#i dearly hope you and your family are able to make it somewhere safe
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viralarcadian · 5 months ago
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Hello, my name is Amira, and I am a university lecturer and an app developer from Gaza🍉🍉. Since the beginning of the war, we have been moving from place to place in search of safety, but there is no safe place😥. We appeal for your help through sharing our story or donating to help us escape this danger that threatens our lives. Any assistance you provide, whether financial or by spreading our story, could help save my family and provide us with a better future. Thank you for your support and compassion🙏🙏.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/amiras-story-between-hope-and-resilience-a-call-for-soli
this has been verified! go out and help her and her family out yall!!
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starjxsung · 5 months ago
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(🪲)
hi star, it’s been a hot minute since i’ve sent you a message and i hope you’re doing well. i haven’t been active on tumblr much because of school and life but i saw that you’re taking a break from writing and i hope it’s doing you well! take all the time you need, of course! i’m gonna reread the works already posted because i missed you a lot.
anyway, how are you?? are you eating? drinking enough water every day? sleeping well?
oh also, little life update: *tw mentions of abuse and dv* remember that girlfriend i had that i was so madly in love with before i disappeared? yeah we broke up recently because…well…she hit me. i’m still very shocked but i also feel like in hindsight i should’ve seen this coming. we’d been having so many issues for a while before that where she really got a kick out of humiliating me in front of other people and just overall treating me like some kind of emotional punching bag and she just didn’t respect me as a person. i think i stayed because i refused to believe that i was being abused and because i’m not good with change when i’ve literally merged my entire life with hers. but before i knew she’d come visit to me and my family and we’d started the day fighting because we had to pick my brother up from his school and she didn’t want to and then she literally lifts herself off of her seat while driving and boom. even after all that i stayed with her for another month before she’d left and i was finally able to admit that she’s abusive. and it sucks. i’m so so so sad but at the same time i’ve felt this immense relief. anyway i’m switching to online college and staying home with my parents to recover and piece myself back together. sorry if this is heavy, after the breakup i realized she’d literally alienated me from all my friends so i didn’t know who to tell :/ you can ignore this tho.
anyway, ilysm and please take care of yourself!
HI my angel you’ve been so thoroughly missed !!!! I’ve been doing good 🫶 took a little trip from tumblr as a whole and I’m enjoying it so much more again I love chatting with u all and I missed writing so dearly. This is truly hell site sometimes but heavy emphasis on the sometimes bc most of the time it’s fucking phenomenal
Also oh my god?? First off are you OKAY now and are you somewhere safe??? I am so so so beyond sorry to hear this happened :( I was rooting for you guys so often and I’m sick to my stomach hearing things turned out this way. It’s made especially difficult when things begin to change and everything was so different before… but please know that this is in NO way your fault and you did nothing wrong at all. The way you spoke of her was always so beautiful and unfortunately people can just be fucking shitty at the end of the day. That in no way reflects on you or your ability to hold relationships or anything of that nature. I don’t want you to put yourself in any scenario of wishing you did better or differently. You were a remarkable partner and the rest was not in your hands.
TW here also *mentions of death*: I knew somebody who lost their life at the hands of a domestic abuser. It was very jarring and I still think of her every single day of my life. There was nothing she could’ve done to prevent it, but I’m really sensitive to these things and ensuring that ANYONE is able to get somewhere safe when they’re in these scenarios. Please reach out if you need anything at all, know that you’re not alone in this and that I am right there with you on this journey to healing. You can always call my discord if there’s some sort of emergency and you need to talk, or message me on here or whatever works best. But make sure you’re in a safe place and away from anything that puts you in harm’s way.
I love you so very dearly and I have no doubt you’ll find somebody much better down the line. Right now focus on yourself and do the things that you love, be kind to yourself and know that she isn’t worth any of your time, energy OR of receiving your love. I hope she finds it in herself to be better.
I love you sweet friend. Thinking of you always 💓💝🩷💘💖💖🫂
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mrs-march-ahs · 4 years ago
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how the evans would act when they have a crush on u ^^
How The Evans Act When They Have A Crush On You & How They React When You Tell Them You Like Them Too
Award for the longest title goes tooooo... me!
JAMES SUCKS BUT I MAKE UP FOR IT BY DOING BOTH KYLE’S AND A DETAILED KIT
Two other requests-
Could I please request how the Evans would react to their best friend (reader) admitting they're in love with them? 
Heyo! I’m not sure how this would go but how would the Evan’s react to a nervous/insecure reader confessing to them?
-I hope this is satisfactory, even though I don’t think it’s what you two wanted<3
Enjoy! :)
--
Tate
-Would always just be interested in you
-Wanting to help you, watch you, talk to you, just constantly be around you
-But he’d also be insecure whether he was annoying you, so occasionally he would make himself invisible and just watch you
-Whatever hobbies you had, he’d love to watch you do them, paint, draw, write, play games
-If you played any instrument he would love to lay on your bed and listen to you, no matter how good or bad you were
-He would leave little sweet messages on the chalkboard and leave little post-it notes for you to find
-They would have fun little facts about birds or other trivial stuff but you would find them cute
-The occasional fact about something romantic, like ‘Every time you kiss somebody, your heart beat increases by 10-15 beats per minute’
-He might go a little far and leave a message like ‘Your dress looked pretty’, which you would find creepy since you didn’t know Tate was a ghost
Kit
-He thought of ways to tell you how he felt but because it seemed like your family was gonna live in the murder house for a while, cause you were all settling in well, he didn’t want to risk losing his friendship with you, since you were the only ghost with whom he really got along
-You walked down to the basement and said his name in a sing song voice, “Tateeeee”, “Come out come out wherever you are!”
-He showed up and you asked him if he wanted to go out on a real date
-He was obviously nervous, because you didn’t know yet that he was a ghost, but when he hesitated and you looked upset, he said yes right away
-You ran up and hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush and laugh, and whilst you were at school, he got some things ready and got candles and a table cover so make your kitchen look like a restaurant
-He ordered McDonalds delivery and got your chicken nuggets under a serving platter for effect
- “We are dining on, nuggets of the chicken”
-Although you were a little disappointed and wanted to go out on a real date with him, you found his effort cute
-He definitely played footsie with you under the table the whole date
-Definitely walked you to your room
- “Well… this is me…”
- “Just wanted to make sure you got home safe”
-Kissed you
oh my god I got so carried away
-You would first meet Kit when you first come and move to Massachusetts
-One day you want to venture out and get an taxi to go to town, only a few minutes later to realise you don’t have your wallet
-You awkwardly tell the driver that if takes you back home quickly, you can get money and you will pay him right away
-But since Boston men aren’t usually so sweet, he just kicks you out, leaving you to wander the motorway alone late at night, far away from your home and hoping to quickly find somewhere to go
-Eventually you stumble upon a gas station, and as you walk up, a hand appearing on your shoulder makes you automatically turn around and push whoever touched you to the ground
-The man in blue uniform gets up slowly with his hands up defensively, “Hey hey, didn’t mean to startle ya, miss”
-You apologise, feeling stupid for this kind of encounter, but he doesn’t seem to mind as much as you’d think
- “It’s always nice to see a woman able to protect herself”, he smiles
-He offers to drive you home, and you thank him dearly, explaining to him that you don’t have a car yet, having only just moved here
-He offers to take you to buy one, knowing an awful lot about cars, and to convince you further, tells you that any man working in a car salon will try to sell a single lady a piece of junk for a high price
-You agree, thinking that the offer is sweet, and he takes you to buy yourself a car, to make the date even more fun, Kit tells you to pretend you’re an old married couple
- “Miss Walka over here needs a car, good Sir”
-At some point while looking at cars, Kit holds your hand and you don’t even notice
-He negotiates a good deal with the salesman, and you get a car together
- “Your husband just got you an awfully good deal, Madam, he’s a man who deserves a good meal and a cold beer if I’ve ever seen one”, the salesman laughs, signing the last of the papers before handing Kit the keys to your car. “Oh, he’ll get more than that”, you say to tease Kit, before smiling at him sweetly. Kit blinks at you, before turning back to the salesman and shaking his hand. As the two of you walk away, Kit looks at you in disbelief, the thought of your dirty words clearly plastered in his mind. “Did ya mean what you said back there?”. He says, as he opens the car door for you. “Whatever do you mean?”, you act stupid. “I was just pretending to be your wife, Mr Walka”
-When he has a crush on you, he gives you sooo many compliments
-Little dirty innuendos
-Would definitely call you and talk to you late night on the phone until one of you fell asleep (house phone if they had them)
-He’s the kind of person to tell you that he got a visit from a cute dog earlier at the gas station and it made him think of you
 Kyle
-Every time you go to get gas from Kit, he gives you only a little amount, so you have a reason to keep coming back
-One time when you go get gas from him, you forget your wallet again, and he teases you about it
-He lets you off and pays for your gas
- “I owe you, Mr Walka”
- “How about a date?”
-You smile at how confident he is, and nod excitedly, having been waiting for him to ask you for a while now
-Kit winks at you and waves as you drive off, completely melted inside about finally getting his girl
-Even though he’s always confident, he’s still a little shy and awkward around you when he sees you in class
-If all of his friends are in a class messing around, throwing stuff, being loud, and you walk it, he tells everybody to shut up because there’s a lady present
- “Hey careful, make sure you don’t throw it at her”
-It’s not until he sees you at a huge party, that he’s confident enough to go up to you
-Even though he’s more than happy to flirt, he’s just not confident enough to do that last step and ask you out somewhere
-He’ll bring you a drink and  talk and flirt with you, and you’ll definitely get the hint
-He slowly lifts his arm up and stretches it over you, trying to do the classic yawn move, hoping you won’t notice or mind. You look over at him and narrow your eyes in fake suspicion.
- “Didn’t you come here with a movie star? Surely you get handsome men bringing you drinks all the time?”, he says, motioning to the drink in your hand.
“You calling yourself handsome?”, you tease him. Kyle laughs a breathy awkward laugh and nods. “Well yeah”
-When you do ask him for a date, he insists that he take the initiative to plan what you two do
-Clearly wanting to make a good first impression, he’d take you somewhere interesting
-Aquarium, in which he’ll make up clearly fake facts about the fish just to make you laugh
-Bowling, just so he can tease you about how much you suck
-Mini golf, so, even though you know how to play, he can wrap his arms around you and help you put
-And if he does take you to the movies, you aren’t spending a dime
-He’ll also wrap his arm around you not-so subtly
Franken Kyle
“Whatcha doin there, hm?”. Kyle leans into your ear and whispers.
“Just in case you get scared, you can cuddle up to me”
“Kyle we’re watching the Lego movie”
Jimmy
-You’re a witch at the academy, and with Kyle’s very slow progress to getting better, both Zoe and Madison are getting slightly tired of having to constantly take care of him
-But you don’t mind, finding his Frankenstein state cute
-Whenever he stumbles into the kitchen by himself you always help him make food
-If he’s ever struggling with anything, he usually comes to you, knowing you’re the most patient out of them all
-Then, one night, all the teens in the academy go to a party, while you lay in bed
-But when the rain starts to get really heavy and the first thunder growls, Kyle rushes into your room, before slowly knowing and peaking his head out, clearly scared
-You let him come and lay with you, rubbing his back to calm him down
-Although no real words are spoken, it’s from that moment that you decide to take on all responsibilities relating to Kyle, the good and the bad
-He’s admired you from afar for a very long time, ever since the first time you joined the circus
-You were incredibly flexible, and always showing off to everyone and practicing on stage
-He would always come and watch you practice, cheering you on more than anybody else
-You called Jimmy ‘my cheerleader’
-It made him blush every time
-Amazon Eve always told him to just ask you for dinner, but the only thing that stopped him was the thought that you wouldn’t want to go out and be seen with a freak like him, especially since your body looked so normal that you didn’t have to hide anything
-Eve and Paul reminded Jimmy that it’s him who’s always the most confident in going out into the real world, and he mustn’t be scared
-When they all plan to go to a diner together, as a protest to being shunned from society, you find his leadership charming and happily go with them
-Even though you all get kicked out, you calm Jimmy down and take care of him when his dad beats him up
James
-You wipe the scars on his face and tell him how brave you think he is
- Trying to gain confidence, you take a deep breath before making the move. “Maybe the two of us should go to that diner”. Jimmy looks up at you, as if he expects you to keep talking. When the nerves hit you all at once, you begin rambling. “You know cause if the two of us go and they’re okay with that then maybe we can start going with the others one by one, and then you know we’ll ease our way back into society and stuff”. You laugh a breathy laugh, but Jimmy says nothing. With every silent second passing, your heart begins to break. But luckily for you, Jimmy speaks up. “Wait, are you asking me out? Like… on a date? To the diner?”. “What if I were?”, you quietly reply. He smiles wide and pulls you closer to him, “I’d love that”.
-James is definitely the least subtle
-Constantly giving you compliments, kisses and gifts
-Opening every door for you and listening very carefully to everything you say
-He doesn’t want you to even think about another man, so he overwhelms you with every way he can show you he likes you
-I can imagine him organising a big ball or event at the hotel just so the two of you can dress up and go together
-He is also the most confident out of them all, although he is a softie around you, he has no trouble asking you anything he wants to you
-He’ll kiss your hand a lot and you’ll eventually get the hint
Kai
- “I would be most delighted if we were to make our relationship more official, and vow fully loyalty to one another”
-You agree and he is over the moon
-Once the two of you are in a relationship, the compliments, kisses and gifts don’t stop
-He will give you your space without him, but when the two of you are in the same room together, he treats your precious time together as if it’s sacred
-He will approximately 43 seconds into your relationship begin planning how he’s gonna kill you
-You can tell Kai likes you when he’s harsher on you than he is on other members of the cult
-He’ll be pissed at you for being a distraction for him
-He’ll definitely tell you when he’s impressed with you, when you murdered somebody or helped him plan something
-Even though he definitely would not want it
-If you proved to be smarter than him in any aspect, he’d be furious
-You’d be sat on his sofa while he’s talking to you about having to kill Sally because she’s getting in the way of him winning city council
- “Samuels looked at where she lives, and it has no back doors, no nothing, it’ll be impossible to get in her house without smashing windows and causing attention”
“Why don’t you get Ally to go to her first? If Meadow convinces her to go to Sally to talk about the cult, then the front door will be open”. Kai looks at you with angry eyebrows. “We’ll sit in the car and wait for a few seconds, she’ll let Ally in, won’t lock the door straight after her, and then let them talk for a minute before we just walk right in”
-His ego won’t let him take suggestions from somebody below him, so even though he wants to be proud of you for being smart, he’s mad
-He’ll sit for hooours trying to think of any other solution he physically can think of, to not go with what you suggested
-Around the cult, he’d treat you like everybody else though
- “Y/N’s idea was brilliant, Ally just walked in and they walked straight to sit down, she didn’t lock the door”
-He’d praise you to encourage you to think of ideas, which he would later be mad that you have
━━━━━━♡♤♡━━━━━━
-You’d find out how he felt about you during pinky power
-After being suspicious that he may have feelings for you for a while, you realised this is the only way to truly find out how he feels without him trying to manipulate you
-He’d ask you about something deep, and you’d latch on after he finishes a sentence to ask him your question
- “I have a question for you”
“Go ahead”
“How do you feel about me?”
Kai stays silent and continues to look you in the eye, taken aback by the question but not wanting to show it.
“When you’re with me, how do you feel?”
“I think you have real potential, you’re strong-”
“I’m not asking the Divine Ruler, I’m asking Kai, Kai Anderson”
He takes a deep breath before unintentionally breaking eye contact for a few seconds to think. You wait anxiously for the answer, and with every second passing you know what it will be.
“You’re special”, he starts, looking you in the eye again. “You’re valuable to the group, and to me. And I think you’d be a great… mother”. The last catches you off guard, not expecting Kai to be a family man or to think about this with you.
“You… you want me to… have your children?”
“I think our children would be indestructible, strong, powerful, decisive. They would be the seed of the better future”. Although it was a little forward for somebody you’ve never even kissed, you were beyond flattered, knowing how specific Kai is with traits in people.
“Let’s make a baby”, Kai says.
“Whoa whoa”, you laugh and unlink your pinky with his. “We’re not even dating, Kai”
“Why date if children is the ultimate purpose?”
“Then don’t look at is as dating… look at it… as getting to know the mother of your future children”
-Kai would love this and you’d soon end up dating
-And have like 6 kids
@milly-louise  @amourtentiaa  @kitwalker02  @tatestripedsweater  @therenlover  @maria-akira         @tatesimper  @thxc0untessesgl0ve  @mossybank  @ahsxual  @mxlti-fand0m-imaginess  @mrs-march-ahs-biggest-fan  @kitwalkerangel  @kitisagoldenretrieverboy @darlingkitt  @blackbat2020@elaineygrace @kaiandersonskoolaid  @undeadcortez @whiiiiplaaaaash
As usual, if you wanted to be added or taken away, dm me or comment!! I won’t mind! <3
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silkling · 3 years ago
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Could you please write a crossover of Rescue Bots and TFP? Rather than dying on the Nemesis, a critically injured Dreadwing fleas and crash lands on Griffin Rock. The Rescue Bots find him and nurse him back to health, not realizing he’s a Decepticon because his markings got scratched up in the fight. Dreadwing wakes up while the Rescue Bots are trying to contact Team Prime, but can’t since, unbeknownst to them, they’re all on Cybertron, fighting the Cons for the Omega Keys and Omega Lock.
So, this one turned out to be much, much longer than I thought. So long, in fact, that I had to divide it into three posts. The second post will be linked at the bottom of this one, and the third will be linked at the bottom of the second. Dear god, apparently I had a lot of more thoughts about Rescue Bots than even I was aware of. Oh well. Either way, I hope everyone enjoys! (FYI: most prompt fills will not be this long. This one was just so long cause I have many emotions and ideas about this scenario.)
———————————————————————————————————
Dreadwing felt the betrayal of Lord Megatron as surely as if it were just as physical a wound as the hole blown through his chest. He had heard the weapon powering up, and his war-forged battle instincts had had him diving to the side just as the fusion canon had fired. It has still torn though his chest, but rather than destroy his spark chamber the blast had torn a hole straight through the right side of his chest near his shoulder. He lived yet, but if he could not escape the Nemesis that would not be the case for much longer.
He had served Lord Megatron with loyalty and honor for millennia, ever since he and his brother had joined the Decepticons after Vos had fallen. Dreadwing had sold his very spark to the Unmaker to act on the wishes and orders of his leader, and this is what his loyalty had earned him? Megatron attempting to offline him, and protecting the mech who had desecrated his brother? The same mech who had, countless times before, betrayed Megatron himself? Dreadwing could scarcely understand it. Why would Megatron spare Starscream, who had given the warlord no true loyalty, when Dreadwing himself had been nothing but loyal? Is this what his loyalty bought him, among the Decepticons? Dishonorably killed solely for attempting to avenge his brother by killing a traitorous coward?
If so, he wanted nothing to do with it.
He dragged himself down the halls, finally making it to the flight deck, and looked down to see the ship flying above the ocean. Rather than attempt a proper take off, he simply pitched his body forward off the edge and allowed himself to fall. As he neared the water, he forced a transformation, ignoring the agony of the action, and his engine roared to life. Lucid thought slipped away, then, as baser survival coding took over and guided him away from the warship, away from danger, away from what would have been his death.
Only one thing was certain, now.
In attacking Dreadwing to protect Starscream, Megatron had lost the loyalty of his most devoted frontline warrior.
Dreadwing simply refused to follow a mech who would protect the one who desecrated his brother.
And so, survival protocols overriding every other thought or higher system, the large Seeker allowed his higher processor functions to shut off. His mind quieted to blissful silence. Instinct alone drove him forward, flying towards a destination even he did not know. He could only hope it would be somewhere safe.
——————————
Blades didn’t know what he was expecting when he went on a walk along the beach, but it most certainly wasn’t a large Cybertronian lying in in the sand, looking like he’d crashed landed and resting lifeless on patch of sand soaked with energon. Technically, the copter wasn’t even supposed to be out here, as Sigma-17 had to maintain their cover, but everything at the firehouse had just been several kinds of too much that morning, so he had, for once, flown off on his own and landed on a beach he knew no humans ever really came to, intent to just take a walk and clear his head.
Except, upon coming around a bend, he’d found the aforementioned Cybertronian. For a moment, he’d simply frozen, but then the instinct ingrained by his training kicked in and he sprung into action. See, Blades was a trained and licensed triage medic. He couldn’t perform complex surgeries or anything on the level of a proper medic, but in the Rescue Academy on Cybertron he’d taken the courses for field level medical aid so that, if he’d ever run into someone during a rescue who’d been hurt, he could treat them and keep them alive until they could get to a medical facility. The training g had been fun, especially when he’d studied with-
He shook his head roughly before that thought could complete itself. He didn’t want to think about the time….Before. It hurt, remembering what and who he’d lost during his millennia of stasis. Before he could fall back into grief, training snapped back into place and his processor quieted. He knelt next to the fallen Cybertronian, noting that they were a Seeker frame, and carefully turned the bot over. His next thought was an observation that the bot was a mech, and that the energon soaking into the sand under his frame was spilling from a large hole torn straight through his chest. That meant the first thing he needed to do was seal the leaking lines to keep him from losing more energon. After that, he could call Heatwave. He didn’t have the skills to patch this wound up fully. Once he’d made sure this mech wouldn’t die here and now, he would need to get him to proper care. One of the stasis pods would certainly help, though if they wanted the wound healed fully he’d need to be in the pod for a while. The other alternative was contacting Optimus. Blades knew the Prime had a proper medic on his team, which might be the better option.
As his processor raced, trying to think of a plan, his hands worked on autopilot. He slipped the tools he needed from his subspace, cleaning and removing grime where it was needed to prevent infection, removing bits of sand and stone from the wound, and using a small welder to seal off the free-flowing energon lines. He covered loose, sparking wires and circuits, , rerouting a few of them in places where it was needed. Finally, after many long minutes, he finished and sat back on his heels.
It was then the helicopter realized his comm. was pinging with an alert for an incoming message, and had been for quite some time. In fact, it seemed he’d missed several messages. From Heatwave, Chase, Boulder, Dani, the Chief, Cody…Pit, even Graham had sent him a message. Embarrassment and guilt settled heavy in his chest, and he lifted his hand to his audial to accept the current call. As soon as his comm. clicked to life, Dani’s voice was coming through it.
“Blades! Finally! Where are you? We’ve all been worried sick, you know.” his partner scolded. Blades couldn’t help the small smile that twisted his lips upwards. It was nice knowing she cared. He loved Dani dearly. She was family, after all. “You know you’re not supposed to even be out of the firehouse on your own, you idiot bot!” she continued, her voice holding an undercurrent of worry despite the insult. Blades didn’t take it personally. “What if someone had seen you? You need to-“
And now that was enough. “Dani.” he interrupted her, his voice uncharacteristically serious. “I’m sorry for ignoring you and everyone else, but right now there’s a bigger emergency than me risking our cover. I found an inured bot on that small beach behind the mountain. You know, the one no one likes to go to because the hike is too long? He’s in a really bad way. I have triage training, and I’ve patched him up, but he needs either a stasis pod or a proper medic, as close to immediately as possible.”
There was silence on the other end, before-
“Alright. I’ll tell everyone to come to your location. I’m with Dad and Chase right now. We all split up to look for you, but we’ll meet you there. Don’t move, and keep the bot alive.” Dani instructed. Despite himself, Blades was smiling again. Yes, he really did love Dani. She knew when it was time to get serious. He had a feeling he’d be forgiven for his blunder today, given the circumstances.
“Will do. I’ll see you soon.”
“Just hang tight, partner. And stay out of trouble.”
“You too.” he chirped, hands still working over the bot to patch up his more minor wounds now that the life-threatening one was dealt with. “And Dani?”
“Yeah, Blades?”
“I’m sorry for worrying you.”
There was a beat of silence, and then her voice came though, softer and fonder.
“Don’t worry about it. You did the right thing.”
Then the comm. line cut off, and Blades was left alone to in the silence. He let his processor drift, kneeling in the energon soaked sand as he worked on saving the life of a bot whose name he didn’t even know.
——————————
Chase was worried. He knew Blades was more capable than the others thought he was, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. He hadn’t been surprised when the copter bot had left the firehouse that morning. He’d seen the way he had held his rotors tight to his spinal strut, seen the way he’d fidgeted around the others, seen the way his optics had slipped and gone dull and distant. He knew today was not a good day for Blades, so his disappearance had not been a surprise. He’d been mildly concerned, simply because he did not know if Blades would be able to avoid being seen in his more distracted state, but he hadn’t been too worried. Still, when Heatwave had insisted on going to track down their rogue teammate, he hadn’t protested. He’d even offered to let Dani ride with him and the Chief to make things simpler.
But then Blades had finally picked up Dani’s comm. and that was when he started to worry. A strange bot, found injured on Griffin Rock? It raised many questions. Where had they come from? Who where they? How had they been injured? Chase wasn’t worried that the bot would die. He knew Blades had triage training, so he was confident his teammate would be able to keep his unexpected patient alive. Even so, this new development raised many questions that Chase did not have the answers to, and that was what worried him. There were not many Cybertronians on Earth, he knew. Aside from Sigma-17, there was Team Prime, and….the Decepticons. As far as Chase was aware, and he admittedly did not know as much as he would like, there were no unaligned bots on the planet.
