice prevailed? would you call that heroic? poppycosh. thatâs just the kind of man I am. I wouldnât call myself brave. âhumble,â maybe. âhandsomeâ, perhaps. but a hero? no. Iâm just an everyday, all-around good type of person, thatâs all.â so there you have it. truly a courageous figure. a gallant example of truly stellar fortitude and virtue. we need more Yotsubashi Rikiyas in these trying times. back to you, Jeffâ
anyway, so the media in BnHA. fairly gullible, huh?
so now the report is concluding with a statement that the investigation is still ongoing. uh huh. damn they really got away scot-free with all this, huh
and weâre cutting to a close-up of sushi! oh my god. Compress have your dreams finally come true at last
yesssss oh my god. Iâm so happy for him
(ETA: on my second read-through I paid attention to try to see whether or not Compress had finally gotten a new robot arm, but itâs impossible to tell. heâs only using his right hand here, and later on when he goes on stage with the rest of them heâs wearing his usual trenchcoat and gloves. Iâm just gonna assume he finally got the upgrade he wanted, though. nice to see you so content, Mister I-Ran-Around-A-Lot.)
excuse me, what, Dabi? he didnât even do anything?? as opposed to you, who basically just set yourself on fire and glared at Frogurt for half a dozen chapters?? donât hurt yourself climbing back down from that high horse you punk
lol what
I donât even have to scroll down to the rest of this page to immediately know this is some bullshit. sheâs not dead. out of everyone in the League sheâs probably third most important after Tomura and Mr. You-Didnât-Even-Do-Anything above. her quirk is too plot-critical for her to actually be dead. youâre not gonna kill off the ONLY GIRL IN THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS, either. Horikoshi who do you even think youâre fooling
ah, yep
Togaaaaaaaaa omg. Iâd hug you but youâd stab me. but Iâm so happy to see you my precious baby girl
and it actually makes sense for Twice to be mourning the clone, though, and Iâm glad they showed it. because he of all people understands that the clone is the person to at least some degree. like, itâs nice that he doesnât just view them as disposable and he respects them. heâs so nice omfg
anyway so it looks like heâs back to being crazy though
oh well, it was nice while it lasted. at least he doesnât appear traumatized anymore. and he has a boyfriend now too. where is Giran anyway
now fucking Skeptic is walking in like heâs on the set of a fucking sitcom
[canned audience laughter]
nice touch on the following page with Hanabata starting to refer to Re-Destro as âThe Supreme...â before catching himself and amending it to just âRe-Destroâ
oh wow
damn, LoV, yâall went from poverty straight to the .01%. talk about an upgrade
oh my god thereâs a secret passage
oh my god it leads to a secret basement
trying not to think about the last time we were in a secret villain basement. this isnât like that. relax. that arc is over now. deep breaths
holy shit
this is like the fucking Mines of Moria. complete with a Balrog. jesus christ
omg look who got himself a BRAND NEW SUIT AND TIE ENSEMBLE oh shiiit
is that a fucking fur-lined coat. Shigaraki Tomura has officially upgraded to KHR Villain status. what a little shit. I adore you, you son of a bitch
and I thought he destroyed all the hands?? come on dude, I know itâs like your signature look, but I was hoping we were going in a different direction from here on out. ah well
wow, Horikoshi
just once. just once I would like this man to leave a plothole unaddressed for more than one page. god I love this manga
anyway so theyâre fully lampshading the fact that this one hand somehow miraculously survived, and theyâre all âI guess itâs his trademark, huh?â yep, thatâs right. his lewk. now be quiet, you two. which of us is doing the recap here
so now RD is up on stage showing off the weirdest fucking wheelchair Iâve ever seen, and singing Tomuraâs praises
itâs remarkable how quickly his ego adapted to his brand new role as head of Tomuraâs PR. he almost seems to be enjoying this more than when he was the leader
oh shit??
A NEW NAME?? oh my god. edge of my seat. canât wait. take it away boys
LOOOOOOOL what
sob this makes it sound like they do ghost investigations. is there a League of Villains Buzzfeed Unsolved AU. this is what happens when you put the otaku in charge of the name
just. why paranormal. they thought it sounded cool?? and am I really supposed to type out PLF and not pronounce it like âpliffâ in my head moving forward?? yeah, thatâs not happening. you guys are now PLIFF. congratulations
thank god theyâve still got Tomura to lend legitimacy to this whole ridiculous operation. god, thereâs something I never thought Iâd say. Tomura why are you now the part of the League -- excuse me, PLIFF -- that I actually take the most seriously. god
yâall heard the man. whatever we want. this is happening. just remember kid, you gave me permission
holy shit you guys is that motherfucking Carvel!?!? I was staring at the panel all âWHO IS THISâ and wondering if theyâd somehow brought Kizuki back to life, oh my god. Iâm fucking dying send help. he looks like Galaxy Express 999. my brain is short-circuiting
anyway so everyone is all HOORAY WE LOVE THIS and theyâre all cheering
HOMBGLKDF
DSLFKSHDLGK HEY BOY, HOW ARE YOU LIKING BEING A MEMBER OF THIS NEW HERE VILLAIN CULT. WHEREâS THE FUCKING BAG, HAWKS
SDFKSJDLFKSDLKFH A FLASHBACK AHHHHHH
I CANâT TURN THE PAGE OH GOD NO SOMEBODY ELSE DO IT
OH MOTHERFUCKING SHIT
my jaw just. fucking. -- -----------
okay Hawks. fucking explain. how did you do it. is it a fake?? surely itâs not the real deal?? oh god, the memes have now become terribly real. I have no choice but to embrace this with even more stupid jokes and memes as a coping mechanism or Iâm gonna lose it
but for real, they didnât seriously do my boy Jeanist like that. Paramount Optimal Jeanist did not survive a point-blank attack from motherfucking All For One just to get shanked by Hawks so that he could get good with PLIFF, only to be, and I quote, âtoo late...!â
(ETA: and on readthrough #2, Dabi does indeed bring up the fact that this might not actually be Jeanistâs corpse. âsetting aside the issue of whether he is who you say he is...â so even he acknowledges that shenanigans could be afoot.
but he seems convinced itâs a real body at the very least. though did it never occur to you that he could have just picked it up from the morgue, dude? thatâs gonna be my go-to theory for now at any rate.)
is now a good time for me to bring up something Iâve been wondering about for a while, which is how Bakugou is going to take this? yes, Bakugou. âokay makeste, I know heâs your favorite and I know you miss him, but what kind of mental cartwheels are you doing in order to make this situation with Hawks and PLIFF somehow relate to Bakugou Katsuki, whom we last saw twenty fucking chapters ago, and who has absolutely nothing to do with this?â
well Iâm glad you asked, and you see, itâs because (a) the internship, and (b) because we already know Katsuki blames himself for at least one heroâs downfall as a result of what happened in Kamino, and I could easily see him having a similar response to Best Jeanistâs injury and subsequent disappearance. like, we already know this shit is all over the news. and Bakugou knows Jeanist personally. and so now what with him being missing, I canât help but wonder if heâll blame himself again for being the reason Jeanist was there at Kamino, and lost a lung, and so forth
and I realize this tangent is coming sort of out of left field, but seeing as this arc is finally wrapping up, and we can expect to cut back to the U.A. kids again soon, I just figured Iâd bring it up now, because weâll see if Iâm right or not shortly
anyway. so letâs get back on topic. best dead Jeanist. oh god
but it seems like it did, at least, finally convince Dabi of Hawksâs sincere villainous intentions. so we have that one minor win, I guess. congratulations Hawks, now you know about the secret villain basement and their new rebranding. was it worth it you bastard
oh shit. actually, maybe it was. because now he understands just how incredibly screwed they are sob
so he doesnât know for sure about the Noumu yet. so Tomura still has that little ace up his sleeve. fucking great
but him knowing about the Detnerat thing is big, though. so now the heroes know not to trust any of their equipment, or any of their lackeys like fucking Slidinâ Go. thatâs something, at least
and you gotta love the whole âequal to, if not greater thanâ bit, sob. never in my life have I ever seen something so egregiously understated. âShigaraki might be more powerful than the heroes at this pointâ yeah, you think!? god
holy shit Re-Destro calm the fuck down
Tomuraâs telling him to get lost, and heâs immediately making himself scarce lol. good riddance
and Tomura is now kneeling dramatically and pounding his fist on the floor. okay
hey
I take offense, sir. âLeague of Villainsâ had a timeless air about it. and more importantly, you couldnât abbreviate it to the sound that someone makes when they plop down tiredly onto a couch
oh shit!!!!
THIS LAST PAGE HAD BETTER BE A TERRIFYING PANEL OF THE HIGH END NOUMUS, OMG. IâM HOLDING MY BREATH
GODDAMMIT ITâS JUST ANOTHER SEXY CLOSEUP OF TOMURAâS FACE
I mean, can you actually call it that at this point? can you actually âgrantâ something to someone if they already have more of it than they know what to do with?
but I mean, we know what he really means though, so fair enough
oh ffs now heâs saying âbut first thereâs something Iâd like you to do for meâ oh my god enough with these side quests!
he wants him to transport something, apparently. ARE YOU HATCHING SOME NEW SCHEME oh gosh
oh my god and meanwhile Hotwings is becoming canon right before our eyes holy shit
of course!! heâs fucking thrilled!! everything is just!! so great!! right now!! :)!!!!!
oh my god Hawks
âEndeavor, and everyoneâ I see what you did there kid
(ETA: and as far as I recall, Endeavor doesnât even know about his undercover mission yet. I wonder how heâs going to react when he finds out. your adopted son is now best friends with your presumed-dead son! and in mortal danger omg.)
wow. wow. and thatâs the end of the chapter. fucking shit
so! lots to process! Hawks really did it! the absolute madman!! and Dabi fucking loves him now, which is great, if you like things that inevitably end in tragedy. then thatâs great for you. but otherwise I guess itâs not so great
so I wonder if our next arc will be the Undercover Hawks Antics arc, or if weâll be getting back to Deku and the gang. Iâm guessing the latter because itâs been a while, but itâs definitely exciting to see this particular plotline finally advancing and becoming more intricate
so basically I have no idea what to expect next week. which is amazing. Iâm so fucking excited. now if Horikoshi could just leave us all a little pity disclaimer clarifying that no Jeanists were actually harmed in the making of this chapter and that it was all CGI or some shit, that would be great :/
#bnha#boku no hero academia#bnha 240#best jeanist#hawks#shigaraki tomura#league of villains#excuse me -- pliff#bnha spoilers#mha spoilers#makeste reads bnha#so. hawks#like do you ever just straight up refuse to believe a guy is capable of murder#just because he's so handsome and charming#hawks: 'so anyway here's a bag with the remains of the man I killed inside'#me: 'nah you didn't kill anyone'#hawks: 'literally you saw me corner him in his apartment and draw a weapon and now I'm presenting you with a body and saying I did it'#me: 'nope. clearly there's some other explanation'#I'm joking but I'm also deadly serious lol#he's too soft. he pretends like he's not but he is!#mofo is out here feigning being all hardcore#but dammit we know the truth#anyways#rip to whoever's corpse that actually is#jeanist you punk I hope you're enjoying yourself wherever you are
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Official Accounts Part 27- Think Fast
Summary: (y/n) was perfectly happy remaining anonymous, even if her best friends were all pro heroes and she worked under THE Hawks. Handling the technical aspects of hero work from the background suited her just fine, thank you very much. That goes out the window when suddenly her twitter blows up thanks Denki and the famed no. 2 hero is asking her to run his own official twitter as a result
If you donât want to see Official Accounts content blacklist #hopelessoa
Warnings for alcohol and recreational drug use
Masterlist
Hawks watches somewhat apprehensively as you put solo cups, mixers, and multiple handles of hard liquor out on your counter. âYou look more terrified right now than Iâve ever seen you before facing a villain,â you point out. âI trained my whole life to fight villains. This is new. How many people did you invite?â He asks incredulously. âJust the Baddies,â you shrug. âAll this is for just seven people?â âTechnically all this and more, Kacchanâs bringing beer and Minaâs bringing white claws. Donât worry we wonât finish it all!â you assure him before briefly pausing. âWe probably wonât finish it all,â you correct yourself. At seeing the continued hesitation in Hawksâ face you stop your preparations for a moment and turn to him. âHey I can call this whole thing off if you want,â you offer, but he shakes his head. âNo, no donât do that. Beneath the nerves Iâm excited I promise. Plus what would people think if the great Hawks chickened out of a simple little party?â âIâm more worried about Keigo right now than Hawks.â âKeigo will also be fine.â âOk, but you are more than welcome to stop drinking whenever. We wonât pressure you to get drunk if you donât want to.â âI am older than you, yknow. You donât have to baby me.â âOlder yes but I, dear Keigo, am the more experienced and wiser one here.â âWell then, oh wise one, why donât you show me the proper way to take tequila shots.â âIâll grab the limes.â
You and Keigo might have gotten the tiniest bit carried away with your pregame so by the time the rest of your friends come knocking at your door youâve already got a buzz going. As you swing the door open Denki and Mina are grinning back at you, Denki with an impressive bag of weed and Mina with the promised white claws, as the other three wave from behind them. âLetâs get fucking plus ultra in this bitch!â Mina yells and the rest of you reply with similar enthusiasm as you usher everyone inside. âHawks and I already started so you guys have to catch up,â you tell them as you unlock your phone and toss it to Kirishima to pick the music.
At the start of the night you made a point to stick close to Keigo so heâd always have a familiar face to rely on if he got overwhelmed or didnât feel like talking anymore, but as the drinks kept flowing you were delighted to find he seemed to be doing just fine on his own. In fact, Denki genuinely seemed keen on getting to know him more and the rest of your friends were just as welcoming. Soon it felt just like any of you allâs usual hangs and it wasnât much longer after that that everyone was properly drunk. Soon Mina had somehow convinced Bakugo and Kirishima to back her up in an impromptu round of karaoke while Shinso and Hawks watched on from the sidelines. Denki sidles up next to you, throwing one arm around your shoulder while holding a perfectly rolled joint in his free hand. âShall we head to the balcony?â he asks with a grin. You throw one more glance Hawksâ way to double check heâs doing well and when you see him burst into laughter as Bakugo and Mina fight over something inane, you feel something warm spark in your chest. âWe shall,â you confirm before letting him guide you over to the glass door and opening it with a flourish.
