#he mostly ignored the girls unless they were the 2 kids at my table cause they actual spoke up

[localgardenweed]

About to lose my shit over my shitty Algebra teacher cause i think he’s the devil incarnate cause he doesn’t respect kid’s 504 plans, there is this kid who may not always show up to class on time for some reason im not sure why but they try their best to catch up and work hard and they asked to send over and take the recent test they missed in a certain classroom and he was like “No you cant, you have to show up tomorrow in here to take it” when literally in their 504 plan says they can take it in that room no one can force them to take it in their classroom, but DOES HE CARE??? NOOOOOO. I think he was just trying to be tough or smth god knows what cause he has a huge ass power complex like dear god dude we get it you were a army guy but is yelling at teens really what you wanna do to feel that high of power again?? The kid then complained to the school and he got a ass whooping but sadly not fired and then the next day was pissed as hell and took it out on all of us 😍

he doesn’t care to actually help students at all, he just gives up on them if they don’t understand the first or barely the second time and tells em to basically fuck off and find someone else to explain it and i get it teaching is hard you might not be able to get everyone to understand BUT ITS LITERALLY HIS GO TO RESPONSE WHEN YOU DONT UNDERSTAND SMTH IN HIS SHITTY RAPID FIRE EXPLANATION WHEN HE JUST JUMPS FROM THING TO THING WITH NO VISUAL OR EVEN SENSE CAUSE WTF HOW DID YOU GET THAT ANSWER HELLO?? SLOW DOWN?? We were going over the study guide and he started doing a question and then realized half way it was “too hard” to do on the board so he gave up and kept going to the next question and a kid at my table who didn’t do that part pf the study guide cause they dont know how asked “Can you go over that please i don’t understand it” and his response was “im not going over it just to fill it in” and the kid said “im not asking to just fill it in im asking cause I DONT KNOW HOW TO DO IT” and guess what. HE DIDNT DO IT HE JUST IGNORED THEM AND KEPT GOING. YOUR STUDENT IS ASKING FOR HELP AND YOU AINT DOING SHIT. HELLO??? AND THIS ISNT THE FIRST TOME HE ALWAYS PULL THIS SHIT ALL THE TIME, GOD FORBID YOU ASK A QUESTION MORE THAN ONCE THATS TOK SCARY AAAHHHHH.

I hope all his classes fails and they fire his ass cause omg there has never been anything positive said about this man that isn’t from favorites/people who already are godly at math. The average student who’s had him HATES HIM.

Im really debating like cussing him out Thursday after my final cause i cant just walk away and act like it was a okay class no he needs to get fucking humbled at least see what he does is harmful and shitty and douchey. I dont care if i get in trouble im not gonna go down like this so many kids in that class have struggled cause of his ass not doing his job. And sure some of there are rowdy and sure some are a bit off task but that doesn’t give you the right to abandon them. If i ever kicked my own bucket he would be 5 of my 13 reasons why.

[hurricanery]

If You Went Away - pt. 5

A/N: I am SO SORRY for posting this so late yikesss. I was struggling with writer’s block so much yesterday, but here’s part 5! I don’t know how I feel about this to be honest, and I’m definitely going to need to post something fluffy next, as a refresher. Previous parts here:

part 1 // part 2 // part 3 // part 4

Thank you for reading and sending feedback and prompts! I have some other prompts in my inbox that I definitely want to work on next so thanks for sending stuff!! <3

_______

(present day)

“Alright, Scout,” Link declares as they approach the glass-encased rows of ice cream in the relatively empty shop. “What flavor are you having?”

Scout stands on his tiptoes, peering at the many options in front of him. He bounces excitedly when his gaze lands on something that piques his interest. “Rainbow! I want the rainbow ice cream! With sprinkles!”

Link laughs, and then turns his attention to the young girl working behind the counter. “Okay, we’ll have a small cup of rainbow with sprinkles, I’ll have the….” he trails off, glancing above at their specialized menu items, browsing the different sundae options. “I’ll try the brownie sundae,” he smiles, satisfied with his pick.

Link turns around then, glancing at Amelia, who seems weirdly distracted. He clears his throat and waits for her to snap out of whatever thought spiral she’s in. Her eyes widen momentarily before she looks at him.

“Amelia what are you getting?”

“Um, ya know, I don’t really want anything-”

“Mom you have to!” Scout whines, looking at her like she’s lost her mind.

Amelia holds back a laugh at her son’s facial expression, stepping forward to rest her hands on his shoulders. “You’re right, you’re right,” she mumbles, glancing quickly at the menu. She goes with the first thing she reads on the board. “I’ll have the chocolate moose tracks,” she smiles at the worker.

They pay and get their ice cream and Scout immediately dives in once it’s handed to him.

“Hold on, bud,” Link laughs. “Let’s find a table to sit down at.”

Scout leads them to a table in the corner, a booth. And Link slides in across from him. Amelia stands, hesitating only for a moment before picking a side. She eventually settles next to Scout, smiling tightly at Link across from them.

Scout uses his good hand to attempt spooning some of his ice cream and both parents watch curiously as he struggles to keep the paper cup from sliding away from him as he does so.

“Kind of hard with one hand, huh?” Link laughs.

“Here,” Amelia reaches forward, holding the cup in place on the table so that Scout can get a good spoonful. “How about I hold it while you eat?”

Scout nods, devouring a bite of rainbow ice cream that quickly turns his mouth a shade of blue. Amelia laughs at the mess of blue forming around his mouth.

“I’ll get some napkins.” Link swallows a bite of his own ice cream before standing up.

“Mom?” Scout wonders, mouth full.

“Hm?” She looks down at him, amused.

“How you gonna eat yours if you’re holding mine?” He looks at her in question. “Yours is gonna melt.”

“Scout’s not wrong about that,” Link exclaims as he re-joins them at the booth. He raises his eyebrows at Amelia.

Amelia grimaces, looking down at the cup of ice cream she’d ordered. “Don’t worry about me, Scout,” she mutters, reaching for one of the napkins Link had brought over and beginning to wipe some of the ice cream from Scout’s face. Scout pulls away from her impatiently and Amelia sighs as he goes in for more ice cream. She goes back to holding his cup in place.

“Here, I’ll hold it. So you can eat yours.” Link reaches forward, attempting to replace Amelia’s hand with his own.

Amelia pulls away quickly when Link’s hand brushes against hers. She leans back against her seat, defeated.

“I….ordered the wrong thing,” she mutters, glancing at Link. “It’s fine though, really.”

Link frowns, leaning forward to examine her untouched cup of ice cream.

“Oh,” Link raises his eyebrows. “There’s peanuts on there.”

Amelia nods absentmindedly as she watches Scout continue to make a mess of his face.

“You don’t like peanuts,” Link states his realization. And Amelia ignores the warmth that spreads through her at the fact that Link remembers that.

“Yeah, my fault though. I wasn’t paying attention to what I ordered.” She mutters, biting her lip.

“Switch with me,” Link offers, sliding his own cup towards her.

Amelia frowns. “What?”

“Switch with me. I really only had like two or three bites of mine….”

Scout looks between his parents curiously, holding his gaze on Amelia and the odd look on her face.

“Mommy switch,” Scout repeats his Dad’s intentions. “Hurry before it melts!!”

Amelia laughs at her son’s preoccupation with the idea of melting ice cream. She can’t help but reach forward again to wipe Scout’s face before the mess threatens to drip down his chin and then all over his shirt.

Link sighs noticeably and Amelia glances across the booth at him.

“Well,” Link announces. “I’m just going to eat your ice cream, then.” He looks pointedly at Amelia, speaking matter-of-factly. Scout giggles as he watches his Dad snatch the untouched ice cream from in front of his Mom.

Amelia lets him take it, watching amusedly as Link over-exaggerates his first bite of mostly peanuts.

“And now my ice cream is just going to sit here,” Link mutters around a mouthful. “Unless you eat it, of course.”

Amelia grins, despite herself. Hesitating briefly, before finally deciding to reach forward for Link’s ice cream.

She doesn’t know where the vulnerability comes from. But she feels strangely shy as she takes her first bite of his brownie sundae. Scout giggles excitedly at the switch up and Amelia relaxes at the sound of it.

“How was the rainbow with sprinkles, Scout?” Amelia smiles at his almost empty cup. “Worth it?”

“Mhm,” Scout smiles, revealing a row of blue-stained baby teeth.

“You handled everything today like a champ,” Link chimes in, nodding towards the sling on Scout’s arm. “How does the arm feel?”

“It doesn’t hurt.” Scout responds simply, taking his last bite of ice cream.

“That’s impressive, bud,” Link smiles. “You are the bravest kid I know.”

Scout beams at him. But then the smile turns into a yawn.

“It’s been a long day, huh?” Link watches Scout blink tiredly. “Should we head home?” He mutters to Amelia.

Amelia nods, beginning to clean up some of the mess on the table before they exit the booth.

_______

“Okay his teeth are brushed and he’s finally in bed,” Amelia exhales as she enters the kitchen, smiling absentmindedly to herself.

Her smile fades quickly as she takes in Link’s rigid demeanor, where he stands with his back to her, putting away the last of the dishes.

Amelia shuffles hesitantly behind him, reaching into the cupboard for the chamomile tea she’s been looking forward to after a stressful day. She can feel Link turn towards her, feel his eyes bore into her as she prepares her tea. She tries to fight off her impending anxiety at the intensity of a stare she has yet to acknowledge.

Until he clears his throat.

And Amelia wants to jump out of her skin.

The packet of tea drops from her hands and she breathes out.

“Did you want a cup?” She tries.

Link shakes his head.

“Amelia, I think we should talk.”

She turns the kettle on.

“You know…” She mutters, wringing her hands together nervously. “It’s been a crazy day. I….I’m just so tired, maybe it’s not the best time to-”

“Amelia, you can’t keep avoiding it!” He interrupts harshly and Amelia sucks in a breath, turning fully to face him.

She opens her mouth like she’s going to speak, but no words come out. Her teeth clamp together audibly as she offers a blank stare.

“When were you planning on having this conversation, then?” He questions, impatience evident from the frustrating silence on Amelia’s end.

“I don’t know,” she says simply. “I….today was….I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t have time to think it through…” She stutters through the sentence. “And, and last night? I...just don’t know I-”

“Well I think I’ve been patient enough,” he interrupts her again, stepping forward slightly, causing Amelia to retreat.

Amelia nods quickly, blinking as she takes that in. Because yes. He’s been extremely patient. And she’s been extremely unfair.

“You have.” She agrees quietly, barely.

Link just stares at her in question.

“You’re right, you have.” She repeats, this time more clear.

“Well then, talk to me.”

Amelia takes a deep breath, gathering her thoughts before she speaks.

“I should apologize….for last night,” she laughs bitterly, shoulders raising in discomfort. “I shouldn’t have….” She trails off again, trying to think of the best way to describe her actions. “I shouldn't have thrown myself at you like that.”

Link sighs. And Amelia keeps going.

“And then I….didn’t mean to, I don’t know….freak out after?” Her inflection raises a little bit at the end like she’s unsure. “Anyway, I’m sorry-”

“I’m not asking for an apology, Amelia.”

And now Amelia grows even more perplexed, eyebrows pulling together as she tries to determine his aim here, then.

“I don’t understand-”

“I’m looking for an explanation!” His voice is strained again. “I’m looking for a reason!” His tone grows louder with each point he makes. “I’m looking for us to….for us to figure out what the hell we’re doing!”

He settles a bit after that, but Amelia watches as the exasperated flush takes over his face and neck.

“You’re giving me whiplash, Amelia…” He mutters, quieter this time. “One second you want me gone, you even tell me to go. And then? You turn around and hold that against me? And you’re right! You can’t just throw yourself at me and then act like nothing happened! I just….can’t keep up with you, so please,” he begs, voice reflecting concern. “Please figure out what you want.”

“I know!” She raises her voice defensively. She folds her arms across her chest like she’s self-guarding, helpless tears threatening her eyes. “I know. I don’t know why-”

“Mommy?”

Both Link and Amelia turn around in shock as Scout makes his appearance. He stands in the doorway of the kitchen anxiously, looking between the pair.

“What’s wrong?” Scout mutters sleepily.

Amelia drops her arms, falling out of her defensive stance. She wipes under her eyes before she steps forward towards Scout. “Nothing baby, everything’s fine. Let’s go back to bed, okay?”

“Wait, no,” Link interrupts, also stepping forward. “I’ll take him back up.” He looks purposefully at Amelia. “You stay right here. I’ll be back.”

Amelia retreats, stepping back against the kitchen counter in defeat. She attempts a light-hearted smile when Scout looks back at her, hoping an encouraging head nod is evidence enough that everything is okay. Scout looks away from her. And then they disappear up the stairs.

_______

It’s taking Link a suspiciously long time to return back to the kitchen, and Amelia grows more and more impatient.

She decides there’s probably better use of her time than to stand here desperately, biting her nails.

She climbs the stairs curiously, slowly, following the sound of Link’s voice. She pauses in the doorway to Scout’s bedroom, resting her head against the frame of the slightly open door. She doesn’t make her appearance known. She just listens silently.

“Okay, bud?” She hears Link explain. “I don’t want you to worry. Nothing’s wrong….we’re just….a little stressed from your fall earlier.”

“But I’m not hurt anymore. So don’t be mad.” Scout whispers back in a pleading tone and Amelia’s eyes sting with guilt.

“Right,” Link agrees. “No one’s mad. And you’re not hurt. Because you were brave. The bravest 5-year-old I know.”

“I am?”

“For sure!” Link exclaims, overly cheerful. “You must get it from your Mom.”

Amelia can hear Scout’s giggle at the way Link tends to oversell his excitement.

“Your Mom was a very brave 5-year-old, too.”

“Why was she brave?”

Amelia gasps quietly from the hallway, cursing herself when she realizes the otherwise quiet of the room. She peers up to watch Link turn his head only slightly in her direction, aware of her presence.

“She just was.” Link says simply, shrugging along with his words. “But it’s time for you to go to sleep, okay?”

“Mkay.”

Amelia turns on her heels, heading quickly down the hallway towards their bedroom. She sits on the edge of the bed, wringing her hands together as she listens for Link to approach.

From her line of vision, she watches his feet as he enters the room. And then she feels him sit down on the bed next to her.

They sit side by side.

“You were a brave kid, too.” Amelia says, voice raspy as she turns her head to the side to look up at Link. She frowns a little bit, puzzled. It’s not like she ever had to take on a cancer diagnosis during childhood. “Don’t give me all the credit.”

Link nods, holding eye contact.

“Amelia, I think….” He gathers his thoughts, exhaling and looking up at the ceiling. “No, I know….that I don’t want to do to Scout, what my parents did to me.”

Amelia stares at him as his eyes scan the ceiling. She nods in understanding.

“You know I even tried to parent-trap them once, did I ever tell you that?” He laughs a little bit, breathlessly.

Amelia nods. And smiles tightly. “You did tell me that.” Her voice sounds weak.

“And I also know, that….that people always leave, right?” He turns to her again, resuming eye contact. And he watches as Amelia registers his words. Her words. Words she could have said herself. “Everyone always leaves, right?”

She frowns at the sudden accuracy of it all.

“And in some ways….you push people away….before they can hurt you, right?”

She doesn’t say anything. He’s reading her like a book and ultimately it stuns her.

“Well,” he lets out a breath, hands dropping forward to rest against his knees. “I’m going to do everything to prove the opposite to you….if that’s okay.”

Amelia exhales a shaky breath. And suddenly it’s her turn to look at the ceiling. She averts her eyes as she takes in his sentiment.

“Okay,” is all she can manage to mutter.

“Okay,” Link repeats, peering at Amelia as she tries to suppress a yawn. “Crazy 24-hours, huh?”

Amelia swallows her yawn, blushing despite herself. Still not able to refrain from cringing at the previous night’s events.

“What do you say we just go to bed?” Link offers.

Amelia looks at him, tiredly. Apologetically.

“Sleep on it?” He continues. He knocks his knee into hers playfully, raising his eyebrows at her.

Amelia hesitates only slightly, looking down between them, before nodding to herself and to him. “Sleep on it,” she agrees.

//

[just-char]

5. Can I request Percy's POV for the opening scene in Chapter 2 of Homeward, where Ramsey has dinner with Percy and Molly? Or would doing so spoil the dramatic effect of later on? The scene is so well-written I feel the other POV isn't needed to understand what's going on, but it would be fun to read nonetheless. :)

Good evening. A fantastic request! I am a very slow writer, but here is the scene in full in Percy's POV. You will notice it is nearly twice as long due to the wordy and rambling nature of Percy's existence (and hence, one of the reasons Homeward is from Ramsey's point of view) and also that it is very much unedited. It was fun to explore the conversation Percy has on the phone with her mother (during which I believe you will cringe several times at both of their lack of tact and general ineptness. ) It is sort of not canon as the phone call lasts a little bit longer than it does in the actual story, but I love Liz and Arthur too much to not have fun with them when I can. Story: Homeward Word Count: 4,045

Ramsey, Percy had noticed, was over for dinner more often recently. She did not mind this. Quite the opposite. She often struggled with portion sizes when cooking now that she had to cook for more than one person (somehow, simply doubling the amount she used to make never worked out like it mathematically should have) and there was always enough to feed him. He also made for good company for Molly, who Percy suspected, despite how quiet she could be around others, loved having him over for the noise and excitement he brought to the usually quiet apartment. It was important for her to have good adult role models, and the imperfect Ramsey who was trying to make up for his difficult past was, in her opinion, a much better fit than the rambunctious Giovanni, whose moral code was vague at best and dangerous at worst. Also, admittedly, she simply liked him around, which was probably reason enough. So, no, she most certainly didn’t mind that he came over more often and would stay for dinner. It was something friends did, she was sure. Well, she was almost sure.

Today, he especially had a good reason to come over. Molly’s bedroom had been irking her lately. Percy was perfectly capable of painting walls– in fact, she was excellent at painting walls– but she was not an artist, and it was a strict difference. Although she could quite easily and quite neatly paint a green coat, or even perhaps some sort of dual coloured coat, given the proper masking tape, she could not paint bears. Molly’s old bedroom, she had noticed the only time she’d been in it, had bears on the wall. Teddy bears, specifically. And given that Molly was nearing adolescence, Percy wanted to take full advantage of the age where she would still enjoy such frivolous things and recreate them. Ramsey was also very idle, she found. When he was not working, he was drawing or sleeping from what she could gather (the latter much more so than the former) and it seemed to be putting a ‘dampener’ on his mood. Paying him to paint Molly’s bedroom (with her assistance, of course) seemed like a good way to kill two birds with one stone. Not that she would ever hurt a bird, of course. Well, not unless it was a dangerous individual that had to be taken care of. Perhaps she wouldn’t think about it anymore.

The spaghetti was a little salty. She hoped neither of them minded. It sort of reminded her of buttered noodles, which she mostly knew as a childhood treat (emphasis on treat, they were certainly not good for her) and as such she didn’t dislike the taste, but still. “Thanks again for painting my room, Mr Murdoch.” As Percy scrutinized her plate, Molly had taken to thanking Ramsey for his work. She was a very polite young girl. Very admirable. It was incredible how well-raised she was, all things considered, but Percy thought that simply spoke to how wonderful Molly was, and was not reflective of anything her father did for her.

Ramsey waved her gratitude off humbly. “Eh, it wasn’t nothing. S’nice to get out of the old apartment anyway.”

Percy chose to ignore his double negative. It was confusing, but he did it a lot and she’d managed to get used to it. She did not understand why he found it difficult to accept thanks, however. She quickly patted her mouth with her napkin (dinner etiquette was very important) so she could show her shared appreciation. “Whether it was nothing or not, we appreciate your effort.” Of course, she knew it probably was nothing to him. After all, he was an artist of very high caliber. But that didn’t change the fact he had put time and energy into doing it.

