#he hid it from everyone and the night he'd gotten back was actually the same night he overheard the whole adopted thing

[volcanicflowers]

Had an idea to do a FNV run with a character opposite to my normal FNV build, thus Flick was born.

Backstory under the cut.

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

James Flicker, or "Flick" is not a courier, and definitely not The Courier. It's all been a terrible mix up, he tends to get in a lot of those. Back home, he ran a small roadside shop. He would buy cheap junk from prospectors, and then resell it for a large markup by lying about its quality. This way he would sell faulty guns and stimpaks filled with his own (entirely useless, although he still thinks it healed his scorpion sting) concoction of liquids. Since the only people he ever sold to were travelers, this worked out for a time. One day, he made the mistake of selling supplies to some NCR soldiers passing through on their way to the Mojave. This caused them to lose pretty badly in a skirmish and pretty soon there was more NCR knocking on Flick's door. Utterly failing to speech check his way out of things, he was actually pretty lucky to only be sent out to the NCR Correctional Facility instead of killed on the spot, at least so he tells himself when he needs to think positive. There, he sorta inadvertently got involved with plans for a prison break, mostly by being in the same cell where it was being planned. During the actual prison break, he mostly hid in a supply closet. Still, the Powder Gangers decided to keep him around, mostly because of his cooking, which is just about the only thing he's actually good at. One night, the Powder Gangers sent him out to go forage some ingredients and he came across someone in full NCR Ranger armor and panicked. Thinking the NCR were already sending the goddamn Rangers after them, he threw some dynamite at them and successfully knocked them unconscious. As it turned out, it was just some courier. Flick decided to take their stuff and was walking back to the NCRCF with their stolen satchel when he got jumped by Benny and friends. Ever since, there's been a bit of a mistaken identity thing going on, and the real courier is out to fucking get this guy. He would very much like to get away from the Powder Gangers and murdering mailmen and just lay low for the rest of his life, but he keeps accidentally getting involved in situations and might end up responsible for a lot more than he'd like. Flick has never gotten the hang of using a gun and up close combat scares him, so he tries to avoid these situations when possible. Unfortunately, everyone starts to hate him every time he opens his mouth, so he's left with sneaking around and when that fails, throwing bombs with his eyes closed. Basically his only friend is Lily Bowen, although she's a bit.. out of it. Sometimes he questions the ethics of dragging her around the Mojave with him, but he's more afraid of not having her protection.

[random-writerings]

My Type

Ship: Daisy Johnson x fem!reader

Summary: You struggle to come out to the team, but after a game of ‘fuck, marry, kill’, you accidentally reveal that you have a crush. When the team meets Deke, Daisy suggests you should ask him out because she thinks he's your type. But she doesn't know that she's actually your type.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.4k

“Fuck Fury, marry Tony Stark, kill Hulk,” Hunter answered Bobbi’s question, slurring his words slightly and waving his bottle of beer in air as if to emphasise his words.

“You answered that a bit too fast, Hunter,” Mack laughed.

“Yeah, and why marry Tony Stark? He's a bit of an egomaniac,” Bobbi asked.

“For the money, duh. He's bloody loaded.”

“I think you guys are focussing on the wrong part,” Fitz chimed in. “Hunter seems to think he can kill the Hulk.”

“Of course, I don't. It's hypothetical and I can say what I want.”

“Fine, whatever. Who's next?” Mack turned to you, sitting next to Hunter.

“Fire away.” You laughed, sipping your drink.

The team had gotten back from a particularly tough mission a few hours ago and Coulson had suggested that everyone take the night off while he finished off the mission report. This, of course, led to Hunter and Mack pulling out the beers and ordering take out.

You were all relaxing on the couches chatting amongst yourselves and relieving the stress of the mission. By now, everyone was fairly drunk and Hunter had suggested playing a game. The team settled on ‘fuck, marry, kill’ with the Avengers.

“Okay, let me think.” Mack scratched his head in an over-the-top thinking gesture, causing some giggles from Jemma and Daisy. “What about … Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man.”

You internally cringed at the mention of only male Avengers. You hadn't come out to the team yet. With all the constant danger, there had never been a right time. But you hid how you felt about Mack’s choices. May had taught you well.

“Hey we just had Iron Man!” Hunter protested.

“No, we had Tony Stark,” Mack countered.

“Same person, Mack.”

“Fine.” Mack sighed. “Thor, Captain America, and …”

You prayed for Black Widow, or Maria Hill, even though she wasn't technically an Avenger.

“Hawkeye,” Mack finished.

Damn, you had forgotten about him.

You hummed, pretending to think it over. Your heart picked up slightly when you released now would be a good time to tell everyone you didn't like men. You were all relaxed and having fun, no one was in immediate danger … Sure, it wasn't the perfect time, and May and Coulson weren't here so you would have to tell them separately, but is there ever really a perfect time? And if it went badly, you could always blame it on the alcohol or hope there was a chance that everyone would be too drunk to remember in the morning.

Okay, here goes. You took a deep breath.

“Hmm, I'm not sure. None of them are really my type.”

This caused gasps of shock from Bobbi, Jemma, Yo-Yo, and Daisy.

“How is Thor not your type?” Bobbi asked.

“Yeah, Thor is everyone's type,” Yo-Yo stated matter-of-factly.

“Even May said he was dreamy!” Daisy added

“Have to agree with ladies, love. Thor is pretty hot.” Hunter shrugged.

“Plus, that's not the game,” Fitz added. “It doesn't really matter who's your type, you still have to choose. I mean, I married Loki on my go and I hate that guy.”

Okay, so that didn't go as planned. Never mind, just roll with it.

“I know.” You laughed. “I just wanted to see your reactions. I guess, I'll fuck Thor, marry Captain America, and kill Hawkeye. But let the record show that I feel bad because Hawkeye seems like a genuinely nice guy.”

“Interesting,” Jemma spoke up. “Why not marry Thor? He's a god and you'd get free trips to space.”

“Damn, what is with the Thor obsession?” You held up your hands in mock surrender. “I just figured that marrying Cap would be great because he'd be a gentleman. I mean, he is from the 40s. Plus, he probably knows how to dance and it's something I kinda want to learn.”

“Yeah, I can see the appeal.” Yo-Yo nodded.

“I'm curious. What is your type, if it's not three of the most attractive men on the planet?” Hunter nudged you playfully.

“Uh.” You hesitated. Here it is, this is the moment. Just reply “women”. It's that simple. It's just one word.

But your eyes landed on Daisy, looking at you expectantly, waiting for your answer, and the word got stuck in your throat.

You had had a crush on Daisy for months now. You had been working with Bobbi and Mack under Robert Gonzalez, tasked with infiltrating Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. and reporting back. But when you had met Daisy, things had gotten complicated. You had pushed your feelings aside, determined to finish the mission. But when the two S.H.I.E.L.D.s had merged to fight against the Inhumans at Afterlife, you had watched Daisy become stronger and more confident, controlling her powers despite the pain she was going through. You admired her and your feelings for her had only gotten stronger the more you got to know her.

But you knew she didn't feel the same way. You had watched her flirt with Lincoln and she had opened up to you about her past relationships; one with a man called Miles, a hacktivist who sold information leading to the death of a powered person, and her relationship with Grant Ward, who turned out to be Hydra. She never mentioned being in a relationship with a woman or even liking women at all.

But then again, neither had you.

“Yeah, come on, y/n.” Mack’s voice broke you out of your thoughts. “What is your type?”

“Uh, I don't know. Dark hair, maybe?” Your thoughts drifted back to Daisy. “Kind eyes, and a bright smile. Someone who's very smart and can be intimidating at times but also makes everyone laugh.” You stopped when you heard Jemma giggle. You looked up at her. “What?”

She smiled knowingly. “That's very specific. Sounds like you have someone in mind.”

“No I –” You started to defend yourself but Yo-Yo cut you off.

“Yeah, look at you blushing and smiling. You definitely have a crush.”

“Come on then. Tell us who it is.” Daisy leaned forward, resting her forearms on her thighs, smirking playfully at you.

Your whole body tensed up at her words. Your hands which had been fiddling with your bottle stilled and your back straightened slightly. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught Hunter staring at you, the teasing smile on his face faltering a little when he noticed your body language. Then he laughed loudly and threw his arm around your shoulders.

“Oh don't make the poor woman say it out loud. She's obviously embarrassed. But it's okay, love. No need to be ashamed. I’m a real catch, I know.”

There was a pause before the whole room erupted in laughter. Hunter looked around in mock offense and you caught on to what he was doing; he had noticed you were uncomfortable and shifted everyone's attention onto him instead. You made a mental note to thank him later.

“What the hell makes you think she was describing you of all people?” Fitz asked incredulously.

“Yeah, no offense Hunter, but you're not exactly intimidating.” Mack wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

“I can be!”

“Well, you're not all that smart either,” Bobbi joked.

Hunter gasped dramatically and clutched his chest, falling back on the couch.

“You wound me. You really are a demon, you know that Bob?”

“Ugh, you're such a flirt.” She rolled her eyes at him but she was smiling fondly.

Later, after everyone had turned in for the night, you stayed behind to clean up the kitchen area. As you binned some empty bottles, you heard someone approach you. You turned around to find Hunter holding more empty bottles. He placed them on the counter before turning his attention to you.

“So, Daisy, huh?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” You grabbed the bottles off the counter and put them in the bin.

“Yeah, you do. Are you going to tell her?”

You sighed. “No. Not right now anyway.” But you knew that was a lie. You’d had many opportunities to tell Daisy how you felt but you always chickened out at the last second.

“Just a word of advice, don't wait too long. When you do a job like this, the future isn't certain. You never know what we'll face next or if we'll even survive it. You don't want any regrets.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Hey, this isn't about me. But for the record, yes. I don't always remember to tell Bobbi I love her and I always regret it when something bad happens. Also, we're all watching Mack and Yo-Yo flirting with each other but avoiding any real conversation about their feelings and it's getting painful at this point. So, just don't wait too long, yeah?” He said as he turned to leave.

“Yeah, alright,” you agreed.