Thereâs a chill in the air but the alcohol flowing through your veins means you barely feel it as you step onto the balcony and lean across the railing, Denki joining you as he pulls a lighter from his pocket. He places the joint in his mouth and then lights it with the kind of ease that comes from experience before taking a large hit and passing it to you. The two of you pass the joint back and forth a few times before Denki finally speaks up. âSo howâs the little arrangement going so far?â he asks. âBetter than expected to be honest.â âHave you guys talked about what happened yet?â âNot explicitly. He told me... a lot... about his past so I kinda get it now? but not about the night it went to shit.â Denki hums in acknowledgment. âHow are you doing in general after everything that happened?â he asks. âIâm fine Denki.â â(Y/n)...â âI mean it. Donât worry about little ol me.â âIâll always worry about you.â âAnd I, you. Now stop killing the vibe. This is supposed to be a party remember?â Denki laughs at that as you move to sit on the railing of the balcony.
Keigo has to admit heâs pleasantly surprised by how tonight is going. He had worried about dropping into the middle of your friend group and spending the whole night feeling like an intruder but instead all of you have welcomed him with open arms in spite of everything. Between that and the alcohol heâs feeling more uninhibited now than he ever has his entire life. âI shouldâve done this sooner,â he declares as he takes another sip from his solo cup. Next to him Shinso laughs, âdamn right you shouldâve.â
âHey Kacchan!!â he suddenly hears you call. When he looks over he notices you sitting on the railing of the balcony. That canât be safe, you have to be at least as drunk as he is and the joint youâd been sharing with Denki has burned pretty low so youâre definitely high too. âThink fast!â you shout and then youâre letting go and leaning backwards until youâre falling, the bright grin on your face never faltering. The blood in Hawksâ veins runs cold as he watches you disappear from sight. The muscles in his back twitch on instinct but barely any of his feathers have grown back yet so he. canât. save. you. He canât save you and heâs starting to panic when he notices Bakugo launching himself over the railing, the sound of explosions loud in the quiet night. Hawks jumps as he feels a hand land on his shoulder and turns to find Shinso giving him a reassuring smile. âSorry shouldâve warned you. She does that a lot, especially when sheâs drunk,â Shinso tells him. âWhat? Falls off buildings?â âYea pretty much.â âWhat?â âItâs a trust thing. The first time she did it was to prove a point. She knew heâd catch her. Now I think she just likes the feeling of falling while crossed.â
Bakugo reappears over the balcony with you giggling on his back completely unharmed and Hawks releases a breath he didnât even realize he was holding. âThatâs a lot of trust. Whenâd she start doing that?â Hawks asks. âIâm actually not sure,â Shinso replies, âyo Mina!â âWhat?â âWhat year did (y/n) start the whole âthink fastâ thing? Second or third?â Mina walks over to join the conversation, plopping down next to Shinso. âUhh I think it was third year after they started datingâ she says. Shinso shoots her a look and elbows her but itâs too late. âThey dated?â Hawks asks. Minaâs eyes widen in realization but itâs too late to take it back so she instead says âIâm gonna get more to drink!â and jets back off to the kitchen. Shinso rolls his eyes. âYea, they did. In the end they decided they were better off as friends though, especially because Bakugo was a lot less mature then.â âThatâs why she gets away with calling him Kacchan.â âYea, probably. That was years ago now though, I donât think anythingâs happened between them since. I wouldnât worry about it,â Shinso assures him before excusing himself to go talk to Denki.
Hawks knows itâs not his place but he canât help but feel jealous now watching you tease Bakugo about getting slower as he lectures you on being an idiot. âIâm not an idiot!â you pout. âWhat else would you call someone that intentionally falls off a building?â he seethes. âWas there any chance you would have let me hit the ground?â âObviously not, dumbass.â âWell there you go! Perfectly safe!â Bakugo sputters, his cheeks reddening, before finally grumbling âIâm getting another drink,â before walking away. This only makes you laugh harder. âLove you Kacchan,â you tease after him. âFuck you!â he shouts back.
Heâs one of your best friends. Heâs one of your best friends. Heâs one of your best friends. The phrase plays on a loop in Keigoâs head in a desperate attempt to quash the jealousy burning through his chest but he canât help it. How long had the two of you dated? âLonger than the two of you did,â his brain unhelpfully supplies. His thoughts are interrupted when Kirishima drops down next to him with two beer cans in hand. âYou look like youâre pretty deep in your head and (y/n) would kill me if I let you stay that way. Ever shotgunned a beer before?â Kirishima asks. âI didnât realize I was that easy to read,â Hawks says as he takes one of the offered beers. âTypically youâre not. Watching you in action? Youâre totally inscrutable dude, itâs super manly! But when youâre with friends you shouldnât have to worry about that. Anyway, letâs not talk heavy shit man, am I teaching you to shotgun or not?â âFuck it, why not.â âThatâs the spirit!â
The party eventually reaches its natural conclusion as exhaustion starts to overtake even the effects of alcohol. Not to mention, your friends are keenly aware that unlike you and Hawks they actually have to get up and be out for work tomorrow. Hawks isnât surprised when you give each of your friends a tight hug goodbye. He is surprised when the same offer is extended to him. Itâs almost scary how perceptive your friends can be. When Minaâs hands get a little too close to where his wings should be he canât help but flinch and immediately she adjusts. The rest of your friends make a point to avoid the area. Bakugo and Kirishima are the last to leave and it takes everything in Hawks not to let his jealousy show as you hug Bakugo goodbye. Heâs once again shocked when Bakugo goes to hug him but he soon realizes that itâs not necessarily done to be friendly. âTake good fucking care of her bird brain. Cause if you donât? I will,â he whispers harshly. As the two pull away from each other their eyes lock in a silent challenge until Kirishima calls from the hallway âBakubro letâs go! Taxiâs here!â âIâm coming Shitty Hair relax!â he shouts back before finally breaking eye contact and heading out the door with one final wave in your direction.
Authorâs Note: The party was honestly pretty built around the âthink fastâ scene. Once that idea came to mind it refused to leave. The Bakugo stuff well đ what can I say I like â¨drama⨠also I felt a little bad that Bird Boy stole the fic I was gonna write for Bakugo from him. Originally I was gonna have Hawksâ jealousy be unfounded but then I saw an opportunity and decided to run with it oops
Taglist [open]: @cathy8taffy @katzurras @grumpyfroggies @captaincyberqueen @itskindofafairything @420-uwu @someweirdshitman @oliviasslut @the-adzukibean @a-fucking-sero-kinnie @ladyzayismultifandom
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Unpredictable (Overhaul x Reader) pt.19
a/n: so... uhh... nothing much happens here but the last part is worth it :â) i guess? hope yaâll like this nonetheless!Â
warnings: this cannot be read solo
Links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 20
Masterlist to my other fics: here :)
Overhaulâs waiting list: @jjk-biased @infinite-universe-love @dirtypride @blackymomo03 @azzie @purple-rabanitoâ @meximorrita @awesomeee19ââ @celestial-kanzakiiâ @laure-loâ @team-wang-puppyâ @aydience-worldâ @choros-main-hoeâ @colorseeingchickâ  @but-kairis-not-that-smart (i cant seem to tag again :( hope this lands in your timelines!)
Two days since that fated encounter with Chronostasis, you were now left with a vacant rest day. And where better place to spend it than with Dr. Hanayaka. Setting an appointment with him, as he liked to call it, you were tasked to help with the blood pressure for each patient he had. Luckily, his schedule wasnât that straining.
âSo you mean to say, his henchman met with you in secret?â Gei asked and raised an eyebrow. With his stethoscope resting on his shoulder and white coat on, it was sometimes hard to believe that this flamboyant man was a well respected doctor. âAnd handed you trash manâs sim card?â
âYeah. Iâve already checked the contents of the sim and thereâs not a lot to go on.â Aside from your messages, the contents of his inbox were that of an average manâs. Expecting some tea about his trade or even important numbers of other villains, you had to think whether or not Chrono deleted some or not.
âAnd what about that plan of yours, hmm?â Gei fixed his eyelashes before staring back at you. âWhat if it backfires and Chrono takes the blame?â
âHe wonât. My instructions were clear and I set a time frame as well. Just something to please the heroes for setting me up.â
âYou movin over to the dark side, baby girl?â
âJust balancing things out.â You shrugged. âLevi made it clear that they shouldnât interfere with my relationship with Overhaul. Even though Iâm on justiceâs side, I still want to tip the scales a bit due to personal reasons.â
âWouldnât your badge and title be removed if they found out? And why in Todrickâs name are you so chill with this topic?! Are you certain you donât have a bug on you?â Your friend eyed you down so quickly. Worried that policemen might end up barging inside his office.
âDonât worry. Iâm wearing new clothes so thereâs no way they can. Besides, Iâm being as cautious as ever. Seriousness aside, I do have some information you might want to feast on.â You smirked at the mental image of a maskless Chrono.
âSpillâŚâ Gei shifted in his seat and leaned in closer. The look on your face only meant one thing.
âOkay, so Overhaulâs right hand man was the one who met me right? Well~ He took off his mask and I will have to admit the man looked hella fine~â
âDescribe! Describe!â
âFor starters, he has bluish-gray eyes. Though he looks like he wants to kill a person right there and then, he probably could since his jaw was rather prominent. His voice without the mask is different too.â You watched as Gei listened with such focus. âBut, if I were to be honest, describing him doesnât do him good. He looks really handsome.â
âWhy is it always the villains who look good?â Gei commented with a pout. âHawks aside, because that man is something else, but they just hit different you know?â
âThatâs true. Shame they have to wear those masks, though.â
âOn the contrary, I think itâs good that they do. Otherwise theyâd have to endure the wrath of fan girls.â
âRight. Also feels good when they trust you enough to show whatâs behind the mask.â Nodding at your own statement, the memory of having lunch with Overhaul came back. With no given warning, he took off his mask and casually drank water. Realizing that he had done it on purpose, a tiny smile formed on your mouth.
âIf you miss him that bad, just call him.â
âHe changed numbers and Iâm not that desperate to ask Chrono for it. Nao said in due time heâll contact me but the chances of that are negative.â
âHoney, itâs the modern era. Women arenât as shy as they were before. If you want something, go and get it. If it is a guyâs new number, then go ahead. Itâs not just men who make the first move. And besides, I think Overhoe would be surprised if you just suddenly ring his doorbell.â
âYou do realize, I do not have the same confidence as you.â
âFake it till you make it, boo.â He snapped his fingers in a z-formation.
âYouâve been watching Soopernatural again, havenât you?â
âOkay, first off, Jenred Padackles is a god and I would worship his feet. Second, that show has references to everything and you canât deny that.â
âYeah, youâre right.â Standing up from the sofa, you stretched your limbs. âAnyway, I gotta scram.â
âWhere you headinâ off to missy?â
âI have to meet up with Nao regarding the Fukuo Kai case.â
âBut itâs your day off. Get a life and do something else other than work, (n/n).â Gei threw a pen to your direction but you dodged it effortlessly. âDonât make me tell your father.â
âItâs only for a few minutes. Itâs in preparation for tomorrow.â Not bothering to wait, you exited the room and sofly closed the doors to his office. Time spent with Gei was always an eye opener. However, it still wasnât enough for you to stoop so low and ring his doorbell.
Making your way out of the hospital, you took a quick stop to the vending machines and chose a cold cafe au lait. Perfect for the hot and humid weather Japan had to offer. Feeling the cold liquid running down your throat was amazing and within seconds, you downed the whole drink. Tossing the empty bottle to the recycle bin, a gust of wind caused you to lose balance.
âOh no.â
âOh yes.â
âI have a meeting to attend to Hawks.â Hawks took his visors off and ruffled his wings. Offering to buy him a drink, he chose a tetra pack of  apple juice. Walking to the vacant bench, you followed him and decided that perhaps his visit would be worth it. âSo what did the bird hear today?â
âTwice and Toga Himiko.â
âLeague of-â Then it hit you. âI see. Since when?â
âYesterday. One of my informants saw them entering the base and left late at night. They didnât look too happy about it, though.â Lowering his headphones, he ruffled his hair and stared at the clear blue skies. âDo what you will with this information. Just thought Iâd let you know.â
âHow and why do you even bother?â
âI work for the HPSC dove. If I donât want them getting in my head, I gotta kick their crotches first.â
âThatâs not the best analogy.â
âStill works though.â He winked and put on his headphones and visors back. Standing up, he offered a hand and you accepted it. Tailing you, Hawks was now opening the door for your car. âAnd one more thing, another of my birdies caught the scent of the quirk erasing bullets nearing its completion stages. Probably 80% now.â
âThatâs fast.â You had to admit.
âHeard heâs been pissed. Be careful baby bird.â Hawks closed your door and saluted before flying off.
80%? That was enough information to speed up the Shie Hassaikai raid. Reaching out for your bag, you took the burner phone you recently purchased and reread each message the both of you exchanged. With two League of Villains now part of the yakuza, the possibility of casualties was much higher now.
Within minutes, you were now on the road. Fingers tightly wrapping the steering wheel. Your thumb bouncing with growing guilt at choosing to hide what Hawks had just said. Of course this wasnât to ensure his victory, it was to even the field, right? It was the pettiness taking over you and Nighteye going against his words. It had to be.
Turning towards the precinct, you saw your designated parking area. The basement parking was a bit crowded today.
Heading towards the meeting room Tsukauchi had prepared for the small info sharing, you greeted fellow coworkers and kept conversation till you disappeared around the corner. Not too long after, you were now fiddling with your fingers. Basking in the silence till the doors opened revealing your partner and Shinezu. Both men took their seats and commenced the meeting.
âSo, Shinezu will be tagging along.â He nodded at your coworker who seemed to be trembling at the thought. âItâll do you good, Shinez. Trust me.â
âI-I know, Tsukau-kun.â He adjusted his tie, loosening it a bit. âI just think Iâm not cut out for this mission you know? I do better behind the scenes.â
âWhile I believe thatâs true, the 4th division works best when youâre around.â
âThatâs true.â You agreed. Shinezu may not be the most social cookie out there but his brain was close to Namase. He also had the knack of coming up with solutions when things went wrong. All he needed was to amp his social skills. âWe all know the 4th division leader is weak for you.â
âNot t-true.â
âAll too true. Youâll be fine, Shinez. Have I ever lied to you?â
When the raven-haired man finally nodded his head, Tsukauchi cleared his throat and relayed the plans for tomorrow. It was the standard undercover data gathering in your books.
âSo, to recap, the 4th division will be handling the snooping and weâll remain on guard should all else fail?â You repeated the information given. Tsukauchi scratched his chin and nodded. Confirming that you had fully understood his message. âAll this should happen within 5 hours. Got it. Thatâs quite cramped but manageable.â
â5 hours was the only allotted time I could fit in.â He scratched his nape and looked away. âYou were right when I had to take it slow with my cases.â
âIâm not one to comment~â Waving the conversation aside, you stood up and the others followed.
