#i just needed someone to actually talk with me (even angrily/accusingly) about this because i was so lost. the anon

[chemicalarospec]

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[cactusnymph]

Prompt fill #5 for @dimension20alphabet:

Escape

[part two to this]

Usually it goes like this:

 The Bad Kids eat lunch together in the cafeteria and otherwise Fabian doesn’t talk much to any of them over the course of his day. It’s not like he’s actively ignoring them, but he’s more on the side of the popular kids. The cool guys. The jocks.

 Meanwhile, the others—well, maybe except for Fig—don’t exactly fit the bill.

 Sure, Fabian would die for any of them, but somehow the social structures at school still feel restrictive in a way that gives him a hard time moving against them.

 Now though, now the unthinkable has happened.

 The Ball is ignoring him.

 Well, not as much as ignoring Fabian as he’s actively fleeing from him the second Fabian comes into view. At first Fabian thought that The Ball had just forgotten something in his locker when he turned around and ran—ran—in the opposite direction of Fabian.

 But it happens again during the first break and Riz is not at their usual table when Fabian joins the others for lunch.

 Everyone is looking at him.

 “What?”, he asks.

 His mood was bad all weekend. After the ridiculous dare he received on Theo’s party The Ball was nowhere to be seen. Both Adaine and Theo—Theo of all people, as if he was The Ball’s friend—followed him out of the room while everyone continued to stare at Fabian accusingly.

 Even Gorgug looked somewhat perturbed, like it was Fabian’s fault that a room full of people had chanted about him kissing The Ball. That hadn’t been his idea!

 “Hey man, you know, you could’ve said ‘no’ without making it sound like, you know, Riz was like, a slimy ghoul or whatever”, Ragh had said to him quietly.

 As far as Fabian knows, Theo and The Ball had ended up making out in one of the empty rooms or behind the house. Those pictures in his head didn’t lead to his weekend getting any better either.

 He trained way too much with his mother. He ate so many kippers that Cathilda asked him if he was feeling alright—which he wasn’t, but he couldn’t exactly explain why. He went for a run three times on Sunday and was still feeling on edge about everything that had happened.

 In the end he crashed on his bed with sore muscles and a scene of The Ball and Theo kissing playing on repeat in his mind that followed him into his dreams.

 And now his friends were looking at him as if he had personally murderer The Ball. With his bare hands. For fun.

 “Did you talk to Riz?”, Adaine wants to know.

 “No.”

 Silence answers him and he looks around the table.

 “What? He saw me in the hallway, turned around and ran away!”, Fabian exclaims angrily. His face is getting hot. He hates all this emotional bullshit and almost wishes he could just go back to being his father’s darling boy instead of his own man, because somehow that seemed way easier.

 “Oh no. Poor Riz”, Kristen says and Fabian almost loses his shit right there.

 Why is it ‘poor Riz’? Why is no one acknowledging what a shit weekend he had? And how fucking dumb that dare was? And how it’s offensive to consider that Riz and Theo made out behind the house while Fabian was being stared at like someone who strangles puppies? And also, he fucking hates it to be ignored.

 He is Fabian Aramais Seacaster.

 He refuses to be ignored!

 “Did you try to text him to apologize?”, Gorgug asks.

 Fabian stares at him.

 “For what?”

 “I mean. You know, because. He looked pretty hurt and like. Isn’t he your best friend?”, Gorgug says quietly and Fabian feels like someone has dropped an iron weight into his stomach.

 “I mean, I guess we’re friends, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that, you know—best friends is maybe a little—“

 A voice in his head whispers “Why would you say that, isn’t that a lie?” but Fabian doesn’t get to listen to it as Fig lowers her fork and looks past Fabian at someone right behind him.

 “Oh, no”, Gorgug says very quietly and Kristen gets up halfway from her chair which leads Fabian to turn around just to be faced with The Ball’s very pale and very unhappy face. For a split second Fabian has the opportunity to notice that Riz looks as if he hasn’t slept or eaten for the past two days, but then he notices Fabian looking at him and escapes immediately.

 “Okay, Fabian, I know talking about your feelings is super fucking hard and everything, but get a grip, man”, Fig snaps at him.

 “My feelings are perfectly fine, thank you”, Fabian grits through his teeth but he doesn’t touch the rest of his food and instead spends the rest of his lunch break cursing the universe for having The Ball turn up right at that moment when Fabian announced that them being best friends might be a bit of a stretch.

 Fabian never really had a best friend before.

 Fuck if he knows what that’s even supposed to mean.

 Riz always just went ahead and announced it to the whole world after they’d barely known each other for a week and back then it had been completely ludicrous.

 Now, though.

 Fabian doesn’t know.

 He might have announced that toxic masculinity is dead, but the truth is that it’s still hard dealing with all this emotional bullshit when no one ever really taught him how it works. And he’ll rather be shot than admit that. At least for now.

 It was hard enough to deal with the fact that he never really did anything on his own and was nothing but a pale shadow of his father, but now that he managed to work through that, everything else was still as difficult as before.

 And who the fuck are you supposed to talk to about these things?

 His father is a madman flying a dead dragon through hell.

 His mother heats up whole cantaloupes in hot pans, because she doesn’t even know how to cook some fucking scrambled eggs.

 Cathilda would probably know a thing or two about this stuff, but Fabian has yet to fully grow into the whole Cathilda-is-basically-his-surrogate-mother-and-not-just-his-maid-thing.

 And how is he going to explain this whole mess anyway?

 “Hey Cathilda, I went to this party and someone told me to kiss The Ball and I was like ‘No, that’s ridiculous’ and now everyone is acting like I’m a complete asshole and The Ball doesn’t talk to me anymore, which is quite frankly offensive, because he always says that I’m his fucking best friend.”

 Even to Fabian that sounds ridiculous. And it doesn’t take into account his obsessive thoughts about Theo and Riz kissing or how The Ball might have overheard Fabian saying that they’re not best friends. And his bloodshot eyes with dark shadows under them. And his pale green face with all those freckles.

 And...

 Fabian decides that school can suck his dick on this terrible Monday and he leaves the Aguefort Academy directly after lunch break instead of going to his fighter class.

 It’s not like he needs it, anyway.

 He could probably wipe the floor with his teacher at this point.

 On his way home he receives multiple text messages from his friends.

 “Hey Fabian, where are you? Are you okay?”, from Gorgug.

 “Just text him”, from Adaine.

 “Maybe Jawbone can help you out, he’s really good at this relationship stuff”, from Kristen.

 Relationship stuff?

 What relationship stuff?

 The Ball is not his boyfriend.

 Fabian laughs as he passes a mother with her two kids and she looks slightly concerned about his well being and tugs her children further down the sidewalk.

 What if The Ball wants Theo to be his boyfriend?

 Fabian stops in the middle of the road and stares at his phone. He doesn’t want to talk to Jawbone. Sure, Jawbone is cool and everything. But talking to Jawbone feels too much like admitting that he might have a serious problem, more so than if he maybe just talks to one of his friends.

 For a split second Fabian thinks that wants to talk to Riz until he remembers that that’s not possible right now.

 Because Riz doesn’t talk to him. And also Riz wouldn’t want to talk about anything related to kissing or—or—

 Fabian stuffs his crystal back into his pocket and turns a corner that leads him towards Mordred Manor instead of home.

 Ragh is outside in the vast garden of the manor, wearing a straw hat and some shorts and nothing else while he waters some plants.

 “Hey, what’s up, bro?”, he calls over to Fabian, turns the hose and hits Fabian square in the chest with a jet of cold water. It only takes a few seconds until he’s completely drenched.

 Ragh laughs loudly while he turns off the water and throws the hose down into the grass.

 “You good, man?”, Ragh asks as he walks over to him. Fabian feels like on any other day he might have simply punched Ragh in the face for getting his expensive sneakers wet, but today it just seems like maybe he deserved a shower of cold water.

 “Um—yeah. No. I don’t really know”, he says and his voice reminds him of the time when the whole Leviathan debacle went down. He clears his throat and wipes some water out of his face. “Do you—uh. Have some time to talk?”

 “Sure, dude. Let’s find a spot with a little more shade.”

 Fabian hates the feeling of water in his shoes, so he takes them off and follows Ragh through the garden and into the shade under a big maple tree.

 “What’s up, dude?”, Ragh asks and throws himself down into the ground, pulls the straw hat off his head and leans against the thick trunk of the tree. Fabian sits down cross-legged and puts his sneakers to the side.

 “So—uh”, he starts and then closes his mouth immediately because he hasn’t actually thought this through at all. Ragh looks at him curiously and Fabian wonders if there is a good and nonchalant way to ask the things he wants to ask. Instead of acting cool and composed how he wants to, what comes out of his mouth is:

 “Do you think The Ball and Theo made out?”

 There is a beat of silence in which Fabian considers just getting up and running out of the garden and into traffic. This was not what he is supposed to ask.

 This is not—

 “Dude”, Ragh says and he leans forward to look at Fabian. “You look like you’re about to puke, man.”

 Fabian doesn’t feel great. His chest feels like someone installed iron clasps around it and is pulling his ribs tight and his stomach is doing some acrobatics that it’s absolutely not supposed to do.

 Why did he ask this?

 And what if Ragh says yes?

 Why the fuck does it even bother him?

 The Ball can kiss whoever the fuck he wants!

 “I’m—sure. Fine. Yeah. It’s all—uh. Fine.”

 “Yeah, dude, no offense, but like, it doesn’t look particularly fine to me. So—what you’re asking me is. If Riz and Theo got it going after that whole Truth or Dare thing?”

 Fabian takes a deep breath, which seems particular hard for some reason. This is ridiculous.

 He’s Fabian Aramais Seacaster. He knows how to fucking breathe.

 “I—guess?”

 “Hm”, Ragh says and leans back again. “Not sure if that’s my story to tell, bro. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sorry you feel like shit, but, like. Isn’t that something you should talk to Riz about?”

 Fabian thinks that, if one other person tells him to talk to The Ball, he might actually commit cold blooded murder.

 “Great suggestion, seeing as to how he keeps running away from me like he’s afraid I’m going to breathe fire at him any second”, he growls and crosses his arms in front of his chest. Ragh sighs and cocks his head from side to the other.

 “Would it like, bother you if they actually had made out?”

 Fabian wants to snort and say “No”. What comes out instead is a garbled noise as his brain is bombarded with pictures about Riz and Theo kissing.

 “Woah, dude, okay”, Ragh says and he looks alarmed. “Breathe, man.”

 Fabian can do that. Breathing is really easy, except that it’s not.

 “Okay, dude, Imma just say it now, okay? It’s like ripping a band-aid off!”, Ragh says loudly, grips Fabian’s shoulders and stares at him very intently. “I think you’re totally into Riz.”

 Fabian’s brain feels like it’s suffering from a bad case of frostbite. His thoughts turn sluggish as he tries to process what Ragh just said, but it doesn’t make any sense. Fabian is not into The Ball. He’s not in love with Riz. That is insane.

 “Okay, so, hear me out, bro. Remember how I was totally in love with Dayne? And it took me like a million years to like, get that? Feels pretty similar to what’s happening with you right now, right? Because we’re like, these manly dudes and we’re supposed to be into hot girls and all that stuff, right? So it doesn’t really fit the picture, but it’s totally fine, dude. It’s all good. You can be in love with Riz.”

 Fabian blinks at him. He can hear the words and he can feel the corners of his mouth turn upwards as if to try to form into a grin.

 “Don’t be insane, Ragh. I’m not—That’s—“

 “It bothers you when he’s with other people because you’re fucking jealous, dude. I’ve been there, okay? And it’s like this weird thing of—you’re not allowed to be jealous because that’s fucking weird, right? Because that’s like, your best bro and everything. But then you keep obsessing about him making out with other people and then it’s like, okay, but what if he kissed me and then you feel really fucking bad, right? Because you’re brain shouldn’t go there?”

 For the very first time Fabian imagines what would have happened if he, instead of saying “No, that’s ridiculous”, had actually kissed The Ball.

 He thinks about Riz’ sharp teeth and how he keeps chewing on his bottom lip when he’s nervous and the second Fabian’s brain arrives at Riz’ bottom lip it feels like there is a dam inside his brain breaking.

 He imagines grabbing Riz and pulling him into his lap, pressing his lips against his and hearing Riz make a choked noise against his lips—

 “What the actual fuck.”

 Ragh lets go of his shoulders and nods.

 “Yeah, dude. Intense, right?”

 “But—why?”

 Ragh shrugs and rubs the back of his head with one of his hands. Somehow the cold water drenching Fabian’s clothing feels like a blessing now because his skin seems to be on fire.

 Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck—

 “Because, dude.”

 “But like—what the fuck am I supposed to do with that?”

 “I mean. Sounds to me like you should totally kiss your Ball, bro.”

 Fabian’s stomach does multiple somersaults.

 “But he’s not—into that kind of stuff.”

 Ragh chuckles.

 “Dude, I love Riz, I really do, but I feel like now that you figured this part of the whole deal out I can just tell you, that like. Riz doesn’t want to make out with Theo or pretty much anyone, right? Which is totally fine, bro, don’t get me wrong. But also, like. I’m a hundred percent certain that he would totally kiss you, man.”

 Fabian’s first response is “Of course he does, why shouldn’t he” but then his brain catches up and his skin starts to tingle.

 Maybe this is why kissing Aelwyn for the second time wasn’t really working out. Maybe this is what Aelwyn meant when she said “Well, I suppose we’re not a good match after all”.

 “Riz... wants to kiss me?”

 Ragh nods and grins.

 “Yeah, dude.”

 “Okay. Well—uh. I have to go.”

 “Don’t forget your shoes!”, Ragh shouts after him but Fabian doesn’t give a rat’s ass about his shoes as he takes off.

 Maybe he can unpack all of this shit later. Maybe he should actually talk to Jawbone. Maybe this is going to be yet another thing that makes him different from his father and as soon as he has some time to think it through he can maybe arrive at the conclusion that that isn’t a bad thing.

 At some point he stops running because he actually has no idea where Riz is. Is he still at school? At home? At his damn office? Fabian pulls out his crystal and hastily types a message to Riz.

 “Where are you???? We need to kiss!”

 He deletes the last word and types “talk” instead. Fabian watches with his breath held as three dots appear on his screen very shortly before they disappear again. He waits in the middle of the street, no shoes on, dripping wet. People passing him by look as though they’re concerned for his mental state but Fabian couldn’t care less.

 Maybe now is not the time to be manly about his feelings if he actually wants to fucking kiss his damn best friend.

 “I need to talk to my best friend”, he types.

 The dots reappear immediately.

 “at the office”

 Fabian stuffs the crystal back into his pocket, considers calling the Hangman to drive him over there but then decides that he doesn’t want to wait for him to arrive.

 The last time Fabian was in Riz’ office there was a terribly creepy doppelganger of Riz trying to kill him, but he pushes the thought to the side as he rushes into the building, dripping water everywhere as he heads up the stairs.

 Fabian doesn’t think he can manage another emotional talk today because the last one left him completely drained and exhausted, but the second that he spots Riz behind his desk ripping some papers in a nervous craze his heart leaps into his throat and goes into overdrive immediately.

 Fuck.

 He rips open the door and Riz flinches so hard that he sends all the papers flying. Then he stares at Fabian with his huge, yellow eyes.

 “Why are you wet? And where are your shoes?”, he wants to know, looking completely confused.

 “Doesn’t matter”, Fabian says, rounds the desk and grabs Riz by the shoulders. “We need to talk about Saturday.”

 Riz turns his face away and there is a dark green blush on his cheeks and the back of his nose. Now that Fabian knows what his damn problem is he realizes how fucking badly he actually wants to kiss Riz.

 “Oh—well. Yeah. Haha, weird, right? Don’t worry about it, it was totally ridicu—“

 “I should have done it”, Fabian interjects. Riz’ eyes grow impossibly wider.

 “Wh—what?”

 “I should have done it. Kiss you, I mean. We should have kissed.”

 Who would have thought that the son of the famous Bill Seacaster would die of a heart attack at the age of eighteen while wearing no shoes and dripping wet clothes.

 “Wh—why?”

 “Because I—“

 Fabian didn’t actually get that far in his head. He grabs Riz’ shoulders tighter and fuck, he can’t bring himself to say the words.

 “Because I don’t want you to kiss anyone else”, is what he manages in the end and he watches closely as Riz’ swallows and the dark shade of green on his face grows impossibly darker still.

 “Did you mean it?”, he asks quietly, his voice raspy and hoarse.

 “Mean what?”

 “That—in your text message. About—you know. Being best friends or whatever.”

 Fabian takes a deep breath.

 “Yeah.”

 Riz makes a very small “Oh” sound and then, all of a sudden, Fabian stumbles backwards with his arms full of Goblin. It occurs to him that this is the first time they actually hugged.

 “So—uh. Can I? Um—kiss you?”, he asks and his voice sounds like he swallowed a bunch of sand.

 “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

 It turns out that kissing someone you’re actually into is better than winning a Bloodrush game, better than dancing, better than pretty much everything he’s ever done before. Riz holds onto him as if his life depended on it and Fabian feels like he won’t let his best friend down anytime soon or he might just fall over and die.

 It occurs to him that this must be Riz’ first kiss and something inside him purrs contently at the thought of that as he lets himself sink down into Riz’ chair so Riz is sitting in his lap.

 “Thought you were into that Theo dude”, he mumbles against Riz’ lips.

 “’m not.”

 “Yeah, I get that now.”

 “I’m uh—pretty much only into you. So...”

 Fabian’s heart is doing a very silly little dance in his chest but all he can bring himself to say is “Yeah”. All the other words that he probably should say get stuck somewhere half the way up his throat because his heart is beating too fast.

 “So... no more Truth or Dare”, Riz says sheepishly.

 “No, definitely not.”

 “Cool.”

 Very cool indeed, Fabian thinks, as he kisses Riz again.

[specialmindz]

“Mmm *POMP!* this some good milk, Snas,” said Papyrus, shuffling around in his brother’s makeshift backpack. It wasn’t very comfortable, but as long as he didn’t have to crawl…

“eh, i prefer hot chocolate myself,” replied Sans. “glad you like your milk baby bro, i was worried about how it’d do in the microwave cause’ of all the chemicals, but you’re not dead yet so…”

“Daddy say is okay to put mah super milk in da’ mikeywave…or is I baby guinea pig?” Papyrus narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“guinea pigs are cute pap!”

“…”

Sans blew on his hot chocolate for what seemed like the sixth time. He didn’t put his drink in the microwave like Papyrus’s, he preferred to use boiled water as the cold weather of Snowdin usually cooled it off without him having to do anything.

Today though, they weren’t going to Snowdin, plans had changed.