But, little did you know, it would be years before you ever told anyone else.

~~~

The team had made it back from the deadly post-apocalyptic future and thankfully everyone was alive. It was just you, Daisy, and Noah in the Lighthouse, until Daisy had spotted Deke on the computer. She had left to break him out of prison and they had returned successfully. But you were still waiting for the rest of the team to return from their mission.

Now, Daisy was watching Deke, who was talking to Noah across the control room, while she ate cereal out of the box.

“You know, he's totally your type.” She spoke in a hushed voice, as if she was telling you a secret.

“What do you mean?” You looked away from the monitor on the desk, confused as to why she would bring this up out of blue. You had never shown any interest in Deke when you met in the future and you were hesitant about him being in the Lighthouse.

“I mean, he totally fits what you described as your type,” she replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. But when you gave her a confused look she sighed and explained. “Remember a few years ago, while we were still living in the Playground, we all got drunk and played ‘fuck, marry, kill’?”

You nodded. Considering all the crazy stuff that had happened since then, you had honestly forgotten about that night. Then it suddenly hit you where Daisy was going with this.

“And you described your type and Hunter joked about you having a crush on him–”

“Yeah, Daisy. That's not–” You tried to stop her but she kept going.

“Well, I think Deke kinda fits the criteria. First of all, he has dark hair. He doesn't smile very often but when he does, it's nice. I don't really know what you meant by kind eyes but I know he can be a bit intimidating. I mean he sold me to Kasius and that was scary. And I suppose he is sort of smart, in his own way. I also watched the footage of him getting drunk at the bar and it's very funny. So, you see, he may be a bit annoying, but he's definitely your type.”

“He's really not. Trust me.”

“I'm serious. You should ask him out.”

You laughed out loud at that, causing Deke and Noah to look your way curiously. Daisy shushed you jokingly but that just made you laugh harder. Deke and Noah went back to their conversation while you caught your breath.

“There is no way I'm asking him out. He's a complete moron and, like you said, he sold you to Kasius. So hell no.” You paused for a moment. “But what I want to know is, how did you remember all that stuff? I said that years ago. I didn't even remember saying it until you brought it up.”

Daisy looked away, inspecting her monitor for news of the team. You felt like she was deliberately avoiding your gaze, and you swore you could see a light dusting of pink colouring her cheeks through her dark hair.

Before you could say anything else, Deke and Noah called out to you both, drawing your attention to the monitors on the wall. The rest of the team had returned.

~~~

Later, you and Deke were searching one of the many storage rooms in the Lighthouse for something that Fitz needed to close the rift to the Fear Dimension. Because apparently that existed now. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents never can catch a break.

“Look, it'll probably be quicker if we both search different rooms,” you suggested.

Deke agreed and left, bumping into Daisy on the way out. She entered the storage room, leaning against the wall. You could feel her staring so you turned to her. She raised one eyebrow at you.

“What?” You asked.

“You tell me. You and Deke … alone … in a storage room…”

“Oh shut up. You know it's not like that.”

“Why not?”

“Daisy, are you seriously trying to set me up with Deke? I mean, really, of all people? Deke?” You rolled your eyes and turned back to the box you were searching.

“Oh come on, he's your–”

“He is not my type, Daisy!” You snapped loudly, slamming something back in the box. “You really wanna know why? It's because he's a man!” You turned to face her as you confessed.

There was a pause as you realised what you just said. You closed your eyes and sighed.

“Shit,” you cursed under your breath.

Might as well come clean about everything, while we're at it.

“He's a man, Daisy. I don't like men. I never have,” you continued, quieter this time. “In fact, that night, I was talking about someone specific, someone I had a crush on. Someone I still have a crush on,” you corrected yourself and took a deep breath, preparing for what you were about to say next. “It's you Daisy. You're my type. I was just too scared to tell you. I didn't want to ruin our friendship because it means so much to me. And I understand if you don't feel the same–”

“Actually, I do,” Daisy interrupted you, all traces of her previously teasing tone gone. “I do feel the same about you.”

“Oh, okay,” you spoke softly, shocked.

Daisy smiled at you, that bright smile that you loved so much. Then she closed the distance between the two of you, pressing her lips gently to yours.

The moment was interrupted by hurried footsteps coming down the hall and Deke throwing open the door.

“I found the thing Fitz needs. Let's go.” He didn't even stop long enough to process what he interrupted before running away towards the control room.

You turned back to Daisy and you both laughed. She took your hand and you headed down the hall hand in hand.

[ash5monster01]

Lessons of You Part 4

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x FemReader

Warnings: fluff, mentions of depression, future smut, broken reader, 18+

Summary: Blake Parker was used to running. When life got hard, she’d run. The idea of sticking around to end up broken was scarier then she’d like to admit. So she hid away, cut all ties, and lived contently on her own. She was done running because no one could find her there. That is until a Navy Pilot runs into her life, and she learns allowing yourself to love can be scary, but hiding from it can be even worse.

word count: 2,350

Intro, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Final

Masterlist

Blake hadn’t intended to ignore Bradley. That night that they kissed, they took a break to eat pizza, start the movie, and end up making out on the couch like teenagers all over again. Every part of Blake yelled at her to let him stay the night but she didn’t want to move too fast. Letting people in wasn’t something she could just do, she had to build up to it. So Bradley left with a dopey grin and a few purple marks on his neck, completely forgetting to ask for her number. Blake figured he’d stop by on his morning run yet he never seemed to go by. So she figured he had gotten what he wanted and left. No use texting him now.

This was exactly why she didn’t let people in. True intentions are never easy to see, and most of the time they end up hurting you. So better off to be alone, and grocery shop for one person. It was cheaper that way anyway. Who needs to know someone’s favorite kind of cereal when all you have to do is buy your own? So Blake didn’t even flinch as she grabbed the Fruity Pebbles without glancing at another box in the aisle.

“Blake right?” the brunette girl stopped to see a dark hair girl, she wore sweats and a workout shirt. Her hair pulled tightly back in a bun. Blake quickly searched her mind for how she recognized this girl. Then it hit her.

“Phoenix right?” Blake asked and the girl chuckled softly.

“Yeah that’s my call sign. You can call me Nat” Blake nodded as she reached over to shake her hand. "Sorry for my appearance. We've been training so much most of us havent had a second to leave base"

"I'm assumng that includes Bradley?" as Nat nodded Blaked felt her stomach churn with guilt. She thought he was avoiding her but turns out she was the one avoiding him all along.

"He mentioned he hadn’t heard from you in a while. I'll be happy to report you’re alive" Nat teased, knowing how upset Bradley had been considering he made out with a girl he really liked just to be ghosted and not have enough time to go and see if it was true. The mission was approaching fast and no one had still succesfully completed the course.

"I know, I meant to text but I figured he'd stop by on my morning run and then it just left my mind" Blake semi-lied considering she was unsure how to approach the situation. If she reached out and apologized Bradley would assume she wanted to be more than friends yet at the same time, straddling the guys lap, and tasting every inch of his mouth arleady sent the wrong message.

"You should shoot him a text, I might strangle him the next time he asks me what he did wrong. Men think all women can help them with their problems, and try being the only one on base" Blake laughed as Nat said this, it reminding her how she used to be the one everyone went to for advice. Then she remebered that doesn’t happen anymore and her heart shattered once again.

"I could see how that can be annoying, I'll text him" Blake reached for her phone and moved to the message app to start a new conversation. Nat watched like it was her job to make sure she actually texted her friend.

Blake

I've heard through the grapevine

that someone can't shut up about me

<3 Blake

Bradley

It’s not my fault, normally when

I kiss a girl they can’t leave me alone

“You’ve got yourself one cocky friend” Blake chuckled as she looked at the text from the boy. She had barely looked up from her phone when a response came through.

“All pilots are cocky, if we didn’t have such big heads we wouldn’t be as aerodynamic” Blake laughed at Nat’s response, not minding Bradley’s cockiness one bit.

“Thanks for making me text him, I can be pretty stubborn about these kind of things” Blake said waving her phone as she set it back down in her cart, waiting a moment to text the eager boy back.

“No problem, I get letting people in is hard but if you were going to let anyone, Bradley is a good choice” Blake smiled and nodded before slowly starting back down the aisle.

“Oh wait, Nat?” Blake turned to see the girl stop and face her. “Do you know Bradley’s favorite cereal?”

“He likes Captain Crunch” she told her and Blake thanked her as she grabbed the box off the shelf. Nat watched as the girl walked away, a content smile on her face.

Blake

I’d love to prove you wrong but

I’d rather invite you over tonight?

Bradley

Be there in 20

Blake was halfway done unloading groceries when she heard the truck door slam. She had left the door open for him again so once he approached she could smile at him from inside as she continued to put stuff away. “Hey B”

“Hey other B” Blake grinned back as he let himself inside.

“I thought you were never gonna text me” he told her as he sat himself at the counter, content with watching her put groceries away.

“And I thought you gave up on your morning run” Bradley’s eyes widened as she said this. He never assumed that she would notice. Then it all made sense why she never texted, she thought he had ghosted her first.

“I wish that was the case, they’ve been making us train earlier in the day. No one really has a hang of it yet” Bradley wasn’t allowed to give much detail, but they’d practically doubled their hours trying to make it in time. It didn’t help that is was Maverick they were training with.

“Are you on a tight schedule?” Blake started to feel bad for making him leave base if he needed to be focusing on something more important.

“Kind of, we have a big mission coming up. I don’t even know if I’ll be picked though” Bradley shook his head, knowing him and Hangman were neck and neck when it came down to it.

“Should you have stayed at base, I didn’t mean to drag you away” Bradley immediately shook his head, wanting to reassure the girl.

“No, we have the weekend actually. Our last weekend before the big operation” Bradley didn’t want to explain that they were given the weekend for loved ones, a last opportunity kind of thing. The mission was one you could easily never come back from.

“So what do I have to do, to get you to spend that with me?” Blake asked and Bradley felt the tips of his ears heat up.

“You say the word and I’m here all weekend” he was already bummed about having no one to spend the weekend with. Now he would get to spend it with her.

“Stay all weekend?” she asked and Bradley grinned. Blake wanted a trial run, a two day trial run. Maybe she could allow someone back into her life for once.

“There’s no place I’d rather be” he smirked and Blake laughed as she emptied the last bag, setting the cereal on the counter. Bradley reached out and grabbed the box. “I love Captain Crunch”

“You can have some in the morning” the indication of him staying the night made his face redden some more.

“You sound like my Mom” he told her and she belly laughed as she finished putting away all the groceries. Bradley watched as she walked over to him, and he turned to face her. The minute her hips nudged with each of his knee caps his heart rate doubled in speed.

“I don’t need you spoiling your dinner” she told him and Bradley wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him in a hug.

“If you’re serving up dinner does that mean I get to serve up dessert?” Bradley asked, his face mushing into her neck as he fluttered kisses along the side. Blake hummed contently at the feeling.

“I guess that depends on how well you behave” she told him, hands running through the short strawberry brown locks.