Instead of accepting her thanks, once more Ramsey chose to deflect, pointing his fork at her. “You’re just sayin’ that ‘cause you couldn’t do it yourself.” Before Percy could debate this, however, Ramsey decided to go for two blows. He leaned in towards Molly, “Percy can’t draw for snacks,” and Molly found this funny enough. Percy watched them with interest, and then they turned and watched her with interest. Ah. Right. She was supposed to respond to that with something equally clever yet jocund, as was expected. “It’s true, I am no artist. However, I am also not a con-artist.” She didn’t quite understand what was so funny about two people mocking each other repeatedly, but Molly seemed to find it humorous and it was all very lighthearted so she decidedly went along with it (though she found her own wit was much better suited for one-line statements than battles of insults.)

Molly gasped and covered her mouth. Presumably, this was jokingly. Percy doubted what she said was all that bad. “She’s got you there, Mr Murdoch. Are you just gonna take that?”

Ramsey seemed pleased with himself. “Oh, was that supposed to be a burn?” He took a moment to think, “Heh, well, I may be a criminal, but at least I’m not a nerd.” Molly made noises with her mouth that Percy couldn’t quite decipher as she frowned. She never quite understood the word as an insult, after all, “There is nothing laughable about being well-educated.”

Ramsey apparently took her defensive statement as his victory. “Oh, I see,” he said casually, “So you can give it, but ya can’t take it, huh?”

“I can take you back to prison, Ramsey,” Percy blurted out. Oh. She had not even thought about it before saying it. Ramsey seemed equally surprised, coughing on the spaghetti in his mouth as Molly laughed. Admittedly, it felt good to be in on the joke. She smiled at him to clarify no ill will and he looked bashfully back down at his plate. She took it that this meant she had won, for once. Excellent.

Suddenly, Ramsey recovered from his defeat and looked up. “You excited to go to Marchpoint for Christmas, Molly?”

Molly beamed. “Sure! Marchpoint is really pretty, and Percy’s parents are really nice.” It was reassuring to know that Molly truly did enjoy visiting them– her parents had… overwhelming and very different reactions to the prospect of her adopting a child, and for a little bit Percy was very worried that they would make Molly uncomfortable, or perhaps regardless Molly simply wouldn’t like them. Alas, it worked out the complete opposite. Percy hesitated to use the word ‘obsessed’, but her parents were most certainly passionate in their approach to Molly in a way she wasn’t expecting. Well, her father she should have expected, but her mother? It really did go to show how the people you love can always surprise you.

Ramsey, meanwhile, seemed content to speculate about her hometown’s nature. “Heh, sounds like one a those little fancy holiday towns.” Admittedly, he was not entirely wrong. He had good sense about those kinds of things, Percy supposed. “Marchpoint,” he repeated, scratching his goatee. Very idly, Percy wondered what it felt like.

“It’s pretty fancy! Percy’s parents live in one of those big country homes with a porch and huge backyard, and all the little town shops look like they’re from the sixties. It’s so much quieter than the city.” She could not grow a beard herself, but she remembered how her father’s felt whenever he shaved it. Textured, bristly. Ramsey’s face fell. “What’d I do? I got something on me?” He looked down at his shirt to check. Hm. Apparently, she had been staring. And also not listening, as she couldn’t seem to remember what it was they had been talking about. She decidedly corrected both of those ‘faux pas’s.

“My apologies. I was…” She did not want him to feel self-conscious, “... lost in thought. What were we speaking about?”

Ramsey smiled at her cheekily. “Talkin’ about your fancy pants hometown, Sparky.”

“Ah, yes.” How could she have forgotten? “Marchpoint certainly has its charms. However, I prefer to be in the city where I am needed.” She frowned, thinking about just how useless she’d be somewhere so quiet. “Indeed, such a sleepy town has no need for my unforgiving sense of justice.”

Molly lifted some spaghetti in her fork. “It’s nice for the holidays though!”

“Justice doesn’t take holidays,” Percy reminded her seriously.

“Alright, Judge Judy, let’s not bring work to the table,” Ramsey scolded her. Percy wasn’t quite sure who Judge Judy was, but she had to admit he was right. She went back to eating her spaghetti.

Molly looked at him. “What’re you doing for the holidays, Mr Murdoch?”

Ramsey, from what Percy could tell, was not expecting to be asked this question. Percy realized she wasn’t sure what he was doing herself. “Me? Uh, nothin’, kid.” Had she never asked him? Ah. Shoot. She hadn’t. She’d try to remember to do that next year. “My family’s too far away and small to bother visiting every year. I like to keep it to myself.” Percy couldn’t pretend she wouldn’t do the same if Marchpoint was further away, but it surprised her that Ramsey, given his sensitive nature, would feel similarly.

“How practical!”

Molly did not seem as pleased with this as she was. “That’s sad, Mr Murdoch. Don’t you want to be around people during the holidays?”

Hm. Molly offered an interesting point. Ramsey was prone to bouts of loneliness. She watched him carefully as he attempted to shrug off the question. “Nah, I’m good. Not too into heavily commercialised stuff. Just another day off to me.” Percy was always the best with conversations but she was certainly familiar with interrogations and she liked to think she knew a lie when she saw one. Such a lackadaisy approach to such an important time seemed so unlike him.

“While I usually like to respect the wishes of others, I would not like to think of you spending this time alone, Ramsey. The holidays are a chance to reconnect and spend time with the people you love and care about. They are not, as you say, just ‘another day off.’”

Ramsey frowned at her, but Molly spoke first. “You should come with us to Marchpoint! I’m sure no one would mind.” Hm. Huh. Percy blinked. And then she blinked again, because for some reason the first blink hadn’t cleared her mind. She could feel her eyebrows furrowing as her brain went over the statement. Ramsey. At her family home. Staying with them. For the holidays. In Marchpoint. With her parents. She couldn’t even picture it. Molly’s quiet voice broke her out of her stupor. “Uhm, would that be okay, Percy?”

Percy gave blinking one last try to see if it would work. She’d have to give an answer– that was how questions worked. One person asks a question and the other answers, unless the question is rhetorical or sarcastic, something that was clarified by tone indicators. Molly’s question was neither, so she had to answer it. Would it be okay? Well, she’d have to ask her mother. Yes. That was the answer. She’d have to ask. “I’d have to call Mother,” she said, and then quickly to reassure them both, “But I don’t see why not.” Smile. Yes. That was a good idea– smiling made people more comfortable. She was nailing this.

Ramsey seemed upset. She was not nailing this. “Look, I don’t wanna be burdenin’ a buncha strangers all out of pity–” Well, that was simply ridiculous. “Ramsey,” she interrupted him, “would you like to come?” She waited expectantly.

He stared back at her. “I guess. I mean, if the food’s free.” A jest, she assumed, based on the wink. “But I don’t wanna come if I’m just gonna be in the way is all.” Hm. Well, she wouldn’t force him if he believed he would be out of place.

“I understand, Mr Murdoch,” Molly reassured him quietly, “I just thought it’d be nice to have another person I’m really comfortable around going to meet so many new people… But if you don’t want to, it’s okay.” She smiled at him. Hm. Percy hadn’t even thought about that. Molly was quite shy, and while her family wasn’t large by any means, they were quite loud, even for Percy sometimes.

Ramsey put both of his hands up as though he was showing he had no weapons. “Alright, alright! I’ll come if I’m able, just stop lookin’ at me with those big ole puppy dog eyes. Geez, I can’t stand it.” Oh, that was good. Ack, but it was so soon– she’d call her mother now, just in case. Her mother wasn’t fond of late changes to plans. Percy pulled her phone out of her pocket. If only they’d come up with this last week.

“Excuse me,” she said as she stood up, not wishing to neglect her table manners. The phone stopped ringing and her mother’s voice replaced the sound.

“Hello?”

“Hello, mother.” Percy looked over to the door to the hall. Perhaps this was a conversation best had in private.

“Hello, Percival.” Her mother paused. “Lovely evening.”

As Percy made her way to the hall she glanced out the window. The sky was clear. “Why, yes, it is a lovely evening.” There was a small pause as Percy closed the door behind her and walked to her bedroom. She didn’t particularly like phone calls. Well, she didn’t hate them, but she most certainly found them more difficult than a simple face-to-face conversation or a quick text.

“Why are you calling during dinner?” her mother asked gruffy.

Oh, had she been waiting for her to speak? See, if they had been face-to-face, that would have been more obvious. “Ah, yes. About Molly and I staying over–”

“What, you’re not coming anymore?”

Percy glanced at the phone in surprise. “What?”

“Is that Percy? Is she not coming?” she heard her father say in the background. Oh, dear.

“Arthur, I’m on the phone,” her mother snapped at him.

Her father did not seem to notice. “If it’s Percy, tell her I said hello, and that I’d be very disappointed if she and Molly weren’t coming up!” “Yeah, yeah.” There was a sigh. “He says hello. And that you better be coming up. ”

Percy nodded as though they could see her. “We’re still coming.” “They’re still coming, Arthur,” It sounded as though her mother had covered the mic, and then like she had taken her hand off of it again. “Okay, so then, what are you calling for?”

Percy idly placed her hand on the cool frame of her bed. “It’s just, well, I have this friend–” “You do?” She sounded surprised. Had Percy never mentioned Ramsey to her before?

“Yes.” No, she hadn’t, she realised. Odd.

“Alright, well, what about this friend?”

“He–”

“He doesn’t need money, does he?”

“What? Uhm, no, mother. He doesn’t need…” Percy paused, “Well, I don’t believe he needs money. I suppose he could.” It was certainly possible. Ramsey had obviously gotten in with bad crowds before and old habits did not die easy. It was entirely in the realm of plausibility that he had gone out and gotten into money trouble– or, alternatively, an old mistake had come back to haunt him despite his current good nature.

“Well, did he ask you for money?”

“Hm?” She’d almost forgotten she was on the phone. “Oh, no. No, he didn’t.”

“Good. None of your business then.” Ah, her mother was correct. It was rude of her to speculate like that.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

“... Percival.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you calling me.”

“Oh, right.” She almost forgot what she’d called about. Her mother had that effect on people. “Yes. Well, this friend–” “Oh! Ask her if it’s Ramsey.” Ah. Her father again.

Her mother sounded mostly confused, and a little irritated. “Who?”

“Ramsey! Her friend, is it Ramsey?” Percy found herself rubbing the frame. Smooth, glossy wood. It felt nice.

“For god’s sake– Percival, your father wants to know if it’s... Ramsey.”

“Ah, tell him yes, it is.” “It is.” The mic muffled again. “Oh! Is he alright?” “Arthur, getting this conversation to end is like trying to get blood out of a rock and you’re making it harder–” “Alright, alright! Don’t raise your voice, Liz.” Her mother audibly groaned. “Did you at least tell her I said hello?” “I already told her! Just be quiet and eat your roast beef, you big lug.” A pause. “Are you still there Percival?” “Yes.”

“Alright. Tell you what, because my dinner is getting cold and this phone call is driving me to the edge. You have three sentences to tell me what’s wrong or I’m hanging up. Go.”

“Oh, er. Well–” “That was one. You have two now.”

Shoot. Percy took a moment to think about the clearest and most direct two sentences possible. “My friend Ramsey has nowhere to go for the holidays,” she said slowly, “Could he stay with us?”

“Oh, is that it?” Percy wasn’t the best judge of tone but her mother almost sounded disappointed. There was another pause, slightly longer than any of the ones before, as though she was taking this information in. “Hm,” she said finally, “He from the streets?” Percy thought of Ramsey’s little apartment. “No.” “He dangerous? Violent? Crazy?” “No.” Ramsey wasn’t any of those things even when he was a criminal. She’d begin to make her way back to the kitchen, given that the conversation was nearing it’s close.

“Drat. Well, whatever. Sure, sure. He can come.”

Percy opened the door to the hall and closed it behind her. “Thank you,” she said quickly.

“Yeah, yeah, well. I’m not a fiend, Percival. Besides, house won’t be full anyway. You know your uncle isn’t coming up this year, don’t you?” She walked into the kitchen, where Ramsey and Molly still sat at the table.

“Yes. I know.”

“Funny, isn’t it? Son finally decides to come home and then it’s all about staying local after coming up the twenty-five years– s’not like we don’t have room for his brat either. That uncle of yours is a strange man.”

“Indeed.”

“Anyway. Get lost so I can eat.” There was a slight pause. “Love ya.” Percy smiled pleasantly. “Goodbye.”

The phone clicked. Her mother had hung up. She glanced up to her company (she hadn’t realized it, but apparently she had been staring at the floor the whole time) and they stared back at her eagerly.

Molly leaned forward. “What’d she say?” Their plates were empty– they must’ve finished eating.

Percy hummed, trying to replay the conversation. “Well, first she said ‘Hello.’ Then, ‘It’s a lovely evening.’ Then, ‘Why are you calling during dinner?’ Then–”

“I think she meant, what’s the verdict, chief?” Ramsey said quickly. He looked very pink. “Er, am I coming or going?”

Ah, there he went again with his nonsensical word choice. Percy rubbed her chin. “Both options you’ve given me suggest you are allowed. Which do I pick if you’re not?”

Molly groaned. “Percy...”

“My apologies.” Perhaps she was poking too much fun. “You may come, Ramsey.” He seemed appropriately relieved.

“Yes!” Molly exclaimed, and then, in a fit of excitement that was completely unexpected, jumped up to embrace her. Percy could not hide her surprise as her small arms squeezed her. Still, she smiled, wrapping one arm around her ward and using the other to give her a small pat on the head. “Thanks Percy.” The sound rippled through her shirt. It felt very nice.

“Of course.” Hm. What time was it? Molly always did her homework at eight. Percy glanced at the clock on the wall. “Do you have homework to do?”

“Ack!” Molly suddenly let go and raced to her room. Percy watched her go. She was a very kind child. It was lovely how much she cared for Ramsey. It only just occurred to her that perhaps Molly was not entirely selfish in her want for him to be there. Percy just felt privileged to know her, sometimes. It felt silly, given Molly’s age, but it was true.

Speaking of Ramsey, he stood up from the table and Percy looked over to him. “Yeah, uh, thanks, Perc’,” he said softly, “You really didn’t have to.”

Percy smiled at him. He was very sweet for a reformed criminal. She could appreciate that this was probably very difficult for him. Ah, she should reassure him of his use. “I think your presence will be good for her. It can be quite overwhelming meeting new people, especially for children.”

He simply shrugged. “Eh, maybe.” He glanced towards the door to the hall and back at her. “I guess I’d better get going.”

It was always a shame to see him go, but he had his own business to get to. Expecting him to stay forever would be selfish and immature, and Percy was neither of these things when she could fight it. “Of course. Thank you for joining us, Ramsey. It’s always a pleasure.” She started collecting the plates from dinner. She’d wash them now. She didn’t like leaving dishes in the sink.

Ramsey did not leave. Instead, he took the plates from her hands and grinned at her. “Heh, yeah, well, that’s me. I’m pretty great company,” he said as he brought them to the sink. He smirked then, putting a finger to his cheek. “And I’m pretty too.”

While he did that, she made her way to the drawer to get her rubber gloves. Her aunt always said washing dishes without them made your hands dry, though, if Percy were being honest, she never really thought about why she wore them. Habit.

“Very,” she said to entertain him. “Thank you very much for your assistance.”

“Aw, you think I’m pretty?” Percy blinked and looked over at him. He wiggled his eyebrows (provocatively?) Hm.

She looked away, clearing her throat and pulling on her gloves. “How is the apartment treating you, Ramsey?” She turned the tap to run the warm water. As Ramsey spoke, she grabbed the washing up liquid.

He was leaning against the counter. “Fine. Kinda small.” He shrugged at her. “I like the TV. Free cable.”

Percy smiled, procuring a sponge from a dish beside the sink. “I’m glad it’s to your liking. Perhaps if you keep working hard, you will be able to move somewhere bigger.” She started cleaning the dishes. Pasta luckily did not stain, and it did not take long to clean three plates. When she got to the last one, she glanced over at him again. He was… still not leaving. How did she approach that? On one hand, she didn’t want him to feel like he had to leave, because he did not. On the other, she couldn’t simply say nothing, either. After all, he’d said he was leaving. Perhaps he wanted to talk to her about something? She rinsed the plate off and stuck it in the drying rack with the others. Ramsey glanced at her and she cleared her throat. “Well,” she started, “There is no point prolonging the inevitable.”

He pushed off the counter. “Yeah. Thanks again for dinner, and, uh,” he coughed, “Bringing me along for the holidays.” Percy smiled at him.

“Goodbye, Ramsey. Until tomorrow.” She turned back to the sink and began taking off her gloves, but he didn’t leave. Should she say something? Maybe he truly wasn’t alright. “Are you not leaving?” Ah, now that she said it, perhaps that was a little blunt.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry. I was just, uh..." he looked at her desperately but she did not know what to say. "Right, uh, seeya.” He gave her a little wave and she returned it, but as he left Percy couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for her lacking approach. She should’ve asked if he was okay, maybe even if he wanted to stay a little longer, talk about something. She knew he didn’t particularly like being alone– perhaps going home was hard for him? Ah. Friendship was difficult and unfamiliar territory. She knew he wasn’t doing as well as he could’ve been, but she didn’t want to freak him out by pushing him too hard.

Well. One thing at a time.

[crimson-ace]

The Shark and the Surfer Chapter 2: The Aft-ermath

Archive of Our Own link

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the Chlolix tags on AO3...

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Alix noticed it was getting dark, so she swam home as fast as she could and made it to her family’s undersea cave, where her father, Alim, was waiting for her.

“Alix, are you alright? Do you have any parasites on you?” Alim said as he swam around his daughter. He was part pilot fish, so he had a habit of worrying about his shark daughter (who took more after her great white birth mother) and making sure there weren’t any remoras mooching off her.

Alix groaned and pushed her father aside. “Daaaaaaad! I’m not a pup anymore!” She said a little more whiny than she intended. “I just ran into some traffic on my way home, that’s all. Can we eat now?”

Alim nodded and swam over to the dining room with Alix, where his other son, Jalil, was waiting at the table with the prepared food. Well, except for Alix’s plate. Alix took her squid raw.

So while Alix started digging into her squid, she talked about her day with her family, leaving out who she helped today. It was pretty standard stuff, like how Alim mentioned his archeology team at the museum had found evidence of a possible missing link between mermaids and their selkie ancestors or how Jalil had found some more human treasures like a stretchy torture device made of six rings one of his turtle friends gave him.

As Alix washed her squid down with the ink of another, she realized that her brother had some knowledge about humans. “Hey, Jalil? Dad? What exactly do you guys know about humans?” She asked, causing both of them to freeze in place.

“Wh-Why are you asking that? What happened?” Alim asked, worried his daughter’s curiosity (or appetite) would get the better of her.

“Nothing happened! I-I-I-I just wanted to… learn more about them, that’s all. What’s wrong with that?” Alix worried she had said too much.

Alim put a hand on Alix’s shoulder. “Alix, humans are too dangerous. We know nothing about them except that they come from beyond the sea.”

“Well, that, and they can’t live underwater, so they create huge masses of land just to invade our territory and steal our belongings. Thankfully, we got some of their own treasures they just threw away, like this magic box with some humans trapped inside” Jalil chimed in as he took out a blue rectangular object with the label “Canon” on the side.

“Maybe we just need to learn more about humans.” Alix suggested, earning a glare from her father.

“The surface world is inhospitable to our kind, and you could die if you went up there.” Alix flinched in response to Alim’s statement, as she remembered how hard it was for her to simply go a few feet on the surface away from the water. It made Alix wonder how she could ever learn more about the human she saved if she couldn’t get farther than the beach.

“Can I just… Can I go to my room? I want to be alone right now.” Alix mumbled.

“You may, just no thinking about humans.” Alim said as he watched Alix swim away to her room in the cave.

Alix laid down on her bed and thought about the day’s events. She didn’t really get to know the human, but she was still curious about her. Maybe she could try and see if the human was exploring the ocean tomorrow and possibly see her again. But what if that was too much? What if it was a trap? Alix really needed to talk to someone about this the next day.

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Chloe walked back to her place, still thinking about her broken surfboard and what could have saved her. She was really worried about how she would explain what happened to her family. They were already nervous about her hobby as a surfing influencer on social media, so finding out their daughter hit a rock and almost bled out at sea and then came back with a bite taken out of her surfboard would cause them to freak out and make sure she couldn’t even go for a dip in the kiddie pool at the resort they owned. Granted, Chloe’s parents always seemed to be busy with something these days, with her mother designing clothes in Paris like a bikini with glitter and her father running one of the most expensive beach resorts in Saint-Tropez, but Chloe was sure at least one of them would show concern for her safety.