Which meant this newcomer was either one of Prime’s team, a Decepticon, or he had crash landed on the island from space and wasn’t attached to either faction. It would be easy enough to confirm; they simply had to contact Prime and ask if he was missing a teammate, and if not ask if he recognized the bot in question. If this stranger was a neutral party or an Autobot, Chase knew there would be nothing to worry about. But if they were a Decepticon…well, that was the root of the police bot’s concerns. Sigma-17 was a rescue team. They knew rudimentary combat skills, enough to defend themselves or those they were rescuing in an emergency, but they were non-combatants. By the standards of the War, his team would be classified as civilians. If this new Cybertronian was a Decepticon…Chase wasn’t sure they’d be able to protect Griffin Rock, this time. He wasn’t sure they’d even be able to protect themselves.
Before he could slip even further into his own processor, they arrived at the coordinates Blades had sent. His snapped into focus, his doors popping open to allow his passengers out, and then he was transforming and walking over to where he could see Blades. As he approached his friend, he heard Boulder and Heatwave pull up behind him and transform. Blades looked up from his work when his three teammates stopped next to him, and Chase was mildly disconcerted to see the amount of energon soaking the sand and coating the copter’s hands.
“Blades, what happened?” Heatwave demanded, voice rough.
“I don’t know.” he shrugged helplessly. “I came out here for some space and to take a walk, cause I know this beach is practically abandoned, and I just found him like this.”
Indeed, this close, Chase could see that the mystery bot was in fact a mech. That answered one question, but none of the others. How irritating. It was also making him very nervous and queasy to see just how badly injured the very, very large bot was. Boulder too, seemed to feel ill at the sight of such horrible wounds and so much energon. Distantly, Chase noted that the bot might be even bigger than High Tide. He had no idea how they were supposed to get him back to the firehouse.
Heatave made a frustrated noise, clearly displeased with the lack of information though he knew Blades was not to blame. “Well can you tell how he got so injured?”
“A weapon of some sort, though not one I’ve ever seen the damage of before.” Blades said, frowning. His processor was clearly working hard, trying to turn over the facts he knew to figure out the bigger picture. “There’s also signs of older damage. I can’t be 100% sure, but I think this bot is, or maybe was, involved in the War.”
Heatwave paused, seeming more wary with this new information. “…can you tell which side?”
“No. Any faction identifier or badge has been destroyed or scraped off like most of his paint. I can only just figure out what his colors are supposed to be, and even them only barely.”
Chase could tell that Heatwave was annoyed, but the fire truck only grumbled his curses under his breath before sighing. “Alright. What do we need to do?”
Blades startled, looking surprised. “You’re asking me?”
“Of course.” Chase cut in before Heatwave could snap something rude and further stress the already clearly frazzled helicopter. “You are the triage medic here. Protocol dictates that, in the absence of a full medic, any medical decisions would fall to the next available medical expert. In this case, that would be you.”
Blades blinked a few times, before shaking himself and sitting up straighter. “Like I said earlier, he needs a stasis pod. Badly. I don’t have the ability to fix him completely, my training only covered keeping patients alive until they could get to someone who could repair them fully. The only one on planet I know who might be able to help is Optimus’s medic. He can also heal completely in one of our stasis pods, but it would take longer than just asking Optimus for help.”
Heatwave grunted. “Got it. He needs a stasis pod now, and a medic later. We can do that.”
That seemed to be enough to startle Boulder into awareness, and the bulldozer jumped before nodding and turning to Heatwave. “Graham and I can figure out a way to transport him safely. Though we’ll need your help, Blades. You have a better understanding of his condition than us.”
The copter nodded, and Chase let that be his que to retreat to back to where the humans were waiting. Apparently, they didn’t want to get too close in case their presence caused an issue with the unknown bot’s care.
“Well?” Chief asked. “How’s our newest guest?
“Unwell.” Chase said succinctly. “He is severely injured and appears to be involved in the War in some fashion, though it is impossible to tell for which side. We are going to transport him to the firehouse in order to put him into a stasis pod so that he may heal. Graham, I believe Boulder requires your assistance in that respect.” he said, directing the last part to the engineer.
Graham nodded, making no protest as he jogged forward towards his partner, Boulder already turning and crouching to begin discussing plans. Dani followed him quickly, though she split from his path to join Blades, clambering up onto his leg and patting his canopy as she shot him a reassuring smile.
It was here that Kade made his own opinion known. “Hey hey hey, let’s slow down!” he protested. “You just said you don’t know what side this guy’s on, and you want to bring him back home? We can’t do that! Why can’t Blades just fix him here and we can send him on his way?”
Chase tilted his head. “Blades is a licensed triage medic. He does not have the training necessary to fully repair him. Besides, even if he did, I do not believe it would be wise to simply ‘send him on his way’, and you said. If he truly is a Decepticon, then doing so would risk leading the entirety of the Decepticon army right here to Griffin Rock.”
Kade froze, seeming suddenly queasy. “Oh.”
Chief sighed. “Fair point, partner. I agree we can’t just leave him or let him die. It wouldn’t be right, even if he isn’t on our side. But for safety’s sake, would it be possible to keep him unconscious until we can confirm his identity with Optimus?”
Chase nodded. “Indeed, Chief. I believe that is the current plan. As soon as he is safely in a stasis pod, we will attempt to contact Optimus. With luck, we can have this matter sorted by the end of today.”
“Good.” Chief smiled. “Then let’s get to work.”
“Agreed.”
Chase returned to his team, Chief and Kade following at his heel, to find they had come up with a plan to transport the unknown Cybertronian. Working together, the rescue team was able to get the large flight-frame settled into a make-shift trailer the engineer duo had thrown together, and after hitching it to Boulder’s vehicle mode the whole group made their way to the firehouse using the tunnels in order to avoid being seen. Barring Blades, of course, who instead flew straight to base with Dani in order to prepare a stasis pod.
By the time Chase and the others arrived, the pod was set up and open to admit the unknown mech. It took all four of Sigma-17 working together to lift him into it, but then the glass door was sliding shut and frost soon hid the bot from view as the stasis function of the pod took affect. Now, all that was left was for Blades to clean himself up, and for Heatwave to contact Optimus about their guest.
Chase just hoped this development didn’t come back to bite them.
——————————
Dreadwing woke to the hiss of an unfamiliar system disengaging and onlined his optics to see icy mist billowing to the floor as a glass door slid up from in front of him. A stasis pod? That was odd. The Nemesis had no stasis pods and he knew the Autobots did not have the means to maintain or build one either. He was also not aware there were any other Cybertronians on the planet. So where was he, and how had he gotten into a stasis pod? The last thing he remembered was fleeing the Nemesis, although….he did have very vague, hazy memories of a crash. Had he been discovered and saved before he could offline? If so, he would have to thank his unexpected savior. Unless, of course, it was an Autobot and he had only been saved so he could be locked away. If that was the case, a bot was going to die here today and it would not be him.
The stasis pod fully disengaged from him, and he was able to step out and onto the floor. He glanced down at himself, humming idly. It seemed that he had been fully repaired either before or while in the pod. That was good for him. He looked around, frowning at his odd surroundings. The location he was in had medical supplies, but was clearly no full medical bay. Perhaps it was only set up for emergencies, then? His wings twitched when he picked up the sound of pede steps beyond the doorway, and his gaze turned towards the sound. After a moment, he realized whoever it was wasn’t coming towards him, but rather they seemed to be…pacing? Yes, that is what it sounded like. Curiosity piqued, Dreadwing strode towards the door, making sure his own steps were quiet so as not to alert the other to his presence. He stepped though, looking around…and his optics blew wide.
It was a youngling. A small, orange and white helicopter bot was pacing back and forth in tight circles in the center of the room. Dreadwing was willing to bet that this little flyer was even younger than the Autobot scout. As the mechling turned to pace in another circle, the Seeker caught sight of the emblem on his chest. At first, he saw only a badge similar to the Autobot brand and his frame began to stiffen. Then the rest of the badge processed in his mind and his vents froze.
The Rescue Bot insignia.
This tiny little flying mechling was a Rescue Bot. But how? Megatron had seen to the destruction of the Rescue Bot headquarters in the early days of the war, and had sent his soldiers to systematically hunt down and offline any who had survived the initial attack or had not been present during it. Dreadwing and his brother had joined the Decepticons after massacre, but it was one the only acts the Decepticons had committed that they had wholly disapproved off. The Rescue Bots had been unaffiliated with any faction. They took an oath of neutrality, a vow to save any and every life they could regardless who who or what that life was. Megatron had wanted them gone because he’d wanted to make a statement, but also because he wanted to deny the Autobots any potential allies or any aid that the Rescue Bots would have given them.
It had been a great loss, and had been one of the reasons Dreadwing had initially wished to avoid choosing one side or the other. The Decepticons, in his mind, took things too far. The Autobots, while more restrained, had initially risen from the regime in which he and his brother had suffered under. But then….Vos had fallen, and word had spread that his city’s destruction had been the doing of the Autobots. He and Skyquake had been forced to pick a side, then. He’d gotten over his hesitance at the Decepticon methods and given Lord Megatron his undying loyalty. And now…he was here, betrayed by the one who he as sworn himself to, watching a youngling Rescue Bot pace in nervous circles. It was something that should have been impossible.
Suddenly, the mechling froze, and wide amber optics turned to him. Idly, Dreadwing realized he must have made some noise, and then the little copter was yelping and scrabbling back. He paused, then hurried forward, his hands fluttering as if unsure what to do. Before the little one got too close, Dreadwing locked his own sharp, red optics onto him, and the bot froze in place with a startled yip.
For a long moment, there was only silent staring.
——————————
Blades was pacing. There wasn’t much else he could do. The day they had brought back the large Seeker, Heatwave had contacted Optimus. Only, the Prime had very quickly shut him down, explaining they were busy with an issue of “upmost importance” and that he would return their contact when he was able to. That had been three weeks ago, and he hadn’t called back. The Seeker was still in stasis, and Heatwave was once against attempting to make contact, for the 15th day in a row. Chase and the Chief were on patrol, and Boulder and the other humans were at Blossom Vale, having a picnic. Blades had opted to remain behind, wanting to keep an eye on the Seeker.
In the time since finding the large mech, Blades had done some research. He’d had to dig around the Sigma’s files, and dig through the files of the computer that connected them to Optimus, as well as dig through the various data-pads that had been left to them by High Tide and Optimus. It wasn’t much, but it was enough that he’d been able to piece together information about the War that the Prime hadn’t been telling them. Now, Blades understood why the War had started. The civil unrest had been a thing even before Sigma-17 had been formed, when he was still in the early days of training, it had been mild, then, but it had been there. So he wasn’t surprised that it had grown worse, especially if the root causes of the unrest hadn’t ever been addressed.
He also knew, from the information he’d dug up in his search, that after the fall of Vos, most Seekers had joined the Decepticons. Which meant that his patient was, in all likelihood, a Decepticon himself. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. But he hadn’t told the others his suspicions. Mostly because…something about the situation was odd. Optimus didn’t strike him as the type of mech who would inflict or approve of that type of wound being inflicted on a mech. So unless he had someone on his team who was excessively violent and he couldn’t control, Blades didn’t see that wound coming from the Autobots. Which meant it had come from the Decepticons. Of course, that only raised more questions. Namely, why would they do that to one of their own, if the mech really was a ‘Con? He wanted to get answers before he shared his suspicions. He didn’t want to condemn the Seeker to anything bad if he was wrong.
Unfortunately, that hadn’t been all he had learned, in the past few weeks. In one of the data pads High Tide had left about the early days of the war, there had been a mention of the “end of the Rescue Force”. It had just been a mention, a reference to an event that was probably detailed in a separate data pad. But he hadn’t ever found that separate data pad. And when he remembered What Optimus had said, when he’d first found them..”
“I was not aware Rescue Teams were…still active.”
He’d said it slowly, haltingly, as if choosing the words carefully. He’d paused before saying the last part too. At the time, Blades hadn’t thought much of it. But with the information about the War Optimus had allowed them to have, and the mention of the “end of the Rescue Force” in that one data pad, well…Blades was starting to think that “active” had not been the word that the Prime had actually meant. Something had happened, something he didn’t have enough information to figure out yet, but the faint picture he was starting to get from the pieces of information he did have wasn’t one he liked. It was another reason he was hesitant to share what he suspected about the Seeker. Optimus was keeping vital information from Sigma-17. He didn’t care if the Prime didn’t want them fighting in the War. He agreed that it was a bad idea. But he was withholding information that Blades suspected his team would very much want, and they didn’t even know it.
So here he was, pacing restlessly as his processor turned over the information he got, unsure how or even if he should share it. Would his team even believe him? He doubted they would. He knew they thought he was silly and couldn’t understand complex ideas, but that was far from the truth. After all, of all the Rescue Bots he had the greatest understanding of human nature and culture. His understanding wasn’t always 100% accurate, and just because he understand the what didn’t mean he understand the why, but he still understood more than any of the others. And sure, he applied most of his ability to learn new information to pop culture rather than the things the others might consider more “worthwhile”, but that was only because pop culture was more fun. Plus, pop culture was where humanity really displayed they way they ticked. Did it really make him that much of an idiot if all that was the case?
He was startled from his spiraling thoughts by a sound from the direction of the make-shift medical bay. The copter glanced in that direction, thinking it was one of his teammates, only to yelp and leap back upon seeing the Seeker. He’d known the other bot was large, but seeing him awake and up just confirmed how large. The red optics too, made discomfort curl in Blade’s tanks. The data-pads had suggested that red optics were typical of Decepticons, though they shouldn’t be used as an identifier of such. Even so, it was another tick in favor of his theory. Then the scene caught up to him, and medical training overrode his temporary moment of panic.
This bot wasn’t supposed to be up yet. In fact, even if he had been fully healed by the pods it was supposed to keep him under until Optimus could arrive. Except….Blades must have put in the settings wrong. He was so used to setting the stasis pods to release once the healing process was complete that he must have input that setting without realizing it. Which…presented a problem. Is this mech was hostile, he didn’t think his team could handle it. Those thoughts circled in the back of his processor as he directed the bulk of his worry towards making sure his patient was alright. His hands flapped awkwardly as he approached the larger flyer, ready to skim over his frame to check out his condition, when piercing red optics locked onto him. He froze with a high pitched squeak, his own optics blown wide as that gaze pinned him in place.
For a long moment, the two Cybertronians merely stared at each other.
Then Blades, getting increasingly nervous, broke the silence. “Are you okay?” he asked, curling and tucking his hands against his canopy. “The stasis pod should have healed you completely, but you were hurt pretty bad. Even most of your paint was gone, though it looks like your color nanintes were able to fix that while you were healing.”
Indeed, the mech standing in front of him was now in full color, his purple and yellow paint bold and bright on his frame. It did seem, however, that he was still missing a faction brand. If he’d ever had one, of course, though the copter strongly suspected he did.
The Seeker seemed put off for a moment, as if he didn’t know why Blades was worried. “I am well.” he said carefully. “Are you the one who repaired me?”
“Well, sort of?” Blades’s rotors fluttered against his back. “I’m a triage medic, so I couldn’t fix you completely, but I kept you online until my team and I could get you into a pod.”
The Seeker narrowed his eyes. “Team?” he repeated, obviously suspicious.
Blades squeaked again, shoulders hunching. “We’re Rescue Bots.” he gestured at his insignia before his hands tucked back against his canopy. “Team Sigma-17. I’m Blades.”
The Seeker was silent for a long moment. “You may call me Dreadwing.” he said slowly. His gaze was still piercing.
Blades nodded, then took a few steps forward, and when Dreadwing made no move to stop him, he closed the gap between them. “Do you mind if I scan you over one last time? I just want to be sure all your systems are in order.”
The Seeker bowed his helm, and Blades lifted his hands to skim over plating, using his built in scanning systems he’d gotten in his triage training to check his patient over. Everything was coming back fine, but with a wound as serious as his had been Blades away taking no chances.
“You are a Rescue Bot.” Dreadwing spoke. His voice was low, and there was an odd note to it.
“Yep. Me, Boulder, Chase, and Heatwave. We crashed here a while ago and Prime stationed us on this island to act as a rescue team for the locals.” he explained distractedly.
Dreadwing made a soft hum. “Prime knows you are here? Are you Autobots, then?”
Blades frowned. “He knows. He visits, sometimes, but not often. We haven’t been able to contact him lately though.” He was too focused on his task to think about whether he should actually,be answering so freely. The second question gave him pause, though. “No? At least, not really? We’re a Rescue Team. Rescue Bots take oaths off non-affiliation. We can’t side with any particular group or individual since our job is to help any bot or being that needs it.” He was reading over the results of his scans, mouth turned down. “We’re more closely tied to the Autobots right now, but that mostly because we don’t know much of what happened with the war. We were in stasis until we crashed.” He let the readings flicker away, and froze when he realized how much he’d shared. “Uhhh….”
Dreadwing only snorted, actually looking fairly amused. “Yes, I think it is quite clear now that you are no warrior, little youngling.” he rumbled. His expression darkened. “I understand why Prime stationed you here, out of sight. Megatron would see you hunted and slaughtered if he knew a Rescue Team still functioned.”
This made Blades freeze, and as he recalled Optimus’s first words to them, and that data pad, dread began to build in his spark. “What?” he asked weakly.
Dreadwing stared. “You were not told?” he sounded…angry. “That is foolish. It is not a pleasant tale, but you should have been told if only to ensure you understand the importance of your existence remaining secret.”
Blades swallowed. “Optimus doesn’t really tell us much of anything about the War, and the data pads he leaves only really cover the basic and important bits, not the details.” he whispered. “Does…does Megatron wanting my team offlined have anything to do with the “end of the Rescue Force”? I read about it in one of the data pads, but it was just a mention. I couldn’t find any details other than that one phrase.”
Dreadwing’s gaze was solemn as the little bot lifted his optics to meet it. “Yes.” he said bluntly. “In the early days of the War, Megatron grew angry that the Rescue Bots aligned with no faction, and he wanted to deprive the Autobots of any who might aid or help them. He ordered the destruction of the Rescue Force. The Headquarters was destroyed, and all Rescue Bots present were massacred. Any who survived, and any who had not been present in the initial attack, were systematically hunted and slain.”
Blades’s knees felt weak. He pressed his hands to Dreadwing’s chest to steady himself, grateful that the larger flyer didn’t protest it. His rotors rattled madly against his back with his distress, and his optics were blown wide.
“But that would mean…”
“You and your team are the last Rescue Bots in existence. All the others are offline and have been for many, many millennia.”
The copter’s knees gave out, and Dreadwing was quick to grasp his frame to keep him from hitting the ground. A sharp keen left Blades’s vocalizer, and the Seeker blessedly said nothing and made no moves to push as the youngling processed the new information.
It was, of course, that moment that the others chose to return.
——————————
Part 2
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sylvies-chen · 3 years ago
Note
Enamor me or drink me for Brettsey!
I went for Drink Me because you can find my Enamor Me prompt for Brettsey HERE. Hope you like both!
******** He's only had one beer.
Sylvie told Matt she was fine with him going to Molly's. The rest of the firehouse is there and even though she's too pregnant to drink or even have the energy to hang out with everyone at the bar, she'd insisted Matt should go and have fun with their friends. Sore feet and fatigue aside, she just wouldn't have been able to enjoy the night glaringly sober. Or at least that's what she reasserts to Matt, right after kissing him soundly, as he'd readied himself to leave the house.
Only now he's here, only one beer in to an otherwise enjoyable night with Severide, Stella, and the rest of their 51 family, and he can't help but feel like him being here is so completely, utterly... wrong.
He doesn't want to be here. Matt loves his 51 family dearly, but he's taking his last sip of beer while zoning out to Severide's rambles about the game, and he gets the persistent, uncontrollable urge to go home and see Sylvie. He can just picture her curled up on the couch, baby bump and all. Alone. God, he hates being at Molly's right now instead of curled up next to her. All he wants is to be with her right now. What the hell is he doing here?
So, eager to not spend another second being somewhere Sylvie isn't, he gets up and grabs his jacket. Beer seems pointless now compared to what he has waiting at home.
"Where are you off to?" Severide asks.
"Sorry, I just can't stay here," he tells them. "I've gotta go."
"You miss her already, don't you?" Stella asks from behind the bar as she wipes the surface down.
"God yes," he confirms immediately, sighing in relief at no longer having to hold it in. "It's driving me crazy."
"Yeah, you've got that look in your eye. It's the same one Kelly gets when he's feeling particularly doting."
"Hey, I don't dote on you," he protests. "Not unless necessary."
"Uh, ya do too," she quips back as if it's obvious (because it is; even Matt's noticed it over the years, watching his best friend get excessively worried about his wife). "Give Brett our best for us though!"
"Will do." Matt's already walking backwards towards the door as he gives them a final wave goodbye before practically running out of Molly's. He has to stop himself from speeding in his truck on the way back but when he does finally get home, Sylvie's exactly where he suspected she'd be: in front of the couch, a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream resting comfortably on her baby bump as she watches House Hunters. Happy, safe, and sound. He stands at the edge of the doorway to the family room for a minute or two. The glowing light of the TV is the only source of light in the room-- or hell, through their whole house, he thinks-- so she doesn't register him standing there as her eyes fixate themselves on the episode she's watching. And God, she's so beautiful.
"Careful," he finally tells her, announcing his presence in the room, "if you keep eating mint chocolate chip ice cream our baby is going to come out bright green."
Sylvie's eyes go wide as she realizes he's home, surprised but still giggling along at his joke anyway. The giggle is enough to recognize his joke though, and she greets him with no witty response. "Hi! You're back! You weren't out for very long, what are you doing back already?"
"I missed you," he explains simply, exhaling as he slumps down next to her on the couch and wraps and arm around her shoulders.
"You don't have to miss out on going to Molly's just because I can't drink," she assures him. "I told you, I'm fine. I don't want you missing out on any fun just because this lil' thing keeps kicking."
"I know," he assures her in return. "But I'd rather be with you right now."
She gnaws on her lip, her cheeks turning rosy as she smiles at him. She sits up a little more-- which Matt recognizes takes more effort for her while pregnant, and it makes him love her all the more-- to tenderly kiss him on the cheek. And suddenly, when she slinks back down, leans her head on his chest, and proceeds to explain what he's missed on House Hunters, he finally feels at peace again.
Yeah. This is exactly where he's supposed to be.
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simsadventures · 4 years ago
Text
Gilded: Chapter 3: Power Over Me
Mobster!Steve x Reader
Summary: What more can you do than have a rad bachelorette party and then move to a house full of mobsters. It all sounds fun, right? Well, not according to your experience. 
Warnings: mobster AU, drinking, swearing, surveillance, angst, smidge of fluff, violence, mention of bruises, fear 
Word Count: 5737
A/N: A little late, I know I know, but I wanted to make sure the chapter was exactly how I wanted it. I keep thinking I will get to the wedding, and then some situations occur and I know I have to concentrate on them a little more. Than being said, I think we will finally see the wedding next! What do you think of this part? Did you like it? Is the reader a little less annoying? Let me know xx
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Series Masterlist __ Masterlist 
< Previous Chapter 
The scene was supposed to be joyous, but, for some reason, the majority of what you felt was filled with sadness. Not for any particular reason, it was just the weigh of your decision finally settling in your heart and the realization hitting you that you would indeed be getting married in a week to a total stranger, who was a mobster, none less. 
You chose it, you had to remind yourself as tears fought their way in your eyes. It was just momentary sadness overpowering you, the feeling that your wedding wouldn’t be filled with people loving and caring for you, that the day would be more about showing off Steve’s power over the world than showing his love for his new bride, for whom he had none. And you would be there almost alone: no parents, no extended family, and a very few close friends. Whom you loved dearly, of course, and without whom you wouldn’t even be considering taking such a step. You needed them there, and not just the two lovable idiots you lived with. 
It was also people you’ve come to love during your university years as well as some coworkers, like Christy and Anja. Together it made around 15 people, which was actually a lot more than you had anticipated, but still. It would have to be Aidan walking you down the aisle, and just the mere thought made a choked sob escape your lips. 
The sound brought the attention of the room to you, and before you knew it, you were enveloped in a bone-crushing hug from all the people there, everyone telling you that you should be happy, that this was a good thing. Of course, nobody except Caroline and Aidan knew the reality behind the wedding. All they thought was happening was that you fell madly in love with Steve Rogers, and now you two were tying the knot. You even overhead Aisha say that you were definitely pregnant, otherwise, you wouldn’t have rushed into it like this. You tried to assure everyone that there was no pregnancy at all, but, of course, people believed what they wanted, and you lacked the energy to go around the room and speak to them individually, denying what they formed in their heads. 
It was Friday night, and you were in your apartment, surrounded by all those people who would come to your wedding. You sent a list of names to Steve that afternoon, and, after what you assumed was a background check on all of them, he agreed that yes, these 15 people could actually come. And when he did, you called an emergency meeting at your apartment, using it both as a way of inviting them to the wedding and as a kind of bachelorette party, where all you wanted to do was to drink heavily, eat a disgusting amount of carbs and pass out around dusk. Safe to say, all of your friends had been in, and by the time it was 11 PM, you were all tipsy, and people started to dance. Some (ehm, ehm, Caroline) even on a table, which was hilarious to the rest of you. 
The sadness came and went all evening, but you were determined not to let it ruin your night. So, every time you felt like it was creeping up on you again, you just told somebody and let them hug you until you were feeling better. 
