#i PROMISE ill do my best to get the next part out ASAP | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

should-be-sleeping · 1 year ago

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Hopefully this is coherent. Today was really hard in a lot of ways. I am okay though and spoilers, so is our neighbor -- at least for now as I write this.

I was with our neighbor for nearly six hours. She originally reached out wanting to go to the pool, but I offered to bring her a beer since it was indeed raining, and I promised to share a beer with her after the season's first daylight rainfall. Also it was only sixty-three degrees out and that's way too cold to swim, especiallywith the wind.

Of course it had been cloudy and raining all day until the moment I stepped outside. As soon as I opened the door the sun parted the clouds and changed the weather completely. Oh well! I headed to her house, beers in hand, and found her sitting outside where she often is.

I greeted her but she didn't seem quite as lucid as she had been only ten minutes prior when we were talking via text. I helped her inside and we put our beers in her fridge and sat to chat a little until she was feeling more herself again.

Talking always helps her find herself again, which makes it hard when she's all alone.

She was dressed in a purple velvet dress with matching ring and bracelet. Clipped to the front of her dress was a second bracelet. We'd been looking for this dress all week. It is her favorite dress and she feels beautiful in it, so I'm relieved to see it isn't one of the things hospice had lost or gotten rid of while she was in hospital.

I open our beers for us and we sip them casually. It's less about the beer, more about the time spent in good company. She tells me about all the things she can't eat anymore since they removed all of her teeth. One of the things she misses the most is broccoli with cheese. I suggest maybe if we over cooked the broccoli, so that it was mushier, she could have it then. She'd like to give that idea a try and I make note of it.

She tells me she'd forgotten to get bread while at the store because some people started loudly arguing and she needed to get out of there asap. I told her I'd go get her some bread next time I head to the store. And anything else she might need if she thinks of it later. She says I'm her angel. I tell her I just do my best.

She wants to see the 49ers play on Sunday but she knows she won't be a be to handle that. I ask if she can at least see the highlights or scores anywhere, she says she watches the highlights on youtube. She then takes my hands and holds them close, thanking me for painting my nails 49ers colors. She says it makes her so, so happy I actually did that for her.

Then she decides we need 49ers tattoos! I ask if she knows a good tattoo artist and she roars in laughter, she says she probably knows a few but she has some temporary ones we can just stick on real fast. I tell her if she knows anyone who'll actually make a house call I will 100% get a real tattoo with her and this delights her. She finds them but can't make the magic happen, so I ask her where she'd like it and she decides just below her collarbone so I gently press the tattoo onto her skin there. She says I have such warm hands.

I don't.

I then press the other tattoo onto myself in the same place, so that we have matching tattoos. "Now we're ready for football!" she declares. I confirm. She tells me she won't be alive long enough to see the 49ers at the Super Bowl (so certain is she they'll play it). I promise to watch it for her if the 49ers go to the Super Bowl but she isn't here to see it herself. That she's welcome to haunt me so that she can watch it with me. "You get me!" she says. I do.

She tells me all about working in nuclear power plants in the 70's and how she could never have children because of it. How all of her coworkers from then have all since died. She attributes her spirituality to keeping her alive longer because it helped balance out her scientific mind and gave her something to focus on when illness stripped her of most other things.

She says she always wanted kids, but now she's alone, no family at all. No old coworkers. No childhood friends. She says she wishes I was her daughter. I tell her I'd be honored to be her daughter, that she's an amazing person who has done amazing things. She cries and I hug her. I tell her she is never alone. Not anymore. Not even when I physically have to go home is she alone. She sobs into my shoulder.

Getting to know her has genuinely been one of the best experiences of my life. She's a wonderful person who has done marvelous things. She did things in her youth that women simply... didn't. Not yet anyway. And she faced a lot of discrimination for it and overcame it all.

A while later there's a knock at the door. This triggers her ptsd as she isn't expecting anyone and I'm already there (plus, I always text first so she knows I'm outside before I knock). I get up and go over to the door for her and ask who's there.

It's another neighbor, one she also met at the pool. This woman and her husband have brought her a couple of pieces of sushi from a place they'd went to eat at down the street. Just to make sure she had a little something to eat. I love that our community has embraced this weird old woman so much. Even if most aren't willing to sit with her or can't relate to her stories, they're still taking care of her in other ways. She's so grateful.

As we settle back in, she asks about my time growing up and I tell her all about me as a little kid and my sisters and brothers. I tell her the story of having to beat up an older girl who threatened my little sister once and she commends me for defending my family. I tell her I did what I had to but still felt a little bad because the girl dropped out of school after losing that fight (she was a 9th grader and I was a 5th grader, like). She retorts, "@#$% that girl."

She has suns and moons decorating every room of her house. I ask if she's a sun or a moon herself and she says, "I'm a Leo!"

I reply, "So, a sun!" and she's so excited I know that. I explain that I'm an Aries and she gets goosebumps. I tell her we would've gotten into so much trouble if we were both young at the same time and she laughs so hard she has to steady herself using my shoulder.

She shows me her dress more proudly. I compliment her on her style and she explains that the bracelet clipped to the front is her favorite bracelet. One she'd made for herself a long time ago, but now she can't work the lobster clasp to put it on. I offer to put it on her. She says, "I would rather put it on you, my sweet angel."

I ask if she is sure, and she nods wordlessly but enthusiastically. I hold out my arm and she struggles to wrap it around my wrist. I offer to help hold one side so she only has to worry about the other and she insists on doing it herself. I smile and let her. I'm patient as she tries to coordinate her hands because she is doing a kindness for me, and this is a gift I know I'll cherish forever.

It's a silver lobster clasp that is her nemesis, but the beads are purple glass in all different shapes and sizes and shades and seed beads with little silver spacers here and there to break up the color. She did a great job when she made this bracelet and I compliment her craftsmanship and give her another long hug. She cries and says it's so beautiful on me, she thinks she might have made it for me without knowing yet.

What a sentiment.

She wants to show me her book of shadows and blueprints from her time as an engineer. So we sit on the floor with these things rolled open and scattered all around us. These are designs for a nuclear power plant she helped make safer and amongst all of her impeccable line work are little flowers she'd drawn in. It's more art than anything I've recently seen and her penmanship is also gorgeous.

She tells me all about her past as we look through both nuclear blueprints and pages of her book of shadows and she's so happy that I sincerely care enough to hear about them. Most people either don't care or don't comprehend, and I both care and comprehend.

She apologizes for taking up so much of my time, and I know her lucidity is beginning to slip again. Something very bad happened to her while she worked there, I have assumed for some time now, as her lucidity tanks any time we talk about these things. I've never pushed it but she wants to tell someone. Someone who gives a damn. So I listen.

We hug for another long while and I assure her she's okay. I mean, not okay-okay, since she is dying and all but in this exact moment she is okay and safe and cared for. She says she thinks I'm an angel sent to her when she needed it most. I smile and tell her I'm just Inari from around the corner. This gets a little laugh out of her.

She's back again and needs help off the floor. I knew going in that sitting on the floor was probably a terrible idea, but she had really wanted to. She doesn't want help, she wants to do this herself but it is clear she could use help. Still, I don't insist. I just remind her I'm just a step away if she decides it's too much of a PITA, thus reframing it as an inconvenience to get herself off the floor rather than an inability.

She fears not being able to do it herself because that's how she wound up hospitalized for a month last time. She'd fallen and been unable to get back up. I remind her she had not fallen this time. We sat down willingly, so even if she needed help getting back up, that'd be just fine.

She wants to use the chair for assistance, but it's a rocking chair, so I hold it still for her. She knows I am strong enough to lift her into the chair if necessary, but won't without her expressed consent. I encourage her from the sidelines and when she doubts her ability I remind her I'm there to help. Eventually though she does manage to pull herself up off the floor and into the chair. Once there, getting up and moving around comes easily. It's just that first thirty inches that are a bitch.

It's getting dark out, so I ask her if she's hungry and she says she is, but that she can't cook for herself anymore. I offer to cook for her but she doesn't want any of the things she'd gotten from the store the day before. She'd gotten frozen waffles thinking they'd make for a good fast snack she could make for herself, but they hurt her mouth.

She is in a lot of pain now and I hold her hand through it. She says she's so tired of the pain, and in general. I tell her I know, and it's okay to be tired, she's doing a lot of work. My partner texts asking if we'd like for him to bring us food. Perfect timing. I've been gone so long though he probably assumes she's having a bad day. Some of her days are miles from the next.

I ask her but it takes a while to loop back around to what she'd like to eat. I don't want to rush or push her. She's struggling through so much pain. The evenings are the worst. I offer to get her a pain pill. She hates those. I cannot even put into appropriate words how much she does not want pain medication, but tonight she accepts it.

She tells me of a Mexican restaurant just down the street that she loves. By then the kid is having a hard time though so my partner can't go. I explain the situation and apologize, and offer to cook her something but she still doesn't want any of the food she had bought. Not that there's much. Chicken nuggets, hotdogs, hotdog buns and a few sparkling waters.

She heads to the restroom and I learn she is out of toilet paper again. So I tell her I'll be right back with some from our house. I'm hoping we also have a can of soup or something easy I can assist her with while I'm there, but we don't. So I get the toilet paper and resign myself to having to try to encourage her into a food she doesn't really want because she needs to eat. I hate this prospect because what if it's the last food she ever eats?

Thankfully by the time I'm back with her toilet paper my partner has solved the kid situation and can once again go get us all something to eat. I take her order, chili relleno and a chicken enchilada. Solid choices. Now I just need to swap out with my partner so that he can go to the restaurant without leaving the kid unattended but her pain is so bad this takes a good long while.

I help her thought it until the pain pill begins to help and then I hug her and assure her delicious chili relleno is on its way! Also that I'll text her before my partner knocks so she'll know who's out there and why. Then, with some reluctance, I head home. Both physically and emotionally exhausted, but without complaint.

My partner completes his special delivery like a champ and then we share a chimichanga. I'll remember that thing always, it was so, so strange. Our neighbor texts me many thanks and invites me to come watch the moon with her but I have to decline. I need to go to sleep like the moment I'm done eating. We joke about lobsters for a bit and then both get some much needed sleep.

I dream we're at the pool under the aurora borealis, floating. It doesn't last long enough.

Tough day today... and friendly reminder that being human is easier when we help each other.

I saw one of our neighbors, an older woman we sometimes talk to in passing, sitting outside of her house. I don't know what exactly made me look twice, but on second glance as we drove by I realized her walker was in the grass. She was otherwise just sitting there, like she had a thousand times before, so it would have been easy to assume she was fine and go on with my life as normal but something told me to go check in on her anyway.

She was not fine. She was the polar opposite of fine. Just diagnosed with terminal cancer not fine. No next of kin not fine. A veteran facing eviction from her house for missing rent while in the hospital not fine. In constant debilitating pain not fine. Only semi-lucid not fine. She was extremely alone not fine.

I thought, at most, she might be bored while unable to pick up her walker not fine. A five minute detour from my day not fine. A help her back into her house and say "see you later!" not fine. Instead I spent the last three hours with her because she was so scared and alone and no one should be alone.

We talked a lot while I was there. She's actually two years younger than my mom (who also has cancer but slightly better luck, I guess). I helped her into her house and got her a drink and we talked about what all is going on with her. None of it was good. I was as reassuring as I could be, but there's only so much of this I can actually help her with.

"Why did you come?" she asked through tears.

"Because you looked like you might need some help."

She called me an angel. I told her I was just doing my best. I told her that kindness should never be rare. That we should all try to make the world just a little bit better than it was.

She offered to pay me but I told her I was just there as a friend. Before today we were basically strangers. No need to repay me with anything other than her company, I assured her. She cried, a lot. I managed not to somehow. Something tells me she had needed to cry long before this but in being Strong she never had the chance to.

She needed to get her mail, which is a long walk when you're disabled because it is not at all handicap accessible (across a parking lot, over a bridge, across a small field). So I helped her get her mail. We stopped every three feet because her pain was so bad, but she was determined to be able to go do this with me and not just send me on an errand. I patiently stayed with her and reminded her, through her apologies, it was fine to take our time: there was a nice breeze and birds were singing. She appreciated this. She loves nature.

Halfway back she said she wanted to go to the pool. To put her feet in the water. She loves water, and has not been able to even see the pool in a month. Neither of us were dressed for swimming, but I took her to the pool anyway. There is a stair leading down to it, meaning she couldn't bring her walker, so I offered her my arm.

We went to the pool. She put her feet in the water and then, with more energy and enthusiasm than I'd seen the whole time, she jumped in. In her fancy dress! She was instantly ten years younger at least, clear and happy, floating in the sun. Dress and all. She grew up with a pool and had been on a swim team.

I sat by the edge of the pool while she swam, keeping her company and also making sure she was okay. When she got tired I took her back home and then had to help her get undressed and redressed. I made sure she felt no shame. Getting out of wet clothes is hard for anyone, let alone someone with like twenty pounds of tumors racking them with constant pain.

She was so fucking happy to have gone swimming.

She is trying to "make everything right" before she goes. Trying to repay her debt to society and her debts in general. She couldn't understand why the corporation that owns our houses wouldn't take her money. She was genuinely distressed -- not to be homeless on her deathbed but to not leave this world with a clean slate. I told her intent matters. She can only do her best.

This company not letting her repay her debt was their fault, not hers.

When I finally needed to go, I told her to let me know any time she needed a hand or just wanted company. She told me she was going to die tonight. I told her I hoped not, so I could see her tomorrow. I offered her a hug, we hugged and she sobbed for a solid ten minutes into my shoulder. I told her she was okay. That it was okay.

When I got home I cried myself, because I could not believe she was going through all of that alone. I cannot even imagine how isolated she must have felt. Once I pulled myself back together I sent her a text reminding her to reach out any time and I'd do my best to come over. Like, any time at all.

I hope she is here tomorrow.

#choose kindness #existing helps #if we exist together #life #read more #long post

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m0chaminx · 3 years ago

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Camilo Madrigal | Perfect

Part one : Part two : Part four

Request : No

Prompt : None

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 : None, cuteness, I would warm that Camilo might be slightly out of character but my boy has six minutes of screen time, not much to go off really

Let me know if you want a part 4

Paring : Camilo Madrigal x GN!reader

𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 : Camilo takes you on a proper date, and it goes perfectly

words

I do not know any Spanish so I did use a lot of google translate, so if there's any mistake I apologize, just let me know ill fix it asap

Camilo jumped over the rock, landing on the crisp green grass. "This is the last stretch," Camilo promised, putting his hands on your waist, and yours rested on his shoulders as you jumped off the rock. You landed next to Camilo who brushed your hair back.

"This better be worth it Cami," You joked, taking the bag off Camilo and setting it on your shoulder.

"I promise it's worth it," Camilo smiled grabbing your hand leading the way as you weaved through bushes and trees until you reached a wall of bright green vines, covered in small flower buds. "They're moonflowers." Camilo pointed out as you ran your ringers across the unbloomed flower. "They only come out at night. If we stay out long enough well see them, and if we don't, I can use it as an excuse to bring you back here."

You chuckled pressing a kiss to his cheek before he pulled you through the vines, smiling as you looked around in awe at the pink and white blossom trees. "How the hell did you find this place?" You questioned glancing between Camilo and the sun rays that peeked through the trees.

"I was upset one day, ran around for ages and found here," Camilo explained simply pulling you along to sit under one of the sunlight spots. "I come here all the time now." Camilo took the satchel from you, pulling out a varied selection of treats and pastries. "My Tia makes the best food, well, only rivalled by your churros." You smiled trying to hide your face in your hands, but Camilo pulled them away. "No! Your too cute!"

You laughed with Camilo this time shoving your face in his shoulder. "How come you're always flirting with me? I never even get time to even compliment you," You complained sitting up straight in front of Camilo.

"I don't know, guess I'm just better," Camilo teased taking a bite of one of the many arepa con queso's.