Chloe snuck back into her room where her sister Zoe was hanging out. “Hey, you’re back late. What happened?” She asked, making Chloe sigh.

“Please don’t tell Mom and Dad, but I kind of had a little wipeout.” Chloe showed Zoe the seaweed wrapping around her wetsuit.

Zoe gasped in horror. “Oh my God, are you okay?” She pressed her hand against the seaweed-covered area, causing Chloe to wince a little.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. It was only a little bleeding, and it’s mostly stopped.” Chloe replied while unwrapping the seaweed, exposing a minor laceration against her side that thankfully wasn’t too deep and could easily be treated at home. She grumbled a little at seeing a tear in one of her favorite wetsuits.

“You need to let me treat that.” Zoe helped Chloe out of her wetsuit, ignoring her sister’s protests. There were times where it seemed like Zoe was more of a parent to Chloe despite them both being around the same age. She took Chloe to the private bathroom in their room and sat her down on the toilet before taking out a first aid kit.

Zoe got out a washcloth and ran it under some cold water. “So how did it happen this time?” She asked while Chloe let her sister clean the area around the wound.

“It’s hard to say. I remember scratching myself on a rock and bleeding a little bit, but then...”

“Then what?” Zoe asked, taking out some antiseptic cream to apply to the cut.

Chloe was at a loss for words for describing what happened next. “You’d think it’s weird.”

“Says the girl whose wound I’m currently cleaning while she sits on the toilet wearing nothing but a bikini.” Zoe retorted with an argument that Chloe didn’t really have a rebuttal towards.

Chloe figured she should just come out and say it, no matter how weird it sounded. “I think I was saved by a mermaid.” She blurted out.

Zoe stared at Chloe like she had a colony of bees in her hair. “A mermaid? Seriously?"

“That's what I saw!” Chloe protested. “I think she helped me get back to the shore and then I saw her jumping back into the water.”

Zoe scoffed in response as she took out the gauze and some bandages. “Oh, okay then. What kind of mermaid was it? Are we talking Ariel mermaid, Ponyo mermaid, or H2O: Just Add Water mermaid?” She asked sarcastically.

“Actually, I think she was a shark mermaid or something like that.” Chloe said, recalling the features of her mysterious savior.

“You were saved… by a shark mermaid?” Zoe asked incredulously.

“I don’t know! I want to learn more about her!” Chloe raised her arms for Zoe to apply the gauze to her wound and bandage it up. “Come on, don’t you want to at least see if this is real and not something I hallucinated?”

Zoe sighed. “Chloe, maybe take a day or two to rest before going back into the ocean again.” She started to put away the first aid kid. “Either that, or ask someone about mermaids or something like that.”

Chloe got up and changed into something comfortable for the night, thinking about maybe talking to a friend of hers tomorrow

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“YOU SAW A HUMAN?!”

“Shh! I don’t want the entire ocean to know!” Alix hissed to shut up Alya.

“Then why are you telling us in the first place? This is huge!” Alya couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“And you saved her just like a prince saving a princess. It’s so romantic!” Rose chimed in with the same cheery view of everything she heard about.

“I didn’t mean it like that! She needed help, so I helped her.” Alix retorted. “I mean yeah, I guess she was kinda pretty, but that’s not the point here! I want some advice on how to approach this.”

“I mean, if you want to see her again, why not just drag her underwater?” Juleka asked bluntly.

“Juleka, she can’t breathe underwater!” Alix snapped.

“Why don’t you ask Master Fu? Maybe he knows.” Mylene suggested. “What does he know about humans, Marinette?” She asked her friend who was currently working as a healing apprentice for Master Fu.

“Uh, he hasn’t really told me much.” Marinette replied, making Alix sigh.

“And my family isn’t much help either.” She said as she ran her hands through her head in frustration. “I really don’t know what to do here! I really want to learn more about this human. I want to know more about the human world in general and their awful-tasting fish.” The others looked at Alix in confusion after they heard that last bit.

“Okay, here’s an idea: Swim up to the shore and then see if the human comes back or not. If she actually saw you, she’ll obviously want to investigate like you do.” Marinette suggested.

Alix thought about what Marinette said for a moment. “You know what? You’re right. Maybe she’s looking for me right now!” And with that, Alix dashed off, leaving a trail of bubbles in her wake as her friends tried to get her to stop.

Alix remembered where she went to the surface yesterday and swam to a small rock formation where she surfaced and looked up to see if the same human saw her, making sure to conceal her shark half just in case.

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“You saw a mermaid?”

“Yeah, I get it’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Can you just hear me out?” Chloe asked Sabrina, fully aware of how weird her question was.

“You know when I signed up to be a lifeguard, I wasn’t trained to look for mermaids.” Sabrina said as she got out of her lifeguard’s chair and switched out with another lifeguard so she could talk to Chloe more while the two walked down the beach.

“Well what about sharks? I think the mermaid was part shark.”

Sabrina sighed. “You of all people should know shark sightings are rare here, and even then, they rarely attack humans unless they’re confused.”

“Well I think this shark is different.” Chloe said, fully aware of how weird her statement was.

“I guess I’ll tell the other lifeguards to watch out for any shark people.” Sabrina said before leaving.

Chloe sighed. She knew this was a ridiculous story nobody would believe. She was going to walk back, but then she saw a flash of pink hair by the rocks. Chloe carefully walked across some of the rocks that weren’t submerged in the water until she was face to face with the pink haired girl, who was looking nervously at her.

“Uh… hi. Do you remember me?” The girl asked nervously, giving a toothy grin with her sharp teeth.

“I… I think I do. This is kind of a strange question, but are you a...” Chloe was going to ask, but her curiosity got the better of her and looked over the rocks and saw a shark fin on the girl’s back. “Nevermind.”

Chloe was now 100% sure she was saved by a mermaid yesterday, and was now face to face with the same mermaid again.

[fallen420]

Rebel Spy - Chapter 6: A Simple Supply Run

Description: Auroras life becomes lonely after the war ends but when a familiar Mandalorain needs her help who is she to refuse.

Prologue   Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 3  Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Playlist

"Okay Okay, I got a story for you," I laugh as Mando and I sit at the table during another sleepless night.

"Let's hear it," Mando says.

"Okay, so we had been at the bar all night. So were stumbling out drinks still in hand. The streets are empty and it's just us and my friend decided they want to steal a street sign." Mando titles his head, "Okay I decided I wanted a street sign. So anyway we're trying to climb up the sign to take it down but we were drunk so we could barely walk. And then these alarms go off and it's loud. When we turn around there's a droid cop. So my friend in panic throws his glass on the ground I mean glass and alcohol go everywhere and he yells Scatter!" I laugh at the memory, "Okay so then we book it all different directions. And of course, the stupid droid ends up follow me." I start laughing thinking about it

Mando laughs lightly, "What did you do?"

"I ran to an ally and threw a rock at its head."

"Of course you did."

"Next thing I remember I'm waking up in my room with a pounding headache." He chuckles, I sit up, "We were so young and-"

"Stupid."

"Oh shut up target practice."

"Long time ago." He reminds me.

"You would have loved Alderaan, this prompts a head tilt, " You wouldn't like all the people but uh we could get you a cabin on the mountains. Not the snowy ones though the ones with the patches of green. Hypothetically of course 'cause it's...gone." I whisper the last part. I look up at him, "Sorry didn't mean to kill the mood."

"Don't apologize cyar'ika."

I want to ask what it means but I know he won't tell me. Instead, I look into his visor and say, "I bet you have brown eyes." I rest my chin in my hand.

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know. It just feels right. Plus I've uh always preferred brown eyes."

He looks-I think- into my brown eyes, "So do I."

I could of died right then and there.

"Oh," I breathe out.

He places his gloveless hand on top of mine and I stop breathing altogether.

He's about to say something and then the kid starts crying. We both sigh, "I should get that."

"Yeah," much to my disappointment he stands up, removing his hand, and walking back to his room. "Good night cyar'ika."

"Good night."

I climb onto the cot and the second I do the kid stops crying, "I can't believe that you would do that to me." I whisper to the kid and he has the audacity to giggle at me. "Don't laugh at me I will toss you off this cot."

-

I look in the mirror at injuries to my face. My nose as pretty much healed and there are faint bruises on my eyes and check. I touch along the bruises wincing a little at the pain. I've had worse. A lot worse. But it's been a long time since I've taken a punch to the face.

Ever since it happened however Mando has been a little overprotective. I mean he follows me around every scared it's gonna happen again.

I walk out of the fresher and he's sitting at the table cleaning his blasters, "I need to make a supply run."

He doesn't even look up, "No."

"We're not gonna make it to the next planet."

"We'll be fine."

"No we won't unless you're planning on starving."

"We won't starve."

"Are you gonna hunt us some food? Mando, we have like 3 rations left."

"I'll go."

"What kind of food does the kid like to eat?"

Ever since I got here he hasn't had to worry about that stuff. Yes this kid loves eating whatever frogs are outside but he also makes me buy a specific kind.

"You're not going alone."

"It'll take me less than an hour." No response, "Mando, we need food, water, clothes, and to refill our med kit." Nothing, "I can take care of myself."

"I'm going with you."

"Don't you think that'll draw attention?"

"I can't risk you getting taken again."

"Well, actually when you think about I got taken at the ship so it might be safer for me to go on a quick supply run."

"Aurora, I'm serious."

"Fine but we're gonna have to bring the kid 'cause I don't trust him here alone."

-

I hold onto the kid as we walk into the nearest city.

"What do we need?" Mando asks.

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"We're literally out of everything."

He sighs, "Don't let your guard down there are people out there looking for us."

"Got it."

The city is full of life. There are vendors, shops, people are everywhere. I want to look at everything.

I walk over to a booth full of jewelry. My eyes glance over the shiny accessories.

"I thought we were here for important stuff."

"This is important."

I spot a booth with flower crowns and I speed walk over there, "You get distracted easier than the child."

"Shut up target practice."

"Stop calling me that."

I pick up a pink and white very simple pink and white flower crown, "How much?" I ask the vendor.

"Three credits." I take the credits out of my pocket and give them to the vendor. "Thank you."

I smile and place the crown on my head, "Let's go."

-

"Dried frogs?"

"Yes, they're the kids favorite." The kid coos at the sight of them, "See?" Mando pays for the food and we leave the shop, "Okay we got everything we can head back to the razor crest now. I mean I did however see a restaurant earlier."

"Aurora-"

"Come one I haven't had a good meal in weeks."

"Fine."

I smile in success

As we walk to the restaurant people move out of our way, "Okay, I could definitely get used to people staying from me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean people automatically move out of our way and weird guys don't hit on me."

"Does that happen to you a lot?"

"Not since I started hanging out with a Mandalorian. Here it is!" I walk into the restaurant. Mando walks in behind me and everyone stares. I ignore it and I sit in the nearest booth.

I put the kid down in between me and the wall. Mando sits across from us.

"What can I get you?" The waiter asks starring at Mando a little too long.

"Bone broth for the kid and a sandwich for me."

"How about you?" She practically coos at Mando.

Oh no not again. That feeling is back. I gotta stop this, he's a Mandalorian its probably against their code anyway.

"Aurora?" I hear pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Mhm?"

"You okay there? You dozed off."

"Uh fine just uh thinking."

"About?"

You.

"Nothing." The kid starts to coo before climbing into my lap once he gets settled he giggles, "Little womp rat."

"He likes you."

"You would think so he never leaves me alone," I say with a laugh. I look down at his big eyes and his big ears, "Maybe I like him too." The waiter brings us our food lingering for a little too long. I had the kid his tiny bowl and I take a bite of my food, "She likes you."

"No, she doesn't."

"Really? Then why is she staring?"

"Maybe she hasn't seen a Mandalorian before."

"Or maybe she has a thing for them." He tilts his head, "What? Don't look at me like you know somebody does. I mean I wouldn't blame them."

No, it's his turn to get flustered. I smile before taking another bite.

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Have a thing for Mandalorian's?"

Before I can answer a man and a woman walk inside. They each have a tracking forb which start blinking at soon as they walk in.

"Shit."

"What?"

"Two bounty hunters. I'm almost certain those tracking forbs are for us."

"Let's go."

"Wait if we run out of here don't you think we'll draw attention to ourselves."

"Either way it's a bad idea."

"Okay, I'll go first you follow." I hide the kid in my jacket, slowly standing up, and walking out of there trying to draw the least amount of attention. Then the kid laughs, "Shh." But it's too late the bounty hunters already have their blasters drawn.

I draw mine and Mando draws his. The girl is pointing her's at me and the man has his pointed at Mando.

The waiters and customers either run out the door and hide under the tables and behind the bar.

"Let's make this easy," She says, "Give us the kid. No one gets hurt."

"No," Mando and I say at the same time.

"Suit yourself."

They both shoot. I get down and hid under the table in front of me. I hear more shooting. I come out and shoot the girl in the shoulder. She shoots at me again and I hide. I come out again to see Mando and the guy in a very intense fight.

Mando throws him across the room. He hits the wall knocking him out. This pisses off the girl she shoots Mando but it just bounces off his armor. I shoot her again this time in the leg. She falls to the ground in pain. I walk up behind her hitting her in the head with my blaster knocking her out. I grab the tracking forb off her hip and Mando gets his. We grab our stuff and go.

The walk back to the ship is mostly silent.

"Wait."

Mando stops walking and turns around, "What?"

"We didn't pay." He turns back to keep walking, "It's the least we could of done."

-

When we get back to the ship I put everything we bought away. I place the flower crown that someone said intake during the fight on my cot before going up to the cockpit.

"The tracking forbs?"

"Destroyed them?"

"Good." I sit down.

"The kid?"

"Asleep. He has a very eventful day." I yawn feeling the tiredness take over my body.

"You should some sleep too, cyar'ika."

Maybe its because I'm too tired to actually think but I finally ask him, "What does that mean?"

He stiffness, "Nothing."

"It's Mando'a right?"

"Yeah."

"Then what does-"

"It doesn't mean anything."

"Fine but I'll get it out of you one day." I end up drifting off to sleep in the chair.

-

I crawl out of bed careful not to wake the sleeping women next to me. I put on a robe and walk onto the balcony. You could see the whole city from here. The busy streets. The people going on about their life.

"What are you doing?" She asks now standing behind me.

"Just enjoying the view."

We look back out onto the view together. Then we see a weird light in the sky.

"Hey what is that?"

Then nothing.

I wake up breathing heavily from the recurring nightmare. Mando turns around quickly, "What wrong?"

"Nothing just a uh- bad dream that's all."

I haven't dreamt about her in years. Why now?

"Oh. Do you wanna- talk about it?" he struggles to get that last part out.

"It's just sometimes I dream that uh I was on Alderaan when it happened." I don't mention the girl I used to love because she's in the past and this is my future.

He thinks for a long time before saying, "You have survivors guilt. I uh had it too. You dream about it because you think you should of been there it should of been you instead. I used to get the same kind of dreams."

"Oh."

He says this part quieter, "You can't feel bad for things out of our control, cyar'ika."

-

Feedback is always appreciated :)

[drkoestersmithrpg]

OMG - the things I accomplished today.

Remember how you wrote Victoria’s Secret and then suddenly you just had this damn long plot in your head you had to weave together???  Tony’s Story was just supposed to be a repeat of Peter’s Story, but with what was going on In Tony’s Head when the dance happened.

And then..............there was.

Dammit nearly 10K words and we haven’t even gotten to when Peter went down with the helicopter - but I hope that will be short.

Tony’s Story Chapter 2

But dammit he should have let Pepper take him to bed with Maria in the next room because his skinhunger was getting bad.  Very bad.  He could tell, because every time Peter touched him he lit up like a Christmas Tree.

And he was touching Peter too much – he knew it.  Putting his hands on the boy’s waist to move him out of the way of the holotable instead of just walking around him.  Accenting his point by putting both hands on Peter’s shoulders and shaking him back and forth.  Hugging him every damn time they made a technological breakthrough – or whenever he left on a trip – or whenever he left at the end of the day.

Dammit no wonder the boy started kissing him on the mouth.

 * * *  

 As much as he wanted to bitch and moan and wax Shakespearian about his life, he really could be counting his blessings.  Peter brightened up the room whenever he walked in it – and he was walking in it a lot. He was such a normal feature in Stark Tower, both in the living area and in the lab, that Tony was beginning to miss him when he wasn’t there.  He had his own corner of the refrigerator.  He had a lot of access to FRIDAY for food delivery and music options. He kept a change of clothes there. Despite the fact that he was full-time at Columbia and still the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, he still made time for Tony.  And that made life good.

And if Tony started to worry that he was demanding too much of the kid’s time?  Well there were always business trips or Avenger business to take him out of town for a while.  That kept him busy.  Busy was his safety net.  Busy was good.

Then that day happened and Tony saw his fragile safety net begin to denigrate and that was very, very bad.

That day – the day Tony thought of as The Day Of The Slowdance.  That day.

He had literally sat in his lab for an hour, spinning around in a swivel chair, trying to think of something to occupy his time.  He had nothing.  Nothing inspired.  Once again he was diving into the tech, only to realize the tech had rejected him too. He was seriously thinking about drinking – dammit it was 2:00 in the afternoon, when he suddenly texted Peter and asked him to come by to help him with some suit issues “that have me stumped.” It was a lie of course, but by the time Peter got there he could trust his brain with something that Peter could work on.  Then, when Peter’s brain started working, his brain would start working to.

Not since Bruce had Tony been with such a perfect lab partner, had worked with someone who just got it?  But for all Bruce’s brilliance, they were both exited about different fields.  When those two fields overlapped, they were magic together.

 With Peter it was magic all the time.

 He barely had to explain something to Peter before he was off and running with it. 

The kid had all of his brilliance with none of his flaws. Sure, experience and education was missing. That was expected. But Peter got him. He followed exactly where Tony’s brain was headed without even having to be told. Tony had worked with people in college, obviously. And in his early days at SI, he’d led teams of engineers. Tony described it to Peter in terms of a root canal (And Peter agreed, he had the same problems in study groups and college lectures that were just too damn slow.)

 Waiting for them to catch up… expecting them to be able to extrapolate where he was going from where he’d been…just having to stop and explain why his brain had gone in that direction…there was none of that with Peter.  They worked together like they were two parts of a whole.  That was good.  That made life good.

 But something was off that night.  First, Peter showed up early. His last class, he explained, was all reading the text and passing the tests.  That meant Tony hadn’t really had time to come up with the excuse for needing him in the lab, so he tried to keep him in the kitchen, talking about random things.  

 Peter had been in a great mood when he arrived,  cheerful and eager and… were those a pair of faded-in-all-the-right-places skinny jeans? Peter was dressing up these days.  Probably showing off for the hot nerdy girls that had Columbia had hiding somewhere.

 Or hot boys.  Peter had mentioned that, casually.  Tony had been trying to ignore that fact.

 But then they were in the lab, and Tony had to make due.

 “This fucking joint in my helmet. Sorry, language.”  Peter laughed at the inside joke.  “This has been a problem since the Mark II prototype. Here.” Tony pointed to a crescent shaped scar on the right side of his neck. “Only on this side. Only right here,” he said, improvising randomly.   “There is no way that the nanotech should be pinching there.”

 Peter looked at the projection on Tony’s holotable, then looked closely at the scar on Tony’s neck (and if Tony took that moment to close his eyes and breathe in Peter’s scent?  No one needed to know.)

 Then he was back at the projection on the holotable, looking intently for a problem that didn’t exist  (and if Tony took those few moments to check out the view of Peter’s jeans from behind? No one needed to know.)

 Peter’s mouth twisted adorably as he tried to puzzle out the problem that didn’t exist.  “So we’re looking for something small – just a clump – maybe not big enough to cause the snag in the retraction process for anyone else, but you’re sensitive to it enough to notice.”

  “Unless…..” Peter began. “What if you’ve been experiencing that for so long… Could you have accidentally programmed it in, believing it to be a part of the suit? A feature not a flaw?”