“I don’t plan on behaving at all” he whispered into her neck, causing her to shudder as his hands firmly squeezed her ass.

“I expected as much” she told him as he pulled his face from her neck and looked her in the eyes. “But if you plan to misbehave, wait until I’m done cooking”

“I’m not that patient” he told her and she chuckled and shook her head before pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, his mustache scratching her in the process.

“You’re a Navy Pilot, I think you can handle yourself for thirty minutes” Bradley had no argument against this as she removed herself from his grip and moved to the stove where she started to cook for two. Which when you think about it, isn’t much more than one.

“I’m sorry if you thought I was avoiding you” Bradley said as she continued to work on the dinner.

“I’m sorry for not texting you” she offered back and he smiled softly at her. If this was his last weekend of freedom he was glad he was spending it here. Without the crushing reminder of loneliness and his bitter feelings towards Maverick. It was just him and a beautiful girl, one he’d like to learn more about, and it was the best distraction he could ask for.

“It’s okay, but I was close to coming and knocking down your door considering you had my number and I didn’t have yours” Bradley teased and she shook her head, a dopey grin on her face. She liked having someone around that made her smile so much.

“It’s more fun that way though, knowing you have all the power” she gave him a pointed look, knowing she was mainly in control of this relationship so far, no matter what it was.

“I’m not used to passing over the reigns” he told her and she chuckled, turning to fully face him as she allowed the dish to cook.

“You’ll have to get used to it because I’m a leader, always have been. My cousins used to pick on me for how easily control came to me” Blake stopped suddenly, sucking in a sharp breath at the mention of her cousins. She hadn’t had a thought like that infiltrate her mind and so easily slip out to none other than a stranger. Bradley noticed this, how her lip slightly quivered, and she regained her composure. He thought to himself how in control she was of her emotions. She was right about being a leader.

“Your cousins, are you close?” Blake started shaking her head and turned back to her food. Clearly trying to find a way to escape the conversation.

“We were” she said sharply, fighting to keep her tears away. She never would’ve considered allowing someone in her life would make her so easily crumble to all the ways she worked to keep those kind of thoughts at bay.

“Is that because you left?” Bradley didn’t want to push, but if he had cousins he would do everything in his power to stay with them.

“No, they backed away long before I decided to take my own step back” it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him.

"Not to overstep, but if I had the choice I wouldn't of given up on them. Life takes a lot of turns, and people come and go, but sometimes youre lucky enough to have the ones who stay. If you ask me it sounds like you had the choice to stay and you left them" Blake felt the tears slip and she stepped back from the stove so they wouldn’t land in their dinner. Bradley had done nothing but offer her the truth, and he was also the first person to get through to her in a long time.

"Why is it you always have the perfect thing to say?" she asked as she quickly wiped her eyes and turned to face him again.

"I've been on my own a long time, not by choice. I spend everyday thinking about what my life would be if I still had my parents and Uncle Maverick" he told her and she drew her eyebrows together.

"You lost your Uncle too?" she asked and he shook his head.

"No, we had a falling out a few years back. Somet things you just can't come back from" he told her and she shook her head.

"Sounds like you need to take some of your own advice" she said squeezing his hand and for the frst time he thought about how he never gave Maverick a chance to explain. He never allowed himself to see how hard Maverick was actualy trying to fix things. Not only did Bradley lose his father but Maverick lost him too.

"I guess I do. Maybe the two of us just need to work on our people skills" he offered and she chuckled as she wiped away the remaining tears in her eyes.

"How about we start with each ottoher?" she asked, content on just being here with him because somehow he managed to comfort her despite only knowing him a few days.

"I'd love to work on my people skills with you" he said as he stood and wrapped his arms around her waist. Bradley gave her a quick spin, trying to lighten the sad mood they always managed to find with each other.

"I have a feeling you’re going to pretty good at it" Blake told him and Bradley chuckled and teasingly shook his head at the girl before pulling her to his lips for a real kiss. Never would he have thought book girl would be as amazing as this, if he could keep her forever he would.

Tag list: @emma8895eb

Comment if you want to be added to the tag list :))

[rosiesung]

7 Days || Y.JW

for @geminirules "Just Friends" collab

⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼

Pairing: Jungwon x Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Friends to Lovers AU

Words: 3.63k

Warnings: Reader calls Jungwon a dick.

Synopsis: You are dared to pretend to be in a relationship with your best friend Jungwon. Initially, you go through with the childish challenge, knowing it will be insignificant to your friendship. But as the days pass, you begin to realise your true feelings for him. Will your revelations ruin your friendship? Or will something beautiful blossom because of them?

⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼

"I dare you to pretend like you're dating Jungwon for a whole week."

You looked at your best friend with wide eyes, a similar expression of surprise on his face. There was no way you were going to do that. It would be way too awkward.

"Come on y/n. Don't be a party pooper. It's not like you guys are going to fall in love."

Of course things wouldn't turn out that way. No matter what, nothing would change the way you saw Jungwon. He would always remain your best friend and nothing more.

Jungwon looked too embarrassed to say anything. Both of you knew it was just a dare. What was the worst that could happen?

"Fine. Starting tomorrow Jungwon's my unofficial-official boyfriend," you announced, linking your arm with his. Jungwon hid his face in his hands as everyone around you screamed and cheered. This was going to be one interesting week.

~

☀︎ DAY 1 ☀︎

Since you only had to put on a show in front of your friends, you figured the best thing to do would be to hang out with Jungwon in solitude. He didn't have a problem with your plan. You both had been having playdates together ever since you were three. He was comfortable being alone with you.

Both of you met at your secret spot. A small grove behind the schoolyard. It was a place the two of you had found while skipping classes one day. Ever since then, this was where you spent time together whenever you needed some peace and quiet.

"I can't believe you actually agreed to this," Jungwon said, mindlessly plucking the grass he laid on. You sighed, staring at the row of trees beyond. "A dare's a dare. Besides, we have nothing to worry about because we don't have feelings for each other."

Jungwon sat up. "You know that we can't avoid all of them for the entire week right? They're literally planning to hang out at the cafe just so they can see us in the act." He sounded worried. There was no need to be.

"Of course I know that. So what? We'll let them see what they want to. It's not like they're going to make us kiss or something. The most we'll do is feed each other and hold hands."

Unlike Jungwon, you had already thought everything out. You knew how far to go while respecting the boundaries of your friendship. All Jungwon had to do was trust you.

He cringed in disgust at your words. "You're going to pay for landing me in this mess. We've barely even started and I already feel so miserable."

You patted his shoulder, flashing him an assuring smile. "You're not alone in your miser mister. After this is over, I'll do all your homework for you."

Jungwon laughed. "Learn how to do your own first. Then you can come and ruin mine."

~

☀︎ DAY 2 ☀︎

As Jungwon had predicted, your friends called you out to the cafe. Both of you were supposed to show up together. Jungwon met you a block away from the cafe, looking incredibly reluctant. "Are you sure you want to do this," he asked, just about ready to turn back around.

There was a determined look in your eyes. "Remember when he had to play Hansel and Gretel's parents for that play we did in preschool?" Jungwon nodded. He could never forget that day. "If we managed to get through that, we can get through this without a problem."

That made sense. Appreciative of your pep talk, Jungwon took your hand and whisked you away to the cafe.

By the time you reached your destination, both your hands were sweaty. Jungwon was just as nervous as you were. Not only because you had to pretend like you were dating, but also because your friends weren't going to miss the opportunity to tease you.

Seeing you two enter hand in hand, everyone began hooting and cheering. Jungwon's cheeks flushed almost immediately. You had to drag him towards the table you were supposed to sit at. "It's nice to see you two arriving together," one of your friends said, making space for you.

Taking a seat, you watched in horror as they placed a glass of juice with two straws in front of you both. No one had to explain what its purpose was. You glanced at Jungwon whose eyes were fixated on the glass hesitantly.

"If we get this over with now we'll be at peace," you whispered, leaning forward to place one of the straws between your lips. You looked away when Jungwon did the same, feeling the heat in his face on your cheek. You were certain you had never downed a drink so fast in your life. It didn't take long for you to finish the contents of the glass, quickly sitting back up to catch your breath. Your friends couldn't seem to get enough of the event, laughing and clapping avidly.

"You guys are so cute," some said. "Both of you would make such a nice couple in reality," said others.

Sitting there amongst your terribly evil friends, you wondered how you were going to get through the next five days with Jungwon.

~

☀︎ DAY 3 ☀︎

Your friends had invited you to another escapade at the park. You couldn't tell what they had in plan this time but you were sure it wasn't going to be enjoyable. At least this time, you and Jungwon didn't have to show up hand in hand.

When you reached the park, Jungwon was already there. Your friends beckoned you over, making you stand next to him.

"Now that our subjects have arrived, here's your to-do list. First, remain holding hands the entire time we are here. Second, Jungwon, give y/n your jacket if she starts feeling cold. Third, walk her back home and make sure you give her a nice, sweet little kiss before she goes inside."

Jungwon let out a noise of surprise. He wanted to run as far as he could and never come back. Holding your hand was fine. He had gotten used to it because of the previous day. He didn't mind giving you his jacket, but you were already wearing one so he didn't see why he would find the need to. Jungwon could do many things. But kissing you was not one of them. It didn't matter if it was on your cheek, your forehead, or the back of your hand, because there was no way on earth that he would bring his lips anywhere near yours.

What neither of you realized was that your friends were willing to go to the farthest lengths to make sure you went through with their tasks. They made you two walk in front of them so that they could see your hands intertwined. When the sun went down and the air started getting colder, they made you take your jacket off so that Jungwon would be left with no choice but to give you his. Just when it seemed like your night of torture would come to an end, they even made you share a single cone of ice cream. When it was finally time to go home, two of your friends followed behind you to make sure that Jungwon did his bidding. It was awkward enough walking through your neighborhood hand in hand. Those who knew you cast looks of confusion and surprise upon you two. Eventually, you reached your doorstep. Jungwon let go of your hand, standing in front of you. He looked everywhere but at you, avoiding your gaze. You glanced behind your shoulder, rolling your eyes when you saw your two friends filming you from behind your neighbor's car. They weren't even attempting to be discrete.

"Hurry up and kiss me already. This is too embarrassing," you urged, slapping Jungwon's arm. He sucked in a breath, pressing his lips in a thin line. "Do you think it's not for me? I mean, I'm the one who has to kiss you for heaven's sake."

"Stop pitying yourself and just get on with it. The longer we stand here the more reason they'll have to punish us tomorrow."