"All right then, I get to compliment you, and you can't deny or interrupt me until I'm done, okay?" You said sternly. Camilo raised his hands in defense while leaning back on his elbows while his legs stayed cross. "Okay, your freckles are adorable, like little angel kisses, which I might be slightly jealous of. Your hair is really soft and super cute. Oh! You have this little habit of tapping your fingers when you are nervous, and it makes me wanna hold your hand. Your smile is probably the most beautiful thing I've-" Camilo stopped your shower of compliments with a quick, soft, peck to your lips. You stopped, your entire face heating up and your eyes went wide, you could feel your heartbeat against your chest and you stared into Camilo's eyes.

"Sorry, you were just too cute when you were talking, and I got all mushy," Camilo said nervously, brushing his hair behind his ear.

"Can I-" You stopped taking a breath still in slight shock. "Can I kiss you? Properly?" Camilo nodded, resting his hands on your bent knees, pressing his lips against yours. You moved your hands to press against his cheeks as you both just basked in the moment.

Camilo pulled back pressing his forehead against yours, pressing chaste kisses to your cheeks and nose, "Your perfect."

You giggled knocking your nose against his, "Look who's talking."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Camilo went back to Casita that night, coming face to face with his family. "Ahh! Mi Vida, I was so worried," Pepa cried running up and hugging her son. "Where were you?"

"On a date~" Isabella teased in a sing-song voice.

"Actually yes, we wanted to the moonflowers," Camilo said softly, that same dumb love-struck smile on his face. "I was just walking 'em home." Pepa smiled, a rainbow growing above her head. "Oh Isa, can I have some flowers please, sunflowers and bluebells." Isabella nodded, still in shock that Camilo had actually gone on a date.

"Go get some sleep, Camilo," Felix encouraged. Camilo nodded, bidding a good night to everyone.

"Oh Tia, they really liked your arepa's" Camilo smiled one last time before ducking inside his room. Julietta smiled to herself, making a mental note to make more food for you.

Tags :

If it has a strike, I couldn't tag you

@sammrose136 @dai-tsukki-desu @moonchildxb @leoisgayforwriting @sunnth @yoursimpingfan @ihaveareallybadproblem @breadglasses @zukkun @skylarbyndomm

Request : Masterlist

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dream-meister-translations · 2 years ago

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MAIN STORY : CHAPTER 2 PART 7

━

NAVI : ……...

EMMA : Navi…? Is something wrong? You never come out of your own accord.

NAVI : …Is the Dream King really such a great guy?

NAVI : The King of Dreams? What’s that even supposed to be? He's just a boring, old, sloppy human, like everyone else, right?

EMMA : What?

EMMA : Don't speak ill of the Dream King.

GUI : Yeah, that's right… You can't be too disrespectful, or…

NAVI : Or what?

GUI : H-Hey…!

EMMA : (Navi…?)

NAVI : Those flowers.

CROW : What do you have against the Dream Flowers?

NAVI : ...I don't like them!

ITSUKI : …I don't understand. What are you even doing out here, Navi?

EMMA : Come on, now.

EMMA : (He seems really freaked out... I wonder…)

After Gran's scolding, Crow and Itsuki stayed up all night to finish their observations.

━

The next day...

ITSUKI : Ughh...

EMMA : Oh, good morning. Did you finish your report?

ITSUKI : Felt like it took forever... I didn’t think it was ever gonna end...

ITSUKI : Yeah, yeah. Paperwork really is a huge pain in the ass...!

EMMA : At least we talked HQ into accepting it. Good luck, Itsuki!

ITSUKI : Right… I made you go through a lot of trouble for that. I’m just gonna have to do my best then, I guess.

EMMA : Come to think of it, where are Crow and Gran?

ITSUKI : They left me and went to town earlier this morning... They told me to let you know they were, "Going to the Grand Crossroads". Exact words.

EMMA : The Grand Crossroads? Why would they go there?

KAI / GUI : Arghh...

EMMA : (Where are those sad voices coming from…)

KAI : Shit, we're still not done!

EMMA : Is that the joint assignment Kai and the others were talking about?

GUI : Yeah~... I'm not making any progress~… We can't do any of this without Sion's help~…

EMMA : …And where's Sion?

KAI : I don't know. Still sleeping like a dumbass.

GUI : The professor isn't here today. Lectures have been called off… I just hope Sion will help us finish the assignment...

━

FLASHBACK

SION : Vision For The Coexistence of Sorcery and Magic in Sorciana 100 Years From Now.

SION : Who would even entertain such nonsense? In these days of conflict between the two sides…

SION : ……I don’t have time for such idle dreams!

END FLASHBACK

━

EMMA : (Est-San is away on a survey and... And I promised I'd help everyone.)

EMMA : (I know he's just gonna shut me out, but I have to try and talk to Sion…)

??? : Ee-Aw-Ee-Aw-Ee-Aw-Ee-Aw!!!!

EMMA : What the-!?

ITSUKI : That stuffed dear… is screaming at us!? It's like its ringing in my head…

GUI : This stuffed deer is actually a magical tool I turned into a communication device! It doesn't reach very far but it does reach the front door...!

??? : Ee-Aw-Ee-Aw-Ee-Aw-Ee-Aw!!!!

EMMA : (I'm sorry, but that's more than a little creepy……!)

KAI : Hi. Who is it?

SORCIANA POLICEMAN : This is the SORCIANA POLICE! We're looking for Professor Est, is he here!?

KAI : No. Sensei is out right now, but--

SORCIANA POLICEMAN : Are you serious!? At a time like this…

KAI : Hey, what's going on here!?

SORCIANA POLICEMAN : There's been a disturbance at the Grand Crossroads! Please, we need his help, ASAP!

EVERYONE : Huh!?

SORCIANA POLICEMAN : I have to go… Please tell Professor Est as soon as he gets back! I'm begging you!

EMMA : The Grand Crossroads, isn't that where Crow went...?

KAI : The Grand Crossroads… Oh! Right, there was supposed to be a big assembly there!

KAI : A lot of sorcerers and magicians were meeting up to try and resolve the on-going conflict…

EMMA : …Oh, no. Navi, Evan, Himmel! Can you hear me!?

HIMMEL : …If you're ordering us to reply. Then, yes, we can hear you.

EMMA : Ordering you? No. No. I wasn't ordering you to do anything.

EMMA : Have you guys felt the presence of a Black Fairy…!?

NAVI : Yeah. I've been sensing him for a while now.★

EMMA : That can't be…! Why didn't you tell me!?

EVAN : No such order was given.

EMMA : No such--

ITSUKI : Emma, be mad at them all you want, but we need to get over there, right now!

EMMA : …Y-Yeah, you're right.

KAI : I'm coming, too. Sensei's not here, and if things are as bad they say, people are gonna get hurt!

GUI : Me, too…!

SION : --Wait.

KAI : Sion, you came at the right time! We've got to get to the city, right--

SION : There's no need to explain. I was listening in through that taxidermied deer of Gui’s.

SION : I'll go to the Grand Crossroads. You guys stay here.

KAI : Wha-??

SION : Kai, you've only been a qualified Meister for a year. In other words, you're still a rookie.

KAI : Why does that matter?

SION : And Gui's magical tools aren't exactly made for combat. Not to mention, it would be counterintuitive and dangerous for him to go there with no magic.

GUI : That's… I mean sure, I have… I have zero magical power, but…

SION : Don't do anything foolish. Being reckless is only gonna cause more problems, what if you hurt the guild's reputation?

SION : You might not care how people look at you… But I don't want anything ruining my reputation.

KAI : Hey Sion. You really don't believe in us, do you…?

GUI : K-Kai! I'm sure Sion is… He's just worried about us.

SION : ……Ugh! No, that's not it at all, I'm just saying--

GUI : But… If anyone's hurt out there, you're gonna need Kai's magic, and…

GUI : And as for me, I can help coordinate the evacuation efforts…! I have a magic tool I can use as a loud speaker…

KAI : That's right. I can't just leave someone out there who might be hurt!

GUI : With Kai's healing magic, your light magic, and… And my magical tools… Do you really not think we can make a difference…?

SION : I don't use light magic!

KAI : We don't have time for this shit! Let's go!

SION : Hey, wait, right there! You single-celled idiot!

GUI : Hey, you two, don't leave me~…!

EMMA : …We're late enough to this party, let's go!

ITSUKI : Man, I'm really worried about Crow and Gran.

EVAN : Hmph… So it's down to us to help you out again. How convenient.

HIMMEL : I don't want to waste my time on this…

NAVI : …Tsk.

EMMA : (I hope they're okay…)

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ashintheairlikesnow · 4 years ago

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Whumptober Day 21: Infection

CW: sick whumpee, abdominal pain, medical whump, emeto mention, nausea mention, pet whump references, recovering whumpee, fever, sickfic

TIMELINE: Chris’s first year after rescue

Nat makes the call, her jaw set in a grim line as she puts her phone up to her ear, and Jake has never seen the laugh-lines and crow's-feet wrinkles as clearly as he does in the dim yellowed light from the single lamp in the corner.

"We can't do this," Jake says, softly, but he's outvoted by sheer necessity and he knows it, he knows before the protest ever leaves his mouth. It doesn’t stop his heart from racing, dread pooling deep inside him. "Nat, we can't, he isn't-... they’ll turn him in, Nat, god damn it-"

"Hey," Nat says into the phone, ignoring Jake entirely. "It's me. Yeah. I'm calling you for help."

Next to Jake, lying on the couch while the big man balances himself seated precariously on the coffee table, Chris whines weakly in pain, pressing the back of Jake's hand to his clammy, sweat-soaked forehead. Coppery hair sticks to him, soaked the color of old pennies.

Jake half-expects to see the blue-green tarnish growing and taking over.

"Hurts," Chris whispers, and Jake's heart breaks open. They didn't know - Chris had collapsed this morning, thrown up his breakfast and then blacked out in the bathroom, it was the first they'd seen of his illness.

Only when he'd been bundled down here to the couch, temp taken - 102 degrees Fahrenheit, holy fuck, he’d been fine yesterday, right? - had Chris admitted he'd been hurting for two days, a pulsing pain around his navel that felt like it was taking over his whole right side now. He told them he’d been so scared they would make him take medicine again that he hadn't told anyone.

When Chris pointed to the right side of his stomach and said that it hurt there, and it kept getting worse... that was when Nat had given that serious, firm nod, said Dr. Masood couldn't help them this time, and picked up the phone.

"Nat, he still has his barcode, they'll fucking turn him in-"

"My money’s on appendicitis," Nat says flatly into the phone. Her eyes move to Chris, lips thinning at his pale skin, freckles and two bright red splotches standing out on his cheeks, the way his green eyes are glassy, hazy, lost until the pain spikes and they briefly clear, just enough for him to start crying again. "Guarantee it. I can't use our guy." A pause. "Listen, he's eighteen - I think - and was routinely subjected to dehydration, starvation, and sleep deprivation. His medical care inside isn’t exactly nothing, but... this is appendi-fucking-citis and that motherfucker is going to burst if we don't get someone to cut it out of him ASAP. I don't have the time to waste going back and forth on this with you. Take one fucking look at him and you’ll know it!"

Nat never swears like this, with such intense hostility and insistence. Chris tightens his grip on Jake, and moans, frightened, turning to look up at him with wide green eyes far too big for his pinched expression. “S-sorry, I’m, I’m sorry… ‘ll... ‘ll b’good...”

The plaintive haunted fear and hurt in him makes Jake wish there were an enemy, someone he could fight. Sitting here watching Chris get sicker by the hour, able to do absolutely nothing about it, is so much worse than anything else ever has been.

“It’s okay,” Jake murmurs, stroking over his hair, carding his fingers gently through the damp, sweaty strands. “She’s not mad at you, little man, I swear. You’re sick and she’s trying to get help, it’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Fuck those motherfuckers who made you too scared of pills to tell us you were hurting.

"Jake-" Chris starts, and then stops, swallows as his face goes a little green around the edges and he tenses, whimpering, torn between nausea and the way muscles tensing makes him hurt even worse. Jake watches his internal battle written openly across his expression. Tears slip from his eyes, running down his cheeks, as he chokes back a sob. "It, it, it hurts so much... Jake, I, I need… I could take, take, could… could could could take something now."

Jake nods and starts to move but Nat puts up a hand. "No drugs," She says, quietly. "They'll give him something there to put him under. We don’t want anything to interact badly.”

“Nat-”

“I’m sorry,” She says, her voice firm and calm. “But nothing until my contact has him.”

“Who is your fucking contact, anyway?”

Nat gives Jake a small, tired smile. “Not yet, Jake. Have to keep these things under wraps.”

"Mom, please," Chris pleads, and Jake and Nat both turn to look at him, shocked, eyes wide. "Mom, it, it, it… It hurts!"

Neither of them says anything at first, and Chris stares at them, eyes pleading but far away. It isn’t them he sees at all.

“Nat-”

“Just go with it,” She says, and goes back to the phone.

“Please, Mom-” Chris whimpers.

"Sorry, we can't," Jake whispers, fighting back the burn of hot tears himself as he goes back to stroking through Chris’s hair. Guilt twists inside him, sharp as any knife. Being helpless is tearing him apart.

Chris’s eyes move, lock on Nat, struggle to maintain their focus, go hazy again. His flush is layered over a gray-green paleness that makes him look like a corpse with makeup, pouring sweat that doesn’t cool him down at all. “Mom, please, please help me, please… don’t, don’t, don’t let them take you out, out of my head, Mom, please!”

Nat listens to the voice on the other end of the phone. Her eyes glimmer and her jaw is starting to tremble where she has it locked, visible in the low warm light coming from the lamps, but her voice stays steady. "No. Yes. Yes, that’s him you’re hearing. Yes… 102.3- yes, I'm sure. Fifteen minutes ago, more or less. Abdominal pain - he even said he thought it was a stomachache at first. Fever. Nausea, vomiting, yes. Getting worse and moving down and to the right. Yeah, I know. So how do we keep my rescue safe without the solution being to sit here and watch him die from infection?"

Jake ignores the cold fear that squeezes bony fingers around his heart and wipes Chris's forehead with a cool wet cloth.

"Mom, m'sick," Chris whispers. "No, no school. Please, please…" His eyes track blearily over Jake's face. "Dad, tell her. Tell, tell, tell-... tell her m’sick…”

"I know," Jake says quietly, his voice shaking and thin. Nat is speaking softer now, lightning-fast whispers with her contact, somebody she's worked with for years with the hospital. "I know, Chris. We’re going to take you to see a doctor, okay?”

Chris blinks at him once, twice, and then his eyes are gone, shifting away. His lower lip starts to tremble, jerking fast, shallow breaths, nearly panting. “I’ll be, be, be-be, be good, don’t… don’t hurt me, sir, I’ll… I’ll be good.”

“I know, buddy, I know.” Jake can’t listen to this much longer. “I know you will.” Chris’s voice is small, losing all his sense of himself. Timid, scared, sweet.

“Be good… can, um, can, can be good f-for… you…” Chris whispers, eyes closing, new tears run out the corners as he whimpers and curls up against the pain. “Just, just stop… hurting me… b-be good, handler, good for, for, for you...”

Jake’s stomach flips and he has to fight the bile trying to rise in his throat. “Nat-”

“Hush, Jake.” Nat’s voice is still calm, and her attention is on the phone. "Mmhmmm. Christopher, um... say Yoder-”

“Stanton,” Jake says from the couch.

Nat might smile. The expression is too tight, too pinched with worry, to really be called that. “Strike that. Christopher Stanton." Nat listens for a long time, then says quietly, "Eighteen…. We think. No known health problems or pre-existing illness. Autistic."

Jake looks up, blinking, and Nat calmly looks back at him, giving a firm nod while speaking into the phone. "Yes. Yes, I'm confident. He is sensitive to fluorescent lights, scared of needles, and terrified of sedation. Yeah, I realize that I just described the exact environment of a hospital.” Her voice starts to shift, then, and Jake watches her free hand close into a fist. She speaks with increasingly open anger, badly masking her worry and fear. “For the love of Christ, just put on the fucking papers that Christopher Stanton is fucking autistic, because that's what my goddamn rescue is and he still needs care - I'll sell someone else's firstborn to fucking Satan if he isn't autistic, god damn it, mark my fucking words - and we're wasting time goddamn dithering over whether you believe a diagnosis while he gets worse!"