 “Huh,” Tony responded.  It was better than letting his jaw hang open in silence.  Leave it to Peter to solve a problem that wasn’t even there.

 They worked on various aspects of the retraction for an hour or so, passing projections over to each other’s workstations (although Peter kept insisting on working on the original at Tony’s station, claiming it had better resolution and there wasn’t a delay.  Which was bullshit, but so was the ‘delay’ they were working on so who was Tony to complain?)

 Tony tried to relax and let the inspiration come – any minute now Peter would say something that would give him an idea and then they would have something real to work on – but it wasn’t happening.

 Mostly because Peter kept trying to change the subject.

 Every other question seemed not to be about what the tech but about his personal life. Tony deflected, of course. He was the uncontested pro at deflection. Especially when the kid seemed to be pressing him for info on topics he was actively trying to forget about.  So what was the deal with Pepper and Maria, really?  And what the deal with that Sanjay guy?  Wasn’t he just living one floor down, or something?  And what was up with that wedding?

 “Break!”  Tony announced suddenly, and headed toward the kitchen.

 “Let’s eat.  Then I’ll put on the suit. Slow the enclosure process down and have FRIDAY record it. You can watch the snag happen.”

    “This isn’t all bad,” he said as they arrived in the kitchen.   At least ___________________

At that Peter called out “Yes! Success!  Time to celebrate!  FRIDAY play some dance music!” and the next thing Tony knew “Ride On” was playing and he had an armful of Peter Parker.

Peter’s head was, mercifully, leaning on his chest, so the boy couldn’t see him standing stiffly, dumbfounded.  He danced with Peter, of course, it seemed the polite thing to do.  His hand was on Peter’s waist, but that was ok, he had touched Peter there before. But is OTHER hand now contained a handful of Peter’s hand, and for some absurd reason, in that moment, that touch struck him as beyond intimate.  No wonder he gaped.  All this time he had conned the boy into thining there was a problem with his suit and the entire time Peter had been planning…..what exactly?”

Which is why, when Peter smiled up at him, all he could do was stare and say “What are you doing, Kid?”

What are you doing kid? He asked.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Peter had asked, sounding innocent.

Tony’s mouth was so dry he couldn’t speak, so he only shrugged.

The pain in Peter’s eyes hurt Tony to the quick, hurt him so badly he wanted to pull the boy’s head close again, hold him and apologize.  But the kid covered it well, and before he could act, the look was gone.

And now Peter was smiling.

“Then I’ll just have to keep doing it until you figure it out.”

Tony pulled him close.

He kept his hand on the center of Peter’s back (safely away from Peter’s ass, dammit, he was going to be a gentleman about this.)  He pressed the boy’s body against his own until he could feel Peter’s heartbeat hammering in his chest.

Oh no, wait, that was just him.  He laid his chin on Peter’s head and held on for dear life.

And still they kept dancing.

In that moment – for maybe two minutes or more – Tony could see it.  He could see it all, and it was so beautiful.

Moving Peter into a room in Stark Tower (not into the Penthouse itself, they had to keep up appearances.  At least until Peter graduated.)  Or better yet, just buying a building close to Columbia and creating a new lab.  The lower levels would be tech libraries and a Gen Z coffee shop where Peter could hang out with his college friends, the top level would be their penthouse where they would sleep in each other’s arms every night.  Tony would sleep normal hours, waking in the morning to make Peter breakfast before classes, puttering in the lab and having dinner ready when Peter came home.  Keeping his schedule flexible so it could change every semester, sitting down at the dinner table and having FRIDAY coordinate their schedules, Winter Breaks, Spring Breaks, Summer Breaks.  They would spread them out on a holocalendar shining in the air, pointing out long unscheduled 3-day weekends they would spend in Paris. Peter would study on the plane and Tony would make him omelets.

And it would be Peter. It would be all Peter.  Peter would be the reason he remembered to eat, remembered to sleep.  All so he could remind Peter to eat and sleep.  He would take care of himself so he could take care of Peter.  He would worry about Peter during long overnight study sessions with friends, and Peter would worry about him when he left on business trips, they would text each other ‘I miss yous’ and ‘I love yous’ and when they returned to each other….

…they would dance in Tony’s kitchen just like this.

Clutching Peter’s hand in his own Tony separated their bodies for a moment, holding Peter out at the end of his arm, spinning him under it, then scooping him back up in that tender embrace and putting his chin back on Peter’s head.  Peter moved his face closer and Tony sighed, resting his lips against Peter’s forehead.  It was perfect.  It was heaven.

He could see it all – the years of impatiently waiting for Peter to graduate.  The arguments, both petty and profound.  The inevitable butting of heads when two fiercely independent people tried to live in the same place.  The broken promises, dates missed because of last-minute study sessions, extra long business meetings.  Harsh words, sometimes ridiculous, sometimes eye-opening, the tender intense make-up conversations afterwards.  The makeup sex.  The roses that came with apologies.

He was actually wondering if FRIDAY could tell him which florists delivered the fastest – would Peter object to having flowers delivered to him in class?  Would a florist deliver roses to Columbia?  Because he could almost here the arguments now, the arguments they would be having as Peter got tense and testy as he prepared to graduate. Arguments that were mostly about nothing, but were really all about the alarming prospect of the future. Arguments that Tony could tell (although he would never point out) were really about this young fledgling longing to spread his wings, to take his first flight, to leave the nest…..

Because that is exactly what Peter would want to do.

Because the boy in his arms, the boy 30 years his junior, the boy slow-dancing with him now, looked at him as a Father Figure.  And Father Figures, even the ones you have sex with, even the ones you get naked with, even those Father Figures had to be shed by young men fighting to become independent.  

Tony’s heart started pounding again.

As absurd as it was, he could hear it.  The argument. The argument with the In-3-Years-Peter, the so-near-to-graduation-he-could-taste-it-Peter.  That arguing Peter had angry eyes and a furloughed forehead and he was trying not to raise his voice but he was, and Tony was too, and they were shouting at each other, and anyone listening in would think that they were arguing over Tony’s too-long business trips, or maybe his too-short business trips, or else it was Peter’s too-long study sessions (with that lab partner that Peter fought with constantly and complained about constantly but now was suddenly singing the praises of now that the project was nearly complete) and anyone listening in would certainly have thought the whole argument could have been settled by an apology and more roses but Tony would know, Tony would know in his bone-marrow that this was Peter needing to spread his wings, to establish his independence, to leave the nest.

Because what do boys do when they graduate from college?

They leave home.

Peter, the real Peter, the Peter in his arms, was looking up at him, was waiting for a kiss.  Tony could do that.  Tony could kiss him and lead him into the other room and gently work him out of his pants and sink into him and come deep inside him and declare his true love, oh yes, Tony could do that.

Tony didn’t.

The song ended, and Tony clutched Peter’s hand in his own.  He separated their bodies and held Peter out at the end of his arm.  Peter willingly spun under it, trusting.

And when Peter’s back was turned Tony let go of his arm and walked out of the room.

“FRIDAY play disco,” he called out, never looking back.

 --------------------------------chapter break---------------------------

Did he hide like a coward in his lab, waiting breathlessly for FRIDAY to confirm that Peter had left? Oh yes he did.

Did he pack a bag and leave that night for LA on some feigned business trip?  Oh yes, he most certainly did.

Did he stop inviting Peter over to work in the lab on projects real and imagined, and did he make damn sure that there were always people in Stark Tower when Peter did show up? Oh most certain this was the case. Tony could be one damn popular guy when wanted to be.  And that’s why weeks passed before he had to deal with an armful of Peter again.

He acted casual during those times inbetween, but inwardly he was frantic.  This is ok, this is ok, he kept telling himself.  “Yes I just broke up with Spider-Man, and yes, it hurts.  But loosing the kid after only one slow-dance, that’s a pain I can bear, right?”

He kept repeating the mantra to himself as a week passed, and then another.  But then he got lonely for the Kid and might have accidentally allowed him in the tower when he was alone.  

“We’re not going to do this, Kid,” Tony said, when that alone time terned into a tender embrace.  “We’re not going to do this, Kid,” he said even as he wrapped his arms around Peter and held him close.  He had only let his guard down just for a second and the Kid swooped in, superhero that he was.

“Why not?”  Peter asked, logically, and Tony opened his mouth to tell the whole Graduating From Columbia story but it was too big to come out.

He tried to talk about what Peter deserved, but he got cut off.

“You let me decide what I deserve.”

So he tried to tell the truth – or at least part of the truth.  He did love Peter’s crush, loved it?  For a while he was living for it.  But suggesting that this was a legitimate reason to say no now just earned him a sweet kiss on his face, and then on the corner of his mouth.

The self-control that it took to not move the quarter inch and taste that boy for himself was agonizing.

Then the boy left, and Tony hung his head in shame.

He had told the boy no,

But the boy probably had trouble believing him when he had said “No” while holding a handful of Peter’s ass.

He forced himself to act casual, even as the kid walked away, even as his heart was hammering frantically in his chest.   This is ok, this is ok, he could hear the mantra forming in his head even now..  “Yes I just broke up with Spider-Man, and yes, it hurts.  But loosing the kid after only one slow-dance, and one handful of ass, that’s a pain I can bear, right?”

There was a second mantra, one that formed in his head as his private plane carried him away from New York City.

“You have the obvious advantage.  Peter has the hard job, constantly waiting for you to be alone, constantly waiting to swoop in when you are unguarded.  He’s the one who has to keep generating arguments why you should be together..  All you have to do is keep saying no.  

   But he didn’t say ‘no’ the next time Peter made a move on him, he said something much worse.  A team of Avengers had returned from XXXXX and were debriefing in Stark Tower and Peter made an unexpected appearance. Tony was beyond grateful he was there – these group meetings ground on and made Tony angsty, but Peter made it easy to relax.  They even had time to catch up, standing side by side and talking for quite a while while other Avengers fought for Tony’s attention.

But then the others began departing in various directions and Tony found himself absurdly fleeing from Peter, backing up as if the boy were going to mug him, grimacing, hating himself for grimacing.

“I’m not doing this!” Tony had whispered to him, fully aware that he had been doing it.  Had stood shoulder to shoulder with Peter for the entire meeting.  Had defended Peter to the group, had glowed when Peter defended him. Had nudged him when Fury said something particularly appalling, and shared an inside joke.  More than one.  He had been ‘doing this.’  He had been ‘doing this’ shamelessly.

He wanted to explain, he did, but the penthouse was full of people.  Wanted to explain how he was sure he could bear the pain of breaking up with Peter after only one slow dance, after only one handful of ass. But breaking up with Peter after getting naked?  Breaking up with Peter after Peter had met his idol and found him wanting?  He tried to explain that there were pains he couldn’t bear.

That’s not what came out of his mouth, but it was close.

LYRICS TO 1000 YEARS

“Peter hacked into FRIDAY as….as a practical joke.  Only he forgot to hack out,” Tony muttered to the remaining Avengers.  He didn’t try to wrestle with FRIDAY in front of them.  He knew Peter’s hacking skills.  He had honed a few of them himself.

“So, did you two break up?” Nat asked, after the others had gone.  He was standing out by the heliopad to get away from the condemning music.

“We were never dating.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“So you’re admitting you’re not very good at your job?   Odd business strategy, RomannonfXXX.”

“Look, I know Anand marrying the Gay Jesus of India really rattled your cage…”

“…the Limp-dicked Gay Jesus of India…” Tony muttered.

“But I could have told you about Anand.  I would have told you about Anand, if you had asked me.  But you didn’t ask me…”

“I’m sorry, since when do I take dating advice from a master assassin?”

“I read people Tony.  You used to read people too, but you missed that one.  You fell for an object in motion – I’m sorry it came to a surprise to you that he moved on…”

“..you saw it coming.”

Nat shrugged.

“And Peter is an object in motion too, constantly motion,” Tony muttered, mostly to himself.  

“Predictable motion, and right beside you.  You can’t see yourself from the outside, Tony, I can.  Feel free to tell me it’s none of my business,”

“It’s none of your business.”

“…  but Peter works for you.  You’re good together.”

“I’m sorry, were you….were you trained in this too?  In addition to interrogation, did SHEILD use you as Yenta the Matchmaker?  How is this your job?”

“SHIELD used me to know you, and I do.  And for the record, you’ve been miserable for a while now.  And it’s not good for the Avengers.  The Avengers is my job.”

She left him, mercifully, alone after that.  Alone in his empty home.  Alone within walls echoing A THOUSAND YEARS XXXXX[lyrics]XXXXXXXx with the assurance that he [lyrics] xxxxxshouldn’t worryxxxxxxxxPeter had loved him for a thousand years.

  The mission with Wanda to her old stomping grounds in Serbia offered up a welcome distraction.  Demanding that Peter not be on the departing team was easy – it was a dangerous mission.  “Good for him” or not, Tony didn’t want Peter in danger.

Armored in his suit he met Peter on a random rooftop to give him the news.  

Tony winced when he thought of that day.  He wasn’t proud of that day.  He had determined to be outright cruel to Peter that day – as if he could ever be cruel to Peter.  Still he tried to use the worst words he knew that day – the kinds of words he had hated so much when he was Peter’s age.  Words like ‘childish’ and ‘adult thing to do.’  He was glad he had kept his helmet on.  He couldn’t bear to look at the Kid directly.

Was he hyperventilating when he got back to the Tower?  Oh yes he was.  Did the angry voices shouting XXX[lyrics to she fucking hates me]XXXXXXXXXx at him as he tried to make his way to the lab fit his mood?  Oh yes they did.  

He didn’t fight with FRIDAY about the song.  He fell in a slump against the wall, tears in his eyes.  For an hour he remained there.  He couldn’t remember ever feeling so lonely.

But he still had FRIDAY, and FRIDAY wanted to be good for him.  For another hour they talked to each other, gently, until he finally had some access to Peter’s hack.  Peter had effectively shut him out of volume control and the off button, but he hadn’t thought to shut out Tony from the playlist.  Rather than try anying harder (which would have required Tony get up off the floor) Tony simply added songs to the list.  Soon FRIDAY was playing “Ride On” at acceptable volume levels for the man slumped on the floor.

Did he jerk off to the song? Oh yes he did.  He did, and he wasn’t ashamed.  He did and he dreamed of how Peter felt in his arms as they danced; so strong, so solid, so willing.  He came whispering Peter’s name.

Afterward he thumped his head on the back of the wall over and over again.  

He tried remembering the mantras he had found before, but they had all dried up, and now the only one he could remember was “I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.”

He had the advantage.

Peter was smart, but Tony was more experienced.  Peter wanted to get laid, but Peter was also surrounded by dozens of college boys who were not only cute but somewhat intelligent as well.  

Besides, if they did have sex?  Peter would expect him to take off his shirt, and that simply couldn’t happen.

“FRIDAY?  Add one more to the playlist.”

And that’s how Tony Stark got up from the floor that next morning, packing his bags to Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”

 Tony knew he would have to get more creative after the mission in Serbia was over.  The only reason something hadn’t happened that last day in the Tower was because other people were there.  Peter was a lot stronger than Tony – oh god was Tony well aware of that fact – and as he had found out the first time Peter kissed his face, he had no control when Peter was in his arms.  It was because he was so damn touchstarved, Tony argued to himself.

It was because he was so damn lonely.

It was because it was Peter.

[tnystrk-exe]

Baby Steps 3

Tony Stark X Reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 End

There was a silence between the two of you as you walked through the house.

“Tony, things just ca-“ your words got caught in your throat, when you opened Ro’s door. “You did this?”

“Who else?” He asked, smirking. Tony walking in the room to set the car seat on the changing table and move Ro to be comfortable on her bed. “So, you saw, how do you like it? Oh, I even made you this.” He came over and handed you a tablet, “I was just going to buy one but those aren’t private and someone being able to just hack in? That’s a no.”

You looked around, everything Ro needed was build. Tony added in some of his own personal effects too. There was a giant bear that looked like you could fit in it staring at you from the corner of the room. The room looked great, there was a small library, a toy chest over filled with more than you had bought, and a whole lot of new clothes.

“You don’t like it,” he sounded disappointed, “I can take things back...”

You grabbed his wrist and led him out, letting Ro rest without noise. “First, thank you, Tony. You’ve done a lot for us.”

“Second?” He sighed, leaning on the wall.

“Why?”

“Does it really need to be explained? Why can’t we just...keep going?”

“Is this just some weird guilt thing or something? Did Rhodey put you up to this? You don’t have to do any of this either way, Tony, I can watch out for myself. There’s no need for you to stick around or do anything more.”

He scratched the back of his neck, straightening out his thoughts for a second, “I’m doing all this on my own accord, if that means anything to you. I want to do all of this. Rhodey just told me he was leaving and I just decided to be here for you,” he shrugged, “I didn’t think you’d want me around if I wasn’t here on Rhodey’s orders.”

“Why are you doing all of this on your own, then?”

“Because, I missed you,” his arms were crossed over his chest, “I just knew one day, I finally noticed that you weren’t reaching out anymore. So, I asked Rhodey. He just told me I fucked up.”

“You did,” you nodded, “Majorly.”

“After nearly ten years of static silence. I got that message. Honestly, I just pretended you finally realized I wasn’t worth keeping in your life anymore.”

“It was actually the opposite,” you stated.

“I don’t know what I said. It was obviously hurtful, but I was blacked out long before that party even happened.”

“Yeah, well, they say only kids and drunk people tell the truth.” You turned heel and walked off toward the kitchen.

Tony took a couple of minutes before following after. He didn’t expect a seamless bridge to be built between the both of you, but he hoped. “I got you some lunch before I came to get the car seat,” he pointed to the bags on the table, “That one place we used to go to a lot, I figured you’d still like the same thing.”

“Not everything can be solved with food Tony,” you laughed tiredly.

“But it helps fill some of the void. Where are we?”

“I’m my home,” you answered, absentmindedly picking at the food, sarcastically, “I don’t know. I tried to just continue, but it just keeps pecking at me. You can’t expect me to forget.”

“Can I know what I did?”

“You kept kissing and saying things to me drunk -“

“Like Mike?” He asked in the tone that you knew was directed at himself.

“I guess?” you sighed, “Not as bad though, I could handle you. I knew you wouldn’t hurt me, physically at least. Anyways we argued and you ended with being happy because I realized I wasn’t good enough for you.”

“Shit,” Tony took a seat his head in his hands, “That’s heavy.”

“It was dealt with.”

“Yeah, I can understand you not wanting to do anything with me. Rhodey know the whole story?”

“Just the end. I didn’t want him to change toward you, you two are brothers. Our fight was between us. Rhodey didn’t need to be involved with the messier side of things.”

“You still looked out for me? After all of that.”

“You lost one close friendship. I didn’t think it would be okay for you to lose that one too.”

“YN, you think about me too much.”

“I don’t know, probably.”

“YN, I really did miss you.”

“I know, I did too,” you admitted quietly.

“Can’t we just patch this over?”

“Tony, we have. Multiple times. It just never works out. Maybe it’s just fate telling us we don’t belong.”

“That’s bullshit, YN,” he looked you in the eye, “You know I don’t believe in fate and destiny. Fact, however, that’s undeniable. Do you think that it’s fact? I’ll leave you alone if you do.”

“No. I don’t, Tony. But I can’t just ignore everything that happened.”

“We’ve been through a lot, YN. We can work through this just like everything else.”

“I’m not sure we can.”

“Damn it, YN. I’m sorry. Give me one last chance. I know, I know you’ve given me so many, but I promise you won’t regret this one,” he placed a hand over yours, “We don’t need to be anything other than friends. Let’s just, take baby steps and be friends again.”

“Are you really that desperate for a friend?” You asked, curiously.

“You’re the only other person that didn’t want me around for my name or money. Sure, I have Happy and Pep now, but our relationships started with me being their boss. It’s not the same.”

The way he said it just made your heart clench. You took a moment to think. “Okay. Fine. We’ll press restart and work with as clean of a slate as we can. You better not let me regret this, Stark.”

He smiled genuinely, “You won’t.”

The tablet Tony had handed you over started to go off, informing you that Ro was crying. You squeezed Tony’s hand gently, before walking off to console Ro.