With the short meeting now over, Tsukauchi and you were now seated in the break room. Cups of coffee present as you exchanged more information about your days and current mission. For a brief moment, despite him not being a part of the Shie Hassaikai Raid, you wanted to pour every single information you had just gained from Hawks. The lingering guilt was much more present now.
âYouâre spacing out.â He snapped his fingers in front of you. âYou alright?â
âAside from the growing problem of trashman, Iâm fine. Just a lot on my mind.â Taking a sip from your coffee, the usual taste of bitterness was strong today. âNothing to worry about~â
âYou should go home, (n/n). I already took up a portion of your time. Any more and I might drown from embarrassment.â
âThatâs gross. Even coming from you.â Kicking him from under the table, the two of you laughed before chugging the remaining drops of coffee. âI will take that offer though. Need me some beauty sleep before shit happens again. See ya!â
Hours had passed and you were now stuffing your face with chips. He was right when he said you had purchased too much but you werenât complaining. The movie playing now was one of your favorites, Prisoner. Gake Jyllenhall was divine in this movie. It was always the twist of the movie that kept you watching it over and over again.
âI wonder if we had watched this⌠would the wall pinning  happen?â You thought out loud. Shaking your thoughts away from him, you stopped the movie and stored the chips.
Now that you were settled in bed, Overhaulâs jacket rested on top of you. By now, his scent had disappeared and was now replaced by yours. Grabbing your phone, you opened the messaging app and clicked on a certain conversation. Rereading his messages was not the best idea but at least you would be able to relive whatever memories you had created.
Glancing at your desk calendar, in just two months time, you would meet him again. Would things still be the same? Or would things go back to the way they were? Tucking your phone under the unused pillow, you willed yourself to sleep and surprisingly succeeded.
Waking up not so refreshed happened again. But, nothing out of the ordinary. Not being a morning person, you dragged your body away from the bed and began the necessary clothes. Deciding to just buy breakfast, it took you less than an hour to lock your doors and head over to the parking lot.
Making your way up the steps, you met up with Shinezu.
âYou look like shit, Shinez.â You teased him. âTake a chill pill.â
âI already did. But itâs still not working. This would be the first case in a while where Iâll interact with others.â Leading the way, the both of you were now walking through the empty hallways. The sounds of your footsteps muffled by the cheap carpeted floors. âHow do you guys even manage to survive situations like these?â
âBy taking it one step at a time~â Not the best advice for someone whoâs socially challenged but it is what it is.
Opening the doors for you, the both of you entered the room and took your designated seats. A bunch of people from the 4th division were now present. Tsukauchi had not yet arrived but it was still early so it was excusable. Exchanging a few small talk, you caught up with what the 4th division was up to till the doors finally opened.
âGood morning everyone.â Tsukauchi greeted. Feet glued to his spot. His eyesight focused on you. âBefore we head out, we have a special guest joining us.â
âHoly shit.â Shinezu uttered under his breath.
- - - - -
a/n: shits bout to go down again! I would like to take this time to thank each one of you who take the time to read this! Unpredictable was supposedly a 10 chapter story but we bout to reach 20 now! i cant really respond to your comments as much but i read all of âem and they always make my day :â) my schedule has just been very hectic these days huhu and yeas that ends my rant~ see yaâll next week! :* and yes, the waiting list is still open :)
#overhaul x reader#overhaul#bnha overhaul#mha overhaul#chisaki kai x reader#bnha chisaki kai#mha chisaki kai#chisaki kai#bnha chisaki
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crossroad.
a majority of this was done during a writing sprint (edit, half of it was) but i couldnât just let it fade away! so instead, because iâm still upset about anders [and i miss bethany + fem!hawke], hereâs a post!da2 work for you and me.
word count: 6,083.
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âare you afraid? of what lays after all of...this?â bethanyâs voice. reyna tries not to jump, but inevitably, she does. her sister is no longer in her circle robes, instead dressed down with her hair tied back, âthe gallows are gone, the circle is gone, meredith is dead, orsinio is dead...â
âplease, bethany. for the love of andraste do not panic.â reyna tries not to snap at her, but she does it anyway, picking through what things she can fit in her pack. the red scarf sheâs donned around her neck comes undone, and she pulls it away roughly before shoving another shirt away, âdonnic and aveline are staying here, and youâre staying with them. youâll be perfectly safe, thereâs no reason to be afraid.â
âi-â bethany hesitates, then resigns to sitting on the bed, picking at her sleeve, âi asked if you were afraid, not what i was going to do after all of this.â
âyou know what i intend to do,â reyna yanks the suitcase out from under the bed roughly, the latches clicking open as she flicks a bandaged hand over one.
ârunning away from kirkwall into the night isnât a plan, rey.â bethany responds in a nagging tone tinged with genuine concern, folding her legs on the bed, âitâs an escape route.â
âand thatâs exactly what i need, whether you like it or not,â reyna responds, folding a shirt away into the bag at her side. sheâs avoiding bethanyâs deep brown eyes, the same ones that she knows will be crying out to keep her from leaving, or to force her to leave sooner. but reyna has made her decision, she canât come back from this, âthe templars will sniff me out soon enough. and because they canât use me as some example of a mage gone rogue with the chantryâs brand, theyâll kill me for this.â
bethany doesnât answer after that, and they sit in silence. she feels bad about talking to her like that, but she has to. bethany is twenty five now, she isnât a child like when they first arrived in kirkwall. she can handle herself, should anyone give her trouble and aveline isnât around to protect her.Â
it wasnât an option she liked, but she trusted aveline with her life -- no matter how much they squabbled before over morals and reynaâs own questionable actions towards the templars as of recently. bethany would be safer here under the protection of the guard captain than with her on the road.
âyouâve been here for two days, and you said youâd leave earlier this week.â bethanyâs voice is quiet when she speaks up again, the jangle of keys in her hand when she gives them to her, âwhat are you waiting for?â
reyna bitterly chuckles, âare you trying to get rid of me too, dear sister?â she asks, remembering how aveline had advised the same thing to her. kirkwall was still reeling after sheâd hidden out with the vallens for a bit to let it blow over long enough to trek home without suspicion. the others...theyâd be safe. they couldnât go after fenris, they wouldnât know of his involvement and merrill and isabela would be out of town within the month on isabelaâs ship. and varric?
varric always had a way out. she didnât know how this time, everyone knew he was involved with her, but he assured her heâd find a way.
she still sat up, waiting for the cellar door to open those two nights she spent in her own home since then. and yet...it doesnât. it remains closed, and locked.
did he wear it that night?
âno! no of course not, reyna if i could go with you--â bethany cuts herself off, a frown on her face when reyna rises from her knees, pushing the half empty case back under the bed, âyou know that i would. i just...donât want you caught. everything is so...crazy right now. why are you staying so long?â
âit doesnât matter. iâm leaving tonight, less templars out and the guards will be able to get me out of the city before knight-captain rutherford even knows i was back in hightown.â reyna shrugs, retying the scarf around her neck. the sun was due to go down in just a bit, the sky still playing with colors of a deep pink and the black encroaching upon it. the guards would switch into their night shift soon.
âthatâs...not it.â bethany follows after her as reyna throws the pack on over her shoulder, âyou know thatâs not what it is.â
âwhy are you so desperate to know?â reyna quips back, biting her lip to keep from yelling. she knows why, she knows exactly why sheâs still here and not heading for the hanged man to sail with isabela. and yet..itâs still stupid to admit out loud. itâs beyond foolish, and the same thing that got her mother in trouble before she was born, âsurely you donât intend to gossip with isabela.â
âreyna...â bethany gives her a look thatâs reminiscent of leandraâs, and she cringes back from it. she knows bethany is only concerned from her safety, concerned about her, but sheâs more concerned about herâs. and that hurts. reyna was the reason they even had to be careful, the reason bethany had to change her name and cut her hair. and yet, here she was, still caring about her foolish older sister after it all.
it infuriated and wounded her at the exact same time. bethanyâs hand brushes her shoulder as she pauses at the door frame, and reyna tenses at the touch against her bicep. why why why had she done all of this? she couldâve just let meredith go on her tirade, turned a blind eye. they had such a nice cushy house here in hightown, and now the amell estate would surely be passed over to some other templar allied noble once everything was in order. they wouldâve won and lost their motherâs childhood home within a decade.Â
but no. sheâd let her own interests blind her to the real goal. she couldnât stay incognito long enough to let herself even enjoy it.
âreyna, please. just tell me, that way i can help. that way i can find whatever it is youâre looking for.â another beat of silence, âi know you donât like talking about what bothers you, or makes you angry for my sake and everyone elsesâ sake but sometimes people genuinely want to help you. i want to help you.â
âlike how meredith helped the mages?â she asks coldly, and bethanyâs eyes are startled and hurt but the words keep pouring out of her mouth, âlike how orsinio helped the mages? like how i -- how i helped anders? you canât help me, bethany.â
her sister freezes, a grimace on her young face as reyna tries not to look over her shoulder before turning on her, âlike how i put everything aside to stand behind him when he needed me? and i cost kirkwall their circle, their knight enchanter and their knight-commander? like how i helped kirkwall?â
âyou did help!â bethany argues, reaching out to take her hand. reyna snaps it back, âyou helped so many people while you were here!â
âat what cost! at what cost did i help everyone back in â34, and then lose mother to a blood mage? at what cost did i help by keeping you out of the deep roads, and then losing you to the gallows? at what cost did i help anders, and then lose the chantry because i was so goddamn blind?!â
âyou werenât blind! you wanted to help us, and you did. you canât apologize for that reyna-â
âiâm not apologizing! iâll never sodding apologize for what i believe in, but riddle me this bethany -- do you think the chantry would be a smoking crater if i had said no? if iâd denied the idea that i could split anders and justice? do you think weâd have to leave if i didnât want to help the mages so goddamn bad that i costed us our place in kirkwall?â
âthatâs not your fault. you stood up for what you believed in, you stood up for me!â bethany cries, âthatâs not your fault. none of it is. itâs-itâs...â
âitâs andersâ. thatâs what everyone says, right?â reyna runs a hand through her hair, feeling her hands begin to shake the way they do when she doesnât feel okay, when she doesnât feel right. her mother had always been able to calm her down but now she can barely speak.
âno. no it isnât.â bethany avoids her gaze, âyou said you believed in him. believed in what he said. believed in what was right.â
reyna throws out her hands around them, âis this what is right, bethany? templars hunting me down, everyone forced to leave because of me and him? was it right that i let what made me happy blind me to what was the truth?â
âi-â
âno! it wasnât! i canât defend my actions, i canât defend his. i canât defend how i hunted templars down and then pretended to figuratively wash my hands of the blood that was spilled when the chantry came down!â sheâs breathing hard, her chest tight, âi canât defend anyoneâs actions -- there was no compromise, but was any of it worth it just so i could have one more day with him!?â
she doesnât know where her words have gone. but theyâre not there anymore. none to pull on. nothing else to say lest she reveal why sheâs still here, nothing left to say that she hasnât already said twenty times over, nor anything she can say that wonât sound like sheâs complaining about the mess she got herself into.Â
bethanyâs eyes glimmer with sad understanding, once she is no longer taken aback by her outburst, âyouâre waiting for him. you still think heâll come back.â
reyna is silent. she knows if she denies it, bethany will pick her apart until she falls apart.
her sister shouldnât have to listen to her like this. shouldnât have to pay for her mistakes.
âyou believed in him at some point, you cared about him and you were happy, i know you were. and you didnât want to stay in kirkwall even before all of this. i think the words you used were even âthese four walls canât hold me anymoreâ the last time you visited.â bethanyâs demeanor is soft compared to her own, gently pulling her gloves on, âyou...iâll stay here with you if i have to. reyna if you still love-â
âno! i donât!â a fire burns inside her as her hands tighten into fists at her side, anger climbing up her throat to choke the words out of her, âi donât! do you really think that-â
âwould you still be here if you didnât?â
that gives reyna pause long enough to keep from punching the wall next to her. there are holes in her room from earlier, days before bethany had managed to make it out of the shithole of the gallows through varricâs assistance. scars are still just barely healing on her knuckles, and theyâre splitting open again from just how hard sheâs folded her hands into balls at her side.
âno. you wouldnât, because you care. you wouldâve skipped town already if you didnât.â
âhe used me, bethany. he knew what he was doing and he still did it! would someone who loved someone else really do something like that, without their conscience betraying them?â reyna walks further away from her sister, making to descend down the stairs, âwould he still give me all that goddamn praise for what i was doing for the mages in the circle if he really loved me?â
âreyna, youâre not even thinking anymore. of course he loved you-â
âhow would you know!â at the bottom of the stairs, reyna whirls on her sister, a fearful look in her matching pair of dark eyes before she even registers it, âhow would you know bethany? nobody knew, absolutely no one knew not even me! iâm supposed to be the bloody champion of kirkwall and instead i kept an apostate in my home for upwards of three years, and assisted with destroying the chantry at the same time! all because i thought he cared about me, and i just ignored all the warning signs! i shouldâve known, i shouldâve said something -- said anything and yet i didnât because i couldnât! i was weak and iâm paying the price for it now!â
her eyes sting with unshed tears, frustration taking precedent and building up in her tightening throat, âif he really cared about me, he wouldâve told me! thatâs what we did, thatâs what we always did! i was willing to risk my neck for karl, i was willing to help get a group of apostates out for him, âoh hawke is always ready to helpâ, sodding irresponsibly stupid old me, right?â
âyouâre not stupid, youâre not stupid reyna.â bethany bypasses the near shove she gives her sister and instead wraps her arms around her waist, holding tight, âyou loved him. you did. i know what losing carver and losing mother did to you. and i know i couldnât be here for you. i wish i couldâve been. to help you through all of it but i couldnât. i trusted anders to stay with you, i trusted him to keep you grounded. you werenât weak. you were stronger than any of us.â
reyna is shaking, her hands stuck at her sides as bethany buries her head in her shoulder. sheâs hurt, sheâs very hurt by all of this, feeling like sheâs been stabbed twenty times over with her own blades when anders had admitted to the crime with a resigned tone of voice, sitting hunched over away from her. expecting death, surprised she did not grant it even at the cost of fenrisâ trust. she was aware nothing would change if they didnât do anything drastic, sheâs not wounded by that. sheâs destroyed on the inside because he didnât tell her.Â
she trusted him with every part of her. told him things that no one would ever hear come from her lips. things she hadnât even told herself before. they had each otherâs backs for years, and that was where the line of trust snapped.
where did she go wrong?Â
was this her fault? because sheâd come off as too much? would he have told her if she pressed him for why his demeanor had changed instead of dealing with everyone elseâs problems?
she thought sheâd meant everything to him. neither of them had anyone left but each other. heâd been there when her mother died, had consoled her to the best of his ability when bethany had been taken.Â
and yet?
and yet that still wasnât enough. it wasnât enough to trust her. it wasnât enough to let her say âi trust you, and iâm with youâ.
love is a strong word for someone who immediately lost all claim on it regarding her.Â
but?
she would lie if she said there was nothing left for him to possibly reclaim someday. a long time from now, maybe a lifetime.
but not never.