Jungwon stared at you long and hard. He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned forward, pressing his lips onto yours without a second thought. You froze, eyes going so wide they might have popped out of your head. Even though it was probably only for two seconds, it felt like an eternity. Time froze as you stood in the foreign feeling of his lips on yours. He pulled away almost immediately, skipping down your driveway as fast as he could with a short wave and 'good night'. Still stunned, you entered your home, breaking into a smile when you closed the door.

~

☀︎ DAY 4 ☀︎

The next day, Jungwon asked you to meet him at your secret spot. So far, your friends hadn't made any plans to get you together. You saw Jungwon sitting in the middle of the grove, laying down on the damp grass as he usually did. Walking over, you sat down beside him, flicking his forehead so that he would open his eyes.

He grinned on seeing you, sitting up with a soft groan. "So, how was your night?"

You furrowed your brows at the question. It wasn't like him to ask you things like that. But you decided to overlook it. Maybe he was still feeling a bit awkward after the kiss you both hard shared the previous night.

You shrugged. "It was fine. How was yours?"

"I couldn't sleep," he revealed. It sounded like he'd been dying to tell you. "Why's that," you asked, believing that you had an idea of the reason.

"Last night scarred me," Jungwon shared, pretending to gag. You didn't know why, but hearing him say that made your heart sink. Suddenly, you felt horrible. "Was it really that bad," you asked, genuinely curious to know what he thought of it. Jungwon nodded, making you feel even worse. "It was worse than I thought it would be," he added. Your eyes started stinging. A lump formed in your throat and the longer you held it back, the more it hurt. You knew you hadn't been eager to kiss him, but you would argue about how 'bad' it was. But bringing that up right now would just be stupid. Jungwon would misunderstand where you were coming for and that would just lead to another disaster entirely. You had told yourself that you weren't going to let this dare get to you, but four days in you were already slipping. The longer you sat there, listening to Jungwon whine and complain about everything he'd had to do with you so far, the harder it became to control your emotion. Not able to take it anymore, you got up abruptly and ran away, leaving Jungwon sitting there extremely puzzled.

~

☀︎ DAY 5 ☀︎

You didn't respond to any of Jungwon's calls or texts. You didn't have it in you to face him. He would be disappointed if he found out the real reason behind your sappy mood. So you were gonna wait till you got over it before facing him.

You still couldn't believe that you had been so affected by Jungwon saying that he hated the kiss. Despite telling yourself that you disliked it too, you couldn't help but think otherwise. There was something so magical about it. You had never felt that way because of a kiss before. Whenever you thought back to it, an exciting warmth rippled through your mind. Your heart danced in glee and a wide smile formed on your lips.

But you weren't supposed to feel that way. Jungwon was your best friend. Besides, he hadn't kissed you willingly. You didn't understand why it felt so special to you when it clearly meant nothing to him. You knew you couldn't blame him for that. His mind was wired to see you as nothing more than a friend. You found it hilarious. Here you were, realizing that you probably liked your best friend after having continuously assured yourself and him that something like that would never happen. The sad part was that Jungwon would never reciprocate your feelings. You were all alone in this.

A knock sounded at your window, startling you. Slipping out of your reverie, you glanced towards it, eyes widening in surprise when you saw Jungwon crouched before it. You didn't think twice before letting him in. He entered your room and stood in front of you, crossing his arms over his chest. "You wanna explain what happened yesterday?"

You frowned and turned away shoulders slouching disinterestedly. "Is that what you came here for," you asked, regretting letting him in?

"Well did I have a choice? You've been blatantly ignoring me while all I've been trying to do is make sure you're alright," he said, stepping closer to you.

"I'm fine. If that's all you needed to hear, you can leave now," you replied. You didn't need him prying and prodding at you right now.

Jungwon stood his ground, clearly not satisfied with your answer. "No, you're not y/n. You aren't fine. Tell me what's bothering you."

You sighed and faced him. "Trust me, you wouldn't want to know."

Jungwon furrowed his brows. He didn't know what that meant. "I think I'll be the judge of that."

"It's you. You're bothering me," you spoke, narrowing your eyes at him. Jungwon hadn't been expecting that. But he didn't let the surprise show on his face. "What did I do?"

"You made me feel so worthless and undesirable. But that's not your fault. I can't blame you because you're right to think that way about me. I'm just pitying myself here and there's nothing you can do about it so please, just leave me alone." The tears were coming back again. You didn't want to break down in front of Jungwon. His face fell. He didn't know what to say to that. He thought you knew he was just being overdramatic. He seriously hadn't meant to hurt you. Before he could apologize, you turned to him. "I don't think I'll be good at keeping this a secret, so let me just tell you that I'm starting to catch feelings for you. If that makes you uncomfortable then you can leave. If you have something to say, just say it and go. But don't ask me why I feel the way I do because that's something I'm yet to figure out."

Jungwon was at a loss for words. He stood there, gaping at you like an open-mouthed fish before turning on his heel and exiting through your bedroom door. You heard your mother yelp on seeing him, probably wondering where he had shown up from. A part of you wished that he hadn't left, but the other was glad that he was gone. You felt like a fool for letting all of this happen. You should have never agreed to this dare. Who would have thought it would lead to something like this? There was nothing you could do now. There was no way you could change the way you felt. Because at the end of the day, it was as clear as ever, that you were undeniably in love with your best friend Yang Jungwon.

~

☀︎ DAY 6 ☀︎

Jungwon couldn't stop thinking about everything you had told him yesterday. He would never have imagined that you would catch feelings, especially through such a childish dare. Your friends had called you out to the park again today, but Jungwon wasn't going to go. He knew you wouldn't be there so there was no point. He wished he could tell you that he hadn't meant half the things he'd said about the kiss at the grove that day. He was just trying to show you that the kiss hadn't made him feel some type of way. Not just that, but he was also attempting to persuade himself that he indeed had loathed it. Maybe he should have been truthful instead of lying about it.

This was exactly what he'd been afraid of. Jungwon was always fond of you. He cared for you and he wouldn't lie when he said that he loved you. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that maybe he felt that way because he thought of you as more than a friend. Jungwon didn't want to convince himself that he liked you just because you had confessed to him. He wanted to understand the way he truly felt about you.

He knew every little thing about you. No one knew you as well as he did. Jungwon cherished your friendship and the time he spent with you. Whenever anything bugged him, he always came to you, knowing that you were the only person who could make things better. He relied on you more than anyone else. He couldn't go a day without speaking to you. After yesterday, he realized how important you were to him. The fear of losing you ate at him the longer he stayed away from you.

Jungwon hated knowing that you were sad. It hurt more to know that he was the reason behind it. He wanted nothing more than to hug you and apologize for making you feel bad. He felt guilty for everything he had done. It had only been a couple hours since he had last spoken to you, but it felt longer. He missed you so much.

So he left you a text, asking you to meet him at your secret spot. He kept his phone close, waiting till you replied. But you didn't. You probably wanted nothing to do with him. Nonetheless, he still hoped and prayed that you would give him one last chance to make things right again. He couldn't afford to lose someone as special as you. There was nothing for him if he didn't have you.

~

☀︎ DAY 7 ☀︎

Jungwon laid in the grass, staring at the dull sky above. It was filled with clouds, hiding the sun. The grove felt so big and endless when he was alone. When he was with you, it was much more cozy and bright, even if the atmosphere was gloomy.

He had been waiting for you for quite a long time now. You hadn't replied to his message last night, but he knew you had seen it. Just before he was about to lose hope, he heard the grass crunch a few feet away from him. Jungwon didn't have to look to know it was you. No one else knew the path to get here.

"What do you want," you asked, voice small but laced with malice. You were cross with him. Jungwon wished to change that today. He patted the space next to him. "Let's not pretend like we hate each other. You could do the worst thing to me but I'd still admire you."

You didn't argue and sat down beside him. Other than the tension in the air, everything felt normal. There was a scowl on your face. It must have taken a lot of convincing for you to come here. Jungwon needed to get to the point.

"I'm sorry about everything I said. I didn't even mean half of those things."

You scoffed. "Oh really? They sounded pretty heartfelt to me."

Jungwon sat up. "I was just trying to enforce the idea that I wasn't into you, on myself," he revealed, hoping that you would forgive him. "And being a dick was the only way you could do that? Jungwon, you weren't the only one who was attempting to suppress their feelings," you refuted.

"I know y/n. And it's my fault for not realizing sooner," he admitted, hanging his head. You sighed and shook your head. "This is so immature. I can't believe we're letting a stupid dare get in the middle of our friendship."

Jungwon chuckled darkly. "Maybe it's a sign that our friendship has run its course."

You turned to him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Jungwon smiled. "I gave it some thought yesterday. We're both attempting to be in denial of our feelings. Obviously, that isn't working out. If it wasn't for this dare, they would've remained buried deep down somewhere. But I guess you could say everything happens for a reason." He took your hand in his, intertwining your fingers. "I never realized how much I loved this feeling until I had to go a whole two days without it."

You couldn't even hide your smile. "Where is this going Jungwon?"

"Maybe we should give this a chance. Give us a chance. Who knows? It could turn out the be the best thing that's ever happened to us," he said, meeting your eyes.

"And what if it doesn't? We would be throwing so many years of friendship away."

Jungwon shook his head. "How long are we supposed to contradict how we truly feel about each other? That would take a heavier toll on us."

You laughed, squeezing his hand. "It doesn't hurt to try I guess."

Jungwon beamed. "That's the spirit!" It felt nice to see you smiling at him again. He was grateful for that. It was funny how a large part of his mood depended on you. If you were happy, he was happy. If you were sad, he was sad. His entire world revolved around you, and Jungwon knew the best thing to do was strengthen that bond.

"So, will you be my girlfriend," he asked, smiling cheekily. You bit your lip, looking at him through your lashes. "Of course I will."

⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼

A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading this fic. Please let me know how you found it! Thank you so much!

[soranociel]

I’m sorry, I love you.

Genre : angst

Pairing : gojo satoru x reader

Word count : 1.4k

Warning(s) : Jujutsu Kaisen manga spoiler, mention of blood and injury, graphic description of wound, a little sad I think, grammatical errors maybe hehe.

A/N : This is the first ever writing I post to the internet! Please take it easy on me, tumblr peeps.

"So you're going alone?" your voice filled in the dark hallway of Jujutsu High, breaking the long silence as you walk beside your comrade, Gojo. You were on your way to the yard to meet your team in order to watch over Shibuya. Layers of curtains had bestowed upon the place, and the whole facility had to hold a meeting to discuss how they would handle the situation.