Then, somebody came up with the idea to play Never Have I Ever, and since the tequila still burned in your veins, you agreed immediately. And so the game started. You were roaring like a pride of lions, each answer louder than the previous ones, but the most fun arose from telling each other funny stories. 
“Ok, so this one time I was blowing off my boyfriend, right? And you know how much I hate the taste of sperm, and he knows it as well, but this one time he really insisted on my swallowing, and so when he finally came, I squeaked and pointed somewhere behind him so that I could spit the cum to glass under the table, and when he turned around I showed him my mouth, void of any liquid, and he looked super proud,” your friend Naila laughed as she told the story to the question: never have I ever swallowed cum. 
The night was flowing smoothly, and soon, you saw that it was getting somehow lighter outside. And, sure enough, when you looked out of the window, you saw that the sunrise was coming in mere minutes. 
“Guys, guys! The sunrise is here. Let’s go to the roof to enjoy it,” you yelled even though half of the people were already fast asleep. The few of you who were still barely alive, which was around 5 of you, staggered towards the door and crawled up the stairs to the highest levels, and when you opened the last door, you had New York underneath you. 
You were wasted and exhausted, but the sight poured new life into you as you watched the early orange rays shine on one building at a time, waking up the city that never slept. It was magical, and it took your breath away. You felt your worries melting away as you saw a new day coming, and you thought it was a new day with many possibilities and hopes for you. You had nothing to lose, and Steve proved to you that he would, indeed, take care of you if need be. All would be if you just played your part and learned enough about Steve to be able to escape his wrath. 
The exhaustion then hit your body just as the ray hit your face, and you waved at the drunk group watching the sunrise, each of them in their own realm of thoughts, and soon enough, you sauntered back to your room, where you fell asleep just like the rest of the bachelorette party. 
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A piercing tone woke you up with a start, and, for a second, you didn’t even know where you were, what time it was, or even what fucking century it was. The throbbing in your head prevented your brain from functioning properly, and so you rummaged through the pile of clothes next to your bed, fishing for what was obviously your phone. Gosh, how you hated the ringtone, and you reminded yourself to just mute your phone altogether because then nothing like this could happen again. 
You picked up without so much as looking at the screen and just sneered a harsh what into the speaker. 
“Well, good morning to you too, honey,” you heard Steve’s smug voice and rolled your eyes so hard the pain in your head increased. “Is this the way to greet your future husband? I don’t fucking think so,” he continued, and a considerable part of you contemplated just hanging up on him and his annoyingly sexy voice. 
“Steve, I have no fucking idea what time it is, but it’s definitely not time for you to call me and want me to be nice. Give me a few good hours of sleep, and then we can talk, ok?” You hoped this would do it, but from the silence on the other side, you assumed he wouldn’t let be just yet. 
“What happened? Did your bachelorette party get a little out of hand, and you went to sleep only after sunrise?” 
You gasped, shocked how he knew any of it, and for the first time, the fog in front of your brain lifted a little bit. You checked the time, and seeing it was only 9 AM, you assumed that asshole woke you up on purpose if he knew so much about your nightly activities. 
“How the fuck-“
“Language!” He yelled suddenly, and you flinched at the intensity of his voice. “I know everything, and I told you I would have somebody keeping an eye on you at all times. You’re only lucky the guy sleeping next to you is gay, you’d be in so much trouble otherwise, honey,” Steve spat, and the only sound you could muster was a long huff, as you regretted ever being born. 
“What do you want, Steve? If you know so much, you must know that I’m beat and all I wanna do is sleep, with a guy in my bed or without him. So, if you have something to tell me, please do, otherwise, have a good day, and I’ll catch up with you later.”
“We’re gonna have so much fun together, you and I, Y/N. I’m calling because I wanted to let you know that your room is prepared and ready for you and that your bodyguard will pick you up at exactly 8 PM, so don’t be late. Clint will also help you carry all things you need. I’ll send you his number so that you can be in touch with him. Oh, and honey? Take some aspirin and go to sleep, you sound like you need it,” even through the phone, you could hear him smirk as he hung up and let you on your own once again. Thank God.
“Who was it?” Aidan asked sleepily from the other side of the bed, and you just grumbled some response, not really sure if he understood what you meant, but when he hummed and patted your outstretched hand, you took it as yes, I understand you mean your future husband Steve Rogers, nice talk. 
The phone signalled you received a text, and when you looked at it, it was your bodyguard’s phone number and a directive, telling you to go to sleep already, because the dark circles under your eyes didn’t suit you. 
Oh, how you wanted to kill this man already. He got on your nerves more easily than anybody ever before, and for a brief moment, you wondered why he affected you so. You didn’t even know him, and you shouldn’t let him tossing you back and forth, but here you were, pissed because you could just imagine how proud he was of himself that he woke you up and told you what to do so many times in such a short call. 
Sighing, you got up from the bed and went to check the window to see if you could spot the nosy bodyguard ratting on you to Steve. You needed to have a word with him because he just couldn’t go running to Steve every time you blinked. 
Looking around the street, you tried to spot a strange vehicle, one that didn’t fit into the street you grew to know so well. And, sure enough, there was a large SUV, much like the one you had driven with Steve before, and you noticed that the windows were tilted. Since your apartment was on the first floor, anybody from the street had a great view right into your flat, and because you passed out totally exhausted, you didn’t have the time, nor did you remember to shut your blinds. 
You huffed and shut them now, cursing Steve and his nosiness because he wasn’t making your life any easier, and you weren’t even married yet. The year in front of you would be annoying and difficult, but maybe it would make you feel alive again. 
Shaking your head, you didn’t let the memories flood your brain as you strode back to your back, plopped on it belly-first and fell straight asleep.
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“Are you sure it’s everything?” Aidan looked around your now half-empty room, except for the furniture that you knew you wouldn’t need. Steve promised to give you a furnished room, and you took his word for it, so you just took the essentials, like your clothes and sentimental stuff. Marie Condo would have been proud because you still managed to get rid of a few things that didn’t spark joy!
“Yeah, and even if I left something here, I could still come, you know? It’s not like I’m never seeing you or this place again. I’ll still be like a 30-minute ride away,” you smiled soothingly at him, but he just shook his head, obviously fighting all the emotions swirling in his heart. 
“Alright, alright. No crying. I’ll call you guys when I’m all settled, and Steve actually lets me be by myself, and I’ll show you the room, ok?”
Both Aiden and Caroline nodded speechlessly and then pulled you in a group hug. 
“You sure you wanna do it? We can still make it seem like we kidnapped you and take you somewhere to Mexico, or Argentina, or wherever he wouldn’t find you,” Caroline whispered, and you laughed through the tears fighting their way out of your eyes. 
“I’ll be fine, you’ll see. We will all have so much fun, and before we know it, the year is over, and I’m back here with you guys, having lived a little,” you smirked, and they nodded reassuringly, not really sure if it really was the best way to live a life, but they didn’t want to push you again. Your heart was set, and they both knew there was nothing they could do now. Except, of course, really kidnapping you. 
“Miss Y/L/N, we should go. The boss said we should be there at 9 PM at the latest, and I would prefer if we could be a little early,” Clint said professionally, but you could see that he was afraid of what would Steve do had you arrived late. You didn’t want to start this weird-ass journey by pissing your future husband or making him hurt his employees (you didn’t know whether he would actually do that, but just to be on the safe side, since he did cut off a guy’s finger a mere few days ago). 
You nodded and stepped from your best friends, looking at them and smiling brightly. You didn’t want any teary goodbyes, so you just showed them thumbs up and followed Clint out of the door. You knew there would be some tears when you left but didn’t think they would come as early as on the first step from your apartment. 
Fortunately, there weren’t that many steps to go before you were out of the building and rushed into the SUV by Clint. It was dark already, but you didn’t want him to see you cry, so you swiftly pulled out your sunglasses and put them on, not saying a word to Clint as he started the car and pulled it into New York’s night traffic. The lights around you were almost blinding, and for a moment, you were glad you had the glasses on, but then another wave of regret and sadness hit you, and you had a hard time keeping in the sobs. Scratching your arms, you stared out of the window and took a few calming breaths, telling yourself to get a grip because you were about to enter the lion’s den, and you couldn’t show them any emotions. 
You knew Clint knew what was going on, but he was gentleman enough not to comment on it. Still, you needed to make sure he understood this little episode was just between the two of you. 
“Can I ask you something, Clint?” You said suddenly and saw his eyes flickering between the road and the mirror, meeting your eyes for a moment. 
“Of course, Miss Y/L/N. However, I should warn you, I am not allowed to give you certain information,” he said formally, and you nodded knowingly. 
“Yeah, right. If I asked you to keep a little secret from your boss, would you keep it?” You asked and nibbled on your lower lip anxiously. 
He seemed to have thought for a second before he nodded his head in a manner telling you that there were things Steve didn’t need to know. His eyes met yours again before he spoke up. 
“I’m now your bodyguard, and if I think the information kept from the boss is in your best interest, then I won’t tell him anything. For example, you smiled all the way to the apartment, no tears and no sunglasses. Though, I think you should powder your nose and dry your face,” he smirked, and you laughed a little, nodding gratefully and doing exactly as he said. 
The car stopped exactly as you put all the supplies back into your purse, and you had a feeling Clint took a longer route to Steve’s house just to give your face the time to dry up and calm down. Checking the time, you saw it was 10 minutes before 9 and saw the relief on Clint’s face when he realized the same thing. 
“Alright, I will take you to the boss and then will get the boys to help with your things. We won’t go through anything, but if you need our help when you’re unpacking, all you have to do is text me,” Clint said, walking you to the door. 
The man you met on your first night there was standing as a sculpture at the exact same spot, and you wondered if he ever moved from that hallway. He did move towards you, gesturing to your purse, but Clint’s hand stopped him mid-motion. 
“She’s clean. I’ve been with her the whole time,” he said sternly and with authority, and when he saw the first man taking a breath to protest, Clint just gave him a chilling frown, and the man stepped down, hung his head in defeat and let you through. 
“It’s not a problem, Clint; I could have shown him the purse, you know?” You almost whispered as you walked through the empty rooms and hallways with Clint by your side. 
“They need to learn to respect you, Miss. You are, after all, marrying the boss very soon, and they need to understand that you are not a threat,” he gave you a curt nod, and you blushed a little. You didn’t know what it was, but the way Clint spoke to you with so much trust and respect already made you feel much better. You knew it would be an issue, so having somebody on your side was a huge relief already. 
“Thank you, Clint, I really-“ 
“Well, happy you two are best buddies already! Are you gonna braid each other’s hair and do each other’s nails soon too?” A voice snapped you back to reality, a voice you already knew too well. Steve was leaning against a door, his face stoic despite the mocking tone of his voice. Clint obviously tensed next to you, mumbled some apology and scurried out of the room, leaving you with Steve. 
You just looked at him and crossed your arms on your chest. 
“Do you need to be like this?” You asked incredulously, not really understanding why he had to be such an ass when all you did was having some sort of conversation with one of his loyal men. 
“Like what, honey? You seem to forget who I am and what I can do to you and your fucking life,” he sneered when he finally pulled away from the door and marched right in front of you. 
Your arms fell from your chest as you stared at him, trying to figure him out. Which, considering he was a prolific mobster, wasn’t the easiest task at hand. But you tried nevertheless and poked to see where was all this coming from. He obviously needed to be in control of every situation, always the centre of attention, and, you realized, it was probably this that pissed him off. You walked in, not really paying attention to him standing by the door but carelessly talking to somebody else. But his attitude was another thing entirely. 
“What do you want me to say, Steve? That I’m sorry I talked to somebody else and that it won’t happen again? You know it probably will, especially since you assigned Clint with the task of taking care of me and making sure I survive this year with you, which is really all he had done in the 40 minutes I have known him,” you reasoned, trying to sound confident but not pushy. You needed to show him that he couldn’t just toss you around like he might have thought. You didn’t expect him changing his attitude altogether for you, but you, at least, hoped he would go easy on you. 
He was seething but also thinking; you could see his mind going in overdrive to come up with something snarky and mean. But you were quicker than him, once again. 
“Will you be so kind and show me to my room? I would like to get settled in before we start talking about the wedding.”
“There will be no talk of a wedding. All you have to take care of is go tomorrow and pick your fucking dress. Everything else is being dealt with. I won’t need you tonight, so you can go and be by yourself till tomorrow,” he snapped and walked away without saying another word. 
Great, now you felt like you were grounded, and all you did was talking with somebody nice to you. You shook your head disapprovingly and headed in a direction you thought might have been your room, but after taking a few turns, you weren’t even sure you were in New York anymore. 
“Hey, what the fuck are you doing here?” You heard from behind you, and before you knew what was happening, somebody pushed you forcibly against the nearest wall, pressing their elbow into your neck. You coughed, surprised, clawing at the man’s forearms and trying to let him loosen the press because it was getting harder and harder to breathe. 
“I said, what the fuck are you doing here?” He yelled into your face, and you tried to tell him, but your voice wouldn’t come out. So, you just stared at him, tears filling your eyes before you heard a loud hey from somewhere behind you two and saw a man with long brown hair running towards you. 
“Sarge, this woman was roaming around here. I think she is a spy,” the man still holding you said to the newly arrived guy, and all you could do was shake your head and tried to make yourself look as non-threatening as possible. Which wasn’t difficult considering you were in no position to be able to even defend yourself had the man decided to crush your trachea. 
“Fucking idiot! That’s the boss’ bride! Let her go, you dickhead,” the man, sarge, growled, and you felt the pressure leaving your body. Which was all it took for you to collapse on the floor and start coughing uncontrollably, gripping your neck in your hands to protect it from any further disturbance. 
“I-I, I didn’t know, Sarge! Don’t tell him. I thought she was some fucking spy. What the hell was she even doing here all alone, huh? It’s not my fucking fault she came sniffing around stuff that is none of her business,” the man tried to defend himself, but from the murderous gaze he received from the sergeant, he wasn’t very successful. 
“Are you ok, Miss? Did he break anything? Is your head spinning? Are you feeling nauseous? Any of this?” He crouched down to your level and extended an arm to you, and you flinched instinctively, not feeling too sure who was your friend here and who wasn’t. So, to play it safe, nobody was your friend, and you’d be scared of them all, forever. Easy business. 
The man saw your reaction and frowned even more but was persistent when he removed your hands from your neck to see an already-forming bruise alongside your throat. 
“You need to talk to me, Y/N. Are you hurting anywhere?” 
You coughed and grimaced because, yes, in fact, you did hurt and that all over the fucking neck and even your head. Which, given the man almost crushed your fucking throat with his elbow, wasn’t that surprising. 
“I’ll be fine. And I wasn’t sniffing around; I was just looking for my room. I thought it might be somewhere here, and I would have asked if I saw anyone. But this place is like a fucking maze, and I was all alone,” you screeched, and the sergeant nodded and helped you to stand up. He was pulling out what looked like a phone, but you stopped him. 
“Don’t call him, please. I’m fine. I just need to get to the room, so I can put some cold water on it, have a drink and go to sleep. Please,” you accentuated and saw the man weighing his options before he put the phone back to his pocket and nodded for you to follow him. 
“I will tell him, just so you know. Steve needs to know about this, and we need to make sure you are introduced to the whole house the first thing in the morning so that this doesn’t happen again. But he needs to know. I will give you a few minutes to take it all in before I do call him, though,” he said with a resolution in his voice, and while you wanted to protest, you saw that it would have been to no avail. So, not saying another word, you let yourself in what was supposed to be your room and took it all in. 
The walls were this very soft grey, which you actually preferred to the cold white you saw a lot all over the house. There was a king-sized bed against the main wall, framed with two bed-side tables and two matching white and gold lamps. There were many pillows on the bed and a plaid, grey and blue, throw as well, making it all feel very homey. You could see a large closet, where you could have easily fit ten times the amount of clothes you owned. The only other thing in the room was a table with a chair and some drawers, where you could picture yourself working and writing. 
However, when you turned around, you saw something that caught your attention. An easel with a little table on wheels, on top of which was a palette where you could see yourself mixing colors left and right. You squealed, but the sound reminded you that you have just been assaulted and that you could admire the room later. 
You took your time in the bathroom, inspecting your neck and hissing here and there when you touched it carefully. You knew the sarge was outside your door, probably counting in his head before he called Steve, and you were actually pretty surprised he wasn’t marching in already. Just when you thought of it, the door to your room flew open, and you heard Steve and the man talking (well, actually, more like yelling at each other).
“Where the fuck is she? I’m going to kill Drax. I swear to fucking God, man. How is it even possible that he does shit like this? They were all supposed to be briefed, for fuck’s sake. Imma have Sam’s ass as well for this. Fuck!” He yelled and kicked into something, which made you frowned, and you rushed out of the bathroom. 
Steve spun around and almost ran towards you, cradling your face in his hands carefully and lifting your head so that he could have a clear view of the injuries. He was swearing under his breath, but you couldn’t help it and stare at him, wide-eyed. He was actually careful with you, sweet even as he took it all in, and when he was sure you wouldn’t die right there, he took a step back from you. 
“Are you ok?” He asked after a moment, and all you could was just nod and stand there awkwardly, scratching your arms behind your back. 
“Will you be able to find your room easier next time?” 
“No, we took too many turns. But I won’t leave this room till morning anyway, and I will learn to stay out of the way very quickly, I promise,” you rushed to say, not really wanting to meet any of his crew alone again. 
“You can’t be scared walking around here, honey. I will show you around right now, and I have already called an emergency meeting, and I want you there. This can never happen again,” he said gravely, and you understood this was probably his way of apologizing for something that wasn’t really all his fault. Well, he didn’t have to storm off and leave you there, nor did he have to scare Clint away, who was ready to show you to your room in the first place. 
“Is it necessary, Steve? If I’m quite honest, I don’t feel too comfortable leaving the room right now,” you quipped, but Steve wasn’t listening anymore. He just grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the door. Weirdly, you felt a little better having the skin-on-skin contact with him because, at least now, nobody would be stupid enough to attack you. 
You tried to remember the way and took in the details that would make you not lose your trail again, such as the red vase on one of the tables in the corner that looked just like the corner two minutes ago, but the vase was something you could remember, so you took a mental note of that and other little things that would serve for your safety, obviously. Because when Steve told you people would want you dead, you sort of didn’t expect those people would be in the house with you. 
You walked through the spacious kitchen and the adjacent dining room to find yourself in what looked like a meeting room, with around 20 men gathered and scattered all over the room. 
When Steve finally stopped, he let go of your hand, but he instinctively reached for you and pulled you against his side. You looked at him in slight disbelief again but didn’t say anything as he stared in front of himself till the room was as quiet as a freaking church during a sermon. 
“Let me make this very quick: however lays as much as a fucking finger on Y/N here, I will kill you, and I won’t give a fuck who you are. You were briefed that I’m getting married to the woman I want, and because somebody wasn’t paying attention to the fucking briefing, evidently, my fiancé is now sporting a black neck, which she will have to cover for our wedding. Drax, you and I will speak tomorrow, I was ready to kill you, but I’m a reasonable man, so I will sleep and think of your punishment then. Now, any questions?” He asked threateningly, and you knew even if somebody did have a question, nobody would dare to ask it now. 
And just as you predicted, the room was as quiet as before, and Steve waved his hand so that everybody was dismissed and they could breathe again. Just not in his presence. 
“Sam, you stay here,” Steve added when he saw one of his closest men leaving the room as well. 
“I will deal with him, Steve. I don’t know how that could have happened, but it won’t ever again, I promise. If it does, you can have my head, man,” the bulky man said and smiled warmly at you. 
“By the way, hi, I’m Sam. I’m like the muscles here, you know? So, if you need to pick something up, I’m your guy,” he said with a wink, and you chuckled but took his hand to shake it. 
“Nice to meet you, Sam, and I will remember that, thank you.” 
“Alright, now, we have all the pleasantries behind us, you can go back to your room and go to sleep. And Y/N, if anybody as much as looks at you the wrong way, you tell me, ok? This marriage might not be a genuine one, but none of these assholes knows that or should care about that. They should protect you just like they protect me, and I don’t care what they say. I can’t have my fucking wife scared to walk these halls,” he was still frowning as he was saying all this to you, but you could see he was much more relaxed than when all the men were in the room. These two, the sergeant whose name you still didn’t know, and Sam, were obviously close to Steve because despite the winks Sam gave to you, Steve didn’t make a scene, nor did he give you the pointed looks when others were around. Still, you were on thin ice, and there was too much drama for one day for you to try and challenge him in any way. 
“Ay ay, Captain,” you chuckled, and the corner of Steve’s mouth actually moved a little, so you took that as a good sign. 
“Alright, I will try and get back to my room and call it a day because tomorrow is an important day! So, nice to meet you, gentlemen, and I will see you soon, I guess,” you waved at them awkwardly, and Sam waved back enthusiastically as you left the men to themselves. 
“She is actually quite nice,” Sam summarized, and winked at Bucky, who just rolled his eyes at him in annoyance, having just enough of Sam’s antics for one day. 
“Yeah, yeah, she actually is, when she’s not talking back and challenging every fucking thing I say,” Steve complained, and it was a turn for both men to roll their eyes at their best friend. 
“Oh yeah, because you love when they’re meek and quiet, we forgot. C’mon, man, somebody fucking choked her today, and she was still standing here with her head held high, keeping it together like a fucking pro. I say she is perfect for you,” Sam said defensively when he saw the murderous stare from his friend/boss. 
Good thing Sam didn’t see you in your room because as soon as you closed the door behind yourself, the tears just streamed down your face, and small sobs left your lips. You were glad the day was over and dreaded what the next day would bring. 
Next Chapter >
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sdr2lovemail · 3 years ago
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I just noticed that you are alive again! So um.. I've been thinking for QUITE a while of a relationship Ultimate Impostor x Ultimate Leader (in the killing game ig?), idk why. If the requests are closed feel free to ignore this. Thank you!
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You could say that I am a fan of Imposter's work. Even tho there is not a lot of content about them out there I still love them dearly.
And yes I died for a minute but have risen from the grave to continue my writing career. I hope you enjoy what I have written my friend because I absolutely love it.
⚔Mod Peko⚔
Spoilers for chapter 1
The Ultimate Imposter disguised as Byakuya Togami and the Ultimate Leader butt heads but also kinda wanna kiss each other
Teenagers and a killing game are bound to fall into chaos. Teenagers, a killing game, and no supervision will cause more chaos. That’s why they need a leader. Someone strong and brave to guide them. However two ultimates wanting to be that leader, teenagers, a killing game, and no supervision will cause even more chaos.
Breakfast was a usually calm time. Everyone just wanted to eat and get on with finding a way off this forced school trip. However there were some mornings where everyone seemed to be full of energy. Akane and Nekomaru were engaged in a fierce 1v1 training session. Chairs, tables, and food flying throughout the air from the power of their moves. The restaurant was in total disarray and with your talent of being a leader you must do something to calm the crowd. Standing up you set your arms behind your back and call out to your classmates.
“Everyone! This is-”
“Sit down, common folk. You will all cease this foolish behavior and stop wasting food.”
“Huh?”
At the mention of wasting food Akane quickly stops her fighting. She then pulls up a table and chair from the mess of the restaurant and begins to chow down. You look at where the voice came from and see Twogami sitting at a table with a plate. Just because this guy is loaded he thinks he can be a better leader than you? Oh you will just have a quick word with him to set the record straight. With quick strides you tap him on the shoulder giving him your best stern look. This look helped you strike the feeling of order into people. But Twogami doesn’t look impressed at all?! No you can’t let him see you falter. Standing up straighter than ever you begin to speak.
‘Hey what’s the big idea? I’m the Ultimate leader. I don’t need your help guiding our class.” You told him with a grim expression. Twogami gave you a look over before setting down his fork. He wipes his mouth off with a napkin before standing to face you. His intimidation factor was off the charts. Can money buy such a scary aura?! After adjusting his glasses he begins to speak with a sigh.
“Listen I, Byakuya Twogami, am much better suited to be in charge. You may have your impeccable wits and title but that is nothing compared to being next in the Togami line. Now are we done here? I would like to finish my food”
Not even giving you a chance to respond he goes right back to eating. Even with your ultimate status this guy intimidates you a lot. But you will not be backing down. He thinks he’s so high and mighty you’ll show him high and mighty.
The days feel like they’re getting heavier. Monokuma’s annoying voice rings in your ears. There’s no way you’d believe that memory loss garbage….And even if you did, you had to stay strong for everyone. Twogami’s party did nothing to calm the tense feeling in the air. You decided you were going to check this abandoned building from top to bottom before anyone steps foot inside.
You do not see Nagito when you first step in. Maybe he’s cleaning somewhere else. Teruteru was said to be in the kitchen. Entering the main room of the building you see Twogami rifling through what looks to be a metal case. Hearing the floors creak under your weight he looks over. Upon seeing you he sends a glare.
“And what are you doing here? I don’t remember you having to prepare anything.” There was a doubtful tone to his voice. Twogami was trying to let this party go off without a hitch. And he wasn’t going to let some commoner ruin his plans. Though behind the rich boy costume Imposter did feel kinda bad. They felt like they were trampling all over your pride with their Byakuya act. However this was their ultimate. And as Twogami….No. Just as themself, if that even existed, they will keep their classmates safe. Even if they have to hurt some feelings.