âhe did one shitty job of it.â she chuckles darkly, resigning to put her arms around her sister. knowing that this will be one of the few times she even gets the chance in the next few days, weeks, months and maybe even years, carefully as she chokes out her name, âbethany.â
âyes, sister?âÂ
âi donât...i donât think heâs coming home.â that breaks a part of her inside, blinking a few times up at the dark ceiling to keep herself from falling apart completely -- why was her sister even still here? she had bigger things to worry about than her washed up older sister, the ex-champion of kirkwall, âas much as i might wish it, i donât think he will be.âÂ
âhe told you he loved him in the gallows, right before orsinio went mad, you know. he was terrified, he was focused exclusively on keeping you alive when we fought meredith. i donât think i ever caught him with his eyes off of you.â bethany says, gently untangling herself, âmaybe itâs not worth atonement in your eyes. iâm not sure. but...â her eyes dart to where the hall ends and the cellar begins a turn later, âmaybe he will come back to you.â
does he deserve her forgiveness for that? at all? just because he still loved her before then? because heâd looked her in the eyes, the corners of them crinkling with a look of adoration, of sadness, and had promised her a world where it wouldnât matter if they were together? how undeniably warm his hands had felt in herâs when their fingers curled together shortly before the ensuing fight against the templars?
she doesnât know.
sheâs so angry that she genuinely wants to hit something. wants to yell at someone, anything. sit someone down and explain why there is a wildfire burning her soul from the inside out, why she so desperately just wants this all to end. wake up from the nightmare that has plagued her for days. will most likely haunt her for the rest of her life.
but sheâs also hurt. so makerdamned hurt. where did the trust even go, did it run off or was it never there to begin with? was it worth destroying herself again, on the run with surely thedasâ most wanted mage only because she thought he cared for her?
is that what she wants? or was that decision already made for her?
was it foolish? was it foolish to wait and wait and wait even though she knows the chances of him coming back are slim?
sheâd understood -- had said that she knew theyâd never be like any normal couple. that sheâd have to run, because apostates would never be free. and yet, sheâd taken the plunge. had accepted her fate.
all reyna can say is, âi donât know.â
bethany nods, playing with the deep black curls their mother had given her, before stepping past her, âitâs dark out now. i canât stay here any longer, sister. donnic will get worried and come out looking for me.â
âi-i know.â reyna responds, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking out the limp curls in her hair from the braid sheâd worn earlier, bethany padding closer to the door and pulling her heavy cloak off of the hook, âbethany--be careful.â
âi will. i promise.â bethany says, âas long as you do as well. they will not be friendly to you on the road. anders may not have a phylactery but-â
âthey know what he looks like. i know that. thatâs to say he even comes by later, though,â reyna takes a breath, trying not to antagonize her sister, âbut i will.â
bethany waves, a sad smile on her face before the large door closes, the sound reverberating through the foyer. her calming presence is gone, and reyna feels the cold beginning to seep in her. now that bethany has left, she doesnât have to pretend sheâs okay to keep her sister from worrying more than she already has done. she sadly chuckles, bethany had gotten that from their mother -- a worried hen for all her chicks.
that was supposed to be reyna, watching over her sister. keeping her safe from the templars, keeping her alive. bethany wasnât supposed to have to come to the estate just to check on her. but sheâd been so busy trying to change something that had weathered the pattern of time that sheâd neglected everything else. her friends, her family.
herself.
the fire warms her bones to the best of itâs meager ability, her hands regaining feeling. it was a cold night out, sheâd have to wear one of her thicker cloaks when she finally left.
this wasnât how it was supposed to end. and yet here she was, spending the last night in her family home. she says an apology to her mother under her breath, an apology to gamlen even, an apology to her grandparents, an apology to bethany, to carver, to her father.Â
sheâd failed every single one of them.
reyna doesnât break down. she knows if she does, she wonât ever leave. sheâll just stay here and be sad and cry about the things she canât control. and she doesnât have time for that.
sheâs supposed to be the strong one. she canât be that if sheâs bawling like a baby.
inevitably, she spends another two hours in the estate, bordering three and eyes barely open while she stokes the fire every few go arounds. sheâs ready to leave, bag over her shoulders and conscience weighing down on her like a brick. but she wanders the house instead, listlessly and without a true purpose.
admiring everything theyâd earned after so many years. brushing a hand against her motherâs portrait when she stops in the main hall just outside the room that has been locked since her death. the same brown eyes they all shared staring back at her, a small smile that reyna wants to see again. thereâs a smaller one of carver sheâd had commissioned years ago with her first allowance from the expedition, and it sits next to herâs. she was supposed to have bethany, father and herself done at some point. a family of portraits once theyâd properly settled into the estate.
and then sheâd gotten busy, and never finished the task.
she hates to say that she used to wonder if sheâd get anders done as well, if they ever solidified what they used to have. she pulls her eyes away from the younger leandra, descending the steps again and making sure all the doors are locked. donnic and aveline are the only two with keys to the estate besides anders and bethany. she would not let the templars have her home if she still had any say about it.
sheâs near the front door, cloak donned dutifully around her shoulders and gloves donned, daggers hidden in sheathes on her thighs when she hears the distant sound of a door open and close. her whole body freezes, fearful that itâs an intruder. a templar maybe, theyâd found the secret entrance to the cellar under the house. it wouldnât be the first time, and she shouldâve known it wouldnât be the last. of course it would be the day that she intends to leave.
seizing, she pulls her daggers out, gripping the handles with shaky hands before pushing herself up against the wall leading down the hall. sheâd left the door open, what a foolish mistake.
boots. the sound of boots against the carpet. quiet, soft. they arenât trying to announce their presence, but she doesnât want to take the risk to look over her shoulder into the inky darkness. she recognizes everyoneâs footfalls. she had to, that was part of her training while she lived in lothering and it had saved her life more than a few times since sheâd moved to kirkwall.
and terrifyingly-
-she recognizes these. the ones that accompany a long night in the clinic, ones that accompany a proper hunt in the city for mages to help escape.
a quiet voice.
a tired voice.
a resigned voice, calling out for her in a way that shatters her before he steps into the light of the fire, âhawke?â
after a moment, she falls apart. tears bubbling up in her eyes as she turns the corner from where sheâd pressed herself up against the wall in preparation.
a staff that isnât quite regulation, and the black robes she was sure were still stained with blood from a week prior.
the amber eyes she couldnât say no to, hands that had been tangled with herâs only weeks ago.
âanders.â
he doesnât look well. not at all. exhausted, eye bags looking darker than they had since heâd moved in with her. hair tied back hurriedly, his own robes barely tied properly.
but, thereâs a cloak around his shoulders, straps from a pack as well. dark black to surely hide himself from the templars that are swarming darktown like flies on fruit. she doesnât ignore that itâs the same one sheâd given him two years ago in the dead of winter, worn, but she still recognizes the hawke crest over his heart. clear as day, and worn proudly.
or it had been, when it had been given when heâd first moved in and leandra had suggested the gift, as they and bethany both owned one. her mother had even bothered her to get his name stitched in beneath the crest, though she didnât.Â
sheâs glad, sheâs not sure if she could take that. not now.
âyouâre here,â she responds, biting her tongue not to launch into something sheâll regret, âthen you still have the key.â
âyou gave me it. i would not simply lose something so important,â that grits against her nerves in a way she canât explain, though he hesitates to step forward towards her, âyou are free to have it back, as i suppose youâre leaving the city according to varric.â
âis this not also your home?â she asks bitterly, forgoing the fact sheâd said not to tell anders when she was leaving, âor did you forget somehow in the last few months?â
reyna feels childish when she notes he doesnât even seem angered by the accusation, just...sad. not the sort of sad where heâs begging for forgiveness at her feet and trying to guilt trip him, but the kind of sad one can only have when theyâve reached rock bottom.
âwhat do you want me to say, re-hawke?â and yet again, there is no anger behind the words. no deep seated frustration. reyna doesnât know how to respond to someone who isnât yelling at her for some reason or the other. she can deal with anger, she can yell at anger rightfully. apologetic...she doesnât know what to do with apologetic, âif you wish for me to go, then i will. i wonât force myself where i am not wanted.â
she canât bite them back fast enough, âyou betrayed my trust, anders. you took away my right to choose when you lied to me for why you needed all of those ingredients.â
âi know.â is all he offers.
âi know?â she parrots back to him, âif you knew, if you bloody well knew then why even bother? why even accept that sodding key, why stay here? you canât hide behind the excuse that you knew you would hurt me in the end. there must have been a part of you that knew this wouldnât end well for you, for us.
âwas there ever an us, anders?â
âyes!â something in him snaps before he pulls himself back together, âthere always was, reyna. there always was, and that was never in question.â
the question is on the tip of her tongue, but she knows she will never get a proper answer. not one she doesnât already know, âyou thought i wouldnât support you in this, so you didnât even take the chance.â
âadmit it, you wouldnât have. no one we know wouldâve. and i do not blame you.â anders nearly chastises her, âi could not take that chance to drag you into this. it would be my burden to bear.â
âi am not a child, anders.â
âi know.â
âthen you wouldâve known that i would at least hear you out. that i wouldâve listened. that you didnât have to play this game of secrecy with me,â she will not beg for an answer if that isnât what he intends to give her. she is not pathetic.
âyou wouldâve stopped me. this was something i had to do.â
âwould i have? i supported you everywhere else. nearly got myself killed for you. was that not enough to solidify that i was yours, that i would always be with you no matter what?â
when she can not find anymore words, pointedly looking at him instead, he slips the twine that the key hung on from around his neck. worn, but obviously well taken care of. itâs not even scratched upon further inspection. he holds it out her, in a similar fashion that she had given it to him earlier this year. twinkling in the dying light of the fire, spinning gently in a circle, âtell me to go, reyna.â
she hates the way he says it. as if he has already accepted that she will kick him out properly this time. how her name doesnât sound like sugar on oneâs tongue, it instead sounds like the salty tears that had poured down her cheeks for days after the chantry incident. thinly veiled frustration, barely veiled sadness.
she could tell him to go now. thereâs nothing keeping her from doing so. it would be significantly easier if she did, in fact. travelling lighter, and she didnât have to watch for templars nearly as often because an apostate wouldnât be with her. she could support herself. she was not helpless.
itâd be that easy. just a few words, and sheâd be free to leave this cursed city.
then go, anders. i donât want you here anymore. youâve destroyed what we had in favor of forwarding your own political agenda. you used me! you used my trust to do all of this, and now you have the audacity to come back and give me my own key back like you actually care what i think of you? you used my love for you. you twisted and tore us apart to something unfathomable. you have no right to be here. this is not your home any longer.
a fire roaring. intoxicated with adrenaline, wandering hands. happy looks, the roll of oneâs eyes at anotherâs antics. the feeling of being a pair, the emotions she could never replicate with another.
he used me!
the warmest look in amber eyes as their lips fit together, tasting of lyrium and metallic blood.
her hand is shaking just out of the corner of her eye, she can grasp it now. itâs warm as she takes it from his hand. carefully. slowly. the twine has nearly frayed in so many places, yet knotted together again and again with dexterous hands she could only credit to him.
she knows what she has to do. the fire inside blazes and she opens her mouth to speak, setting her face. this isnât something she should just back down from.
yet...
the words donât come.Â
they fail her.Â
instead of anything else, even managing a curse or two, she moves her other hand to take his, pressing the key firmly back into his palm, curling his fingers back over it. inhaling, she wonders if sheâs making the right decision. is this worth it? should she even begin to take the chance? the chance she could never have another life, never rebuild what she once had?
is it worth it to try and rebuild the shattered pieces in front of her, the scars reopening and bleeding from when it had first broken?
she remembers a vase she and her siblings had broken as children -- her motherâs in fact. blue, glittering in the dying sunlight of the evening when it had broken.
chipped. but not beyond recognition. the bigger pieces were still intact. it was glued back together with the help of their father before their mother was any the wiser.
it will hurt to put the glass back together if she chooses to pick them back up.
exhaling, she finally looks up at him. thinly veiled shock, surprise greets her instead in his expression, âdonât.â is all she can say, lest she actually let her emotions get the better of her.
reyna knows the wish that she could be alone on the road was real, was tangible. but she canât. not after losing her father, losing carver, losing bethany, losing her mother, slowly losing the people around her to her own mind. not now. not when she knows that she still cares about him. not when there is one person left in the world like hum.
âreyna, i donât deserve this. you know that much better than i do.â he tries to give it back to her, but she only clutches his hand tighter.
âkeep it.â she nearly orders before softening her tone, âplease.â
he considers his words, âif..you wish.â
reyna is quiet again. then she is really doing this, a wave of sadness passing over her. she is leaving, with the one person that caused the need to. but the person that she still has fractured trust from, the person that was her first, and if she letâs this progress, her last.
âi will not try to explain it again. you know my reasoning, reyna. and i am truly sorry for the pain i have caused you,â he admits quietly, âi can say a million things, but you would still find faults. and i can never truly apologize for what happened.â
âyou canât,â she agrees, wrapping her cloak around her lithe figure tighter, âyouâre right on that front.â
heâs not phased by her response, âi am not asking to be taken back. i know i have foolishly thrown away what we had.â
âagain, you are correct,â she rubs the fabric in between her gloved fingers. she hesitates again, knowing what she says now will make or break whatever this is, âbut. why are you here then? if you know?â
âi...was not going to ask to travel with you, but to say goodbye. i was unsure if you wanted to see me, or if you were even still here to be entirely honest, but i wished to try,â he pauses, âi will always care for you, reyna. even if it is no longer reciprocated.â
and that is it. it sounds terribly final, as if he is ready to leave right that very moment. he has not made another advance towards her, but his eyes crinkle into a sad smile. one that is all too reminiscent of the same received that fateful day sheâd first met him.
a rush of anxiety takes her heart hostage before she speaks again, turning over her shoulder to walk towards the door. she canât face him when sheâs on the brink of a breakdown, âyou always did assume so much, anders.â reyna muses.
she doesnât watch his reaction, but she can hear him walking ever closer, the sound of his staff dragging along the ground doing nothing to hide his presence from her, âwill i see you again?â he asks hurriedly.
another blink. another halt of her thought process.
she canât do this. she was supposed to be strong. but she isnât. heâs too much to her, heâs been too much to her. how much he gave her, material and emotionally. sheâs not ready to rip that away.
it wouldnât be the same.
everything is still much too raw. too painful to touch. but no one said she had to touch an open would right then, in that very moment. another time, when it was easier to treat. allowed time to heal.