"Yeah, as they wanted," Gojo replied with a smile on his face, you could feel that he was more tense and serious than usual. How could he not? The group that had invaded Shibuya wanted him all by himself.

"Be careful," you glanced at him with the corner of your eyes, worries filled up your mind with graphic images of how things could go wrong. It wasn't that you didn't trust him and his power, you were scared of losing him.

Gojo let out a chuckle, his head turned to you with a smile plastered on his face. "Don't worry, I am the strongest," there he went again, rambling about he's the strongest though he was right, it was a little annoying to hear him say that. Like come on, he didn't have to rub that to everyone at all times, you thought to yourself.

"Now if you'll excuse me,"

"Satoru, I-"

You both had reached the end of the hallway to meet the cold breeze the weather had to offer. You wanted say something ahead of his departure, but before you could finish what you had to say, Gojo had vanished into the night, leaving you alone to stare up into the starry sky, praying to whatever higher entity that the man you just talked to would be safe.

Now all you could see was the same sky, except that there was no stars splattered all over it because you were under the curtain inside of Shibuya. Your eyes were half open, you could feel a light breeze over the side of your body as you move forward. It was the only thing you felt other than the immense pain on your head and shoulder, it was so intense that you almost felt like you went numb.

You tried your best to recall what had happened, trying progress with the consciousness you had left in your body.

Then it hit you. A flashing imagine of the man with patches on his body, which you believed was called Mahito, touched the side of your head. You were running beforehand, pushing Nobara out of the way of his range. Then you realised Mahito ended up pushing his palm against you, even then you tried to dodge him. Yet to no avail, your shoulder had gotten the same impact he had left on your head.

You couldn't remember anything else, except seeing two Kyoto students behind Yuuji before you collapsed into the ground. It was the buff student who called Yuuji his brother who had participated in the sister school event, and the other you had never seen before. But if you're not hallucinating, you're in his arms right now as he ran, while you could hear Nobara yelled before your eyes gave up on trying to open themselves.

"Can you run faster?!" the red-haired girl exclaimed, looking to her side with her breath short after running from the scene of her teacher trying to protect– or sacrifice herself for her. "I'm trying!" the boy shouted back without looking at her, his eyes focused on the empty street as his feet kept a steady pace. Nobara on the other hand, grimaced at the sight of you. You looked so awful that she could only give one look at you before keeping her head up, biting the inside of her mouth to keep her tears from falling down her cheeks. There was a small hole on the side of your head where Mahito had touched you, it was so deep and anyone with eyes could see your brain through it. And the bone on your shoulder was showing, the blood of it touched the ground like a broken faucet that can't stop the fall of small water drops.

_______

You slowly opened your eyes to see to see an unfamiliar ceiling, trying to recall the past that felt like a minute ago, yet the only thing clouding your mind was Gojo and the fact that he was sealed. You should've thought about anything else, really, but you just couldn't. All you felt was the agonising pain that wouldn’t stop eating at your entire being, and thinking there was no possibility where you can see him again. You wanted to look at how bad your injury were, but you couldn't. The ache had spread all over your body and you could only move your eyes and your trembling mouth.

A familiar palm moved above your head, it was Ieiri's hand trying to heal the wound that's been inflicted upon you. You felt like your ripped shoulder were stitching its skin all by itself, yet it was still painful, and the sting that ruled over your body overpowered the mending she had been trying to do to you.

"Te... S.. Sato.. I lo hi,"

Tell Satoru I love him.

That was what you were trying to say, but you were sure it did not come out that way. It was difficult to speak with your parted mouth and your barely moving tongue, it took so much effort for you just to say a part of his name. Yet you believed that Ieiri understood you. She was your best friend, after all.

She remembered how you cried when you had heard the news that a jujutsu sorcerer assassin had killed Gojo. All because you just couldn't imagine a world– or to live in a world where he's not around. He was like a seeping marker, painting the whole world with his teasy remarks and his full of pride personality. To some people, what he does might be seen as annoying, but to you, everything would become dull and colorless without him. You hated silence because then your intrusive thoughts would always be loud enough to disturb you. It would feel like you were in the dark tunnel with no way out, a loophole. Yet his loud voice ringing in your ears with a wide grin on his face, and his blue eyes peering through his sunglasses made you forget all your worries. Your heart would beat faster whenever he's around to say or do whatever and it would feel like spring in you heart. Flowers bloom and the sun gently giving its light upon whatever is on earth, you felt like your soul was alive and bright. Yet you would never admit your feelings. As much as you loved his behaviour, letting him know you liked him would only boost his ego. So all you did was pretending to hate him and all his actions, which was the total opposite of how you really felt.

She remembered too, how you reacted when you saw Gojo came back to life because of his reverse technique. You wanted to run and hug him, but he was just your upperclassman. Instead, you wrapped your arms around Ieiri's body so tightly and hid your crying face against her shoulder. She knew you loved him. Yet you still wouldn't disclose it in front of his face, and continued your play-pretend of disliking him.

Throwing him 'shut up's every time he opened his mouth, which you knew that wouldn't stop him and he would only speak more and you never really mind it. Ignoring him and saying no, knowing he wouldn't stop talking and bothering you until he get what he wanted. Murmuring your little 'i hate you's to him because you knew he'd be whining and denying that you didn't actually hate him, and of course he was right. Having to suppress a smile everytime he made a silly joke because you knew he would tease you and said that you actually liked it, and of course, you did. Rolling your eyes at his teasings because you knew he would keep going and it actually made you happy. You did all that to avoid your feelings, and you knew it was a hypocrisy because you only found yourself falling deeper as the time passes.

"Tell him that yourself," she stuttered, eyes twitching and her lips curved as she focused, trying her best effort to make sure you live to see another day.

A tear ran down the side of your face, at that point, you didn't know if it was because of the ache that started to strangle your throat as you struggled to breath, or the fact that you likely won't be able to do what Ieiri had wished you to do. To tell Gojo Satoru, that you love him.

I'm sorry, I love you.

[maxlovespigeons]

The Memoirs of The Snork

Chapter 1

Summary:

After spending most of his days in the Orphanage, Snork's life enters someone that is about to teach him responsibility and how to care for another person. Something he never had to do before. In the return, he gets something he never had - love and a family member.

Notes:

So, I tried writing a fanfic for once! I gotta say I'm proud of it! If you actually spend your time reading it, thanks! It means a lot to me, really! As i never write fushfhd

Word Count: 2179

Read on AO3!

The night was quiet, even the wind didn't howl like it always does, giving the bare tree branches life on their own creating the shadow creatures that would always scare the kids in the Orphanage.

A lot of different kinds of children considered the spacious, old building at the end of the narrow pathway running through the forest, their home. It wasn't the best home, heaven forbid, but they haven't known any different home. After all, each one of them has been an orphan all their lives, the only company being other abandoned kids.

Well, most of them anyway. Little children of different ages hardly ever agreed on something, but there was one case that was an exception for it.

There was a Snork. Nobody knows anyone's age in the Orphanage, but the curious ones would guess he was about 10-13 years old. They couldn't be sure, though, as the Snork himself didn't know his own age, much like all children who spent most of their life in the Orphanage. Even if he knew, though, nobody would dare ask him about it as everyone rather avoided contact with him.

The Snork was quite specific. He liked having everything in perfect order and he liked to study, which was enough of a red flag for every other kid. Nobody talked to him, because he would always start speaking in a weird, very confident and not understandable manner. Nobody really bullied him, either, though, they simply let him be. There was no such thing in the Orphanage as bullying, anyway.

The Snork didn't seem to mind the lack of contact with others, though. He was always buried in his books or notebooks he snuck out of the bookshelf, not the fairy tale one that kids would sometimes take books from to read when they were bored, but the bookshelf in the hallway. The books in that one had a lot of difficult words almost none of the children understood, and the ones who did considered them very boring. The fact the Snork willingfully decided to read them in his free time was yet another red flag for the others.

The Orphanage wasn't a good place. It was led by a lady Hemulen, who just loved having everything under her control. She was incredibly strict and very rude to most of the Orphanage's inhabitants, but the children didn't know it was not the right way to behave as they never had proper homes.

Sometimes some adults would arrive. Rarely did they pick any children up and adopted them, though, as most of the adults would simply find lonely children somewhere around in the forests or try to steal something from them. 

But the older children would sometimes speak of these rare adults, the one who would come to the Orphanage one day and take one of them away for good, to a new house where they would become their new parents. Other kids considered it rumors as they had never seen such a thing occurring before.

On the quietest night of the year, the Snork opened eyes and looked at the moon illuminating the sky outside of a window on the end of the bedroom. He had a dream - he wasn't entirely sure why it woken him up, it wasn't a scary dream. He was dreaming of a little girl, much smaller than him. He didn't know that girl at all. Once he woke up, though, he completely forgot the dream.

He wanted to go back to sleep, but he then heard footsteps. The Hemulen must've gotten up for whatever reason. The Snork knew it wouldn't be the best idea to follow as it could cause him trouble later, and he didn't like trouble. Curiosity was much too strong force, though, as it pushed him out of his bed and had him sneak out of the bedroom, trying to not wake the other children up, right into the hallway where he'd seen the Hemulen in a night dress walking towards the front door. Her way was illuminated by a candle she was carrying in her left paw.

She was muttering something, but the Snork didn't dare to follow close enough to make anything out of it. He was hiding behind the staircase when he felt the cool air catch him after the Hemulen opened the door. She took a step outside and stopped so suddenly that the Snork quickly jumped farther into the shadows behind the staircase. After a moment he looked back to see that she has stepped outside far enough not to be seen, leaving the door open. The Snork considered following her for a split second before he noticed she returned back inside, carrying a basket in her right paw and muttering angrily (she liked to do that).

The Snork squinted to try to make out what was in the basket as the Hemulen put it on the ground to close the door. He jumped a bit again, noticing movement in it. Something under the sheet moved. At first he thought it could be his imagination, but no, it moved again and even the Hemulen seemed to note it. She picked it up again.

The moment the Snork has realized that she was not going upstairs but was heading down the hallway, his heart dropped. He backed away and practically hugged the wall under the staircase to hide, at the same time imagining the awful punishment he would get if he were to get caught.

The Hemulen seemed to be too angry and too focused on whatever she was mumbling to notice him in the shadows, though. As she was passing by the staircase, a tiny head popped up from under the covers. It took the Snork a moment to realize it was a child. It looked like a troll creature, too.