Nat's voice rises, nearly shouting, and Chris whines and curls up closer to Jake, then winces and cries out in pain, straightening back out again.

"Sssshhhhh, it's okay," Jake murmurs, but his heart is racing, too, his nerves are jagged with memories of swearing, shouting adults. Some part of him that has never stopped being a child braces for the sound of impact. "It's okay."

Nat is quiet for a long time, then snaps, "Yep, nope, I know, I know you needed to confirm," fast and angry. “See you then.” She hangs up, turning to look at Jake and Chris. "My contact is on their way. If the surgery works, two days and he's home. If his appendix bursts... Could be two weeks in the hospital, Jake."

"No," Jake says, lips barely moving. "No, Nat. Two weeks… he can't fake being someone else for so long."

"He better give it his best shot," Nat says, pushing herself to her feet. "I know this sucks, Jake, but sometimes what we do is make the hard choices they can’t make. And… and even if they turn him in, being turned in is better than dying."

Is it? Do you know that?

"What do we do, then?" Jake says, resting his hand on Chris's sweat-damp hair. Chris doesn't seem aware anymore, staring off into space, weeping silent tears and hitching soft sobs, promising in whispers to be good and obey his handler if only he’ll make the pain stop. “What’s the next step? Give me a fucking order, Nat, because I’m lost, and-” Jake gives a nervous, humorless laugh. “-I’m pretty fucking scared for him.”

"Yeah… yeah, I get that. Just pack some clothes and toiletries," Nat says flatly. "And prepare to swear on the fucking Bible to doctors and surgeons and fucking cops if we have to that his name is Chris Stanton and he's your little brother. We’re about to put on a show, Jake."

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not leaving him. You are going to be the most concerned and caring big brother the world has ever seen. When he gets out of surgery, you’re going to meet him in recovery, you’re going to stay with him in his room day and night. You’re there from day one until he walks back out the door.” Nat’s jaw is set again. “And he will be walking back out that door with us.”

“Visiting hours-”

“He can’t make his own medical decisions,” Nat says, leaning over a little, staring Jake right in the eyes. “So someone has to be there all the time. Do you understand me? He can’t.”

“He’s not-... he could, if he was a little further along-”

Chris whines, and his hand grabs weakly at Jake’s and squeezes. Jake can hardly feel it.

“He’s not. Okay? He’s not that far into recovery yet. We’re going to pretend he’s a lot less capable than he is, to get him through this. We are going to pretend he can’t do it himself, because right now it’s not pretending, he wouldn’t remember what to do yet. And I feel like shit treating him like a toddler, Jake, I really do, but… but he can’t do this alone, and I can’t exactly tell them it’s because he was a pet and they’re trained to be dependent, now can I? We’re going to have to lie about his condition.”

“That wasn’t actually a lie, though, right? We do think he is actually-”

“Yeah. We do. But he’s not incapable - or he won’t be, once he’s older. That’s what we have to lie about. And I don’t-... right now I don’t give a shit about a damn thing except buying him more time to fucking grow up.”

"What about his barcode?"

Nat takes a deep breath. "My contact is going to bandage it over, say it was part of when he passed out and they’ve taken care of it and we're going to hope to Christ no one who they don't trust checks under it. We're out of options, Jake, unless you know how to do an appendectomy and you’ve just been holding out on me. I’m not prepared to do kitchen table surgery. Are you?"

There’s a pause while they stare at each other, and then Jake takes in a deep, steady breath.

You can do this. Chris needs you to do this.

"His name is Chris Stanton," Jake says, meeting her eyes, "and he's my little brother, and he's autistic. I’m his medical power of attorney, I make medical decisions when he’s incapcitated. He’s scared of hospitals because of bad childhood experiences and needs someone nearby at all times or he’ll lose it.”

Nat gives a terse nod. "Good. Pack your shit, and hope his fucking appendix hasn't burst while my contact dicked around."

Nat went up the stairs like a lightning bolt, and Jake let out a shuddering breath.

By the time they hear the ambulance pull up a few minutes later, sirens and lights carefully off, they're packed and ready to follow in Nat’s old truck.

Chris's fever is still rising.

---

Tagging: @burtlederp , @finder-of-rings , @endless-whump , @whumpfigure , @slaintetowhump , @astrobly, @newandfiguringitout , @doveotions , @pretty-face-breaker , @boxboysandotherwhump , @oops-its-whump @moose-teeth , @cubeswhump , @cupcakes-and-pain @whump-tr0pes @whumpiary

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violetnotez · 5 years ago

Text

HC: Being Handcuffed to the Boys

I only did Midoriya and Bakugo because Im lazy-sry- but I hope you enjoy! :)

|Part 2 w/ Kirishima+Shouto|

(RULES | MASTERLIST| REQUESTS OPEN!!! :))

Midoriya

Midoriya, as sweet and intelligent as he is, was NOT that smart that day

He was studying hero terminology, laws and rules to help him be a better hero, until a thought popped in his head- what if he needed to know how to use handcuffs? Like in some random situation where he needed to detain someone and the only thing he could was use handcuffs, could he do it?

Of course he could but he over thought it and convinced himself he COULDNT and began to slightly freak out

So of course he called you, but he didnt give you ANY info to go off of why he needed you so badly and it kind confused and worried you

“Y/n- I need you to come over quickly”

“Why, is something wrong or-”

“No, no, nothings wrong! Just- come over soon-please?”

“Im coming, Im coming, dont worry….”

When you finally got to his dorm room, you expected him to have some super important news to tell you- like he was hurt, or there was a huge pop quiz you two needed to study for ASAP...but you were met with blushing Midoriy holding hndcuffs

KiNkY

You just stared at him and at the handcuffs with a huge WTH face

You dont have the slighest idea of were he had HANDCUFFS

“Umm care to explain why you have handcuffs?”

He explains it to you, and you wanna laugh at how adorably overreactive your boyfriend is but you dont because you wnt him to know you take his concerns seriously

So he tells you his plan- he was going to put one side of the handcuffs on you as if your were a villian, and one on him (the smart thing to do, he said, so if they couldnt escape because theyd be attached to him), and then take them off. Easy peasy!

NOT EASY PEASY

He put his side of the hand cuff with ease, but when it came to you it took FOREVER

He was so scared to hurt you (like pinch your skin or something) it took him 3 whole minutes to crank it closed

“Midoriya, why are you taking so long?”

“Well-I dont want to hurt you!” he blushed, sweating alittle as he tried his best to not potentially hurt you

“Your not going to hurt me- besides, I thought I was supposed to be a ‘villian’?”

“But- your not a villian- your my girlfriend! And I cant hurt my girlfriend!” he would protest as you laughed at his cuteness

Once it was finally on, Izuku felt way more relaxed- he did it,he could do it, and he wouldnt have to worry about some wierd freak scenario where he couldnt use handcuffs

So, naturally, you ask is he could unlock you guys since he was content with his work

“Yeah of course!” hed say with a sigh of relief until he’ll realize- he forgot where the key was

He’ll start sweating alot and you’ll get super concern

“Izuku, are you all right?”

“Umm….”he confess timidly, “I may or may not have…. Forgotten where the key is.”

Not gonna lie, youre gonna freak out a little

Your literally HAND CUFFED to your boyfriend

He spends 30 minutes in a rampage looking for it (yanking and dragging you around his room in the process)

“I know its here, I just had it, Ill find it I promise-”

Your wrists was turning red from the constant yanking and you had to finally just tell him to stop and figure out another way out of them

You two sit on his bed and thought for a moment- Midoriya’s first thought was Iida and Ochaco, since their his best freinds

But you didnt know for sure what they would do but ask awkward questions and freak out a little like you both did

You then thought of Mina with her acid quirk, but then thought better of it- she didnt have the best control over it and you didnt feel like having your skin melted off

And she was besties with Kaminari and Sero, the biggest pervs at UA, so if they even caught a glance at you two theyd take it the wrong way and you two wouldnt hear the end of it

You giys pondered on what to do next until Midoriya finally got an idea

“What if we go to Hatsume? She has so many gadgets she must have a way to unlock us”

You groaned- you were okay with Hatsume, her perosnality was a little- loud- which was fine, its just you could totally tell she had the hots for Deku and you didnt really appreciate that side of her...but she was your best bet….

“Fine, lets go”

The walk to the her workshop was tortorius- you two both wrapped yourselves up in your biggest jackets to hide the handcuffs so no one could see (even though it was the middle of the afternoon) and holding each others hand so it looked like you were just holding hands and nothing more

It was nerve wracking- you didnt want any of opur classmates to talk to you, let alone see you until you had those CUFFS OFF

When you finally get there, you were so grateful Hatsume was by herself

And as perky as ever

Izuku tells about your guys predicament timidly as you both have huge blushes

But Hatsume doesnt seem to care about your embarrasment or how you got into that situation at all- shes just excited to try out a “new baby”

She interjects Izuku with a loud outburst and begins to whip out a bunch of crazy looking gadgets

You look at Midoriya with a skeptical look but you allow her to get close and try to relese you guys

Surprisingly, after a few minutes you were free, and the sound of cold metal hit the tiles

You both rubbed your wrists happy to be out of those restraints

You start to laugh from relief, thanking Hatsume and turning to Midoriya with a stern grin

“Im not going to ask today….but one day I will figure out how you got those handcuffs”

*small gulp from Izuku

Bakugo

Some days you wonder if your friends WANT to die

You and Bakugo had had a thing for each other for weeks

It was painfully obvious- you would be a blushing mess with Bakugo, giving him the biggest comebacks whenever he was mean to you all the while so red you looked liked you would explode

Bakugo was such a rude dirtbag to you most of the girls wondered how you restrained yourself from slapping him, calling you mean names and criticizing you for the smallest things

But if anybody hurt you or even said you were cute or pretty

OH NO

He would become so angry and possessive it was terrifying

So, since all of Class 1A was sick of hearing you deny any sort of love towards Bakugo and sick of almost getting their hair fried off by Bakugo if they even mentioned your name, they decided to take matters into their own hands

One day, Mina had called you over, leading you over to Kirishima and Bakugou

Your heart already began to quickly start beating just being near him

Bakugo huffed, hating how just seeing that annoyingly pretty face of yours put his body into overdrive

“Whyd you bring this extra over?”

You rolled your eyes with your cheeks on fire, pretending like the comment didn't hurt as Mina gasped at his blatant rudeness

“Whatever, Bakugo, your just still bitter that I beat you in training last week-”

“Howd you beat me?! I was distracted for 2 seconds, that was no win-”

“Really?! So eating the dirt because I had KO-ed your cocky ass doesn't mean-”

“It means jack shit baka!”

Unknowing to the both of you as you bickered, Kaminari was sneaking behind you two with a pair of handcuffs while Sero followed him with an evil grin from behind

Before you two even knew it, Kaminari had clasped one side of a pair of hand cuffs to one of your wrists and one to Bakugos, Sero using his tape quirk to keep you two from squirming

You were confused and startled on what was even going on, while Bakugo was extremely pissed off

“What the hell do you think youre doing you idiots!”

“Cool down Spiky, or youll blow a fuse!” Sero laughed at his handiwork as you both squirmed to get out on the restraints

“Im gonna do worse than blow a fuse,” Bakugo spat at the whole grorup, “Im gonna blow up your asses into space once I get out of this!”

“Ohhh no your not!” Kirishima smirked at Bakugo”s clearly agitated face and your distressed expression “You two are going to stay like this until you can act like normal human beings around each other”

“Kirishima this isnt cool!” you whined, “How long am I going to have to be attached to this rabid hedgehog?!” You nodded towards Bakugo, who clearly didn't like your comment

“Rabid hedgehog?!” Bakugo shrieked, “Say that one more time and Ill-”

“And youll blast me into space? Fry me into Hell? Kick my ass into next week? Save your breath Katsuki, Ive heard every threat you can throw at me!” You snapped at Bakugou, your annoyance and stress of being stuck to him for God’s no how long making you jumpy-you cant be stuck to your crush YOU CANT

Bakugo looked like a fish gulping for a water as he was looking for a come back to that, as Kirishima, Sero, and Kaminari looked shocked and amused by a stuttering Bakugo

“You guys are gonna stay together for as long as you need to,” Kirishima said, “we have the key to unlock the cuffs, so when you guys are ready- just come and get one of us!”

The group walked out, Sero and Kaminari betting how long it would take you two to have an agreement as Kirishima pushed them out the door

You stood there with Bakugou awkwardly for a few moments, him unable to look at you-his cheeks were on fire because of one little thing you said earlier

And you didnt even know GOD DAMMIT

You looked at Bakugou, thinking he was just ignoring you like usual- the BrAt

You sighed, “Look- if were going to be chained up like this, might as well get some things off our chests….” you swallowed hoping he couldnt feel your hand shake from being so close to him

He didnt say anything, your voice ringing in his ears and making me him shiver- GOD DAMMIT WHY WAS HE SO DAMN WEAK FOR YOU

He didnt say anything for a while, making you feel hurt and kinda bored

“Fine then, if you dont want to talk, at least walk with me to the kitchen-”

“You called me Katsuki.” He grumbled, still not wanting to look at you

“What?” You looked at him, confused on WHY he wouldnt look at you and why calling him by his first name was such a big deal

“You called me by my first name-Katsuki.”

“Okkkkaaaay,” you drawled out, completely confused and annoyed, “dont know why that would bother you so much but can we plese just-”

Bakugo huffed in annoyance, his cheecks on fire, “You dont get it do you baka?! No one calls me Katsuki because Id kick their asses if they ever did-but-”

“But what?” you asked kinda gentle, seeing Bakugo struggling to say something to you and curiosity was getting to you

Is He GoNnA ConfeSS ;o

“But-you-said….it...and I-I-was...okay with it….” he struggled out, his face contorting so much to just push that out of him you were kinda worried

You looked at him, completely amused and not really taking him seriously

“That was it? I said your first name and you didnt have the urge to rip my head off like you usually do? I guess we can consider that progress!” you kinda laughed nervously, making Bakugo wish you would laugh again and then cursing at himself for thinking that

He hated how you made his head feel dizzy and it was making him angry

“You dont get it do you baka?!” he shouted aggresively, “I was okay with it because I like you and I fucking hate it!”

You stopped breathing, your eyes wide with shock and your brain seeming to shut down

“You-you-like- me? Like- more than a- friend?” you stuttered, looking at his face which was now obviously red

“See anyone else in the room? Of course its you who else would I fucking say that to!” he retorted, wishing the heat in his face would BACK OFF

OH CRAPPPPPPPPPPPP HE CONFESSED YALL :D

“I like you too….Katsuki,” you smiled, watching his face get even redder

“Awww you look so cute blushing!”

“Shut up you baka!”

You laughed, making him feel all warm and squishy inside

“Well, I guess Kaminari is going to owe Sero $20- we deifnitely got this figured out in under an hour.”

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

I hope your day (or night) is going well!

REQUESTS + MATCHUPS ARE OPEN!

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softdadcarlos · 5 years ago

Text

(You’re) Having My Baby

Masterlist

Fandom: Resident Evil/Biohazard

Pairing: Jill/Carlos

AU: Family Life

Summary: After a couple years of being happily married, Jill and Carlos are ready to grow their little family of two.

Requested by @vgames-lover and three anonymous users because yet again I combined requests! The title is taken from the song of the same name by Paul Anka and you’ll see why.

It was November 2003 and Jill had been suffering from a stomach bug for about week. She was a bit concerned, maybe the take out she had ordered - Carlos was out with Chris and Leon for Leon’s bachelor party - was bad as she had thrown up the next day and those following. Carlos, despite being slightly hungover, was there to hold her hair back as she muttered curses and promises never to order from that restaurant again. However, being very much under the weather meant she couldn’t go on the mission she was scheduled for and she counted her blessing that Claire’s bachelorette party had been the day before Leon’s. But Jill would not let some mystery illness stop her from attending her friends’ wedding, it would take much more than throwing up in the morning to stop her. Carlos, for his part, kept a close eye on her, understandably worried until he noticed something she murmured to herself while getting ready for the ceremony.

“Need to get new bras, these ones are starting to make my nipples hurt.”