âit would be a crime if you did not,â she puts a hand on the knob, cold through her gloves. itâs nearly entirely dark, now that the fire is gone and the moonlight is shining through the window to illuminate the room, glinting off the steel of hids staff, âtell me, anders.â
âanything.â he answers, careful, calculating. gauging her reaction.
âcan--â she turns over her shoulder, tears building in her eyes as she awaits his response, âcan you still give me a world like the one you described in the gallows?â
heâs rendered speechless for once. then, recognition flashes through his eyes, as if he is remembering exactly what she is talking about. then, a nod, âi can surely try, if you allow me the pleasure.â
reyna pulls her hood up over head. considering, overthinking at this point, before taking his hand with her free one. this would not be perfect, far from it. she still has anger boiling just underneath the surface. they will both be hunted, unless they should leave the free marches. she is signing away any chance at a normal life.
she squeezes his fingers in herâs tentatively, âthen let us find it, yes?â
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he flies he lies  hawks realizes that he has been telling the truth to the villains and lying to the heroes / For @villainmonth /edit by @inumaqi fic by @linkspooky
âListen I want you to trust what Iâm about to say.â âThose are some pretty serious words youâre sayingâŚâÂ
â
If you have wings, you should fly. That is what Hawks always believed. Feathers were designed by god to catch the air, they did not fall, they floated down. He could pluck one of his feathers, throw it into the sky and watch it dance.Â
That was what freedom looked like. But looks were deceiving. His quirk manifested at four years old. He still remembered, terrified of the bulges that had formed on his back, but they could not afford a doctor. Trash that littered the floor, and parents that did not look his way because they considered himself like the garbage that piled up, something that needed to be thrown out. Hawks remembered thinking several times as he looked up at the sky, if he could escape to the sea or the sky, he would have flown away from here in an instant. His pain was prolonged for an entire month as something budded from his back. It felt like vines were growing out from him, and he felt every single thorn as they snaked out in the layers between his skin, and wrapped around his spine. He was cut, again and again, inside and out. Then one day, the skin on his back broke. He woke up with two long rivulets of blood streaming down from both sides of his back, an injury that made him look like an angel who had both wings ripped away from his flesh. Then at his upper backs, two large bones had emerged covered in feathers.Â
On that first day he pulled those feathers old with a pair of rusty gardening shears out of fear because he did not know what was happening. A mess of blood, and feathers, and two wings plucked raw, but they grew back. It was when he spread his wings for the first time, that he realized he could not leave the ground. There was nowhere for him to fly. Nowhere he could escape to.Â
â
Hawks always had a feeling that he was lighter than air. That there was not enough of himself to fill up his own body. Birds needed to be that way in order to fly, their bones were hollow, and their lungs took up most of their body mass filling them with air. He had the same feeling, nothing inside of him, deep down to his bones.Â
Wherever he walked his feet didnât touch the ground. He was not flying so much as floating, transparent, hollow, he simply hovered there like a ghost with no substance. It was easy for him to smile, because there was no feeling behind the gesture to him.Â
When he was younger he never smiled, he found no reason to, and one day he noticed the adults around him were a bit softer on him if he forced the muscles in his face to pull back his lips. Whatever was inside of him, he was sure it was not a hero. Not like All Might, never like him. He was hair, feathers, talons, scars, and bones. He was all of that, and he was still nothing. He was the blood in his body, but maybe only air flowed through his veins. There were holes in his bones. No, there were holes in Hawks. The air simply passed right through him. He was someone who was simply there. He was there and yet not there. But Hawks used this quality of his. Useless children were like trash piling up in the Takami Household, they were knocked down to the floor, and then they were eventually thrown away. He could smile when he did not feel like smiling. He could always continue to smile, even when there was no reason. He just needed to keep flying. Fly up, up, and up. And forget about crashing down back to earth.Â
He just had to keep smiling, even now. That was what he told himself, as Jeanist turned his head back to look at him. âItâs rare for you to come visit me like this.â âHow are you feeling?â Hawks, dressed like a model, his hair combed back and feathered, his wings stretching to relax. He took nothing seriously, he never had so much as a heavy thought cross his mind. Burdened by nothing, carefree, that was the âHawksâ that he showed to Jeanist. âMuch better than before!â âDidnât you ask that old lady over at UA for help?â âUnfortunately, she canât recover something that has already been lost.âÂ
Hawks knew that already. For example if you sever a limb, an arm, a leg, or maybe your own heart. Itâs impossible to recover, the only thing left is the phantom pain from something that is no longer there, and a feeling of missing something.Â
Nothing held any weight for him. Not even a human life held that much in his hands. What he was about to do did not show on his face at all, not even a twitch of regret and Hawks wondered for a moment if he could do this and feel nothing if he was someone really worthy of being called a hero.Â
Heroes saved other people. Hawks could not save anyone, not even himself.Â
âEven with a missing lung, we humans can continue to live. Iâll probably go public with this soon. There are many awaiting my reformation.â âI see!âÂ
Liar. Humans could not continue to live. They were so fragile. They died so easily. That always weighed on his mind. The more weight he had, the harder it was to fly. When he saw butterflies, all he thought of was their fragility. He could let a butterfly land on his hands, and at any moment, tear both of his wings from his body and rip them to pieces, then scatter them like a flower. The faint beating of a butterflyâs wings. The paper thing wings, the fragile line between life and death, so easily torn up and full of holes. It moved in time with the quiet murmur of his heart. His wings flexed and spread behind his back.Â
He always wondered when his feathers grew, why they turned from white to red. His feathers were bleeding, red with streaming blood. His feathers were burning, red as the flames.Â
Like a white flower. Spilled blood would dye it red. It would glow red with flames.Â
âThatâs quite unfortunate.â Hawks wore, a predatory smile, a bird about to devour carrion. He held his sharpened feather in his hand cutting his fingers on the edges. He was killing someone already as good as dead. He felt nothing, but also he felt -fragile.
More scared than the butterfly. His bones were hollow and soon they would shatter like glass.Â
He was not flying, not at all. His feet did not touch the ground because he was hanging in suspension. The rope tightened around his neck, but he took a step forward off the chair to fall. The wind whipped him back and forth. All he could do was sway, and hope when this was all over someone would take his body down. He died by slow suffocation. He was free, surrounded entirely by air, and he could not breathe.
Hawks knew, killing Jeanist would be as good as killing himself. In that moment he would die. But, he would not be allowed to die either. Even after sacrificing his life there was more he could sacrifice, more the hero commission could take from him. Hawks thought it was funny, he never thought he had much to begin with, no connection to his name, no nest to roost in, and nothing inside of him but hollow bones and yet somehow the hero commission always took more. Being a hero was all he had. He brought the feather up, and slashed it behind Jeanistâs back, killing him like a coward. But, he could not call himself a hero anymore.
â
The only piece that matters on the board is the king, the rest are all considered disposable. In shogi a player could still win as long as their king remained. Hawks was a useful knight, even a general, but he was someone who could never become king. A king had worth, and he was damaged goods, recycled and put to use by the hero commission after his parents threw him away. He flew through the air, trying to forget the body he had stuffed in a bag. If Jeanist was still here, if he could hear him, Hawks could only say that whatever happened to him in the end would be far worse.Â
He saw this image in his dreams so many times. His feathers burning up in front of him, he watched them combust. They fell away from him like glittering stars. Sparkling, sparkling, sparkling. His wings melted and he realized he could no longer fly. Without wings he would just be a broken thing, a damaged kid. When would it be his turn to fall apart? When would it be his turn to crash back down to earth? It was as inevitable as gravity.Â
Then, there was no flying. There was only falling. Maybe he never once flew. Maybe he was just falling slowly. Dabiâs skin is torn up and sewn together from pieces, and he smiles even though it rips his lip. Hawks wonders if itâs painful for that man to smile too, his eyes linger on the lips as he tihnks of his own. His every smile was a lie. To live here, he needed to breathe lies. âIâm curious why this guy? You could have picked someone lower on the list.âÂ
Hawks just needs to tell another lie. The Hawks in front of Dabi right now, is someone who sympathizes with the cause of the villains, an unwitting pawn, but also too valuable a piece to throw away.Â
He smiles and realizes nothing. He knows nothing. He does not know who his real enemies are.Â
âBecause he was useless.âÂ
That was his own voice. âUseless heroes get thrown out.â He heard the sound of his own voice. Why was he... âTheyâre only worth the results they can produce for the commision.Despite everything heâs done for them, the second he became a burden they would have let him take the fall anyway.âÂ
Why was he telling the truth? Lie to the villains, deceive the villains, report back to the heroes. The mission was so simple, except for this one complicating factor. A knot in the rope he tied around his neck. Dabi will laugh at him. Just like in front of Endeavor, just like with the hero he killed, he will play it all like one big joke. Dabi is just a murderer. To kill people he must have felt nothing at all.
Just like me.
Hawks feels himself grinding his own teeth when he did not mean to. His mask is cracked, and Dabi was going to see him for what he really was. He was going to die now, burned up in Dabiâs sun. He saw Dabi reach his hand forward and closed his eyes in anticipation. A hand. On his shoulder. Someone holding him, touching him. He was touched and he did not break, even though he was fragile. Heavy, far too heavy. âWe donât do that here.â Dabi said, his fingers clasping, tightening around him. His hands are, so unbelievably warm and birds are cold blooded animals. âDonât worry so much, you look like the kind of useless guy thatâs always worrying.â âNo way, youâve got to have brains to have the headspace to be worrying. Iâmlike a chicken with his head cutoff.â âYeah, whatever.â Dabi said, not believing him. âYouâre such a shitty liar.â
â
He was a bad liar. Those words remained in his head, even after he left Deika city. Back on his home turf, he took up roost in a high place. Whenever Dabi asked him to meet he always picked somewhere up high if he got the choice. So idiots prefer high places, huh? Dabi would mock him. His head was empty now. He wanted to cut his head off and throw it into the sky. Maybe then he would finally become a bird. He was thinking of that, and he was thinking that they sky in front of his eyes seemed endless. But there was nothing to see. He jumped down and wondered what would happen if he did not spread his wings. He would fall, obviously. And then he would splat. But after that he would be free. He just needed to let go and fall. He had been waiting his whole life for the rope to snap.
He was born with wings. He had no idea why. There was nothing in the sky.Â
He spread his wings out to catch himself at the last minute, and the people around him clapped and cheered. As he landed on a stop sign, a child asked him. âHawks-san, whatâs it like to be a hero?â âYou save other people.â âI bet you can save anyone! Iâve always wanted to be a hero, is it fun? Are you happy?â His hands. Bright red. Jeanistâs blood. He shoved them in his pockets. âMm, being a hero is all I ever really wanted -â His mouth moved. He was the one talking. And somebody elseâs voice came out. He could not hear his own voice anymore. A lie. âIâm really happy like this.â Youâre such a shitty liar.Â
#zeldi drabbles tag#hawks#takami keigo#dabi#villainmonth#villianmonth2019#my hero academia fic#my hero academia drabble#hawks fic#tw: suicidal ideation#tw: abuse mention
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Stan Lee University (Part 17)
Prompt: What would the Avengers be like in college, more importantly, what would they be like if Y/N existed around them?
Word Count: 3331
Warnings: drama, language, welcome to fluff town
Notes: This is based on a HC from @carryonmyswansong. They helped brainstorm and write part of this series. In this AU, no one will have powers, everyone is a normal human. Betaâd by @carryonmyswansong
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January tenth, and Stephen was set to be back home. Due to your excitement, you couldnât sleep in, so you woke up fairly early. You got a little dressed up, and ran up to the airport to eagerly await his arrival.
Finally, after an hour, his plane landed. Youâd been watching the board like a hawk, anticipating an early landing.Â
You waited at the departure terminal, barely able to contain yourself. You hopped from one foot to the other, glancing to every single face that passed by. You tried looking over peopleâs heads until finally, there he was, in all his glory.
In an effort to keep from squealing, you waved your arms excitedly. He smiled at you and waved back before walking more quickly to meet you. As soon as he was within reach you slammed into him, knocking the wind out of him.Â
âJesus,â he gasped as you clung to him.
âI missed you,â you said defensively.Â
âClearly, thatâs why youâre trying to kill me,â he joked, his arms wrapped around you.Â
âYou should know by now thatâs how I show affection,â you teased, still squeezing him.Â
âAlright, maybe we should go get my luggage?â he suggested.
You moped and sighed. âFine.â
He laughed. âWeâre about to share almost every day together.â
âBut Iâve missed you.â
He took your hand as you two walked, kissing the back of it. âI know.â
âI read all your letters. Twice,â you informed, a little sheepishly.
âGlad you like them.â
âI loved them. Theyâre on my nightstand. I read one a night before I go to bed.â
âIâm youâre only source of literature? Thatâs sad,â he noted.
You laughed. âNot for long if you keep that up, asshole.â
The two of you grabbed his luggage, got him loaded into the car, and you drove him straight to his house.Â
âWell, here you are,â you noted, getting a little sad. You hadnât met his family yet, and you didnât know if he wanted to do it just yet.Â
âYeah, here we are,â he echoed. âHey, do you think youâd have time to come in? Meet the folks?â
âYou...actually want me to meet them?â
âDo you need your hearing checked? Is that not what I just said?â
You looked towards the front door. âWell, yeah, but I wasnât sure if you were ready or if we were ready orâŚâ
âIâve met pretty much all of your family. Youâre important to me, so I think itâs time my family met you.â
Swallowing, you nodded.
He started to retract his statement. âLook, if you arenât up to it or donât want to, I wonât force you. I just thought itâd be niceâŚâ
You slowly bobbed your head. âOkay, yeah. Letâs do it.â
âCool.â He jumped out of your car and grabbed his bags from the trunk. You grabbed his carry on and followed him inside the house. âIâm home,â he called out, but no response came at first. He walked into the kitchen and found his mom and you assumed his brother.Â
The woman looked to be middle aged, a short dark brunette bob, and she was wearing a brown blouse, tan slacks, and gold jewelry. His brother was blonde, in a checkered button blue button down with a red tie and nearly white pants.Â
âAh, there he is, back from New York,â his brother noted.
âLondonâŚâ Stephen corrected evenly.