“Hey babygirl,” you picked up Ro, “What’s wrong? Huh?” You did the normal routine, change, feed, and burp. She stayed sedated for a while, but started crying again.

“Let me try,” Tony said, finally walking in to the room, “At the hospital she really liked When You’re Smiling. I tried some of my more personal favorites, but she’s a little Sinatra girl. Ain’t you?” He took Ro into his arms, she calmed within the first verses. “He works like magic on her,” he chuckled, “Rock gets her riled up, but a party is always fun.”

“I’m sure with you around she’ll learn to love it.”

He pressed a kiss to her head before handing her over, “Ro has your pout though, that one you would abuse. If she finds out about the power of it, I’m done.”

“I didn’t abuse it. It’s not my fault you’re so weak willed against a pouted lip.” You grabbed a bear you never saw before and showed it to Ro. Her eyes followed the plush curiously.

“Yeah, well, what can I do?”

“Suffer, mostly. Isn’t that right Ro?” You cooed at her playfully.

“You hurt me, truly,” he tapped his chest, “Right here.”

“Get used to it.”

He laughed, “Shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Wanna give him a hard time Ro?” You tickled her side, causing a small smile. “I’m taking that as a ‘yes’.”

“That has to be illegal persuasion, Ms. LN.”

“And that’s Dr. LN. Unless you’re talking to, Ro.”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes, “I have three doctorates, you don’t see me making people call me Doctor.”

“Okay, Dr. Stark.”

Tony seemed floored for a second, “I mean you could call me Doctor. Definitely.”

“Come on, I’m starving.” You hummed walking with Ro to the abandoned food. “We’ve been taking up a lot of your time, Tony. Are you sure you don’t need to do anything else?”

“I’m pretty sure. If there is something Pep would be hounding me and drag me out by the ear,” he joked, “Besides, that Happy is probably having an aneurism trying to find me.” Tony held up his phone, showing you a bunch of Tony where are you text.

“You’re such a...,” You shook your head, laughing, “Tell that poor man where you are.”

“Nah,” he pocketed the phone, before coming closer, “I think this will be my hideout. Give me her so you can eat comfortably.”

“Stark, are you trying to steal my kid?” you gave her a pacifier before giving her to Tony, “Because that’s low.”

“I don’t think I could do this,” he adjusted her in a more comfortable position, “Not full time at least. You know that whole you become your parents thing? I don’t want to be someone’s Howard. So, I’ll just be the cool family friend that spoils the kid and leaves.”

“I doubt you’d be anything like Howard,” you took a drink, “Sounds like a plan though, have fun fighting Rhodey for second favorite.”

“I’ll be the first favorite. Right kid?”

“Ah, no, that’s my spot. You better make yourself comfortable in second or third place.” The doorbell chimed, “I got it.”

Rhodey smiled brightly, enveloping you in a hug as soon as you opened up the door. “Sorry, there were complications, but it’s sorted out and we’re all okay. Now, where’s my niece?”

“She’s in the kitchen with Tony,” you replied, pressing a kiss to his cheek before pulling away.

“Tony’s here? Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, “It’s fine, we talked. We’re going to try this whole friendship thing again.”

“Do you really thing that’s a possible thing,” Rhodey didn’t seem convinced, “I love the both of you, don’t get me wrong, but you were pretty bad after...”

“I’m a big girl now Rhodey and I have a kid now. I don’t have time to deal with all that right, especially not with a baby on my hip. Rhodey, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, I trust you,” he sighed, “Now, let me steal my niece because I haven’t gotten any good time in.”

“Have fun, uncle Rhodey.”

“Tony, give me my little niece,” he called out, Ro started crying loudly.

“You woke her up, you put her back to sleep,” Tony responded, happily giving the baby to Rhodey.

“I’m good for it. YN, can you give me a bottle?”

“Yeah!” You started making a bottle with formula and handed it over, “You know, I can handle her.”

“What? No. I want to spend time with her anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, besides it looks like you were eating. Just take care of yourself for a while.” Rhodey went to sit on the couch, singing to Ro softly. You smiled, loving how both of the boys resorted to the same way of calming down your daughter.

You and Tony joined Rhodey after eating. Ro was smiling in her sleep.

“I’m not going to be third place,” Tony said, sitting down.

“I’m not even sure what you’re talking about, if it’s to do something with the kid. You sure as hell are.”

“It’s on, Rhodes.”

You sat in between them, stealing your sleeping child away from Rhodey. “She’ll love the both of you the same.”

“You can’t tell me you’ve never had a favorite between us,” Tony snarked.

“You’re right, it was Rhodey.”

“And Ro is going to tell you the same exact thing once she learns how to talk,” Rhodey said confidently. “I’m going to be all of your favorite.”

Everything Tag:

@sophiatomlinson23

Marvel Tag:

@asguardiansoftheavengers

Baby Steps Tag:

Tag: @lovely-geek @demspnficstho @jessicaguerreiro07 @whatmakesmebeme-tblr @memyselfandmaddox @thewhinersoldier @ailynalonso15 @space-helen

[bullet-proofgirlscouts]

JiminXReader - In One Week, Part - 8

Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7;

“So Jimin isn’t in love with you?”

“Mhmm.”

“But he’s in love with the person who created your podcast?”

“Mmhmm…”

“Which is you.”

“Mmm…”

“And you- I’m sorry can you please speak in words?” Yoongi snapped, annoyed that his friend was stuffing her face with ice cream.

“Mmm?” she frowned, not appreciating his outburst. Swallowing the mouthful of cold, chocolatey goodness, she licked her lips before focusing back on Yoongi

“Why is this a problem?” Yoongi asked.

“Because…it just doesn’t seem fair.” She replied, twirling her spoon in the ice cream bowl.

She had called him at night, asking him if he was free and if she could talk to him. She didn't want him to go through the trouble of talking face-to-face and was more than content with talking to him over the phone, but he refused. He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was upset about something and nothing in the world could stop him from being by her side. So, he picked her up from her door and took her to a small café (promising Grandpa that he would bring her back in an hour and bring ice cream back for him too) that was situated quite remotely, only a handful of people came by and they sat at a table in the corner, ordering sundaes.

“I can’t just be like, ‘hey! Remember you told me you’re in love with this podcast lady? Guess what? That’s me! The girl you rejected. Now let’s make out’”

Yoongi tried not to chuckle at how she said the whole sentence without taking a single breath. But now was not the time.

“…You should have seen the way he talked about it. Like the creator was the most amazing person alive, like she’s the living embodiment of perfection and should be showered with praise for the rest of her life.”

“And that’s a bad thing, because…?”

“Because it didn’t seem like he was talking about me! It was like the creator is a different person all together. He doesnt...he doesnt love me, he in love with this...” she paused for a second before saying, “idea of me that he’s created in his head, one that is amazing. I can’t compete with that”

“So basically, you feel like you can’t tell him you are the creator because he might be disappointed?”

She nodded slowly, her eyes looking down, focusing on the ice cream.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard.” Yoongi said. He felt a bit guilty when he saw her flinch a bit but he held his own.

Sure, he was a bit biased. In his eyes, she’s the most amazing person he knew, flaws and all. The two of them grew up together, Yoongi has watched as she grew into this amazing human being. He adored her as much as she did him, even though he’s never actually told her that. Yoongi felt a need to be protective of her and she understood that his harsh words were his way of doing so. She was his baby sister, his best friend and he couldn't be prouder of her. She wasn't spectacular in any way, but she was to him, and from the way he saw Jimin look at her, the orange haired kid felt the same way and it infuriated him that she couldn't see that.

So, yes, he was just a little bit biased.

“Is it?” she asked, softly, “Is it that far fetched of an idea?”

Continuing, she said, “I would rather him be in love with this image of me. Even if i’m not what he’s looking for… the creator is still me.”

“So you’re settling for that?”

“For now? Yeah. Maybe i’ll get over it when the time comes, maybe Jimin will stop pining after this ‘anonymous’ person cause i’m never telling him,” she ignored Yoongi’s glare as she continued, “I liked the way things were. It’s probably going to be awkward with him now, knowing that i have a crush on him, but i don't want him finding out the truth and that making things worse!”

“Why?” Yoongi pressed, “What’s the worst that could possibly happen? Jimin is a nice guy, isn't he? You really think he’s the type of person to abandon you or stop being friends with you if you tell him?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Then why-”

“I don't know!” she snapped, causing many people to turn in their direction. Her face turned red as she hunched her shoulders, muttering an apology. It took a few minutes for things to calm down and for everyone’s attention to be off of them.

“...it just doesn't seem fair.” she said softly, pushing her ice cream towards Yoongi, asking him to finish it for her, “I can't tell him that i’m the person he’s in love with when he already rejected me. I know you think that i’m downplaying myself here, but it’s not that, at least, not just that. Jimin isn’t in love with me, plain and simple, and me telling him that i’m the creator shouldn't change that, it wouldn't be genuine if it does. So why bother wasting my time and everyone's emotion for something that won't make things better? ”

Yoongi sighed, understanding her logic but hating it.

She chuckled, knowing what he was thinking. “I dont like it either,” she said, “But that’s just how it is.”

~~~

Monday rolled in and she didn’t show up to class today. Turns out she didn’t show up to university at all. He considered calling her but decided against it. Maybe he was thinking too highly of himself, which he hated, but the last conversation they had together was of him rejecting her. Maybe she needed some space.

So he didn’t contact her on Monday. It was a boring day.

He didn’t call her on Tuesday either. He realized how dull and uninteresting the group he hung out with really were. Conversations consisted only of gossip and plans to go shopping. He couldn’t crack even one genuine laugh when before, his stomach used to hurt from it.

Wednesday, he started getting concerned. He sent her a text, asking her why she was missing classes and if she was ok. She didn’t see the message that day.

Thursday, again, she didn’t show up. Jimin called her but he was directed to a message that said that her number didn't exist. He was worried and confused. Was it because of him? Did he break her heart more than he had thought to the point where she didn’t feel like they could be friends anymore? Or maybe she was just sick and everything was going to be ok. But if she was just sick why couldn’t she have replied to his messages? Why were his calls not going through? Was this really his fault?

Jimin hardly said a word the next day. Without realizing it, he spent all his time sulking and moping. His friends realized it though, especially Jihyo who grew more and more annoyed as Jimin’s mind seemed to move farther and farther away from reality. From her. She had a feeling she knew why he was the way he was. Deciding to break the somber mood she was determined to lighten Jimin’s spirit during break time.

Everyone was sitting at the cafeteria, munching on food. Jihyo kept her eyes on Jimin and to her annoyance, he still seemed down to the dumps.

“So Jimin,” she said, leaning forward on the table, making sure to push her chest together. Every time she used to do that the boy blushed and looked away, trying his best not to stare, and she found it adorable.

But this time he hardly glanced her way. He acknowledged her question with a simply grunt, but his eyes were glued to his phone. But he wasn’t really doing anything, just staring at it, like he was waiting for something to happen.

She quickly wiped the second of shock on her face as she processed that Jimin just out-right ignored her, but she carried on.

“I heard you got the highest store in your literature class for that project of yours. Congratulations!”

That seemed to have brought Jimin slightly out of his secluded state. “Thanks,” he said, with a smile, “It was mostly because of my partner that we got a good score.”

“Oh don’t be modest,” Jihyo said, “I’m sure you contributed way more than she did. I’m surprised you even stuck with her through the whole thing. If it was me I would have demanded to change partners immediately.” She started laughing along with her other friends but when she glanced at Jimin, her laugh got stuck in her throat.

He was glaring at her with a look she had never seen before, anger. However, that rage withered away as soon as she saw it, making her wonder if it happened at all.

She cleared her throat, “I haven't seen you two hanging out anymore, did you take my advice?”

“I did, but that’s not why we’re not hanging out.” Jimin replied, still focused on his phone.

“Really? Because if you rejected her-”

“I don't want to talk about it.” Jimin interrupted, “Ok, i’m just a bit worried because she isn't answering my calls or my texts.”

“Look, if it makes you feel any better, she’s fine. Someone saw her hanging out with a boy last Friday.”

“What?”

Last Friday? That was the day Jimin last saw her and he...rejected her.

“Don’t you have a picture?” Jihyo asked one of the girls beside her.

“Uh, yeah, here you go.”

Her phone was handed over to Jimin, a picture on the screen.

Jimin looked at it and saw her. It was a small café, and she was sitting across a boy with mint colored hair. Yoongi.

“Why do you even have this picture?” Jimin asked, staring at it.

“One of the people from uni saw her. Guess they were just as surprised as we are over the fact that she has guy friend. Or just friends in general.” Jihyo spat out.

“Maybe it's her boyfriend!” someone said.

“Ew. Why would anyone date her? Especially a boy as cute as that?” another one replied.

“You think he’s cute? He looks really scary to me. No, not scary, another word…”

“He looks like a homeless person. Or like a leader of a gang.”

“Intimidating! That’s the word.”

“He looks a lot older than she is…. oh my god guys, do you think that’s her sugar daddy?” Jihyo said.

“No way! You think she would have a sugar daddy?”

“It makes sense, doesn’t it? A guy like him wouldn’t hang out with a girl like that unless it's…’beneficial’”

“Ugh, that’s disgusting! What a whore!”

“Never thought she would be so desperate for sex. How pathetic can you get?”

“Wonder how much money she makes. Eww, I wonder if she has any STD’s!”

“Probably does. She-“

BAM

The whole room was silent. Not a single sound was made as every student started at the source of the noise.

Jimin was panting, his face flushed in rage as his hands stung with the pain of smashing them against the table.

He glared at Jihyo and the other people sitting at the table, each of them shriveling away in fear.

Ignoring all the stares that were focused on him, he got off his chair, grabbed his bag and stormed out of the room.

Walking down the hallway, he realized his body was taking him outside the university. He knew where he wanted to go.

He wanted to see her, to talk to her, to work things out.

He knew what he wanted to say. Being in that room, trying his best not to scream at the people who were berating her for no reason made him realize something. Something he was to stupid and too ignorant to understand just few days ago.

He wanted to protect her, to hold her, to assure her that everything was going to be ok, to convince her that she was the most amazing person he’d met, to one day break down those insecurities and make her understand what an incredible person she is. He wanted to spend the night talking to her about the most random things, from books to movies to what their favorite shade or orange is. He wanted to wake up and see her sleeping face every morning.

He wanted her to see herself the way he saw her,

With love.

Jimin was in love.

And he was going to make sure she knew it.

~~~

Jimin panted as he finally reached the block where her house was, taking a minute to catch his breath. He was gross and sweaty, not a good impression. Maybe he should have thought the ‘running to her house’ part through. Whatever, he was here. Rounding a corner, he jogged happily to her front door and immediately rang the bell. He was bouncing on his toes, the adrenaline keeping him jittery. He was so nervous, and excited and scared, but mostly excited.

What was he going to say? What would she say? What if her Grandfather opens the door?

Jimin didn't even realise that a good few minutes had passed, and nobody was opening the door. Eyebrows furrowed, he rang it three more times, still nothing. His energy left him as fast as it arrived. This was embarrassing. Nobody was home. Worry started to overtake him, his mind racing as to where she could be. Unfortunately, all he could do was wait for her to come back. Maybe in an hour, he could come back to her place and see if she was home.

Letting out a loud sigh, his jittering finished, he walked away from the door. The sky was dark and ominous, made him wish he got an umbrella. He was just about to walk down the road, when a black car pulled up beside him.

He peered through the front glass, catching a glimpse of Yoongi who was in the driver's seat, the mint haired man staring back at him. His attention, however, was diverted by the guy in the passenger's seat, who opened his door and got out.

“Taehyung.” Jimin looked the man up and down. He was wearing a suit, with a crisp white shirt and black tie. Come to think of it, Yoongi was wearing one too, minus the tie.

The brown-haired man looked back at him, confusion etched on his face. “Jimin? Why are you here?”

“I wanted to talk to…why are you here?”

“She left her wallet behind, I came to get it for her.” he said as he closed the door. He walked up to Jimin, keys in hand.

Ignoring the slight pang of jealousy Jimin felt over the fact that Taehyung had the keys to her house, he asked,

“Where is she anyways? There’s something I have to tell her.”

He grimaced in response,  “Well, it will have to wait. You know how busy she is, now with everything that happened.”

Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, “What do you mean?”

Taehyung froze, “She didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what? What’s going on?” Jimin asked, getting a bit scared, is she ok? Was she hurt? Or sick? Is that why she didn’t come to university for a whole week?

He paused for a second, looking around hesitantly.

“Taehyung,” Jimin called out desperately, “Is she ok?”