Normally, those kinds of statements would be overlooked by someone who couldn’t put two and two together. But Carlos never overlooked anything when it came to Jill, it might have been a result of trauma but he felt the niggling urge to keep an eye on her, make sure she was safe and okay. So it was safe to say he was starting to piece together a picture and, if he was right about it, it was a picture he had wanted to paint for about a year at that point. He felt butterflies in his stomach at the thought of it.

He noticed her struggling to zip up her dress and went over to help, “You know, I think it might be worth picking up a pregnancy test on our way to the venue. We have been trying for a couple of months after all. We should also stay clear of alcohol today, just in case.”

Jill turned to him, a pensive look on her face, “You really think so?”

Carlos pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and gave her a reassuring smile, “Better safe than sorry.”

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Jill was impatient throughout the ceremony, wanting to get to the bathroom as soon as possible. She was happy for her friends, she really was, and it was sweet seeing Sherry be flower girl yet again, this time for her adoptive parents but after what Carlos had said earlier she just had to know. So as soon as the ceremony was over and it was time for the reception, Jill sped away into the bathroom with the pregnancy test in her over the shoulder bag. Carlos was not aware that she was rushing to take the test. No, the poor man was none the wiser and followed after her, worried that she was having another bout of sickness. His concern grew when she locked the bathroom door behind her. He sighed, leaning against the wall as he waited for her to come out. He was stood there for about 5 minutes before he heard the door unlock and Jill emerged.

He grasped her shoulders, worry in his eyes as he looked her over, “Are you okay?”

“I’m more than okay. Carlos, I’m pregnant,” She beamed at him, tears welling up.

Carlos pulled her into a hug, kissing the crown of her head, “Hello pregnant, I’m dad.”

“Seriously? You’re starting with the terrible fucking dad jokes now?” Jill groaned, nuzzling into his neck.

He shrugged, “I’m a dad now, it’s my job to make bad jokes that embarrass my family.”

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Although Carlos said that they both wouldn’t drink, Jill managed to convince him that he should be allowed to drink as they were now celebrating two things. She got a few looks from their friends as she turned away drinks because if there was something Jill never said no to, it was a free drink. Instead, she would either pass the offered drink to Carlos or sip on some sort of soft drink with an excuse of “I’m the designated driver.” But maybe she made a mistake passing drinks to him. Even though they agreed to stay quiet until the next day as not to detract attention away from the newlywed couple, there Carlos was, fucking serenading her.

“Having my baby. What a lovely way of saying how much you love me. Having my baby. What a lovely way of saying what you're thinking of me.” Carlos sang over the sound of the reception, on one knee, cradling her hand between his as their friends stared at them.

He was cut off before he could continue by Claire rushing over to envelope Jill in a hug, “Oh my god! Jill, you’re pregnant?! How long have you known?”

Jill’s face was red under all the attention, “Today… although I feel Carlos had an inkling sooner since he’s the one that suggested I buy a test this morning.”

“This is the best wedding gift! I’m going to be an auntie!”

The rest of the evening was filled with congratulations and getting Carlos to drink enough water to sober up slightly so he wouldn’t be as hungover in the morning. Chris helped to get Carlos home, insisting that since she was pregnant she shouldn’t be lugging her husband around. A husband that was now just speaking Spanish and making Jill very very thankful Chris only knew the basics of the language as Carlos was getting rather… colourful in verbally displaying his affection to his wife. Chris even opted to stay in their guest room as they had “much to talk about” the next morning.

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The following day saw Chris and Rebecca sat on one sofa as Jill and Carlos, who was nursing a slight hangover that wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, sat on the opposite one. They hadn’t been expecting Rebecca to knock on their door at 10am but they weren’t entirely surprised since she had been the one to keep an eye on Jill’s health over the years.

“First things first, I’m going to state the obvious: You won’t be able to go on missions for about one year at the very least. Not only would it be dangerous for the baby for you to still go while pregnant, but pregnancy and birth itself is traumatic for the body. You’ll need time to recuperate afterwards. I recommend a two-year leave. Maybe longer depending on how quickly you get back into a fit state.” Rebecca declared sternly, eyeing up the coffee Jill had in front of her.

Chris crossed his arms, “We knew that already. I was planning to talk about her leave today and have her help me pick out a suitable temporary replacement for the meantime.”

Jill was about to take a sip of her coffee when Rebecca reached her hand out and covered the top of it.

“Sorry Jill, but it’s going to be decaf until after the post-birth recovery period.”

Carlos took the coffee from her and headed into the kitchen with it and his own.

Jill levelled Rebecca with a stare, “Decaf tastes like burnt toast.”

Carlos came back in with two glasses of orange juice, “It’s for the good of you and pequeño. But you won’t have to suffer a coffeeless world alone, whatever you’re not allowed, I won’t have either.”

Jill smiled at him as she accepted the offered juice, hand coming to rest on his knee once he was seated again.

“What else is there ‘Becca? What do I need to purge from the pantry.” Carlos asked, lacing his fingers with Jill’s.

Rebecca reached into her bag and pulled a document from its confines, “It’s all written here but I’ll give you a brief rundown. Unpasteurised or mould-ripened dairy products are a no go. Uncooked meats, liver, any and all pates and game meats are not to be eaten. Liver contains high amounts of Vitamin A which can be harmful to the baby. Raw and partially cooked eggs as well as: duck, goose or quail eggs are dangerous unless cooked solid, no runny eggs.” She flicked over to the next page, “Oily fish is to be limited to two portions a week. Tuna should be limited to 140g a week as it contains the most mercury than any other fish. Swordfish, marlin, shark meat and raw shellfish should be avoided. Sadly herbal teas should be limited to four cups a day if you were looking to them as a replacement for coffee. Fruits and vegetables must be thoroughly washed before eating or cooking. Oh and no multivitamin supplements as they can contain vitamin A. That should be about it.”

She handed the document to Jill who was frowning. Carlos had been nodding along the entire time, Jill could see the cogs working away in his head as he thought about what was currently in their kitchen cupboards.

“Is there anything that needs doing asap?” Jill asked.

“A simple urine test to see how far along you are, then we can try to predict a due date.”

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The due date they had been given was for mid-August and an ultrasound scan during the second trimester revealed they’d be having a baby girl. Carlos had reached out to Barry to help them set up a nursery as well as set up a birthing plan, a fount of knowledge thanks to being a father of two. One thing Jill hadn’t accounted for was Carlos becoming more protective than he had been before. He hardly let her in her office, saying that she might stress herself out and that wouldn’t be good for her or the baby. If she wanted to go out with the girls for a chill night, he would text her every half hour to make sure she was okay. She wasn’t mad, not at all. In fact, she completely understood his behaviour. It was just… a tad much sometimes. The bigger her stomach became the more anxious he became about her going out because “What if something happens and I can’t be there to help.”

So there Jill was, sat between her husband’s legs as she leant against him playing Animal Crossing (a game she had grown addicted to much to Carlos’ relief) on the GameCube he bought her as an apology for his worrying ways. She had started taking to wearing his clothes instead of the expensive maternity they had bought because she just found them more comfortable and comforting. Carlos wasn’t complaining, loving the sight of his rounded wife waddling about in his clothes. He had his arms resting around her front, hands pressed to her belly under his baggy shirt, feeling their pequeño’s little kicks. She was definitely going to be a fighter like her mum, that much Carlos could tell.

As it was August, Carlos had a hospital packed and ready to go as well as Barry on speed dial. They had decided on a hospital birth instead of a home birth just in case there were complications at Barry’s suggestion after all. Jill felt a little bad for the older former S.T.A.R.S member, Carlos had been picking his brains ever since they formally announced the pregnancy.

“Carlos playing this game makes me see why you were a communist. Slaving away to pay a raccoon who does nothing is insulting. Fucking Tom Nook-”

Carlos was chuckling until his wife cut herself off, “What is it?”

“...I think my water just broke…”

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Twelve laborious hours later and Eliza Anne Valentine was welcomed into the world. Sure Carlos’ hand hurt like a bitch but he wasn’t complaining if the small chubby baby in Jill’s arms was the end result. He smiled as he watched the scene. Jill was sweaty, her hair a mess as she tiredly greeted their child, stroking her small round cheeks.

“Hello there Eliza, I’m your mama. I’m going to make the world a safe place for you. I promise.” She looked to Carlos, unshed tears in her eyes, “Do you want to hold her?”

Carlos nodded unable to form words with how his throat tightened. Carefully, oh so carefully, they passed the small bundle of joy from one to the other. And upon seeing his daughter’s face, he started crying. She had his nose and her mother’s mouth. Her hair was dark but matted with embryonic fluids so there was no way of telling its actual colour in that moment. He wondered what colour eyes she’d have when she finally opens them. But no matter what traits she took, Carlos didn’t care. She was made from them and their love. She was going to be perfect in his eyes no matter what.

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A/N: To break your hearts further, the way Jill’s maternity leave works out means her first mission back is the one she “dies” in.

I love hearing from you guys! Please tell me what parts you liked!

Requests are temporarily closed. I'm also on twitter @mxbelmounte.

#carlos x jill #jill x carlos #valeveira #resident evil #carlos oliveira #jill valentine #boop

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beesatthedisco · 4 years ago

Text

How does this even work...

Okay, so I’ve been on tumblr since before the first time they very slightly changed the shade of blue and I hope that in and of itself is enough to help y’all know... I’m ancient. (I’m 27, and will only rp with ppl 18+, sorry friendos)

Somehow, despite being on tumblr and despite having made about a million accounts for various things in my day, I’ve not made an RP account, and don’t really know how to get started. I guess I’m just gonna put down what I know about myself and what I’m looking for here and hope for the best, but I’d be open to any kind of protips from those of you who have been using tumblr to find rp for much longer.

RIP to your eyes ahead of time, this is a long post. If you want to skip to the part where I share my Original plots, pairings, and fandom cravings, please just scroll to the end and accept my humble apologies. (Highkey I copied this out of my google doc, don’t shoot me.)

I enjoy writing both original plots and fandom stuff. When RPing within a fandom setting, I'm open to playing as canons, as ocs, or any combination of both. I'm open to co-creating settings inspired but not based in fandoms, and open to playing AU or canon settings as well. When originals are involved, I prefer co-creating our worlds together, so we're both invested in the landscape that our characters inhabit. Speaking of characters- I'll play as any gender and in any pairing type- I hope that this is the same for you. I love writing a broad spectrum of characters to keep things interesting for myself and to practice viewing the world through different perspectives. I feel it's difficult to do this when being forced or pigeonholed into writing as a gender you DEMAND of me. However... I can be flexible, and if your ideas are interesting enough, I may just give you what you ask for anyways, haha. I'm perfectly open to playing multiple characters, whether it's a broad interactive cast of mains and background characters, a system of noninteracting or separate sets of doubles, triples, you name it, or whatever other configuration of multiple-character-playing you prefer.

I'm not too terribly concerned about post lengths and am open to writing with people who might be new to the RP scene. I'm pretty flexible about how much I'll write. A good rule of thumb for myself is that I tend to respond with more when I have more to work with. That doesn't always mean that there are more words on your post for me to respond to; instead, I mean that if your post has enough ideas, inspiration, and momentum, I can go buckwild with my posts. My comfort zone seems to be around 4-6 paragraphs per post, but I've been known to write either a lot more in particularly thrilling rps. If I'm writing a huge post- don't feel daunted or expected to match length. I love all sized posts!!! I'm just overly enthusiastic and get carried away sometimes. (This means you can also at any time tell me to chill out on how much I'm writing. ) When it comes to writing style, I only have a few hard expectations of you- I do not engage in roleplay featuring the 'would' style of writing. (For example: "She would pick up the rock and inspect it closely.") I don't exactly know why I dislike this tense so much, but it pulls me right out of the immersion of writing/reading and tends to entirely destroy my interest in the story. I'm sorry. Next, I care at least a little about punctuation and spellchecking. If you're roleplaying online, you have access to ways to make sure that you're not just submitting gibberish. If you need help finding those resources... feel free to ask!

I'm open to the idea of making profiles for our characters, but I'm okay without making them too. I'm also vaguely ambivalent to 'beautifying' our posts, should we do them somewhere that allows that sort of thing. I'm fine with any style of reference images, or with not using them at all. I can't promise I won't send you songs and images and memes that remind me of our story, though! Also- I'm super down for dice systems if we decide to go that route (and prefer dice systems if we include combat of any variety in our story.) I love romance, but it doesn't necessarily have to be the drive of our plot if that's not your style. My favorite genres to write in are science fiction, any variety of fantasy, horror, drama, historical settings, wild western settings, and mysteries.

Last but not least, I tend to like making friends with my writing partners. I prefer writing with people I actually get along with, so for me, the plotting phase is the most important. It helps me get to know your personality a bit more, and you mine, so we both know whether or not it's a good match to write long term! I'll write on most platforms, so let's discuss what makes the most sense for us. Finally, I generally only write with folks 18+, for the safety of everyone involved. Thanks for understanding.

Well, as I said, I've got a big ol list of ideas, if any of this strikes you as 'good writing friend' material, so send me a DM and I'll get back to you asap! Feel free to share your ideas too!!!

Original Ideas

- There's something dire down in the mines to the east of this old Western town. Folks keep goin' in to investigate, disappearin' for days at a time, then comin' back all different-like with the lights gone from their eyes. What could be happenin' out there, sheriff? (horror/western)

- A high-fantasy world's balance is shattered when the source of magic is destroyed. How will the people of this mystical land navigate a now mundane life, and how can they survive when so many magical devices go defunct and awry?

- A no-magic world is suddenly spun into chaos: an apocalyptic event leads to the sudden introduction of magic into a world that had previously never known it. In the post-apocalyptic (and mystically-charged) ashes of a world that once was, how do the survivors compete for resources and control?

- A star falls from the sky! They're rare, and it's dangerous to be one. Are you the star, hunted and lost? Or are you someone who finds a star?

- A lich (my character) is rumored to live in the castle at the foot of the mountains, only a mile or so from your town. It's said they're a true villain, the worst of the worst... but what is the truth?

-Arranged Marriages between physical embodiments of the seasons or planets

-A sailor, pirate, or other seafarer keeps noticing the same shape in the waters near their ship. After a terrible storm, the ship wrecks… now, one’s a mermaid, one’s a sailor, and they’re both idiots trying to find their way back home.

-Disaster has struck! A grisly assassination attempt leads a bodyguard to quickly usher their liege to safety. Drama ensues!

-Stowaways, and the people who catch 'em!

- Androids and more androids! Or... androids and non-androids!

-In a dwindling-magic world, those who cling to the olde magicks and the old way of living struggle against the new capitalist society and its nonmagic technology. In one still-magickal neighborhood where our story takes place, shopkeepers fight against nonmagickal gentrification in an effort to keep their businesses, communities, and traditions alive.

- A wandering traveler gets caught in a storm and chances upon an abandoned home, castle, or manor.... oh no!

- A train hopping crust punk encounters the ghost of a fellow train-hopper who fell under the rails and died.

- A living person's computer, gaming device, or phone is inhabited by a flirty ghost!

- There's a friendly but sad ghost living in a living person's new home! (Can you tell I like ghosts?)

Original (and corny) pairing ideas

fairy or elf / vampire or other dark creature

vampire / human

god / mortal

demon / angel or other dark/light archetypical pairings

dragon / humanoid

naval captain / stowaway

mob boss / citizen

superhero / supervillain

serial killer / investigator

serial killer / citizen

Bounty hunter/outlaw

outlaw/sherriff

outlaw/outlaw

farmhand/outlaw

Current Fandom Interests/Cravings

Pokemon - preferably with ocs and in a custom setting ft. all the ‘mons/us playing as humans

Elder Scrolls - pls, i’m craving this almost more than anything, and have been for years

Red Dead Redemption - it is cowboy time now

Legend of Zelda - i have a couple of cute ideas for this!

Avatar/Legend of Korra

Labyrinth - please please please someone play jareth for me, ill give you my firstborn in exchange

Star Wars - currently a little burned out on playing as kylo for everyone, so please don’t ask me to be him dlfkjdslfj

Game of Thrones

Lord of the Rings

Night in the Woods

Brutal Legend - does anyone but me remember this??? Omfg lets rp in this setting PLS

The Dragon Prince

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littlemsstark3000 · 5 years ago

Text

King Anthony

An AU where Tony and Natasha are royalties. Prompt by @deanxmon.