âWelcome home, darling,â his mom greeted kindly. âWhoâs this?âÂ
âThis is Y/N,â he introduced. âMy girlfriend. Y/N, this is my mom Beverly and my brother Victor.â
You extended your hand, shaking both of theirs. âItâs so lovely to meet you both. Stephenâs told me all about you.â
âReally? We havenât heard one word about you,â Victor noted.
You pursed your lips, unsure how to respond.
âThatâs because youâre never around,â he snapped. âSpeaking of, why are you here?â
âTo talk to Dad, but heâs in his study on the phone. Wanted to run an idea by him,â he informed.Â
âRight,â he remarked.Â
âHow was your trip, dear?â Beverly asked, trying to stop the feud between them.
âCold, drizzly, informative,â he rattled off and you couldnât help but frown slightly. Stephen told you something new every day, telling you all about his time at the hospital. But he gave his mom three words? You knew they werenât close but this house felt just as empty as when his family wasnât here. âI was wondering if Y/N could stay for dinner? Thought she could meet DadâŚâ
âWell, I suppose so,â his mom sighed as she picked up her wine and nursed it.
He just looked at his mom and his brother and then shook his head slightly, gesturing for you to follow him upstairs to his room. The two of you began unpacking his things.Â
âJesus christ,â he groaned, clearly agitated as he threw pants into his dresser. âI wish for fucking once they could be decent.â
You remained quiet.
âVictor, I get. Heâs always an ass. That wonât change. The only thing he cares about is black credit cards and cars to match.â
âWas⌠he always that way?â you wondered.
âShit, I donât know. We werenât really close growing up. We got even further apart after⌠after Donna died.âÂ
âMaybe he canât stand the idea of being close to anyone, for fear heâll lose them. So if he makes himself distance and cold and aloof, he wonât have to face any pain if something happens.â
Stephen stopped unpacking for a second and sat on the bed. âYeah, maybe. Hell, I donât know. It just -- youâre the first person I really give a shit about and they canât give you two seconds. Hell, your whole family talked to me, asked about me. My mom didnât even ask for your last name, how I met you, or anything.â
âCould you just tell her? Without an invitation? Maybe she doesnât know what you do and donât want to share.â
âItâd be a moot point, I honestly think all girls sort of present themselves the same to her. So she doesnât care.â
âIf this is true, then why am I here for dinner?â
âBecause youâre important to me, youâre going to be around, I figured they might want to know whoâs coming in their house.â
You nodded.Â
âAnd your Dad?â
He scoffed. âFuck, Dad wonât even notice youâre here.â with that, he got back up and continued unpacking while you helped.
âYou know, when a family loses a child--âÂ
âDonât,â he slightly warned. âIâm not trying to be a dick, but I know all about the grief cycle, how it affects families. Just please⌠donât give me the brochure version, alright?â
You nodded. âAlright.â You werenât hurt. It wasnât your place to lecture or âanalyzeâ them, but you thought Stephen might appreciate the practical approach. But this was an emotional issue, logic wouldnât do here.Â
âItâs just⌠I know it hurts. I know. I miss her every single day, and I feel like itâs my fault sheâs gone, but⌠they seem to forget theyâve got other kids. Everyone just went their separate ways after she died and I hate it.â
âThat happens a lot with families.â
âYeah,â he said with a humorless laugh. âJust donât get why. Isnât that the time to come together? To be together? To bond? I mean, you already know our time is short here and we never know when the day is going to be our last⌠Seems like theyâd want to make the most of our time.âÂ
âNot everyone can focus on what they still have. Sometimes itâs hard to look past what you lost.âÂ
âThatâs definitely true,â he agreed with a nod. âWell anyway, enough of the Strange pity party. Letâs just try to get through this night.âÂ
All you did was nod, seeing as you werenât sure what else to say, or that you should say.
In an hour and a half, Beverly texted Stephen telling him dinner was ready.Â
The two of you descended the stairs where you met his father, a balding man who already had his attention fixed on a tablet. You and Stephen sat on one of the long sides of the table, while Victor sat across from you. Beverly sat on one of the short ends, opposite her husband.Â
Beverly was still bringing the food to the table when Stephen piped up, âUh, Dad, Iâve got someone Iâd like you to meet,â he noted.Â
A grunt came from his father, he didnât bother to look up.Â
âDad⌠Did you hear me?â he asked again.
âWhat?â he finally asked, seeming to snap out of his own head. âAh, youâre back from⌠Europe. How nice. How was it?âÂ
âFine. Great. Learned a lot. Anyway, I want you to meet Y/N, my girlfriend.â
His eyes slid to mine. âNice to meet you.â
âIs this one going to stick or should we just wait for the next one?â Victor wondered.
âWould you even notice the difference if there was a next one?â Stephen snapped and you just reached over and slowly grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He took a deep breath and said, âWell, dinner looks great, Mom.â
âThank you,â she said, sitting down.
âYes, thank you so much,â you said, turning to her.Â
âNot a problem.â
Everyone began to dish food onto their plates, but you waited until the family had gotten theirs.Â
âAnything interesting today, Dad?â Victor asked.
âLooks like the DOW is down,â he noted in a gruff.
âWhat a shame, hey, I found out some good news about that stock you invested in last week.â
âMmm, good, send me a report in email,â his dad ordered before taking a sip of his water, his eyes still never left the tablet.Â
Victor seemed to suppress a sigh as he worked on his food.Â
âUh, Mrs. Strange, this foodâs great. Have you been cooking long?â you wondered.
âJust since Eugene and I got married,â she informed.Â
âOh, interesting. And Eugene, you work in finance?â you asked, turning your attention to him.
âYes.â
âIf the DOW is down, how will that affect your business?âÂ
âPoorly.â
âOh, well Iâm sure itâll look up soon. What with the way the low interest rates that are about to hit on the market.â
Suddenly, his dad put his tablet down and looked at you. âCome again? You know stocks?â
âI dabble. My momâs a bit of a risk taker. She likes to gamble, but she likes to gamble using stocks.â
âAnd you think itâll go back up?â
âOh, sure, just look at the trend itâs been in,â you informed, launching into the past four months of data, comparing it to other trends. Eugene asked you several questions and even Victor seemed to want to test your knowledge.Â
âThatâs impressive, Y/N. Not many people your age know that sort of knowledge. You thinking about finance for a career?â
âNo, uh, actually going to medical school like Stpehen here, but instead of neurosurgery, Iâm interested in psychiatry.â
âI bet youâll do great in that. Itâs a shame though. Iâm sure I could get you a spot on our firm now, with your knowledge. You wouldnât make a lot at first, but if you stuck to it, Iâm sure I could get you some promising figures.âÂ
âThank you, thatâs very kind, but I am happy with the path Iâm on. If that changes, youâll be the first to know.â
âYeah, Dad, Y/N diagnosed a patient that we were having trouble with in London. She saved her life. Works down at that clinic with Dr. York now as a consult.â
âIs that so?â he asked, his face beaming as he nodded, smiling at you.Â
âYes, sir,â you stated.Â
âWell, itâs clear youâll do just fine no matter what avenue you pick. Good for you.âÂ
âThank you.âÂ
The rest of the dinner was eaten in comfortable silence before everyone disbanded and seemed to go their own ways. You and Strange got up to his room and he shut the door.
âMy dad has ever talked to guest that long, ever. I donât even think he talks to the cable repair guy that long.â
You shrugged. âWhat can I say, parents love me.â
âI didnât know you knew stocks.â
âI didnât know your dad was in finance.âÂ
âIs there anything you canât do?âÂ
âI apparently canât make the best pizza sauce,â you joked.Â
âWell thatâs true. I guess I have that over you.âÂ
------------------------------
The next couple of nights, Stephen came over to your house to meet your family officially. They all gushed over him and everyone but your dad gave him a hug. Your mom sat with him and practically learned his whole life story in one sitting. Everyone was hanging on his every word, all while you just held his hand and stared at him in awe.Â
They all seemed to really enjoy having them around and he smiled quite often while he was at your house.Â
This weekend, Stephen was packing for his dorm. You two got dorms next door to each other this semester and you were thrilled. He was taking a break to shower though, so you two could go see a movie.Â
You decided to go wander around the house while he did that and you ended up out in the backyard where his mom was.Â
âHi,â you greeted as you came up beside her.
âOh, hello there,â she returned as she worked on a little garden bed. She had white shorts, a sun hat, and a blue shirt on.Â
âWhat are you planting, if you donât mind me asking?â
âBachelor buttons, hopefully theyâll come up in time for spring.â
âOh, I love those.â You glanced around the garden, noting the different vibrant colors. âOh, your wisteria is gorgeous.â
She smiled. âThank you. Itâs one of my pride and joys.âÂ
âItâs stunning. Would you like some help?âÂ
She looked up at you, a curious expression on her face. âSure. You can start digging the hole for the canna lilies, if you donât mind.â
âI donât mind at all. Where would you like it?âÂ
âRight over here is fine,â she said pointing about a foot away from the area she was working on.
You picked up the shovel and sat it where she pointed it. âRight here?â
âThatâs just fine.âÂ
With that, you got to work, digging easily in the soft soil.
âSo how did you and Stephen meet?â she casually asked as she unpackaged the bubled plants.Â
âWe were actually physics partners for lab,â you informed.Â
âOh, well thatâs nice.â
âMhm. We seemed to hit it off. He came to my pre-med club, and we became good friends.â
She made a noise of admiration. âMmm, all good loves come from good friendships. Itâs a great foundation.â
âI think so too.â
âAnd youâre going to medical school too, hmm?â
âYes, maâam, thatâs the plan.â
âWill you go where Stephen goes?âÂ
This question threw you for a loop for a moment.Â
âOh, Iâm not sure. We havenât really discussed it at all,â you informed honestly. âWeâre still only juniors so weâve got a little bit of time.â
âRight, absolutely,â she agreed. âWell you seem like a very sweet, well to-do young lady.â
âThank you very much. And Stephen is a great man. You and your husband did a fantastic job raising him. Heâs very sweet, brilliant, and funny.âÂ
She paused and looked up at you. âThatâs a very kind thing to say, thank you.âÂ
âYouâre welcome.âÂ
âHeâs lucky to have found you. Heâs been so closed off from everyone since⌠well⌠I donât know if he told you about the accident.â
You were done digging so you sat the shovel down and sat down in the grass across from Beverly.Â
âAbout Donna? Yes, he did. Iâm so very sorry for that. I know my words donât help, but, know it pains me to know that tragedy hit your family.â
She nodded. âI appreciate that. Ever since then, heâs been so⌠isolated. I wish I could reach him. He left his old school, all his friends⌠At least heâs closer to home now, but he still wants to live on campus. I guess I canât change that.â
You gave a soft, half smile.Â
âYou seem to be good for him though. He smiles a lot more now that youâre around,â she mentioned.Â
âI hope so.â
âDo you know if heâs⌠happy?â
You bit your lip as that was a loaded question. âI⌠know he misses his sister every day. And I know he feels responsible. But he misses you all,â you remarked carefully.
She sighed. âI miss him too.âÂ
âWhatâs going on out here?â Stephen asked as he walked up.
âOh, just girl talk. Me and Y/N here were getting to know each other a little better. Sheâs helping me plant some flowers,â she informed with a kind smile at you.Â
âThatâs dangerous. Alright, Y/N, letâs go,â he said quickly. You got up and dusted your pants off.
âI hope I helped,â you said sweetly.
âYou did,â she assured, and you werenât sure if she meant the gardening or with her sonâŚ
As you two got in Stephenâs car he said, âYou donât have to do that.âÂ
âDo what?â
âTry to bond with her. If it makes you uncomfortable--â
âI like trying to get to know youâre family,â you assured. âI think itâs nice.âÂ
âIâm glad someone thinks so.â
--------------
The two of you went to the movies and when you returned, you said you had to use the bathroom. Suddenly, Beverly spoke to her son.
âI like her, you should bring her around more often,â she noted as she worked on chopping carrots.
âIâm sorry, what?â he said, as if he didnât hear her.Â
âYou heard me,â she informed evenly.Â
âWh--Well, alright, I will.âÂ
âGood. I think sheâs a good addition to the family.â
At this, he smiled and nodded. âI think so too.â
âShe doesnât just lock herself in your room like some of your old friends and girlfriends did.â
âNo, sheâs not like any of them at all.â
âWhich is a good thing,â she sternly noted. âWhy donât you have her and some friends over next weekend, you know, after school starts? A little party?â
âAnd⌠Dadâs okay with that?â
âIâm sure your father would be delighted to have some energy back in this place.â
âAlright, Iâll see what I can do,â he promised just as you exited the bathroom.Â
You greeted Beverly and offered to help her with dinner but she declined so you two went into the living room.Â
--------------------------
Time around Stephenâs family was tense at first, of course, but you tried to balance time between your homes. Friday nights you went to your house, Saturday nights at his place, then you alternated on Sundays.Â
It seemed that when you were around the Strangeâs the atmosphere sort of picked up. You made sure to check in on Beverly every time you came over, seeing if she would like help around the house or if she she just wanted to talk. The few times Victor popped up, you tried to be kind to him as well. Eugene was always thrilled to see you and eventually you made your way from talking about stocks to horse racing to bartending to economy. He always seemed really intrigued with what you had to say and took you very seriously.Â
Stephen always thanked you for being patient with them, and he thanked you for seemingly helping them get out of their rut. Eugene no longer locked himself in his study, unless he really had a lot of work to get done, and Beverly seemed to not grab a glass of wine every night with dinner.Â
For whatever reason, your presence seemed to instill a new hope, a new energy into the house.Â
And for the first time in a long time, they enjoyed spending time together as a family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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â¤đŚđ˘đ
LOVE & SEXUALITY QUESTIONS!  /  ACCEPTING.