That was enough to peek up his curiosity. He knew the reasonable thing to do would be to run back to the bedroom and pretend none of this has ever happened, but he wanted to know about this new child so much. He wasn't even sure why. He wasn't stupid enough to actually follow the Hemulen to the Wash Room as there was no place to hide around there, so he just ran back into the bedroom and hid behind the doorstep, keeping a close watch to the hallway.

It felt like hours before the Hemulen left again. She wasn't carrying the basket anymore, though. She was leading a little child by hand. It was visible that it was struggling to walk by itself and that the Hemulen was pretty much pulling her alongside, probably too impatient to wait for it.

The child had pale fur in purplish hue, it looked afraid and it probably didn't know what was going on. The Snork kind of forgot about hiding for a second, therefore he didn't realize the Hemulen was heading to the bedroom. When he finally did, it was too late to run to his bed - in despair he ran behind the door, hoping the Hemulen wouldn't notice him on the way out.

They entered the room, swinging the door open, which hit poor Snork in the nose. It was clear the Hemulen didn't care if the children would be woken up by her presence - even if they were, they would be too afraid of a punishment to get up and see what was going on.

The Snork groaned quietly, pushing the door a bit so he had more space to move around. Then he peeked from behind the door to see the Hemulen letting the child go in the middle of the room, or rather pushing her towards it. Her words were a bit louder than her mumbling, therefore the Snork was actually able to catch them.

"Choose a free bed and go to sleep," she said in an aggressive manner, turning around. The Snork quickly hid again. Then everything went weirdly quiet.

Then the unbearable silence has been interrupted by the door cracking, slowly closing. The Snork was about to sigh with relief when something grabbed his arm and pulled him out of his hiding place so forcefully he fell on his stomach with a yelp. He looked up immediately, his terrified eyes meeting those of the Hemulen that were burning with fury.

"What are you doing here, you unbearable, ungrateful little brat?!" She yelled with a squeaky, hostile voice. "Get to bed right this instant, 21(as she addressed all children with assigned to them numbers), and I'll think of a punishment for you tomorrow! But for now you can be sure you are not getting breakfast!" With that she left, slamming the door behind her as she walked. Her steps were heard all the way upstairs.

When it went quiet again, the Snork was still staring at the ground (which he did when the Hemulen began yelling at him), waiting for another what felt like forever just to be safe nothing else would happen.

At last, when he slowly began getting up, his arm hurting as it was pulled so suddenly, he noticed some eyes were peeking up from the beds to look at him. Among these eyes were the eyes of the little child, that now seemed to�� have a different fur color?

The Snork knew only one species of this looks that could change colors, and he was sure it wasn't just made up by his brain, as the child was clearly pale purple before, and now it was green. Its face was also terrified.

The Snork got up from the ground and for a second forgot what just happened, just approaching the child curiously, but then he began thinking of the awful punishment the Hemulen was about to make up for him in the morning and he imagined how much worse it would be if she found him wandering about like that, not in bed yet (although right now it was pretty much impossible as the Hemulen was already in her own bed and didn't intend on going downstairs even if there was a fire in the house). In one moment he rushed back to bed, hiding under the covers from the eyes of everyone, who hasn't decided to go back to sleep yet.

He fell right onto his hurt arm, too, which caused him to whine and forced tears out of his eyes. He changed his position and sobbed, replaying the situation with Hemulen that just happened in his head. He didn't like trouble. And now he was in big trouble.

He sat like this under the covers and would probably pass out eventually if he hasn't felt a pull on the sheets. He tried to ignore it at first, but it kept disturbing him, so, after wiping off the remains of tears from his own cheeks and nose, he threw the sheets off of him with one movement and looked for the source with kind of annoyed expression.

It was the new child. A little Snork. It stepped back a bit after seeing that the Snork reacted. It looked flustered. The Snork's expression softened a little.

"...I…" the child squeaked. "I can't… get on…" it pointed the bed right next to the Snork's. The Snork understood what it meant and decided to slide off of his bed. He then wondered what exactly he's supposed to do, so he simply attempted to push the child up as it tried to get onto the bed. The Snork decided to put the blanket on the child as well, just in case. He didn't want to get up again if it wanted any more help.

The child smiled to him, its green color slowly beginning to shift into more yellowish hue. There was no doubt, it was another Snork. The Snork never met another one of his kind, so when it reminded him what it was, he felt some warmth inside of himself. The two of them were of kin, more or less! And that's the closest thing to family he's ever had.

"You're sad" the child suddenly pointed out. The Snork looked at himself and noticed he was blue, a color he must've changed to under the sheets or before. He didn't know how to react to that, so he just softly nodded.

"A little" he said afterwards. Then he got off the bed (which he sat on before, when he pulled the blanket over the small Snork child) and headed to his own bed.

"Who are you?" He heard a quiet, squeaky voice after he sat on his own bed. 

"...Snork" he whispered. He began putting his own sheet around himself, getting ready to sleep.

"Goodnight, Snork" the voice squeaked through the darkness. 

The Snork got a bit surprised. Nobody has ever wished him goodnight before. Sure, he heard some other kids wish it to each other, but it was never addressed to him. He looked back at the tiny child that was sitting in a large bed under the covers. It was barely visible there.

"... Thanks. Goodnight, little Snork Maiden."

[phoenixplume117]

1994 AD

Mirai combed every inch of the temple… that she could.  There had been a lot of damage but so far all she'd been able to find was one miraculous, the peacock.  She was not thrilled when she'd found that one and refused to open it again.  The kwami had a flair for the over-dramatic and was whining about what he'd done to the temple and she just was not in the mood to deal with it. She'd tried to tell him it wasn't his fault but he wouldn't listen to her.  Eventually, she ended up putting him back in his box. Then, hid the box in the pillar next to her "bed".  

Every morning she would wake up, wash and gather snow to melt for the day.  Then she'd come back and make her way west, clearing the temple to the best of her ability.  

Last night she realized the pillars in the hall she made her home were some kind of retreat for the kwamis.  There were 25 pillars but the box she'd been the guardian of had only had 20 kwamis. She looked carefully and realized that some boxes must have had more kwamis in them.  Finally, she let Duusu go but she couldn't understand anything he said while he sobbed so she just stroked him until he calmed down.  

"If I leave you out are you going to be safe?" Mirai asked him.

Duusu looked around not quite sure if she was asking him, "Me?"

Mirai nodded, "yes, you. There is no one else here."

"Can I come with you?"

She would prefer if he didn't but, replied, "I suppose."

Together they made their way down some stairs she'd found the day before and she began clearing rubble away.  Every day for the past two weeks she’d done the same. She carried the rubble to a room that was destroyed but seemed safe enough to walk in.  So far she had become very well versed in old Madonna (or was it young Madonna?) as that CD was playing on her CD player as she walked back and forth with her bucket.  

“Mirai?”

“Hm?” she said, dumping the bucket into the empty room and walking back.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m a guardian-”

“A guardian! Why didn’t you say anything!” Duusu yelled flying around her. 

“I did.  I don't think you've heard anything I've said to you until now,” she told him patiently.

Duusu tried to see her logic but couldn’t, “so what are you doing?”

“I’m looking for…” she really didn’t want to use the term ‘survivors’ after all that would remind Duusu all his friends were gone because of Master Fu using his powers.  Which was what he had spent all the previous night crying about. She cleared her throat, “anything that needs a guardian to guard it,” she came up with.

Duusu looked at her rather dubiously then shot directly through all the rubble she was clearing.

Mirai looked at the boulders she’d never clear alone and frowned.  She could use Duusu, but look where that had gotten Master Fu, and Duusu didn’t seem like he was ready to be utilized after that experience.  She let out a huff of breath puffing her bangs out of her eyes. Why hadn’t she packed scissors?

“Miraaaaaaai!” Duusu yelled from the other side of the boulder.

“Shh!”  Mirai responded, “I don't know if loud noises could make this place collapse or not!

“Oh!” Duusu spoke in a ridiculously loud stage whisper, then he came back through the boulders, “I can look for you so you don’t have to hurt yourself.”

Mirai wanted to rest but she needed to focus on the task at hand, “I’m fine, but I think that’s a really great idea, Duusu.  If you scout ahead it would save a lot of time.”

“Or you could just make an amok to clear the rubble away.”

[[more]]

Mirai shook her head.  No. She would not become Mayura, she would not become Nathalie.  She was Mirai Chime, that was all. Using Duusu was a bad idea, "I don't think that's a good idea, especially after what you've been through Duusu.  This way is better."

༻࿊༺

The next day when she had yet to clear even one-third of the path she decided maybe she had been hasty in telling Duusu no.  He was quite companionable, friendly and helpful.

Seeing Mirai's hair sticking to her forehead with sweat Duusu slipped back through the rubble down a corridor then through more rubble where he found the library.  

Although "library" was perhaps a generous term.  The books were all the same, a textbook of recipes and forms for powers.  Rules for raising effective guardians and psychologically "sound heroes. The pseudo-library also didn't have many books but what was most exciting was on the small table next to a long-ago forgotten teacup was a box from a miraculous set.  It looked like it belonged to Duusu's set. He desperately wanted to know who was in there but he couldn't fly through. It looked like wood but it was actually something else, a magical material that with words could even change its shape. Unfortunately one of its magical properties was kwamis could not pass through it.  Duusu blew a raspberry at the box, flared his tail and shook it at the unhelpful box then flew back to Mirai deciding whether he should tell her what he'd found… or not.

༻࿊༺

Mirai wiped her head as she hauled another bucket full of stones to the spare room.  Her triceps felt like they were on fire, in all the years as Ladybug she'd gotten full-body exercise but her arms and abs had always done the hardest work, but for some reason, this seemed so much heavier and harder than carrying people ever had.

"It's muscle exhaustion," she said out loud, "you're just tired, push through it, you'll get to the euphoria stage."

She dumped the stones and rocks and realized she'd been speaking out loud and groaned. "Great, now I'm talking to myself.  Am I going crazy? No, everyone talks to themselves, I think it's healthy, yeah. It's probably time for a break anyway," Mirai reasoned, walking back with her bucket.  

"Duusu?" She said softly when she got back to the large pile of rubble she'd been working on.  A frigid draft ran through the hall chilling Mirai, she rubbed her arms for warmth, "Duusu, I'm going back, it's getting cold, I'm going to start making lunch,” she called again and headed back to what she had begun to convince herself was her apartment.  The large room was warm from the huge fires. Thankfully the room was built in a way that made it safe to leave them unwatched. She set about making soup, she really missed Maman’s cooking and Papa’s bread. She heard her sniffing echo in the room and coughed to cover it up.  She wasn’t going to do it, she told herself, she was not giving in to self-pity. 