Note: Apologies in advance for the inconsistency of tone and the errors on tenses or spelling. I am sooo sleepy and I just wanted this published ASAP. I will fix them later. Enjoy!

*****

Natasha lifted her head from the hardbound book she was reading when her lady-in-waiting called her attention.

“Queen Natasha,” Ana bowed to her before continuing what she came there to say. “The King and his men have just arrived.”

“Thank you, Ana.” She immediately closed the book, put it on the side table and stood up to meet Anthony. The King, his husband, has been away for the last four days; its cause was unknown to her. Anyway, she did not wish to know of his whereabouts and he knew it. In several instances, she made him understand that.

“Is he heading to his office next or the main chamber?” Natasha asked before she headed out of the library, her favorite room in the palace.

Ana followed her as they speak. “The King is heading to the bedrooms and Sir Jarvis has given an order not to disturb His Highness.”

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked back to the maiden. “Why so?” Jarvis, the palace’s courtier, would never give such order if not for an important reason. Everyone in the kingdom was aware that the King was most of the time, if not always, available to anyone or anything which needed his attention – this included even waking him up in the middle of the night if necessary.

“At the moment, His Highness is not in his best health, Queen Natasha. Sir Jarvis has advised him to rest for the day and has asked to call the physician to see the King.”

“He is sick?” she felt worry arise in her chest, an emotion she did not acknowledge until last night, the third night that she has not seen him and heard from him, and now that Ana talked about her husband being unwell.

“I am afraid so, Your Highness,” the maiden lowered her head, seemingly distressed to be the bearer of bad news.

Without replying, she walked faster to the hallway leading to the bedrooms, holding on to her skirt so as not to trip along the way. When she reached the door of the royal room, she breathed deeply, preparing herself to see him, then pushed it open.

Natasha found him lying on the bed, sleeping. As she got nearer, she noticed that his face was flushed and sweat beaded on his forehead and temples despite the cold room temperature.

She turned when she heard knocks from outside their room.

“Your Highness,” Jarvis, together with two more maidens, bowed when she opened the door. “We are here to attend to the King. The physician is also on the way to check on His Highness.”

“Thank you. You may bring those inside and leave me to attend to the King on my own.”

Surprise was evident on the courtier’s expression. She expected that, knowing that the man – more than anyone else in the palace – was aware of the situation between her and Anthony when they got married. This man had been serving her husband ever since he was a Young Prince to the deceased King Howard and Queen Maria. At some point, she even thought that Jarvis might have been feeling ill about her for giving a difficult time to the kingdom’s beloved leader, whom he seemed to have already treated as the son he never had.

Natasha opened the door wider, so the maidens can leave the things that they have brought for temporary relief. They left immediately after.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Jarvis bowed again to her, this time, with a smile that she caught.

She did not respond verbally but smiled back a little, too, before closing the door.

*****

It was half past 1 in the morning when Natasha was awakened by Anthony’s groaning beside her. He was lying sideways, his back on her, on their huge bed.

She rubbed her eyes, got up to sit and turned the bedside lamp on. Then, gently, she ran her hand on his arm to wake him up – he looked like he was having another nightmare.

It was not the first time that she caught him having nightmares. The first time it happened, it was just a week after their wedding. She heard saying something like “no, please”, muffled, in his sleep from the adjoined room. It was followed by more instances in the last three months. Sometimes, he was just groaning like now; other times, he was talking like he was scared in his sleep.

Yes, they have been sleeping separately since they got married. Anthony had a personal study room connected to the royal room, with a smaller bed in it. Because of the unusual circumstances of their marriage, he chose to stay there every night and not sleep beside her… until tonight – and it was just because he was sick and unaware that he was in their bed.

“Anthony, wake up…” she softly said.

The young king continued to stir in his sleep.

Natasha hovered on him, cupped his right cheek and slightly tapped his left. “Anthony, wake up. It is me, Natasha…”

Startled, her husband opened his eyes which shot its look on her.

“N-natasha…” his voice was hoarse.

“Yes,” she helped him get up before leaving the bed to get a glass of water on the other side of the room, where his medicine and food prescribed by the physician were placed.

“Here,” she offered the drink and he took it as she just stood there.

It took a few more moments before he looked back at her then to the bed where he was on.

“I… I am not supposed to be here. Forgive me,” he stood up almost hurriedly.

Natasha has not spoken a word and her husband has already crossed to the next room. Her eyes automatically shut, and she sighed heavily. As if her feet have their own mind, she found herself following him – to Anthony’s surprise.

“You are unwell,” those were the first words that escaped her mouth un-thoughtfully.

He was still standing beside the other bed. “I am feeling somehow better. And… thank you for waking me up.”

She bit her lip, her insides felt like twisting.

“You should go back to bed,” he suggested.

Instead of going back to the main room, she approached his bed and sat on one side, her back was on him. The soft cushion moved again after a while and she figured that he sat on the other side, too. She confirmed it when she turned her head a little; Anthony’s back was facing hers, him looking on the wall.

One more time, she breathed and looked down to her feet before asking: “You had a bad dream?”

“It is not uncommon. I am sorry if I have bothered you.”

His tone was low, but it was not icy, neither was it warm or welcoming. Compared to her usual tone on him whenever she shoved him away, his was still kinder.

“Would it be of help if you told me about it?”

Natasha heard him sigh. “It must be caused by the long travel. I was just tired from the past days’ engagements.”

“You have been tiring yourself too much. I spoke to Jarvis after the physician checked on you and he has told me that, for the past seven days, you have visited at least twelve neighboring towns to talk about our products and trades; at least four gatherings and two funerals. He mentioned that you even visited the defense troops and our neighboring palace. Before you left without a word four days ago, you have been staying up for nights and talking to hundreds of people here in the palace and outside.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Queen. All of those are part of my responsibilities to the people of our kingdom and our allies.”

“You are right, I am the Queen. And I should have been helping you out. Do not deny that some of what you do now are supposed to be my duty.”

“Natasha, I have promised that I will never force you to do anything against your will. Not anymore. I made you sacrifice enough.”

The promise he made on the night of their wedding, she remembered. Their marriage was arranged against her will. As the King, who succeeded the throne of his late mother and father, he had al the powers to choose whom he would want to marry and be the Queen of his kingdom. He chose her.

Prior to their marriage, she was Princess Natasha, daughter of King Ivan who was ruling one of King Anthony’s allied kingdoms. She was an only child because her mother died when she was born, causing her father to harbor bitterness towards her all her life. When the younger King asked for her hand, King Ivan gave her away without hesitation.

Anthony took his promise to heart: since she was just forced to marry him, he would never impose anything else to her unless she willed to do things for him and his kingdom. They have not even consummated their marriage because he understood that she did not love him at all. It was true – Natasha did not love her husband, but she did not abhor him like he believed. Despite being cold to him because of the situation, she has seen how good he was as a leader and as a person. He was kind and honest. He was generous. He thought of what would be best for most, if not all, of his people.

As a husband, he looked after her and provided everything that she needed. She also noticed the small or random acts he did for her. Anthony was such a gentleman. Whenever they eat together at the dining hall, he pulled a chair for her, even when she chose to sit on the far end of the long table away from him. He ordered for her to receive fresh fruits every day and fresh flowers twice a week. One time, when it was her who caught a flu, he almost did not work whole day to stay with her even if she was just asleep; Ana was the one who told her this when she got better.

As a wife and his Queen, she never asked for anything that she wanted from him, but she noticed that when she expressed liking of a specific book subject, dress, food or ornament, new ones of which will be delivered to her in a few days. Her husband must have been asking around to identify her preferences. More than all of these, she admired his respect to her, sticking to their sleeping arrangement and not forcing her into doing the responsibilities in the palace which she did not personally signed up for.

Natasha had finally admitted – she missed him when he did not show up for three straight days and she was honestly worried when he got home sick.

And now, he was keeping his distance, thinking that he was still an unwanted presence in her life.

Pushing herself up, she stood and walked to his side of the bed to stand before him.

“You may have taken away my freedom when you asked for my hand in marriage, but you never made me feel miserable. You actually saved me from my lonely life back in our kingdom, with my own father.”

“Natasha…”

She reached both of his hands and held on to them. “You have me, my King. I am your Queen, your wife. I am yours.”

Anthony also stood up and gathered her in his arms briefly, but he pulled again and held her shoulders to stare at her face. His expression spelled uncertainty. “My Queen, you do not have to feel obligated to do this.”

Natasha moved her hands to cup his face and tip-toed to kiss him. It was a soft, quick kiss; just a brush on his lips.

When their eyes met again, both were glistening with unspoken happiness.

“I love you, Natasha. I loved long before you knew me. I’ve been waiting –”

She kissed him quickly one more time. “You can tell me more later. I missed having you around… Please do not leave without saying goodbye again.” Then she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Never again, my love.”

#tonynat #ironwidow #au #alternate universe #tonynatasha #tony x natasha #king and queen #tony stark #natasha romanoff #marvel #mcu #otp

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fallout4reactsblog · 6 years ago

Note

not the danse feels anon but may i 🅱️lease have some danse feels with a chem addict sole 💖

I love all of my anons and I dub you 💖 Danse anon!

Every time he sees them do this, he swears he’s going to rob them blind in the middle of the night. It’s not malicious, he promises himself that, it’s for their own good. If the chems just weren’t there, maybe they wouldn’t have the problem. Maybe they could get clean.

Danse wasn’t a thief, though, so he never did. It would be a betrayal of sole’s trust to steal from them, so he settled for berating them every chance he got, trying to convince them the chems would ruin them, trying to make them see that they were wrong and he was right in this regard.

At the moment, he was beginning to wish he’d actually stolen their stuff.

He’d warned them before the fight even began that they weren’t going to be able to fight with their brain clouded with drugs. They’d laughed and waved him off as always, letting the X-Cell settle into their system, putting away the bottle and focusing in on the fight.

When they’d actually gotten into combat with the raiders, he’d known something was wrong. Their aim was sloppy, movements slow, decisions reckless and ill-advised. He’d let it be, though, because he was being shot at, and he’d planned to lecture them later on nearly getting themselves killed because of their addiction.

And then they’d gone down.

One minute, they were at his back, firing wide shots into the maze that was the raider camp, and the next they were on the ground, twitching, a bit of foam beginning to collect at the corner of their pale lips. Danse didn’t need Knight-Captain Cade’s professional opinion to know that something was wrong. Their eyes rolled loosely in their head, and all he could do was wish they’d listened.

Now, here he was, raiders all around, no backup, none coming. Fusion cells practically flew from his hand to his gun as he empty round after round into the incoming hoard. Bullets pinged off his armor and hit the ground at his feet, settling into the grass. Instinctively, he shifted to cover sole’s prone form, trying to protect them from harm.

When the last raider dropped, he did as well, sinking to his knees beside sole, pulling a Stimpack from their bag. He jabbed it sharply into their skin before he scooped them into his arms, dropping a signal grenade to get a Vertibird. He needed to get them to Cade, and he needed to do it now.

It seemed to take hours for them to arrive, and that gave him plenty of time to lament the decisions that had led him here. He should have started carrying Addictol the first moment he saw them taking chems. He should have forced them to give up their habit. He should have reported them to Cade or Maxson. But, no, he’d let his fondness for them cloud his judgement, and now they might both pay the price for it.

When the familiar sound of a Vertibird cut through the air, he could have cried from relief. He didn’t even bother to let it fully land, simply hauled them both up into the still-hovering ship.

“Prydwen, ASAP,” he snapped. “Fly like there’s a Deathclaw chasing you.”

The pilot nodded and, true to command, they were on the Prydwen in minutes. Danse thanked his lucky stars they weren’t far from the airport when sole had gone down. The entire ride, he was careful to monitor their breathing, counting the breaths and convincing the copilot to take their pulse to make sure everything was alright. The heartbeat was slow, and according to the copilot, faint. He’d have bounced his foot with nerves if he could have.

As soon as he could, he leapt off the Vertibird, carrying sole up into the upper levels of the Prydwen and practically sprinting to Cade’s office. The medical officer looked up as Danse barreled in the door, face darkening.

“Chems,” he panted out, laying sole’s body on a nearby cot. “X-Cell I think. I gave them a Stimpack but I wasn’t sure what to do. They went down mid-fight.”

Cade just patted him. “Step outside. I’ll call you in when I’m done here.”

Danse’s heart was screaming to stay, but he did what he was told and stepped out. The crowds he’d run through eyed him strangely as he made his way over to his power armor frame, but he paid them no mind, simply settled his armor where it belonged and dragged over a stool. Within an instant, Ingram was crouched by his side.

“What happened?” She handed him a socket wrench before he could even ask, and he nodded his thanks.

“I’m not sure.” Danse wasn’t the type to lie, but damn did he have a soft spot for sole, and spreading rumors around the Prydwen wasn’t his style. He’d have lied to Cade if he hadn’t known that it would only hurt them. “They went down in the middle of battle and looked ill, so I brought them to Cade as quickly as I could.”

“Got any ideas?” She handed him a dirty rag so he could clean a rusting pin. “That’s gonna need replacing, by the way.”

“I’m hoping to get another week or two out of it.” He put some cleaner on the rag and started cleaning. “No ideas. I wish I did.”

Silence settled over them. Danse knew that Ingram had other matters to be attending to, but his heart was racing a mile a minute, and his head was whirling with the thought that sole was going to die, and it would be his fault, so he appreciated the company.

“You’re worried about them.” Ingram wasn’t asking, but he nodded anyway.

“Of course. I sponsored them. If anything were to happen to them, it would be my responsibility.”

He tried to say it casually, but the grip he held on the rag and bolt, tight enough to make his knuckles white, betrayed him. Because that was the truth, wasn’t it? If something happened to them, it would be his fault. He’d been right there beside them the whole time, but he didn’t stop them, he just kept pretending everything would be fine, and now it wasn’t, and sole would probably die, and-

“No one else believes that, you know.”

His head snapped to Ingram, who handing him the canister of rust remover casually as she continued. “If they were still a scribe, sure, that’d be different. But they’re all grown up, Danse. You don’t have to take care of them. They can take care of themself.”

“I was right there the whole time, Ingram.” He took the can and put a little more on his rag.

“And if they weren’t ready to go into the field, they should have told you.”

He knew that Ingram was making sense, but his mind insisted on running circles around the idea that he’d doomed them, he’d killed them, he hadn’t been good enough. His throat was tight, and his foot nervously bounced against the ground.

“I’ve got work to do.” She patted him on the shoulder and pushed herself up to standing. “Try not to worry too much. Sole will be fine.”

He hummed noncommittally in response, feigning an intense interest in the now-far-less-rusted pin in his hand. She moved away, footsteps loud on the metal deck, and when she was out of his line of sight he let his head collide with the side of his armor’s leg.

It was cold against his skin, and he closed his eyes tightly as if he could ward off the images that flooded his mind. Sole, collapsing to the ground. Sole, twitching in the grass. Sole, foam trickling from between their lips. He thought he might scream, and his fingers curled into his thighs, tight enough to badly hurt, probably tight enough to bruise.

“Sir?”

He bolted up, practically slamming into the field scribe that had gotten his attention. She stumbled back, eyes widening.

“Apologies,” he mumbled, wiping off his hands. “You caught me off-guard. What can I do for you, Scribe?”

“Knight-Captain Cade wanted to see you, sir.” She jerked a thumb back toward the medical bay.

“Thank you. I’ll see to that.”

She nodded and turned away, and after waiting for an appropriate beat, he walked toward the medical bay as casually as he could manage. His heart was running a mile a minute, but he did his best to remain outwardly calm.

Cade was waiting for him at the door, and beckoned him inside. The bay was empty, save for sole, whose cot was tucked into a corner.

“Good news,” Cade said. “We got them patched up. Looks like a bad batch of chems got them. We went ahead and treated them with Addictol just in case.”

“Thank you, Cade.”

“Danse…” Cade sighed and folded his arms. “You know protocol dictates that I report this.”