“Of course, she’s not ok Jimin.” he replied, his voice soft and pained, “Her grandfather passed away.”

~~~

[draginhikari]

Final Fantasy XIV: Azure and Crimson Section 1: Warrior of Light, Shadros Hiku Chapter 4: Truth Revealed, Identity Echoes

((Takes place the night before the Patch 2.55 ‘Before the Fall Part 2’))

Faint moonlight shined through Una’s inn room window in Ul’dah.  It had been about a week since her journey with Shadros, Aya, and Drakkon into the depths of Tam Tara Deepcroft.   Each night since then had been mostly restless for Una.  It was another night of Una rolling back and forth in her bed grumbling to herself.   She sat up in her bed after a while, glancing towards the window of her room.   With so much on her mind lately, it was another sleepless night.   Too much of her thoughts revolved around Shadros.   She just couldn’t shake the feeling that something horrible was about to happen.   She slid off the bed and walked towards the window.   

Una grumbled, “What’s wrong with me?  I shouldn’t care what that arsehole is doing but yet…” She wouldn’t let herself finish that sentence. Shadros had been seeking out information about strange things like the Lamb of Dalamud through that Ninja woman, Aya.  Recently, rumors began circulating that he had been investigating numerous unusual locations for seemingly no reason or reward for that matter.  “What is he doing?  This seems so pointless, unless this has to do with…,” Una wrinkled her nose, “This Kari person.  Whoever the hell she is.”  Una sighed wondering what was going through her head.   Why was the idea of this Kari person making her blood boil so much?   She wasn’t even a real or living person as far as she could tell.   Shadros obsession about it bothered her.   Una grabbed her bag and made her way towards the door, “It’s time I found some answers for myself.”  She left the inn, already knowing where she needed to go.

The silence suddenly broke as Shadros stumbled through the door to his house, rather exhausted.   Thanks to the journal obtained in Tam Tara Deepcroft, Shadros had learned the location of a number of places the Hymn Venom Order had previously performed their experiments.   Unfortunately, each location he visited appeared to be long since abandoned with no signs that the Venoms had ever been there.   The journal referred to the individuals as subject numbers and almost never by name or race making narrowing down the locations of what he was looking extremely difficult to find.   Shadros dropped the Aegis and Excalibur on floor in one corner of the room before laying down on the bed not even bothering to take his armor off.   He picked up the journal that was lying on the end table next to his bed. With groan of annoyance, he threw it against the wall on the other side of the room before turning to face the wall near his bed.

Shadros had found no reference to the girl with the horns or any location that matched the one in his dream. Shadros whispered to himself the words he had heard from the shadow before, “Do not seek me anymore Shadros. If you find me, it will cost you everything.” Shadros puts his hand to his forehead, “Kari. Who are you?  Why would seeking the truth destroy me?” He sighed, “ This doesn’t make any sense.   It should be so easy for me to let this go, but for some reason I just can’t.”

Midgardsormr emerged from the shadows in a burst of aetheric light next to the journal on the floor before picking it up and flying back to the end table, “Thou are still blind to the truth, mortal.” Shadros groaned and turned towards the miniature Wyrmking, “I am not particularly in the mood for your nonsense rambling this evening.   I don’t know what you’re talking about at this point. I’ve been seeking proof this entire time and I haven’t learned anything other than going around in circles…” Midgardsormr interrupted him by swing his tail smacking the journal directly into Shadros’ face, “Ow! You scaly bastard!  What in the seven hells did you do that for!?” Shadros lurched forward to try to punch the dragon, but Midgardsormr simply flew up causing Shadros to stumble out of the bed and land face first on the floor beside it.  Shadros groaned mostly in embarrassment knowing that he had let his frustration get the better of him just now, “Twelve be damned…” Midgardsormr simply land back down acting as if nothing had happened, “Thou are angry at thyself because thou still cannot see what is in front of thee.   Thy believed thee to be chosen by the Mother, yet thou are undeserving.  Thou rather deny truth then accept what thy gift display.”

Shadros sat up slowly and glared at Midgardsormr, “You’re talking in nonsense if you ask me.   The echo has come to me more times than I can count.  It’s not like I came particularly ignore it and I never asked for this gift in the first place so what all this talk about undeserving?   If you know something then say it already.”

Midgardsormr stated, “Thou use a gift but by whose will does the Mother’s gift speaks to thee?” Shadros frowned narrowing his gaze, “What in the seven hells are you talking about?   You’re making it sound like the power of echo I have was not intended for me at all.  Are you saying Hydaelyn made some kind of mistake?   You say a lot of bullshit reptile, but this is a new level of nonsense coming from you.” Midgardsormr shifted his head in the direction of the Excalibur that lied on the ground. “Then why does thou fail to listen to what thy blade speaks.   The voice speaks, yet thou are afraid to listen. Fight the truth rather than embrace it.”

Shadros glanced at the sword, recalling the visions.  As much as he hated to admit it, Midgardsormr might have a point.   Though the visions would come and go, he never attempted to force the visions to continue. It was more like his mind fought them off directly.  Was he actually afraid to learn the truth?  Is that why he’s spent so much time chasing leads that led to nothing? The Excalibur had not forced any visions on him since the incident at Tam Tara Deepcroft and the voices have grown silent since the defeat of the shadow woman.  Were the answers to his questions in front of him the entire time and was he really just afraid?

Elsewhere, Aya walked out along the area around the Sultantree in Central Thanalan dressed in the merchant attire from the first day she met Shadros. “Why would Shadros ask me to come out here in the middle of the night like this?   Seemed like he was pretty clear that he was done with me the last time.  Unless this is some kind of trap,” Aya seemed confused turning back towards the Sultantree. Una stepped from where she had been hiding nearby, “No trap.   Shadros’ handwriting is pretty bad, it doesn’t take much to forge it.   Seemed to be enough to fool you, Ninja.”   Una scowled the last part in an annoyed tone. Aya turned her head to Una with a little surprise, “Hmm?   You’re that Una woman that has thing for the hard case,” Aya chuckled some crossing her arms, “What business could you possibly have with me?” Una approached Aya slowly grumbled, “I do not have a thing for Shadros.  Enough of your quips.   I know Shadros hired you Aya, I want to know what he hired you for.   What is it that you were sent to find?” Aya sneered some at Una, “Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Aya smirked and continued, “Why would I tell you something like that?   It’s not particularly professional for me to simply reveal a client’s intention just like that.  I’ve got a reputation to up hold here.” Una drew a bag from her waist and tossed the bag to Aya, “Perhaps this will convince you?”  Aya caught the bag and tilting her head some.  The bag was filled to the brim with gil, far more gil then she would have expected Una to bring.   To offer this much without even attempting to negotiate was a strange thing to do in this case.   Una must have been more desperate then Aya thought.

Aya laughed some, “You’re an interesting woman, Una.   You must be head over heels crazy if you’re willing to go through all this.   Though what woman doesn’t find such passion interesting?  You’ve peaked my interest Una.   I’ll play along with your little game.” Aya would only empty out half the gil from the bag before tossing the rest back to Una who was a surprised by the Ninja’s behavior.  Aya leaned against the rock wall with a smirk on her face, “So let’s start the twenty questions already shall we?”

Back at Shadros’ home, he picked up the Excalibur and held it before him before glancing at Wyrmking again, “I am not afraid Midgardsormr.” He closed his eyes focusing on the blade.  No matter what happened he would force the Excalibur to reveal the full truth.   He felt the sensation of the Echo washing over him. Opening his eyes, he felt as if he couldn’t move much like before.   He was viewing the experience through another person’s eyes but this time the images weren’t rapidly changing.

The person would open their eyes glancing around a wooden shack they were resting in.  The vision fizzed for a moment before a young child version of Shadros himself appeared in the person’s field of vision.   Shadros started speaking to the person, “Hi, I’m Shadros, what’s your name?” There was dead silence but it was obvious from his younger self body language that he was being spoke to.  “Kari?   That’s a funny name…”

Shadros thought to himself, “Kari.  So I wasn’t just imagining that name.” 

Young Shadros would climb up onto the bed next to one calling herself Kari, “You’re different from any girl I’ve ever seen.  Where did you come from?  You have scales and horns, you’re different from the rest of us…” The vision would fizzle and shift again, this time Kari was in front of a small group of highlander children and Kari was suddenly shoved to the ground by one of the older girls.   The children were taunting Kari for her appearance and suddenly a slightly older Shadros moved in front of Kari’s view speaking to the other kids directly, “Only cowards pick on little girls.   Why don’t you fight with me instead!?” Shadros managed scare off the bullies and he turned around offering her a hand, “Don’t let them bully you Kari, I think your unique appearance makes you special…” The vision would change against this time to a beach setting.   This time Kari stood across Shadros now in their mid-teen years.   They were both wielding wooden training swords in the dead of the night.   Shadros easily knocked Kari down but after a few moments Shadros would help her back up, “Hey, not too bad you keep up pretty well for someone who’s not allowed to train.”  The scene shifted some to Kari sitting on the beach with Shadros sitting next to her, “Someday, I want to be an adventurer and see the world.  Isn’t’ that what you want to?   We can be partners and see the world together.  What do you say?” The vison began to fade out again.

Shadros frowned some, “What kind of ridiculous question was that?   What was it about Kari that made me want her to do so?”

Meanwhile, back at the Sultantree Una was trying to process what Aya had just explained to her, “Hymn Venom Order?   If these guys are responsible for causing Shadros’ condition prior to when I met him I could understand his desire to deal to with them.  That doesn’t explain his obsessive behavior over them.” Aya shrugged, “I more or less agree, which is why I looked into Shadros further as well.” Una glared at her, “Spying on your own client?” Aya chuckled some, “In my line of work you have to be prepared to deal with all kinds of crazy clients.   After all this whole thing could have been a trap for all I knew at the time.   As such, I prefer to know as much about my client as possible.   Apparently, Shadros started having those crazy Echo visions ever since his work with that sword he picked up.  He went to Hyrstmill and shook down some researcher there after freaking out over one of the visions.” Una crossed her arms looking down as she thought, “A researcher in Hyrstmill?  You must be talking about Jalzahn.” Una didn’t know him personally, but she had heard Shadros complain about him in excess.

Aya waved her hand as if the detail wasn’t that important, “Yeah, sounds about right.   I was able to pick up on some of their conversation. Jalzahn theorized that Shadros’ soul may have been tampered with at some point and time.   I guess having weapons that connect to one’s soul is a good way to bring those things up to the surface.   I guess it would make sense given the shadow we saw in the Deepcroft. I guess the void magic there just drew a manifestation of those things.   Jalzahn thinks that girl is a figment of Shadros imagination or something like that.  Maybe a result of trauma or something.  Not exactly sure what else she could be frankly.  This stuff is too weird for my taste.”

Una went quiet as she mulled over these facts in her head.   After parting ways with the Shinobi, Una invoked a teleport and vanished from Thanalan.

Shadros’ visions started again. This time Kari was opening her eyes to the sight of the previous village set ablaze.  Kari reached up to touch her head pulling her hand back to see red blood dripping down it, likely from a cut or gash on her forehead.  The sounds of clashing metal and screams of terror filled Shadros’ heart with a dread that he couldn’t entirely explain.    Kari stood up wobbling from side to side as she walked.  Coming across the sight of a dead village militia member and a Garlean soldier.  Kari took up the Militia member’s sword with the intent to defend herself. 

She would encounter a bleeding dying woman on the path who just stated, “You freak!  This is all your fault isn’t it?  You are a curse…”  The vision would shift around again with Kari being knocked to the ground by a black armored looming figure that slowly approached her.  Wearing a strange mask encased in black Garlean armor, he fought with a Far Eastern Katana with some kind of massive Magitek scabbard on his side. 

Shadros recognized the man. Anyone with familiarity with the Garlean Empire knew this man, “Zenos Yae Galvus!?”  The crowned prince of the empire itself.   Zenos was notorious among the Legatus of the Empire for his suppression of the Doma rebellion. As well as his cruel and merciless disposition. 

Which made Zenos’ next action confusing as he simply glanced at Kari with a slight hint of amusement with the girl, “The hatred in your eyes is something to behold child.  It’s too bad that it ends for you so soon.”

Zenos’ slight distraction gave the teenage Shadros time to interfere using a flash spell between the two.  This version of Shadros was much closer to his current age. Shadros grabbed Kari by the hand, “Kari, we need to go now!”  The two fled to a fishing boat and his younger self was quick to start rowing away from the island.   Zenos approached the shoreline.  He could have easily finished them off even from where he was standing but yet he didn’t.   For what reason Shadros couldn’t guess, maybe they just weren’t worth the effort.   The Kari’s eyes shifted back to Zenos and remained locked onto him until the vision would go white as Zenos fell out of sight.  Shadros found himself looking around what appears to be the cargo bay of a ship from Kari’s perspective.  

Kari would move but the younger Shadros would put a hand over the Kari’s mouth, “Shh… I know this is a tight squeeze but you have to try to stay still or they will find us down here.” After the guards left, Shadros turned his head towards Kari again. “Where?  From what I could find out, we’re heading for Ul’dah territory within Eorzea, a land to the west.  It’s a rich City-State in the middle of a large desert.  I’m sure we can find some refuge there.” Shadros frowned knowing how well that was likely to go given Ul’dah’s state of mind most of the time and the poor conditions many refugees faced.   The vision went white again.

Una had teleported to Gridania and made her way to Hyrstmill to consult with Jalzahn about his conversation with Shadros.  Given Jalzahn’s tendency to talk at great lengths about his research it didn’t take much to get him to talk.   After the drawn out conversation Una waved good bye to Jalzahn and began to walk away following the path again back into the North Shroud. Una crossed her arms as she walked.   Jalzahn’s conversation confirmed what Aya had told her before.   That Shadros had been greatly disturbed by these visions of the past and that this girl he was seeing, Kari, seemed to be the key to the entire thing.   Though Jalzahn’s continued to believe that Kari wasn’t a real person, Una was unconvinced. In fact, the more she heard, the more she was convinced that Kari was in fact someone from Shadros’ past.   Una continued on her way she had one more stop to make.  Hoping she would find her answers there.

Meanwhile, the vision would fade into an area the Shadros recognized as the waterway near Nophica’s Wells in Western Thanalan.   Given his younger self looked now he assumed it must have been right before he started his adventurers as the Warrior of Light.   Kari seemed to be wearing a hood of some kind.   It seems like she was speaking to Shadros as her hands tugging at the hood as if she didn’t like how it fit. Shadros said, “I know it’s not the great situation for you Kari but people aren’t used to seeing someone like you.  There are rumors of Voidsent around and I don’t want people mistaking you for one.” Shadros would reach out with his hand as if he were ruffling Kari’s hair under the hood, “Don’t worry, I’ll figure out a way to get us into Ul’dah and out of this mess.   I’ve been practicing more lately, I’m sure I’ll be able to get into the Gladiator’s Guild.   Once I’ve done that I’ll be able to get us off the streets and into someplace safe.” Shadros was utterly confused.  Was this really him?   He felt he was watching a complete stranger.  This Shadros seem so compassionate and hopeful compared to himself.   Shadros seemed to be treating this Kari in the vision like a sibling.  Could Kari really be the girl from his dream and past vision?   His head was starting to hurt, he didn’t remember any of this.

 The next scene would appear to be a stream near Ul’dah similar to his original vision, Kari’s face came into view as she lowered the hood and drank from the stream.   The vision shifted again and Kari had shifted away from the stream as some Brass Blades had begun to approach her quickly. 

Shadros suddenly returned to her side and shouted, “Kari!  What have you done!?” He said before pulling her away.   Had Kari done something wrong?   Or had she just been spotted and drew unwanted attention?   He couldn’t really tell from the context.   He had a feeling this was about to get worse.

Midgardsormr would choose this time to speak, “Accept what happened to thee.” The vision would change again this time the two seemed to be fleeing in Northern Thanalan, Shadros was pulling Kari by the hand.  Shadros would take note of the patchy scales on her arm, she didn’t look like any of the five race and Shadros would understand what his past self had said earlier about people being uncomfortable around her.  The vision would turn behind them seeing some Brass Blades chasing after them.   Shadros could only assume that they had saw the girl’s face and reacted poorly to the situation of seeing a woman with horns.    Shadros managed to pull Kari behind one of the Ceruleum dispense tubes and elude the Brass Blades.   Kari put her head down slightly.  Shadros said something brief that was hard to make out.   After a while it would become obvious that the two had no idea where they were and Northern Thanalan was too dangerous of a place for someone as inexperienced as this version of Shadros was.   When they moved into one of the passes they were suddenly surrounded by several figures in red cloaks with Wasp emblems on their clothing, the Hymn Venom Order.   Shadros tried to fight them off but he was clearly out matched and both were taken captive.  Shadros began to breathe deeply as if panicking. The Excalibur wobbled in his hands as if he were tempting to simply let go of it here.   

Midgardsormr would repeat, “Accept what happened to thee.”  There was a brief vision of an abandoned Ceruleum factory that Shadros recalled being on the outward eastern edge of Northern Thanalan.   Could that be the base he had been looking for all this time?

The next vision would be what he saw in his original dream but from the view of Kari.   Kari ’s face was lurched up suddenly and brought to the gaze of a red cloaked middle aged Duskwight Elezen face, “To think that I would find an Au Ra in a place like this. I couldn’t ask for any better opportunity.” 

Shadros whispered to himself, “Au Ra…” He had heard the phrase before from the Domans when describing Lady Yugiri. Was this Kari was one of these Au Ra?  Is that why she looked so different? Shadros shouted at the man, “Leave her alone!  You got me, you don’t need her for anything!” The Duskwight Elezen moved over to Shadros, “As a matter fact I do. Her soul and your blood will be the perfect sacrifices to fulfill our grand experiment.  You two are simply stepping stones for a greater good, the summoning of the True Hymn Venom.” He would proceed to kick Shadros in the face causing Shadros’ nose to bleed. Shadros groaned, “B-bastard.  I will make you pay!”

The Duskwight drew a knife from his robe, “Silence, it will all be over soon…”

The Shadros struggled against the men holding him down, “Get the hell away from me!”  His struggles were in vain.  Much like in his dreams of the Duskwight would pull up on his head and slice his throat. Shadros’ head fell limp as the signs of life began to fade, he was bleeding out.   Shadros didn’t have time to be shocked about the situation as once this happened, he heard the Kari’s voice for the first time.  This was only time he had during the entire vison that this happened.  Harsh screaming filled Shadros’ ears as the scene played out. The Duskwight shouted something at the mages and they began to cast sometime of spell.  Kari’s screaming stopped as the spell began to overwhelm her, as likely she had accepted that she was going to die.   A familiar feminine voice began to speak, a voice Shadros had not heard since Operation Archon.

“Hear… Feel… Think…” The next set of images came by extremely quickly as if Kari didn’t know what was happening. A strange flash of light seemed to cause the Cultist’s spell to go haywire and for a moment he seemed to see Kari in the same blurry method as in his dream.  The vision would then shift as if she standing beside Shadros’ body.  Then the vision was positioned to where Shadros had been laying as the bleeding seem to suddenly stop.   The cultist backed away in utter shock as Shadros stood. It was impossible that a dying man would stand so suddenly with wounds inflicted not minutes ago would be completely healed.  The vision shifted to where the girl had been but there only a statue of Kari before him.   Without thinking, the glow of the teleport spell was in his vison and everything would go white as if the spell had activated.

The final part of the vision had Shadros stumbling through what appeared to be the streets of Ul’dah late at night.  His vison blurred in and out as he moved.  He began to hear voices nearby but he couldn’t really make it out what was being said. The vision turned to a woman being attacked by three brutish looking men.  Shadros approached them slowly as if he were possessed to do so.

“What are you looking at?  You lookin’ for trouble, boy!”  One the brutes declared before the sounds of a fight took place.   He couldn’t see much.   It was like his mind wasn’t there at the moment.  When the scene changed again he was sitting down against the wall, extremely disoriented with an ache in his head.

A voice would speak, “Hey you! You all right?  That was kind of crazy for a green horn like you to be doing.  Hey are you listening?”  Shadros would recognize Una’s voice, “I think you need some help, hold on!  I’ll get you the help you need I promise.”

Shadros would finally snap out of the vision dropping the Excalibur to the ground falling to his knees panting heavily.  He took several deep breaths as his mind raced with the events he just witnessed.