“As a leader it is my duty to keep everyone in order and assure maximum safety. I plan to do a total sweep of the place before the party.” And like he did to you, you did not give him a chance to answer. You quickly turn around and exit out into the hallway missing the look of awe on Twogami’s face. Walking past the fire door you come up to the kitchen. Before you can reach for the door it swings open revealing Nagito. Strange….If Teruteru was already in the kitchen there was no need for Nagito to be in there. The lucky student passed by with a smile yet spoke no words towards you. Also strange. Nagito usually said something when passing. He deemed it rude not to say hello to an ultimate.
Entering the kitchen you see Teruteru at the counter. He doesn’t seem to notice you coming in. The usual smile on his face is replaced with a look of fear and he’s shaking like a leaf. Stepping closer seems to have caught his attention as he jumps. The look of fear is swiftly changed into a smile yet he’s still shaking. Teruteru then grabs a knife and begins chopping at some vegetables. Seems as if he’s trying to make it seem like he was simply taking a break.
“W-Why hello there. Heh, what could I do for you?” He’s shaken up quite a bit. Not a single flirty remark in that sentence and Teruteru sure did like to tease about your strong authority. You stand tall and look down at the chef. He visibly shrinks back. Looking him dead in the eye you start to command him.
“You will tell me what you have discussed with Nagito Komaeda.”
This caused Teruteru to tense up. Setting down the knife he grabs a comb from his pocket and begins to bring it through his hair. Though there isn’t a hair out of place on his pompadour. Appears to be a nervous habit.
“I uh….I have no idea what you mean mon ami~. We were simply discussing plans for the upcoming party.” Teruteru had tried to come off as collected but you knew better. He wasn’t making eye contact and he was constantly fidgeting. Nagito told him something and you were going to find out what.
“Teruteru Hanamura! I command you to tell me what Nagito had told you. Simple party plans would not have such an impact on your demeanor.”
This seemed to have caused a reaction in him. He began to blubber as words poured out of his mouth like a dam cracking under pressure.
“He came in here and told me that he had plans to murder someone at the party with the knife he had hidden under one of the tables in the dining room. He planned to overload the breaker in here with irons in the storage room to cause a blackout so he could grab the knife and kill someone during the party. I-I begun to form my own plan of stopping him….by….killing him?” The last part of his word vomit stuck with Teruteru. He would’ve had someone’s blood on his hands and would send the rest of his class to their own demise. “Oh my god I was going to kill him!” Teruteru then sinks to his knees before you.
Your face softens as you see the mess of a chef on the ground. Nagito was planning a murder? Why would he share this information with Teruteru? Dropping down to his level you set a careful hand on Teruteru’s back. “Listen. I’m going to go grab Twogami and you’re going to tell him what happened. And we’ll come up with a solution.” You normally wouldn’t call for backup, but as this was his party you felt he had the right to know.
You cautiously leave the kitchen and begin to look for the blond. Not able to find him in the building you exit to the hotel grounds. Noticing the while suit and blonde hair you call out to him and ask for him to come back. Leading him to the kitchen where Teruteru still sits slumped on the ground he listens to what you already know.
A look of disgust crosses Twogami’s face before he sets off to the main room. After announcing your departure to Teruteru, you follow him. Nagito is there setting up tables and dusting the furniture. He was about to offer the two of you a cheerful greeting but is cut off by your demand for him to exit the grounds. Not wanting to upset an ultimate that is clearly in higher ranks than he is, Nagito does not question it. He leaves the abandoned building to rest in his cottage to wait for permission to be allowed back in.
Looking under the tables you find the knife that Teruteru had mentioned. Grabbing it proceeds to coat your hand in wet paint. So Nagito had just planted this. But what’s the paint for?
“Set the knife in the duralumin case I brought on the left. I am currently using it to store anything I deem unsafe.”
You let out a scoff before setting the knife in the case. He sure does love bossing people around even in dire situations. Well….I guess that’s your talent so you can’t really speak. After doing a check of the rest of the tables, Twogami walks up to you with something in his hand. It’s a handkerchief with the Togami family crest. Imposter spent many hours perfecting the stitching of the symbol. You give him a confused look about the offering. Seeing the expression he rolls his eyes.
“Close your mouth before flies start to swarm. This is to wipe your hand off. I don’t need paint smears ruining the image of my party.”
“What? I can’t wipe paint on something as expensive as that. That handkerchief probably cost more than my house. I’ll just go wash it in the bathroom.”
Upset by your stubborn nature, Twogami grabs your wrist and begins to wipe the paint off himself. After your hand is clean he drops the cloth into your hand. “I expect that to be washed before it’s returned to me. Now I have some important matters to discuss.”
Stuffing the handkerchief into your pocket you give Twogami your full attention.
“I have decided that after this little incident we need to up the security. I would ask Nekomaru but I wish to keep this between us. Letting the public know that two people were planning a murder would cause chaos. When it’s time for the party you will help me conduct body searches. I’d like for you to keep an eye on the party with me to make sure no suspicious activity is at play.”
While normally you would make a fuss about him bossing you around with people’s lives at stake it was simply not the time for that. Nodding once he finishes speaking, you and Twogami complete one last look of the place before the party starts.
It’s time for the party and the two of you are set up outside of the abandoned building. After checking everyone and confiscating anything deemed dangerous, the party is in full swing. Everything is going smoothly. 11:30 was nearing and at the corner of your eye you see Nagito inch closer to the table. Knowing you shut the irons off you pay this no mind. There’s no way he’d try to pull anything when everyone can see him. A quick look of confusion crosses his face as the lights are still on. The confused expression is swapped for one of despair. There’s a creepy smile on his face and his eyes are clouded. Even if the blackout did not occur Nagito can still pull through with his plan.
He suddenly flips the table cloth over and goes to reach for his knife. Everyone at the party has eyes on him. Before he can fully register that his knife is in fact missing Nagito is pushed to the ground. His arms are pressed against his back and his face is squished into the floor. Multiple confused cries echo throughout the dining hall. Nagito recognized this tactic. After hours upon hours of researching the ultimates he’s sharing a class with he could easily tell that this was your work.
Twogami with Nekomaru in tow walks over to you and the detained lucky student. An agitated expression is on the heir’s face. He looks down at Nagito.
“You dare to think that I would let your plan continue? [Name] and I knew about your scheme and were quick to put a stop to it. And the fact that you would try to pull through with it in broad light is despicable.”
Anger, disgust, and confusion are present in the crowd of your classmates. Trying to make sense of it all Akane speaks up.
“I’m so friggin’ confused. What plan did Nagito have? Need me to beat him up for ya?”
You were quick to diminish the violent thought. “No, that will not be necessary as he has already been disarmed.”
“Nagito had planned out a murder.”
Twogami’s words caused a commotion in the dining hall. After hearing the noise from the kitchen, Teruteru cautiously enters the room fearing the worst. Though a feeling of relief washed over him after seeing Nagito on the ground.
Nekomaru lets out a strangled noise. His teeth are clenched and his fists tightened.
“You were going to murder one of your classmates? THAT’S INEXCUSABLE! Please [Name] allow me to detain him somewhere away from everyone. SOMEONE LIKE HIM CANNOT WALK FREEEEE!”
Looking over to Twogami as if silently discussing what to do he sends you a nod. Removing Nagito from your grasp he is quickly put into Nekomaru’s. The coach is quick to remove him from the premises. With a sigh Twogami faces your classmates. Pushing his glasses up he begins to apologise.
“I am sorry you all had to see that. And I am sorry that my exquisite party must draw to a close here. Exit the building and head to your cottage for the night.”
Though shaken, everyone proceeds to leave in groups. No one wants to walk back alone fearing that someone will try something. With just you and Twogami left he turns to face you.
“That was quite impressive. What you did back there was helpful in getting Nagito detained. I believe that we should come to an agreement. Yes we are fine separately but together I feel that we could do an outstanding job at keeping everyone safe.”
Twogami extended a chubby hand out for you to shake. This handshake would seal the two of you into a partnership. One of which would keep your class safe. Looking from his hand to his face then back to his hand you sit there in thought. This could be a wonderful idea. With two people working together that’s like double the safety. With a smile you shake his hand giving it a tight squeeze.
“I think I’d like that Twogami! From here on out the two of us are now Jabberwock Island’s health and safety committee.”
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themaribatpit · 3 years ago
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Saturday Challenge: Double Crossover
Written by: The Maribat Pit   Prompt: Double Crossover Rated: M rating just to be safe (sexual references, mostly because of some very unsavory things Lila thinks and implies about Marinette.) Marinette x Jason Phantom of the Opera (specifically Hush Jason, from 2020′s Death in the Family).
A/N (Maribat fangirl): There is going to be a lot of class salt, Lila salt and some heavy duty character bashing.  I’m going to be upfront, there’s characters being called harlots. A/N (DC fanboy): My S.O. and I pretty much did karaoke while writing this.
Paris, 1875. Marinette worked in her parents bakery, while she loved her family dearly, she was dissatisfied with her current lot in life. She wished to become a singer, and everyday as she walked in the streets of Paris to bring flour to the bakery, she would stop and stare at the Conservatoire de Paris. The enchanting music and singing could be heard even in the streets.
Listening to music always reminded her of her favourite fairy tale told by her father, the one about  ‘Angel of Music’. She would sit on the street across the Conservatoire, close her eyes and listen to the beautiful music emanating from it. Once she tried to sing along, but passersby would be swift to yell at her to stop. They described her voice sounding like a rusty hinge.
Upon her 15th birthday, her parents presented to her a once in a lifetime opportunity. They had presented her with an approved application to the Conservatoire, they had saved enough money for tuition and would be sending her there to chase her dreams as an opera singer. Marinette held her parents tightly, thanking them constantly for the amazing opportunity.
That night, Marinette was unable to sleep, she was beaming with energy and excitement. She could not believe how her luck was changing, how she would be going to the musical academy of her dreams.
The next morning however she would be in a nervous panic for her first day of lessons. Running about the home, getting prepared, packing her bags. She even forgot to eat breakfast, she ran out the door with a croissant in her mouth, much to the chagrin of her parents.
However, her dream academy soon became a waking nightmare to her. She would be tormented daily by all her peers, especially one Lila Rossi, the prima donna of the academy. Every professor would sneer at her low birth, and did nothing when the others tried to sabotage her standing at the Academy.  She tried to keep her head held high, even as everyone else looked down on her for being a baker’s daughter. Marinette ignored the comments and rumours about how she was able to attend the prestigious academy.  Rumours that she dared not repeat, about how she and her parents must be criminals if they were able to afford to send her to the academy.  
It wasn’t enough for her to be stuck in the chorus, Lila Rossi wanted to make sure her place as prima donna of the academy was ironclad. A couple of the teachers felt that she was growing more temperamental, more complacent, and their eyes began to wander for a dancer to take her place.  The other dancers were unwilling to take her place, all except for Marinette, who saw it as a shining opportunity.  For Lila, this simply would not stand.  
The one time Marinette found a pair of scissors that had been used to cut the laces on her pointe shoes.  The same scissors that were missing from her sewing box days earlier. She decided that the time had come to confront Lila once and for all.
Marinette confronted her just before rehearsals began, scissors in hand, in front of everyone.  “Is it true?” she called, everyone turned to look at them.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Lila gasped.  She looked down to see her wearing her worn out slippers, before looking back up at her face.  “You do know you’re meant to be wearing your toe shoes now, right? The show is in a few days.” she reminded her.
“I do,” she breathed, “I also know it was you, you’re the one who cut the laces on my pointe shoes.”
Lila gasped and stepped back, everyone else was shocked by the accusation. She looked away for a moment, and squeezed her eyes shut.  Marinette knew the trick well from their acting classes at the academy, she was getting ready to make it look like she was crying.  “Why? Why would you accuse me of something like this?” she made sure her voice wavered as she spoke, “what reason do I have to sabotage a background dancer’s shoes?”
Marinette knew she had lost the battle before it had even begun, every dancer would move to protect Lila and her crocodile tears.  Lila was the prima donna, the daughter of a diplomat, and she had the entire academy in the palm of her hand.  “Perhaps there was some mistake,” she muttered, walking away from her classmates rushing to defend Lila’s fake tears.  It was useless trying to explain that the scissors were stolen from her, and that this was an elaborate setup.  It was her word against Lila’s, as the directors tried to command the dancer’s attention, Marinette ran.  
Once again, she tried to keep her head held high, it wasn’t as if anyone would believe her when she told them about Lila’s machinations.   She made a habit of keeping her costumes and pointe shoes hidden.  On occasion bringing them home whenever she visited her parent’s bakery, somewhere that little saboteur would not even think to look for them.
Months later, tragedy struck again when she received a letter informing her that her parent’s bakery had been burned.  Her parents, her hopes, her dreams all burned to ash in one night.  It was made worse by the fact that one rehearsal, Lila snatched the letter out of her hands and read it aloud for the entire company of dancers and singers to hear.   She assumed that it would be some kind of love note, probably preparing to spread rumours about Marinette sneaking off into the night with a mystery lover.  Instead, Lila simply made a show of pitying Marinette, “poor thing, it’s worse than I thought.  Unless you can find a patron to support you, your days at the academy are going to be numbered.”
Just as the theatre managers had arrived, Marinette fled, keeping her head down as tears were welling up in her eyes and blurring her vision.  Since the day she arrived she had been mocked, humiliated, tormented simply so that one girl could have the adoration and sympathy of her fellow performers.  Through all the salacious rumours and lies, she tried her best to ignore them and carry herself through it all.  The loss of her parents, their bakery, and now Marinette’s hopes and dreams, it was all too much to bear.  
Marinette ran to an empty music room to cry her heart out, she sat right against the wall, knees curled up to her chest and sobbed into her legs. In this state of absolute despair, she began to sing a song of her favourite fairy tale that her father would sing to her whenever she had a nightmare.  She sang a soft, painful prayer for the Angel of Music and a farewell to her lost parents. “Think of me, think of me fondly, when we say goodbye…”, her singing was hoarse, off key, full of sorrow.
The more she sang, the harder she cried. Soon to the point that she could not complete the song. However, a disembodied voice sang the remaining verse for her. Marinette paused from her crying to look for the voice, it felt as if it came from everywhere and nowhere. It was hypnotising, elegant, enchanting. She walked out of the music room to try to find the source of the singing.
“Come to me, Angel of Music.” The voice sang, in a smooth tenor voice, luring Marinette as if she was a moth attracted to a flame. The voice led her to a musical hall, reserved only for the academy’s annual showcase. She turned the door knob, to her surprise, the door was unlocked. She peeked her head through the door to see a cloaked figure playing the organ, the source of the enchanting voice. “Insolent girl, this slave of fashion. Basking in your glory.” The figure angrily sang “Ignorant fool, this prima donna.”
“Angel of Music, is that you?” Marinette tentatively asked the figure. The figure stopped playing, and turned around to face her. Marinette was taken aback by the figure, he was a tall man, wearing a red mask on the left side of his face. Another distinctive feature other than his magnificent voice was the white streak of hair and piercing green eyes.
“You are unlike any of the fools in this academy. You did not join this academy for fame or fortune. No, you came here because of your love of music.” The figure told her. He took a deep breath and composed himself, straightening his jacket. Then he raised an arm, reaching out to Marinette. “I am your Angel of Music, come to me Angel of Music.”  Marinette walks forward and accepts the Angel’s hand, thus beginning their first musical lesson together.
Marinette’s talent and ability in music skyrocketed with her extra-curricular lessons.   Her mysterious patron was also the one continuing to fund her education at the academy.  Meanwhile, no one else had the time to spread rumours about Marinette, not when there were rumours of a ghost haunting the Conservatoire.  
Unbeknownst to Marinette, she was the key to establishing control over a very profitable endeavour for her mysterious patron. The managers were being extorted to the tune of 20,000 francs and requested that box five remain open.  This money was nothing to them, especially when the sons and daughters of the wealthy and powerful were attending.  Very few had seen Jason’s face, and if they did, they would draw back in fear.   It was the result of a boyhood accident that left him changed and altered in more ways than one.  Taking control of the Conservatoire was merely the first step in taking control of an entire city.  This girl, Marinette, was the key to captivating their attention.  She would hold their attention and adoration as the rising star of the academy, drawing their eyes away from his growing influence and power.  Using talents and potential that they had cast aside, twisting their own hubris against them.  
Months later, everyone in the academy worked towards its annual showcase for its patrons, the nobility and all family members of its students. Lila had grown bored of tormenting Marinette, and had moved on to other victims.  She had her other dancers and singers wrapped around her little finger, and all eyes would be on her at the annual showcase.  
At last the day of the annual showcase had arrived, Lila sat at her personal preparation room, after all she would be the star of the show. She walked over to her wardrobe and opened it, she then screamed in horror to see her dress tattered and in pieces.
In the days leading to the showcase the Director of Conservatoire de Paris had received threatening letters demanding 20,000 Francs, box 5 to remain vacant and worse of all to replace Lila Rossi with some baker’s daughter. Director Bourgeois scoffed at the threats, tossing the letter away.
The next day during the rehearsal for one of the ballet numbers, students and teachers paid no mind to the threats that were outlined in the letter. Until one of the dancers looked up and gasped in horror. The other dancers looked up to find the stagehand hanging from the rafters. The theatre soon bursts into screams of fear as they all see the dead body of the stagehand.   Director Bourgeois ordered all faculty members and students present to remain silent of the murder. This prestigious institution could not afford such a scandal this close to such an important showcase. As the Director inspected the body, he found a letter titled to him attached to the corpse of a stagehand.
Director Bourgeois read the second letter with shaky hands, it read “Monsieur Bourgeois, good day to you. It seems you did not take my threat seriously. I present to you this corpse to show my sincerity. I see you have a young daughter, pray that no harm would befall her. I shall reiterate my demands, 20,000 francs, box five remain vacant and Mademoiselle Marinette shall replace the harlot Lila Rossi.”
Director Bourgeois collapsed into his chair, wiping his sweat. Until he heard a scream from outside his office. He ran out as fast as he could to see Lila Rossi confronting Marinette. Crocodile tears flowed from Lila’s eyes as she accused Marinette of sabotage, purposefully doing so in front of the Director's office.  
“How could you Marinette?” Lila wailed, “Whatever your reasons, how could you do this to me? To the Conservatoire?”
Marinette merely said “Lila, don’t you stay in a private room with guards patrolling the hallway outside?” She shrugs, “I was in my dormitory last night. Besides, how could anyone sneak into your room at night, unless they were a phantom?”
Director Bourgeois goes pale at Marinette’s implication, he had to intervene quickly, before the situation got worse. He attempted to placate Lila, “Now now mademoiselles, I can’t punish anybody unless we have solid evidence. As the saying goes ‘the show must go on.’ Signora Rossi, as you are currently unable to perform, I’m afraid Mademoiselle Marinette will have to take your place.”
Marinette’s eyes widened at the offer given to her, she could not believe it. Director Bourgeois himself offered her the star role for this year’s showcase. It is all as her Angel of Music said would happen. She accepted the role wholeheartedly and thanked the director profusely, she skipped back to the musical hall to begin rehearsals, now as the main lead.
Lila’s jaw dropped to see the director siding against her, how he gave away her role to that peasant without any hesitation. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, she stomped her way back to her bedroom to begin scheming the ultimate humiliation for Marinette. She was so distracted with her rage, she had not noticed a shadowy figure following her.
Lila planned to show the entire Opera house just who Marinette was, little more than a filthy peasant who got lucky.  She was supposed to have packed her bags and left months ago, after her parents and their pathetic little bakery burned down.  “This Opera Phantom had a lot of nerve calling me a harlot, when Marinette is probably his little harlot.” she muttered harshly in the darkness.  She searched the costume room for the lead actress’ dress, a long flowing gown that brushed against the floor.  It was made with the finest fabrics that money could buy, it almost broke Lila’s heart to sabotage it.  She would rather die than see it worn by some peasant girl, a pretender, a talentless sham of a performer.  Before she can lay hand on the dress to destroy it, a gloved hand reaches out and grabs her by the wrist.  A voice interrupts her, “What do you think you are doing with that?”
Lila slowly turns around to see a grotesque figure staring at her.  In the candlelight, she was horrified by the person she saw. The left half of his face was severely burned, almost completely disfigured. His bright green eyes flared with a fury that genuinely terrified Lila as the figure glared at her. She immediately drops everything and screams, as she runs out the door as fast as her legs would carry her, wailing and screaming how the ghost is trying to kill her. “He’s there, the Phantom of the Opera!” she wails as he chases her down. The Phantom pursues his prey. Just as Lila runs around a corner, the ghost is there waiting for her. She gives another horrified scream, falling to the floor and trying to crawl in the opposite direction. “No no no, please don't kill me!” She begged as tears blurred her vision.
Her howls and pleas of mercy attract nearby students, teachers and guards. They all arrive to see Lila screaming like a maniac on the floor, alone and raving about some ghost hunting her down. “The ghost is real! He is real I tell you! He’s going to kill me!” she sobbed. As Lila was being escorted out of the academy, gossip spread like wildfire. Within hours everyone would be talking about how Lila had lost all of her sanity because of the ghost.
They had no other choice at that moment, the show had to go on.  If they wanted the night to go smoothly, with no one noticing anything strange or peculiar, they had to meet the Phantom’s demands.  Marinette stood there, centre stage, with all of Paris’ most influential in the audience. She began to sing her show stopping aria.  
As she glided across the stage and looked out into the audience, her eyes searched for the man in the red mask.  She liked to imagine her Angel of Music beaming at her with pride, without him, she would still be that sad little girl crying in the music room.  She sang as loudly and as clearly as she could, hoping that her voice would pierce the heavens clearly enough for her mother and father to hear.  
As she reached her crescendo, she peaked with an E6. Her voice echoed across the entire hall with the sharpness and perfection of a veteran soprano singer. The audience collective dropped their jaws at the spectacle. Marinette ended her aria with a bow, and the theatre erupted with a thunderous round of applause.  
Jason watched from his seat in box five, with a self satisfied smile on his face.  From that day forth, he would see to it that all eyes were on her.  
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licieoic · 4 years ago
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“The Seventh Prince” - Digital Oil Painting
Inspired by Suptober, theme: Switch it up! I’m a major fairy tale nerd, so I decided to go for a “Wild Swans” AU where Castiel is the seventh prince, the one stuck with a swan’s wing for an arm, and Dean is his personal knight/protector. Have a drabble under the cut, because I’m obsessed...
Please see the pinned post at the top of my Tumblr for my links if you'd like to help support me in saving for a safe place to live!
Dean applauded along with the rest of the wedding guests as the young queen kissed the king. Now that she was finally able to speak, it had seemed only right to have a second wedding, one where she could do more than nod. He still didn’t fully understand the particulars of why she’d needed to keep silent for seven years as she’d worked to undo a spell set upon her seven brothers, but he figured he didn’t really need to know. Magic didn’t come with handy explanations, magic just was.
Movement to his left drew his attention away from the happy couple and he saw his charge, Prince Castiel, rising to leave the garden where the wedding had taken place. Bound to protect him, Dean followed as he always did.
“I’m not going far, you don’t have to come with me,” said the prince, his rough voice a bit softer than usual.
“Actually, I do,” said Dean, before adding with respect, “your highness.”
“Suit yourself, Sir Winchester.”
“Will you ever call me Dean?” It was a question he asked often. “I hear ‘Sir Winchester’ and I think you’re talking about my father.”
“Perhaps someday.” It was the answer the prince always gave, though he seemed more preoccupied that day.
Dean hadn’t been Castiel’s knight protector for very long, but he thought he knew what had him so upset. Eying the red shawl that was perpetually wrapped around the prince’s left arm from daybreak when Dean would join him to sundown when he would leave for bed, Castiel only possessed one good arm, which left him unable to join in the happy applause for his sister.
The knight stayed only steps behind Castiel as they mounted a tall hill overlooking the nearby forest. They would often end up going on walks in this manner. Whenever his mood would darken, Castiel would always withdraw from his family rather than burden them with his melancholy. But Dean saw it all. The troubled expressions, the heavy sighs, the longing looks toward the horizon. Normally, he wouldn’t say anything, it wasn’t his place, but his heart had gone out to the prince. He seemed so lonely, so isolated. If he had to endure punishment for overstepping his boundaries, so be it.
“Do you, uh…” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, looking everywhere but at the prince. “Is there anything you’d… like to, you know, talk about?”
Castiel flashed his vibrantly blue eyes at Dean and the knight tried to appear nonchalant, desperately hoping his face wasn’t turning red. It was painfully obvious that feelings and talking about them were not his forte, but he didn’t retract his offer. At first, Dean thought the prince might refuse or else ignore him entirely, but then he sighed.
“I was just thinking,” he said, looking back the way they’d come toward the wedding where the guests were beginning to move inside for the party. “This might be the last time all eight of us are together for a long while. Lucifer left pretty much as soon as the spell was broken, that was no surprise, but then Michael followed him soon after. Now Gabriel has been talking about leaving and seeing the world too. I have no doubt that the rest of my brothers will go at some point. And that leaves me. Here. Going nowhere.”
“You’ll always have the queen,” Dean pointed out.
“And I love her dearly,” said Castiel. “But she has her own family now, with two children who are terrified of me. Not that I can blame them.”
“Where would you go?”
Castiel shook his head. “I have no idea. But the desire is always there. The need to… just be free.” He lifted his head, casting his gaze over the tops of the trees where green met endless blue above. “I miss the sky.”
Dean blinked. “The sky?” Then the penny dropped. “You can’t fly.”
“Not anymore.”
Taking a step closer, Dean tentatively asked, “W-what’s it like?”