He felt like he’d been stabbed, knowing the punishment sole was about to face, but he nodded anyway. “I’m aware. I wouldn’t ask you to do anything else.”

Cade nodded and glanced back toward the bed. “I’m not going to, though. I trust you to handle this.” He turned back toward him. “Don’t make me regret that.”

Danse tried not to grin, he really did, but he felt the barest hint of a smile peek out anyway. “I won’t. Thank you, Cade.”

“Right. I’m gonna go ahead and take my lunch break, conveniently, just as your trainee is about to wake up. I’ll be back in an hour. Hold down the fort for me.”

Just like that, Cade was gone, and he was left alone.

Slowly, he made his way over to sole’s bedside and pulled up a chair. They looked peaceful, relaxed into the mattress, blankets tucked up around their chest. Their lips were parted slightly, and he was glad to see that color had returned to their once-all-too-pale skin. For the first time in a while, they looked truly healthy.

Slowly, their lips twisted into a grimace, and a groan escaped them, hands coming up to rub at their eyes. They blinked once, twice, then darted around the room.

“Welcome to the medical bay, soldier.”

Their face turned toward him, and they blinked again before managing, “What happened?”

“I told you those chems would get you into trouble.” He retrieved a can of water and handed it to them to help their obviously dry throat. “You took a bad batch, and it very nearly cost you your life.”

“How’d I get here?” They popped the tab on the can and took a sip, then another as they realized how thirsty they were.

“I brought you.” God, it was hard to not betray his relief, to not crush them to his chest and cry because they were safe, they were healthy, things were going to be fine. “I called for a Vertibird when things were safe.”

“The raiders?”

“Dead.”

“And… you?”

He sighed. “I made it out alright. My armor served me well, yet again.”

They lapsed into silence. Sole fidgeted with the can in their hands and took another sip. He tried to keep his face neutral.

“So how much trouble am I in?” they finally asked.

“Luckily for you, Knight-Captain Cade has left your punishment to me.”

“Is that good?”

“No.” He leaned back in his chair. “No, it is not.”

“Listen, Danse, I’m… I’m sorry.” They couldn’t meet his eyes. “You were right. I wasn’t there when you needed me, because of the chems. I’m gonna get clean, okay?”

He didn’t know what it was in their voice that made him do it, but he quietly whispered, “You scared me, sole.”

“I know.”

Once he’d started, he couldn’t stop. “I thought you were going to die. If I’d lost you, to chems no less, I would never have been able to forgive myself.” He glanced up at them. “Surely you realize that I’m fond of you.”

“Of course. And I like you, too, I just-” they scrubbed a hand over their face. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You weren’t.” His words were sharp enough to cut, and they flinched. “You weren’t thinking, and you weren’t listening, either.”

“I’m sorry, Danse. It won’t happen again. What more do you want?”

“I want-” He stopped himself just short of letting the rest spill out.

“What do you want?” They repeated, and this time he couldn’t hold it in.

“I want you to be safe. I want to be able to know that you’re happy and healthy and taking care of yourself. I can’t keep you out of the field, but I’ll be damned if I ever want to see you hurt. I want to protect you, sole, but I can’t if you won’t protect yourself.”

They said nothing for a second, simply stared at him with wide, watery eyes, and then they leaned forward to hug him. He pulled them close, breathing them in, reassuring himself that everything was okay, that they were here, that they were alive. Tears, which had been building since they first went down, finally rolled down his cheeks.

“I’ll protect us,” they whispered. “You and me. Both of us. I promise.”

He held them tight and promised to do the same.

#i love every single anon i get #you are all precious to me #💖 danse anon #fallout #fallout 4 #fo4 #fo4 companions #fallout 4 companions #fallout 4 comapnions react #danse #paladin danse

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allie-and-her-fandoms · 5 years ago

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Our Silly Sick Days - Part One

AN: Hey guys! Now that I am officially done with the first year of college, I'm back to writing, and this time I chose my favorite, underestimated Fairy Tail ship, AlBis (it's also my first FT fic, yay!!). Before we get into the story, huge shout outs to @sweetmemories2606, who may have gotten diabetes from this fic (sorry not sorry Lu; you asked for this) and @ship-ambrosia (LY, Bree). Warning: massive amounts of F&F (fun and fluff). Enjoy (or endure)!

"Al, you know that you gotta go to the doctor. It’s for your own good.” Bisca Mulan repeated, concerned for the health of none other than her best friend, partner and crush, Alzack Connell.

“I know, Bisca. I really do. But… You know how that old lady reacts when one of us goes to her for help. I don’t want to go,” he wailed. “Besides, I think I feel a bit better now – ACHOO!”

“Al, you need to go to Porlyusica, to make sure that your sickness is not life-threatening! Who am I gonna go on jobs with, if something happens?” the emerald-haired Mage scolded her partner, the same way a mother scolds her misbehaving child.

“Alright, fine! I’m going. But there is no way I’m confronting that woman by myself; she’s scarier than Erza!” Alzack stated, a shiver running down his spine, not only because of the illness he contacted after their latest job, but also because of the memory illustrating the last time he encountered the ill-tempered woman.

“Then I’m going with you! You got sick on my watch, so there’s no way I’ll let you go alone. We’d better hurry though; your fever is becoming worse.” Bisca replied, placing her palms on his cheeks. They were burning!

“Uhhh, Bisca… Didn’t we have to go somewhere?” the Gun Mage asked, realizing that his partner kept her hands on his cheeks for quite a while, intensifying the redness.

“Oh, well, um… Yeah. Let’s go to Porlyusica! The sooner you get there, the better! Yeah…” the Requip Mage babbled, embarrassed that she did not remove her hands off his cheeks sooner. However, despite the pallor of his face and the redness in his cheeks, Alzack was still pretty much the same man she fell in love with. 'He looks like a teddy bear.' Bisca told herself. Shortly after, she felt blood rushing into her own cheeks. 'What are you thinking, you dumb woman?! You need to get your partner to a doctor, ASAP!' her subconcious yelled at her, slamming her cheeks softly.

“Oi, Bisca! Are you alright? Did you get it too? Your cheeks are all red!” Al stated, worried about his blushy partner.

“Oh, no. No no no, Al! Everything is okay. I’m fine. Well… let’s go to Porlyusica’s place, shall we?” the bold cowgirl quickly replied, trying to erase her blush from her face. 'You idiot,' she thought.

“You two have no reasons to be worried. It seems like this man right here has just gotten the flu. Now, I’m gonna prescribe some medicines for you, so you can get out of my hut already! Pesky humans!” the pink-haired Healer muttered the last part, while preparing some tiny bottles and writing something on a sheet of paper, as she mouthed slowly how reckless one can be; she really hated to see humans in her hut!

Bisca sighed in relief. Her partner was going to be alright. “I don’t think we can thank you enough –“

“You can thank me by not putting yourselves in situations like this and by GETTING OUT OF HERE! Didn’t I tell you that I disliked the human scent?! Now get these medicines,” Porlyusica snarled as she threw some pills and herbs in Alzack’s lap – who was too scared to utter a single word – “take them at the times written on this paper,” she let the paper fly into his hands. “AND MOVE YOUR BUTTS OUT OF MY PLACE ALREADY! First, that idiot of a Master and his bunch of delinquents disappear, now this?! Give me a break already, you blasted humans!” the healer snapped, as the two young Mages ran out of her house, and slammed the door after their departure.

“Well,” Alzack finally commented, “that went better than I expected, actually. I expected her to get that broom of hers and whoop our butts out with it.”

“That’s because we didn’t wait for her to get it out, like the last time.” Bisca replied, trying to catch her breath after the mini-marathon she and her partner had to perform. 'Well, it was all worth it; it was for him, after all.' the jade-haired mage smiled fondly to herself. He was so worth it, after all the adventures they went through.

“Are you sure that you are feeling well? Did you get enough rest? Did you take your medicine as Porlyusica wrote you to? Are you in need of anything else?” Bisca asked worriedly, while keeping an avid eye on the stove and on the steaming pot.

It had been six days since she and her partner found out he got the flu - and from that moment on, the Requip Mage has decided to pay him at least two visits per day, just to make sure he took his medicine, got enough rest, had enough food (at least for the day), and that he didn’t feel lonely. In all honesty, she had felt the pang of solitude just as hard as her partner, or even worse. How could she not, without him by her side?!

“Yes, yes, yes, and not anymore. Trust me, Bisca, I’m fine. You should stop worrying so much about me.” Alzack replied - still a bit feverish, but with a genuine smile on his face -, as he stood on one of the dining chairs.

“Okay, good to know that. Wait… ‘not anymore’?”

Alzack felt the blood rush into his cheeks. His words left his mouth without consulting his brain. Again!

“Um… What I meant… You see… Sometimes, I do wish I were with the others in the guild hall,” he confessed, as he covered his fork with his left hand and started staring at them, so he wouldn’t have to face his partner’s concerned gaze. She had already done so much for him! “Because there are times when I feel a bit… isolated from the rest of the world, since no one ever comes here. And… Yeah.” Alzack stuttered, while his eyes were focusing on the fork he was now holding between his left index finger and his left middle one. “By the way, have you… gone on any… quick jobs lately?” he asked his partner.

“Oh. I get it.” 'So, he was indeed feeling the same emptiness she did for the last six days', Bisca nodded softly. “Also, no. I didn’t even check the Request Board. It wouldn’t feel right to go own my own, without my partner.” she answered, the last three words barely whispered, though loud enough for Alzack to hear – causing more blood to rush into his ENTIRE FACE now.

“Oh Mavis, are you okay?! Are you having a fever again?” the jade-haired Mage shrieked, ignoring the pot on the stove and rushing to check on her ebony-haired best friend.

Alzack was startled by her reaction, but a small part of his heart was leaping out of joy when she started wandering her pale smooth fingers on his flushed warm face.

“Uhhh… No; I’m fine, Bisca. I do feel much better, I promise.” He stammered, as he gave his partner a small smile. ‘Thank Mavis she thought it was a fever’, he told himself. “By the way, what’s for dinner? It smells delicious.”

“Nothing much. Just some pot-au-feu. I asked Mira for her special recipe before she went to Tenrou Island. I really hope I got it right!” she chirped.

After five more minutes of small talk and glances thrown at each other (without the other’s knowledge, of course), the food was finally done. After the plate of pot-au-feu was placed before him, Alzack could sense its heavenly scent much better, and the dish looked mouth-watering, as the carrots looked eager to melt into his mouth and as the beef was slowly, but surely,tempting him to taste it.

“Alrightie then. I guess it’s time I left now. See you tomorrow, Al!” Bisca looked at the clock, getting ready to leave and waving her partner’s way. She could’ve stayed and spent more time with him, but… No, he needed his rest! Besides, he’ll be good as new soon enough, she’ll make sure of that! So, no matter how much it pained her to leave Al all by himself (until next morning), he was her number one priority. And he needed peace! But –

“Can you please stay?” Alzack asked, interrupting Bisca’s train of thoughts, as both his and his fellow Western comrade’s eyes widened after the rather bold request was made. “I believe it would be nice to have someone to dine with. Y-You’re not forced to stay, if you don’t want to! You might also get the flu! Y-Yeah!” Alzack nodded quickly, his voice trembling. ‘What are you doing, you moron?!’, he cursed himself.

“Well, if you asked so nicely, and if you are truly okay with it, I don’t mind staying here for a bit longer. I don’t have anything left to do anyway.” Bisca approved, as a scarlet blush bloomed into her cheeks; a shade that would rival even Erza’s hair. Her heart started pounding like crazy, while her lips were curving into a soft smile.

When she finally sat down to eat next to her crush, they both pressed their palms against each other, thanked for the food that was waiting for them and before they started savoring the appetizing meal in front of them, they tried to grab their utensils, gently brushing each other’s forearms in the process, making both Mages to retract them at the speed of light, the blush spreading even more on their faces.

“I know I’ve already said it before, but this is one of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life!” Alzack preached, after a few minutes of awkward silence, sometimes interrupted by the sound of metal utensils hitting the porcelain plates. “Compliments to the chef!” he smiled Bisca’s way, neither of them being capable to blush any more.

“Thank you. I’m really happy that you like it, Al,” she replied brightly.

“Thank you, Bisca. For everything. I just…” Alzack stopped, before humiliating himself. No, this was Bisca he was talking about. His best friend, his partner, his… soulmate. He could tell her everything, and she would patiently listen to him, give him a piece of advice, or even hug him. She always knew how to make him feel like the best man on Earthland. “I just hope I wasn’t that much of a burden to you.”

Bisca looked at her precious nakama in disbelief, thinking she might’ve misheard the words that had just left his mouth. He was her precious comrade, and the one person who always truly listened to her, and was there for her when she needed him. And for that, she was thanking those who founded Fairy Tail for giving her a family, and most importantly, for giving her the best man she could’ve asked for.

“Al, you are not a burden. We’re nakama, remember? And not only that, we’re best friends. Family. Al, now look at me.” Bisca asked Alzack, and as he complied, she wrapped him in her arms. “You are amazing, strong, compassionate and the best partner I could ask for. So please, promise me you won’t think something like this ever again.” She pleaded, her dark purple eyes gazing into his onyx ones.

A sigh left Alzack’s lips, as he found himself nodding. “Okay. I promise I won’t think about it as much.” Now it was Bisca’s turn to nod. This was still better than nothing.

“That’s good enough. For now,” she told her black-haired comrade. “Now, let me go wash these dishes and I’ll go home.”

“Okay. But you’ll let me help. Please…”

“Al…” she sighed. “Okay; but just drying the dishes. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Washing dishes has never involved more fun – or more water – before for Bisca. As she started washing the utensils, Alzack accidentally sent “a few droplets” of water her way while trying to dry the dishes, which resulted in her spraying him with a bigger amount of water, the little water fight went on like this for minutes, the forks and knives long forgotten in the sink.

“Just remember to take your medicine tonight and tomorrow morning. And if you need anything else, just let me now. Okay?” Bisca asked, while getting ready to leave.