Alphys had always had a messy workspace, but the Nursery, according to her, was in worse shape. FAR worse shape. She didn’t mind the broken toys scattered everywhere seeing as it wasn’t her room, but the fact that the toys came from the Dump meant they smelled terrible. Sans and the rest of the family were either nose-blind to it, or simply didn’t care, but Alphys couldn’t stand it. She complained weekly about the stench, claiming it was getting worse and worse, seeping from underneath the Nursery door and distracting her from work, but no one would do anything about it.

Today, SHE took the initiative and decided to spray the Nursery with every air freshener they had, making it impossible and even dangerous to sleep in the room; that meant that not only did they have to find a new place to sleep, but Baby Papyrus also missed his nap.

Not good.      

“You an idiot,” mumbled the cranky infant, unhappy to be a baby guinea pig.

“whatever.”

“Lazy idiot stink head with stupid broke gloves…”

“heh ha! they’re not broke pappy, that’s how they’re SUPPOSED to look. these are fingerless gloves,” explained Sans, hoping to laugh away his irritation. Papyrus wasn’t having it though.

“Your gloves dumb like you.”

“they’re not dumb! i think they make me look cool…”

“They make you look homeless. I half aspect you to be shaking a tin can around, asking for monies.”

“Screw you, Papyrus.”

“Is I your bindle, big Buther? You’s supposed to carry me on a stick…”

“SHUT UP, PAPYRUS.”

“Can you do da’ har-mon-ica? Pay a song for the baby.”

The young comedian quickened his pace towards the Resort Area. “i’ll pay you a beating, you keep mouthing off,” mumbled Sans under his breath.  

“Ooooh, Buther think he tough now cause’ he gots biker gloves! Nyeh heh heh, what gang you from, Snas? Pussies of Anarchy? Renegade Rejects?”

San didn’t reply, he merely pushed open the doors of the Resort and went inside, not wanting to travel all the way to Snowdin’s hotel or teleport whilst carrying his brother in a bag rather than his arms. He knew for a fact that anything touching his body would travel with him, but what about the things that weren’t? Or the things he wasn’t holding on to purposely?

It’s not like I’ve ever lost anything in my pockets when I take my shortcuts, but I still don’t feel comfortable with something so precious in such a flimsy bag…

“Harlem’s Asshats?”

Hm…maybe “precious” isn’t the right word to use for Pap.  

Sans grimaced as Papyrus continued to complain and come up with more insulting gang names. He himself was a complainer when HE didn’t get enough sleep, but Papyrus?

“Big-butted Bums of Bloomington!”

His brother REALLY sucked when he missed his nap. He was loud, angry, and mean. Babies weren’t supposed to miss their daily naps and baby bones already had hot tempers to begin with…

TA-TAP, TA-TAP!

The Receptionist, a monster with a giant hand in place of her head, tapped her red painted nails on the counter impatiently, a strange sight for those who weren’t used to seeing it. “Do you need a room you two?”

TA-TAP, TA-TAP!

“No, I needs a doctor cause’ Snas give me irradiated milk!” Papyrus tried to point his finger accusingly at his brother, but found it next to impossible in his current position, so instead he threw his bottle on the ground.

“NYEH!”

CAP, CAP!

It bounced along the tile floor, empty despite his whining, and rolled to a stop before a janitor, who kindly picked it up. “Ah-hawww, looks like you’ve got a fussy baby on your hands!” chuckled the employee, returning the bottle.

CAP, CAP, CAP!

“HAHAHAHA!”

“PAPYRUS! i’m so sorry sir-”

“Oh, don’t be, it’s what I get paid for after all! It’s best you get that little guy to bed though…”

“NOT TIRED!”

Sans took the bottle from the janitor and put it in his pocket. Even if his brother were telling the truth, he knew the Lying Font was still going to ACT tired, and a tired baby was a cranky baby. For Papyrus, a missed nap was all the excuse in the world to be a douche, and Sans would rather fork over 400g then listen to his crap.

Lucky for us, children get discounts.

TA-TAP, TA-TAP!

“STOP HEADBUTTING DA’ TABLE NAIL LADY! IF AZZY NOT ALLOWED TO, YOU NOT ALLOWED TO!”

“E-excuse me?”

“just ignore him, miss-”

“When Azzy be small like me, he used to headbutt the desk. You not remember Nail-Lady? You was all like, ‘STOP ATTACKING THE DESK GOAT-BABY!’ and Moo-Mom say, ‘HOW DARE YOU YELL AT MAH BABY LIKE DAT!?’ and then Fluffy Buns say ‘settle down now ladies, is not that serious,” said Papyrus, voice acting each line. He’d been doing that a lot as of late, trying to “perfect his mimicry for when he got big” and by extension, he ended up disturbing those unfortunate enough to hear him. Asgore’s loud booming voice coming from such a small baby was…eerie…and it was even worse when he decided to imitate Sans...

The receptionist doesn’t have a face, but I bet she’s as uncomfortable as I am right now.

…

…

How do I get bro to stop talking though?

“…Then you got all mad Nail-Lady and say ‘HE DO DIS ERYTIME HE HERE! WHY YOU CAN’T CONTROL YO’ KID? ERYBODY ELSE CONTROL THEIR KID! YOU THINK JUST CAUSE’ YOU THE KING YOU CAN DESTROY? NOT ERYBODY WICH LIKE YOU!”

“…I actually DO remember,” said the receptionist. “Someone, who used to do that. Yes…there was a small child with an entitled mother who used to headbutt and jump atop the furniture…”

Who was that?

“Yep! I’s there too with Chara, so I knows! You and the Moo Lady used to argue about discounts-”

“Oh my goodness, you’re right!” the woman suddenly remembered. “There was a woman who claimed she should only have to pay the regular 400g because you weren’t her child and THEN she got upset when I AGREED and asked you for 200g-”

“HOW YOU GONNA ASK A BABY FOR MONIES? BABIES SHOULD GET IN FREE! YOU DOESN’T EVEN GOTS CWIBS!”  

“That’s EXACTLY how it went, every single time. It was always the same argument.” The monster, who prided herself on her professionalism, could feel herself getting angry all over again, her old forgotten hatred bubbling to the surface. She couldn’t stand the Royal Family. The Entitled Mother, the Spinless Husband, the Destructive Child…and if she recalled, the human they adopted was an actual thief…

“Yep, and Chara was all like ‘don’t be a bitch, bitch’ and da’ Cow Lady say ‘I agwees, but I doesn’t ah-pea-ciate yo’ language my child,’ and Chara go ‘I was talking to youuuu-”

“hey pap-”

“Fluffy Buns smacked them right on the butt! It was funny.”

“Yes…Chara was their name…the thieving human who kept getting in trouble with security. They would go into other people’s rooms and take their things like it was okay and the mother-”

“She say, ‘Oh Chara just curious, you should be more patient wit yo’ customers! Da’ world of monsters be new to them ya’ know? They just a child…!”

“…”

Sans didn’t know how she was doing it, but he could have sworn he heard growling coming from the woman’s direction.

“ha ha…hey uh, bro? let’s just get us a room already, yeah? i’m sure the receptionist here is busy-”

“TWO WOOMS PEAS!” yelled the infant. “One for the baby and one for the Pussy of Anarchy.”

“damnit pap…!”

“Very well, that’ll be 400g then.”

Glaring over his shoulder, Sans forked over the money and headed to their room. “now bro, there are other people in this resort so try not to be a dick, alright? we need to be quiet-”

“WAIT SNAS!” the baby bones picked himself up out of the bag with his wingdings. “I gots to visit the fountain real quick.”

“Oh uh, please don’t urinate in the fountain,” said the receptionist raising a finger. “The rooms have toilets in them.”

“I’s not a gross peepee-baby Nail-Lady, don’t you know a cute widdle skelly when you sees one? I’s looking for coins-”

“Absolutely not!” cried the woman, her tone taking a sudden turn. “This fountain is a memorial to…someone. It is strictly forbidden to gather the coins within, read the sign!” The monster pointed at a sign that said “Stay Out of the Fountain.” Apparently, people were so desperate, they were stealing G from the memorial…

“I NEEDS EM’ TO PAY SNAS BACK!” yelled Papyrus, wondering how much 200g was.

“READ. THE. SIGN. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE!” she replied, shouting just as loud. Clearly theft was a daily problem for her.

“heh heh, you don’t need to pay me back lil’ bro, thanks though.”

That was…unexpectedly sweet.

“I’s not a deadbeat big Buther…also, I can’t reads so dat sign don’t apply to me.”

“THAT’S NOT HOW THAT WORKS!”

“you do too know how to read, quit your lying pap,” said Sans chuckling.

“I’s not lying, I’s a baby and babies don’t read. Erybody knows that! Isn’t that right Nail- Lady?”

“I just told you what it said, get away from that fountain!”

“Babies also have poor memor-ies. I doesn’t remember what you said,” Papyrus used his wingdings to scoop up a handful of coins and deposited them into his onesie to count later. “I’s very sorry for da’ inco-venience.”

“PUT THOSE BACK OR I’LL HAVE TO ASK YOU TWO TO LEAVE!”

“uh, okay pappy this is getting serious, let’s just put the pretty coins back like the nice lady said…”

“Is serious? THEN WE SERIOUSLY WANT OUR MONIES BACK,” said Papyrus, angrily. Here he was being a good bae, paying back his big brother, (something babies did NOT have to do) and this big person wanted to yell at him?

CLEARLY, she was a baby-hater and didn’t deserve to have such cute guests staying at her gaudy hotel.

“We take back our monies and we go somewhere that ah-pea-ciates sweet babies such as ourselves. Your hotel ugly anyway…too bright, right Snas? We leave.”

“no no no, we don’t need to do that!” said Sans quickly in a panic.

“FINE, TAKE IT AND GO!”

WHAP!

The receptionist slammed the money down on the counter.

I’m so sick of serving thieves…

“wha-ho, lady! let’s just calm down alright? *sigh* geeze…” Sans scratched behind his skull. “why don’t we come to a compromise? that sound good?”

I CAN’T take Pappy to that inn in Snowdin again, I didn’t sleep at all last time!

The comedian winced, remembering the night he spent there with Papyrus. The infant didn’t like the snoring from the other guests in the room.

“Nyeh? Com-per-mize…? Waz dat?”

“it’s a negotiation,” explained Sans. “where arguing people get a little bit of what they want, so everyone’s happy…ish.”

TA-TAP! TA-TAP!

“Okay Snas, I do da’ com-per-mize cause’ I’s a good bae,” said Papyrus sweetly. Seemed he was done acting cranky for the day…or so Sans hoped.

“good boy, pappy! GOOD babies compromise allll the time.”

“No they don’t, but Imma make an ah-ception cause’ I doesn’t like the snoring baes in Snowdin. Remember them Snas? The snoring bunny baes?”

“heh heh, yep, iiiii remember.”

“You can’t tell a sweepy baby to shut the fuk up, cause’ they just babies, so we get no sweep and the Inn lady get all our monies for fee! Is a scam, I KNOWS it!”

“Put the coins back please,” said the receptionist, no longer interested in Papyrus’s stories.

“Kay’. Papyrus picked himself up out of the fountain and waddled over to the counter, his onesie jiggling with coins and leaving a wet trail behind him. I gots a good idea for a com-per-mize Nail-Lady.”

“I thought you were going to put the coins back?”

“Slow yo’ roll woman, we makes a commerize first-”

“compromise’ bro.”

Papyrus ignored him. “I’ll put the coins back like you say…and in return for being a good baby bones, I gets a fee room, kay’? Dat sound like a good commercialize?”  

“…No.”

“*pfft!* papyrus-”

“Why not Nail-Lady? It solve both our problems, yes? Why you so unreason-able?”

The receptionist sighed and hung her head, her energy for the day having been completely drained.

I forgot how terrible this infant was, all he does is talk and make things worse. Why is he even here? Doesn’t he have a mother and father to go home to?

Ugh, he’s still going...

“…Good babies get rewards Nail-Lady, is the law. Dat’s how we learns to be good people’s ya’ know? I do something good…then I gets a reward, then I be good again to get another reward. You see where I’s going with dis?”

“There’s a difference between a reward and a bribe, child-”

“I’s not a child, I’s a baby! How you gonna learn if you no listen? BIG people’s get bribes, BABIES get rewards-”

“bro, stop, it’s okay,” said Sans picking up his brother. “i’ll pay your way and if you really want to return the debt, you can pay me back with your OWN mon-”

“Except ugly babies like Snas, they get nothing.”

“…you know what? nevermind, you can sleep out here like the bum you’re destined to be." He put Papyrus back down.

“I can join your gang…?”

“no, we’re full.”

“Bums of Bloomington full?”

“yyyep.”

“Kick someone out.”

CA-CLACK!

The receptionist pressed the security button underneath her desk.

“why should i? you don’t have biker gloves and you’re mean.”

“Baby not mean! Also, I’s family and family comes first. Kick someone out.”

“no.”

CLANK, CLANK, CLANK!

The two boys stopped fighting and grew silent as a giant knight in black armor approached the counter.

“*Yawn* ………Is there a problem ma’am?”

“Yes, there is,” replied the receptionist. “That baby is stealing from the fountain…and apparently the other one is in a gang-”

“what? no i’m not! papyrus is lying!”

“Nope, is true all right. My big Buther a rebel! He drive his motorcycle around at night when is bedtime.”

“no i don’t, shut up papyrus!”

“……...Is this true?”

Sans gave the knight an irritated look, “why don’t you tell me? why don’t you tell me where i can ride a motorbike without filling the underground with carbon dioxide? why don’t you tell me where i can get one whose pedals i can even reach? where i can get one PERIOD-”    

“……...You don’t need to be a smartass.”

“…”

“………Please return the coins.”

“…”

“Why you gots so many ellipses in yo’ text Knight-Lady? You sweepy too?” The baby bones crawled over to the sleepy giant and gave her the coins in his onesie. “Here you go Heavy-Lady, now you can affords to sweep like us!”

“that’s very sweet, pappy-”

Papyrus turned to the receptionist, “NOW baby gets a fee room?”

“*sigh*”

Damnit bro…

“…No.”

“Nyeh? Why not? I WAS GOOD, GOD DAMNS IT!”

“Get out.”  

“NYEHHHHAAAAHHHH!!”

“papyrus, you don’t need to scream-”

KA-CHUR-GERGERGER!

Taking out a coin pouch, the knight poured some G onto the receptionist’s counter, “…400g right?”

“You don’t have to do that Knight Knight-”

“Yes, I do,” replied the armored monster, handing over the coins Papyrus gave her. “It’s a knight’s duty to help those in need…and we live in times where money is scarce…” She looked down at the skeletal children. “…Remember these words well…following the rules may make others happy and keep the peace, but if it comes at the cost of your or another person’s survival…ignore them.”

“…”

“…”

And with that, Knight Knight walked back to her post, leaving the receptionist alone with the two brothers.

The hand monster wasn’t angry anymore, in fact, she felt a bit guilty and embarrassed over her previous behavior. It was true that the coins in the fountain were people’s wishes…and it was part of her job to make sure people treated those wishes and the memorial with respect, but when looking at the big picture and thinking about WHY so many thieves were running about, well, it was clear who the bad guy was.

“I apologize for my previous behavior,” said the receptionist bowing low. “I’d forgotten that rules were made to help others, not act as bait for the desperate. There’s no point in a memorial if there’s no one left to honor it.”

How many people have starved to death for my job?

She winced and shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of such thoughts. What was done was done, all she could do now was change so it never happened again.

“Is okay Nail-Lady!” said Papyrus petting her back with his wingdings, “It’s your intentions dat count, not what you do.”

“that’s true. as long as you’re at least TRYING to do the right thing, you’re still a good person. mistakes are mistakes, ya’ know? you shouldn’t be punished for something you didn’t MEAN to do, ain’t that right pap?”

“Daz right big Buther! Now give us da’ key.”

“say please.”

“No.”

The woman handed the baby bones, who had taken the liberty of climbing onto the counter, the key to their room. “Please enjoy your stay.”

“YAAAASS! C’MON SNAS, IS TIME FOR YO’ NAP!”

“you mean it’s time for OUR nap, pappy.”

“NOT TIRED!”

As the boys headed to their room, the receptionist left her post and walked towards the fountain, removing the sign.

It was never put up again.

[wiyodreamz]

𝑽𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 | 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑺𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒘𝒂 [05]

⌜Nari is a college student at Seokhye University. One day she got off on the wrong foot with Seonghwa, throws her coffee on him and curses him out. Later that day she learns about the internship she signed with Hwa Corp. That same day, she learns that the same guy she threw her coffee at, is the CEO of that company! How will things go for Nari if she has a target on her back from that encounter? ⌟ Office AU

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05

Contains: fluff, angst, smut, alcohol drinking, cursing, and more as the story goes on.

Tag list: @seonghwaskitten @reeateez

Warnings: slight cursing, dani making me want to punch her through the screen, seonghwa and yunho being total sweethearts

A/N: the next chapter will be the last chapter of this series

Nari stirred in Seonghwa’s bed as the sunlight from his windows started to peer in from his bedroom. She turned her body to face him, still asleep. She smiled slightly and then looked at his clock on hid bed side table and that smile soon faded.

The time read ‘12:15 P.M.’ She jumped up and ran her hands through her hair.

“Fuck.....” she trailed off silently as Seonghwa stirred in his sleep and then opened his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He asked as his voice was still full of sleep.

“We overslept Hwa! I was supposed to be out 6 hours ago, before anyone sees me” she said and he rose up instantly.

Nari gathered her clothes as she put them on in a rush. Seonghwa then came out of his closet with a black hoodie and a black bucket hat.

“Put these on, they’re going to be a bit big on you, but no one should really notice you” he said as he handed them to her.

She put on the clothing items he gave her and walked out his room. Once they were outside the gates of his house, a figure popped out from the corner.

“Mr.Park!” Dani said as she appeared. “I came to talk to you at your company, but your assistant said you weren’t here. So I figured out where you lived and drove here” she said and then noticing Nari’s figure in the black clothing. “Oh, and who’s this?”

Seonghwa got in front of Nari and glared down at Dani, crossing his arms “That’s my sister and she doesn’t want anyone seeing her without her makeup on.”

Dani didn’t buy it and rolled her eyes. She pushed Seonghwa out the way off guard and snatched the bucket hat off of her head, revealing Nari.

“Oh look who it is” she said in a mocking tone. “It’s Moon Nari. Now I know how you got the internship, and the others will too.”

“Dani, it’s really isn’t like that! We truly do have feelings for each other!” Nari pleaded as Dani shook her head.

“I told you Nari, you’re going to regret it and I mean it” Dani said and then dropped the hat on the ground, walking away towards her car.

Seonghwa then went to hold Nari’s trembling body, as tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay! She’s just bluffing, Dani doesn’t really do as she threatens, trust me.”