Una exited the Rising Stones sighing to herself.  The Scions seemed to know nothing about the Hymn Venom Order or seemed completely unaware of what Shadros had been doing behind the scene.   After all, as long as they had their primal slayer what did the Scions care?   Sometimes she wondered if any of the scions outside of Minifilia even cared about Shadros well-being at all.   She sat down at the Seventh Heaven bar plopping her head down on a table.  She was exhausted at this point and had very little to show for it.   She still had no idea what Shadros was intended to do nor could she guess anything more about this Kari person.   A voice spoke out as Una sulked, “Hello Kitten.  Why so glum?” Una groaned, this was the last thing she needed right now, “Drakkon, I’m not in the mood for your antics.   So if you’d kindly piss off…” Drakkon put his hands up in surrender, “Take it easy, Kitten.  There’s no reason to bare you claws right now.   Just want to talk to you that’s all.” Drakkon sat down in the seat next to her ordering a couple of drinks for her, “Now why don’t you tell ole’ Drakkon what’s bothering you, Kitten?” 

Una sighed and sat back up, “I’m worried about Shadros, so I was trying to figure out what he intended to do and the situation he’s in…” Una would recall the details of the story of what she had found out to Drakkon. Drakkon crossed his arms glancing upward, “Yeesh… had a feeling that Shadros was hiding something, but that’s quite a doozy of a tale.   Then again, I always did find something about Shadros kind of strange.  Then that whole shadow thing showed up and made him even more complicated.” Una took one of the drinks and downed it before sighing, “I’m afraid he’s going to do something stupid and the idea of something happening to him hurts.   I don’t understand why he thinks he needs to do this alone.” Drakkon said, “Hard to say.   Pride?  Guilt?  A man’s reasons can be hard to grasp there Kitten, but by your words it seems more to me he’s not the only one being dishonest here.” Una growled, “What are you implying?” Drakkon chuckled and stood after paying for her drinks, “Nothing in particular. Kitten, if you want to get through to him, you’re going to need to be honest with him and yourself.   Don’t hide how you feel or you might one day regret it.  Don’t be so afraid to let someone in.” Una watched Drakkon leave at that point.   Sometimes she couldn’t gauge the pervert’s intentions, but she couldn’t exactly claim that he was wrong in this case. Una finished her free drinks before standing back up, “Shadros…” She whispered to herself before heading off again.   She needed some time to think on the matter but could only hope she wouldn’t be too late before she could act.

Shadros was still frozen in the kneeling position as Midgardsormr looks at him from the table, “Now thy eyes are open, thy art a vessel for soul willed by the Mother.” Shadros stayed still for a moment trying to take in everything he had just seen. It was as if his mind had just been unlocked and a flood of memories had come back to him all at once.   He left Midgardsormr and stumbling out of his room, going outside to get some air.   He made his way quickly to the pond in the middle of the Goblet square and leaned down to splash some of the water on his face. Only slightly more aware than before, he leaded back on his hands to look up into the moonlight. “I remember now…  I was the son of an Ala Mhigian Highlander man and Midlander Women.  My father was the chief of a refugee camp.   When Ala Mhigo fell to the Empire, instead of fleeing to Eorzea, they took a ship to the Far East forming a fishing community on a nearby island.   One day, during one of the fishing trips they brought her back, Kari.   She had been found floating on a crate in the middle of the ocean, probably shipwrecked or worse.   She was barely alive when they found her.  We have never seen a person like her before but she was one of the Auri people from the continent of Othard.  She didn’t remember anything so she grew up in the village and the two of us were so close, like brother and sister.   Most people in the villagers couldn’t stand her though and they bullied her constantly.  When Zenos attacked our village I fled with her.   I left the others, even my parents, to saved Kari.  We stowaway on a ship to Eorzea and I sought to get in Ul’dah.  I thought back then that I had to protect her but it turns out I was the one that needed her protection not the other way around” He looked down coming to another realization, “Kari… she possessed the Echo, not me.  All my victories, my title, everything… was only possible because she gave up the ability to live her life to instill her soul and her echo within me.  All to save my life from the Hymn Venom Order.  Midgardsormr was right, I’m not capable of doing anything on own.  Gahhh!  Twelve damnit all!” Shadros went silent for several minutes while his mind mostly emptied of all thoughts.   He thought back to the situation at Tam Tara Deepcroft and realized what had been said by Kari.   He was now left with two choices.   To continue his life and try to live what had gone on or try to find her.   Those were the only two options he saw at this point, if her body was simply turned to stone by magic was there any chance her body was still even around?   Even if he found her could he even do anything about it?   Shadros sighed, “Even if I wanted to I can’t even find… them…” He stopped mid-sentence as if suddenly remembered something important.   “Wait.  That factory in the vision.  The one in North Thanalan, that location was not listed in the book at all.  Unless…”  He ran back to the room. Opening the journal to a few blank pages towards the end, he suddenly ripped them out.

Midgardsormr said, “Thy hopes to destroy thy past?”

Shadros glared at Midgardsormr, “Not even close reptile.  I just remembered that while being held I recall one of them writing in a tome but there was no writing as if he were scratching at the paper for no reason.   Now I get it, he wasn’t scratching at the paper” Shadros held the papers over the flame of the lamp as it started to darken some letters took shape on the pages. “… That’s it.  It was written in an invisible ink.” Shadros looked over the pages, the details were clearer on this page.   From that information, he discovered that after he had escaped, the Hymn Venom Order sought to track him down and they had stored the girl’s petrified body at the order of their leader.   The information ended there likely because that was the time he first entered the Deepcroft where the cultists were defeated.   Best of all, he found the location listed on the hidden page, that old factory was their base of operation, “I’ve found you at last, you bastards.” Midgardsormr said, “Then thou are to not heed the chosen’s words?” Shadros said, “I can’t explain it but I feel I must see for myself.   I don’t know what will happen but it is a risk I will have to take.  Unless I conquer this past I cannot move forward.  Whatever the means, I will settle my score with the Hymn Venom Order not just for myself but for Kari as well.”  Shadros took the Excalibur into his hand, coming to realization that the project he took for a mad scholar’s research was the key to bring himself and the true Kari together again.  He planned to use the power of the Zodiac Brave to set things right.   If he could not save the true Kari he would use her power and his to ensure that the Hymn Venom Order never harmed anyone like they did to them ever again.

As Shadros turned to place the Aegis on his back, his Scion Linkpearl went off.   Shadros put the pearl to his ear, “Shadros here.”  He listened carefully and nodded, “Understood, I will come immediately.”  He knew something was up and he as much as it pained him would have to put his personal matters on hold for the moment.   He took a deep breath knowing that once his work with the Scions concluded that it would be time for him to settle this matter, one way or another.  Midgardsormr would disappear as Shadros made his way towards the door.   He picked up the journal before going outside with it.   He lifted the journal into view, gazing at it for a moment before tossing it into the deep end of the Goblet’s Oasis and simply watch it sink into the water.  “Hymn Venom Order, you’ve claimed your last victim.” He turned and walked away preparing to make his way to Revenant’s Toll.

Section 1 - Chapter 3: Return to Tam Tara Deepcroft

Final Fantasy XIV: Azure and Crimson Complete

Section 1 - Chapter 5: Just One Night, a Tragic Tryst

[getsterekt]

FIC RECS

in honor of gaining another hundred followers on my twitter account @getsterREKT heres another rec list. 

This will just be made up of lots and lots of different types of fics. Make sure to read the warnings for each fic before reading. 

(fics with ** are favorites)

It Takes A Village by  Hypocorismm

Stiles's used to yogurt handprints on his shirts from where he picked her up, and he's used to snot on his shoulders and neck from where she cried after a bad dream. He's used to her legendary tantrums when she doesn't get her way, her eyes glowing ferocious gold. He's used to being the village it takes to raise her, and the pack she longs for.

Except, he needs the pack's help, and Derek's protection when a particularly power-hungry pack wants his cub. And he isn't used to sharing.

WORDS: 49227

RATING: Mature

CHAPTERS: 35/35

WARNINGS: angst, kidnapping, mpreg.

Night Stroll by  Marishna

"Is it night there?"

Derek chuckled. "Yeah, it is. How do you know where I am?"

"I don't, that's why it's weird it's night. That puts you in... Europe?" Stiles asked after some quick math.

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Spain. You haven't lost that..." Derek waved his hand. "Stileness."

WORDS: 3276

RATING: Teen and Up

CHAPTER: 1/1

WARNINGS: derek has insomnia??? is that a warning??? idk

****Prince Among Wolves by  tylerfucklin (Deshonanana)

Looking for full day/evening sitter. 2 twin boys age 4. Must have exp. w/werewolves. Must be human. No pedophiles. No teenage girls. Pay negotiable. 

WORDS: 101,000

RATING: Explicit

CHAPTERS: 20/20

WARNINGS: mild transphobia, derek learns acceptance, broken family, so much angst

Walking Into Darkness by  alenie

Derek hears Stiles before he sees him. There's anxious, wheezy breathing coming from the next aisle over in the grocery store, accompanied by a racing heart and the smell of unwashed sneakers and hair gel. He turns the corner and Stiles is standing frozen in the dairy aisle, knuckles clenched around the metal of his shopping basket.

WORDS: 6342

RATING: Teen and Up

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: panic attacks, anxiety, depression, post 3b, pre-sterek relationship 

****Ashes, Ashes by  ShanaStoryteller

The Sheriff gets a call at work - someone's tried to burn down his home with his son inside.

"I thought of you coming here, and finding me dead, of another burnt out husk of a body, something else fire has stolen from you, of you having nothing left to grasp but ashes," John can't even call that a whimper, it's clearly a whine as Derek's hands tighten against Stile's hips, as if his boy will shudder to dust at the mere mention of the possibility unless Derek's hands can hold him into one piece, "and that thought was worse than dying."

WORDS: 2699

RATING: Teen And Up

CHAPTERS:1/1

WARNINGS: so much angst, stiles nearly burns to death

Just Realize What I Just Realized by  literaryoblivion

He’s never noticed it before; it’s always just been second nature to him these days, does it out of habit, but it’s not until he stops to actually think about it that it becomes abundantly and embarrassingly clear to him that he is in love with Stiles and that they are practically dating without the actual dating part…

WORDS: 2529

RATING: Teen And Up

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: a lil angst, (but mostly fluff)

The Potential Fatality of Assuming by  crossroadswrite

The hair, the buttons and the general happy and slightly tired disposition with which Derek came back from his secret exploits were as obvious as a glaring neon sign flashing the words JUST GOT LAID.

A sign that Stiles ignored because he had a seven year plan god damn it.

(OR: in which Stiles assumes things, gets accosted by the sister he never/always wanted, discovers he was horribly wrong, almost dies via Derek Hale with kids, can't handle all that collarbone action, uses tickling as the ultimate mode of revenge, and gets a boyfriend. In that order.)

WORDS: 2196

RATING: General

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: misunderstandings, because stiles is dumb, lots of pining

****If I Could Trade Mistakes For Sheep, Count Me Away Before You Sleep by  alisaj

"Thing is, Stiles," Derek says, his voice hard and unfaltering. "I didn't sign up for you. You just hung around until we got used to you being here."

That stings. He hadn't realised how Derek feels about him. They've been getting on quite well, teaming up on little missions and bantering back and forth without malice. Stiles sometimes lets Derek crash in his room after a big fight, trying not to let on how intriguing he finds the werewolf.

"Well now we can get used to you not being here. You're a liability, Stilinski. You can't protect yourself and we always end up having to help you when we've got more important things to do. You're out of the pack."

or

The one where Derek is a terrible Alpha and Stiles ends up walking into a big pile of shit.

WORDS: 33,383

RATING: Explicit

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: stiles gets kicked out of the pack, derek is stupid, like, so stupid, stiles gets hurt, theres so much angst in this like wtf, stiles is sad, the pack sucks

Sour Kush (series) by alisvolatpropiis

Stiles mentally curses Erica, because in all of her warnings about how brusque this guy could be, she forgot mention that he’s also hotter than the fucking sun. If Stiles had any lingering questions about his sexuality, they’d be completely settled by what this guy is doing to him. In fact, he might not even be gay anymore. He might be in the midst of crossing into some yet-to-be-named sexuality that’s all about a scruffy black beard and alarming green eyes and muscles and tattoos and this guy’s everything ever.

The guy’s name is Derek, his lust-addled brain supplies distantly.

Well that settles it, then. Stiles is Dereksexual.

WORKS: 3

COMPLETE: it says no but they havent updated in like over 2 years so im guessing its done

WORDS: 15,392

RATING: Explict 

WARNINGS: everyone is stoned all the time, also in work 2 stiles is hurt because he thinks derek is getting it on with parrish, they’re dumb, age difference, derek has a beardddd 

I Just Want You For My Own (More Than You Could Ever Know) by  yodasyoyo

“What is with that sweater, dude?”

Derek ducks his head to look at it, abashed. “Uh- Mrs Hernandez knitted it for me. It’s an early Christmas gift.” He smooths it down self-consciously.

Stiles cocks an eyebrow.

“What? She’s my neighbor and sometimes I-” Derek trails off. Stiles’ other eyebrow rises to join the first, and Derek sighs. “Sometimes I help her carry her shopping.”

Of course he does. One day maybe Stiles will stop being in love with Derek Hale, but today is not that day.

WORDS: 16,065

RATING: Teen And Up

CHAPTERS: 4/4

WARNINGS: pining, fake relationships, they’re both idiots. 

Baby You’re Beautiful by  supernaynay

“God you’re beautiful.”

Derek hadn’t even realized that the words had left his mouth until the whole room went silent, including Stiles, who until about five seconds earlier was busy yelling at him for putting himself in danger yet again.

WORDS: 1089

RATING: General

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: derek is hit with a truth spell

****(Sacred) In The Ordinary by  idyll

The Pack, after college, graduate school and the starting of careers, comes back to Beacon Hills. Nothing's gotten less complicated after all this time.

Based on a kink meme prompt that grew legs and got serious.

Note: This is a whole lot of pack!fic with a very slow build Derek/Stiles.

WORDS: 78,759

RATING: Explicit

CHAPTERS: 9/9

WARNINGS: violence, slow build

Cause I Built a Home (For You, For Me) by  noneedforhystereks

Mechanic!Derek and Daddy!Stiles

Derek Hale is a mechanic in the sleepy town of Beacon Hills, where he has lived all of his life. He spends his day in a simple routine: wake up, fix cars, go home, sleep. It's what he's good at, and it keeps things simple and uncomplicated. Derek doesn't let people in and remains emotionally distant from everyone except his sister, Laura, and her daughter. This all changes when Boyd tows in an old blue Jeep that needs a lot of work and Derek meets the owner of said Jeep.

Because once Derek meets Stiles and his kids, he can't stop himself from caring. And he doesn't want to stop.

WORDS: 59,719

RATING: Explicit

CHAPTERS: 15/15

WARNINGS: angst, pining, emotional hurt, stiles has a lot of baggage. 

Waiting For Our Superman by  tearsandholdme

Derek knew the moment he opened the front door of his clean and pristine apartment to Stiles Stilinski holding a small boy, a cluster of bags, and a suitcase, he was screwed. In every way possible. Undone by the big brown eyes of a small child and his annoying, witty, and attractive father.

WORDS: 95,240

RATING: Mature

CHAPTERS: 22/22

WARNINGS: angst, mpreg, emotional hurt, overprotective derek

Adding You to My Future by  NekoIzumi

“So, I'm Stiles.” he smiled warmly once he had put his unannounced patient down on the exam table. “I will poke and prod you a little bit to check for internal injuries, those that I can’t see because they're inside you, and some of it might hurt but it will pass, I promise. I will tell you everything I'm about to do and why I'm doing it so just stay calm and this will go like a breeze, okay?”

Now, Stiles wasn’t stupid in any way, shape or form, he knew a were when he saw one… although he had obviously never seen a werecat before, and definitely not one as young as this one.

WORDS: 42,252

RATING: Explicit

CHAPTERS:9/9

WARNINGS: violence, like, lots of violence, slow build, gore, emotional comfort, bamf stiles

Stars Plummet: a Christmas Story by  Peckishdragon

When Stiles left Beacon Hills, he never thought he would be coming back. Eight years later, he is coming home for Christmas, with a small passenger in tow. Old feelings, never forgotten, are rekindled.

WORDS: 11,589

RATING: Mature

CHAPTERS: 6/6

WARNINGS: a lil violence, like a tiny bit, 

All They Have by  Nival_Vixen

Single dads AU where Derek and Stiles meet because Derek’s daughter and Stiles’ trans son become friends at school.

WORDS: 4004

RATING: Teen And Up

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: trans child, which leads to ignorant adults being ugly fucks, protective derek 

love comes in all shapes and sizes by  trilliastra

“Daddy says that when I’m in trouble I should get the police because they always help us. You’re going to help me, right?” Stiles smiles at her, happy that today he decided to stop by the grocery store to buy milk after his shift instead of going straight home. At least now he’s able to help the little girl, who knows what would have happened to her if he weren’t around.

“Of course I will.” He smiles again. “What’s your name?”

“Rebecca Hale.” She answers proudly. “My daddy is Derek Hale.”

WORDS: 2207

RATING: Teen and Up

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: kate argent

When You Wish Upon a Dragon by  lupinus

Stiles is at the Hale house, lounging on the front stoop watching Isaac, Erica, and Boyd wrestle, when the baby comes running out of the woods. Derek becomes instant father to a magically appearing baby and falls in love. Stiles can’t take the cute and worries Derek’s heart will break if he loses the kid. 

or, a dragon gives derek a baby, stiles is oblivious, steve just loves his bright pink rocking unicorn and his da and ma 

WORDS: 13,739

RATING: Teen and Up

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: none, but so much fluff

****Lucky That I’m Yours Every Day by  stilinskisparkles

Derek doesn't see how Valentine's Day can get any better than a normal day with Stiles.

WORDS: 6772

RATING: Teen and Up

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: fluff. just. all the fluff. its disgusting how fluffy it is really.

Relationship Status: It’s Complicated by  kellifer_fic

Okay, I know this is a huge stretch for you, but can you please pretend you're like, into me?

WORDS: 4010

RATING: Mature

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNING: mentioned stiles/omc 

***************Shot Through The Heart by  LunaCanisLupus_22

All they've given him is the guy’s head shot. And it’s terrible because now he is ridding the world of one more ridiculously attractive, instant pants dropping- take me now, if you please- regulation hottie.

Even if he has a scowl to rival Kirsten Stewart.

Or the one when Stiles and Derek work for rival assassin companies and are sent to kill each other. It definitely doesn't go as planned.

WORDS: 64,833

RATING: Explicit

CHAPTERS: 12/12

WARNINGS: so much violence, they literally try to kill eachother, enemies to lovers pretty much

will to follow through by  owlpostagain

“It depends entirely on how you look at it, I guess,” Stiles shrugs. “On the one hand, instant healing and the apparently inherited ability to pull off leather at all times. On the other, serious attitude problems and a suspicious disappearance of eyebrows.”

“Even Derek’s?” Danny snorts, “that’s a lot of eyebrow to lose.”

“I know,” Stiles agrees. “You should see, it’s so weird. Every time I want to ask him where they go, except he’d totally eat my face off.”

“There are worse ways to die.”

WORDS: 42,411

RATING: Teen and Up

CHAPTERS: 2/2

WARNINGS: angst, mentions of violence, 

Professor D. Hale (series) by  har1ey_quinn

A series of outsider POVs on Professor Hale and his significant other (with some guest appearances from the pack)

WORKS: 7

COMPLETE: possibly

WORDS: 18,008

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

go on without me!!!! (or the one where stiles is cursed by witches and overreacts to everything) by  day

Stiles is cursed by witches and he can't react like a normal human being. Scott is a terrible best friend and can't stop laughing. Derek just wants it all to be over.

WORDS: 1396

RATING: General

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: crack

******For My Next Trick, I'll Regret All of My Life Choices: a performance by Derek Hale and 80% of his eyebrows by  crossroadswrite

(978): I woke up missing my shoes and my left eyebrow. MY. EYEBROW. . “What’s wrong with my eyebrows?”

Kira gives him a sympathetic look, and climbs up to sit next to him, “You kind of… don’t have one.”

“I what!” he shouts, wincing at the volume of his own voice.

Kira pats him on the shoulder and shoves a piece of toast in his hand.

“It’s not that bad,” she tries to console him with a smile, then glances up at his left eyebrow and winces, “It could definitely be worse. It’s not all gone. Just. Half of it.”

Derek considers crying into his orange juice but decides that would be a waste and because his mother taught him how to be a good guest he opts to drink it instead.

WORDS: 2566

RATING: Teen and Up

CHAPTERS: 1/1

WARNINGS: none buT THIS FIC IS AN ALL TIME FAV, THE FUCKING SQUIRRELS VIKING BURIAL GETs ME EVERYTIME, AND BATMAN OH MY

[the-avenging-writer]

Part of a Pack (Part 2)

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Summary: You already had a pack; your dad and two brothers. But when you move to Beacon Hills, keeping the family secret becomes increasingly difficult… especially as you grow close to a specific Lacrosse captain.

Warnings: None? A Shakespeare project?

Read Part One here

Stiles Stilinski slid into his seat seconds before the tardy bell rang. The teacher gave him a tired glare but she was used to Stiles’ antics.

“Cutting it close, don’t you think?” Scott McCall teased his friend from behind. 

Stiles turned to face him. “You know, some of us don’t have super speed, or any other super power to help us get ready in the morning.” Stiles said in a passive aggressive tone. “And my alarm never went off.” He grumbled. Scott just nodded sympathetically at his friend as the teacher began her lecture.

As their first glass finally ended, Stiles practically ran from the room. “Dear god, I hate that class.” He said as he walked to his next class with Scott. “Ok, so I was wondering, if you were to cut off one of your toes, would the wound immediately heal, or would your toe grow back, or would you have to put your toe back on in order for it to heal?”

Scott had to take a minute to even process Stiles’ question. “That actually happened to Peter you know.” Scott commented then clarified; “His finger, not his toe.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Stiles said. “That guy is a nut job. I don’t understand why-” He was cut off as Kira approached.

“Kira!” Scott said, enveloping her into a hug. She smiled at his embrace and greeted the two boys.