A small rare smile ghosted across Castiel’s lips and it was like a bit of sunshine peeking through the clouds. “Exhilarating. It was the only time I didn’t feel trapped in my own body. Swooping through the clouds, gliding on the wind like I was weightless, landing on water and floating like a ship, completely effortlessly.”
Dean’s heart was pounding just at the thought. “Sounds terrifying to me.”
Castiel chuckled and it felt like winning something. “I suppose it would.”
“Why couldn’t you go somewhere if you wanted to, like your brothers did? Just—not the sky.”
“And spread more rumors about the monster? I couldn’t.” He must have caught Dean’s expression because he added, “I know what’s said about me. It’s why I keep my distance from my family as much as possible. I don’t want them to be feared and whispered about as well.”
They were silent for a while. Castiel closed his eyes, lifting his face to the breeze. Dean kept his gaze on the prince, watching his dark hair play in the wind. He leaned his weight on one leg, his left hand going automatically to rest on the hilt of the dagger he always kept at his side. He could only imagine what Castiel was thinking, feeling so alone, essentially going from one cage to another, living in a body that was only mostly his.
“You’ll always have me,” he said, suddenly.
Castiel’s head snapped in his direction, his eyes wide, but then he scoffed. “That’s a nice thought—”
“I mean it,” Dean interrupted. “I want to stay. With you. I’ll always be by your side.”
The moment hung between them, heavy with things unsaid, though it was still far more than Dean had ever intended to say. He almost wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole, but then the prince would be alone and he’d just promised him he wouldn’t leave.
Slowly, but with far more dexterity than Dean would normally expect from someone with only one working hand, Castiel untied the knot of the sling wrapped around his left arm, then unwound the fabric and pulled it free.
All of Dean’s breath left him in a whoosh as the prince stretched out his wing, the feathers bright white in the afternoon sun, like the wing of an angel. It was so massive, even though they stood a few steps apart, Dean could swear he felt the tips brush his cheek as the wing extended past his head. It was softer than anything and left the knight with the crazy urge to bury his hands in it.
“Now do you understand?” Castiel asked. “Why I can never let anyone get too close?”
“It’s… beautiful,” blurted Dean, the first thought in his head tumbling out of his mouth like an idiot.
“Beautiful,” the prince repeated, his eyes dark as he lifted his face to look at the wing. “Sooner or later you would see it as I do. A curse. And you would ask to be assigned a new duty. One where you could forget about me.”
“I won’t,” said Dean, speaking quickly when Castiel opened his mouth to argue, “let me prove it to you.”
That seemed to bring the prince up short, making him pause in the act of folding his wing back down by his side. “How?”
“Let me stay with you.”
The wing settled, rippling elegantly. “For how long?”
Dean shrugged. “Well… as long as it takes.”
Castiel looked at him for a long moment and Dean wondered what he saw. Blue against green, like the sky meeting the forest.
“I’ll give you a year,” he said, at last. “If you remain by my side that long, I’ll believe you.”
“Only one year?” said Dean, giving him a teasing half-smile. “Why not seven?”
“I don’t think I’d be able to wait that long to claim you.”
It was Dean’s turn to be brought up short. “What?”
“And once mine, I won’t be able to let you go. Remember that.”
“Why? W-what would happen if I left then?” Was this more magic?
“It would kill me.” Castiel tilted his head in that maddening way he had. “Don’t you know?”
Dean shook his head. The prince closed the distance between them, reaching up with his right hand to touch Dean’s face. His thumb slid across the apple of his cheek as his fingers traced around the outside of his ear. Shivering, Dean resisted the urge to close his eyes.
“Swans mate for life… Dean.”
The knight’s stomach clenched involuntarily, hearing the prince use his given name for the first time. Swallowing thickly, he asked, “That a promise?”
Castiel’s deep blue eyes were stormy as he answered, “A warning.”
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tiarnanabhfainni · 3 years ago
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i wrote another fic about generational trauma and the winchesters, this time featuring deadbeat mom extraordinaire mary née campbell, displacement, emigration, the american wake and just really missing your mom.
gonna quickly tag a few mutuals who might be interested but also you can find the fic under the cut
@uhuraha @myaimistrue @nonsensegnomes
American Wake
On a mild summer’s day in 1950, a wedding took place in Normal, Illinois. Dressed in a simple white dress that she had inherited from her mother, Millie Walsh looked up at the man who was to be her husband in daze of transcendent happiness. She had good reason to be besotted. His name was Henry Winchester and he was a dashing young academic of the supernatural with a fascinating air of mystery that surrounded him. They had met the previous year when he had come to her home in New York on a fact-finding mission. Millie fell in love after only two minutes of conversation.
With such a buoyant adoration to carry her through, Millie was perfectly happy to relocate to a state far from her family and friends to build a new life with charming debonair Henry. She knew about the supernatural elements of his life. How could she not? But it was a trade she was perfectly willing to make for the opportunity to create a family with him.
And she paid dearly for that decision. Millie lost a husband and was left to raise her four year old son alone.
It was all entirely avoidable of course. The Winchester name was not her inheritance by birth. No Cupid had ever marked her name for Henry. It was by no means a match made in heaven. If not for love, Millie could have lived a life completely divorced from the less-than-natural.
After her husband’s disappearance her heart hardened and she abandoned the Winchester name and any association with the supernatural. Packing her bags for Kansas, she returned instead to the ways of her own people. For Millie’s family had a long history of leaving their pasts behind them.
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Millie’s maternal line can be traced back to a small town in Limerick, Ireland now known by the name of Patrickswell. The farm where her grandmother was reared would likely have been a fair few miles from the town itself but it’s difficult to be precise about these things since many of the records of the era were destroyed in an explosion during the Civil War of the 1920’s.
Bridget Ó Laochdha lived in a hard place surrounded by tough people. There was no work in the surrounding towns and villages and her family was forced to eke out a living on rented land. Most of the local community spoke little to no English and spent most of their day-to-day lives conversing and working through the medium of the Irish language.
The Ó Laochdha family was no exception to this rule. Bridget - as the sole member of the family with more than a rudimentary grasp on the foreign tongue - had been translating for her father at the market for most of her young life.
The rugged countryside that surrounded them was austere and beautiful but there was darkness around every corner. Violence engulfed the region as the Land War raged around them. The threat of eviction was a constant sword of Damocles over their heads and the precarity of the political situation left a permanent mark on Bridget’s development.
Bridget loved her family, of course she did. She loved the language she spoke with them and the easy rhythm of her life. But she knew that there was a brighter future out there somewhere on the other side of an ocean. Somewhere she wouldn’t hear constant news of Whiteboys, Invincibles and their clashes with the police. Somewhere that was safer, where she might get a job and support her family from afar. All she needed was the means to get there.
------------------------------------
Mary idolises her dad when she’s young as children are prone to do. Her family are heroes who straddle the line between the known and the unknown and keep the world safe from the evil lurking in the shadows.
As a teenager, she joins the family business and she’s a natural. She excels particularly at getting information out of young witnesses. She sits amongst small groups of girls, nodding along to conversations about music, miniskirts and make-up and nudging the topic of discussion slowly around to the subject of her father’s latest hunt. Mary’s good with the guys too, she finds that a well-placed laugh or look can get her most of what she needs.
But intel is not the only area where she excels. Mary’s a sharpshooter and she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty. Hand her a shovel and she can dig a grave just as fast as the boys. She even knows the best technique for washing blood off her hands.
She’s on a path to be one of the best in the business. And she hates it.
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Although many people left Ireland to try their luck in the United States in those days, it was still a difficult path to tread. Tickets to get to New York were expensive and hard to come by. Buying a ticket at the harbour was as likely to get you scammed as to get you a place on the boat.
Bridget was fortunate in that her local parish priest was looking to sponsor a few young hopefuls on the trip across the Atlantic and offered her a place. That decision might have been the hardest any in her family had ever had to make. To leave behind everything she knew and understood for the small chance that her life could be better. She made that choice nonetheless.
The tradition of The American Wake was one that dated back to the famine years in Ireland to mourn the departure of a loved one to that far off place across the ocean. There would be no real way to send letters home consistently and economic conditions meant that the emigrants would likely never be able to return home. What do you do when you are setting up to grieve someone who is still alive? You hold a funeral.
On Bridget’s last day in Limerick she cried until her tear ducts ran dry. She sat in the centre of the room and listened to the keening women wail around her. Her father could not speak his sadness but he stood beside her and rested his hand on her shoulder, bowing his head in silent prayer. Her mother held her face in her hands and whispered one last goodbye.
Yet amidst all of the tears and the heartache, a sense of relief made its way into Bridget’s bones and settled in her spine. There was death and loss but a future there too. A brand new life in a brand new land. And while they’d never say it, her family was relieved too, she could see it in their eyes. This was one less mouth to feed, one less person to clothe. The money she will send home in remittances would lighten her father’s load by a considerable degree.
As she boarded the boat in Cobh, she stared at the ticket clutched tightly in her hand and thought not of what it had taken from her but of the life it stood to grant her.
---------------------------------
When Mary meets John for that second date outside his mother’s house, she knows that this is it. That he is her ticket out.
She clutches his body in her lap and cries and she doesn’t know what to do. With death and destruction all around her, Mary makes the only choice she can.
Deanna’s body still lies abandoned on the kitchen tiles. But isn't it better, in a way, that she never had to face her daughter leaving her behind?
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The first impression America made on Bridget was not a positive one. No sooner than she arrived at Ellis Island, did they take the last vestiges of her home away from her. Bridget Leahy took her first step onto foreign soil without even her name to console her.
Her first job in New York was that of a kitchen worker in a large airy home in the employ of a family belonging to the upper echelons of East Coast society. Her hours were long and her fingers near scrubbed to the bone. Since her food and board were covered, every penny that she earned was sent home to Patrickswell.
While her English had served her well in local markets of Limerick, she found that they were quite inadequate here among native speakers. She sat around the table in the servants’ quarters with the others who worked in the home and listened as conversations happened all around her. They all spoke so fast and the topic of conversation switched so quickly that she couldn't quite keep track. Bridget simply did not have the vocabulary to contribute and so she stopped speaking entirely.
The longing for home was like a physical wound lodged just under her ribs and sometimes she wondered how she continued to breathe through the pain.
The only times that she could recognise herself was on her rare evenings off when she made her way down to the local Irish dance hall. There she could allow young men from Inchicore, Kilrush and Listowel to spin her around a room to the music of home and forget where she was for just a few hours.
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It is impossible to overemphasise how little the role of a housewife suits Mary Winchester. The sundresses feel awkward on her form and the kitchen still feels like a foreign land.
The other mothers in the neighbourhood all seem to speak the same language as they switch tracks fluently between complaining good-naturedly about their husbands and swapping recipe cards. Mary has never felt more out of place.
She doesn’t know where she fits or how to contribute. The loss of her mother is like a crater in her chest and she doesn’t know where to lay down all of the grief she holds in her hands. She thinks she would be better at holding her children without it.
When it all gets too much, she sheds the skin of Mary Winchester and leaves her small family behind to retrace the Campbell path. She might not be able to get her family back but she can pretend to be home for just a small while when on a hunt.
-----------------------------------
In a small catholic church on an intersection, Bridget Leahy married Mick Walsh of Tyrone in a small, private ceremony. As a married woman, she left the world of employment behind and started the task of homemaking in their small Manhattan apartment. She did her best to keep the rooms aired out and clean but the grime of the city was ever present.
When she looked out of the window and saw grey dusty streets she couldn't help but compare the view to green fields and the fresh air of the Limerick countryside. Her husband worked in construction, building monuments of steel to the sky that looked towards an American future while she remained stuck in an Irish past.
When Bridget’s pregnancy first became obvious to the couple, they were delighted. This was their chance to build something of their own on American soil. A family.
When her waters broke, the women of the neighbourhood rushed into her room to oversee the birth and refused to let her husband in so he could hold her hand.
In another life maybe Bridget stayed at home and married a local boy in Patrickswell. Maybe she gave birth at home next to her parents’ fireplace with all of the women of her family around her and her mother stroking her hair.
Maybe she was destined to die in childbirth no matter where she was but at least at home the last voice in her ears would have been in a tongue that was her own.
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Just like Millie Winchester née Walsh before her, Mary Winchester let the supernatural into her home in a desperate grab for the life that she wanted to build.
And just like her mother-in-law before her, a demon crashed through the walls and destroyed every semblance of a family that she had found.
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hearts-hunger · 4 years ago
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dralshy’a ka’ra (brighter stars): chapter one || din djarin x reader
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Read on AO3 | Masterlist
Series Summary: In the lake country of Naboo, you and Din romance each other under summer’s brighter stars. || Part Two of Jate’kara (Lucky Stars)
Chapter Summary: After docking the Crest at the harbor, you and Din while away the afternoon exploring the city hand in hand.
Pairings: Din Djarin x Wife!Reader
Genre: Fluff, smut (eventually) | Word Count: 3.1k | Warnings: None!
A/N: So, I loved writing Mr. and Mrs. Djarin so much that I decided to give them a vacation after all the stress of Ciryc Ca’tra. Basically, it’s Din being the sweetest husband ever. It’s technically a sequel, but I’m fairly certain it can be read as a standalone series. Let me know what you think, and I hope you like it! ♡
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“Isn’t the sunshine wonderful, Din?”
You tipped your face up towards the bright, cloudless Naboo sky, feeling the sun on your cheeks like a kiss from a dearly-missed friend.
You heard a soft laugh come through Din’s vocoder. “Yes, it’s wonderful.”
You looked over at him and gave him a bright, sun-squinty smile. “You’re not even in it.”
He was leaned up against the side of the Crest in its shadow, as relaxed as someone in full armor could be, his arms crossed over his chest as the sunshine glinting off the bay cast shimmering reflections on his beskar. You knew he was monitoring your surroundings with care - even in the port of Naboo, where you’d never known there to be any trouble, your husband was nothing if not observant.
“I will be,” he said patiently. “But there’s no use in me sweating through my armor before we’ve even docked the ship.”
You were waiting on the harbormaster to come by and check that everything was in place with where you’d landed the Crest, and even though you knew Din had done everything by the book, he still preferred to have a conversation with the person in charge wherever he left her. You came over to him, stepping into the shade from the Crest, and rested your arms over his.
“Hi,” you said with a smile, looking up at his helm.
He chuckled. “Hi, yourself.” He leaned in to gently tap his helmet against your forehead. “Are you happy to be back?”
“Yes,” you said, earnest and sincere. You’d only come back to your home planet once since you’d been married, and that was to let your family meet your new baby. That time, you had only stayed for a few hours - Din had worried about coming at all, as the authorities on Naboo surely knew the price on his head and didn’t care that the kidnapping was, in reality, the rescue of a youngling from a murderous Imperial warlord. But he knew how much it meant to you that your family be able to see and hold your new baby, and had whisked you and your foundling into your small village in the countryside under cover of night. The expression on your mother’s face when she held your baby for the first time was something you would always treasure, and you would never be able to truly thank Din for letting you have that, even as dangerous as it had been for him to arrange.
This time, you were here without the baby; you’d taken him to Sorgan, to stay with Omera and Winta for a few days, and you knew he was having the time of his life playing with the other children in the village for hours on end. Din had made good on his promise to take you on a trip after the frozen planet - somewhere warm, where you could rest and enjoy being with each other without a care in the galaxy. You also knew he was paying good money to keep your ship off the radar; an old ship like yours was bound to draw attention, and it was only with a generous amount of credits that it would be able to go by the New Republic regulations without getting flagged.
“Thank you for bringing me,” you said.
He nodded. “You’re welcome.” It was just like Din to treat grand love gestures as everyday kindnesses to you. You would have attributed it to the Mandalorian way of life, where selflessness was expected in every aspect of one’s relationships, but you knew the way he treated you with such gentleness and kindness without ever being asked or expecting anything in return was just in your husband’s nature.
“Are we going back to Trask after this?” you asked. You didn’t want to spend your holiday worrying about what you’d do after it was over, but you knew it had to be on your husband’s mind.
He studied you for a moment. 
“I think so,” he finally said. You’d stopped there long enough to bring the frog lady to her husband and get the Crest halfway flyable again, and then taken it to Peli for more extensive repairs. It was almost as good as new, and it had taken you to Sorgan and then here to Naboo with little trouble.
“I still need to find the other Mandalorians,” Din continued. “I thought of letting you stay with your mother while I did, but...” He shook his head. “I don’t want to be apart from you like that. I can’t keep you safe if I’m not with you.”
You knew he was thinking of your baby as well as you, and you gave his hand a comforting squeeze.
“We’ll come with you to Trask,” you said. “I understand you not wanting to leave us for that long. But for now, the baby will be fine with Omera for a few days. You don’t have to worry about him.”
He sighed. “I know,” he said. “It’s just... it was harder to leave him than I thought it would be.” He seemed to think he’d said something wrong, and quickly tried to mend it.
“Not that I don’t want to be here with you,” he said. “I do. It’s nice to have a break and just be with you, cyare.”
You smiled. “I know what you meant,” you assured him. “It’s hard for me to leave him too, but he’ll be fine with Omera.”
You reached up and draped your arms around his neck; his hands moved to your waist and the small of your back, holding you close to him.
“And we get a few days all to ourselves,” you said. “With no broken ship and no horrible spiders and no frosty beskar.”
He gave a wry hum of agreement. “Basic requirements for any vacation, I think.”
You laughed. “I think so too, but with our luck, we should take what we can get.”
You could have stayed in his arms like that for hours, but you felt him straighten and pull away from you a little; you turned your head to follow his gaze and saw the harbormaster coming over to the Crest. You stepped back into the sunshine, content to let Din handle the logistics of docking the ship while you basked in the warmth.
“All set,” Din said after a few minutes, putting a hand on your back to gently get your attention. You opened your eyes and almost had to close them again at the bright shine of his beskar in the sunlight.
“Great,” you said. “Is that a defense tactic for you Mandalorians? Blind your opponent with your shiny armor?”
He laughed. “Knowing us, probably.” 
You wound your arm around his and hung off him like a new bride, leaning your head against his bicep as you walked down the port street together. You drew attention - Din’s armor would always attract curious gazes wherever he went - but the people of Naboo were not aggressive or overly suspicious. Travelers of all kinds came to enjoy the sights of the beautiful city and the countryside, and as long as they didn’t cause trouble, the locals were happy to let them be.
“Do the people around here dress this fancy all the time?” Din asked.
You considered the locals that walked the streets, noticing their long, flowing dresses and ornately stitched suits that you’d grown up wearing and seeing everywhere in your childhood. You were so used to it that it hadn’t even occurred to you that it would seem out of the ordinary - you and Din were the ones who seemed out of place, with his armor and your plain shirt and trousers.
“Yes, but it’s not considered fancy,” you explained. “Even those who do manual labor still have some sort of detailed stitching or bright colors on their clothes.”
Din looked over at you, seeming to take in your outfit. “Do you miss it?”
You shrugged. “Maybe. Sometimes.” It had been a bit of an adjustment when you first married, but it just wasn’t practical to wear anything that ornate when you were the wife of a bounty hunter. It attracted too much attention and made for a clumsy getaway, if you ever needed to make one. It didn't bother you now, and you were happy to dress in a way more suited to your lifestyle, but you imagined it would be a fun change of pace to wear a pretty dress every now and then.
He put his free hand over yours where it rested on his arm, gentlemanly and comforting. “I’m sorry I can’t give you... nice things. The things you were used to when you lived here.”
“Oh, Din,” you said, looking up at him. “You don’t need to apologize. I love our life, and I don’t regret anything that had to change to let me be with you. I’d give up every nice thing in the galaxy to be with you if I had to.”
His laugh was a little regretful. “Haven’t you, for the most part?”
“No,” you said honestly, hoping he would understand how much you meant it. “I mean, yes, it’s very different from how I lived here, but I don’t care about all that stuff, Din. There’s nothing I’d want more than you and our son - nothing else would make me happy.”
His gaze was steady, and you wished you could see his expression.
“I love you,” he said finally.
You smiled. “I love you too,” you said, leaning your head against his arm once more. “And besides, your son would pull every last thread of beading off of anything I decided to wear that was fancier than this.”
He laughed, and you were pleased to hear that it was more relaxed. “You’re probably right about that, cyare.”
You walked arm in arm through the streets of the city, taking in the sights and sounds of the beautiful streets of Theed. Even when you lived on Naboo, you hadn’t ventured to the capitol much - your family lived in the hill country, and you only came into Theed for special occasions. In your travels with Din, you rarely visited such a bustling city center; most of his work was conducted on the scrappier, less hospitable planets. 
You dragged Din to a halt in front of a market stall with all sorts of candies and sweets, spotting something you hadn’t had since childhood and now simply couldn't go another minute without.
“What is it?” he asked. He didn’t much care for sweets, but obliged your proclivity for them all the same.
“Plasma cloud,” you said, pointing out the pink swirls of egg whites and sugar. “My father used to bring them home to us when he came to the city on business.”
Din reached in a pocket on his belt and handed you a few credits, and you grinned at him with childish excitement.
“Thank you,” you said, giving him a quick kiss on the side of his helmet before you went up to the stall owner for your treat. You came back with a bag of them in hand and one already popped in your mouth and handed Din his change.
“I’ll save a couple for you for later,” you said around another bite. They were better than you had remembered them, and reminded you of long summer days spent playing and waiting for your father to return home from the city.
“I know you don’t like candy,” you said, winding your arm around his again. “But you have to try a bite, at least.”
He chuckled. “I’ll try them for you, cyare. Are they good?”
You nodded. It was all good - the sunshine, your sugar-sticky fingers, Din beside you for a leisurely stroll through the city. You couldn’t remember the last time you and your husband did anything with leisure besides collapse in your bunk at night, and you determined you’d make a better effort to make happy afternoons like this one a priority for both of you.
“So, lover mine, where are you taking me?” you asked, happy to let him lead the way. He hadn’t given you any details about where you were staying while you were here, and you’d assumed you were going to stay with your parents, but it would have been impractical to dock in Theed and travel all the way to the hill country. You guessed he could have wanted to stay in the city, but that didn’t seem like him, and you looked up at his helm while you waited for his reply.
He looked down at you. “It’s a surprise.”
You grinned. “Okay. Is it somewhere in the city?”
“No,” he admitted. “We can stay for a while longer, but we should be heading out of the city before the sun starts to set. If I was drawing attention earlier, I'll be the most popular guy on Naboo come nightfall.”
You hummed in agreement. “It’s because of your winsome personality.”
He laughed. “Yes, that must be it. Mandalorians are notorious charmers everywhere they go.”
“Well, mine is,” you said. You traced the Mudhorn signet on his pauldron, the one that matched the pendant you wore around your neck. “I hope our kids grow up to be like you, Din.”
He looked over at you, perhaps as surprised as you were by the unexpectedly serious and heartfelt sentiment. You blushed, but you didn’t quite know why until you realized that you’d said kids, plural, and it had slipped out before you thought of the implications.
He seemed a little lost for words for a moment. 
“Thank you, cyar’ika,” he said, and you knew how much he meant it. “That’s... very kind of you to say.”
As always, his humility endeared him to you. You touched your fingers to your lips and then to the bottom of his visor.
He was quiet, and you knew him well enough to know that his cheeks were pink under the helm. Then, most likely with a gentle smile, he lightly nudged his shoulder against yours.
“I hope our kids grow up like me too,” he teased. “I’m what the Mandalorians call a ‘ramikadyc mando’.”
You smiled. “Oh? And what does that mean?”
He shrugged, easing his discomfort with the self-aggrandizing nature of the joke as he explained it to you.
“It’s used to describe someone who takes on the best of Mandalorian training and lives it to the fullest. Endurance, determination. Confidence, but justified by their skill. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing several Mandalorians who deserve the title.”
You wanted to say that he deserved the title too, but you knew he’d be embarrassed by it and wave you off. You settled for pressing closer to him, and he pressed closer to you in return.
You whiled away the afternoon in the city, window shopping and admiring the beautiful architecture as the sun sank lower in the sky. Music drifted from the concert hall, dreamy and elegant as it mixed with birdsong and people’s friendly conversations. You stopped to admire a great swath of flowering vines that had covered the side of a weathered stone building, the deep wine color of the blooms catching the fading sun.
“Millaflowers,” you said, recognizing them from a dress your mother had when you were very small, hundreds of the little blossoms carefully stitched into the fabric. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”
Din very carefully plucked one and tucked it behind your ear. “Even more beautiful on you, cyare.”
Your cheeks warmed as you reached up to touch his hand, surprised and delighted by the tender gesture.
“I love you,” you said.
He gave a soft laugh, affectionate and warm. “I love you too, ner sarad.”
You twined your fingers with his. “‘My flower’, right?” you translated.
He hummed in agreement. “It isn’t used that often, but I think it’s nice. I once heard an older Mandalorian say it to his wife, and I thought to myself that I’d like to call someone that one day.”
“Did you really?” you asked, endeared at the thought. “Oh, Din. You’re secretly a romantic, aren’t you?”
“Only for you,” he said sweetly. You leaned close and he obliged you with a gentle tap of his helm against your head.
“Let me take you to bed,” he said softly.
You blushed; better than anything, your husband knew how to make you feel desirable, and you were pleased with the affection and want in his voice.
You put your arms around his neck. “Okay,” you said, your voice a little wobbly and lovesick. He put his hands to your waist and drew you to him, and you suddenly wished there wasn’t so much beskar between you.