Nari trusted him, but she will soon regret listening to his words, despite him trying to cheer her up.

The paid internships don’t really start, until a week after graduations. So Seonghwa just wants the others to focus on exams and graduation.

Nari walked down towards the courtyard of the school. It’s been months since she’s actually been in class than having the lecture recorded and emailed to her. As she was walking in, people were pointing and whispering things at her.

She was confused on why people were whispering about her. She walked inside the school and Yunho immediately spotted her and grabbed her arms.

“You really need to see this” he said as dragged her over towards the crowd.

“Looks like our guest has officially arrived” Dani said as the other students turned towards her, some angry with her. “So how does it feel to steal a spot for someone who was more fit for the job?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about” Nari said nervously, as her hands started to sweat.

“I mean you did spread your legs to get that spot right?” She asked accusingly as she started walking towards Nari slowly. “No wonder Mr.Park liked you. You guys probably planned to make it look like you hated each other in the first place, right?”

“What you’re saying is all wrong! I told you we really do have feelings for each other! I didn’t use him!” Nari said as tears were welling up in her eyes. “You just like to spread rumors on anything you see.”

“Because you Moon Nari, I lost a perfectly good opportunity, you bitch” Kim Ara, a girl who was going up for the internship interjected with a glare. “We can’t have nothing nice because of girls like you!”

Before tears were about to fall on her face, she tried to leave the crowd, but people stopped her from doing so.

“Oh look she’s going to go cry since we figured out what she was doing.”

“She’s just a fucking crybaby!”

“She’s really going to ruin the name of this school.”

“Let’s see if the principal lets her graduate once he figures out what she’s done.”

Nari finally gained enough power to push the people away, with tears falling down her face. She ran away and noticed Sunji far away from the crowd, watching what happened.

“Nari! Wait up!” Yunho called out as he ran after his friend.

After a few minutes of running, he finally caught up to her and turned her around.

“What do you want Yunho?” She asked as she wiped her eyes from the tears.

“Nari-ah, are you really dating him?” He asked.

“What if I am? Are you going to shame me like those others, because of the lies Dani is spreading?” She asked as she sobbed. “If you are. Leave me alone!”

Yunho pulled her into a hug. He felt Nari relaxed in his hug. “Nari you know me. I’ll never shame you in anything. You are my best friend and I’ll be damned if anything happens to you. You really love him and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Nari just sobbed into his chest. “I just want to go home. Please take me home.”

Yunho just nodded and led Nari towards his car. He drove in front of her apartment and she immediately rushed out the car and went inside the apartment and was planning on not coming out for days

Seonghwa was worried about Nari. He’s been trying to call her, but it kept going to voicemail. He assumed she was too busy studying for her exams, but she would check her phone for any missed calls or texts. He didn’t want to barge over there, so he called Yunho.

“Yunho. I’m worried about Nari. She hasn’t been returning my texts or calls. Is she busy studying for exams?” He asked into the phone as he was signing some papers.

“About that. Dani wasn’t bluffing and told the whole school some lies about Nari saying that she seduced you into giving her the paid internship. And if Nari shows her face here at school, she will be ridiculed to the point where it will get physical. Luckily it didn’t get physical a few days ago” Yunho explained.

Seonghwa’s grip on his pen tightened. The look on his face could kill anyone. Seonghwa also blamed himself on telling Nari not to worry.

“Where is she now?”

“She’s been stuck in her apartment. She hasn’t come out for anything, but I do sneak over there and place meals on her doorsteps if she hasn’t eaten” Yunho said. “But it’s going to be over for her once the principal overhears about it.”

“I’ll go over there once I finish my job here. You should probably go study or go to class if you have one” Seonghwa said and then hung up.

Seonghwa was going help Nari anyway she can and clear up her name, even if that means getting his hands dirty.

���Yah! Kang Sunji! Come back here!” Yunho said angrily chasing after the girl.

“W-what do you want Yunho?” Sunji asked frightened by his tone.

“Why don’t you say anything about Dani? I know you have stuff against her that can clear Nari’s name!” He asked angrily. “You can actually help her.”

“I’m just scared. Dani has some stuff against my family which can hurt my future. It’s already bad since she uses me for information” she said as she tightened the grip on her bag.

“You really going to cower in fear, while Nari might not even have a future?! The word already got out to the principal and the board and they’re thinking of not letting her graduate and expelling her for ruining the schools ‘name’. She might not even have a future if you don’t speak up” he said angrily. “But oh I forgot. You have to protect your future while another ones get ruined.”

Yunho stormed off and left a stunned Sunji. She never thought about it like that. If she kept the truth in, it would greatly affect Nari. But if she does, she can help Nari.

“What should I do?!” She said to herself as she bit her fingernails nervously.

Seonghwa made it towards Nari’s apartment. He knocked on the door, hoping she would answer. Five minutes passed and she hasn’t answered the door. He took the liberty to push in her code and went inside her apartment.

He walked inside and saw the meals Yunho brought to her, uneaten. It looks like she hasn’t left for days, since her curtains were closed. He opened her curtains slightly and made his way into her room.

Seonghwa walked in and saw Nari wrapped in her blankets, while staring at the blank wall. She turned over and saw Seonghwa in her door way.

“What are you doing here? Haven’t you ruined my life enough?” She asked in a hateful tone which hurt him.

He sat on the other side of the bed. “I came here to check on you. Yunho has been worried for you, I have been worried for you. I’ve been wondering if you ate, drunk water, or went outside.”

“Well I’ve done none of those things. Now thanks to those lies, my future might be in jeopardy. I regret letting you kiss me at that party! I regret falling in love with-“

She was cut off with a kiss by him. She responded to the kiss instantly. He felt tears coming from her, wetting his face. He leaned away from her and saw her puffy eyes that shown she’s been crying a lot.

“I don’t regret falling in love with you” he said with a smile as he wiped away her tears. “What have those people been saying to you?”

Nari got up from her spot and went to her laptop and handed it to him. He scrolled through multiple emails from people bullying her and even as far as death threats. He took a USB from his pocket and put it in her computer.

“What are you doing?” She asked curiously.

“Just something your other graduates are going to regret” he said and then finished with the USB, taking it out of the computer.

Just then, he received a text and pulled out his phone from his pocket.

From Unknown [2:15 P.M]: Hello Mr.Park Seonghwa, I’m Principal Han from Seokhye University. Can you please come to my office at 8 AM sharp? I would like to talk to you about a relationship between you and a student enrolled here? Thank you.

“Who is it?” She asked.

“It’s your principal, but don’t worry I got everything covered” he said with a smile. “Now let me make you something. You must be starving.”

It was the next day and Seonghwa walked into the school. People instantly recognized him and started whispering, but he didn’t mind. He was going to get justice for Nari.

He walked inside the office and the principal noticed him.

“Hello Mr.Park. Please have a seat” Mr.Han said as Seonghwa took a seat. “I would like to discuss the relationship between student Moon Nari and you.”

“What is there to discuss?” Seonghwa asked as he crossed his arms and Mr.Han looked offended by that question.

“W-what’s wrong?! What she did was basically cheating. That internship should’ve went to a student who actually deserved it and not some girl who sleeps around to get ahead” Mr.Han said angrily. “I was being nice and inviting you here to break up with her, before I go through the process of expelling her. Besides your age gap is too big!”

It was Seonghwa’s turn to get angry. “I hope you know those students are sending her mean comments and death threats to her email! She did not sleep around to get the internship, she worked hard to get it than the person who’s spreading these rumors! And now you’re expelling her without looking into the rumors? You’re basically going off of lies! Besides our age gap isn’t that huge, she’s 24 and I’m 28!”

“And who is responsible for these rumors that you say aren’t true?” Mr.Han asked.

“Jung Dani” he said and then gave Mr.Han the USB. “You probably want to look at this since your students are, ‘oh so innocent’!” Seonghwa said.

Mr.Han plugged in the USB and his eyes immediately widened at the comments. He didn’t think it got that bad, he just thought it was just some small bullying and whispering. Not actually sending death threats and threatening of coming to her house or other things.

“B-but these could be-“ Seonghwa cut him off.

“If you let them graduate hook free, I will expose these to the media and they won’t have to worry about their future, because it’ll already be ruined by me, especially Jung Dani. I will also expose you as well and you won’t have a big freshmen class in the fall” Seonghwa said in a threatening tone. “And you can repay Nari by letting her graduate and not letting her take her exams, her knowledge can back her up. I’ll be leaving now since you’ve wasted my time.”

Seonghwa left out the office with a big smile on his face, he knew threatening Mr.Han with bad exposure will get Nari the justice she deserves.

Dani was now crowded by a group of people, hoping to her more lies about Nari.

“Dani-ah? Did she really do that to you?” A classmate asked.

“Yeah, but I heard she’s getting expelled so karma is hitting right back at her” Dani said in a smug tone. They heard the sounds of shoes angrily heading towards them. Dani looked and saw Sunji and Yunho.

“Oh looks it’s Sunji! Tell them more things about Nari’s real attitude” she said.

“No” Sunji stated.

Dani was shocked, she stood up and tried to intimidate Sunji. “Did you just say no to me?! You know what I can do right?”

“Cut the bullshit Dani! You’re not innocent, Nari is innocent. The first day we tried for internships, you tried to ruin her reputation! But those people didn’t pay no mind because they hate people just like you! You said Nari slept with Mr.Park just so she could get it, don’t act like you also didn’t plan to do that also. You were going to do way worse and you’re mad that he fell in love with Nari. Just admit it Dani. You’re jealous of Nari and all of her success, aren’t you?” Sunji said in a smug tone.

Whispers started to form around Dani. She was seething in anger, she didn’t plan for that to happen today, before she could get a hit on Sunji, people crowded her.

“So, you were spreading lies? Wow I can’t believe I believed you. I should’ve known you can manipulate people into believing anything” another classmate said in a disappointed tone. “I wish I could take back those emails I sent to Nari.”

Classmates now started to curse at Dani. Yunho grabbed Sunji’s hands and led her away from the classmates who are now angry at Dani.

“You did great, Nari is going to be really grateful of you” he said with a smile. “Now let’s go before any chaos happens.”

A few days later, after all the chaos. Dani couldn’t graduate and got expelled the next day after everything was exposed. All the other classmates, except Sunji and Yunho, had received punishments. Nari was able to go to school without any obstacles, and people soon started apologizing to her.

Graduation was only a few days away and things were going crazy. But Nari was happy that her life is going back to normal like it should’ve been.

“Are you ready to graduate?” Seonghwa asked.

“Hmm I’m not sure. I’m not really that ready to step out in the real world” she said as she twirled her pencil around her fingers.

“Don’t worry, you can move in with me after graduation” he said.

“Are you sure?” She asked and he nodded.

“Yep” he said and then pulled something out of his pockets. “Here”

He slid the extra pair of keys across the table. It was the key to his house. She took the keys gratefully and smiled at him. “Thank you for helping me through this mess.”

“You’re welcome” he said with a smile. “Let’s go get you home, you have to prepare for graduation.”

[soyeahitsmiddleearth]

One Weary Human

The Company x Reader

All of the company is drunk. The twist? None of them act the way you’d expect, like at all. Shy Bilbo is all flirty, chill Bofur keeps wanting to start bar fights, Kili/Fili try to be philosophical, Dwalin is the “You’re my best friend. I just love you so much, man,” type of guy, and Thorin is actually FUN and FUNNY. The reader is just sitting there feeling like she’s legitimately in the fucking Twilight Zone ---middleearth2asgard

---

You knew you should've stopped them from drinking all that ale. 

Over and over again you thought to yourself that this night won't end well if you don't put a cap on their drinking, but each time you came close to interfering you kinda just decided that letting them have fun is better. 

I mean, they've earned it so why not let them enjoy their first night out of danger after all those awful things that happened? Dragons, trolls, orcs, near-death experiences, a war, thousands of horrible things and one night to unwind and be happy. You can't very well take that away from them. 

But you really should've. 

By the time they polished off the first half of the barrel of ale they are completely wasted, and it's hard to keep track of them amidst the sea of men, other dwarves, and elves who survived the battle. 

Well, maybe not wasted since they can still talk and walk around sort of well, but they're definitely inebriated. 

You had maybe a quarter mug of drink before you realized they'll need someone to watch over them, so after that you gave up and decided to make sure none of them do anything stupid (also, ale tastes horrible so you don't wanna finish it). 

Which, to some extent, they do. 

Act stupid, I mean. 

It's just the complete opposite of who you thought it would be. 

You honestly thought that your biggest issue would be Fili and Kili, and probably Dwalin, but as it turns out they aren't even close to being a problem. 

As it turns out, your biggest issue at the moment happens to be Bofur, Bilbo, and Ori. 

Bofur is, quite literally, trying to start a fight with everybody. Bilbo won't leave you alone, and flirting with you so shamelessly. And Ori... won't stop crying no matter what you do. 

For the life of you, you don't know what to do. 

Every time you tell Bofur to calm down he tells you to square up (more or less), when you try to console Ori he cries even harder, and Bilbo... he has pickup lines for days. 

"Bofur! For the last time, sit down and stop glaring at everyone!" You snap, grabbing the back of his shirt when he starts yelling at someone for 'looking at him funny' while also patting the back of Ori's head comfortingly. 

"E-Everyone is so mean to me..." Ori sniffles and sobs, reaching up to grab onto your hand, using it to wipe his tears away like a tissue. 

You cringe but let the young dwarf do it since he's sobbing so much, and when he releases you, you turn to Bofur.

"Stop tellin' me what to do!" He shoots back angrily, though he doesn't fight you when you force him to take a seat. "Damn woman..." 

"Bilbo, please keep an eye on these two while I find everyone else." You tell the small hobbit making heart eyes at you. 

"Surely, my dear, you would much rather stay with me?" 

You kinda just stare at him for a moment before slowly saying, "Do as I say." 

He doesn't reply to that and takes a seat, listening to you surprisingly enough. 

Once that's done you slide off your chair and try to find everyone else, noticing Thorin right away since he's... doing stand up comedy?

He's standing on a table and the group that's gathered around him is laughing their asses off, telling him to give them more jokes which shocks you to your very core. This mans is the complete opposite of funny and chill. 

"And then I told him that no pretty pixie of an elf will talk to me like that!" 

The crowd around him roars with laughter and applause, and while you didn't hear the first part of his 'joke' it still doesn't humor you. 

You fight your way through the countless bodies and finally get to the table, cupping your hands over your mouth so he can hear you when you yell, "Thorin! It's time to go!"

"Y/N! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Thorin calls happily, successfully putting the attention onto you. "I've lost my nephews! Have you seen them by any chance?" 

Why is he asking you??? 

You shake your head slowly and reply, "No, why would I know where they are?" 

"Well, you certainly seem to know the whereabouts of their tongues quite well!" He calls with loud boisterous laughter while everyone around proceeds to find it funny too. 

You kinda just stand there for a moment, looking up at him blankly before your face begins to grow hot. 

Okay, you know what? No, you're not dealing with this right now. 

Very slowly you begin to back away, trying to both avoid eye contact with everyone and also trying to keep yourself from blowing up on the new king. 

Where did he get such an idea from anyway? Freaking dummy. 

"There she goes, off to another royal snogging!" 

More laughter, but you're disappeared and gone before anyone can poke anymore fun at you for something that most certainly did not happen. 

The next person you find, coincidentally, is the princes, and you're pleased to see them sitting mellowly at a table and having a conversation. 

"There you boys are! Thank god you're not drunk, if you could please help me to gather-" and then you hear their conversation and horribly slurred speech. 

"No, I'm tellin' ya, Fee, there's no way lovin' is easier than being loved. It jus' doesn' make sense." Kili tells his brother while shaking his head.

"Of course it does! When ya love then ya don' have t' worry about your own feelin' anymore, 'cause then you already know." 

Are these two really discussing the complexity of loving versus being loved? 

"An' how would you know that?" Kili asks, shaking his head back in fourth a bit too much to show his disagreement. 

"Tha's none of your busn'ess." He slurs back, pointing a finger at him accusingly. 

"How can we even be sure that it's real in tha first place?" 

"Are you sayin' you don't love me?" Fili challenges. 

Kili freaks out and shakes his head, "N-No no! Of course I do!"

"You better, 'm your brother." Fili grumbles, turning his head until he notices you, "Oh! Y/N!"

You're quiet for a moment, kinda just looking at them oddly since their conversation both makes no sense, but also makes all the sense.

They take your silence as a go ahead to continue their 'discussion' and Fili then brings up, "Well wha' about Y/N?" 

"What about her?" Kili asks back, laying his head down on the table after a moment. 

"Nnoo, 'm askin' her." 

"You didn't ask me anything." You chime in, reaching over to take their mugs from them. "You two are making no sense." 

"Wellll, I think she would rather be loved since it doesn' make sense tha' loving is easier." Kili grumbles, trying to reinforce his point through you. 

"I don't think it really matters at the moment, boys. Why don't you both come with me and we can all take a nap and sleep off our drunkenness..." 

"No! It does matter!" They both yell at the same time, successfully earning a sigh from you. 

"But-" 

"Y/N!" Someone calls excitedly suddenly. 

You turn your head slowly, but before you can put a face to the voice, someone it crushing you in a big hug. 

"Have I told you that you're an excellent woman?" The person crushing the life out of you asks, and it's at that moment that you realize it's... Dwalin. 

"U-Uh, no, not really-"

"Well, that's a shame! You're wonderful." He confirms with a quiet hiccup, holding you slightly tighter when you start to squirm. 

"Alright, thank you Dwalin but if you could please-"

"See! My point is proven." Fili slurs triumphantly, pointing at you and Dwalin. "He's havin' a ball, nd' she's freakin' out!" 

"That h-haaas nothing to do with love, Fee!" Kili grumps back, smacking Fili on the shoulder harshly. 

"Hey! Who do you think yer lookin' at!?" An all to familiar, standoffish voice bellows to your left. 

You turn your head and see Bofur trying to get some huge dude to throw some punches, and then you hear more jokes from Thorin across the room, Ori's wails, and Bilbo flirting with some other person. 

Mahal save your soul. 

"You three." You call suddenly, gaining the attention of Dwalin, Fili, and Kili (the three you thought you would be having the most problems with). "Whoever gathers the most of our friends outside gets a big prize."

Kili gasps and asks, "A big prize?" 

"The biggest prize." You confirm, feeling relieved when Dwalin lets you go. 

"What is the prize?" Dwalin asks, looking at you with a very uncharacteristic grin on his face. 

"I can't tell you, it's a secret until one of you wins." 

"Oh, I'm gonna get more than you two!" Fili calls, struggling to get up from his seat before Kili, the two pushing and shoving each other while they fight to stand. 