“Mirai!” Duusu said a few minutes later after the soup had begun boiling.

“Hmm?” she said.

“I found another box!”

Mirai stirred the soup and carefully took the pot off the fire then turned to him with a smile.  She’d been right, she was meant to stay, she was not going to be Nathalie, she would not be part of Hawk Moth terrorizing Paris for nearly 10 years, “Where?  Who is it? How many are in it?”

Duusu smiled, glad he’d told her, “On the other side of the rubble you’re using, there is a hall then, more rubble then, a library.  That’s where the box is.”

Mirai’s smile faded, “Oh, well, we��ll get there,” then she brightened, “Do you know how many are in it?”

Duusu looked confused, “It’s just a box, not a case,” then his lower lip began to tremble, “All the cases were destroyed.”

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay now, don’t cry, Duusu, look you found someone, a friend!”

Duusu looked at her with huge tear-filled eyes and nodded.

“Alright?”

Duusu nodded.

“Okay, so who’s in the box?”

Duusu blinked away his tears, “I don’t know.”

Without thinking, Mirai spoke, “Then how do you know it isn’t empty?”

Duusu looked at her as if the idea had never occurred to him and as that idea worked its way through his mind she realized her mistake before his eyes filled with tears and the saddest words poured from his mouth.

“I killed them all!”

Mirai gasped, pulled the kwami to her chest and rocked him shushing him.  “Shh, shh, come on, we’ll eat later, let’s go check the box okay?” but Duusu was miserably inconsolable and deeply committed to his emotions.  Mirai sighed and stood up carrying the sad kwami she walked over to her pallet. She reached under the pillar for the box she’d hidden and pulled out the peacock brooch and pinned it with some difficulty to her Starter jacket and simply called out, “Duusu, Transform Me.”  She looked down at the little kwami before he was swept away to power his amulet, his face looked delighted and it helped her own feelings of doom. She sighed in relief, then giggled, then began laughing happily somehow she registered as an adult because it was December the Miraculous must consider her 18 she assumed.  She'd learned about this when she'd studied. She didn't have a 5-minute limiter. Or a basic super-suit, as she or her team had worn when she'd been Ladybug. In her hand was the feathered fan she’d need to create the amok to clear the way. She walked toward the rubble she’d been working on for the better part of the week and picked up a small but distinct piece of stone, then pulled a feather from her fan and began creating an amok that would be able to easily clear the rubble, she added a few features, like lights and a stabilizing pole in case the roof caved while it was clearing, then began clearing the rubble quickly.  The huge pile was cleared in less than an hour but like Duusu had said there was another huge pile of rubble before they got to the library. It took two hours for everything to be cleared. Mirai figured if she had done the work without using Duusu’s amok it would have taken a month to get to this room. She wondered what time it was, she didn’t know how to work the fan the way she used to work her yoyo. She looked around the library and picked up the box on the table and turned to go back to her room, even though transformed she was getting cold. Once in her room, she detransformed.  

Duusu looked at her then to the box in her hand.  “You did it!”

She smiled and said what he needed to hear, “I couldn’t have done it without you.  You did a lot of the work and your sentimonster moved all the rubble.”

“Sentimonster?”

"Avatar?" She remembered she'd seen that word on Duusu's page when Master Fu had been her teacher.

Duusu smiled understanding, "Really?"

Mirai put the small pot back on the fire then with Duusu floating at her shoulder she walked over to where she kept most of her gear.  She sat down and opened the box and felt her heart fall when she saw the purple stone with four beautiful wings resting on the red fabric.  Then suddenly Nooroo manifested.

"Master Liu?" he looked around confused, seeing Duusu he turned to him for answers, "Duusu, what happened?  Where is everyone? Who is she?"

Mirai felt near tears, everything was falling perfectly into place against her will.  "Duusu, I'm going to go to sleep okay?" Mirai said and took the pot off the fire and went to bed without changing or eating, only removing her boots.

Duusu looked at the girl confused, "Okay."  Then turned to his friend and hugged him, "Nooroo!  You're alive!"

Nooroo narrowed his eyes, "of course I'm alive, what's going on?"

Duusuu threw himself at his old friend and burst into noisy tears and explained that a new guardian had found him and together the two friends talked.

Mirai turned away from the duo and felt hot tears slide across her nose, cheek and into her hair.  How could she fall so low? From Paris' Hero to Paris' Nemesis she almost laughed hysterically. It was like Chloe used to say, ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!  She looked at her Baby-G December 24. She hoped Marinette realized how lucky she was, suddenly Mirai missed her parents and the idea of not being home for Christmas was unbearable.  She cried herself into a miserable fitful sleep, not for the first time in the past 2 weeks.

༻࿊༺

The next morning she woke up and skipped all her regular chores and instead took a bowl meant to hold a small fire and went back to the library.  Once there she looked at the books. They seemed to all be the same, well sort of, They contained multiple copies of the M. Agreste's book, but it looked like there were multiple copies of books about the other miraculous boxes.  She wanted so badly to look at them but she couldn't. She knew she would end up Mayura and the information between the covers of those books was too precious. As a guardian, she would not read it. Her job was to protect miraculouses and kwamis, and she would do it.  She left the room. She dropped off the little coal holder and picked up her bucket and started her morning errands and ablutions. She met Nooroo, he was a polite butterfly who was missing the guardian he usually worked with. The three of them ate breakfast and enjoyed a conversation about earth animals' similarities to kwamis.  She went outside and cut more wood, she'd had a horrible realization earlier. She was a guardian, Master Fu might not have been able to train her completely and the once the monks had tried to take her miracle box she'd escaped and never went back and had to figure things out on her own but that didn't change the fact. She was a  guardian. One of the most important parts of being a guardian was their willingness to sacrifice. She chopped at the wood, everything seemed harder without her miraculous, she would not touch her ears, she thought to herself.  She brought the hatchet down forcefully.

Breathing roughly through her nose, forcing herself to look ahead and not feel anything she took the wood past the room she slept in and into the library and piled it overfilling it into the five fire pits.

She walked back to her room and shrugged out of her coat and picked up a notebook and pen. Then walked over to the cook fire and picked up the bowl and using tongs placed as many coals into it that would fit safely.  Then walked to the library. 

She swallowed, she needed to do this.  She took a pair of tong hanging over the fireplace amazed they hadn't been disturbed from when Feast had torn through, then again, this whole library seemed to have been saved.  With tongs in hand, she placed a few coals in all of the fireplaces in the room. Then she took a steadying breath. In, out, in, out, she thought to herself. She couldn't do this.  Her heart was racing, and she felt bile in the back of her throat. She put down the small fire and ran to the corner and threw up over the woodpile there avoiding the smoldering coal.  She wiped her mouth but heard gasping and crying and knew it was her. She'd come here to be a guardian. She needed to do this. If she was going to become a villain she needed to do this to protect these books from herself and M. Agreste. They could not have so much knowledge.  With a sob, she went to the bookshelf furthest from the information about the miracle box containing the Ladybug and Black Cat and took a book and held it over the flames but as it's leather began to dry and crack she let out a sob and threw it across the room. She couldn't, she just didn't have the strength to do it.  She sobbed running from the room.

Before she entered the room she shared with the kwamis she wiped her face and tried to calm her nerves.  She would do it in the morning.

That night she woke, smelling the delicious barbeque her father made when they went to the beach.  It took her a moment to realize what she was really smelling was the library burning, the books had been covered in yak skin and they were burning.

She bolted up, "Duusu! Transform Me!"

Duusu flew over quickly, "I can't! You're not wearing my pin!"

"Shit! Where is it?" Mirai thrust her hand into the space under the pillar and grabbed the plumed brooch and stuck in onto her shirt, "Duusu transform me now!" she said picking up the closest thing to her and as soon as her fan appeared in her hand she plucked a feather from it and began creating an avatar to rescue the books, she'd been stupid, it was a bad choice, what had she been-

"Mirai?  If there's a fire you need something that will cause the tunnel to collapse so it doesn't come this way."

Mirai listened to him and gave the avatar a huge scoop as well as the agile human hand, it was a rushed job and she hoped it would be able to make it easily over the terrain then she realized she'd need to go with it.  She urged it over the stone path she shouldn't have made it so industrial it was slow-moving, finally, they reached the library, it was an inferno. She sent the avatar to the bookshelf containing Duusu and Nooroo's information and ran back out of the room then told it to come out.  She took the book from it then ran back to her room after giving instructions on how to collapse the ceiling. With Nooroo at her side, they waited and waited and waited until the heat no longer carried their way. She looked at her watch, it was 8:38. She called the amok back and released her transformation and held Duusu close in tears.

"I'm sure this is the place, Emilie," came a male voice down the corridor.

"Hide!" Mirai said to Duusu and Nooroo.  "And don't come out of your Miraculous until I tell you," She quickly ripped the brooch from her shirt and thrust it into the flannel's chest pocket.

"Shh!" replied a feminine voice, "I swear I heard something."

Mirai was shaking, there was no point in hiding, the entire room was obviously occupied.  

"Oh, la, la!  Gabriel! Look what we have here, a squatter, can you imagine?  In a cave?" Emilie giggled seeing the room.

Gabriel looked around, it actually looked pretty nice.  Private. A place where people would leave him alone. "It's a temple, Emie, you should be a little more respectful," he said gently.

She's here. Argus warned

Gabriel stopped and grabbed Emilie's arm to prevent her from going further. Who? He replied.

"Gabriel!  It's just a girl!" Emilie brushed off his hand irritated with his correcting her and ran to Mirai.

Remember what I said about women Gabriel, Argus warned, they can be dangerous when they're scared. I should probably warn him about jealousy, Argus thought to himself.

Gabriel knew women could be warriors he wasn't a fool, but this girl obviously wasn't then he saw soot on clothes.  He ran over to her when he noticed her hands were burned. "She's hurt, Emilie, get your first aid kit."

Emilie rushed to get the kit out.

Gabriel gently took the girl's hands, but she jerked them away with a hiss of pain.

Careful Gabriele!

I am!  Can't you do something?

One, she's not wearing me and two, she's already hurt.

Gabriel took her hands surprised that the girl really wasn't a child, she was actually older than Emilie had been when they'd met, but she seemed so small, "I know you can't understand me but I'm trying to help you."