“I will, no worries. Thanks again for everything, Bisca. And see you tomorrow.” Alzack replied, waving to the leaving Requip Mage. He was indeed saddened by her leaving, but he knew he’d see her again the next morning. And maybe, in the future, he’ll see her angelic face every day, every moment. Maybe in the distant future…

AN: Hope you enjoyed this story. Any kind of feedback is more than welcome!😊😊 👆👆👆

#albis #alzack connell #bisca connell #bisca mulan #fairy tail #porlyusica #otp: sharpshooters #my writing

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teacupfulofstarshine · 6 years ago

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PLEASE CONSIDER: sanders sides cinderella!au

ft: romantic analogical, romantic royality, lots of brotherly platonic logince and brotherly platonic moxiety

@malfunctioning-human since it’s sanders sides content!! <3

ok, kiddos, i’ve been thinking about this for weeks, here we go

TW: deceit being deceptive and slightly manipulative; he hits patton once and locks him up, but that’s about it

thomas is the eldest of the kingdom’s three princes, incredibly charismatic and beloved by the people, and the one who’s next in line for the throne

logan is the middle child, and he spends his entire life studying everything he possibly can about the kingdom so that he will be able to help thomas run it efficiently

roman is the youngest prince, the captain of the royal knights, and a renowned adventurer across all the neighboring kingdoms

dorian (aka deceit) is the older stepchild and the technical lord of the sanders manor, and an asshole to virgil and patton

virgil is the younger stepchild, who starts out as kind of an asshole but gradually becomes more likeable (earning dorian’s disgust, but he doesn’t care anymore) and who has not-so-secret magical abilities

patton is the biological child of the (deceased) lord of the sanders manor, and the ever-cheerful servant of dorian

actual story under the cut!!! : )

fair warning: it is bulleted and it is long it is so fucking long i hope you like it

patton sanders is the only biological child of lord and lady sanders, but lady sanders dies of an incurable illness (probably tb, it’s always tb that gets people in olden fairy tales) and lord sanders is heartbroken

little seven-year-old patton is heartbroken, too, but he does his best to keep a smile on his face for his papa

then his papa remarries, and the new lady sanders is nice enough but she treats patton with something approaching contempt

she has two sons, dorian (who’s three years older than patton) and virgil (who’s about patton’s age, maybe a couple months younger)

dorian is nice to patton in public, but it’s the fakest shit you’ve ever seen

in private, he reveals his true nature as a manipulative asshole who gets patton to do whatever he wants to earn half-hearted, shallow, meaningless praise

virgil is kind of a dick to patton at first, because dorian bullies him into it (dorian tells virgil that if he doesn’t do what he says, dorian will tell everyone about virgil’s magic, which he can’t control that well, and virgil is terrified of that prospect)

dorian slowly coaxes patton into doing more and more of the household chores as more and more of the staff have to be let go, and virgil doesn’t really agree with this but he’s too afraid of dorian telling everyone to speak up

he tries to help out secretly where he can, with little spells, and it’s not nearly enough to make a difference but he still tries

a few days before patton’s fourteenth birthday, his father and step-mother are killed in a carriage accident

patton puts on a happy face in public, tries not to show his pain to virgil and dorian, but he spends every night for a week sobbing silently into his pillow

in the will, dorian is named the heir of the sanders estate only - and this is the key part here - only until patton comes of age

once he does, the estate is his, but dorian is so desperate for control that he lies to patton and virgil, and tells them that he’s the lord of the manor, full stop

patton becomes a full-scale servant, the only one on the entire estate bc dorian fired the rest of them to “save” (read: hoard) money

virgil tries to do more with his magic to try and help patton, and patton walks in on him magically washing the dishes and virgil is so scared he breaks one

patton stands there for like fifteen seconds and then, starry-eyed, spends ten minutes telling virgil how fucking cool he is, honestly, that was so amazing!

and that’s what tips virgil to stand up to dorian, because the only person left for dorian to tell is patton, and patton already knows and is fine with it

dorian starts to treat him exactly as terribly as he treats patton, and they both end up his servants, but they don’t care as much because they have each other for solidarity now and it’s a little less terrible with someone else helping you out

patton even shows virgil where the secret cache of magic books are in the estate library and helps him start to hone his abilities

this continues until virgil and patton are twenty and dorian is twenty-three, and then the actual plot commences

BACK TO THE CASTLE

the three dashing princes are running into a bit of a dilemma

thomas (twenty-four) is the unofficial heir to the throne, everyone knows that, but he hasn’t been officially named the crown prince yet

the reason for this is that, legally, the crown prince (or princess) cannot be named until their siblings are married off (if they have siblings)

(it’s some obscure law created to deter siblings trying to lead a coup against the rightful leader, bear with me here)

so logan and roman (twenty-two and twenty, respectively) aren’t married yet (neither is thomas) and thomas is perfectly willing to wait for them to find someone they truly love to marry

but the king is getting old, and weak, and it becomes apparent that they need thomas named crown prince asap bc otherwise, the kingdom will be thrown into chaos when the king dies

thomas doesn’t want to force his younger brothers to marry, but logan and roman understand the gravity of the situation

logan is fairly disinterested in romance/marriage in general, and roman has always dreamed of being a dashing hero sweeping someone off their feet, but ultimately they want what’s best for the kingdom

thomas decides that they’re going to have three days of festivities in the castle, a ball of EPIC PROPORTIONS

officially, it’s to celebrate roman’s twentieth birthday, but in reality it’s to try and find suitable partners for logan and roman

the invitation is clear: every available bachelor and maiden in the kingdom is to attend

the invitation shows up at the sanders estate, and patton is ecstatic

he shows the invitation to dorian, who smirks, because this is perfect for his power-hungry ambitions

patton is so excited to be able to go, and dorian just laughs and tells him that there’s no way a servant boy can possibly go to the royal castle

virgil steps in and tells dorian that patton is the biological heir to the sanders estate, so he has more right than either of them to attend, and dorian casually reminds him who the “real” lord of the manor is

still, dorian knows that if he shuts this down cold, they might finally snap and rebel against him, so he tells patton that of course he and virgil can go, provided that they complete all their work and find something passable to wear

and patton is so happy, he doesn’t even realize that dorian has nearly doubled their chore lists in order to make sure they don’t get anything done

patton finds some old suits of his father’s, and when he goes into town to do the shopping he sneaks into the tailor’s shop and begs him to help alter the suits so that he and virgil can go

he doesn’t have any money, but he offers to do work to make up for it, and patton used to frequent the town when his parents were still alive and everyone in town still kind of has a soft spot for him, so the tailor says that if patton helps out with some gardening he’ll alter the suits

patton works himself to the bone trying to get his chores done and help out around the tailor’s

virgil, meanwhile, is growing suspicious of dorian and his motives (and he doesn’t believe for a hot second that dorian will actually let them go) so he spends a lot of time researching arcane magics that he thinks can help him (and also poking around dorian’s affairs, covertly, of course)

he also takes on the lion’s share of patton’s chores so that he can do work for the tailor

finally, finally, the first day of the ball arrives, and patton is exhausted but so, so happy because the suits are ready and they look so handsome!

even virgil has to admit that he likes the way the suit looks on him, and he’s anxious about going but also super excited

but on their way downstairs, they run into dorian, who circles around patton telling him how handsome he looks even as he tears the suit to shreds and patton runs off sobbing

he doesn’t even pretend with virgil, just tears the suit apart while he rips virgil’s new self-confidence apart, laughing as he slinks out the door to romance the princes

virgil finds patton sobbing in the garden, running his fingers over the torn suit, and tells him to get up, because they’re still going to that ball

patton sniffles, asks how they’re going to go with no outfits, and virgil just smirks and snaps his fingers

“i’m magic, patton. i got this”

virgil shows patton this new illusion spell he’s been working on, and suddenly they’re both dressed in impeccable suits and - what’s more - there’s a glamour on their face so that dorian won’t recognize them if he sees them

patton’s is light blue and virgil’s is dark purple, and patton hugs virgil and twirls him around because he’s happy, sure, but he’s also so proud of his little brother!!!

virgil warns him that this is a complex spell to hold, and that he only has enough strength to hold it until midnight, so they have to leave before then

patton promises that he only wants to have some fun, and he’ll be ready to leave well before midnight, and virgil just smiles and drags him out the door

FASTFORWARD TO THE PARTY

roman is having the time of his life, dancing around and flirting with all these different men and women, but he hasn’t found anyone he thinks he might love, and then

then

t h e n

then he sees this absolutely gorgeous boy in a blue suit who looks just - absolutely starstruck by everything, and roman politely excuses himself to go and talk to him

“well hello there” and he makes this deep bow “i am prince roman, and you are?”

“having the time of my life” the boy responds earnestly, and that isn’t the answer roman was looking for but he finds he doesn’t much care

“well, would you care to dance with me?”

patton just kind of gapes at roman, because the prince of the kingdom is asking him to dance with him and he doesn’t know what to say

“i - i haven’t danced since i was very little,” patton tells him. “like, seven”

“it’s alright if you have two left feet,” roman says, “i’m talented enough for both of us

“i’m pretty sure i’ve got one of each foot, actually” and patton is so delightfully confused that roman just laughs and pulls him into middle of the dance floor

virgil is leaning against the wall, thoroughly disinterested, when someone else leans next to him, but his eyes are focused on patton and roman whirling around the dance floor and he doesn’t look at who he’s talking to

“you got bored of the party too, huh?”

“quite. i find these things illogical and senseless”

“people are so confusing, honestly, navigating one conversation is like a chess game”

“you like chess?”

“haven’t played in years, but yeah, i was pretty good. why, you challenging me?”

“if you think you’re up for it, there happens to be an excellent chess set in the royal library”

virgil scoffs. “just cause they let us into the royal ballroom doesn’t mean we can go wandering through the palace”

the other person snorts, amused. “well, i cannot imagine that they’ll keep a prince out of his own palace, can you”

and virgil jumps away from the wall and stares because the person he’s been exchanging sarcastic banter with is none other than prince logan himself

virgil splutters and bows - “your highness!” - and logan just raises an eyebrow and smiles

“do you still wish to take me on in chess?”

virgil looks at patton, dancing the night away with roman, and looks back to logan and smirks

“bring it, your highness”

they spend hours on one game, and just as virgil is about to make the final move, he sees that it’s eleven fifty-two, and he stands bolt upright

“i have to go, your highness, i - thank you for an excellent game”

logan catches his wrist - “please, wait, i know nothing about you, but that was the best game of chess i’ve had in years. promise - promise me you’ll come back tomorrow night?”

and virgil hadn’t been planning on it, but the prince is so kind and he had so much fun, and he knows that patton will want to come back

so even though he knows the risks, he smiles, kisses the prince’s hand, and says “of course i will”

he sprints through the dance floor to find patton waiting at the door. they burst out into the cold night air and they start running, and they make it halfway home before the glamour drops and they’re leaning against a tree, wearing torn-up old suits again, laughing and breathless

“i know i said i only wanted one night, but i met the most amazing boy, virge, his name is roman and -” patton cuts himself off and whispers

“oh my stars i spent the evening dancing with the prince”

“if it’s any consolation, pat, i spent the night playing chess with his brother. he’s good, too, but i think i can beat him”

patton turns to virgil with stars in his eyes and begs him to cast the spell again tomorrow night, and virgil is more drained than he thought he was but he still agrees because patton is so clearly head over heels for roman

it has absolutely nothing to do with the sparkle in logan’s eyes and the flush in his cheeks and the confidence in his smirk, absolutely nothing at all

they sneak into the house before dorian gets back and pretend they’ve been there all night, with patton begging him for details about the party

“i barely got a chance to talk to the princes, the youngest one spent the entire evening dancing with some pathetic boy in a blue suit and the middle one disappeared half an hour in”

“it’s a good thing you guys didn’t go, it was a total waste”

virgil and patton share a secret smile behind dorian’s back

they go back on the second night, and virgil makes the illusion even more elaborate than the first night

just like the first night, patton spends the entire night dancing and talking with roman and virgil spends the entire night playing chess with logan

just like the first night, virgil jumps up before he’s about to make the final move and runs out, and just like the first night, logan stops him

“tomorrow night is the final night of the ball. my absence has not gone unnoticed, and they will expect me to dance with someone at the final dance. will you be my dance partner?”

virgil blushes, but says that he’ll definitely come back

he meets up with patton outside again, only to discover that he has, in fact, been asked to the closing dance by roman

virgil promises patton that they can go, but he warns that the glamour is super taxing and they’ll have to be super careful if they don’t want dorian to get suspicious

so it’s the third night of the ball, and virigl has whipped up his most elaborate outfits to date, trimmed with silver and everything - the works

patton and roman don’t dance right away this time, instead choosing to go for a walk through the royal gardens

roman tells patton that he’s the most beautiful boy he’s ever seen, and patton blushes

“clearly you’ve never looked in a mirror, then, prince roman”

roman turns scarlet and reaches under his jacket, pulling out a necklace with a golden medallion on it

the medallion has the royal crest on the front and another crest etched on the back, the personal crest of prince roman

roman hands it to patton, saying he wants him to have it as a memento

patton balks, because he can’t just take something from the youngest prince like that, he can’t repay it, and roman smiles and says “there is one way you could repay me”

he cups patton’s cheek, leans in, and asks, “may i?”

patton presses his lips against roman’s and whispers, “you may”

virgil, on the other hand, jumps straight into his chess game with logan, because come hell or high water they are finishing tonight’s game

and they do finish, just in time - virgil checkmates logan at the last minute

logan laughs, and he looks so pretty that virgil leans in on impulse and just kisses him

logan is too stunned to respond and he pulls back almost immediately, panicking, because oh my god he just kissed the prince without permission -

but logan just smiles and pulls him into another one, and another, and another

just before they go downstairs for the final dance, he tucks the black queen into virgil’s pocket

“a keepsake of this evening. i hope you will accept it”

virgil kisses logan again, one last time, just to remember the feeling of his mouth and of being loved for when he and patton are back on the sanders estate

“of course i will”

patton and virgil both dance with their respective princes for the final dance, and then the clock strikes midnight and they both freeze

virgil does his best to maintain the glamour, but the magic keeping their anonymity dissipates, and patton makes direct eye contact with dorian and knows instantly that dorian knows

patton and virgil both blurt hurried apologies and run from the palace, but it’s too late, because dorian knows

sure enough, when they get back he slaps patton full in the face, and when virgil tries to shield him, he throws virgil against the wall

he sees the medallion that roman gave to patton and tries to take it, but patton fights back - for the first time in his life, he fights back against dorian

dorian ends up locking patton in his room, but when he goes to deal with virgil he finds him conspicuously absent

(virgil, meanwhile, is breaking into dorian’s office looking for a very specific document, because he knows that if the princes come looking, he needs something to back himself up)

back at the castle, roman and logan tell thomas about the handsome strangers they found at the ball

thomas just kind of shakes his head

“you two mean to tell me you both think you’ve found the love of your life and, not only do you know nothing about them, you have no way of finding them?”

roman and logan just kinda look at each other and facepalm

“do you remember anything about them that we can use?”

roman remembers the the medallion at the exact minute that logan remembers the chess piece, and they both gasp

thomas rolls his eyes “door-to-door search it is”

when they come to the sanders estate, dorian presents roman with a facsimile medallion even as patton slams his fists against the door so hard that they start to bleed

roman doesn’t remember his dance partner having such cold eyes or such a lifeless smile, but dorian and patton look very similar and dorian has the medallion and he doesn’t know what else to do

until he flips it over and realizes that his personal crest isn’t there

all at once he has his sword out, point at dorian’s throat

“this isn’t mine. mine has my crest on the back, and this does not.”

even as he speaks, the paint begins to flake off the wooden coin dorian used to fake it

“roman, shh, listen - do you hear something?”

roman listens, and he can hear the faintest banging noise, along with some muffled shouting

“who else is here?”

“no one, your highness, i live by myself,” dorian purrs, but roman is having none of it

logan goes upstairs to check, finds a door barred with a plank of wood with someone slamming against it frantically

he picks the lock easily and pulls the wood off, the door slams open, and a young man falls into his arms, and his worn-out shirt is the same color as the suit roman’s dance partner was wearing

logan helps him to his feet and he bows - “your highness!”

logan notices the gold medallion hanging from his neck, and he knows that this is the boy roman’s been searching for

“i do believe my brother is looking for you”

patton snaps up, mouth agape

“he . . . he is?”

“we came all this way - he’s downstairs, if you’d like to see him”

patton flies down the stairs, and the second roman sees him, the sword lowers, because patton has the medallion on - his medallion, he knows, because it’s reversed and he can see his crest on patton’s chest

roman crosses the room in five quick steps and sweeps patton into his arms

“hello there, my love. what do you say we get out of here?”

dorian interrupts, desperate to hold on to his power

“he’s nothing but a servant boy! and someone of royal blood cannot marry someone who isn’t at least a nobleman”

“good thing he’s a nobleman, then” a new voice says, and everyone looks over to see virgil coming down the stairs with a piece of paper in his hands

dorian’s face drains of all color, because virgil is holding the original will

“the sanders estate was only supposed to be yours until the biological heir came of age. patton turned eighteen two years ago - for two years you’ve been holding his title when you’re not of noble blood and you’ve treated the rightful heir like he’s nothing and that’s a crime if ever i’ve heard one!”

logan makes a motion to the guards that accompanied them, and they seize dorian and lead him away

virgil snaps his fingers and bright blue light wraps around patton, transforming his worn-out old clothes into an elaborate blue suit

it’s no illusion, this time - patton’s clothes actually morph around him

“patton” roman whispers, pressing his forehead against patton’s

“that’s my name”

“it’s a beautiful name, befitting of a beautiful person such as yourself, lord sanders”

roman leans in and kisses him, and patton has never been so happy in all his life

logan smiles, watching his brother be happy with the boy that he loves, and then he turns to virgil to see the black queen sitting in virgil’s palm

“you’re - “

“i have magic,” virgil says. “i can’t always control it, but i’m trying. and i’m not of noble birth, i’m not worthy of you, your highness, but -”

logan cuts him off with a kiss midway through

“i don’t care about the status of your birth. i care about you”

virgil lets his magic wrap around himself, and suddenly he’s wearing a beautiful purple suit

“my name is virgil, your highness”

dorian is imprisoned for treason against the rightful heir to the sanders estate, fabricating a will, etc. etc.

roman and logan introduce patton and virgil to thomas, and he loves them instantly

thomas appoints virgil the kingdom’s official magician, a position which carries with it the status of a nobleman

(not that it matters, because logan was going to date and marry the hell out of this boy either way)

the two princes are married to patton and virgil three months after the ball, and immediately after the marriage ceremony thomas is named the crown prince of the realm

and they all lived happily ever after (except deceit)

i hope you guys enjoyed it!! if you want to make art or fics or whatever based off of the au, tag me in it / send it to me so that i can see it and appreciate it and share it with everyone!!! if you have questions about this au (or any headcanons you wanna share with me about sanders sides, au-related or not), hit up my ask box!! i hope you guys enjoy!!!

i love you all <3<3<3<3

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my-honourable-barbarian · 6 years ago

Text

I doubt nicknames will be necessary - Snippet

Okay, so remember how six months ago I promised to get back to writing this fic ASAP? And then I didn’t?