"No fighting or you are disqualified." You warn, wagging a finger at them.

Thank god they listen. 

---

You manage to gather the original three (Ori, Bilbo, and Bofur) and Nori, and get them outside of the party hall, trying your best to calm Bofur and Ori while Bilbo keeps on calling you beautiful and complimenting you. 

Eventually, Dwalin walks out with two dwarves. Balin (who is sober, thank god) and Dori. 

The next person to show up is Kili, and he has Bombur and Gloin. 

Finally, Fili emerges from the hall and managed to swipe Oin and Bifir.

You smile at them brightly before you realize you're one short, "Where's Thorin?" 

Fili sighs and answers, "I tried ta get 'im but he made fun of me until I left." 

That sounds about right. 

"I tried, too! But he kep' callin' me names." Dwalin grumbles while Kili nods. 

"Yea-h, he kep' pokin' fun at my beard." Kili agrees, looking at the two he gathered, "Who won?" 

"None of you, it's a tie." You reply, shaking your head.

A part of you is glad, actually that they all have the same amount, because you have no idea what the supposed 'big prize' is supposed to be. "I'll have to find a way to get Thorin, I guess..." You state wearily, already growing tired of their shenanigans. 

" 'm sorry." The three you assigned to help you say sadly, looking at you with big upset eyes. 

"N-No, it's fine! Just, keep everyone out here, okay? I'll be right back." 

---

Suffice to say you were not 'right back' at all. 

The moment you walked back up to Thorin he started making more jokes about you 'being with' different people in the original company, and very quickly does your patience wear thin. 

At some point you just lose it and end up grabbing his ear and dragging him out of the party hall while people boo at you for being a fun killer. 

Once you've successfully made him leave, you push him out the doors and do a quick headcount to make sure everyone is still there. 

You take them all to a private wing where they all have their rooms in as well as a private kitchen Bombur introduced you to. 

"Okay, good. Now that we're all gathered up in one place... Come with me to the kitchen. Lets eat a bit and have some water, okay?" 

"Is there more ale?" Dwalin asks with the same smile. 

"No!" You snap a bit angrier than you mean to, "No more alcohol for any of you."

That successfully shuts them up. 

Once everyone is seated at the table in the newly stocked kitchen, you go through the cupboards and collect some berries and bread, bringing them over to the table so they can get something in their stomachs to absorb all that alcohol. 

You give them all some chunks of bread and leave a handful or two for everyone (more for the bigger of them), then you walk off to get some water. Balin helps you out with it all (being as he's barely even tipsy), and eventually everyone has water and some food. 

It doesn't take long for everything to disappear into their stomachs, and once they've done as you instructed you start to help some of them to their individual rooms. 

Nori and Dori drag Ori to the room they share, Balin takes care of Dwalin, Bombur excuses himself and thanks you heartily, but you have to take care of everyone else unfortunately. 

First, you deal with Bifir, Oin, and Gloin, which isn't too hard luckily. 

Bifir says something you can't understand and gives you a hug before going off to bed, and Oin thanks you tiredly before closing his door. Gloin smiles at you, being less drunk then those left behind, and thanks you as well before heading off to sleep. 

Now you're left with Bilbo, Thorin, Fili and Kili, and, finally, Bofur.

When you reenter the kitchen, Thorin is laughing about something he said no doubt, and Bofur is glaring at him so angrily you're afraid he might actually hit him. 

"B-Bofur!" You call, running over to stand between them before wrapping your arm around his waist when he starts to wobble and walk towards Thorin. 

Right away he stops and leans into you, still glaring at Thorin while he wraps an arm around you in return, "Wha' is it?" 

"Come along, I'm going to take you to your room for bed. You too, Bilbo, come here." 

Bilbo has no problem walking over to you (though he does sway a bit) and stands next to you while you begin to take Bofur out of the room. "That's a good boy, come on." You usher them both out and, eventually, manage to get Bofur to his room so he can sleep it off. 

You shuffle him to his bed, and once he's seated you tell him to take off his shoes. While he does that, you swipe his hat and lay it on the bedside table, pulling his blanket back so he can lay down. 

Once he climbs in, you pull the covers up over him and pat his head, "There you are. Go ahead and sleep for me, dear, cause you're going to feel dreadful in the morning." 

He closes his eyes while grumbling something about being told what to do, of course he listens nonetheless and doesn't move or say anything else. 

You lean down and kiss his forehead lightly, then turn and leave the room. 

The door thumps softly when you shut it, and then you grab Bilbo's arm and walk with him to his room.

"You're simply stunning in this light, Y/N." Bilbo tells you, wrapping an arm around you despite being able to walk fine. "Completely breathtaking." 

"Thank you, Bilbo. Though, you're going to be mortified tomorrow. I can imagine you'll be begging for forgiveness within an hour of waking up." You comment, opening up his door so you can take him to his bed. 

"W-"

"Not a word." You cut him off quickly, knowing that he's going to say something very not appropriate, for both your sake and his. 

He climbs into bed without further coaxing, though you do have to take off his coat for him and fluff up his pillow a bit, but once he's nestled under the covers, he doesn't go to sleep. 

Instead he stares at you with baggy eyes, and smiles lightly, "You look radiant." 

"As you've said a few times, Bilbo. You spoil me." You lean down and press a light kiss to his forehead next, and when you stand up straight again he reaches up and taps your nose.

You giggle softly and grab his hand, placing it back at his side before walking over to the door. 

"Goodnight, Bilbo." 

"G'night, Y/N." 

When you arrive back at the kitchen, Thorin is gone and only Fili and Kili remain, talking about another odd topic once more. 

"Where did Thorin go?" You ask, looking around then back down the hall. 

"His head hurt, and he went to bed." Kili replies chipperly, smiling brightly. 

Well, that does make your job a fair bit easier. 

"Alright. Well, boys it's time for bed so come along." You tell them in a gentle voice, gesturing for them to come to you with a wave of your hand. 

Somehow they manage to get to their feet, but after they take a few steps it becomes painfully obvious that there's no way they'll be able to make it, like Bofur. 

Right away you go over to Kili and have him wrap an arm around your waist, and, somehow, you manage to shuffle forward with him to his brother who is looking very unstable at the moment. 

You get Fili to wrap an arm around you as well, and once you've got them both you proceed to, very slowly, shuffle your way to their room. 

At some point Kili started to press his face into your neck and Fili began to lean into you more heavily. If it weren't for the fact that you had one of them on either side of you, you probably would've toppled over. 

Eventually, you do manage to get them to their room, and once you do you bring them to their beds (there are two). 

You have them both sit down and go to light a candle, and once that's done you turn back to see if their laid down yet. Only, their both looking down at their feet as if they expect their shoes to taken themselves off. 

With a heavy sigh, you walk over to Fili and crouch down, taking off his shoes with little difficulty. "There you go, now take off your jacket and lay down." 

Fili nods his head and begins to shrug off his coat, so you turn and go to Kili, pulling off his shoes next. 

Once he's barefoot, you stand and smooth his hair back lightly, "You take off your coat too, okay?" 

"A'right." He mumbles, doing just as you said. 

You step away and take a few steps; and, once their both laying down, you go to Fili and pull his covers up to his chin. 

"Do you sleep with your braids in?" You ask quietly once he's tucked in. 

"N't my mustache ones..." He replies with his eyes closed. 

You nod, though he can't see it, and reach down and pull the clips off, placing them on the beside table so he can grab them tomorrow morning. 

Once he's settled, you lean down and press a kiss to his head, then turn and go to Kili. You're basically on a seesaw with these two, tending to one for a moment before going to the other. 

Kili is sitting up with his legs under the blanket, but when you walk over he lays down completely and waits for you to give him the same treatment as his brother. 

You grab the top of his comforter and pull it up until it covers most of his chest, and once that's done you reach behind his head and pull the clip from the back of his head, off. "Is there anything else?" You ask softly while placing his beaded clip down as well. 

"No..." 

You nod, then lean down and kiss his forehead like you've done to literally everyone else.

"Alright. Goodnight then, boys." 

[radishaur]

hey! can I request a zuko imagine with prompts 15 and 33 from the make a reader swoon list please??

I love these prompts! I hope you enjoy! For those who haven’t read the prompt list, #15 is “I’m asking because I’ve seen the way you look at me” and #33 is “I think you need to tell me the truth and how you feel towards me”.

- Zoe

•••

Confessions (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff, Minor Angst

Part: 1/1

Summary: See request

•••

Zuko and I’s relationship had always been...complicated. We met on his ship, one year into his search for the Avatar. He was this lanky 14 year old boy who was barking orders like he owned the place. I was just an old family friend that Uncle Iroh took in after my parents abandoned me.

Zuko insisted my presence on his ship was a burden. That hadn’t started us off on the right foot.

Eventually, we grew to have a very hot and cold dynamic. One moment it would be friendly and pleasant and then the next it was tense and aggressive. We had legendary screaming matches that sent the crew into hiding. Two angry firebenders on the same ship was never a good idea.

But, deep down, I knew he cared. I learned very quickly that Zuko was not a man of words, but of actions. So, it was the little things he did that reminded me not to give up on him. Like when he would bring me dinner to my room after an argument or when he would patch me up after sparring.

Sometimes though, I wished he would just tell me how he felt in words.

Actions can easily be misinterpreted. Is it friendly? Is it romantic? Is it spiteful? What does it mean when I catch him staring? What does it mean when he spends hours talking with me into the night? What does it mean when he threatens anyone who insults my honor?

Two years of asking these questions and I was done. I wanted to know. I wanted him to say it so that I could determine what to do with my own feelings. I had an assumption that he did share my feelings, but it was Zuko. He was incredibly hard to read and I didn’t want to confess until I had proof.

I watched as the man in question continued training on the deck. He had been training practically nonstop since he actually encountered the Avatar. I could barely get a moment alone with him. I huffed before storming off the boat and into town. He barely gave me the time of day anymore, which was just another reason I doubted if I was reading the signs right. I wanted a distraction.

We had docked to gather supplies and I decided to browse the stalls before returning back to the ship. I was browsing through a rack of Fire Nation shirts when I bumped hips with someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” I apologized, turning to face the person.

He was a sweet looking teenage boy who seemed to be from the Earth Kingdom. He had brown hair and fair skin with bright green eyes. He smiled kindly at me.

“It’s no problem. It was my bad,” he said, holding his hand out for a handshake before saying, “My name is Ren.”

I smiled and took his hand in a polite but firm handshake.

“Y/N,” I replied.

We continued talking for a few minutes. I found out that he was the shop owners son. I told him I was sailing with family in the area. Technically, it was a lie but I didn’t want to tell the truth. Usually, people found out you were sailing with the banished Prince of the Fire Nation and his Uncle, the Dragon of the West, and they treated you differently.

I was enjoying our pleasant conversation when I suddenly felt an aggressive hold on my arm. I didn’t have time to move or say anything before Zuko was speaking.

“Sorry, she has to go,” Zuko growled before yanking me back towards the ship.

I looked over my shoulder at Ren and mouthed an apology before turning angrily to Zuko. He was almost back to the ship before I forced him to stop.

“What the hell was that?” I asked, yanking my arm from his grip and crossing my arms over my chest.

“That boy was from the Earth Kingdom! You’re risking your safety by talking to him,” he snapped, waving his hands around indignantly.

“He had no idea who I was. Besides, if anything you coming in and yanking me away was definitely more suspicious than anything I was doing!” I argued, standing my ground against his stupid excuse.

“You shouldn’t even be talking to random strangers anyways! It’s dangerous,” he continued.

“Ugh! Stop being a jealous asshole and let me have a conversation,” I huffed, pointing my finger at him accusingly.

Zuko scoffed but avoided making eye contact with me.

“I am not jealous,” he insisted.

“Really?” I asked, stepping closer to him with an evil smirk, “So you wouldn’t care if I told you I thought he was attractive?”

He stayed silent and simply glared at me. I could tell I was getting him all riled up, but I didn’t care. I was tired of him playing this back and forth game. Now it was my turn to push his limits.

“You wouldn’t mind listening to me talk about how his eyes shone in the light. Or how his hair ruffled in the breeze. Or that I spent a good amount of time during our conversation imagining what it would be like to kiss him?” I egged him on, stepping closer until I was right by his chest.

He was fuming at this point and I could tell his patience was running thin. He had small plumes of smoke billowing from his nose and his hands were clenched by his sides.

“Enough! That has nothing to do with it,” he said through gritted teeth.

I finally stopped instigating him, knowing I had won this one. I got the reaction I wanted. The small tint of red that dusted his cheeks and the back of his neck told me everything I needed to know.

“I’m sure it doesn’t,” I scoffed before adding, “But, if it makes you feel any better, none of what I said was true.”

“What?” he asked, clearly confused and hesitant to assume.

“I just wanted to see if my assumption was right. You are jealous. Which means you like me. Am I right?” I asked, a confident smirk plastered across my face.

His knuckles were now white from how hard he was clenching them. I could see the sparks of fire dancing around them as he glared at me.

“No I don’t! Why would you ask me that?” he spat out angrily.

“I’m asking because I’ve seen the way you look at me. I’ve seen the way you act when someone like Ren even looks at me. I’ve seen the way you act like a nervous blushing teenager around me. I’m asking because you send me so many mixed signals and I’m tired of guessing!” I exclaimed, my voice strained.

“I...,” he began, but trailed off.

His anger was gone and was now replaced with a mix between embarrassment and shock. He shut his mouth and I could tell by the look in his eyes he was debating what to say.

“I like you, Zuko. Despite you being a jealous, hot headed idiot at time, I really like you. Sometimes you’re so sweet and caring, but then out of nowhere you push me away and pick fights with me for no reason. So, forgive me for being tired of trying to read between the lines,” I said, my eyes watering as I came clean about my own feelings towards him before I added quietly, “I think you need to tell me the truth and how you feel towards me. At least so I can start getting over you.”

I didn’t give him time to respond before I was walking past him towards the ship. I could feel his eyes on me as I disappeared inside the ship, but I didn’t have the heart to look back at him. I simply locked myself in my room to go over the events that had just happened.

I had been so sure that he had liked me back, but perhaps I really had misread the signs. Maybe he was just an awkward teenager who didn’t realize what signals he was giving off. Maybe he really did just see me as a burden. Maybe I had been wrong to think he would ever like me.

It was an hour later before I heard a knock on my door. I sighed and got up to open it, expecting it to be Iroh. I had a small smile on my face as I swung open the door that immediately dropped when I saw Zuko instead. My mouth was agape and my eyes widened.

“Zuko! I-“ I began to say, but I was cut off by his lips crashing down on mine.

His lips were warm against my own and I instantly kissed him back. It was soft and passionate, but not aggressive. I felt his arms wrap around my waist and I allowed mine to hang over his shoulders. I only pulled away when I was out of breath.

“I like you a lot. More than you’ll ever know,” he whispered as he rested his forehead on mine.

“Took you long enough,” I giggled, relief rushing over me at the confession.

He kissed me again and again and again and I smiled against his lips. I didn’t leave his arms for a long time afterwards. We spent the better part of a few hours together just enjoying each other presence once again.

Life had never felt more perfect.

[deans-mind-palace]

Heavenly touch

Pairing: Castiel x Fem!Winchester!Reader

Summary: You’re in your last year of high school. But nothing goes according to plan. While your older brothers are hunting demons down you have to attend school in whatever forsaken town they drag you to. You are bullied because you have no boyfriend, no sexual experience and you not even have had your first kiss yet. Dean doesn’t get your problem and Castiel is curious. That won’t end well.

Word Count: 1,896

Warnings: Fluff, fluff and fluff. And an overprotective brother!Dean.

Author’s Note: Enjoy. Remember, guys, likes are silver, feedback is gold.

Angrily you threw your backpack into a corner of the bunker and then dropped onto the couch. You buried your face in the pillow and drummed your feet angrily on the bulging cushion. The door to the kitchen opened and a little later your oldest brother Dean appeared in the door frame with a sandwich in his hand. He boldly bit off his sandwich and watched you. "Well?" he asked with his mouth full and some crumbs fell to the floor. "Not a good day again, sweetheart?" he said and looked at you with pity. You sighed and raised your head from the soft fabric of the pillow as you felt the sofa sink under his weight as soon as your brother sat down next to you. His green eyes watched you anxiously and you avoided his gaze, for you could not bear the pity in it. His hand stroked your back soothingly and he swallowed the last bite of his sandwich. Then he cleared his throat. "Was it those girls again?" he asked carefully and you nodded. He sighed because he already knew the problem. The girls from your new school found you funny and laughed at you every chance they got. At the thought that someone was teasing his little sister, hot anger shot through his veins, but he held back. Sam had forbidden him to get involved. The younger brother thought it would only make things worse. Still, it wasn't easy for Dean to watch you come home sad every day.

You bedded your head on his lap and looked straight and silent until your older brother broke the silence again. "So what was it this time?" Dean asked and the rustling of wings tore you from your conversation for a moment. Castiel appeared at the other end of the room and watched you closely.

"Hey, Cas." you mumbled soundlessly. The angel looked at you in surprise. Normally you were always delighted to see him and hugged him whenever he showed up, but this time you stayed motionless on the sofa with an empty look. Cas missed his usual greeting. You were very important to him. Always been. Since you met, the angel had tolerated you from the very beginning. Soon a deep friendship had developed out of it, because you had always been interested in what the angel had to say. You were the only one who was allowed to embrace him. It was your nature and he always enjoyed your company immensely.

He threw a questioning look at Dean, who shook his head only slightly. Silently, Castiel leaned in the doorway and listened curiously to your next words. Once again, you sighed. "This time it was something new. They made fun of the fact that I had never had a boyfriend before. And I never had my first kiss. And, well..." You paused and swallowed briefly, dodging Dean's gaze again. You knew he was gonna be pissed. Not at you, of course. But he was still mad. "Anything that happens just after a kiss." A vein pulsed at his temple, his jaw muscles grinding hard, and his hands kept clenching in fists as he took a deep breath and tried to keep his composure.

"Those bitches," he hissed in gritted teeth and Castiel raised an eyebrow in wonder. "It's okay, De." you muttered in a low voice. "They're right. I mean, look at me. I have no experience to brag about, and I'm eighteen years old! By my age, others are already getting married or becoming mothers." Dean's face softened as he looked at you and turned your head towards him. "Look at me, sunshine. You're just waiting for the right guy. So what? Others lose their virginity at thirteen. You take your time. And you know what? That's good! It's your business! You are perfect as you are. And don't let anyone tell you different," Dean explained. You nodded, but your brother's words did not succeed in erasing the weight in your stomach. Dean stood up and gave you a kiss on the forehead.