“Are you guys ready for English? Today we get partnered up for the Shakespeare project.” Kira announced excitedly and Stiles groaned.

“Are you kidding me? I forgot about that.” Stiles whined. “Why does it have to be Shakespeare? Why can’t it be anything easier? Like the Iliad.”

“You know the Iliad was written in ancient Greek, right?” Kira reminded.

“Exactly.” Stiles said as they made their way to the English classroom.

You were one of the first student to get into your English class. Silently, you thought it was too early to learn about the English language, but you also said that about Chemistry.

The teacher was an older gentleman who could easily tell you were the new student. He stood up and stuck out his hand to introduce himself. “You must be (Y/N) Stone.” He said with a smile, and you returned it with a shy smile of your own.

“Yes, sir.” You answered.

“I have you sitting on the last row, by the window. Third seat back. Will that be a problem?” He asked, and you shook your head.

“Not at all.” You headed toward your seat as students began to file in. It wasn’t long before the class was full and the tardy bell rang. The teacher, whose name you already forte, stood up and faced the class.

“Alright, everyone, settle down. Today is the day you’ve all been waiting for!” He announced excitedly and the class let out a collective groan. “Hush. Today we are starting your Shakespeare projects.” He began handing out the rubric to the assignment. “I will partner you up, and let you and your partner decide which of Shakespeare’s plays to study.” The teacher continued to talk but you focused on the rubric in front of you.

The project seemed fairly straightforward. You just hoped to get a good partner.

“Alright class, you’ll be partnered up alphabetically.” He announced, causing the class to sigh in annoyance. “Mr. Abbott, your partner is Mr. Blakely...” He said, announcing the first pair. You listened to the names of your classmates rambled off as he made his way to the S’s.

“Mr. Stilinski, you’ll be partnered with Ms. Stone...”

You glanced around, trying to figure out who Stilinski was. Whoever he was, you just hoped he was halfway decent with Shakespeare.

Stone? Stiles thought. Who the heck is Stone? And MS. Stone at that. I should be partnered up with Hunter, who’s name comes right after mine in every other class... unless...

Stiles glanced around the room for a new face. It was uncommon for Beacon Hills to get new students, especially not after the whole Jennifer Blake episode...

Stiles tried to push the negative thoughts out of his head as he finally noticed a girl on the other side of the room he hadn’t seen before. He climbed out of his seat and approached her.

“Are you Ms. Stone?”

You watched as a pale boy crossed the room, his eyes locked on you the whole time. “Are you Ms. Stone?” He asked as he came closer.

You nodded and introduced yourself. “Yeah, (Y/N) Stone.” You said with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Silinki.”

Stiles grinned as you attempted to say his last name. “It’s Stilinski, but nice try.” He said with a reassuring smile. He grabbed the closest empty desk and turned it to face you before he sat down. “Oh, Stiles.” He said as an afterthought. “My first name is Stiles.”

“Crap,” You muttered, not meaning to mispronounce his last name. “Sorry. Stilinski, right?” you repeated. “Stiles Stilinski.” Stiles smiled and gave you a confirming nod.

You couldn't help but notice the smell as he approached, and now that we was sitting next to you, you couldn’t ignore it any more. He smelled like a werewolf.

You subtly smelled him, breathing through your nose. It was unmistakable. The woodsy, musky scent of your kind was something you learned to recognize quickly.

But he didn’t seem too concerned with your smell. You had learned to hide it slightly, so it wasn’t as strong, but it was still noticeable. Yet he didn’t seem to recognize it.

Or he was good at hiding his emotions.

“Alright, (Y/N). Which Shakespeare play do you want to do our project over?” Stiles asked, not having any idea himself. You snapped out of your thoughts to answer.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to do our project over either Midsummer’s Night Dream or Hamlet.”  You said. “Do you have a preference?”

Stiles pretended to think about it, but you called him out. “You’ve never read Shakespeare before, have you?”

Stiles pretended to be hurt by your accusation. “I have read Romeo and Juliet, thank you very much.” You sighed. “You know what, that Dream one sounds good.” He covered. “I’m going to go sign us up for that...” Stiles slid from his seat quickly, trying not to upset you more. He needed a good grade.

You looked over the rubric again, jotting down notes about how Midsummer fit the criteria when Stiles returned.

“Someone already signed up for the Dream one, so I put us down for Hamlet.” He informed, and you scratched out your notes.

“Alright, so I know we have class time to work on this, but would you want to work outside of class as well?” You asked, knowing some projects took a lot of time.

“I play lacrosse, so I usually don’t get home until later, but yeah, maybe on the weekends or something.” Stiles said, pulling out his phone. “Here, if you don’t mind putting your number in so we can plan stuff.”

You nodded and took his phone and quickly typed in your number. While Stiles seemed nice, he also reminded you a bit of a puppy, in the way that his attention span seemed to last ten seconds and he constantly had to be moving or talking.

The two of you would have discussed your project, but because Stiles had never read, seen, or even heard about Hamlet, you were trying to give him a quick summary when the bell rang. Everyone quickly packed up and left, including Stiles.

You groaned. This project was going to be a disaster.

The first time you saw your brother was in the cafeteria for lunch. The room was packed, and a majority of the tables were filled, but you noticed an empty seat near Harry and you quickly took it. You sat across from your brother as he chatted with a tan boy beside him.

“(Y/N), this is Danny.” Harry introduced, and the other reached across the table to shake your hand. “He’s a lacrosse player, and thankfully, he’s giving me pointers.” You smiled at Danny, but knew good and well that Harry didn’t need any help.

“When are tryouts?” You asked,

“Ironically enough, they’re tonight.” Danny said. “I can’t wait to see you on the field. We can use some more players.” Harry grinned, taking that as a compliment.

“You haven’t seen him play yet.” You teased, talking to Danny. “You may not want him on the team after all.”

Danny laughed and turned to Harry. “If you can play as good as you think you can, then we’ll love to have you.”

Scott grabbed the tray of food provided and looked at the mush slightly upset. He had forgotten his lunch and wasn’t looking forward to eating... whatever this was.

Stiles had been rambling all morning, and he heard about ‘the new girl’ a dozen times already, but mostly about how you had made him choose Hamlet, and after reading the synopsis, he was even less excited for the project.

“I also heard her brother’s gonna try out for the team.” Lydia chimed in as they sat down at their regular table.

“Really?” Scott said, this was the first he was hearing about the potential of a new player.

“Coach Finstock told us in Econ this morning.” She said. “You’ll probably hear about it next period.”

Scott nodded absent mindedly and glanced around the room, trying to get a glance at the new possible teammate.

“If you’re looking for the new kids, they’re sitting by Danny.”

Danny had turned his attention to the person on the opposite side of him as you felt someone’s eyes on you. You were expecting it; you were the new-kid after all, but you glanced up only to catch the eyes of your English partner.

At seeing he’d been caught, his face turned slightly pink and he looked down at his food. But it set you on edge. If he was the werewolf, it was just a matter of time before he confronted you.

“Harry.” You whispered. Your voice had dropped significantly, and even if Danny was paying attention, he wouldn’t be able to hear your whispers.

“What?” Your brother answered at a regular volume.

“I think I met the werewolf.” You said softly, and his eyes shot up to you from his food.

“Who?”

“My English partner.” You said, and he let out a growl just loud enough for you to hear.

“That’s not good.” He mumbled, and you resisted from rolling your eyes.

“You think I don’t know that? Plus he’s on the lacrosse team... I don’t think you should try out.” You said, lowering your eyes as you said the last part. He’d never agree.

Harry scoffed. “Why? You afraid I’ll make us move?” He asked, and when you didn’t answer he rolled his eyes. “I’ll be careful.”

“That’s what you said last time.” You muttered.

“(Y/N), I swear-” Harry cut himself off and you looked up just in time to see Stiles and one of his friend approach the table.

“Hey, uh, I’m Scott.” The dark haired, dark eyed boy beside Stiles said, and he reached out a hand to shake both you and your brother’s.

“Hi, Scott.” You greeted with a smile. You tried to hide your suspicions, but the werewolf smell was overwhelming. One of them had to be a werewolf, and at the moment your money was on Stiles. “I’m (Y/N).” You said, and your brother shook his hand next.

“I’m Harry.” Your brother said curtly. You could tell was trying to figure out who it was that smelled. “What’s your name?” He asked, his eyes flicking over to Stiles.

“Right, sorry, I’m Stiles.” The pale boy said, fumbling to pull his hand out of his pocket. Once he finally did, Harry didn’t move to shake it.

“Anyway, I’m the Captain of the Lacrosse team, and I heard you were trying out.” Scott said, and Harry nodded, not saying anything. He watched Scott expectantly. Stiles fidgeted in the silence.  “Are, uh, are you any good?”

“You’ll see at tryouts, won’t you?” Harry said as he tilted his head. You resisted the urge to kick him under the table.

“Yeah, I guess I will.” Scott said, and you jumped in.

“You’re in my English class, right?” You asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, I think I sit a few seats behind you.” Scott said, welcoming the change.

“What did you and your partner pick? For the Shakespeare thing?” You asked, trying to come up with anything that kept the conversation away from Harry.

“I wanted Hamlet but Stiles put your group down before I got there.” Scott said, and you smiled.

“You've read it?” You asked, your eyes flickering over Stiles’ face for a second.

“I’ve read... a summary.” Scott confessed, and you smiled.

“Fair enough.” You said, and Stiles scratched the back of his neck as Scott gave you a small smile as well.

“Well it was nice meeting you, (Y/N).” Scott said before turning to your brother. “I’ll see you on the field.”

“Yes you will.” Harry said, looking up at the younger boy. As Stiles and Scott walked off, you let out a sigh which was directed one hundred percent at your brother.

“What the hell?” You hissed, ready to cuss out the boy in front of you.

“What?” Harry asked, innocently.

“You’re going to piss off the other werewolf on the first day?” You growled. “Not smart, Harry.”

“We don’t know which one it is.” He said, as if it was no big deal.

“Does it matter?”

“My money’s on the Captain.” Harry said casually. Harry saw your nostrils flare and he sighed. “Calm down, Moony. It’s not that big of a deal.”

You weren’t amused by the Harry Potter related nickname. “Just don’t get caught, and we won’t have a problem.” You muttered before picking up your tray and heading to your next class a little early.

Scott and Stiles sat back down at their own table before Stiles noticed Scott’s suddenly stiff posture.

“What’s wrong?”  Lydia asked, taking one look at the two of them. Scott let out a breath before answering through a clenched jaw.

“There’s another werewolf at Beacon High.”

[marvel-daydreamers]

Kinder than You

Peter Parker X Reader

Word Count: 2184

Author: You’re neighborhood dork... Kate... I wrote this... If you couldn’t tell

Warnings: Making out, Liz Allen (the devil)

A/N: Hey! Ugh, guys, it’s been so long, but I’m back! Kay, so sorry for not posting, but school was crazy last week, and I had auditions on Saturday... Anyways... This is only Part 1 of at least 2, but I wanted to see how you guys like this one first. So, yeah yeah, Peter is a little out of character, but I’ve read fanfics that were based on writer’s insecurities, and this actually really helped my anxiety and stress and stuff. So, if any of you are writer’s, I would seriously recommend this version of stress-relief, and ALL OF YOU ARE PERFECT, SO DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE SPAWNS OF SATAN LIKE LIZ ALLEN IS. Sorry, my hate for her is completely irrational, but it’s a long story... So if any of you are still reading this, which is highly unlikely, go read the fic! 

PS: I’M WORKING ON THE LOKI PART TWO, I PROMISE! IT’S JUST TAKING A LOT LONGER THAN I THOUGHT I WOULD. I’M SORRY FOR THE WAIT!!!

“Maybe if you acted more like my best friend than my mom, you wouldn’t have found out!” Peter yelled, his cheeks flushed with anger. A tear rolled down your cheek, and surprisingly didn’t sizzle as it hit your red, livid blush. Your heart was breaking at the fight with your best friend. You two had only fought 3 times in your lives, and each one had had a worse affect on your self-esteem. Your brain pulled up the cause of this particular fight.

It was later at night, when most teenagers in New York would either be asleep or at a party. You walked up to Peter’s apartment door, and pulled out your key, knowing that Aunt May was gone, and not wanting to disturb Peter if he was asleep. You had come from Stark Tower with some food. You thought happily about the prospect of a movie night with Peter. Your shift was over, Tony didn’t have any lab work for you to do, and it had been forever since you and Peter had hung out outside of work, what with your alternating watches over the city. You juggled the pizzas and ice-cream in one hand as you struggled to unlock the door. It opened, and you quietly walked into the dark living room. Frowning at Peter’s absence, you set the food down on the counter and walked around, listening for any noises that would help you locate your missing friend. After finding and hearing nothing, you tip-toed down the hallway to Peter’s room, thinking he was asleep or working. In case of the first, you silently wedged the door open enough to see the small room. Instead of the sight you were expecting, Peter lying on top of his bed, his pink lips pressed into the side of the pillow, you felt your heart shatter at a very different sight. Peter was lying on his bed, but his shirt was off, and his arms wrapped around another girl. Upon a second inspection, you realized it was Liz Allen. Your enemy, your nightmare, the person who had bullied you since 5th grade, making out with your best friend and crush like they were star-crossed lovers that were never going to see each other again. Your breath caught against the pain of your heart cracking. Peter looked up at the sound, and his features flared with anger, fed by his sky-high emotions. Liz looked up to, and when she saw you, her swollen lips pulled up into a childish smirk. You bit your lip, your eyes filling with tears. Peter’s expression changed to pity, knowing very well that you hated Liz. The look of pity was all too much, and you slammed the door with hot tears running relentlessly down your face.

“Well, maybe if you thought about how making out with your best friend’s enemy would affect her, than I wouldn’t have had to see it because you would still be the Peter I know!” Peter froze at your comment. He worked harder than necessary to be the Peter he was before the spider. He glared at you, and more of your tears proceeded the first. He turned to walk away, but you grabbed his arm so you could apologize. He jerked back as he turned to face you again, but his arm whipped too, and his hand caught your cheek, sending you falling backwards into the table, your fight-bruised hip hitting the sharp corner. Peter’s eyes widened with shock, he still didn’t have a grasp on his powers and how strong his reflexes could be. You curled up, sobbing in a moment of weakness. You hate crying in front of people, but that hurt. The table, the fight, it was all too much, and it broke you. You cracked, crying for all the hurt that had come to you since the night before. Crying for all the times that Liz had bullied you, and Peter had comforted you, and told you that you would win eventually. Well, Liz had won despite all of his assurances. She won Peter’s love, and she won your sanity. You looked up at Peter, your lip bleeding from biting it too hard to try and stop the tears. He moved slightly closer to you, but you crawled back instinctively, like a wounded animal. 

“Y/N.” He whispered, his heart breaking looking at the broken emotional and mental state of his best friend. He had hurt you more than you could explain during those two other fights, but being with him always quieted your demons. This time, however, all of those demons came back full force, gnawing at every crevice of your self-esteem until it was just as broken as your heart. Your heart pounded to the sounds of all the nasty things that Peter had said in the last 10 minutes, and you knew it was time to leave. You winced at the pain in your side as you stood up, and you rushed past Peter, trying to ignore the throb in your heart as you heard him shout your name down the hallway. Concentrating your powers, you zipped back to your room in Stark Tower, and cried until pure exhaustion overtook you, and handed you to the nightmares that haunted every night. 

***

You had tried, you had tried harder than your energy would allow to look normal and happy for school, but everyone could tell. The light wasn’t in your eyes, the red surrounding them was painfully obvious, and your lips were cracked from biting teeth and dehydration. You wouldn’t have gone to school, but the year was almost over, and you had exams soon. All day, you kept your head down, focusing on work, not talking unless in was absolutely necessary, because your voice betrayed your broken heart. Lunch came, and you sat quietly next to Ned with your food, not planning on eating anything. 

“Hey.” Ned smiled, knowing already that you didn’t want to talk about it, even if he didn’t know what ‘it’ was. “Do you know where Peter is? He said he was going to bring Liz to sit with us...” Your eyes closed, and you breathed out shakily. Ned realized what was hurting you, knowing fully well that you loved Peter. He noticed your bruised cheek that the concealer had worn off of, and your hand clutching your side, a bandage outline showing through the fabric of your shirt. His concern exponentially increased. 

“Hey, Ned!” Peter said as he walked over, his arm wrapped around Liz’s waist. Your eyes opened, shining with pain. 

“You said we were going to sit with Ned, babe. Why is Y/N sitting here? I mean, it’s pretty obvious you hate her after she barged in on us.” Liz said, fake as the many layers of make-up on her face. Your eyebrows knit together, and your jaw clenched. 

“Sorry,” You croaked, no longer willing to put up with either of them. “I was just leaving.” You looked at Peter’s arm around Liz, and stood up without your untouched food. 

Peter gawked at Liz. How dare she say that to you? His free fist clenched in anger. ‘Liz knows,’ he thought, ‘that Y/N is hurt and stressed. Why does she think that’s okay?’ Suddenly, Peter remembered all the times that you had come to him, holding back hot tears caused by Liz’s awful remarks and public humiliations. 

“Why would you say that?” Peter asked, angrily.

“Well, she needed to know that you hate her, I mean, so she would stop thinking that she had a chance when you like me.” Liz said, sticking her hip out. 

“I don’t hate her! She’s my best friend, and I love her for being the amazing person she is! Why would you think that I like you better than her? You’re fake, and a bully, and everything that Y/N isn’t.” Liz smiled, thinking she would be able to win Peter back with a few words.

“So, if I’m everything that she’s not, then you think I’m pretty, right?” Liz said, biting her lip to look innocent. Peter’s mind blew, thinking of how you would bite your lip subconsciously when you were thinking hard. About all the times that he had stared at you thinking your frustration was adorable. And, mostly, about all the times that he had screwed up, but you had forgiven him, because you were the most kind and beautiful person he had ever met. 

“No, forget about it, Liz. We’re through. Y/N is smarter than you, prettier than you, and most importantly, kinder than you.” Peter spat, but Liz still didn’t get it. 

“You’re kidding, Peter! You can’t break up with me. You can’t break up with Liz Allen. That’s not how it works.” Liz raised her eyebrows to warn Peter.

“I can, and I will. Go away, and don’t talk to Y/N ever again.” Peter backed away from her, and sat down at your old seat. Liz huffed off. 

“Peter, you screwed up. With Y/N. Badly.” Ned said, looking at his friend to remind him that he had only won half the battle. Peter nodded, planning an attempt to talk to you after school, so you would have time to cool down. Little did he know, you had already left school campus.

***

“Hey, Clint!” You controlled your voice, holding your phone on your shoulder as you packed a bag of clothes on your bed at Stark Tower. 

“Y/N! Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” Clint’s voice greeted you. 

“I had crime watch.” You lied quickly to prevent any questions, knowing Tony wouldn’t know the schedule well enough to prove you wrong if Clint called him. “Do you possibly still need a baby-sitter for next week?” You asked, hoping against hope he did, so you could get out of New York.

“Yeah, but I thought you had exams.” Clint said suspiciously.

“About that, priorities changed, and I need a break for a while. Peter said he could take my shifts, and I also have this project I want to get a head-start on about the changes of rural America, and since you have a farm, I thought you would be the ideal interviewee when you got back from your anniversary trip.” You spoke the rehearsed lines quickly, hoping Clint would take it. 

“Okay, Y/N. When can you be here? Do you need me to pick you up?” Clint deferred his suspicion to the prospect of having a baby-sitter so he could surprise his wife with a vacation. 

“Uh, no. Tony said I could borrow the quinjet. I’ll be there in a couple hours.” You breathed a sigh of relief at your successful escape plan. No one here knew you were leaving, but you would face that battle when it came. You zipped upstairs to the landing strip, and climbed into the aircraft, giving F.R.I.D.A.Y. your destination. As you flew above New York, you saw the wave of kids leaving Midtown as it got out for the day, and sighed relief at the fact that you weren’t one of them. Your phone buzzed, and Peter’s face lit up the screen. You bit your lip, turned the phone off, and slipped it into your bag. Instead, you pulled out a battered black notebook, and started writing.

***

Peter walked into the kitchen at the Tower, and walked over the Steve who was making a PB&J sandwich. 

“Hey, Steve, have you seen Y/N? I really need to talk to her, and she left school early, and she wasn’t on her shift...” Peter inquired anxiously, worried about you.

“She left.” Steve said, frowning at Peter. He liked the kid, but after Wanda told him about the fight that she had found lurking in you mind, he didn’t know what to think. Peter’s head tilted in confusion and worry, and Steve slid him a note written in your handwriting.

Hey,

I’m going to Clint’s for a while... I needed to get out of New York. I’ll be home soon, but don’t wait for me. Please don’t bother coming to get me, I’m fine, I’m just baby-sitting. Tell Peter I forgive him, that I’m sorry for being being too suffocating, and that I wish he had just told me, before I had to find out for myself. I already told our English teacher to pair him with Liz or Ned for our big evaluation project, since he probably doesn’t want to do it with me anyways, assuming I’ll be back before it’s due. Thursday is my night to cook dinner, I made that pasta that you guys love, and it’s in the freezer in the garage. Please don’t worry about me, especially you, Steve. I’m fine, I just need a break from some stuff at school. 

Behave yourselves, and don’t kill each other until I get back. My money is still on Natasha. 

Love, Y/N.

PS, there are chocolate chip cookies in the freezer, too. For dessert, or in case you all can’t sleep. Gosh, I’m such a mom.