He held you for a moment longer before he released you to take your hand, leading you back through the winding streets until you came to the lakeside on the opposite side of the city from the bay. The warm lights of the city reflected over the water, and lights flickered from houses nestled into the mountains that wound around the body of water that seemed to go on forever.
“That’s where we’re headed,” Din said, pointing out a small cluster of lights just visible around the curve of one of the mountains. “Near enough to the city, but no neighbors.”
You gave him a wry grin. “Any particular reason that might be important?”
You would have bet good money he smirked under his helmet. “Yeah. I’m not very neighborly.”
You gave his shoulder a playful shove, and his laugh was bright and warm even though his modulator.
“We’re taking the ferry there,” he said. “It should be here soon.”
For the sake of Din’s dignity, you didn’t start jumping up and down with delight, but you wanted to. 
“Are we really riding the ferry?” you asked.
“...yes?”
You grinned. “I’ve never been on it before,” you said. “Mother’s deathly afraid of boats, and we didn’t go into the city with dad. I’ve always wanted to, ever since I was a little girl.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’m honored to be the one taking you on your first ferry ride, cyare. I’d have planned our trip a little differently if I knew you were that easy to please.”
You knew he was kidding, and you wondered what else he’d planned. Everything so far had been lovely; you didn’t need anything more.
“What else do you have planned, Djarin?” you asked, teasingly suspicious.
He cocked his head at you. “Haven’t you ever heard that patience is a virtue?”
You laughed. “Sure, but we both know I’m as impatient as they get.” 
He gave an affectionate hum of agreement. “Yes, cyare. I know.”
He put his arm over your shoulder and drew you close, his posture relaxed and open. You leaned against him as you waited for the ferry, watching the gentle waves on the water with more peace and contentment than you’d had in a long time.
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Read chapter two!
pedro pascal character taglist: @punkgeekchic​​​​​​​​, @tv-saved-the-teenage-girl​​​​​​​​, @stardust-galaxies​​​​​​​​, @theorganasolo​​​​​​​​​ ♡
series taglist: @kyjoraven​​​​​​​​, @sarahjkl82-blog​​​​​​​​, @remmysbounty​​​​​​​​, @bitchin-beskar​​​​​​​​ ♡
(since this is a continuation of Ciryc Ca’tra, I kept the same taglist - I hope that’s ok 👉👈)
let me know if you’d like to be added to either taglist! ♡
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onecanonlife · 4 years ago
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careful son (you got dreamer's plans)
Wilbur gasps back to life with mud between his fingers and rain in his eyes.
Wilbur was dead. Now, he is not. He can't say that he's particularly happy about it.
Unfortunately, the server is still as tumultuous as ever, even with Dream locked away, so it seems that his involvement in things isn't a matter of if, but when.
(Alternatively: the prodigal son returns, and a broken family finally begins to heal. If, that is, the egg doesn't get them all killed first.)
Chapter Word Count: 7,295
Chapter Warnings: swearing, injury, blood, aftermath of (temporary) character death, mild disassociation, slight s.uicidal ideation, references to past abuse
Chapter Summary: The emotional fallout is intense, but they don’t have time to stop and deal with it. Wilbur doesn’t particularly like where they decide to hole up, but beggars can’t be choosers.
(masterlist w/ ao3 links)
(first chapter) (previous chapter) (next chapter)
Chapter Twelve: nowhere to run
The sun is too bright in his eyes. Too bright, and wrong, somehow, that it should be shining like this. Should still be shining, after the loss they’ve just suffered, after watching his brother crumple to dust in front of him. But the sun hardly cares for things like that, so they all stumble out of the hole in the ground that serves as the entrance to the spider spawner and beyond, and the daylight surrounds them, unforgiving.
“Where do we go, what do we do,” Tubbo is chanting, and Ranboo is muttering under his breath, a continuous litany of, “I can’t believe he’s gone, I can’t believe that happened—” His own lips feel glued shut, his throat devoid of sound. His skin buzzes.
(the two images interpose: Techno hanging from the vine, head at an unnatural angle, Techno wavering on his feet, blood pouring from his throat, and there is a flash of light and there is ash all at once, as if the first caused the second, as if instead of healing him, shoving his soul back into a body clinging to life, the totem burned him up from the inside out, and unlike the phoenix there was no rebirth)
“We can’t stay here,” Puffy says. Her eyes are wide, and her hands are shaking, but her voice has the same determined cant to it as it always does. “We need somewhere to hole up.”
“And where is that supposed to be?” Sapnap demands. His breathing is unsteady. “Where the fuck are we supposed to go after that? Where isn’t the thing gonna be able to reach? With, with Dream being, being, what even was that? Why was he—how was he—?” He breaks off, sparks crackling at his fingertips, and his face is a mask of distress, of questions
(was he always like that and did I not see or did something happen to him did something make him like that is that my friend or is there something inside of him something behind his eyes that is not him at all and if that is the case how did I not notice how did I not notice how did I not save him)
that Wilbur feels he recognizes. Or would, if he let himself. If he let himself care.
His eyes drift over to Phil. Phil, who stands silently, blood dripping from his wings, a thousand old injuries reopened by thrashing thorns. Who stands with Tommy in his arms, Tommy, who is curled up as tightly as he can reasonably manage, his face tucked into Phil’s shirt. Trembling. Quiet.
(he will die and I will kill him, the Egg says, and I have already begun, and you cannot protect him, you do not have the strength, except by what I can grant you)
“Church Prime,” Puffy says. “It’s the only place that might be safe.”
“Who’s to say it would be?” Sapnap snaps. “You saw it in there! The vines have never moved like that before, and Prime knows what else it can do now. And maybe the Egg wouldn’t be able to get in, but who’s to say that would stop—” He cuts off again, face contorting.
His leg is beginning to hurt, now. All of him is, actually, now that his adrenaline is wearing thin, now that the horror is sinking in, but it’s concentrated in his leg in particular, and he looks down to see that his left pant leg is all but shredded, blood dripping down in steady streams and splattering on the grass by his feet. The vines got him worse than he thought, then, and he bites his lip against the sting.
He’s had worse, though. He’s had so much worse. This is practically nothing, and Puffy and Sapnap are still arguing, and Tubbo and Ranboo are huddled together, eyeing the vines around them with deep suspicion, unmoving as they are just yet, and Phil is silent, and he’s going to stay silent, because Wilbur recognizes all too well the strain in his eyes, the way he’s holding onto Tommy with a death grip.
(he’s watched two of his sons die, now, and Techno will be back, will still have two lives left, but that does not heal the hurt, does not assuage the pain of seeing your brother, your son, your family die in front of your eyes before you can lift a finger to stop it, and Phil’s eyes shine with a grief almost beyond what Wilbur can understand. except he understands all too well, in the end)
He’s had worse, and someone needs to step up.
(the old mantle settles across his shoulders, and if he closes his eyes it’s like nothing’s changed at all, and the sun sets on the city he is determined to give everything for, still standing, walls still strong)
“Boxed in like a fish,” he croaks, and Puffy and Sapnap turn to him as one. “That’s what we’ll be, if we go to Church Prime. Whether it protects us in the moment of not won’t matter once we run out of supplies. We need somewhere better situated. Somewhere we can defend, that might withstand a siege, if it comes to it.”
Puffy makes a frustrated gesture. “I’m open to suggestions,” she says. “The prison, maybe, if we have to? We could probably keep people out as easily as—ah, shit, Sam.” She pulls her communicator out and taps out a quick message, and then frowns. “It’s telling me it can’t go through. Why isn’t it going through? Sam had all three lives, he should be—”
“Admins can read private messages,” Phil murmurs. “Wouldn’t surprise me if Dream could fuck with the whole system, whatever the fuck he is.”
Wilbur reads between the lines. Techno, for the moment, is unreachable. He processes the information and moves on, refusing to let it get to him, refusing to let himself be overpowered by
(Techno’s unreachable Techno’s unreachable Techno’s respawned and he’s on his own and they can’t talk to him can’t get to him quickly and what if something went wrong what if something happened)
emotions.
“Sam will make his way to us,” he says. “I’m vetoing the prison. Like hell are we staying in there. Other thoughts?”
“What gives you vetoing power?” Sapnap asks.
“Somebody needs to make a decision,” he says, and it is with strength he doesn’t feel, confidence he is only pretending at, a force of command that comes from some unknown place, since he feels as though he is miles away from himself, “and I don’t see you coming up with anything. Either help or stop complaining.”
Sapnap’s face reddens, and he opens his mouth, to argue, no doubt, but then Ranboo breaks in with, “Foolish, maybe?” and hunches his shoulders when attention turns to him. “Sorry, it’s just, I’m pretty sure Foolish isn’t, um, a big fan of the Egg or anything, so maybe he could help?”
Wilbur has no idea who the fuck Foolish is.
“Nah, he’s too far out,” Tubbo says. “It’ll take ages to get to his place. And we need somewhere close, but not too close, so we still have a good place to fight back from, right, Wilbur? If we leave now, the Egg’ll just take over the whole SMP with nothing to stop it.”
“My thoughts exactly, Tubbo,” he says, and again, it is just like the old days, and they are standing atop the L’Manberg walls, and Tubbo has just said something particularly clever, and warmth and pride curl in him before he remembers where they are, what they’re doing. They need to decide, and soon. They’re just hanging around near the entrance, and sooner or later, someone’s going to come after them, whether they let them go at first or not. “Is there anyone else who has a good position, location-wise and resource-wise?”
“Wait,” Puffy says. “Eret’s castle.”
“Eret’s castle doesn’t have doors,” Sapnap says.
“No, but I stopped by earlier to see if they wanted to join us,” Puffy says. “They weren’t there, but the grounds were completely free of vines. And sure, there aren’t any doors, but between all of us, I’m sure we could make some. Eret’s got plenty of supplies, last I checked.”
Eret. The name evokes a wealth of associations, most of them unpleasant. His first instinct is to reject this idea like the last, to avoid placing their lives in the hands of one who has already betrayed him, who led them all into a death trap, who almost ended their revolution in one fell swoop. But Puffy has a point. Eret’s castle ticks all the right boxes: it’s defendable, well-supplied, and if there are no vines to clear, all the better. They’ll have to build doors, but between the lot of them, that’s easily manageable.
(a wealth of associations and many unpleasant but there is Eret offering them supplies offering their fragile rebellion help and they tried so dearly to redeem themself and he could not have seen that then wrapped in his own shadows as he was but perhaps he can see it now perhaps he can better appreciate it, give a little more benefit of the doubt, and if he is given a second chance after everything after committing the worst crime of all then who is he to deny them absolution?)
(another memory, more blurry: he is scared but stalwart as they go through the motions, and he does not want to die, is terrified of that endless void, but he knows that the server needs a leader and his living self must be that leader, and Eret is here, and Eret agrees, and Eret acts out their part, and Eret is trying so hard, and he cannot see their eyes behind their glasses but he imagines that if he could, he would see a fool’s hope in them)
“Eret, then,” he says. “We go to Eret.”
And no one disagrees. It’s strange. They have no reason to listen to him, really. They have far more reasons not to listen to him, more reasons to think that following his lead will end in disaster than otherwise. But Puffy nods, and Sapnap backs down, and Tubbo and Ranboo both look to him for direction like it’s the war and he’s in charge of child soldiers once again. Phil looks to him, too, but his expression is inscrutable, and only a slight tightness around his eyes shows that he’s in any pain at all.
So they go to Eret. Staggering through the grass, tripping over vines that still don’t move, thank Prime, and then along the Prime Path, and his leg hurts worse with every step, pain jolting up into his hip, it seems, and it’s not long before he’s walking with a limp. But they’re all hurt in some way, so he hides it as best he can. He can deal with it when they’re safely behind stone walls.
And then, Tommy says, “Put me down, I can walk.”
Wilbur glances over. Tommy’s face is still buried in Phil’s shirt.
“You sure, mate?” Phil asks softly.
“Yes, I’m fucking sure,” Tommy snaps, louder now, turning his face outward, pushing against Phil’s chest. His cheeks are flushed, his breaths coming short and fast, and he’s trying to pass it off as anger, and maybe part of it is. But Wilbur knows him better than to think that that’s all. Knows him better than to think that he would have let Phil carry him in the first place if he was alright.
“Okay, then,” Phil says, and swings Tommy down. Tommy wavers for a step, but slaps away Phil’s hand when he extends it, muttering a sharp, “Fuck off.”
And then they keep going. Tommy doesn’t say anything else. Wilbur keeps glancing at him, but he’s refusing to meet anyone’s gaze, even Tubbo’s. And—that’s another thing that’s going to have to wait. He wants nothing more than to stop now and make sure that Tommy’s going to be okay, but they don’t have time, and the general in him will not call for a halt until the retreat is over, until he is sure the enemy is not biting at their heels.
(retreating from Dream once again, and it is familiar and not, the same and not, and history runs in a circle, echoes and rhymes)
Eret’s courtyard is indeed free of vines, just as Puffy promised. Wilbur half-expects them to be nowhere in sight, based on what Puffy said, but they are standing right there, next to a skeletal horse they’re frantically saddling, and they’re checking their communicator every now and again, with the jerky motions of someone who doesn’t particularly want to but can’t make themself stop.
Then, suddenly, they look up at the sky. Wilbur follows their gaze to the flock of crows wheeling overhead, a dark mass of beating wings, each bird barely distinguishable from the others. All of them completely, eerily silent.
Eret stands there a moment. Just staring. Wilbur can’t tell what the look on their face is, but their shoulders are tense. And then, they look back down, and realize that the lot of them are there, stumbling in under the gate, and they visibly startle.
“Hey, Eret,” Puffy says, before they can get a word in. “Can we crash? And build some gates?”
“What,” Eret says. “What is—Puffy, what is going on? How did Dream manage to kill Sam and Technoblade? Is he—” They run a hand through their hair, and then start striding forward, their cape flaring out behind them. They haven’t said anything about him yet, haven’t reacted to his presence. “He’s out, isn’t he? I was going to come and see, but he’s out?”
“He’s out,” Puffy agrees. “We were kind of hoping you’d help us out on this one.”
“Of course,” they say quickly. “Of course, anything you—anything you need.” They’re rattled, clearly, more than Wilbur has ever seen them, perhaps. “I just—how did this happen? I thought the prison was secure, I thought—are you all okay?”
“Aside from the obvious?” Puffy says. “Yeah, we’re great. You haven’t been around much lately, I don’t know how much you know about the Egg and all of that, but that’s an issue too, along with Dream. And some other stuff that I’ve got no idea about, that we really just kind of need to all sit down and talk about.”
“The Egg? I’ve—I’ve heard of it, I think. I’ve been elsewhere for a while.” Their lips twist into a smile that isn’t quite a smile. “Doing a bit of soul-searching, you might say. Found more questions than answers, unfortunately. Alright. I can get you all whatever you need, you can absolutely stay here if that’s what you’d like, but what was that about gates?”
Right. This is taking too long.
Wilbur still feels a bit outside of his body as he steps forward, but that’s alright. He’s limping, but the pain is distant, and he can let his brain work on autopilot, let his mouth move on its own without regarding the consequences, without thinking too much about
(this is Eret and you know them and they betrayed you and you hurt them and now you’re back and here is a test here is a true test it shouldn’t matter how they react to you you shouldn’t care for their opinion but you do you know you do though you pretend you don’t pretend they’re nothing but a traitor to you but you are a traitor to yourself and you know that between the two of you you are the worse and here you both are and you only need one more and everyone will be back together again like the old days like the old days those good old days)
what happens next.
“Right, then,” he says, straightening his spine and stepping up to be visible just behind Puffy, to the side and a few feet back. Eret’s head whips toward him. “To summarize: the Egg is bad, Dream is also bad, they’re now working together, also with Bad, Techno is gone, we’re all in rough shape, a mind-controlling potentially demonic entity is likely to try to take over the server, and also, I’m here, despite my best efforts. Does that paint enough of a picture for you, or should I elaborate further?”
Eret stares at him. He stares back, doesn’t let himself fidget. He’s putting the general on display, and it has never felt more like a disguise, like yet another mask,
(and didn’t he tell Tommy he wasn’t going to do this anymore?)
but a familiar one, one that’s almost comfortable. He can force himself into the general’s shoes and worry about tactics and battles and numbers and strategy, and tuck the rest of himself away for when there’s time for it. Can think of this as just another alliance to be made, a debriefing to be held rather than
(Eret traitor friend ally enemy the place in your heart is curdled and sour and you do not know if you are capable of starting anew)
and his losses are statistics and cold facts rather than
(Techno’s eyes golden and glittering and then they go dim and pale red pale and staring the light in your brother’s eyes gone out and it is not the first time you have watched a brother die in front of you but Technoblade never dies is never supposed to die never to go to dust never and you cannot make sense of it cannot make sense of the world turned on its head)
“Wilbur?” Eret asks, after a very long moment, and he doesn’t understand why their voice breaks in the way that it does. “You’re—it’s you? Not Ghostbur?”
He spreads his arms, lifting an eyebrow.
“Do I look like Ghostbur to you?” he asks.
“No,” Eret answers right away. “No, that you do not. Um, has this been a thing, or…?” They trail off, and Wilbur can’t figure out exactly what their feelings are, but it’s too late to back down, even if he wanted to.
“For a bit,” he says. “Not for too long. Can we move on? We’ve got bigger issues to deal with at the moment.”
He means multiple things, with that. He means, there’s bigger things to worry about than why I’m here. He means, there’s bigger things to worry about than our history, and as so long as we’re on the same side for the moment, it can’t matter right now. He doesn’t know if Eret catches all of that, but whether they do or not, they nod, seeming to steady themself.
“Of course,” they say. “I—for the record, it is good to see you, Wilbur.” There is genuine relief in their voice, a tone that says they’re actually glad he’s here, more than glad, even, and he really doesn’t have time to unpack that at the moment. They need a plan, and fast, and they need some goddamn gates. And medical attention, probably. The cut on Puffy’s head looks nasty, and Phil’s wings are still dripping blood, and it’s difficult for Wilbur to look at them for too long,
(grief rises up guilt rises up crushing choking your father is grounded and it is your fault)
but it concerns him, how little Phil appears to care for their current state. So there’s that to handle, and it’s almost too much, almost. Almost too much for someone who has spent the majority of the time since he’s been brought back to life cringing away from meeting people, all the confidence he once displayed gone, shrinking, left in the void or in Pogtopia or on the podium from which he announced his own defeat, perhaps. But even still, he remembers how to be the general. He can hide in the general, present the general on the outside, be useful even while he thinks he might be on the verge of collapse, internally. He has been a general, and so he shall be again.
What comes first, then?
He pulls out his comm, scrolling through the messages. There are quite a few in the general chat from just after Sam’s death message, people from all over the server demanding to know what’s going on. His eyes drift over Techno’s, then, and he winces, but keeps reading. There are even more messages after that, capitalization usage increasing dramatically, and his eyes trace over familiar names, a pang in his heart. Niki. Fundy. Quackity. Several from Eret as well. Some from names he doesn’t recognize, like this Foolish person, and someone named Hannah.
But then, they all cut off. There have been none in the past half hour. Since they escaped from the Egg.
Out of curiosity, he taps out a few words: dream and egg have teamed, regrouping at eret’s. Upon hitting send, the screen goes fuzzy, giving him an error message he’s never seen before. So comms truly are down, then, and it’s probably just as well; Dream likely knows where they are, but if he doesn’t, there’s no reason to give him the information.
(and do these old allies old friends deserve to learn of your return from cold words on a screen do you not have the courage to face them yourself face your son your son you have not seen your son)
(the last time he spoke to Fundy, he disowned him. he doesn’t know if he still has a son)
(if he does not, he has no one to blame for himself, and perhaps that is why he is too cowardly to check)
“Right, then,” he says, looking back up. “Gates are the first priority. They might not do much against whatever the fuck that thing is, but it’s better than nothing. Eret, I assume you’d know the best way to go about it?”
Eret’s lips quirk into a slight smile, one that is, perhaps, slightly sardonic.
“It is my castle,” they agree. “The more hands I have, the quicker it will go, but I can get it done.”
“Anyone who’s not bleeding profusely, help them with that, then,” he says. “Anyone who is bleeding profusely—I assume you’ve got pots somewhere, Eret?” Eret nods, gesturing toward the inside. “Anyone who is bleeding profusely gets a pot. Once we’ve got that all covered, we’ll reconvene, come up with a plan for where to go from here. Everyone got that?”
He gets a few nods, and no one dissents, so he’ll take that as a yes. His gaze travels to the kids then, standing clumped together, and Tommy’s eyes are still shadowed, and Tubbo is shifting his weight between his feet, and Ranboo looks lost, awkward, and he wishes he didn’t have to ask anything more of them. But that’s not how wars work, and this has certainly turned into a war.
(child soldiers once again, and how history echoes)
“Tubbo, Ranboo, I want you on the gates as well,” he says, and tries to soften his tone at least a little bit, even if that’s all he can do. “And then afterward—Tubbo, I need you to go through with all of us exactly what you know about—what did you call them? Dreamons?”
Tubbo looks slightly miserable, but he nods. “Right,” he says. “I can try to ward the gates if you want. With, um, anti-demon stuff. I don’t know if it’ll work. I guess last time we didn’t manage to do much of anything at all.”
“Anti-what,” Eret says, but Wilbur shakes his head.
“We don’t have time for that. Tubbo will explain later. We—”
“The fuck am I supposed to do, then?” Tommy breaks in, crossing his arms. “You haven’t given me a job.” He glares, but it is so very obvious that it’s all a front, all a show, and Tommy’s expression dares him to challenge him, but Wilbur thinks that if he does, he just might break something in him. Tommy has always been so much more fragile than he presents himself as, so much more fragile than he likes to believe he is.
(despite it all, despite it all, he is only sixteen, only a child, a child grown old before his time but a child nonetheless, and now a child who watched his brother die for him, an estranged brother perhaps but still a brother, and Tommy has always cared so much and so deeply, no matter how much he pretends otherwise)
He hasn’t given Tommy a job, and he doesn’t really intend to, because Tommy, of all people, needs to sit the fuck down and rest for a moment. They all deserve a break, but in this moment, Tommy is the one who needs it most, and also the one least likely to accept as much.
If the general gives the order, Tommy will follow it, he knows that much,
(because he made his brother into a soldier he made his brother into a soldier and soldiers follow orders)
even if he’ll be angry at him for it, but Tommy angry with him is a sacrifice he’s willing to make. And perhaps directing his anger at him will help. Perhaps it would be better for Tommy to be angry with someone within reach rather than someone out of it.
(because Tommy is hurting, and the cause of that hurt is not here, and so perhaps if Wilbur offers himself he’ll feel better, will feel more in control, because Tommy needs control, because his abuser is out, is wandering free, and his abuser has killed their brother and told him that it is his fault)
But then, Phil breaks his silence.
“I’d like him to stick with me,” he says, with a smile that is obviously strained. “I’m not going to be able to reach everything myself.” He makes a vague gesture toward his wings, still dripping blood, and there is so much of it already drying on his feathers, sticky, tacky, almost blending in with the darkness of the feathers
(but stark against the grey-white of exposed bone)
“Why the actual shit—” Tommy starts.
“Good idea, Phil,” he cuts him off. “Tommy, help him with the wings, would you?”
“Why do I have to—”
“You too, Wil,” Phil says, and his mood sours immediately. “You think I don’t see that leg? C’mon, Eret, show us to the pots.”
When faced with that, he has no choice but to agree, really.
(he wouldn’t have ignored it. he wouldn’t have. He knows better than to leave a wound untreated in wartime. Even if something whispers at him that he deserves the pain, even if the bite of it brings him closer to reality. But his better sense knows: pain is not the penance that is asked of him, not a recompense that will do anyone any good)
**********
They meet again half an hour later in Eret’s throne room. Half an hour later, and his leg is bandaged and tender and no longer an open wound, and Tommy is frowning and refusing to meet anyone’s eyes, and the state of Phil’s wings is still bothersome, because he didn’t let either of them touch them beyond what was necessary,
(and he recollects countless nights spent running his fingers through soft, silken feathers as his father told him how to preen them, told him that it was a sign of trust, an activity that only family, only flock is allowed, and now Phil will no longer let them near him, will no longer even take care of them himself and it makes him sick to his stomach to think of what has been lost)
but they are no longer bleeding, and that has to be what matters.
The throne room is not the best location for this, he thinks. It feels awkward. But it’s a room big enough to fit everyone, which is the point, big enough to fit Puffy, presence looming and forehead now bandaged, to fit Sapnap, fidgety as he is, like a caged, snarling animal, all restless energy. Big enough for Tubbo, for Tommy, for Ranboo, for Phil, for Eret and for himself, and big enough that there is an obvious gap at Phil’s right side where someone else should be standing.
Eret eyes her throne, glances at everyone else in the room, and then seats herself at its base. It’s a pithy gesture, meaningless, but Wilbur has more important things to do than to call her out on it, even though the existence of the throne itself grates against him.
“Let’s call this meeting to order, then,” he says, and Eret frowns. Perhaps she doesn’t like that he’s calling the shots in her own
(ill-gotten, dearly kept)
castle, but tough. He’s brought out the general for all of their sakes, so the general is what they’re all going to get.