"I have to talk to Sammy now." he said and made his way to the library. He needed to talk to his brother. It couldn't go on like that. He wanted to kill those girls. They'd gone too far this time! The door closed behind him and it became quiet in the living room. You had forgotten Castiel was still in the room with you until he cleared his throat and you flinched. He looked at you apologetically before he walked towards you.

"What's wrong?" he asked in his deep voice, and his baby blue eyes looked at you questioningly. You loved those blue eyes. In fact, they were your favorite color. You secretly called it Castiel blue. Because it was the angel's signature color. "What's wrong?" he asked, taking the seat Dean had sat in seconds before. You looked past him in shame. "I - it's not important, Cas. Girl things." you waved off, but the angel did not let go. "It's bothering you," he murmured calmly. You looked at the angel next to you in surprise. "How-" But he didn't let you finish your question.. "You didn't hug me," he explained and a smile crept up to your lips. You'd forgotten all about that when you started feeling sorry for yourself. You immediately straightened up and wrapped your arms around the angel's neck. "Sorry, Cas," you muttered in the crook of his neck and buried your nose in his hairline. He smelled of a mild shampoo and spicy aftershave. The trench coat under your fingers smelled sweetly of detergent. It was the typical Castiel smell. His arms closed around you and he pulled you closer, bedding his chin on your head. You could have remained in that position forever.

Eventually, you'd break away from him a little, and you could look at each other's faces. His blue eyes sparkled embarrassed at his next words. "If it's so important to you, I could -" His voice trailed off for a short moment. "Well, I could be your first kiss?" You looked at him in surprise, and he misinterpreted it. Unsure, he averted his gaze. "I-I just thought, if it's that important to you... I mean, I never have - but I'd be honored if you'd be the first and -" He stuttered embarrassedly to himself until he simply broke off and drove through his brown hair with one hand. You put your index finger on his soft lips and smiled broadly at him. The angel looked at you with big blue eyes and waited anxiously for your next words.

You leaned forward a little further and his breath brushed over your rosy lips as you whispered the next words. "It would be a pleasure to have my very first kiss with you, Cas," you muttered. He nodded slightly and his eyes never left your face. His eyes wandered restlessly between your eyes and your lips. His breath blew gently across your face and he approached you slowly. One last time he looked at you reassuringly and as you nodded, his lips lay softly on yours. It felt strange and and Cas was really careful, but his lips were very soft. You too enjoyed the kiss very much. Even though you both had no experience and got out of breath quickly, it was a sweet kiss that soon became something more passionate.

"Is it okay?" Cas asked as soon as you separated and breathed heavily. Your lungs burned and you inhaled the oxygen eagerly. You smiled and your lips met again. Soon, Cas's hands made their way around your waist, pulling you closer together. Your hands didn't stay restless either, but moved from his hard chest over his strong shoulders to his neck, where your hands were buried in his short hair.

Cas grew bolder and his tongue gently stroked your lower lip. "I got that from Dean," he muttered in the kiss, and you smiled at his lips. Cas also smiled warmly. You did not know how much time had passed. Maybe hours, maybe minutes since Cas's lips moved against yours, but you didn't care because you savored the moment.

The moment that was abruptly interrupted when your brothers burst into the room. Embarrassed, you and Cas drifted apart, but he still held you in his lap. "What the hell?" cursed Dean and you saw Sam smiling at you knowingly. "Well, Dean, looks like that problem solved itself. She had her first kiss," Sam laughed and shrugged his shoulders while you hid your face burning with shame in Castiel's neck from the gaze of your brothers. Dean seemed genuinely upset, Sam found the whole thing rather amusing. The blush on your cheeks and an angry brother was punishment enough. "He kissed our little sister, Sam," Dean said, looking at Cas accusingly. The angel looked like he was guiltless. He had no idea what was going on, of course. "I know, Dean," Sam replied and winked slyly at you. Dean took a step towards you, then turned back to Sam. "I just won't punch him because he's a freaking angel. I don't punch angels," Dean explained. Castiel looked at you confused, but you barely shook your head as your fingers began to play with the short hair on the back of his neck. Sam patted your older brother on the shoulder. "I know, Dean," he repeated.

Finally, Cas spoke in a quiet voice. "You kiss girls all the time, Dean. I don't see the difference," he remarked. "The difference is that she is my little sister, okay, Cas? My innocent little baby sister! She's too young for her first kiss." You rolled your eyes at your eldest brother's words. "I'm 18, Dean." You giggled back and Cas put his head on your shoulder. Dean turned away. "Now they are cuddling in front of me," he murmured tortured. "I mean, look at him, Sammy. He's a grown man. Y/N... Y/N was just a baby a minute ago. I was just carrying her around, rocking her to sleep! And he? He's older than me!" Castiel cleared his throat. "Well, actually, I'm older than Earth, Dean, so..." You shut his mouth pretty quick with your hand. "You're not making it any better, Cas." you whispered into the angel's ear, clearly amused by Dean's dropping jaw.

"I-I need a drink," Dean muttered, and went into the kitchen. "If you'd just let me threaten those girls, Sammy..." He shook his head. Sam followed him and turned around again in the doorway. "He'll get over it," your brother said with a grin. "Give him time. He just doesn't want to admit that you're not the little girl who looked up to him anymore." "Sammy?" It came from the kitchen. "Bring me the whiskey." Sam winked at you.

As soon as everybody left the room, Cas looked at you again. "I know how time flies." you smiled. He smiled it back at you. "You do?" "Uh-huh." And there you were, lips back together again.

Tags beneath the cut. Wanna get tagged? Drop an ask or check out the link to my tag lists in my bio.

Castiel tag list: @zizzlekwum​ @ashthefirefox​ @rintheemolion

[gemstoneconstellations]

He Fucked Up

Summary: Bakugo carelessly hurts his s/o’s feelings without realizing it.

Wordcount: 2583

“Hey ___! What are you doing here? You look cozy.” Kaminari and Kirishima sat down on either side of you. Well, tried to. You were currently in a nest of multiple warm fluffy blankets that didn’t leave much space for anyone to get close to you. “Where’s your Pomeranian boyfriend?” Kaminari joked as Kirishima let out a deep belly laugh.

You smirked at Bakugo’s friends; they were feeling a bit bold since King Explosion Murder wasn’t around. “He went to get some training in. When he is done, he promised to watch a movie with me before he starts on homework. I’m sure he’ll make fun of me since it’s a cartoon movie, but I like them and I want to sit with him. You know, couple-y kind of stuff, since we don’t get a lot of time to be alone together and enjoy each other’s company.” You could feel a small blush form on your cheeks. Missing your boyfriend has put you in a cuddly mood. So even if you only get two hours, you’ll take it.

 “I have a hard time picturing Bakugo snuggling and watching cartoons… wait, didn’t we see Bakugo in the gym like three hours ago? Have you been waiting this whole time?” Kirishima raised an eyebrow at you, concerned.

 You gave him a shrug. “I’ll wait as long as it takes if it means I can spend some time with him.” Kirishima nodded, understanding where you were coming from and stating that they would leave when Bakugo shows up.

 Kaminari leaned back with his hands hooked behind his head, letting out a grunty sigh. “Ah man, I’m super jealous now! I wish I had a cute girlfriend who would do that for me!”

 “Like anyone would want to date you, Dunce Face!” Bakugo came walking in the common room, drinking from his water bottle. He was wearing some sweats and a tank top. His hair seemed to be damp so he most likely took a shower before coming over. You were absolutely beaming with excitement at finally getting to see his face!

 “Hurtful!” Kaminari complained but Bakugo kept walking to the kitchen, not caring.

 You smiled at Bakugo. “Welcome back, Katsuki. You have fun at the gym?” He just grunted at you from the kitchen. You could hear him pulling out random items. “Are you ready for the movie?” You lower the blankets, preparing to let your boyfriend enter your nest and assume the cuddle position.

 Bakugo came back from the kitchen eating a protein bar, a scowl on his face. “I don’t feel like watching some shitty movie.” Your heart drops. His tone was harsh and didn’t leave much room to argue.

 “What? But you said you would a few hours ago… you promised…” You pulled your knees to your chest, not able to look him in the face suddenly.

 “Yeah, well now I feel fucking tired. I’m going to finish up my homework and then go to bed.”

 You scoffed at him as you stood up, eyes on your feet, trying not to cry. “So you don’t feel like watching a movie with me and just want to go to your room to sleep?” Your voice came out more aggressive than you meant it to be, but there were too many emotions swirling inside you at the moment to control it.

 “That’s what I fucking said, I don’t want to watch some stupid kids’ movie. What’s your deal?” His words were like punches to your gut. You sucked in air through your teeth, trying to bite back words that you know will make the situation worse but you want to say them so badly.

 You began to fold your blankets and place them in your bag, packing away your things. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I’m fine.” You were completely and utterly done. Ironically, you were no longer in the mood to watch a movie either. Or see your stupid boyfriend’s face.

 “Bro… not cool.” Kirishima whispered to Bakugo, shaking his head.

 Before Bakugo could respond, you shoved the blankets that you took from Bakugo’s room into his arms. “Here, go sleep.”

 “Oi!” You ran out of the room with your things, not even caring that you were only in your pajamas. Bakugo shouted at you, but you didn’t look back and ran to your own dorm. Bakugo looked at the blankets in his hands and then at Kirishima and Kaminari. “What the fuck was that?”

 Kirishima just sighed, shaking his head and walking towards the elevators. Kaminari patted Bakugo on the shoulder as he walked by, following Kirishima. “And you guys call me the idiot. Even I’m not that stupid.”

 ~

 Bakugo was confused about what was going on with you. You had suddenly stopped texting him. Usually he would get at least three texts a day, whether he responded or not. You always said good morning, good night, and told him about the projects you were working on that day in your support classes. He didn’t think anything of it; sometimes you would disappear when you had some inspiration on a project. There have been times when you wouldn’t even leave the lab for days working on some support item.

 But there you were, sitting across the cafeteria, eating lunch with a group of extras he didn’t recognize. Not even a glance towards him. Normally by the time he got dragged into the cafeteria by Kirishima and the rest of the idiots, you would come up to him and pester him about eating together. Bakugo was starting to get an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach; he didn’t like it and it was pissing him off. He stared you down from his place in line, willing you to look up and make eye contact with him. After a few minutes, someone noticed him staring at you and pointed him out to you. You shook your head at them and continued to eat.

 Fine, if you wanted to sulk over some fucking movie then he’ll just ignore you as well till you stop being a damn brat. Bakugo grunted as he turned back away from you to get his food. He made sure to not look at you as he made his way to sit with the idiots that insisted on hanging around him for some reason.

 “No ___ today either? I misssss herrrr!” Mina pouted as Bakugo sat down, laying her head on the table with her arms spread out. His eyebrow twitched at her whining voice.

 Sero smirked at Bakugo as he patted Mina on the back. “What did you do now?”

 “Shut up Soy Sauce! I didn’t fucking do anything!” Bakugo slammed his fists on the table, his rage aura pouring out of his pores now.

 “He fucked up.” Kaminari stated a matter-of-factly; Kirishima nodded in agreement.

 Bakugo glared at the redhead, daring him to say something as well. He turned his attention to Kaminari, who continued to eat his lunch, not caring that Bakugo was giving him a death glare. “I said shut the fuck up Dunce Face! You don’t know anything!”

 Kaminari scoffed at him, letting Bakugo’s outburst just roll off him before pointing his chopsticks at Bakugo accusingly. “I know more about ___ than you apparently.”

 “What do you mean by that?!”

 “Use that smart brain of yours and figure it out.”

 Bakugo was adamant that he hadn’t done anything wrong; he was sure that you would come back. Everything would go back to normal once you get over whatever the fuck it was. But a few days turned into a week, then two weeks, without a single word from you and he was starting to falter. He was becoming more irritable (if that was possible for him) and his classmates were beginning to keep their distance, not wanting an explosion in their face.

 “Bakubro, dude, you need to man up and go talk to her already.” Kirishima threw an arm on Bakugo’s shoulders, the only one brave enough to do it as of late. Bakugo growled at him in response. He knew the redhead was right, but he didn’t want to admit it. Kirishima sighed at him. Why must his best bro be so stubborn?

 “How about this? I need to make some modifications to my costume. Come with me. If she’s there, talk to her about some modifications you want and then about what’s going on. She can’t turn you down if it’s about your costume.”

 With a groan, Bakugo started walking down to the hall, not caring if Kirishima was walking with him are not. Bakugo stormed into the support lab only to freeze when he saw Pikachu-reject already talking to you. His eye twitched as Sparky casually draped his arm around your waist as you were sketching out a blueprint. “So ___, since you and King Explosion Murder are on a break, why don’t we go get some food? I’ll give you a shoulder to cry on… or anything else you want to do. My body is at your service.”

 And to Bakugo’s horror, you didn’t push his arm off and actually fucking giggled. “Thanks, but I’m okay with just free food.” The next moment, the ash blond stormed over, yanked Kaminari’s arm off of you and dangerously twisted it behind Kaminari’s back as he slammed him down into the workstation. You yelped at the swift action and loud sound, looking at him in shock. Before you could even blink, Bakugo was dragging you out of the room. His grip on you didn’t let up as he kept pulling you along.

 Kaminari slumped to the floor, clutching his shoulder that had been so close to being dislocated. Kirishima squatted down beside him to see how he was doing. “Remind me never to hit on Bakugo’s girlfriend again? Also, I will never be part of your plans again.”

 “It worked, didn’t it? He just needed a little push. Thanks for risking your life… do you need to see Recovery Girl?”

 ~

 “Hey! Let go already!” You stumble into Bakugo’s dorm building. He didn’t let go until the doors of the elevator shut. You made a point not to look at him as you rub your wrist. Bakugo began to mumble beside you. “What?”

 This time he reached out for your hand, weaving his fingers through yours gently. “We aren’t on a break. No way in hell will I let you go out with anyone that isn’t me, especially not Dunce Face.” His hand quickly squeezed yours. “Can you tell me what the fuck is going on already? Is this all because of a stupid movie?!”

 You huffed angrily, turning away from him. “Of course it isn’t about a goddamn movie.” The elevator door opened and you were being pulled again, more gently than before.

 Bakugo didn’t say anything till you were both in his room and the door shut behind him. He leaned back on the door and crossed his arms, his stance challenging you to try and get away. “Talk.”

 You mimicked him by crossing your arms, closing yourself off from him. For a few moments, the room was silent, the both of you staring each other down. The question that had been bouncing around your head for the last few days finally broke the silence. “Why are you even dating me?”

 Not being around him hadn’t felt much different than when you were on speaking terms, only the loneliness increased as you avoided every opportunity to spend time with him that you would have killed to have before.

 His jaw dropped and his eyes widened in shock. Bakugo’s defensive stance faltered as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Haaah?!”

 Dragging your hands down your face, you let out a loud groan of frustration. “It’s like I have to twist your arm to spend time with you. What’s the point of being in a relationship if I only see you the few times you come to the support shop for mods for your hero gear?” You gestured to your support team jumper suit. Most of your conversations in the past have primarily during lunch and at the support shop.

 Bakugo rolled his shoulders as he let out a long sigh. “I’m aiming to be on the top, to be the number one hero. Of course I’m going to be fucking busy-”

 You interrupted him before he could continue a rant you have heard a million times. In the past you would admire his passion, just not right now. “Yeah! I get it! I know! I’m busy too, ya know! My to do list never seems to have less things on it despite how much I cross off. I still find time that’s just for you during my day. But you can’t even spare maybe an hour or two just to sit with me, maybe cuddle while watching a movie, and just enjoy each other’s company. All your focus on is being a hero, so what’s the point of dating me then?” It’s like you are the only one putting any effort into the relationship; all of his goes to becoming a hero, none left over for you.

 Bakugo scowled at you as he took a few steps toward you, his face becoming red. “Cause I fucking care about you, dipshit!”

 You blink at him, taken aback slightly before you crossed your arms. Turning away from him you mumbled. “Really? Could have fooled me.”

 It was silent in the room again; you kept your eyes busy by looking around his room. Not much has changed. “Do… you really think I don’t care?” Bakugo spoke so quietly, you barely heard him. Without glancing at him, you gave a small shrug.

 Next thing you know, you are being lifted in the air and then thrown on top of Bakugo’s bed. “Wha-What are you doing?!”

 “Shut up and fucking cuddle me!” Bakugo laid beside you, pulling you against his chest with his face pressed into the top of your head. His arms caged you in, wrapping around your shoulders and squeezed. After a minute, you slowly slid your arms around his waist, gripping at the back of his school uniform. His arms let up once he realized that you weren’t going anywhere. “Maybe… I could… do more. We could study together. Can’t really help with homework since we are in different courses, but…” He whispered into your hair, hesitant and unsure that you accept his attempt at an apology.

 You thought about it for a moment. This was him, in a way apologizing (though it would be nice to hear him say the actual words) and finding a compromise. And okay, you totally cutting him off without even saying what was wrong was probably not the best move either. You rub your face into his strong chest, taking in his burnt sugar scent. “Could we do this afterwards?” You look up at him with a small smile.

 The tension melted away from Bakugo’s face as he began to smirk. He pinched at your sides, making you giggle. “As long as you don’t pull another shitty stunt like what you’ve been doing for the last two fucking weeks.”

 You bury yourself into his chest again, hugging him tighter and closing your eyes as you enjoyed his warmth. “Deal.”

 “Also, don’t ever fucking let Drooly touch you again. I’m going to kill him later. You only need me to comfort you. I’m your fucking boyfriend, not him.”

 “I missed you too, Katsuki.”

[one-leaf-grimoire]

“triad”

Chapter 15: the end of summer

Finally getting into the meat of the manga spade arc! Enjoy! 

AO3 link

Days grew shorter. Shadows grew longer. So long that they seeped over the border and into the once-peaceful Clover Kingdom.

Many didn’t know it as they went about their lives, farming and working and sweating like usual. Only a few actually understood the threat that was growing, the threat they desperately wanted to overcome. But to overcome, you must be prepared to fight for your life. 

Months and months of work were finally coming to a close. But would the Clover Kingdom be ready to face the spade Kingdom?

But also… would the Spade Kingdom be prepared as well?

“You’ve been sitting in that seat for months. Don’t tell me you haven’t figured anything out, yet?”

The man with shaggy white hair and large, reflective glasses nearly jumped out of his seat at the sound of the deep, rough voice behind him. He turned around, now backlit by the magical  screen his eyes had been locked on. It played a clip over and over again, ripped directly from a Clover Kingdom broadcast that they managed to intercept. 

“That’s not true, Lord Dante. I’ve moved.”

Dante let out a chuckle, his serious expression dissolving. The man was in a good mood, and why wouldn’t he be? The end of these agonizing six months was near, and it was almost time to make their move. Finally, he would be able to enact his plan, and get to fight some interesting people along the way.