â¤Â  HAVE THEY EVER BEEN IN LOVE?
i wanna say âŚÂ yes and no.  yes,  because thereâs definitely been times in her busy life where sheâs brushed with serious romantic inclinations for another person.Â
but also no,  because sheâs never really allowed herself to fully chase after those notions.Â
like,  hereâs the thing.  love is a real bag of shit.   it is.  it is!  it feels good,  looks good,  but itâll change you completely and you just gotta deal.  sit in your little carseat with your fuckin.  little idiot goldfish crackers and your stupid - ass baby cup for babies and let that bitch ride out.  thatâs exactly how it is.  it completely takes over,  you know,  just busts up in here and you arenât even prepared,  deer in the headlights,  pants down,  tits out,  you gotta fuckin deal.
but itâs not that easy!  it never is.  love is intrusive as fuck and often overpowers all rational thinking.  when youâre in love,  that person is always gonna be the only thing on your mind.  you do stupid,  impulsive things for them,  maybe to protect them or save them or even just to hold the smallest bit of their attention,  without really considering the consequences or what itâll do to you in the aftermath.  or you feel the need to tell them every little detail about you,  all your secrets and your stories,  and it physically pains you when you donât.  you just wanna give up everything you are to that one fucking person and theyâre free to do with it whatever they want.  kill you with it,  even.  at that point youâre probably wishing they just would.
and then thereâs hawke.   hawke,  with all the pride in the world.  with an absolute fortress built around herself.  with nothing left to lose and yet everything left to lose.  hawke has never experienced any of that.  sheâs never wanted to give up all her secrets to one other person,  never sought to sacrifice her own happiness or reputation for anything smaller than the greater good.  never wanted to turn herself completely inside out until there was nothing left to hide from them.  she has way too much dignity;  stubborn as shit,  very secretive,  very careful about who she lets into her personal life ( the real one,  anyway.  girlâs got a little black book thicker than the bible. )  Â
if she were to ever fall in love,  itâd just.  man itâd just tear her apart.  p much erase everything she is as a person and build a whole new woman out of what she feels for someone else.  itâd be fucked up and she actually canât even fathom ever being like that.  thatâs not to say she doesnât know how to love,  cuz sheâs not cold - hearted,  but sheâs just âŚÂ scared of it.  either sheâs afraid of the day it really,  really happens,  or she doesnât think it ever will happen,  not entirely,  not fully.  itâs not her biggest priority either way,  but i think that if you could be someone hawke loves,  someone she really, really loves and trusts,  then itâs like âŚÂ  a whole victory on its own,  and you better be prepared for her acting weird as shit when she finally realizes it too.
đŚÂ WHEN DID THEY LOSE THEIR VIRGINITY?Â
relatively young.  although sheâd fooled around before ( age  13 or so ),  she didnât have penetrative sex until she was fifteen, and with a boy a few years older than her who made a real bad first impression.  sheâd only been with girls before that  â  you know,  experimenting and whatnot,  because she was ~ blossoming ~ and it was easier to go at it with anatomy she was already familiar with.  Â
đ˘ HAVE THEY EVER BEEN CHEATED ON BY A PARTNER?
nope.  i think itâs important to note that hawke is not only super noncommittal in the first place,  but very,  very careful when choosing a real partner.  sheâll do all she can to avoid situations where thereâs even a slight chance that her pride could be hurt,  so itâs not very often that she engages in a real relationship.  if she trusts the other person a lot and has spent a long time with them,  then maybe sheâll go for it,  but again,  thatâs super rare because sheâs kinda plagued with this incessant need to neurotically foresee what small things could go wrong and how that could affect her or her reputation.
that being said,  if unromanced throughout DA2,  then sheâs only been in one other relationship in her life when she was just a child,  so it almost doesnât really count  ( although it really did to her at the time  ).  otherwise sheâs had a plethora of fuckbuddies and one night stands,  most of which were super regrettable coughcoughmeeran but  no one to actually earn the title of her exclusive partner just yet.  even so,  i think youâd have to have a real death wish to cheat on her,  even incidentally,  and try to get away with it.  hawke may fuck around but she doesnât fuck around, you know?  she might actually kill you.  like, not in a funny ha ha way,  i mean that chick will actually,  literally hunt you down and kill you.  itâs not only that you completely broke her trust,  but itâs a personal loss on her,  cuz she allowed herself to be fooled in the first place.
đ  WHAT WAS THEIR WORST BREAKUP?
i wouldnât call it a  break up  per se,  but when she was young  â  ten,  eleven  â  she had a little elven girlfriend who went missing one day.  it actually really fucked her up,  and she never did talk about it with anyone,  but it was just âŚÂ  a weird feeling.  scary, of course,  but the feeling of just standing by the seaside,  looking at something that was there and now itâs not,  itâs just.  eerie,  right?  like watching a modern movie starring someone whoâs now dead.  you feel weird.  everything feels weird.  not real,  for just a minute.  thatâs how it was for her at that age,  and sheâd never experienced anything like that before, and it just kinda  âŚÂ  it drowned out the heartbreak,  being as overwhelming as it was.  overwhelming and numb all at once.  Â
they met in one of the small villages hawke lived in temporarily while she and her family were still moving around.  the relationship wasnât anything too heavy,  just the light shit that children do,  yknow,  holding hands,  kissing playfully.  sharing snacks.  building hideouts.  that shit.  it was very innocent,  but it was still a definite, confirmed relationship between the two of them; hawke had very seriously asked this little girl to date her.
being at such a tender age,  it was really hard for hawke to rationalize what kind of bad things happened in little places like this.  i mean, you understand the little dangers,  like who not to talk to and where not to go,  but you donât really get the big picture.  you donât get why things happen the way they do or how they could ever happen to someone like you.  you donât get why people hurt other people.  sure,  it was embedded into her at a fairly young age that the world wasnât a trusting place,  but sometimes it was easy to forget that little fact when sheâd met someone who made her feel like it wasnât so bad afterall.
the slavers came late in the night and docked their boat right where the waves meet the sand,  where the girls liked to stand on grey days and wiggles their toes.  they didnât make a sound.  they'd been summoned on tips,  knowing exactly where to go.  raided.  left.  gone by sun - up.
no one knew that hawke had been so close to that girl,  therefore no one had thought of explaining to her what had happened.  she was just left alone with that fear,  standing there by the water,  looking at what once was but would never be anymore.
when she was younger,  hawkeâs father made the mistake of telling her horror stories of sirens and sea monsters,  birthing that fear in her as she always took his word for gospel.  she had already hated the water and would never go past the shore,  feeling that as long as she was still on land,  nothing could get her.
in her young mind,  she rationalized that the sirens had taken her little girlfriend afterall.  theyâd made the mistake of thinking they were safe,  invading upon that turf,  and the sirens made her pay for it.  it was a lot to swallow for a child.
needless to say she grew out of that mindset when she was older,  but she never stopped hating the water,  never stopped being afraid that sheâd slip in and get pulled down.  traveling was harder after that.  she couldnât help but wonder if they were sailing right over the remains of what once was,  and it made her stomach churn each time.  she got sea sick far more often.  even the smell of the water evoked that old sentiment in her gut,  that sadness,  that fear  â  and that still holds true even to this day,  although sheâs mostly forgotten about its origin.
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Heading Down The Rabbit Hole
It didn't take me long to get to 'Mitchell's Auto Repair' mechanics workshop where I had worked for the past four years. My best friend Daniel Mitchell's father owned the workshop, which was just off the beaten dirt track. Norco was a farming town, full of fields and dirt roads. There was only one road in and out of Norco and it was so small that everyone knew everyone else, which meant that everyone was in each other's business.
It was apparently commonly known, that once you lived here, there was never a way out. I refused to believe that and the moment Thomas was as far away from Wendy and this fucking forsaken town, and at the safety of the Medical School in Chicago, then I would be making a break for it myself. Thomas didn't need to know I was going back to Charming. I needed to get answers from anyone who was around when my father killed himself. So as I pulled up onto the forecourt of the auto repair business and kicked the stand of my bike down, I looked towards the office.
I could see through the window that Dan was sat at his desk on the phone, with a customer probably. Sitting back and getting comfortable on my bike, I slipped my hand into the pocket of my jacket and pulled out my heart medication, something I was destined to be on for the rest of my life. I was in good health so I could be thankful for that, but the medication made sure that my heart continued to beat in a regular pattern, to keep a stroke or heart attack at bay. Growing up I was a shit bag, I wanted to punish Wendy, out of pure spite, so I would spit them out when she wasn't looking. Which meant I spent more time in hospital having countless operations to get my heart beat back on track. It forced me to grow up quickly and stop punishing her by nearly killing myself. I wasn't ready to die. I wasn't ready to meet my maker, not yet anyway, not until I had closure. I had managed to drift off, just staring aimlessly at the bottle with the red capsules inside, when a glass of water was shoved under my nose and I tilted my head back to see Dan stood beside me.
"So you preparing to ask them on a date or you gonna take one?"
I quirked a brow before letting out a chuckle under my breath, reaching my free hand to take the glass from him.
"Thanks"
Standing up, I swung my leg over the bike and followed Dan back towards the office, he knew everything about my past, about Wendy, Tara, Gemma and Jackson, he knew everything about the fucked up world I was born into and the rise and fall of SAMCRO. Dan also knew that Charming was the place you went to die, and that meant SAMCRO was the place dreams went to die. But he never questioned my motives about wanting to go back there. He knew I needed answers, the answers to questions the reporters kept out of the papers, or some bent cop buried in some archive. I plonked down on the shabby and torn couch, covered in motor oil and coffee stains, I put the glass down on the table and opened the medicine bottle.
"So what brings you around today? You aren't on the books to work"
I held the familiar red pill up to examine it like I had never seen it before, I really did hate taking these pills on a daily basis. I popped the pill into my mouth and washed it back with the tepid water, grimacing, before shrugging at Dan's question.
"I couldn't stay in that house any longer, Wendy is watching me like a hawk and Nero.... well... he knows something is going on, but he is reluctant to ask questions."
Leaning back against the couch and folding my arms, I watched Dan rake his hand through his hair before folding his arms over his chest, mimicking me and leaning back against the desk.
"You still definitely going back to Charming then?"
His question was sincere, I nodded once as I looked around the office, it was grotty and old, and Laurence Mitchell really didn't get much trade out here. He spent more time fixing the farmers tractors than he did anything else. We would get the odd car come in now and again, usually from someone passing through and broke down, but it wasn't anything exciting.
"I am, I need answers and Wendy isn't giving me them, she knows, but she will take them to her grave, clearly Jax has sworn her to secrecy."
I watched Dan as he pushed from the desk.
"Well.... I have something for you then"
He was like an excitable puppy all of sudden as he walked around the desk and pulled a large folder from the top drawer of the desk.
"What are you going on about man?"
I looked at him questionably as he finally plonked down beside me and put the folder on the small coffee stained table. Curiosity got the better of me, so I sat up and pushed myself to the edge of the grubby couch.
"Well, I did that digging you wanted me to do"
Dan shuffled through papers, I couldn't exactly go digging on my past, Nero checked all my internet access and logins, so I couldn't keep it secret, so I asked Dan a few months ago to go digging on my background and Charming to see what he could find, but since he never came back to me, I assumed he didn't find anything.
"What did you find out?"
He grinned at me as he began.
"Well Abe's.... where do I start?"
I really hated it when he called me 'Abe', it made me sound like an old man. It was bad enough Wendy had given me this fucking name in the first place.
"Well, I went back the full twenty years, turns out that practically everyone who was in Sons of Anarchy when you were born, are now dead, bar a few, mostly all killed because of the orders of your father, or your step-grandfather"
I looked to Dan, I knew most of this, I don't actually remember anyone from Charming, if they weren't family, I didn't remember them, maybe for the best though. But I remained silent as I allowed for him to continue.
"Anyway, I found a guy called Filip Telford, he is also known as 'Chibs', he took over president from Jax, and he is still president of SAMCRO, with the vice being Alex Trager, Tigs? Remember them?"
I shook my head, I didn't remember the names.
"No, have you got photos?"
Dan bounced beside me.
"So glad you asked because I do"
He handed me a photo, it was a photo with around twelve men on, all bikers and all wearing the SAMCRO patch, above each head, Dan had written who they were, and I found Tigs and Chibs quickly, but I still didn't recognize them. I recognized Clay and Jax, but they were family, I had photos of them. Everyone else was a complete blur. I raised my hand and scratched my head trying to think, to see if I could recollect anything, but it had been a long time and I was only a child.
"I don't know any of them, not even the faces."
I kept hold of the photo.
"What else? Did you find out anything surrounding my father's death? Or Gemma's? Tara?"
I knew my father killed Gemma because he blamed her for Tara's death, but I didn't know why. Wendy, nor Nero would go into details or give me a straight answer. Dan tensed beside me.
"Going to the gruesome shit first then?"
He grimaced, as he went through the folder and handed me print out photos of what looked like a crime scene, as I looked closer, a lump caught in my throat, it was Tara, lying lifeless on the kitchen floor of our old home, caked in her own blood, and I whispered under my breath
"Mom..."
The floor, covered in blood, and I looked to Dan for any type of answer. I hadn't seen these photos before. The last time I saw Tara she was alive.
"It gets confusing here Abel, I found that some Chinese gangster types called Lin Traid killed Tara in a home invasion and killed this cop called Eli too, but no one was really bought to justice, as the leader type, was killed in prison and your father...... well.... your father killed everyone else out of revenge for Tara"
My father was a selfish bastard, but a lot of what he did was out of love for his family, no matter how wrong or immoral it was. Hesitantly I tore my eyes from the bloody scene of the photo and looked to Dan.
"Then why did my father blame Gemma?"
I felt confused if it was some other people that had issues with my father and SAMCRO why would he blame my grandmother for what happened? I remembered when I was younger when I harmed myself and blamed Gemma, I remembered hearing her say to Thomas that it was her fault Tara was dead and she didn't mean for it to happen. I knew Gemma was the reason, but no one would tell me or give me firm answers as to why it was her fault. Did she hire these men to kill Tara?
"I don't know, I looked into it, and all I could find was Gemma was the only one who testified that it was these Chinese dudes, but I can't find anything about her being involved with the killing"
I shifted a little uncomfortable.
"But why would she say it was her fault? Why did she blame herself?"
I ran my hand down over my face, my face scrunching up in frustration.
"It was fifteen years ago Abel, are you sure that's what she said? Maybe you misheard, you were five"
I shrugged my shoulders and looked back to the photo, I know my memory was hazy, but I remembered my fathers face that night and the next thing I knew, we were being packed off to this farm,
"I don't know anymore, is my mind playing tricks on me? I've been told so many stories, that I can't even remember clearly, but I am sure I remember Gemma saying that, that I am certain"
I looked to Dan concerned, I wasn't going mad right? Even Wendy and Nero said that Jax blamed Gemma, but both denied that she killed Tara, this is why I needed to go back, to find the truth, someone in Charming knew what happened.
"Well, Jax killed Gemma and this ex-cop guy Wayne Unser in Oregon, and within twenty-fours, another twelve people were killed at the hands of your father, before he killed himself. He died the same way your grandfather John did"
Dan handed me photos from the scene of my father's crash, the crumpled bike, the blood covering the highway, the dent in the front of the truck, there was a body, but it was too disfigured to make out, but I knew it was my father. He went out of this world the same way his own father did. Shaking my head, I felt the tears running down my cheeks, I was questioning myself, doubting what I remembered. None of the evidence that Dan had tallied with what I remembered, I felt his hand on my back as I wiped the tears away quickly.