(it’s a mask again and masks crack but he can keep it up for long enough he can he can they need a leader so he will lead he will lead them)
(you were so good at compartmentalizing, once, go good at shoving it all away in boxes in dark shadowy corners never to be opened to gather dust and cobwebs and faded recollections but the boxes cracked and the demon’s escaped and Pandora was too weak to stop them and it all ended in a bang and he cannot tell if hope remains but that isn’t the point because the box is opened and once opened it is not so easily closed and you are putting on a show a lie and lies come back around again they always do and you should know better than to pretend at strength you do not have you will lead them to ruin again ruin and gunpowder smoke and what gives you the right)
“Yeah, alright,” Puffy says. “Can we start by talking about—whatever that was? What were you talking about, dreamons? What’s a dreamon?”
“That sounds like a made up word,” Tommy mutters.
“I wish it were made up,” Tubbo says, and he winces when all eyes turn to him. But a moment later, he straightens, setting his shoulders squarely, holding his head up high. “I’ll tell you all what I know. Even if that turns out to be not as much as I thought.” He pauses, clearly struggling for words.
“Start from the beginning,” he suggests, and Tubbo nods at him gratefully.
“Okay, right, the beginning,” he says. “In the very beginning, me and Fundy were messing around, and we found some old books. We went through them for a laugh, and we learned about these things called dreamons.”
“Wait, that’s what they’re actually called?” Tommy interjects. “Like, properly?”
Tubbo shrugs. “It’s what the books said,” he says. “We weren’t about to argue over names. Even if it did seem like a weird coincidence. But yeah, that’s what they’re called.” His voice falls into an odd cadence here, recitative, like he’s telling a story, and Wilbur crosses his arms, gripping at his elbows. “They come from the darkness of the void, lurking around the edges of a server’s code. Once they get in, their only goal is to cause chaos and destruction. They corrupt everything they touch, and they can possess people and turn them into their puppets. They have unknowable powers, because they’re a sickness, a rot, like an infection in the code of the server itself. It’s really, really difficult to get rid of them, but it can be done if you have the right tools. Or—” He blinks, stuttering a bit, his voice landing more naturally. “We thought so, anyway.”
“What does this have to do with Dream?” Sapnap asks, stopping his pacing, looking to Tubbo with an expression in his eyes that hurts to look at, a bit, wobbly and desperate and pinched, like he already knows the answer but hopes that he’s wrong, hopes as much as he is able, even though he knows it will be fruitless.
Wilbur has put the pieces together. As best he can, anyway. And Sapnap’s not a stupid man. He can see where this is leading.
“Dream got possessed.” Tubbo sighs, gaze drifting toward the floor. “It was a whole thing. Honestly, we were surprised nobody else noticed. But we—we performed an exorcism. And it was really scary, to be honest. But it worked. We could see it leave, all oozy and black and gross, and Dream was better afterward! He was! So we thought we got it out.”
“But it tricked you?” he asks.
“I don’t understand how it could have,” Tubbo replies. “It’s not—it’s not like the kind of possession that you see in a TV show, where the demon can pretend to be the person or something like that. It’s obvious. It’s too—it’s too wrong to blend in, if that makes sense. It made his voice go all funny and deep, and the way it moved—” He shudders, and then continues, miserably, “The way it moved, there’s no way you could mistake something like that for a human. That’s why we were so sure it worked. Because afterward, he seemed back to normal.”
Something about this doesn’t make sense.
“Tubbo,” he says, wheels spinning in his mind, “when was this?”
Tubbo blinks. “Manberg days,” he says. “Um, that’s why we never told you about it, I suppose.”
He barely bats an eye at the reference. It doesn’t make sense. Because he has sensed that wrongness, as Tubbo puts it, has been sensing it from the moment he set foot in that prison cell for the first time. On some level, he knew that something was deeply wrong, even if a demonic presence was the last thing he would have guessed. But if the whole thing happened during—during that time, and the signs of possession were as obvious as Tubbo says, he would have noticed, wouldn’t he? He had plenty of interactions with Dream during that time.
(unless his own shadows stretched long, stretched far enough to cover Dream’s, to cover the thing piloting him)
But no—his shadows were of his own making, not supernatural. If anything, his mindset should have made him more receptive to suspicious wrongness, not less. So what—
(Dream smiles, and you know what it’s like, to have something whispering in your head, he says, once you let something in, there’s no going back)
“Maybe the first bit was a fakeout,” Phil suggests, arms folded, head tilted. He’s perplexed, which is worrying; it’s rare to come across a being that Phil knows nothing about. “It made itself obvious to lure you in so it could slip under the radar. Faked leaving to put your guard down, maybe.”
It’s plausible. But somehow
(and Dream stands atop the Egg and he says, he says, I tried to fight at first, but it turns out it was right all along, and he says it he says it like it’s separate from him like there is not something else something other speaking from his mouth after all and he tried to fight it he tried to fight it and what does that mean)
“They’re the same,” he breathes, and doesn’t know what he means, not quite yet, “they’re the same, and the Egg controls people, and he was talking about fighting something, about giving in—”
He runs a hand through his hair. Shakes his head.
“Wil?” Phil asks.
“Oi, Wilbur,” Tommy says, almost at the same time. But he needs to—he needs to focus as the pieces click into place, faster than he can process, and he has a conclusion but not the words yet—
He holds up a hand.
“Tubbo,” he says, “you said it can corrupt things. What did you mean by that?”
“I dunno, really,” he says. “It talked about it in the books some, but it was all weird metaphorical language. Couldn’t really makes sense of it. We were more focused on the bits that told us how to get rid of them.”
(he says, you know what the void is like, and Tubbo says that they come from the void, and)
That’s alright. He’s not sure he needs a hard answer to that, because he thinks that if one were to describe the feeling of the corruption, it would be
(it is dark and it is peaceful and there is static at the edges eating away at what makes him himself eating at his soul at his sense of self and it is what he wants, to be nothing, and he does not imagine what it would feel like if it were not what he desired, if he tried to resist it, resist the void all-consuming, all-devouring, resist the void that takes all things into itself and is never satiated)
something familiar.
“Alright,” he says, and steeples his fingers together. “Let me paint a picture for you. Someone gets possessed. You exorcise the thing. But these things can corrupt, you say. So maybe you get rid of the thing itself. Maybe Dream’s pretty much back to normal. But maybe it leaves little bits of itself behind. Maybe he’s not possessed, but maybe that doesn’t matter so much anymore. Maybe it changed him regardless. Maybe it’s still changing him, even though it’s no longer there. Maybe a corruption took root, and there wasn’t any going back from it.” He tilts his head, closes his eyes. “Suppose that the Egg is the same type of thing. Something that forced its way through the cracks of the server, something that’s been smart about it, biding its time. The things that Dream was saying reminded me a lot of what the Egg was doing, you know? Manipulating people, making them into things they aren’t, or into their worst selves.”
He strings the words together as he goes. He’s not sure he’s getting his point across. He used to be so much better at this.
“Wait, so you’re saying you think he isn’t possessed?” Sapnap asks.
“I’m saying we don’t really know,” he answers. “Not unless we get it from him. But Tubbo’s the expert here, and if he says Dream’s not acting like he’s possessed, I believe him. But even if he’s not possessed outright, that doesn’t mean there’s no—influence, perhaps.” He keeps his eyes shut; the darkness on the back of his eyelids is a natural one, but he can almost pretend that it isn’t. That it is darker, deeper.
(void)
“He was right that I know what it’s like,” he says. “I’ve felt the Egg in my head. And I was in the void for—a long time. It felt like forever. I know what it feels like, and there’s some of it in him, I think. Him and the Egg both. They’re the same kind of wrong, the same kind of unbelonging. I’ve never been possessed by a demon before, but if it’s made up of void stuff, that’s the sort of thing that stays with you. Whispering.”
He opens his eyes. Everyone is staring at him, varying expressions of horror on their faces.
He goes back over his words. In retrospect, he can see how they probably came off sounding.
“Wil,” Phil says softly.
“I’m fine,” he says, not at all convincingly, he’s sure.
(once he starts thinking of the void of the peace and of the rest it’s hard to stop even though his desires are now tinged with red and he knows better than to listen but he cannot help himself)
“This is all speculation, anyway,” he continues. “Might not matter at all, in the end, what the particulars are. We just need a way to stop them. Can dreamons be killed, Tubbo?”
Tubbo takes a moment before replying. “I don’t think so,” he says. “Fundy might remember better. But I think the only thing in what we read was the exorcism.”
“Which doesn’t help us much if Dream’s not actually possessed,” Puffy says. “Unless it might work on the Egg? If the Egg’s a—a dreamon too?”
“Worth a shot if we can get to it again,” he says, “but I don’t like risking so much on a maybe.”
“The less we mess with forces beyond our understanding, the better,” Eret says suddenly. She frowns, pushing her sunglasses further up her face. “As I said earlier, I’ve been away a good bit recently, so I haven’t been tracking the Egg’s progress as much as perhaps I should have. But I did notice an increase in activity—well. It was shortly after we tried to resurrect you, Wilbur.” She inclines her head toward him. “I fear that in our efforts, we might have interfered with something we shouldn’t have interfered with. Weakened a barrier of some kind, between our existence and—something else.”
She speaks with a strange kind of gravity. But her words make an unfortunate kind of sense.
He doesn’t look at Phil.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tommy states. “What the fuck does that even mean?”
“I’m with Tommy on this one. What are you talking about?” Sapnap adds.
“We’re getting off track,” he says, snapping his fingers. “We’re going about this wrong. We don’t have enough information, and we don’t have enough power. Those are our problems. How do we solve them?”
“The obvious would be to get the word out,” Puffy says. “Comms are down, but we can go by word of mouth if we have to. Kinda risky, with the amount of vines on this server, but the nether portal’s right across the way. No vines in the nether, I think.”
“I have lots of old books myself,” Phil chimes in, eyes skyward. “Might be something in there to help that I’ve read and forgotten about. And I’ve got another source of info I’ve barely begun to go through. Old shit I found. It might be worth a shot.” He looks back down. “We need to go get Techno anyway.” He says the last in a tone that brooks no argument, and Wilbur doesn’t try, even if it’s perhaps not the most tactically sound option.
(he wants Techno back too, wants to lay eyes on him, hold his wrist in his hand and count his heartbeats, each one a reassurance, because he knows what it is for a brother to die and come back but that has never made it easier)
“It’s better than nothing,” he says. “Alright, I’ve got a plan, then. Some of us go to the tundra, get Technoblade, and go through whatever books Phil has. Some stay here and fortify the defenses as best we can using what Tubbo can remember that he thinks might work, and a couple of us go around through the nether and tell as many people as possible what’s going on. Gather allies, resources anything else we might need.”
It’s not much of a plan. But based on just how outclassed they are, just how little they know, just how much exhaustion shows in their faces, it might be the best plan they’re going to get for now. To throw themselves back into a battle so soon would be folly.
It never sits well with him to bank so much on a hope, though, a mere possibility that things will go their way.
(but certainties were ripped out from under him the moment Dream killed the unkillable, the moment he saw his brother  crumple to ash before his eyes)
“Great,” Puffy says, grimacing. “What could possibly go wrong with that?”
The silence that greets that statement serves perfectly well as a response.
He closes his eyes again. The darkness is no comfort.
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animeyanderelover · 4 years ago
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I've seen prompt 88 and immediatly think Ash! If you don't mind, can you write it?
Yes, of course!
Warnings: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessiveness, obsessiveness, paranoia, delusions kidnapping
Prompt 88: “I’m sorry that I keep you in here. But you’re too pure and innocent. I’m scared that this world will break you. I’m only protecting you.”
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“Please Ash! I want to get out of here! I want to see my family again! And my friends! It’s been so long since I’ve had contact with other people...” Your voice became a quiet hush during the last sentence, feeling yourself getting more and more exhausted. How you hated this place. How you hated being a hostage in this little palace Ash had made for you. How you hated being Ash’s little darling which he wanted to spoil and protect from the outside world. And all of this whilst telling you that he just was too terrified to lose the only pure human he had ever met in his life. You didn’t even think of yourself as that pure. You weren’t someone really bad, but you also weren’t someone you would think of as perfect. You had lied in your past, you had done some pretty stupid things and you had also been violent a few times before. And you weren’t really religious either. There were people you could think who appeared to be much more fitting for this title. But at this point you would have accepted everyone else being stuck in this person who wasn’t you. Another thing that didn’t make you think you were as pure as he told you too. You were selfish and sometimes even greedy. So what exactly made you so much more innocent from all the others?
By now you were just sitting on the bed, your knees being pressed against your stomach and your head burried in them. You wanted to get out. You felt like becoming sick if you would be stuck in this house for much more longer. You just wanted to get out. “Please Ash...”, you begged quietly and if it wouldn’t have been for the silence surrounding the both of you, he wouldn’t have been able to hear you. The whole time he had just been standing in front of the door, wanting to prevent you from storming out of the room. The windows were already locked up, Ash not wanting you to have any way to leave your “home”. You remembered still clearly what had happened when you had actually managed to take a step outside this place. Ash had gone into a frantic and lunatic mode, instantly dragging you back and blabbering something from “not bearing the thought that this rotten world could ruin you” and “needing to clean this place up for your sake”. He was normally a calm and composed man around you, but in that moment his facade had broken for a short moment and he had revealed his true self. A maniac through and through. Only after locking everything up, cleaning you completely up and checking for any injuries on you and not finding anything he had calmed down a bit. And then? He had cried. Tears had been rolling down his face whilst he had told you in a voice filled with fear, worry and passion that you shouldn’t do something like this again. You were so fragile. You were like a beautiful flower, beautiful, but also so easy to be destroyed. And that’s why he wanted to keep you safe. And if he wouldn’t be able to protect you as your guardian angel, then what was he good for anyways?
You heard suddenly the parquet creaking, telling you that Ash was stepping to the bed. What did he want to do now? Oh wait. You knew what would come now. Him telling you that he just wanted to keep you safe. Him comforting you and promising to get you everything you wanted. Him sweet talking to you and promising you as soon as he had cleaned the world he would let you out again. The same old story like always. And you knew better than screaming at him or cursing, struggling and yelling. Ash would never hurt you, you knew that. He would rather lose some limbs than doing that. But the thing was that you would only hurt your mouth like this because he never got mad at you. So by the end of your shouting seesions he would just coo at you and you would just be exhausted. No matter what you had tried, he had always adored you for whatever action you had made. You had once even tried to hurt him. And he hadn’t done anything. Instead he had just told you that if you thought he deserved it because he had upset you in some way you had all right to do it. You had gotten chills in that moment, stepping horrified back. He saw you as someone higher than him, someone who deserved to have fulfilled every wish they had. And he was ready to do whatever it takes to fulfill your wishes.
“(y/n). My queen/king.” There he went again with this calm and charming voice of his. You just tried to make yourself even smaller, curling yourself more up. You didn’t want to hear this shit again. “That’s so unfair, you know? Being stuck in this place for god knows how long and not being able to step out again. You say you want to make me happy? You say that you want to fulfill me my every wish? Then please, let me out of here.” You squeezed your eyes tightly, feeling tears of frustration gather in the corner of your eyes. But you didn’t want to cry. Not in front of him. You were scared of his reaction if he would see you cry. What if he would went into his maniac mode again and would hurt himself for upsetting you? He had done it a few times before. And the knowledge that he was ready to do this for you was downright terrifying. You hadn’t asked for this. Never had you wanted this. But now you were stuck too deeply in this mess to ever get out again. Not like he would ever let you leave him anyways. You were a bird in a cage. With all the fancy stuff, the sheets made out of only the finest material and the clothes in the wardrobe being more expensive than all your former clothes together some people would have given you weird looks. But a cage was still a cage, even if it was a golden one.
You felt the mattress shifting once again because he leaned closer to you. You tensed slightly up when you felt his breath hitting your skin, not feeling comfortable that he was that close to you. “Are you upset because of me?” You were clearly able to hear the slight shaking of his voice, despite him trying to sound calm. Oh no. Please not this again. You slowly looked up. As much as you wanted to get out of here, you also didn’t want to go through the stress of seeing Ash hurting himself again. You were met with his face being very close to yours, his purple eyes gazing right into yours. You could see the swelling panic in them, the horrifying thought of him having upset you. You slowly shook your head. “N-no. I’m not. I-I just don’t understand why you do it.” That was a lie. You were upset. But you were also afraid of having to hear his maniacal talking about how he had hurt you and how undeserving he was to have upset you. It was too much for you to take. So you dearly hoped that he wouldn’t get angry with himself. For a few moments Ash just stared at you. And you couldn’t help the thought that he was very handsome crossing your mind. He looked like...Well, like an angel.
“I’m sorry that I keep you in here. But you’re too pure and innocent. I’m scared that this world will break you. I’m only protecting you.” He sounded a bit calmer, his voice having gone back to it’s soothing tone. He had moved even closer to you, making you lean back to gain some distance between you and him. His eyes were scanning busily over every inch of you, shining with something that could only be described as utter and complete devotion. “I know that this is hard to understand for you. That is just another proof that you’re a pure hearted person. So it’s my job to help you understand that you deserve better, that your place is somewhere above those trash out there.” One of his hands slowly grabbed yours, carefully, as if you were made out of glass and started rubbing circles into it before moving it closer to his face. “After all,”, he began and and placed a kiss on your knuckles, his lips staying a bit longer on your skin before continuing,”it’s my job as your protector and guardian angel to make sure that no one can taint or harm you. Hopefully you’ll understand one day that no one is worth being near you. Even I am not completely worthy.”
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Note
David or Poly!Lb, an So who loves Xmas but she hears the boys talk about how much they “dislike” Xmas so she gets all down and try’s to ignore her Christmas spirit
I hope you (and all other readers) will be having a fun and safe holiday season💕
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It always had a magic feel to it. The bright lights hung in trees, the decorations hanging above the streets. Eventhough it rarely snowed in California, you always wished it did. A perfect snowy Christmas, celebrating it with David... It sounded like heaven. You'd already prepared some things, planning on surprising them by putting up a tree in the cave on the day of Christmas eve, buying presents for everyone. You'd even made sure to remember their - and especially David's - favourite meals and deserts. You wanted this Christmas, your first Christmas with the boys, to be one you would never be able to forget. That magic, the cheer you could almost taste in the air - you wanted to feel that with the boys. To have and share that too.
That was the plan anyways. It was, and you'd planned to do it until you heard him talk to the boys on the night of the twenty-first. "I just don't get what the fuss is all about. Why decorate a tree, stuff yourself with food and pretend to be happy when it always ends up in a huge family fight anyways?"
The boys laughed in agreement, each of them noting how the Christmases they did celebrate always left a sour taste behind. It was horrible. Dreadful to hear what they thought of your favourite holiday. A part of you wanted to celebrate it anyways, wanting to show them that it could be fun, and that it could be cheerful. But, the more rational part of you realised it would only create unnecessary tension. You couldn't put David or your friends in that position. With a heavy sigh you turned around, quietly going back to your room, realising that this year would be your first year with no Christmas.
You always used to celebrate it with your family, laughing and singing together, unwrapping gifts and playing games. It was a fun tradition, and you still missed it dearly. Memories like that, of those happy times you had with your family before everything changed hurt - but this one did especially, since you realised that that was probably the last Christmas you'd ever celebrated.
It was later that evening, David finally joining you in your shared bedroom. He took his coats off, threw his boots somewhere in the direction of the door, and lastly slipped out of his pants before coming to lay next to you in bed. He was quiet as he hugged you, his lips pressing softly against your forehead, a hand brushing through your hair.
"What's going on, kitten?"
You ignored his question, hugging him closer.
"Babe-"
"It doesn't matter. I'm just- just sad, alright?"
"No. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"I know your lying. You haven't come out of our room all night, you've been crying. I'm worried about you, kitten."
You sighed quietly, shaking your head. "I don't think you would understand."
"Try me."
"I love Christmas. And I just sort of assumed we would celebrate it too. I hoped we would."
"What makes you think we wouldn't?"
"David, I heard you talking to the boys," you looked at him, seeing his face fall. Hurt shined through behind his eyes, as he reached for your hand. He'd noticed the lump forming in your throat, the tears burning in your eyes. "And I get it. You don't want to celebrate something with bad memories. I just have to get used to that..."
David didn't say anything as he hugged you, holding you close to him. He sighed softly, rubbing your back until you fell asleep.
The next few days it was as if nothing had happened. No word was spoken about Christmas, and you'd slowly accepted it. You weren't happy with it, far from actually, but for the sake of your boyfriend and his boys, you wouldn't push it. If they wanted to be the Grinch, so be it. You felt yourself wishing you'd never had the thought of celebrating Christmas with the guys, or that you'd told David about your plan, knowing he would have stopped you from planning it. You sighed quietly, having returned home early from the boardwalk. The almost magical feel you'd felt when walking around the decorated boardwalk was gone, and you'd felt no need to spend anymore time there.
It was on Christmas Eve, however, that you realised something was up. You woke up alone, which wasn't that unusual. What was unusual however, was the fact that there was a mistletoe hanging above your bedroom door. You bit your lip, sighing as you realised it could very well be some cruel prank. You brushed your teeth, got ready for the day, stepped out of your room and froze.
The walls were lined with sparkly decorations and lights, leading to the lobby of the hotel. From the ceiling hung several Christmas baulbs, each beautifully decorated. You shyly walked further, noticing the faint sounds of some Christmas rock album playing on the radio. On top of the fountain balanced a Christmas tree, some rooms from the ceiling holding it up completely. Around it laid piles with presents - and you realised yours were in the piles as well. You looked around in awe, when someone wrapped his arms around you from behind.
"Merry Christmas, kitten."
You turned around, hugging David tightly. "Merry Christmas," it was barely a whisper, as the realisation hit you. "You-"
"I talked to the boys about what you told me," he said softly, " and maybe it's time to start a new tradition we all like."
You smiled, kissing him deeply. "Thank you!"
"Come on," he chuckled, "the boys are waiting."
You followed, smiling softly as you looked at David. He just might have gifted you the best gift ever.
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wrenhyperfixates · 4 years ago
Text
Of All the Places
Chapter 13
Pairing: Loki x reader Series Summary: Washing up in a small town in Oklahoma was definitely not part of Loki’s plan when he came to conquer Midgard. There is one good thing about it, though: No one recognizes him as the one who just wreaked havoc in New York. So, Loki plans to recover from the battle and move on with his life. The only problem? He’s not sure he can leave you. Chapter Summary: Still in the custody of SHIELD, Loki hears some troubling news from his brother. He can only hope that there relationship is repaired enough to be allowed to help set things right. Chapter Warnings: pretty dialogue heavy A/N: Not too much happens in this one, but it’s setting up for the grand finale! The last chapter and epilogue will both be posted next week, so keep your eyes peeled. Updates every Friday. Enjoy :)
Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiant @lunarmoon8​ @twhiddlestonsstuff​ @marvelousdaydreams​ @parkastoria​ @lokistan​ @thelokiimaginechroniclesficrecs​ @sourpatchspinster @gaitwae
✥ Start at Beginning ✥ | ← Previous Chapter | Next Chapter →
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Disclaimer: Gif not mine 
“And why in the Nine not?” Loki demanded of his brother, desperate to know why he wouldn’t be set free. “You said you believed me. Even after all this, was it still not true?”
“Of course it is true, but father will not allow it,” Thor explained, unable to mask the hurt in his voice. “He still demands you be brought back to Asgard.”
Loki frowned at that. If Odin had plans for him, he doubted he could weasel out of them. He wondered if you would ever find out what happened to him if he died. Probably not. Put up against the possibility of being made to live out his many years without ever hearing from you again, death seemed like the merciful option. He couldn’t handle any more torture and being kept from you would be the worst he’d gone through yet. Though the thought of you with anyone else, especially Denzel, made Loki’s stomach roil, he would rather that than you be lonely. Hopefully, you could be happy without him, even if he could not without you.
“Loki, I will speak with him. It will be alright, brother,” Thor assured him.
“So when do we leave?” Loki asked, trying to make himself numb to the pain he was feeling. He dared not hope that his brother could set everything right.
“As soon as you are cleared to leave Midgard.”
“May I make a request?”
“With all due respect, Reindeer Games,” Stark added, though the question was most obviously not addressed to him, “I don’t think you’re in the position for that.”
“I will hear you out, Loki,” Thor said, making no comment on Tony’s remark. “I cannot promise anything more than that.”
“I understand,” Loki anxiously agreed. “The family I was staying with, I do not need to see them again, but may I have some news on them before we go? Just to know they are alright?”
“I have already given you my word that no harm will come to them.”
“I am aware, but-”
Loki was cut off by the door swinging open. The young agent made a beeline for Fury, who was standing there observing the scene with his one good eye, making no remarks of his own. The God of Mischief arched an eyebrow as the agent whispered something in the director’s ear before the two walked outside.
“I’m still wondering why you care so much about a random family from Oklahoma,” Tony said. “What were you even doing there in the first place?”
“I must confess, it was not originally my choice. When I used the Tesseract to escape, I told it to take me somewhere safe,” Loki recounted. “I have not the slightest clue as to why it chose there.”
“Well, that explains how you got there, but why’d you stay?”
“I was,” Loki responded, clearing his throat, “persuaded.”
“In what way?” Thor puzzled.
“They did not know who I truly was, so they welcomed me with open arms,” Loki sighed. “I suppose I... I bonded with a few of them.”
“Yeah, they did all give glowing reviews of you,” Tony said.
“Wait. So you have heard from them? How are they? You must tell me. How is... everyone?”
Loki would not yet risk showing he had any particularly special connection with you, lest it put you in any more danger than you were already in. Thor and Tony exchanged a look, though, that said they could tell he wanted to know about a specific member. He hoped you hadn’t had to tell the agents too many details about your relationship. Somehow, it seemed like a mortifying prospect for them to know such a personal thing. Especially his brother. He was not yet ready for another heart to heart.