“Not that I can tell. Every time I come in here, you’re staring at that screen, Morris. In the exact same position, too, I might add.”

Morris felt a little irked by the comment, but he couldn’t do much about it. Dante and his siblings, the Dark Triad, were the reason why he was allowed to flee the Diamond Kingdom after Mars took over. Well, that wasn’t going to end well for Mars, as Zenon himself dispatched most of the enemy country’s troops. It was a small comfort, but overall the situation wasn’t too bad. Morris got to do what he did best, and be part of something catastrophic.

“Whatever. And no, I haven’t.” Morris sighed before turning back to look at the screen. The clip looped again, and again, and again. Just two or three seconds of footage, a critical moment that defied all explanation. “All I know is that this new power is something she calls true time magic.”

“Ah, groundbreaking.” Dante narrowed his eyes at the display. “Is this something she inherited?”

“No… I don’t think so.” Morris weaved his fingers together as he watched, barely aware that Dante was there still. “It’s true- because of her Dyad magic, she was able to steal part of Julius Novachrono’s magic. But Simulcian Dyads don’t just borrow their partner’s magic. Over time, they make it their own. So, effectively, she’s come up with new time spells that even Novachrono did not.”

Dante nodded slowly, faint recognition registering in the back of his mind. Well, not his mind.

The power to steal part of someone’s soul… their essence, their magic… and make it their own. How terrifyingly powerful. 

“You sure seem to know a lot about it, Morris.”

“I told you before- The Diamond Kingdom harbored a group of Simulcian refugees for over a century,” Morris reminded him. “They offered to share their Dyad with our army in exchange for a safe, private place to stay.” Morris let out a wistful sigh. “I was the only one who visited… I even talked to their leader, Mikal. He was interesting… He showed me the research he was doing on his own family. Quite diabolical.” Morris’s smile dropped. “But then all of them disappeared… I thought I’d never find out what happened, but then, 6 years later, the Clover Kingdom attacked us with a Dyad of their own. One containing the Wizard King of all people.” 

And now, the other half of that Dyad was Wizard King as well, the Wizard King they would have to face in only a matter of days.

Or maybe not. 

The woman’s movements were instantaneous. There was no delay, no movement, between where she began and where she ended. But in that moment, all 8 of her opponents were down.

“She hasn’t made any public appearances lately. She’s been keeping to herself… it’s too bad, I don’t know if I’ll be able to fight her.” Dante finally spoke, his own little brain trying to figure out her trick. “According to the intel our spies provided, she should be over 6 months pregnant.”

“Or dead.” Morris shook his head. “Mikal explained it to me- When you form a Dyad, you cease to exist as an individual. You share the essence of your soul, your EGO, with the other. When Julius Novachrono died, he broke her Ego. So…”

Dante’s eyes widened a little when he realized what Morris was about to say. Morris just let his voice trail off, because there was no reason to voice the inevitable.

She is wilting away. LIke a flower who has forgotten what the sun looked like.

“It’s a shame. She was getting so powerful.” Dante shook his head sadly, but couldn’t help but smile. “I really hoped I would get to fight her one day.”

Morris let out a chuckle. Dante, your mind dwells on the wrong things, sometimes. I don’t think you would want to fight her. “I suppose. I would have liked to research her powers… there might be something in there I can use. For now, I guess I can dream…” 

Both men watched her form on the screen, again and again.

“And besides…”

“She’s very cute-” “She’s very cute-”

Dante and Morris both cut each other off. For the first time, Morris actually turned in his chair to face his superior, fear starting to register on his face. It wasn’t much, just a tinge, but it was more than Morris had felt in his entire life.

“Morris…” Dante’s smile was gone. “What did you just say?”

Morris gulped, feeling the hair on his arms standing on end. “...nothing. Nothing at all.”

After a few moments saturated with tension, Dante finally relaxed his frown into a grin. “That’s what I thought you said.” He reached down and slapped Morris on the shoulder, a little harder than could be considered friendly. Morris stiffened, watching as Dante turned to leave, his cloak flaring out dramatically.

“If I do get to fight the Wizard King… I will conquer her. Just like I conquer everything else.”

Dante’s eyes glimmered at the thought, the hope he held close to his heart.

“Meeting you… is going to be so much fun.~”

(a couple months later)

“All rise for her majesty, the 29th Wizard King!”

This is the same room where I was married, and where I was later crowned. But now, I feel none of the nervousness of that previous visit. I’ve walked this aisle many times, my head held high, a crown glimmering upon my hair, and my robe flowing behind me. 

I am the Wizard King, and this is my court. This is where I sit on my throne.

These past few months have been dense with work, more work than I’ve ever had in my time as advisor. After accepting my fate, I threw myself into this position more deeply than ever before. There’s a whole kingdom of people who need help, and another whole kingdom about to attack us. But little by little, I chipped through the work with the help of Marx and Adeline, slowly but surely repairing the damage and making sure those who were hurt were well cared for. But even now, there are problems, which is why I keep my doors open to whoever needs help.

“Y-Your majesty…”

A pair of men stand before me, their hands clasped together to keep them from shaking. They look like peasants, and there’s fear glistening in their eyes.

“We’re very sorry to bother you… our town was lucky enough to receive aid, after all. But-” He gulped, his eyes flickering up to my neutral face, leaned up against my propped up hand. “The magic knights in our town are wreaking havoc… they steal our food, slack off… and they even harass the women. If it isn’t too much-”

“Remove them?” I ask, sitting up a little straighter on my throne. “Tell me, what squad did I send to your town?”

“T-The Purple Orcas, ma’am-”

“Oh, I see.” Of course it’s them… I’m sure Kaiser would have a fit if he knew, I think, letting out a tired sigh. “Well, in that case, your wish is granted. I’ll send for the immediate removal of troops. Should I replace them?”

The two men looked at each other excitedly before turning back to me. “No! We’ve mostly recovered, thanks to you, those knights were just taking advantage of our recovery.” They both bowed in unison, grins still shining on their faces. “Thank you, your majesty!”

I smile down at them, motioning for them to rise again. “No problem! It’s my job to ensure that every citizen in this city is safe.”

As they leave, the crowd murmurs angrily. For whatever reason, many people usually come to watch as I listen to those who have requests, probably just to gossip and jeer at me. I do my best to be a good King, but there’s always going to be people who hold my status against me. They still see me as nothing more than a consort, someone who used Julius for power. It couldn’t be further from the truth; there’s nothing I want more than for Julius to be sitting on this throne today.

“I can’t believe it! Who gave you the power to redistribute my funds in the treasury?”

Now a wealthy, noble merchant stands before me, with much less benevolence than the peasants. His face is red with anger, like a tomato about to split open with juice. “I put those riches in there to gain interest! I was supposed to get richer, not poorer!”

“Oh, you did  get interest, though,” I tell him casually, smiling a bit to myself at how angry he is. “That’s all I took out of your funds, too. You know that the Kingdom has been suffering lately-”

“THE KINGDOM? My ass!” he cuts me off. “Sure, some towns out in the boonies got destroyed, but do I have to pay for their problems?!” He points at me accusingly. “That’s not right! You don’t have the right to do that!”

“Look-” I shake my head, letting out an exasperated sigh. The night sky outside signifies how long I’ve been here, hours at this point. I’m starting to get tired. “The interest I took was enough to feed a town of starving people. You’ll make it back soon. Can’t you be happy that you’re helping the greater good-”

“HELP?! Why do I have to suffer for them!” he yells again. “My life was perfect! Why should I care if-”

“SILENCE.” In an instant, I’m on my feet. The air around me suddenly crackles with mana, and I hold up my hand to let an orb of dangerously bright blue light gather there. The entire room vibrates, and the crowd cowers behind the man who dared to speak to me like that.

“Cut me off again… and I will cut you in half.” 

I clench my fist, and the orb intensifies. The noble’s eyes are wide, and the strength in his knees finally gives out. He collapses, his head ducking down as his body wracks with tremors. “I-I’m sorry- please- have mercy-”

“Mercy?” I smile again, but my eyes are as empty as ever. “You would show no mercy to those below you either, right? So why should I care if you live or die?”

He doesn’t answer, just squeezes his eyes shut and accepts his fate.

Satisfied, I release my power, and the light disappears. With a sigh, I sit back down on the throne, crossing my legs once seated. I feel heavier than normal, and for good reason; My belly is swollen, life kicking around inside. It’s only been about 7 months, but with a clever magical strategy, I managed to accelerate the pregnancy by two months. So, any day now, I will be meeting Julius’s child.

“Don’t bother me with this nonsense again. Just be grateful that I’ve given your life more meaning than you’re capable of yourself. Goodbye.”

Finally, everyone leaves, still muttering about the display of power I decided to throw out. 

“You really shouldn’t be so rash, they’re just going to hate you more.”

Adeline lectures me, as usual, as she holds my hand to help me up the stairs to our room. We moved into one of the empty rooms together. I don’t know why, but I didn’t feel like it was right to keep sleeping in the old bed. I still brought the robe with me, and it sits on a chair in the corner by the window. “One of these days, it’s going to come back to bite you.”

“Eh.” I shrug, not denying it. As things stand now, they’ll have to target another Wizard King soon. “I want to get through this Spade nonsense first before worrying about that.”

“Understandable.” Adeline leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Come on, you need to sleep.”

The two of us cuddle up under the blankets. I close my eyes and inhale her scent, a smile traced onto my lips. When we’re here, all alone, I almost forget about the world outside, and the fate within me.

However, the peace is short lived.

A scream rips through the early morning, jolting me from my trance. I sit up in a panic to see Adeline already awake, her eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. A cold sweat coats her skin, and she’s shaking violently. “Adeline?! What’s wrong- hey-” I get cut off as she throws herself into my arms, bawling into my chest. I freeze up, not able to do much but stroke her hair awkwardly. I’m not the best at comforting people, since Julius was the one in charge of that back in the day. But slowly, Adeline starts to calm down, her sobs quieting. “So… a nightmare?”

“No… worse…” Adeline finally sits up, her eyes dilated with fear. “I… I got a flash.”

A flash….

Adeline’s Celestial Clairvoyance magic allows her to see flashes of the future, and sometimes those flashes come at random times, like when she’s asleep. I gulp nervously, my fingertips going cold. Usually these flashes help me in some way, but from the look in her eyes, I know this one is serious.

“What did you see?”

Adeline squeezes her eyes shut.

“Bones… bloodstained bones. Fire. Rotting flesh. And a tree… a huge tree being uprooted as an even larger one grows beneath it. And-” Her eyes pop open.

“A butterfly…”

My blood runs cold.

“Or maybe it was a moth…”

I take Adeline’s hand to distract her (and myself). “I see… I think I know what it means. Something we already knew.” I give her a strained smile. “War is coming… and soon.”

Slowly, Adeline nods. Somehow, I’ve managed to calm her down. “Right… right.” She glances over at the clock. “It’s early, but I’m going to get up. I don’t think I can sleep any longer.”

“Alright. I’ll do the same.”

Only fifteen minutes later, Marx comes bursting into the office, out of breath. “I have news from the Heart Kingdom- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!”

Adeline and I almost jump out of our skins at the sound of the voice. We freeze in our position. Of course he had to come running in as we decided to have a little make-out session, with me sitting up on the desk to reach her lips. My face heats up, and Adeline opens and closes her mouth trying to find an excuse. “Um… I was… feeling the baby?”

Marx lets out a rattling sigh before closing the door behind him. “Some things never change… anyway, the news from the Heart Kingdom-” He straightens up, looking worried. “They were attacked by a mobile fortress from the Spade Kingdom early this morning.”

“WHAT?!” My eyes widen and I hop off the desk immediately. “This morning!? What happened? Are we at war?”

“Not quite…” Marx sucks in a breath. “Our knights over there were able to stop them and even take over a border town. The situation deescalated so now we’re just waiting for the Spade Kingdom to retaliate.”

“Oh… oH!” I let myself relax. “That’s great news… hopefully this promises good things to come.”

“I hope so…” Marx looks at Adeline. “Come on, I have some work for you to do downstairs.”

“Awww, ok.” Adeline pouts before leaning in to give me a kiss. “See you later!”

“Yeah, of course!” I wave goodbye before sitting back down in my chair and pulling more paperwork towards me. The door shuts, and I am alone.

So… it’s going to end soon, right?

I reach down and rest my hand upon my belly. 

I need to give birth to you before the war begins… so I can fight, and…

I close my eyes. Mana starts to course into my belly, time spinning around the baby gently. This is how I’ve sped up my pregnancy, bit by bit, not noticeable by anyone but myself. Any day now, I would be able to give birth.

And then, I smell blood. My eyes pop back open. I take my hand away from my stomach and reach up to wipe under my nose. Sure enough, a red streak comes with it.

Oh, fuck-

It hits me with as little warning as usual, the tidal wave of pain ripping through my head and through my soul. WIth a strangled cry, I spasm in my seat, my head thrown back against the head of the chair. The agony intensifies, this episode growing worse and worse with every moment. It happens infrequently, but over these last months it visits as a reminder of the fate ahead of me.

NO…. not yet…

I can feel what’s left of my soul desperately tugging itself away, desperately trying to die.

Just a little longer…

I clench my fist as lights pop at the corners of my vision.

I need… I need to die on the battlefield.

The lights get brighter, blinding me. A moth flutters towards me.

Not… YET…

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

“Oh god… oh god please wake up…” 

Adeline’s voice eventually coaxes me back to life. I blink my eyes open to see her, Marx, and Owen standing above me with scared looks on their faces.  “W-What happened?”

“You had another spasm episode,” Adeline tells me softly. “How do you feel?”

A spike of panic shoots through me. “T-The baby-”

“It’s fine, perfectly healthy,” Owen assures me. “I’m more worried about you.”

I gulp nervously at the way they’re looking at me. I can tell that they know I’m hiding something.

“Sorry… I can’t control the seizures. I’ll try and warn you next time I feel it coming on.”

Owen sighs. “Right… well, I need to run and check up on the others. I’m sure they’re also traumatized…”

“Traumatized?” I repeat. Owen stiffens up, and so do Marx and Adeline. The tension has grown, but for what reason? “Wait, what’s going on? How long was I out?”

“Hours…” Adeline whispers. Owen exchanges a glance with Marx before leaving. “It’s evening now… and… well…”

“There’s been a development.” Marx finishes her sentence as she trails off. “Listen… while you were out… there were more attacks. One in the Heart Kingdom and two here.”

My eyes widen, but he doesn’t give me a chance to talk.

“There are three devil hosts in the Spade Kingdom… they call themselves the Dark Triad. And…”

Adeline hangs her head, unable to look me in the eye.

“They kidnapped Lolopechika… and…”

There’s static in my ears. His next words are fuzzy.

“They took Yami and William, too.”

A huge tree is uprooted as an even larger one grows beneath it.

A moth flits through its branches.

Fate has arrived.

Uh oh.... next time, chapter 16: the shadows. Yami and William are gone, and the apocalypse has arrived. What is one supposed to do when the inevitable stands ahead of you? We'll see what our poor Wizard King decides to do...

[mind-reader1]

Third Wheel, Part 1

Author’s note: Co-written with @drakesroyalromance. Written during the end of season 11, not canon compliant from season 12. We’re posting this now for Supernatural appreciation week, day 5 - Favourite ship: Dean x Castiel (Destiel).

Word count: 1466 words.

Warnings: Deals with internalized homophobia and related themes.

Tension had been buzzing in the bunker, everyone could feel it, and Castiel knew it was about to come to a head. He and Dean had been sneaking around with each other for months and he thought Sam and Mary knew it, but wasn’t sure because no one said anything. Castiel had never expected this and he knew Dean certainly hadn’t.

It started with just a simple touch. Dean was walking by and gently placed his hand on Castiel’s arm as he walked by. It was a small gesture but intimate. It sent chills down Castiel’s spine, a sensation he’d only felt one other time - when he was human. He almost thought he imagined it until he saw Dean look down at his hand and up at Castiel, alarmed, hurrying down the hall to his room.

He tried to talk to Dean about it but found that Dean was doing his best to avoid him. He thought about trying to google it but he didn’t have the right words. Instead, he decided to go to Sam.

“Hey Cass.”

Castiel took a seat beside Sam and dove right in. “How do you know if you’re attracted to someone?”

Sam raised an eyebrow and pulled his eyes away from his computer to look at Castiel. “It’s different for everyone, Cass. There’s lust and then there’s love.”

Castiel nodded, this made sense. When he was human and that woman attacked him, they had intercourse together first. That was lust.

“Where is this coming from anyways?”

“I - someone who is objectively attractive touched my arm and it sent a chill down my spine. Does that mean I’m attracted to them?”

Sam repressed a laugh. “Did you feel anything else? Have you felt anything else since?”

Castiel frowned. “I felt a strange sensation in my stomach.”

“Like butterflies?”

He nodded.

“Then yeah, I’d say you’re attracted to them, Cass. Who is it?”

“Thank you, Sam.” He got up and marched towards Dean’s door, ignoring Sam’s question.

“What?” Dean barked, tired of the incessant knocking on his door. He paled when he realized who it was.

“We need to talk, Dean.”

“About what, Cass? Can’t a guy have a little space?”

“I find you attractive.” He paused, “sexually.” Dean was as pale as a ghost, but Castiel continued. “I think you do too..find me sexually attractive.”

Dean looked like he was going to be sick. The truth was he’d felt a spark when he touched Cass that day and it scared the hell out of him. It wasn’t that he had anything against gay people, it’s just that he wasn’t gay. He liked women, loved them actually. He couldn’t be attracted to men, let alone his best friend.

“Cass, I -“ Dean didn’t know what to say. Castiel, who’d only had one other sexual experience in his life, decided to grab Dean’s face and kiss him. That’s what people did in the movies when they wanted to express their love for someone else who was stubborn. Dean was unresponsive at first, but found himself leaning into the kiss, pulling Castiel closer for more.

From that moment on, Dean had gone through a phase of denial to shameful acceptance, sneaking around with Castiel so Mary and Sam wouldn’t find out.

Castiel was well aware the Winchesters’ secrets always had a way of coming out, he was sure this one would too but he did his best to keep the secret, for Dean’s sake.

Castiel was new to the idea of a relationship, same sex or not. Dean wasn’t new to the idea, he’d had plenty of one night stands and one or two serious girlfriends over the years. He understood relationships but wasn’t forthcoming when Castiel had questions. Instead, Castiel found himself turning to Sam over and over again when the internet couldn’t provide answers.

“Sam.”

Sam glanced up from his computer at Castiel, mumbled a greeting and went back to what he was doing.

“How do you know when you are adequate at pleasing someone..sexually?”

Sam choked on his beer and looked up at Castiel, pressing his mouth into a thin line. “Cass, where are all these questions coming from lately? Are you seeing someone?”