I still can’t give you a full chapter - with the amount of academic stuff I currently have to do, that simply isn’t possible yet - but I did steal a little time away to continue writing. This excerpt is not from the next chapter (which still has me completely blocked but which I need to get out of the way plot-wise!), but it does happen not too long after Chapter 15. Basically, I’m just trying to say: Don’t give up on me; I have not given up on this story by a long shot.

Chapter 17 - Excerpt

There were things Nicaise wanted. Throughout his entire life, this was the one thing that had held true. He wanted things, and he deserved them, and he did what he could to obtain them. The last was not the difficult part. Any distaste, he had long since learned to turn into an element of what made him deserving, and any doubts about being deserving, he had long since learned to find distasteful.

What remained difficult was that some things that he wanted were not material.

Currently, he was kicking small pebbles into the calves of that large oaf Laurent insisted on dragging everywhere now, and all Nicaise wanted was to be proficient enough in it to really, really annoy him. He was not. Only six out of thirty-two pebbles landed anywhere near Damen’s uncovered legs, and not once had he turned around to glare at Nicaise. As a matter of fact, he was being ignored completely.

So, “I don’t see the point of walking there,” Nicaise said quite loudly, and was rather happy with the exact tinge of whininess he had pitched his voice to. “Your uncle has a whole fleet of chauffeurs.”

Interestingly enough, this seemed to garner more reaction out of Damen than anything he’d said before. Which admittedly, hadn’t been much since Laurent had come to fetch him and brought company. Nicaise’s main effort had been to show them both he was unhappy with this development by sulking, but Laurent still seemed more chipper than he’d ever seen him, making idle observations to no one in particular, and other than a strange look and a rather stilted greeting, Damen had mostly just looked straight ahead, seemingly focused only on not reaching for Laurent’s hand at any given moment. But now, his steps faltered ever so slightly.

“If by a whole fleet, you mean that horrible man Govart, you and I both know you’re better off walking,” Laurent said simply, and reached for Damen’s hand to pull him along.

He didn’t let go.

Nicaise ground his teeth together and kicked more viciously at stones. None of them hit.

“How much further is it anyway?”, he almost yelled after another two minutes of Laurent’s stupid chit-chat and hand-holding.

To his surprise, it was Damen who turned around. To his dismay, he was smiling, and it only looked a little bit like that forced smile some people got when they didn’t know how to deal with him.

“We’re almost there,” he said. “Have you decided which flavours you want?”

All of them, Nicaise thought.

“None of them,” Nicaise said and crossed his arms. He abandoned the stone-kicking project for the moment and instead replaced it with his best glare. “Milk shakes are for babies.”

Damen shrugged mildly and turned back around. “Well, I like them.”

And as Nicaise could hardly accuse a man almost twice his size of being a baby, he thought instead of ‘accidentally’ spilling Damen’s own stupid milk shake all over him.

“You like one flavour,” Laurent spoke up. From where he was walking, Nicaise could see the smallest curl of amusement in the corner of his mouth. Ugh. “What do I have to do to get you try anything other than vanilla? You know how I feel about adding a bit of variety.”

And just like this, Nicaise had disappeared again from both their field of vision.

“You have… made your stance on this quite clear, yes,” Damen said, and yet another little hitch in his gait would have made a fine addition to the on-going mental collection of black-mail material if there was any point to it anymore.

‘I’m afraid my dear nephew doesn’t much care about you,’ he remembered Laurent’s uncle saying. ‘I don’t know why that is. You are the most darling boy I’ve ever had. Jealousy, perhaps. Laurent does seem rather afflicted with it. But perhaps it is preferable this way. He is so fickle with his affections. I wouldn’t be too sure he is capable of any genuine feeling lasting longer than-… Well. I do hate to speak ill of my own flesh and blood.’

Nicaise was not stupid. He knew what his situation was, and he knew if anyone’s ‘affections’ were fickle, they were those of the man currently supplying him with everything material his ever-hungry heart demanded.

But it wasn’t all he wanted.

‘I’m going to get you out, Nicaise,’ he remembered Laurent saying. ‘Stop it, don’t argue there is nothing to get away from. We both know you’re smarter than this. I am going to get you away from my uncle’s poison, and I am personally going to make sure that after that you will be safe for as long as you wish it. I just need time. Just a little while longer.’

Nicaise scoffed. Laurent only ever looked at Damen anymore.

#captive prince #lamen #nicaise pov #good gods that poor boy i can't believe i wrote this

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kneesheee · 6 years ago

Text

Little Devil

warnings: cursing | vague references to child abuse | age regression

|two|

Jason stared down at the girl bowing before him. She was a foot and some inches shorter than him standing at a solid five feet. Her once milk chocolate colored hair was fanning around her face, but he didn’t concentrate on that. No, he paid attention to the white strip curling through her hair. He had no doubt that if she were to look up then her eyes would be glowing green.

“My apologies for declining to answer your messages,” she stated into the night. “I had not known that it was the Born-Again Prince that was attempting to contact me.”

“Mila,” he groaned exasperated. Jamila Al Ghul. Daughter of Nyssa Raatko and Slade Wilson after Ra Al Ghul decided to play mad scientist with his daughter’s genes. Sister to Conner Hawke/Al Ghul/Queen whichever one he was going by these days. The only friend he had made while in Talia’s care. “I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Did you honestly think that I was going to stop, dear cousin,” she questioned as she stood from her crouch. The two of them stared at each other before folding into a hug. It had been awhile since they had last seen each other. “Are the rumors true? Are you the new Heir to the Demon?”

Jason grimaced, “Yes. And before you ask, so are the rumors about Nyssa attacking Talia.”

Jamila sneered, “I always knew Mother held no honor. Despite my resentment of him, I am thoroughly grateful that Grandfather chose not to reveal my existence to either of my parents.”

Jason sighed and ran a hand across his face, “Despite everything, T is doing well and she’s safe. I need a favor from you though.”

His cousin slouched a little and crossed her arms, “The Big and Bad Red Hood needs a favor from mwah? Oh, whatever shall I be?”

“No need for the snark,” Jason crossed his own arms looking at her. Her own eyes glowed with the power of the pit behind them. He didn’t want to know how she ended up in such a predicament. He knew she could take of herself. He knew she could overcome the effects of the pit. If anything, it just made his skin crawl as recounted his own experience with the magical waters. “What I do need is for someone to be out there getting me intel. I need a link to the League so I can know Shiva’s process on helping T and if she needs any backup. I also need someone with ears on the ground for whatever it is Nyssa might be planning.”

“And pray tell, why you cannot do this yourself?”

“From what I’ve been told, I’m the reason that Nyssa attacked Talia. If I step outside of Gotham, then I’m going to have eyes on me everywhere. I need to keep a low profile.”

Jamila hummed as she looked him over. She ran a hand through her hair. “The wishing well near Ivy’s Garden. Whatever information I managed to get then that’s where I’m going to leave it.”

“Don’t you want to be the Heir instead, Mila?”

“Not a chance in Heaven or Hell,” she scoffed.

Jamila moved towards the edge of the rooftop the two of them were standing on. A slight breeze picked up and blew her hair through the air. She turned to look at him and the fierce expression on her face soften into something gentle, “Jason, do be careful. You may not be my cousin by blood, but you are the cousin of my heart. I will destroy the world thrice over if it meant that you keep some happiness.”

She fell backwards off the edge before he could give promise to her words. But he watched as she appeared a few buildings over and heading away from the streets of Gotham and he wonders if she can hear his silent pleads that she do the same.

When Jason made it back to the manor, he slipped in through the window leading to his old room. A quick glance at his bed and he could see Talia still lying there sleeping peacefully. Even in her sleep, she still looked like a warrior princess.

He sighed deeply. He needs to find a way to help her get back to her rightful age asap. But… but a part of him wanted to delay it as long as it was possible. He wanted to give her the childhood she should have had instead of the one she was forced to live.

He removed his boots and armor from his body before walking into the bathroom to slip into more comfortable clothing. He checked to see if Talia was still asleep before carefully moving two of the floorboards and placing the minimum weapons, he had carried on his person back in their place. With one last check on his charge, he reestablishes the rigged security system on the window that he made. Bruce and the others were so sure that the motion detectors would catch anybody sneaking onto the premises, but Jason learned his way around those from the very first moment he put on the pixie boots. At least with his security, whoever might try to break it would lose their fingers and then their life when Jason arrived to catch them.

Talia sacrificed everything for him. It’s only right that he repays the favor.

Jason made his way out the room with one more glance at Talia before softly closing the door. When he turned around, Cass was standing there. He quirked an eyebrow. “Guard duty,” was all she said.

He nodded his head and the two of them continued down the hallway. Making their way to the kitchen where the rest of the family had gathered before Jason left to make contact with Mila. Three days had already passed with Talia being stuck as a toddler and he was no close to figuring out how to help her. They had no knowledge if it was magic, science or even technology that made her this way.

“Ah, Master Jason, welcome back. Have a seat. I’ll bring out something for you,” Alfred greeted, walking off before Jason could protest. He shook his head with a fond smile and made his way to the dining room where the rest of the family was waiting.

“I’m just saying Bruce, we shouldn’t be distributing so many resources to help that-that woman after all she’s done to this family. It’ll be for the best to keep her as she is. At worst with our help, we can keep her from turning into the Talia we know today and at best, we can just ship her off to another family.”

It had been years since Jason had felt any effects from the pits. Maybe it had ignited after seeing the evidence on his cousin or maybe the anger he was feeling at Barbara’s words were strong enough to relight it. Either way, he could feel it nipping at the back of his mind... Staying there. Stagnant. It was more of a tool for him to use instead of a leash to control him.

“Look Gordon, I get you have your issues with Talia. But you don’t know jackshit about her and if you speak another word about her, then I’d happily show you exactly just how you’re not actually all that great.”

The rest of them startled not having noticed him come in, but he only had eyes for Barbara. He looked up to her. Cherished her even. She was his batgirl. But Talia was his mother and he wont stand for any ill will to her.

“Jason, what Babs was trying to say—” Dick began, but Jason rose a hand in the air. “She can speak for herself, Dick, and she made it perfectly clear how she felt. I’m making it known how I feel, and I won’t stand for any slander against her. You can speak about whatever problem you have with her on your own time, but so long as she’s here… so long as I am here, then you will keep your thoughts to yourself or leave her wellbeing to me and go back to playing with your computers.”

The two held a small staring match as she tried to gauge how serious he was, and he expertly conveyed the threat in his eyes to the next person that spoke on Talia negatively. She nodded her head at him before turning away. Jason took a deep breath and mentally pushed the pit away. He had been doing good and he didn’t need a relapse.

He kept on to his seat and thank Alfred as he placed his food in front of him. He said a quick blessing over his food just like Talia had demanded of him before he slowly began to it.

“Um, Jason, what did your contact say,” he heard Timmy ask from his seat. Jason looked up to see him typing furiously on his computer with one hand and reaching for the coffee cup that Cass was carefully keeping out of his hands.

“She didn’t tell me much and I didn’t press for much. What she did say is that the rumors about who the new Heir is and how fast the information surrounding Nyssa’s attack is spreading.”

Everyone’s brow furrowed. To know that there was someone out there that might be getting ready to start the biggest war in the criminal world was frustrating. They didn’t know who they were looking for or what to expect from them.

“Well, did she at least tell you who the Heir was,” Stephanie questioned. All eyes turned to him and he narrowed his eyes at her. He took great care of what he alluded with his body language before he answered. Heaving a deep sigh and taking on a look of exasperation, he set his fork down and ran a hand through his hair.

“I already knew who the Heir was and believe me when I say they want nothing to do with the title.”

Tim went back to typing on his computer, “Still it would be good know who the Heir is just in case they cause trouble later down the line.”

Jason scowled at the brat, and here he thought Timmy was his favorite. He then sent a silent prayer of forgiveness to Jamila and he swore he could her sharpening her knives and cursing at him. Jason sighed as if he was exhausted with the topic and didn’t want to let this particular amount of leverage go. “Her name’s Jamila. You’d probably find better information on her if you looked up Death Demon. It’s her code name, but she’s even more of a ghost in the underground world than the Winter Soldier from your comics, Timmers. But she is real. I met her a couple of times while training with the League. She put a knife to my throat and told me to stop killing all of her teachers before she got finished punishing them.”

“Am I the only one trying to figure out why Jason seems to be on first name basis with assassins,” Dick exclaimed.

Jason snorted, “I was one myself, Dickhead. I worked directly under Talia before she let my leash go and set me out on the world. Hell, in some parts, I’m still considered one. There are many places that are living in fear afraid of the Red Ronin to come back and rain down vengeance.”

“I don’t think that’s something to be proud of,” Duke muttered from his spot at the table.

Small patter of feet caught everyone’s attention and Jason looked over to the doorway to see Talia peeking in. Her features were twisted in a scowl and Jason was sure that only he and Cass could see the fear lurking in her eyes.

He rose up from his seat immediately catching her attention and then she disappeared. When he sat back down, he pushed his chair further from the table to catch the small body that landed in his lap.

“Hello, تاليا,” he muttered as he scooted back near the table. She laid her head on his chest and whispered, “Hello, Jason” in English. Jason nearly cried with joy. In the past three days alone, she had spoken in French, Spanish, German, Greece, Swahili and Chinese. Sometimes she would switch languages mid-sentence. It was nice to know that she could speak English also though he still felt like a scolded kid whenever she rose a brow at him when he stumbled from her dialect switch.

He handed her the fork in his hands and let her eat the fruit off his plate. Another thing everyone learned was that she was a vegetarian. But she had spoken to him in silence and broken words that Ra had already been training such weakness from her and forcing her to eat meat. She hates it but she won’t go against her father.

“Hi, Talia. I’m Stephanie!”

Right, despite that they had been here for three days coming and going because like hell was, he going to spend the night at the manor… Talia successfully managed to avoid everyone in the house. Everyone except Alfred and Tim that is. She had told him that watching them concentrate on their task was soothing and orderly. It reminded her of home.

She looked up at Stephanie with a blank stare before looking back at Jason. “It’s up to you.”

“Bright.”

Jason nodded his head, “Hey, Steph. Tone it down a little.” He looked backed down at Talia who nodded her head. “Hello, Stephanie.” The girl in questioned almost squeal in delight before the rest of them started to introduce themselves.

When Damian introduced himself, Talia blinked before leaning his direction. She turned back to Jason, “He looks like Mother’s brother. Family?”

Jason pretend not to notice the emotions in Damian’s eyes. He knows that the boy knows little of his Grandmother’s family. “He is my brother.”

“Potential,” she stated with a raised brow. “Worthy of Nobutora name.”

Talia smiled lightly at Damian before she disappeared from his lap and the sound of her feet were heard back in the hall as she headed back to the room. Jason turned to look at Damian who was staring after his mother with a shocked look on his face.

“She had never told me that before.”

Jason crouched down beside him, “It doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

He ruffled the kid’s hair and gave thanks to Alfred for the dinner. He walked out of the room with everyone else wondering what Talia told Damian. “Call me if you get a lead or anything,” he called behind him.

He needed to get back to his apartment and give Talia her bath before they settled in for the night. The Bats could handle patrol for one more night.

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