“They are all fine,” Thor hesitantly said. “Brother, I don’t suppose you bonded with one of them more than the others. Say, as something more than a friend. You can tell me, you know.”
Yup, Loki was right. Absolutely mortifying. Back on Asgard, he and his brother never really talked about relationships. Their own was already too far gone by the time they reached an age where they thought much about it. The trickster god still remembered his first kiss. It was with one of the palace stable boys. He’d even started riding more just to have an excuse to go and see him. Of course, Odin found out and deemed it improper. Loki never did find out exactly what had happened to him, but he remembered wanting to go and talk to Thor about it. Needless to say, he didn’t. But maybe, just maybe, this was an opportunity to make up for that. So, against his better judgement, Loki told Thor of his special connection with you, though not to the full extent out of the desire to still guard his emotions. Unfortunately, that meant Stark heard, too.
“Not a word out of you,” Loki menaced as Tony opened his mouth. Thankfully, he backed off, putting his hands up in surrender. “Thor, please tell me that they are alright. If they were hurt because of me... Well, just tell me how they are.”
“They are a little shaken up, I will admit, but they are ok. Safe. As I have already said, you have my word that they will remain that way.”
Loki choked out his thanks before Fury burst back into the room. That man was so unreadable that Loki couldn’t make out a single damn expression on his face. How he wished he could have that talent to be so guarded again, but once the floodgates were opened the first time, he never could quite get them closed again. Regardless, the raven haired man knew something was up—something bad. It was the same feeling he’d gotten the day prior, and look where he ended up. But he couldn’t be apprehended by SHIELD again, so now it was back to the question of what. But deep down, he knew. He whispered your voice so low that only Thor heard, and the thunder god shot his brother a concerned glance. Before he could say anything, though, Fury spoke.
“I need your asses out here now,” he said, addressing the two Avengers. “It’s urgent.”
“Wait, brother,” Loki called before he could exit. “I feel in my gut that there is something very bad happening to my beloved. You will tell me if that is the case, correct?”
“I do not know if that is wise.” Thor looked like he was thinking very hard, brows furrowed in concentration. The desperate, pleading look written plainly on Loki’s face must have convinced him because he finally relented. “But yes, I will. As soon as I can.”
Loki gave a quick nod of gratitude before Thor left again. Now that he was left alone in the room, there was very little stopping him from descending into a full on panic. If you were in any sort of trouble, it was undoubtedly his fault. He never should have done that to you. Then again, if he hadn’t stayed around you for so long, he would still be being crushed by the weight of loneliness. His heart would still be fractured. Perhaps it would have been better than having you violently ripped away from him, though. He feared this cycle of guilt and hypotheticals would never end.
He wasn’t sure if it was minutes, hours, or only mere seconds that passed before Thor was coming back in, but he was relieved to see him. After all, his thoughts were a very scary thing to be trapped with. Even scarier was the deeply worried expression upon Thor’s face.
“Brother?” Loki asked, though he was more nervous for the answer than he ever imagined possible.
“The Chitauri. They are back.”
“In New York? But you closed the portal, did you not?” A sickeningly horrifying idea occurred to Loki, and he swallowed thickly. “Is it Thanos? Has he returned? If he is here to make good on is threats to me, then I beg you, brother, just turn me over. It will be easiest, safest, for everyone.”
“If you think for one moment that I will allow that, you are further out of your mind than I suspected,” Thor raged. Loki was shocked into silence. Never before had Thor yelled at him like that. Sure, he’d shouted at him, but it was always because he was angry at him, or because he was pinning the blame for something on Loki. Not because he cared about him. Thor calmed himself down a bit before he continued explaining the situation. “The portal is still closed. We just did not actually round up all the ones that had already come through, apparently. And, they are not in New York, either.”
“Then where?”
Thor looked nervously around the room. “It hardly matters, brother. You will not be able to come.”
“Thor, where?” Loki growled.
“Oklahoma City.”
Loki sucked in a sharp breath and went pale as a ghost. There was only one logical explanation as to why they would be there of all places. Him. They must have tracked him somehow and were there to get revenge. But he wasn’t there anymore, thanks to SHIELD. And if they truly were tracking him, they wouldn’t stop at the city. They would keep going until they reached your farm. Until they reached you.
“Let me go. I can stop this.”
“Were you not listening to what I just said? You cannot come.”
“Brother, please,” Loki whispered, “I beg of you, just let me take care of this. What if it was your mortal who was in danger? You would stop at nothing to save her, I know. That is how I feel, except it is not only the one I care so dearly about. Yes, there is my beloved, and I would die a thousand deaths for them, but it is their whole family, too. I would give my life to keep them out of danger.”
“Thor,” Captain Rogers said, appearing in the door. “We have to hurry.”
“I am sorry, brother,” Thor told Loki before turning away. There was some look in his eye that Loki did not get a good enough look at to place, but he was certain he was trying to tell him something with it. Regardless, he turned and left. “I am coming, Captain.”
Helplessly tugging at the chains holding him to the table, Loki began to hyperventilate. He started cursing himself. If only he were a stronger sorcerer, then maybe these chains couldn’t restrain his magic. If only he hadn’t become so bitter and hopeless, then maybe he never would have let go on the Bifröst. If only his will wasn’t so weak, then maybe Thanos never would have gotten him to attack Midgard in the first place.
He gave up the futile struggle as the blinding anxiety slowly faded. Letting his head drop into his hands, Loki allowed himself a few quiet sobs before trying to clear his head. He needed a plan. For so long, he was ten steps ahead of everyone, but now? Now he was about a hundred miles behind, locked in a room, unable to protect you. But, no. He wouldn’t give up. He was going to get out. He only needed to think. Surely there were still some cards to play, right?
“Psst, brother.”
He looked up to see Thor sneaking back into the room. Maybe this was a hallucination. It was quite possible that he’d finally cracked under the never-ending pressure. Because, really, when had the God of Thunder ever done anything like this before? Though, the fact that he was unlocking the cuffs did seem to be in favor of the idea that this was a jail break.
“What are you doing?” Loki hissed, rubbing his now freed wrists, still not entirely trusting this wasn’t a trap.
“Is it not obvious? I’m freeing you.”
“Well, how daring of you, brother. I admit, I did not think you had it in you.”
“Yes, well, I can see how much you truly love your little Midgardian.”
“Nonsense. It is like I said, I am concerned for all of them. They did, after all, take care of me.”
“Oh, yes. I am sure that is it.”
Loki just rolled his eyes and made his way over to the exit. Almost every instinct in him was screaming to just teleport away from the scene, get to you as fast he could. The thing stopping him was that for once in a very long time, Thor wasn’t dismissing him. In fact, he was trusting him. He couldn’t just turn his back and betray that now, not if he had any hope of getting their brotherly bond back.
Banner was standing right outside the door as Loki opened it, making him jump a little. Before he could whip out a weapon, though, Thor was reassuring Loki that he was just standing guard during the break out. It was quite the strategic move, Loki thought, to have the one Avenger who could really do damage to him be right outside the door. Perhaps he wasn’t giving his brother enough credit. Or perhaps there were just others involved in this scheme.
Sure enough, after dodging a number of agents, the rest of Thor’s friends were waiting in the Quinjet. The tension in the air was palpable as they stood there in silence, sizing each other up. It was obvious Thor wanted to say something to get them all amicably chatting, but knew whatever he was going to say would probably just make things worse. Though the very idea made him gag, Loki knew what he must do if he wanted to reach you in time.
“I apologize,” he said, trying to make it sound completely sincere. “I know that I have hurt some of you—all of you—in some way. I cannot erase the past, but I am trying to do the right thing now. I was not in my right mind the first time we met. Let me prove that now.”
The Avengers all made eye contact with each other, communicating without words. It was agony waiting for their approval, both because he was anxious just to get to you, and it was sickening to have to be judged by them in such a way. Knowing that it was his only opportunity of helping you without complications, however, he waited with bated breath for their reply.
“Ok,” Romanoff finally spoke up. “We forgive you. For now, anyway. Right now, we have to get to Oklahoma.”
“Yes. Please, let us be on our way now,” Loki urged.
And that’s how the God of Mischief ended up flying around with the Avengers. At least he wasn’t chained up like the last time. It was, though, perhaps the most tense situation he’d ever been in. But it didn’t matter, not now. No, now he was on his way, and there was only one thing in his mind, repeating over and over like that one song lyric you can’t get of your head.
He was going to save you.
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sunshinejihyun · 4 years ago
Text
Fireworks and Butterflies || Lucien
Author’s note: Happy birthday to this wonderful man, here’s where I pretty much ramble for 3k words about how much I love him within this story okay cool
Summary: Lucien looks back on his past birthdays when celebrating his present birthday with the woman he loves
Warnings: Some sexual innuendos, general spoilers for Lucien’s plot line
Word Count: 3858
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Birthdays were never something Lucien had looked forward to before; after his family died, he got taken in by Black Swan to be experimented on and the only celebration he got was singing ‘happy birthday’ to himself in a dark room when he should be asleep instead. This year was different though, Lucien had someone wonderful waiting for him back home. He knew that as soon as he walked through the door, she’d greet him with a bright smile and a warm hug, and that those two things would light up his world. Birthday candles, fireworks, and sparklers are nice, but the way she set his heart on fire is the light Lucien has craved all his life.
This was the first time Lucien was anxious to leave his office - turning off the lights, closing the door, and locking it would signify that he had something worth returning home for, and the entire day while running labs, Lucien kept stealing glances at the watch she had gifted him one day (‘just because’) bound around his wrist, willing the minute hand to move faster. Alas, that only caused the time to tick by slower than he wanted, so Lucien eventually gave up, only looking at the clock to keep track of time sensitive subjects, despite him still wanting to anxiously check the watch every free second of the day.
Once he finished his lab, Lucien had sent a summary to his advisor and logged off, ready to spend the rest of his birthday weekend completely disconnected from work; ready to find his way into her arms and not move until Monday morning, which was the next time either of them had to go into work. She promised him a whole weekend dedicated to Lucien, so he plans to take advantage of every second she’s around him.
Lucien’s walk back to his apartment was mindless, the autumn breeze was turning his cheeks pink but he didn’t mind it; it was almost welcomed since it proved he was actually human, which was something he was convinced for the longest time he wasn’t. She had helped him think differently, helped him believe he wasn’t the machine he was taught he should be, helped him learn to love again - which was something he didn’t think would happen after his parents had passed.
The elevator ride up to his apartment was the best kind of torture anyone could ask for. It was agonizing, knowing she was in his apartment right now waiting for him and he was stuck on a stupid elevator. He should have taken the stairs; with the amount of poorly cooked sweets she was going to push on Lucien this weekend, he knew that by Monday he would probably put on a few pounds. He didn’t mind though, not really, the thought of her caring enough to bake sweets for him put Lucien in the best kind of mood. It was a mood that only she could bring out in him.
The elevator bell rang out, and it was like all of Lucien’s anxieties fell away as the doors parted. Only a few more steps and he would be in her intoxicating presence, he would be able to be himself; no facades, no fake smiles, no more lying to himself - Lucien could just be him, with all his faults and flaws. Despite those flaws, he was loved dearly, and that brought a warm feeling to his chest and butterflies to his stomach.
When his hand was resting on the door knob, Lucien took a deep breath before opening the door. On the other side, he heard pots and pans clanging around, as well as some off key humming. She wasn’t expecting him back so soon and the picture of surprise on her face that he had conjured up in his mind made him feel more at home than he’s ever felt in the tiny apartment he’s been calling home.
As soon as he walked in, Lucien headed towards the kitchen, where he knew he would find her. Sure enough, she was standing over his oven, pouring some cake batter in a round pan. Making his way over to her, Lucien wrapped his arms around her middle, right where her apron was already tied, and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“Hi love,” she didn’t turn to look at him, still focusing on not over pouring the pan and making a mess in his otherwise clean kitchen. “You’re here early.”
Lucien could almost picture the pout on her face, upset that he had come back earlier and ruined her ‘surprise’. “I couldn’t stay away from you.” One thing he had promised was to be completely honest with her, so he answered with the first thing that came to mind. “I was actually excited for my birthday this year, because I get to spend it with you.”
She turned in his arms then, her already pink cheeks even more colored than normal. Lucien’s arms went from around her waist to his hands resting on her hips, pulling her as close as possible. “You came back too early! You spoiled my surprise!”
“Oh, because you’ve never made me sweets before on special occasions?” He was teasing her, only because he loved to see her blush and wanted to prolong it. He leaned down so his nose was brushing hers, her sweet breath dancing over his lips alluded to her taste testing some of the cake batter. “Can I help you with anything?”
She bit her lip, something she always did when she pretended to think. “You can sit down and relax. You deserve it, birthday boy.”
Lucien then leaned down and pressed a chase kiss to her lips before pulling away and shaking his hair from his eyes, smiling softly at her. “Yes ma’am, I’ll be in the living room. There is a book I was looking forward to reading and haven’t gotten the chance yet.”
As he left the kitchen, she called for him. “Lucien!” When he turned and met eyes with hers, she winked at him. “Take a shower first, you kinda smell like outside.”
He nodded his head in acknowledgement, grateful she told him. If he smelled like that now, most likely later on his skin would begin to itch because of the irritation and he didn't want that, he wanted to spend the whole night with her, as comfortable as possible.
Slipping into the bathroom, Lucien stripped down, letting the shower water heat up while he took his time to wash his face in the sink and take out his contacts. As he slipped in the warm water, he felt his muscles relax; the warm water was comforting, it was somewhere Lucien always felt safe. No matter where he was, he could always find some comfort about standing under scalding hot water. Knowing that she was just a few rooms over was a bonus and made him feel even more safe than normal.
“Lucien?” Her voice rang through the bathroom door, bright and clear, and Lucien shut off the water, toweling off his hair before wrapping the towel around his waist. He opened the door so rather than talking through a wall, they could talk face to face. “Oh… I was just going to ask if you wanted me to grab you some new clothes to wear.” She kept her eyes locked on his face, refusing to look down and lose her composure. “Thank you darling,” Lucien replied, reaching for his glasses. When he glanced back at her, he found her eyes travelling over his bare torso. “I think I’ll stay like this, if you don’t mind.” He wouldn’t stay like that, of course, but Lucien wanted to see her reaction and how she would respond.
“Of course I don’t mind, I’ll just have to make sure to look only at your face.”
She swallowed hard as Lucien stepped closer to her, leaning down so his breath danced over her ear. “I’m only joking… I wouldn’t be that much of a tease. Yet.” He nipped at her earlobe before pulling back and moving to leave the bathroom. “I’ll be in my room getting dressed. Meet you in the living room after?” She nodded, stepping aside to let him through the small doorway and Lucien grinned to himself at the shiver that ran down her spine as he squeezed her shoulder affectionately.
Dressing himself in some joggers and a black turtleneck, Lucien quickly made his way back to her, sitting down on his small couch by her feet. Once he settled, Lucien pulled her feet into his lap and started massaging them. “Tell me about your day.”
“Mine?” He nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. He wanted to take in everything about her, every expression was so intriguing and he loved seeing new ones he hadn’t discovered yet. “Well… I slept in, and then I snuck over here after making sure you were gone. I was hoping to get your cake done before you got home, but someone had to come back early.” She took the foot that wasn’t currently in his hand and prodded his stomach with her big toe.
“I was excited to spend the rest of tonight and all of tomorrow with you, I’m sorry.” Lucien dropped his hands from her foot and she frowned before crawling over to him and straddling him.
“Hey,” she took his face in her hands and forced Lucien to look in her eyes. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. I was just teasing, I love every second I spend with you.”
Without responding, Lucien closed the distance between the two of them, his mouth reaching for hers while his arms encircled her and pulled her body so her torso was flush with his own. Her gasp was quickly swallowed as Lucien captured her bottom lip between his own and suckled softly.
Running his hands up and down her back Lucien eventually slipped his hands under her shirt and explored her bare skin, his fingertips skimming the edges of her bra before returning to her stomach. While his hands were occupied, she took advantage of hers being free and she rubbed up and down slowly on his chest, her warm palms continually brushing Lucien’s nipples and igniting a heat in his lower stomach that only she could start.
The timer on the oven let out an obnoxious sound and she pulled back from Lucien. Taking a deep breath, Lucien opened his eyes and couldn’t help but laugh. His glasses were completely fogged up and he could hardly see the woman sitting on his lap. Pushing them up on his head, he reached out and smoothed down her mussed hair.
“I should, um… I should go check on the cake.” She stood up and smoothed out her shirt and glanced at Lucien once more, biting her lip.
“I’ll come with,” he responded cooly, pulling his neck on his sweater back in place. It had moved while the girl was kissing his neck, not that he was complaining. “I want to help frost the cake.”
“Darling,” she brought the cake out of the oven and the delicious smell washed over Lucien. He had to admit that it was turning out better than he had originally expected. “The cake has to sit in the fridge for quite some time before we frost it, it has to cool down first.”
Lucien glanced past the girl who’s back was turned from him, his eyes zeroing in on the frosting sitting on the counter. Silently, he grabbed it, opening it as quietly as possible. Dipping his finger into the sweet creamy substance, he rubbed it on the exposed part of her neck. “Guess I’ll have to find something else to frost in the meantime, huh?” He was taunting her, waiting to see her next move before continuing.
She turned towards him, a mischievous look twinkling in her eyes before dipping her hand in the frosting jar that Lucien was holding tightly. She smeared it on his jawline, trailing a line up to his lips. When her fingers reached his lips, he opened his mouth and sucked them in, slowly licking the sweetness off of them before pulling off with a pop.
Without saying anything, Lucien then leaned down and licked the frosting off her neck, the saltiness of her sweat from standing by a heated oven had mixed with the sweetness of the frosting and was mouthwatering; the taste of her was so intoxicating to Lucien that all he wanted was to taste even more of her. Lucien could feel her heartbeat stutter and she started giggling once his lips grazed the back of her ear, the spot right behind her earlobe that he knew drove her crazy.
Lucien tapped the back of her thighs, right under her butt and she took his signal, wrapping her arms around his neck as their lips connected, wrapping her legs around his waist as he gripped her body tightly. He sat her on the counter and broke apart to brace both of his hands on either side of her, one of them resting firmly on the counter, the other sinking into something sticky and soft. The cake. “I might have just ruined your cake.”
Her eyes widened and followed Lucien’s gaze to his hand, covered in warm, sticky yellow batter that had yet to cool down from the oven. “Lucien!”
Her tone called his name so disappointedly, unlike how she had called it only a few brief moments ago. Hanging his head, Lucien didn’t meet her eyes. “I’m sorry. It was a mistake. We can go out later and buy more batter… and frosting, for that matter.”
Silently, she reached over and grabbed a dish towel and took his cake covered hand in hers and gently started cleaning off the mess. “It’s alright. We had fun, and that’s what matters. It’s your birthday, we do what you want… You did have fun, right?”
Her soft eyes finally caught his and Lucien’s breath caught in his throat. She looked so beautiful in that moment, her chest moving up and down with every breath and her cheeks were flushed, which went well with the sparkle in her eyes. “Of course I had fun, I’m with you.” Lucien ducked his head and captured her mouth with his own in a sweet kiss. “I think we’ve got a bit of a mess to clean up.”
She grinned at Lucien before pulling off his glasses and setting them to the side. Stretching her body up, she took Lucien’s face in her hands and his immediately flew to her back, tracing her spine up and down, repeating those movements as she obnoxiously licked the frosting on his jaw, her hot breath and tongue on his skin caused him to let out a loud laugh when her tongue met his lips.
She pulled away from him and nodded in satisfaction before holding out her arms in a silent way of asking Lucien to help her off the counter. Once her feet had landed on the floor, she reached up to pluck an invisible thread off Lucien’s shoulder. “Do you want your regular order from the ramen shop down the street?” She pinched Lucien’s butt as he bent over to pick up some of the broken cake pieces off the floor.
“Yes, please. Thank you, darling.” Lucien dropped the pieces into the garbage before heading over to the sink to wash off the cake. He watched as his love exited the kitchen, already dialing the ramen shop’s phone number. Lucien’s heart warmed as he heard her greet the person on the other end before rambling off his rather complicated order from memory. The fact that she took the time to memorize it meant the world to him, and he wasn’t particularly sure how to express that out loud. Lucien’s only wish this year was that he could finally figure out how to share every emotion he felt towards her.
Lucien finished up in the kitchen and headed back to the living room. She was sitting on the couch, her feet propped up on the coffee table and as her eyes met his own, she beckoned Lucien over. He sat down and she took his hand, guiding his body to lay along the length of the couch, his head in her lap. She immediately took to rubbing Lucien’s scalp and he felt the tension melt away, his jaw unclench, and he sunk more into her body.
“I wish every single day could be like this.” Lucien mused, turning his body so his face was buried in her stomach. She leaned down, pressed a kiss to the top of his head before resuming the patterns she was tracing. “No responsibilities, no cares in the world. Just me and you, two people who love each other.”
She didn’t respond at first, just hummed in response to Lucien’s wistful thinking. “If we did this every day, it wouldn’t be special anymore.” Lucien started tracing patterns on her thigh, trying to match what she was doing on his scalp. “I like the fact that this is only something we do sometimes because then we never get sick of it and take advantage.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Lucien moved to sit up and she slowly let go of her grip on him. Once he was upright and his thigh was pressing against hers, he settled an arm comfortably around her shoulder. “Still, we should do it more than twice a year.”
“I think we can manage that,” she agreed, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to Lucien’s lips. No matter how many times she kissed him, it always felt like the first to Lucien. He always wanted to savor the taste of her, not that it was a taste he could ever forget, it was one that was ingrained in the back of his brain.
The doorbell rang and she and Lucien pulled apart. She motioned for him to stay, holding her hands out like you would a dog or toddler. “Don’t move. Let me get the food.”
She returned with a plastic bag filled with an abundance of food and she set it down on the table before setting everything out. “So, I ordered your ramen, but I also ordered some extras. Figured we could eat leftovers tomorrow.”
Lucien smirked at her, nudging her side. “Who says there’ll be leftovers with you around?”
Her cheeks reddened and Lucien found a genuine smile forming on his face. “I’ll have you know I have some restraint! Especially since I don’t think either of us will want to leave this apartment tomorrow...” She looked down into the noodles on her lap, grinning to herself.
“Oh, and what will we be doing that we won’t want to leave?”
“Eat your ramen and stop teasing! You don’t want it to get cold.” She slurped up a noodle and Lucien let out a bark of laughter as it flew up to hit her nose.
The rest of dinner was quiet, both of them lost in their own heads. Lucien continued to reflect on his past while he sucked down the noodles, but he was not looking back in a negative light. He thought about how if everything was different leading up to this moment, he might have never met this girl again after meeting as children. And Lucien would go through hell and back if it meant having his only source of color in his life.
“If you want to go wash up, I’ll put away the leftovers.” Lucien had finished his ramen and waited until she had almost finished hers before speaking.
“That sounds great, I’ll go put on some pajamas.” She pressed a quick kiss to his lips before getting up and heading to his room and Lucien quickly gathered the containers and set them in his fridge, throwing out the empty ones in his small garbage can.
“Lucien! I have a surprise for you, go sit down on the couch!” She called from his bedroom, her voice muffled by the door. Lucien complied, setting down comfortably in the middle of his large couch. “Close your eyes!” The bedroom door cracked open and her head stuck out. “No peeking!”
Lucien’s eyes closed and all he could do was sit and wait for her next move. He heard the door creak open and then he heard her footsteps advance towards him. She settled in his lap, straddling him much like she did earlier in the same spot. Lucien put his hands out and rested them on her hips, only to be met with bare skin. Opening his eyes, his mouth dropped slightly as he took her in.
She was wearing nothing but one of the lab coats that he had hanging in his closet. It hung loosely on her body, none of the buttons were done up, and it was falling off of one shoulder. “Happy birthday to you,” she tried to sing in what Lucien assumed was supposed to be a seductive voice, but in all actuality he had to hold back a bout of laughter. “Happy birthday to you.” Her arms draped around his shoulder and when her hair brushed his nose, Lucien felt his breath hitch in his throat. “Happy birthday, Mr. Professor.” She leaned in to brush her lips against his ear and nip at the lobe and Lucien’s hands tightened on her waist. At this point, he was probably leaving bruises but he didn’t care; all it did was remind her of him days after they had last been together. “Happy birthday to you.” Her lips brushed against his own with the last part of her song and before she could say anything, Lucien crashed his lips into hers.
He quickly hoisted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as he walked her to his bedroom, his lips never leaving hers. Lucien gently laid her down on the fresh linen sheets before covering her body with his own. “May I receive my birthday present now?”
She pulled away from him to pull off his sweater before bringing Lucien back down to her, stopping right before their lips met once more. “It’ll be my pleasure. And yours.” With a giggle, she kissed Lucien and a laugh bubbled in his chest and he let it out as she kissed down his neck, butterflies forming in his stomach the farther down she kissed.
Lucien’s life was dull before he met her, he saw everything in black and white. But only after meeting her one time, he knew she’d be able to bring some color into his world. What he didn’t know was that she’d deliver the color with a cacophony of fireworks that erupted every time he was in her presence, much like the butterflies that swirled in his stomach when she sent even a small smile in his direction. Not that he would change it though; no, Lucien wouldn’t take back any moment in his past because it all led up to this: being safe and warm in her arms.
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