"Fuck man"
I forced out a laugh but it really didn't seem convincing, so I changed the subject slightly
"So, who do I see when I go back?"
I tried to move the conversation on quickly and not have him pity me in any way.
"Well, as I said, this Chibs guy and this Tigs guy knew your father, Jackson was president over these guys before his death, their headquarters for the motorcycle club is in an ice cream shop"
He chuckled at the thought before sliding the entire folder in front of me on the table
"I would start there, I guess, they would know who you were"
I nodded at him, that wasn't my first port of call, I needed to go somewhere else first, something that was much more important. All of this was a complete mess.
"This folder has information on all the motorcycle club members that knew Jax, who was part of the Club, their convictions and everything until their deaths. Your father's best friend was Harry Winston, he was known as Opie, two kids, his first wife was killed, second is still alive and living in Charming still, but you know, read when you can"
He offered me a smile before he got up from the couch and I put the photos in my hand down and decided to start from the beginning.
"Thanks for this Dan"
He gave me a nod with a half smile before he headed towards the door. Was I really ready to embark on this? Read up on all these men, the men who stood alongside my father for all those years? I wasn't ready, but I needed to know. I wanted to hate Jax Teller, I wanted to be disgusted with him, but I wasn't, no matter how hard I fought, I just couldn't hate the man that I remembered being the person that protected me, that was the one who kept me safe. Was this really a can of worms I wanted to open? I feared that once I did, there would be no going back and my fate would be sealed. I dreaded the thought that I would go down the same rocky path of destruction and anguish as he did. Was history really going to repeat itself for the third time? SAMCRO Was formed by a Teller, it was a legacy that was hard to shy away from, even after all these years. Or was it an omen, a death sentence? Was the Teller name truly cursed by the ghosts of the past? Yet more questions I needed to answers to. I was already venturing down this rabbit hole, I couldn't turn back now.
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SHAWN
  I was so embarrassed of my laser rifle that first day. I kept switching between clipping it to my belt and slinging it over my shoulder, trying to find a place for it that had minimal impact on my silhouette. Why oh why didn't I just buy the magnetized holster?
  'Everybody inside, children,' said Mentor Antonia as the dropship's big door swung open. 'Quick like bunnies! The Circle army is mustering as we speak.'
  We filed into the dropship, yawning. Quixota was in front of me, heavy-footed in rocket boots.
  'We're not children,' said Quixota. 'Even Eric has stopped growing by now.'
  Mentor Antonia depolarized her faceplate so Quixota could see how unimpressed she was.
  'If you're not children, then stop playing around and win some battles.' She leapt nimbly into the dropship. 'Takeoff in sixty secs.'
  We squeezed in. I remembered my old mentor Lady Dohi, back on Tau Ceti II. She actually called us children too, but she said it in a nice way, I guess. Here in War Training, self-improvement had evolved into hawk-eyed competition. I sat down and strapped in, rifle nose-down between my knees. I was between Quixota and the cyborg, Eric. I didn't know either of them well at all. The ship was cramped with all the armored students, and as we settled in we kept scraping and scratching the already-scuffed paint on the plastic seats. Everything was painted a really depressingly bright green. I pulled my helmet down over my eyes so I didn't have to look at anybody. The CQC girls were chatting irritably about missing winter on their home planet. Our squad was almost all girls, as was typical for our generation. With a muffled roar we rose clumsily into the air, and I watched the jump-jets flicker outside the rear porthole as we flew away.
  We were halfway thru our flight when our wristwatches glowed green, illuminating the undersides of everyone's chins and noses. We were entering the free combat zone. The CQC girls whooped and chanted.
  'Ho! Ho! Ho! HO!'
  The girl across from me looked my way and rolled her eyes.
  'Dionysians,' she remarked, as if this were normal or even a word.
  I intended to ask what she meant, but somehow just gave an awkward gesture of irritation and confusion.Â
  She elaborated anyway: 'The opposite of Apollonians.'Â
  She was a Light, or maybe Analyst class, tall with neat black hair. She wore a warp suit that made her look like a praying mantis librarian.Â
  'I'm Lysa,' she said.
  'I'm Shawn,' I said miserably. 'Nice to meet you.'
  'Hey!' announced someone towards the front with a fusion spear. 'You guys! We are gonna blast those Circle dicks in half!'Â
  Her companions cheered. I grimaced.Â
  'The pleasure is all mine,' said Lysa, eyes sparkling. 'I see you've brought a laser rifle.'
  I couldn't tell if this girl was making fun of me or not. 'It has really good hip-fire accuracy,' I mumbled.
  'Do me a favor, okay? Hang on to this.'Â
  She handed me a silver sphere about the size of an eyeball. It had a little triangle etched into it.Â
  'Uh, um, okay,' I said, and dropped it into my satchel with all my other gear.
  'Have you ever been in a ground war before?' she said.
  'No.' I was painfully aware that despite being nine orbits old, I looked more like seven.
  'Neither have I,' said Lysa. 'But I've played a divine buttload of simulations.'
* * *
  Forward Base Rho was too new to have a real name. It had only been captured yesterday, and might well be lost again soon if the enemy mecha column came this way. It consisted of a circular wall, three towers with bomb launchers, two barracks (for seniors and juniors), a bathroom, a bunker, and two picnic tables. A couple battlefield cars were parked outside, caked in red dust.Â
  We landed and piled out, blinking in the sun. We had alighted on a vast shallow slope under a brilliant blue sky. Out here in the wastes, the earth was a dry, windblown red, hard like asphalt. Patches of blue-green grass waved like seaweed. The land was very flat, distinguished by craters, ridges, and rocky hills. Downhill, at the limit of my vision, I saw a blue river winding among green fields. It was hot out, but the breeze was cool.
  The local commander unlatched the gate and waved us inside. ('Oi! Munchkins!') He was an older man from the Mecha Corps, with a robotic arm and a familial demeanor. He looked kindof like a broad-shouldered Confucius. He led us to the battlements, for the debriefing.Â
  'Hello and welcome, soldiers. I'm Rozome, and, yes, I named Base Rho after myself. The campaign's going pretty good down here, but it all hinges on whether we can deal with the enemy armor in the west.'Â
  He pointed towards the plains downhill, where a large plume of dust hung in the distance.Â
  'Base rules are "Don't cause trouble" and that's it. I'm in charge of this here base, but your Mentor is in charge of you.'Â
  Mentor Antonia bounced her eyebrows.Â
  'You guys are in luck,' continued Rozome, tucking his beard into his jacket. 'The enemy doesnt care about this spot at all. You can totally goof off. Before you arrived it was just me and the journalist defending this place.'Â
  From one of the gun-towers a skinny young man gave us a half-interested wave.Â
  We all gave each other a look. All of us were here for action and career development. Bunking in the desert with no combat and a dozen meatheads? That was just a bad summer camp. I sighed.Â
  'Anyway, pretty straightforward. Go ahead and settle in. I'll shout if we're attacked tonight, but 99% odds it's going to be quiet.'
  Mentor Antonia herded us back down to ground level. 'Mission tomorrow at 0900. Recon. No delays.'Â
  We shuffled into the junior barracks.Â
* * *
  After dinner, the CQC kids crowded onto four bunks for a tedious and noisy game of Never Have I Ever. I was just tossing my satchel onto the top bunk in the far corner when a flash of crimson lightning exploded in my face.Â
  'What the shit?!' I probably said, falling onto my butt.Â
  In the previously-empty top bunk sat Lysa, grinning.Â
  'Hi!'
  'What did you ... do?!' I said, picking myself up again.Â
  'I'm testing the teleport homer I gave you.' She tossed my satchel back down to me. 'I'll take top bunk, okay? We can be friends, it'll be fun.'
  'Um. Alright.'
  I put my bag on the lower pillow instead. I mean, at least I could get out the door faster if we were attacked.Â
  'So,' said Lysa, peeling off her warp suit. 'What's your plan for tomorrow?'
  'Well,' I said, 'I don't think we'll do any real fighting, but I'll probably just give cover and supporting fire if we do.' I started to take off my armor. 'And you?'
  She pulled an immense Earth Sucks tshirt over her head. 'Watch and learn!'
* * *
  In the morning after breakfast we aggregated by the gate and, after some headcounting, squeezed into the cars. They were big combat models, like particularly bouncy trucks. Four people in armor could fit in the back, with a smaller passenger seat next to the driver. Lysa sat up there, next to Mentor Antonia in the front car. I was in the second car, in the back.Â
  To noone's surprise, the mission itself was completely uneventful. It wasn't horrible, actually, because the cars were open-topped in the back. I'd forgotten how pretty terrestrial planets could be. We patrolled a wide perimeter around Base Rho, then split up and went exploring. There were some very nice striped arches in the rock, and actually a few artificial statues. I wondered whether would we have time to try our hands at carving something like that. It was a nice meditation.Â
  We got back in the mid-afternoon. It was viciously hot and a layer of boredom was accumulating on our shoulders. Most of the others procured warm beer and retreated to the barracks, so Lysa took advantage of the quiet to teach me chess. Apparently they gave classes on it on her planet (Aurora I). She seemed a little heat-wilted until I killed both her chancellors with one elephant. Then she perked up and became much more competitive. Soon she had two bishops and her queen pointing at my defenseless king, and I had to tip him over. We sat in the shade of the well and she read while I dozed.
* * *
  Wednesday was just as boring as Tuesday, altho Lysa brightened it a little by texting me mocking nicknames for our squadmates. (For example, we named the short girl with the flamethrower Blowhard.) We drove as far as Base Beta on the edge of the sector, but didn't see so much as a bullet hole.Â
  Thursday the other girls got fed up and confronted Mentor Antonia. The bravest of them (Blowhard, in fact) knocked on the senior barracks, while her friends hooted and cheered her on. Our Mentor opened the door immediately.Â
  'Yes?' She was in simple unarmored fatigues, but she somehow wore them with an air of austere competence.Â
  'Yo, we, um ... we would like to submit a command request, sir.'
  She merely raised an eyebrow.
  'Can we, uh, can we engage some of the enemy, sir?'
  Mentor Antonia smiled and looked them over.
  'Okay.'
  'Yo, you're serious??'
  'Yes. Everyone in the cars in twenty.'
  There was much whooping. Even I whooped, quietly. Lysa just grinned.Â
* * *
  The sky was a fiery orange by the time we rolled out. The sky was immense on this planet. The CQCs were really happy, punching shoulders and shooting lasers into the ground. Actually, I couldn't blame them.
  We rumbled downhill at a very bumpy pace. We were borrowing one of the bomb launchers from the base towers, which Blowhard was crewing beside me.Â
  'Our target,' said Mentor Antonia over the radio, 'is Base Lima, which is currently under Circle control. We're going to do a driveby first, once around. We are going to fall back out of range if they answer with equivalent resistance. If they do not present enough resistance my car - and my car only - will storm the base. Car Two will support or fall back at Quixotaâs discretion, while remaining mobile. Over.'
  I pumped my fist surreptitiously. I was in the front car! I was in the van, like furious Achilles. I power-cycled my rifle and double-checked the battery.Â
  We killed the headlights when we were ten minutes away. There was a lot of shhing in the back seats. I inventoried: rifle, four batteries, fully loaded cylinder pistol, an ion grenade and a concussion grenade. Time for my first day on the job.Â
  Base Lima was supposedly in the center of a big, weathered crater downhill of us. I craned my neck but the crater's edge obscured everything below the base's comms antenna, gleaming in the sun. The enemy had fixed a Circle flag to it. It shuddered in the steady wind, and I thrilled.
  When we crested the ridge, I saw why we hadn't run into any enemies this whole time. We went over it with one of those little jumps that feels like going into space for just a second, and we skidded a little on the red gravel. We descended into a broad basin of red sand, in the center of which was ...
  'Is that ... a golf course?!' I said, squinting in the sun.Â
  'I think it's like a big ass little forest, man,' postulated Blowhard beside me.Â
  We drove cautiously towards the anomalous patch of green below us. It was at least five minutes away, but it still looked pretty large in area, maybe the size of a small stadium. It had trees, and very bright grass, and a sparkling river. The base's towers gleamed in the middle of the woods. It all looked really great to us in our dusty combat gear.Â
  'An oasis!' I heard Lysa shout over the radio.
  'Boss, yo, can we go swimming?' said Blowhard.
  'No, soldier,' said our Mentor.
  'Aww, c'mon sir, why not?'
  'Because there is resistance.'
  And then ten camouflaged figures, just a stoneâs throw away, stood up and opened fire.Â
* * *
  'The winner is the artist with the more elegant performance.'
  This was my best teacher's motto. Ms Dohi, the Vertical War veteran. She was as tall as my shoulder, and her black hair was half as long as her. Definitely one of those competitive Vega women. And it was easy to see the results. In her office hung her doctorate in Campbellian film, and on her chest hung her Iron Heart.
  'The opening of violence, the introduction of projectile exchange, this is the most primal possible way to begin a narrative. The eyes are widened, the heart is engaged, the knees bend as the audience enters the story.'Â
  I did all her assigned reading. Her Narrative Infantry Ops class was my favorite. It really made me see combat from a new angle.
  '...In this framework, then, to engage the foe with the classical honor, with urgency, is to accelerate the close of the ritual. To stand ground in Bushidic valor is to combat not just the foe, but combat itself. A more honest, Coverful attitude to violence is the embracing of covert actions. The soul of taking cover is iterative, a repeating dialectic of attack and retreat. Coverful warfighting is mutual, constructive, and compassionate. Hiding from the foe, engaging in mutual search, killing from behind, these are relationships of respect for the foe's mind, celebration of the foe's agency.'
  Accordingly, when the Circle ambush started shooting holes in the sides of the car, I took five quick breaths and jumped out onto the sand. When I stopped rolling, the cars were roaring away uphill, but at least the dust of their wakes obscured me. Coverful warfighting is about pushing the envelope. Changing the gamestate.
  Lying low on my stomach, I unhooked my concussion grenade and got ready to toss it at my enemies' feet. I only needed to stay unnoticed until it detonated, then I would have the advantage.Â
  Unfortunately, in the next instant my concentration was interrupted by a giant
  - BOOM -
  as something unnecessarily high-powered punched a hole in my chest. Everything went numb and I started to fade. The last thing I saw was a Circle girl with big goggles pumping her fist as my own grenade went off in my hand.Â
* * *
  T R Y T W O.
  I woke up in a small bed with thick sheets. I was back in Forward Base Rho. Lysa was there, wearing a dress and writing in a black notebook.
  She smiled. 'Finally, you're awake!'
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