Before Castiel could answer, Dean walked in wearing just his robe, nursing a cup of coffee, his hair still messy from the night before. Just the sight made Castiel weak in the knees. He was grateful he was sitting.

“Morning.” Dean was perkier than usual. Castiel had noticed that whenever they spent the night together, he seemed in a good mood the next day. Clearly Sam had picked up on it too.

“Hey Cass, why don’t you ask Dean? Clearly he was with someone last night.” Sam teased.

Dean looked up from his coffee abruptly and scoffed. “I was alone last night.”

“Yeah, right. Whenever you get laid you have this look on your face, you stink like $3 bar bathroom perfume and you’re bragging about it.”

Dean smirked and made a show of sniffing. “Can’t a guy just be in a good mood?”

Castiel shifted nervously and caught Sam’s curious gaze focused on him, his own hair still showing signs from the night before. He was sure Sam had put the pieces together but he kept quiet for Dean’s sake, for which Castiel was grateful.

The longer into the secret romance they got though, the more Castiel wanted to tell people. He was proud to be with Dean but he felt like Dean was ashamed to be with him. He hadn’t said anything yet, he didn’t know how, but he’d had enough. The conversation needed to happen.

Sam and Dean strut into the bunker after a hunt. Castiel was sitting at the table angrily when they noticed him.

“Hey Cass.” Sam dropped a duffle bag onto the table and Dean was on his heels.

“How ya doing Cass?” Dean asked but continued to walk by the angel towards the bathroom.

“We need to talk, Dean.”

“Seriously, Cass? We just got back, can I shower first or is the world ending? Again.” He sighed exasperated.

“Fine. I’ll come with.”

Dean looked between Sam and Castiel, panicked.

“Dude, we’ve talked about this. Personal space.” He tried to laugh it off but Castiel wasn’t going to let it go.

“Then let’s talk now.”

Sam walked out of the room so Dean sighed and slumped into a chair.

“Fine, Cass. What is it?”

“What are we?”

“What?”

“I mean I know that I’m an angel and you’re a human but what are we?”

“I don’t know, Cass. Why does it matter?”

“I want to be ‘Facebook official,’ as the internet calls it.”

Dean dragged a hand down his face. “Do you even know what that means?”

“I want to be your ‘official’ boyfriend Dean!”

“Cass,” Dean sighed, “it’s not that I don’t want that, but you know I don’t have a good track record when it comes to relationships. I don’t even know what it’s like to have a boyfriend.”

“I don’t either. We can figure it out together. That’s something Sam said couples do.”

Dean groaned. “You asked Sam for relationship advice?”

“I didn’t tell him it was about you.”

“You didn’t have to.” Sam said as he walked back into the room.

Dean shot up in panic. “What? There’s no us, I don’t know what he’s talking about, Sam.”

“Dean, it’s fine. I’ve known for months. Neither of you are exactly stealthy. I was hoping you’d figure this out on your own and tell me, but I forgot how thick headed you can be so listen: I don’t care whether you’re gay or bi or whatever. Cass makes you happy, so be with him. You deserve to be happy. Both of you.” Sam adds, smiling gently at Dean, then at Castiel.

Dean felt a sense of guilt and relief wash over him. He knew Sam wouldn’t care but the idea of his brother knowing had still made him nervous. Now it was out and Dean felt guilty for hiding Cass.

“Alright, Cass. Let’s make it official.”

Castiel smiled and Dean sighed in relief. A weight seemed to be lifted off his chest, the first of many things they needed to figure out as a couple.

“Thank you, Dean.”

“Now that it’s out in the open, can you stop talking to me about your sex life with my brother?” Sam cracked a small smile.

“No. I’m afraid I will still need your advice from time to time.”

Sam grimaced and Dean groaned, dragging a hand down his face. Of all the people he could date, he had to have feelings for the one whose best friend was his brother.

“Now I’m going to shower, and I was serious about being alone.” He pointed his finger accusingly at Cass.

..to be continued

[silverlightqueen]

Ruin My Life - Part 4

RML masterlist

(fratboy!Jimin) - fluff! angst! S M U T!!!

Summary - Someone from Y/N’s past shows up and has Jimin losing his temper ft. the boys roasting them again lol

Word Count - 6.3k+

Warnings - so smutty omg it’s like my smut scenes get filthier and filthier wow! explicit sex, possessiveness, degradation, dirty talk, d o m!Jimin, fingering, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, choking, clit slapping (and probably some more bc it’s so dirty lmao). also, violence, drug use, alcohol abuse, etc.

a/n: here’s part 4!!! I know I said i’d be gone for a while but your girl’s been going through some shit and instead of facing up to my problems and emotions like everyone else, I turn to my stories and write really explicit sex bc I can’t cope with emotional stress lol. I haven’t edited this so sorry if it’s shit. i’ll be gone for a while after this too (probably, I don’t know, I might fuck around and channel more of my emotional and psychological trauma into really explicit sex again). Hope y’all enjoy this, and message me, it makes me day (and I really need it at the moment lol) 

silverlightqueen masterlist

‘y/n? Is that… you?’ I hear someone ask from behind me, the person’s voice making my blood run cold. I’d been having a fantastic time up until now. Jimin virtually hadn’t let me out of his sight all night, knowing I was worried about my ex, and, as much as I hate to admit it, I’d been loving the attention we’d received. Everyone had been whispering and staring, and I saw people eyeing up the ring as well. I’m sure that, by tomorrow, the entire university will believe that me and Jimin are engaged, and the stupid gossip page will have broadcasted it out to everyone. Not that I’m bothered. No straight girl my age would turn down this kind of attention, everyone believing that they’re with the most desirable boy anyone had ever met. I’ve been enjoying myself immensely with the boys and Mija, Jimin’s arm protectively around my waist all night. But now, the second the boys decided to go outside to bump a few lines and Mija went to the toilet, my fun is definitely about to end. 

I turn on my heel, seeing him stood there in front of me, and my heart pounds. Tall and broad, soft brown hair swept up, twinkling brown eyes and smooth tan skin, he looks more handsome than ever. ‘Hey, Eunwoo,’ I reply carefully, not letting myself put any emotion into the words. ‘How are you? God, it’s been, like, what? A year, since I last saw you? How’ve you been?’ he asks. I lean against the wall with my right shoulder, looking up at him, just the two of us in a quiet corridor. ‘I’ve been good. What about you?’ I reply. ‘Yeah, I’m good. You look great, by the way,’ he says, eyes sweeping over my appearance, momentarily stopping at Jimin’s ring, the moment so fleeting that I only noticed because of how well I know him. ‘Thank you. So do you,’ I reply truthfully. ‘How is everything with you recently? I haven’t seen you at any parties. Keeping a low profile?’ he asks, and I shake my head. ‘The opposite actually. I go to the Alpha Sigma Phi parties instead ‘cause, you remember Kim Namjoon?’ I ask, and he nods. ‘Yeah, you two were close, right?’ he asks, and I nod. ‘Yeah, so he invites me to their parties. I’ve never actually been invited to a Kappa Phi Nu party,’ I say, and he laughs. ‘We don’t invite people, y/n. If you wanted to come, you should’ve just showed up. I’d never have turned you away, you know that,’ he says with a soft smile, something dangerous hidden beneath. ‘And you know I’d never turn up anymore without being specifically asked, or invited,’ I say, and he nods with a wistful smile. ‘We should meet up, y/n. Have a proper catch up. I’ve missed you,’ he says, and I think over my next words carefully.

‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Eunwoo,’ I say, and it’s almost like I see something snap inside him. ‘Why not?’ he asks, still smiling, though it looks forced now. ‘We broke up for a reason. We should just keep our distance from one another,’ I say carefully, and the smile disappears from his face altogether. ‘We didn’t break up. You dumped me, though god knows why,’ he says, trying to sound sad, but his voice shakes with the internal anger. ‘You know why, Eunwoo,’ I say, and he laughs, no humour in the sound at all. ‘So that’s why?’ he asks, and I nod. ‘Of course it was! And it was more than good enough of a reason,’ I reply, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone’s there, but all I can see is a couple making out against the wall. ‘You’re ridiculous, y/n. I was so good to you, all the time. I treated you like a queen. I spent so much money trying to make you happy,’ he says, and I scoff. ‘And that was your issue. I don’t owe you anything, just because you bought me things. You can’t buy love, Eunwoo, no matter how hard you try,’ I say, and he shakes his head angrily. ‘I made one little mistake, y/n. That’s it,’ he says. ‘One little mistake? It was hardly little, and it was hardly a mistake. You knew exactly what you were doing. It’s not like you were drunk, or high.’ ‘I was angry!’ ‘Oh, yeah? So what happens the next time you’re angry? You’ll make another little mistake, right?’ I demand, and he laughs bitterly. I wait for Eunwoo to reply but he doesn’t, eyes focused on something behind me. I turn to look, and there he is. My knight in a shining jacket.

‘Hey, princess,’ Jimin says gently, and I almost fall into his arms. It’s only then that I realise how scared I was, my heart rate rocketing and my hands virtually shaking. Jimin seems to realise it too and presses his lips to mine in a brief sign of solidarity. I can smell the fresh floral scent of the cocaine he’d probably just sniffed and his expensive aftershave, as well as the sweet scent that belongs to just him. ‘The boys all want to leave now, you ready to go?’ Jimin asks softly, his gentle voice making my heart pound. Before I can answer, though, Eunwoo starts laughing harshly. Jimin looks at him over my shoulder, acting as though he’s only just noticed him, and smiles politely. ‘Hi. Can we help you?’ Jimin asks, arm around my waist protectively, and Eunwoo shakes his head disbelievingly. ‘God, I’d heard the rumours and I didn’t believe them for a second, but I guess they’re true. This is who you’re fucking now? This short ASP dickhead, with his head stuck up his own arse?’ Eunwoo laughs, and I feel Jimin’s body become tense and taught with anger. ‘Yeah, and his dick’s better than yours was. Bigger, too,’ I say truthfully, shrugging, and Eunwoo’s eyes become dark. ‘You little bitch,’ Eunwoo says lowly, stepping towards me, and Jimin steps towards him. ‘You better watch how the fuck you’re speaking to her,’ Jimin says, his voice becoming 5 times lower than normal, slipping into his dialect. ‘And what the fuck are you gonna do about it, shorty?’ Eunwoo asks, taking another step towards Jimin, mere inches between them.

Jimin rocks back, and I already know what’s coming, having seen him do this before. Admittedly, it was to an actual punching bag rather than my ex-boyfriend, but regardless. Jimin’s fist flies through the air, landing square on Eunwoo’s jaw, his head rocking back as he stumbles to the floor. I’m frozen in my position behind Jimin when I hear Namjoon’s voice from behind me. ‘Jimin, what the fuck?’ he says, both of us turning to see the boys and Mija stood in a huddle in the end of the corridor. ‘Is that Eunwoo?’ Jin asks, looking down at the boy who’s clutching onto his jaw, groaning on the floor. ‘Yeah,’ I reply shakily as a couple of Kappa Phi Nu boys show up on the other side of the corridor. ‘Eunwoo? Did you take the stash from my room? I can’t find it,’ one of them calls before their eyes land on their brother lying on the floor. ‘Woo? Is that you?’ one of them shouts, beginning to walk towards us. ‘Let’s go!’ Hoseok calls from behind me, Jimin grabbing my arm and pulling me down the corridor away from the KPN boys. We run through the party, heading towards the front door, barging through the crowds of partygoers, hearing the KPN boys shouting behind us. Once we reach the front door, we spill out onto the front garden, laughing and breathless. A group of five KPN boys follow us out, angry, but Jin walks up towards them. ‘Who do you think you are, coming into our frat, attacking Eunwoo, feeling up Chanyeol’s girlfriend, stealing our stashes? ASP bastards,’ one of them spits at Jin. ‘First, you have no proof that we ‘attacked’ Eunwoo or ‘stole’ your stashes, and second, Chanyeol’s girlfriend made the first move,’ Jin says calmly. I look around at the boys, wondering who it was they were talking about with regards to Chanyeol’s girlfriend, but they all look just as confused as me. ‘Don’t come at us with that bull. We’ll beat the shit out of you,’ another threatens Jin, who smiles serenely. ‘I wonder what my dad, your landlord, would say if he heard you threatening us like that,’ Jin says in an even tone, the meaning behind the words very clear. ‘Fuck you,’ another hisses before they all turn away, heading back up into the party.

‘God, hyung, you’re so badass,’ Jimin says admiringly, cradling his fist in his hand. When he notices me noticing, he drops both hands, trying to act as though nothing’s happened. ‘What were you thinking, Jimin?’ Taehyung demands, all of us turning to face the boy accusingly. ‘He called y/n a bitch! And he cornered her in the corridor by herself. I was worried,’ he defends himself, everyone turning to look at me now. ‘Did he do something to you? Shall we file a complaint? We can totally sue his ass,’ Namjoon says threateningly, looking around as though Eunwoo is hiding in a bush near us. ‘What, he touched you? I swear to god, if that motherfucker laid a single finger on you, I’ll kill him,’ Yoongi begins, all of the boys now coming out with threats, holding onto their fists, looking up towards the house. ‘God, it’s like you’re stuck in some kind of shitty fanfic,’ Mija says to me quietly, and I have to hold back a laugh at how right she is. ‘Oi, dimwits! Listen!’ I say, the boys instantly falling silent. ‘He didn’t touch me. At first, he was nice and then he said we should catch up, and I said no, obviously, and then he got a little annoyed. And then Jimin showed up, kissed me, Eunwoo laughed and called him a ‘short ASP dickhead’ and then I said Jimin’s got better dick than him, and he got angry, and Jimin punched him,’ I explain briefly. ‘God, why are boys’ masculinities so fragile?’ Mija asks, all of the boys staying silent because they know she’s right.

‘What I wanna know is who got with Chanyeol’s girlfriend,’ I say, curious. ‘Oh, shit, I think that was me,’ Mija says, all of our eyes widening. ‘You think?’ I demand, and she shrugs. ‘It was at the start. I’d taken like, loads of shots, and I was pissed. A pretty girl appeared and started flirting with me, and we made out, and then she disappeared,’ Mija explains. ‘What? You’re a lesbian?’ Jungkook demands, and Mija and I roll our eyes. ‘She’s bi. Obviously,’ I say, and she nods. ‘Bi? Have you two ever, like… you know?’ Jungkook asks, looking between the two of us. ‘Are you… are you kidding me? Are you really asking if Mija and I have ever fucked?’ I ask, both of our mouths hanging open in disbelief. ‘Obviously not, Jeon! What do you think this is?’ Mija exclaims. ‘It’d be fucking sexy, though,’ Jimin says, Taehyung and Jungkook nodding in agreement, their hyungs looking at them in disgust. ‘God, it’s dogs like you three that give ASP a bad name,’ Hoseok says, shaking his head, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘Would you like me to bring up our conversation in the library the other day, Hoseok?’ I say, and he falls silent sheepishly. ‘Right, can we, like, go up to the house, please? I don’t wanna stand here arguing all night,’ Yoongi says, all of turning to walk up to the house.

‘Cold, princess?’ Jimin asks, and I shake my head. He ignores me, shrugging off his jacket regardless, and holding it up to me. I roll my eyes, letting him put it on me, the material soft and warm. ‘Are you annoyed with me?’ he asks, and I think this over for a moment. ‘A little. You didn’t have to punch him, Chim. It was so unnecessary. We could’ve just left,’ I say tiredly, and he nods in defeat. ‘I know, I know, you’re right. But it just… god, it got me so angry the way he spoke to you. I don’t know your reasons for breaking up with him, and I won’t ask, but I don’t blame you at all. He’s a pompous, big-headed dick,’ he begins, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘But, that’s no excuse and I’m sorry,’ he says, warming my heart. ‘It’s okay. Just don’t do something dumb like that again. This isn’t a shitty fanfic,’ I say, repeating Mija’s earlier words, and he laughs as we reach the outside of the house. ‘Do you guys wanna eat?’ Jungkook asks, and I look at him in disbelief. ‘Are you kidding me? We had pancakes earlier, then Mija brought pizza, then we had Panda Express, and you still wanna eat? Even though it’s literally midnight?’ I ask, and he nods. ‘You’re insane,’ I say, shaking my head. ‘Does anyone else wanna eat?’ Jungkook asks, the other boys, except for Jimin, and Mija nodding. ‘You’re all crazy,’ I say in disbelief. ‘Well, we’re not eating,’ Jimin says, grabbing my hand and leading me upstairs. The boys and Mija all whistle and jeer teasingly as me and Jimin ascend the stairs.

When we reach his room, he slams the door behind him and pushes me up against it, pressing his lips to mine instantly. I melt into him, his body pressed up against mine, my head tilted back against the door as he locks it with one hand. His tongue slips past my lips, our mouths moving in perfect harmony, and I let out a soft whine when his hands press down onto my waist. ‘God, you’re so fucking perfect, y/n,’ Jimin groans at the noise, pulling me away from the door, pushing me down onto the bed instead, hovering over me. ‘He doesn’t deserve you. No one does,’ he says, eyes drinking me in as I stare up at him, laid out for him, before he captures my lips between his again. The room is dark, the only light coming from the streetlight outside the window, the bright white light giving the boy an ethereal glow, his blond hair silvery in the radiance. ‘You know I love kissing you, but I really need to do something. Is that okay?’ Jimin asks gently, and I nod. He grinds down against me, his hard-on against my thigh, and I let out a gentle moan at the feeling, slick beginning to pool in my underwear. ‘Shit, I fucking need you,’ Jimin says, pushing away from me with effort. ‘Do you want my mouth, daddy?’ I ask, sitting up, squinting in the light. ‘No, princess, it’s okay. I just want to be in you,’ he says gently, but I shake my head. ‘Please, daddy. I want you in my mouth. Please,’ I say, my eyes sliding down to the bulge in his jeans, unconsciously licking my lower lip, mouth watering at the thought of him. ‘God, princess, you don’t know what you do to me. I really want to, but this is about you. Maybe in the morning,’ he suggests, and I nod in agreement.