Mirai looked up at him then jerked back at what she saw.  He was so young, his hair was shaved in the popular bowl cut of the 90's, and he looked so worried about her, and… kind.  This wasn't Adrien's mean father, and he definitely was not Hawk Moth, he was so warm, she felt her face warm and she looked away as her heart pounded and she stuttered out a response, "I understand you."

He smiled, not that she saw it, "Your French is very good."

Emilie was suddenly at his side, "Oh, darling, you must be in such pain.  Gabriel, ask her if she's in pain."

"She speaks French," he replied.

Emilie looked at the girl curiously, "Oh?"

"Yes."

"They teach that here?"

"I don't know I'm French," Mirai replied

"How fortunate, we are too!" Emilie said as Gabriel gently applied a salve to Mirai's hands.

Gabriel leaned into Mirai's visual field making her turn red.  "What's your name Petite Flamme?" he teased.

Suddenly all the pieces fell together in a puzzle with the perfect fit. It gave answers to questions that hadn't made sense before.  Mirai knew then everything she'd known about Nathalie Sancoeur was true, and everything she'd learned about her future was too.  

It was Christmas, her hands were burned, and now that all the adrenaline had worn off immense pain was starting to set in, she felt her eyes fill, she just wanted to go home, to her city of lights. She suddenly realized why Nathalie's name was "Heartless".  It wasn't chosen because she didn't have one, she chose it because he had it.  Gabriel Agreste had her heart but his heart belonged to his wife, so Nathalie had none.  She was indeed heartless but still filled with love.

How could she be in love with him?  It was beyond ridiculous. But there was no denying it any longer, 

"I'm Nathalie, uh, Nathalie Sancoeur."

༻࿊༺

Fin

[woozletania]

Sanctuary, part 2 (RR/GOTG slice of life)

(Actually about half S2, but this is what I have ready at the moment.  The full version will be done when it’s done. You really have to read the first one to understand why an otter is on board the Milano and why everyone calls her Lima at first.)

"Man, you work fast." Rocket looked up from his plate of eggs and sausage.  He'd wanted to head up to the cockpit - he knew he'd left that panel a mess when he got distracted by Doc Foster's letter and it made his fingers itch to leave something half put together like that - but the others insisted he have at least another full day off to recover. "Whattaya mean?  I haven't worked on anything today.  Just woke up and came out to breakfast." "Really?  I looked in the cabin today and you and Lima were," Pete grinned and made some gestures Rocket couldn't scope out except to guess that they were rude. "Wasn't like that," Rocket growled.  "She was having a nightmare and I was just tryin' to calm her down.  Fell asleep afterward, I guess." "You sure buddy?  It sure looked like you two were-" "I am Groot!" Peter looked up to see Rocket's ears go back and the fangs come out. Groot grabbed Rocket just in time to keep the raccoon from coming across the table at him. "Joke!  Joke!" Peter backed away as Rocket snarled.  "I didn't mean anything by it buddy!" Groot still had his vines around Rocket, who struggled with all his might despite his injuries.  "If you think 'I just rescued this poor little thing, got to jump in bed with her' then I'm not the 'monster' here, Pete!" "That's enough!" Gamora literally put her foot down, stomping the deck plates hard enough that everyone jumped.  "Rocket, Peter was just being stupid.  Peter, apologize." "Sorry man," Peter said.  "I wasn't thinking.  You know me, I say stupid things." Rocket, panting, finally settled down, one hand pressed against his chest.  He still hadn't fully recovered from the gas.  "Yeah, well, don't.  She's not a 'thing.'  Not a toy. Don't call her one. Don't think of her as one either." Lima  (We really do need to find her a better name, Rocket thought)  poked her head shyly into the common area, drawn by the shouting and the smell of food. Mantis served her a plate of eggs and stood there stroking the yellow creature's head as she ate, smiling at the way Lima pushed back against her palm.  It didn't seem to bother Lima at all to be petted unlike Rocket, who until very recently would snap at anyone who touched him. "What were you fighting about," she said, and Rocket grumbled. "Nothin'. Pete and I fight all time 'bout all sortsa crap." "What I want to know is why pick an otter to Uplift," Peter said, his mouth full of eggs. "What's an otter," Lima said, and Rocket growled. "Probably some stupid thing he thinks you are." "Look Rock, I know you don't like being compared to animals, but we gotta have a species for you, right?  You may not be one but you look exactly like a raccoon and you," Pete pointed his fork at Lima, "You're an otter.  Kind of a big water weasel." Though 'big' was relative, as she was about as heavy as Rocket if a little longer. "I like 'otter,' Lima chirped.  "It sounds funny." "You need to pick a name," Gamora said, and Rocket nodded.  "We can't keep calling you part of your number." "Ottah," Pete said, to which Rocket immediately snapped "No!" "Rocket is named after the men he killed to get free," Drax said with a typical lack of tact.  "You didn't kill anyone, so you can't do that." "Was there anyone at the compound you 'liked?'" Surprisingly it was Mantis who asked. "There was one," Lima said, and for the first time she looked sad. "She snuck me pills when I couldn't sleep after the operations." Though Rocket had just tried to attack Peter, Pete still put his hand on the raccoon's shoulder when he saw Rocket grit his teeth and look away.  "It's OK, man." "But they caught her," Lima said, looking down at her plate.  "I never saw her again. Her name was Lilla." "Lylla," Drax said. He didn't quite have it right, but close. "I like it." "I do too," Peter said.  "Rocket?" "I told you, it's not our decision.  What do you think," he said to the otter. "Lylla?  If I had gotten out another way I might have named myself after the nice one. It's up to you, though." "Lylla," said the otter.  "I like it too. I'm Lylla!" She beamed, and only Rocket didn't match her smile. He had his reasons. "Okay, Lylla," Rocket said a moment later.  "Speaking of nice guys.  I want you to meet a friend of mine soon. He's a doctor." And just like that all the joy vanished from Lylla's face, replaced by horror. "No," she said, dropping her plate.  "No, no, no." She fell to all fours and scurried back towards her room. From the back you could see the shaved areas, the implants, the scars, though they weren't as bad as Rocket's had been. The raccoon was right after her on all fours as well.  "Lylla!  Let me explain!" "Wait, Peter," Gamora said.  "Give him a minute. He's the one who knows why she is afraid." "We all know why she's afraid," Drax said. "But he's the one who lived that life," Gamora said, and Peter reluctantly sat back down. "I am Groot?" "He's in my cabin with our guest," Peter said as the three-foot-high tree tree arrived. He didn't really understand Groot yet but he at least knew the tree was looking for Rocket. "She's really upset and he went to talk to her." "I am Groot!" "Wait, Groot," but it was too late. The tree was already hot after his friend. By the time Rocket reached the cabin Lylla had burrowed into the nest of blankets she'd pulled into the padded pet bed.  All that showed was a shivering yellow tailtip and Rocket pulled up short, sure she'd snap at him if he climbed in too. He would. "Lylla, listen," he said, settling down cross-legged a pace away.  "No one's going to make you see a doctor if you don't want.  It's your choice.  Everything's your choice now." A whiskery muzzle appeared out of the blankets, and Rocket winced to see the tears in her eyes.  "Really, Rocket?" "Yeah.  I should've explained..." "I am Groot." Rocket smiled as a vine came to rest on his shoulder.  "It's all right, buddy. Lylla's just scared.  I was scared too, remember." "I am Groot!" "Yeah. Lylla, a while back my back was messed up.  Cybernetics problems, scars, infection. It hurt all the time but I'm scared of doctors, same as you are." The whiskery face visible under the blanket nodded.  "Because they hurt us. They make us into things they want us to be, not what we want to be," she chirped. "When they made me, I hated them so much," Rocket said, and his muzzle dipped until he was looking at the floor, not Lylla.  "They cut me open and tortured me to train me.  I wanted to kill them all.  But there was one who wasn't cruel.  He brought me pills to take away the pain." Slowly the otter's head rose up out of the covers as she listened.  "I started to save them. Hid them.  I counted them every day.  Soon I'd have enough to make the pain go away forever." "Oh Rocket," she said, tears running down her cheeks.  "Me too." He sniffled.  He was too emotional these days.  Teared up too easily. "But then I got out.  I'm a monster, Lylla.  A killer. I try to change, to be good, but they made me to kill.  And that's what I did.  I killed my way out.  Except for the one nice doctor." Finally he met her gaze, his eyes as wet as hers.  "Him I couldn't kill.  He's why I am...only a little bit monster.  If it weren't for him I would have killed and killed and killed. Instead I'm a Guardian of the Galaxy." "I am Groot," the tree behind him said, and grew more vines to support Rocket.  The raccoon was still weak, still recovering. "When the other Guardians found out how bad my back was they made me see someone.  I picked the guy who kept me sane. That's who I want you to see, Lylla.  I can hear your pain when you move.  I know they messed you up. Doc Foster can help. He's the guy who brought me the pills. He's the reason I'm here instead of dead or crazy." "I don't know, Rocket..." "I'll be there, Lylla.  We'll all be there.  He won't hurt you, he's my friend, but if he does, if anyone hurts you...I try to be good, Lylla.   But if anyone hurts my friends, hurts you, I'll be a monster again." "Yeah," came a voice from the doorway as Peter leaned in for a moment. "We'll all be monsters if someone hurts our friends." The other Guardians nodded from the hall. "I am Groot," Groot said. "What did he say," Lylla chirped. "That he'd do anything for his friends," Rocket said, and put his hand on the vine draped across his shoulder. "And he would. He has." "All right," Lylla said, unknowingly echoing Rocket, a few months back.  "As long as you're there." "Good." Rocket nodded.  "You wanna go have some more breakfast? You hardly ate at all." "I just want to rest," she chirped, and burrowed back under the blankets.  "They never let me just lie around like this. I'll eat later." "Okay." Rocket climbed to his feet using Groot for support. His leg still hurt, oddly worse than the neck bite that almost killed him. And his chest, though that was slowly getting better. A voice came from under the blankets. "Please don't go, Rocket.  I was so afraid last night, with all this metal around, like a cage.  Then I woke up and you were there. Having you there made me feel so safe." "Well, I'm supposed to be resting too I guess," Rocket said doubtfully, and then he protested as Groot picked him up.  "Hey, you don't need to carry me, dummy. I'm not that hurt." But Groot didn't listen, easing him into the padded bed with the otter, and there was a confusion of slow movements as she emerged from beneath the covers and curled around him. Rocket was so warm, and comfortable, and safe, that the protests just drained out of him. "Thank you, Rocket," she chirped into his ear, and Rocket thought, 'Ain't not thing like me, 'cept me. Except maybe there is, now.  Or close enough.'