He pulls me down the bed by my ankles, making me giggle, and he smiles at my laughter, pulling my heels off my feet. His fingers tickle the bottoms of my feet momentarily and I let out a startled laugh, kicking at his hands so he stops. He chuckles before his hands pull his jacket off me, flinging it over his shoulder. His fingers appear at the buttons of my jeans, quickly flicking them open before he pulls the tight material down my legs, pushing them apart afterwards. Our eyes locked together, he slowly flicks open the buttons of my bodysuit, fingertips nudging against my core, and I shudder at the feeling. He grins as he pulls the material up my body, tugging it over my head and throwing it onto the pile of my other clothes. I sit up then, kneeling at the foot of the bed to take off his clothes. I unbutton his shirt as quickly as I can before pushing it off his shoulders as he kicks off his shoes and socks. I unbutton his jeans next and push them down his toned legs, watching as he steps out of them, leaving him in just his boxers. He climbs back onto the bed with me, pressing our lips together again, and as his hands ghost across my sides, I let out a moan. ‘That’s it,’ he says, unclasping my bra with ease before ripping my pants off, throwing the torn material onto the floor. He runs his fingertips over my slit and I let out a little whimper, leaning on my elbows. ‘It’s okay, daddy, I don’t need prepping,’ I say, and he chuckles, his warm breath against my core making me shiver. ‘Of course you don’t. Sluts like you are always ready for a cock in them, aren’t they?’ he growls, and I nearly celebrate aloud.

Jimin, whilst being a dom through and through, has a tendency to go easy on me. He gets worried that he’ll hurt me, and so tones down the dom behaviour quite a lot. But sometimes, he’ll lose all logic and common sense and will only hold back when I say the safe word. Until that point, he will do what he wants with me with no regard, which I have no objections to, obviously. And clearly, tonight is one of those nights, which has me over the moon, because I’ve been waiting for him to lose control with me again.

‘Answer me,’ he says, delivering a harsh slap to my core, and I gasp at the feeling. ‘Yes, daddy,’ I say instantly, and he grins, looking up at me through hooded eyelids. ‘Good girl,’ he compliments, before ducking his head and licking a stripe up my slit. ‘You taste so good, princess. This pussy was made for me to eat, wasn’t it?’ he asks, getting up off the bed and getting a condom out of the drawer. ‘Yes, daddy,’ I reply dutifully, and he chuckles, throwing the condom to me. He pushes his boxers down his legs, hard length springing up against his stomach, and kicks them away. I rip the condom open and slide it onto his length with as little contact as possible before throwing the packet to the side. ‘On your back, princess,’ he says, and I move onto my back, spreading my legs for him. ‘I’ve got such a good little whore, haven’t I?’ he chuckles, and I nod, biting my lip. He stares between my legs, almost inspecting me, before humming in satisfaction. ‘You’re dripping, baby girl, you’re the wettest I’ve ever had. You really are a little slut,’ he says, and I moan out at his words. He plunges a finger into me and I gasp at the feeling, only to have him add another, curling them against my walls. Moans and whimpers fall from my lips as he pumps in and out of my heat, adding another finger to relentlessly abuse my pussy. ‘Don’t stop, please, daddy,’ I whimper, and he chuckles. ‘You take my fingers so well, babe. My little slut is desperate to have something in her, you just keep sucking them back in,’ he laughs, pulling out of me, admiring his slick-covered digits. ‘Are you ready for my cock, princess? Do you think I’ll fit inside this tight little pussy?’ he asks, and I moan. ‘Yes, daddy, please,’ I reply and he moves over me, leaning on one forearm as he rubs his head against my folds. He sinks into me, and I gasp as he inches in slowly, enjoying the stretch as I grip onto the strong muscles of his back. He lets out a low groan, bringing his fingers to my mouth, and I suck on them, tasting myself. He bottoms out, our bodies lined up perfectly, and stays still for a moment, both of us savouring the feeling. I already feel like I won’t be able to hang on for much longer, knowing I’m going to cum after an embarrassingly short amount of time.

‘You feel so good around my dick, princess, such a good little slut for me,’ he says, beginning to thrust into me, setting a fierce pace. He pulls out until just his head is inside me before ramming all the way into me, hips pressed against mine. I let out moans louder by the second as he drills into me, the bed banging against the wall with each thrust. ‘Your cunt feels so good, it was made for my cock, wasn’t it, princess? Scream my name, baby girl, let all the boys know who’s making you feel so good,’ he prompts, not relenting with his pace at all. ‘Please, daddy, harder,’ I cry out, knowing that the other boys will be able to hear me, but not having it in me to care. His hand comes up to my neck, pressing tight against my skin and Joon’s choker that’s still around my neck. ‘My princess wants it harder? Be careful what you ask for, babe. I’ll fuck you so hard, you won’t be able to walk, you won’t be able to move without hurting. I want you to milk my cock, baby girl. I’ll make you into my slut, my pet whore, my good little bitch. Is that what you want, princess?’ he growls, panting, ramming into me endlessly as his hand tightens around my neck, the choking so pleasurable. My nails dig into the softness of his back, raking across the skin. ‘Yes, please, daddy! Fuck, please! Make me yours,’ I cry out, having never been fucked by him like this before, the pain only making the pleasure more intense.

‘You are mine, baby girl. And don’t ever fucking forget it. Not Eunwoo’s, understand? You’re mine, princess,’ he whispers into my ear, his thrusts becoming less forceful and more… passionate, his lips briefly meeting mine. He buries his head into my neck as his hand around it loosens, lips sucking at the skin, and I wrap my arms around him, pulling him as close as possible. ‘Say it, y/n, say it,’ he demands, thrusting deep and slow, one hand reaching between our bodies to rub against my clit. ‘I’m yours, Jimin, I’m all yours. Whenever you want me, I’m yours,’ I cry out, feeling myself nearing the edge. ‘That’s a good girl. Come on, baby girl, cum for me. Cum all over my cock, princess, soak it like a good little slut,’ he prompts, and I tense up completely, approaching my high. I let out a loud moan as I cum after one particularly hard thrust along with the continuous rubbing of his hand on my clit. ‘Good girl, that’s my good girl,’ he says soothingly, though he doesn’t let up at all, hands planted on either side of my head as his pace speeds up once more. I tremble beneath him, twitching due to the overstimulation. ‘Daddy,’ I whine, and he chuckles. ‘Hmm? Speak up, baby girl,’ he prompts teasingly, pace not faltering in the slightest. ‘It hurts, daddy,’ I whisper out, still twitching uncontrollably. ‘Aww, poor baby, but I haven’t even cum yet. Are you sensitive? Too. Fucking. Bad,’ he says, thrusting with each word, the pain of the overstimulation slowly ebbing away into mind-blowing pleasure. He reaches down for my clit again, rubbing furiously fast, and I cry out at the feeling. ‘You feel so good, clenching around my cock, princess. Felt so good to have you cumming around my cock,’ he praises, and I can sense him reaching his high too. ‘I want you sobbing, princess, I wanna milk this tight little pussy,’ he spits out, ramming into me whilst his hand works at a ridiculous pace. ‘Come on, princess, cum for me. Be a good little slut and cum for me, princess,’ he says, and I reach my high, clenching around him as I cum with a scream of his name. ‘Good girl, you’re such a good girl, princess. Your pussy was made for me, baby girl,’ he moans, hips stuttering and his thrusts becoming slower. ‘Fuck, I’m gonna cum, y/n,’ he shouts out, burying his cock deep inside me and his head falling against my neck as he releases into his condom.

We both stay as we are, letting out deep breaths, the smell of sex on the air intoxicating. ‘Am I tripping… or was that the best we’ve had?’ he breathes out, and I feel him softening inside me. ‘You’re not tripping, babe,’ I reply breathlessly, and he chuckles. ‘We are going to get ripped apart by the boys,’ he laughs against my skin, and I already dread having to leave his bedroom. ‘We’ll just stay in here all night,’ I joke, and he cuddles up against me. ‘That sounds like a plan,’ he replies, voice muffled against my shoulder. We stay cuddled up like that for a while, running my fingers through his hair, the only noise being our breathing. After a few minutes, I start to feel too hot and sweaty, and I need to go for a wee. ‘Babe, we need to get up,’ I say, and he whines. ‘Just five more minutes, princess,’ he pleads, and I have to use every ounce of my self-control to stop myself from giving in. ‘No, baby, I need a wee,’ I say, and he sighs. He presses his lips to mine briefly before rolling off me. I smile at him as I slowly get up out of the bed, heading over to his en suite. I go for a quick wee and when I come back out, Jimin’s holding out a pair of clean pants and a white hoodie for me to wear, as well as a pair of white Nike socks. I pull the clothes on with an appreciative smile, Jimin putting on a clean pair of boxer and a pair of black sweatpants, his torso bare.

‘Come on, princess, let’s get you some water, and something to eat,’ Jimin says gently, entwining his fingers with mine, leading me out of the room and downstairs. We pass through the dark living room where Jungkook and Yoongi are lit up by the light from the TV, both of them fast asleep on the sofas, in their pyjamas now. In the kitchen, Jin, Namjoon and Hoseok sit around the breakfast bar, having changed out of their party outfits, also in their pyjamas. ‘Did you really just get fucked whilst wearing Joon’s choker?’ Hoseok asks me, Namjoon’s mouth hanging open in disbelief. ‘Um… yeah. Sorry, Joon,’ I say sheepishly, and he shakes his head as Jimin pours me out a glass of water. ‘Just keep the choker, please,’ he says, mild disgust on his face, the other boys laughing. ‘I’ll buy you a new one,’ I promise, and he shakes his head with a small smile. ‘It’s alright, you don’t have to. I don’t think I’ll ever wear it,’ he says as Jimin hands me the water, and I thank him with a gentle kiss on his cheek.

‘Where’s Mija?’ I ask after taking a sip of the water, and they all grin. ‘In Tae’s room,’ Jin replies, and my eyes widen. ‘Wait, why’s she in Tae’s room? And where’s Tae?’ Jimin asks, and we all turn to look at him with confusion on our faces. ‘Um, he’s in his room? With Mija? The two of them are in there together? Alone, just them two?’ Jin says slowly, waiting for it to sink in, and Jimin realises with a loud gasp. ‘Oh, my god! Are they like… fucking?’ Jimin asks, and Hoseok shrugs. ‘We haven’t heard anything, unlike you two loud bastards, but god knows. They might be. They were all pally-pally down here first, all cuddled up, and then Mija said she wanted to get changed into something more comfy, and Tae went up with her. They only went up about ten minutes after you,’ he explains, and I feel myself getting excited with his words. Ever since Mija’s high school boyfriend cheated on her, Mija’s completely shied away from any kind of romantic relationship, just the very occasional one-night stand with a complete stranger. So, if it is true, this is completely new for Mija, new to see her getting close with someone she’s known for a while. ‘They probably got turned off by hearing you two screaming next door,’ Namjoon says drily, Jimin swatting out at him in good-humoured annoyance. ‘Tae’s room’s next door to yours?’ I ask Jimin, who nods with a roll of his eyes. ‘I’ve had to listen to the various girls he brings home, so he can listen to you and me. Karma’s a bitch,’ Jimin says remorselessly, and I laugh at the thought of Jimin lying there, trying to sleep, listening to Tae fucking some girl next door.

‘Do you guys want something to eat? You must be hungry after that. I would be,’ Hoseok says shamelessly, and I feel blood rushing to my face in embarrassment. ‘Am I really that loud?’ I ask sheepishly, and Jin takes pity on me, putting an arm around my shoulders. ‘No, y/n, you’re not. You can only hear if you’re on the same floor, and we have to go past Jimin’s room to get to our bedrooms. That’s the only reason we heard,’ Jin says, making me feel a bit better, though not much. ‘Do you think the other boys in the frat can hear?’ I ask, and the boys all laugh. ‘I hope not, we’ve got a no-girls policy,’ Jimin says, all of them laughing even harder. ‘Guys, that’s so mean,’ I say in shock, trying not to laugh, ‘will I get in trouble if they find out?’ ‘Remember who owns the house, y/n,’ Namjoon says, and I shake my head, feeling terrible that they all take advantage of Jin’s dad owning the house. ‘Here,’ Jin says, pushing a plate of pasta towards us, having just microwaved it for us. ‘Thanks, Jin,’ I say, taking a seat, and Jimin sits beside me. ‘Do you guys get offended that I don’t call you my oppas?’ I ask. ‘No, I don’t mind. I don’t like being called oppa. It’s too sexualised now,’ Namjoon says, Hoseok and Jin nodding in agreement. ‘I get offended,’ Jimin jokes, and I roll my eyes. ‘God, so you have a daddy kink, and an oppa kink?’ I tease, the other boys laughing.

‘You might want to stop talking, y/n, because you’ve got a whole lot of kinks I can expose,’ he says threateningly, and I immediately fall silent, the other boys intrigued. ‘Come on, Jimin, you can’t leave us hanging,’ Hoseok says, and Jimin shoots me a mischievous look. ‘Well, let’s just say, y/n can be a bit of a masochist,’ he says, and I gasp at his betrayal. ‘Says you, Mr. ‘I like your nail marks on my back’! You’ve probably got some marks now, actually. I even made you bleed once, and you didn’t mind! And you’re a sadist! You get off on seeing me in pain!’ I exclaim, and now it’s Jimin’s turn to gasp. ‘Well, you like being spanked!’ he fires back. ‘No, it’s you that likes spanking!’ I correct him heatedly. ‘You’re into degradation!’ ‘You’re the one that started degrading me!’ ‘You didn’t complain though!’ ‘Well, you enjoy edging me!’ ‘At least I can give you fucking orgasms to be able to take them away! And it’s not like you complain about that, either! Or overstimulation!’ ‘I complain about that every time! I did today, did I not?’ ‘But you never use the safe word!’ ‘Well, you’re a total voyeur! You love watching me get myself off!’ ‘And you love watching me too, so don’t even try to deflect that onto me! And you love being humiliated as well!’ ‘No, you love humiliating me!’ ‘You love it too! And you love bondage!’ ‘Well, you love exhibitionism!’ ‘And so do you, y/n!’ ‘Well… well… you love using toys on me!’ I exclaim, knowing it’s something that I don’t enjoy as much as he does, and then he falls silent.

‘Are you two fucking done?’ Yoongi’s gravelly voice comes from the door, Jungkook stood beside him. ‘Yeah, we are, hyung,’ Jimin says venomously with an evil glare my way. ‘Well, it’s too late now. You’ve already woken us up,’ Yoongi says tiredly, taking the seat on my other side. ‘God, you two are some freaky little shits,’ Hoseok says, looking between us both with a grimace. ‘I can confirm that Jimin is a voyeur. He was watching me and y/n like we were some HD porn, or something,’ Jungkook says, stealing a forkful of our pasta. ‘Um, Kook! That’s the only thing you can confirm? What about everything else?’ Jimin asks indignantly. ‘Um… I can confirm that you’re both into degradation and humiliation, edging, overstimulation. I don’t know about the masochism and sadism, though. That’s fucking weird,’ Jungkook says, sitting down beside Namjoon. ‘Don’t kink shame them. Just be thankful they’re not into piss play, or something gross like that,’ Jin says, both Jimin and I scrunch our faces up in disgust. ‘I am never letting you piss on me,’ I say to Jimin, whose eyes widen. ‘What the fuck, y/n? I wouldn’t want to anyway, and you know that!’ he says, and I supress a smile at his disbelief. But, before anyone can say anything else, Taehyung walks in, wearing a long hoodie and a pair of boxers.

He stops at the door, surprise and guilt etched all over his face, and we all stare back at him. ‘Why aren’t you guys in bed yet? It’s like, 1.30,’ he says, his voice deep and husky. ‘We could ask you the same thing, hyung,’ Jungkook says mischievously, and Taehyung’s face breaks into a grin. ‘A gentleman never tells,’ he says, and I roll my eyes. ‘You’ve basically just told us,’ I say, the boys laughing. ‘I wouldn’t say anything if I were you, y/n, considering how loud you were about twenty minutes ago,’ Taehyung fires back, and I fall silent sheepishly. ‘What was she saying, hyung?’ Jungkook asks curiously, and I shake my head at Tae. He hesitates, our eyes meeting, before the signature boxy smile breaks across his face. ‘Please, daddy, harder! Don’t stop, daddy, please! Make me yours, daddy! Daddy, it hurts! I’m all yours, Jimin!’ Tae says, moaning in a high and affected voice, the boys all laughing. ‘Tae!’ I exclaim, and he points at me. ‘Exactly like that, except it was for Jimin,’ he says, and my head falls into my hands.

‘Aww, princess, it’s okay, don’t be embarrassed. Just own it,’ Jimin says comfortingly, putting an arm around my shoulders. And then I get an idea to gross the boys out even more. I sit up, leaning towards Jimin, and press my lips to his jaw. ‘I’m not embarrassed. I’ll never be embarrassed of how well you fuck me… daddy,’ I say, the boys all groaning as Jimin chuckles, capturing my lips with his. Our mouths move in sync, as his hands tangle into my hair and my hands run across his back. I can feel the bumps from where I scratched him earlier and I break away from him, ignoring the exclamations of the boys. ‘Oh, my god, turn around,’ I say, and he does so with a confused look on his face. I gasp when I see the bright red scratch marks on his back, the other boys doing the same when they see them too. ‘God, babe, don’t they hurt?’ I ask, running my fingers gently over the marks, and he shakes his head. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I say, feeling ridiculously guilty, and he turns back to face me. ‘Don’t be, it’s okay,’ he replies, pressing his lips to mine briefly. ‘God, can you two just get married already?’ Jin says, watching us with a fond look on his face. ‘Well, they’ve got a kid on the way, haven’t they?’ Jungkook jokes, the boys all laughing as Jimin and I give him dirty looks. ‘It might be yours, Kook,’ Namjoon reminds him, the boy turning pale as Jimin and I give Joon the dirty looks instead. ‘It’s mine,’ Jimin says definitely, and I can’t keep the smile off my face as he pulls me into his arms. ‘If it exists,’ Yoongi reminds us, and Jimin rolls his eyes. ‘Don’t burst our bubble, hyung,’ Jimin says.

‘What, so you want a baby?’ Tae asks, and Jimin and I share a glance before he answers. ‘Well, it wouldn’t be ideal but we’d make great parents, right, y/n?’ Jimin says, and I nod in agreement. ‘I’m not having any kid of ours live in this frat, though,’ I say, the boys all letting out reproachful exclamations. ‘She’s right. Our little angels are not growing up in this kind of environment,’ Jimin says, the boys gasping. ‘Angels?’ Namjoon asks, and Jimin and I share another glance. ‘Yeah, we planned our own little family,’ Jimin says, the boys looking at us in disbelief. ‘First, a boy called Park Taemin. Then, a girl called Park Jisoo. Then, a boy called Park Minjoon, and last, a girl called Park Mila,’ I list off, waiting for the boys to rip us apart. ‘Oh, my god, Minjoon is mine,’ Jungkook says instantly. ‘Fine, but I call dibs on Mila,’ Yoongi says quickly. ‘I call dibs on Jisoo,’ Hobi says. ‘I call dibs on Taemin,’ Namjoon says, the boys all saying the names of the ones Jimin predicted earlier. ‘Well, I call dibs on all four,’ Jin says. ‘That’s not fair! What about me?’ Tae whines, and I let out a noise of annoyance. ‘Stop calling dibs on mine and Jimin’s children!’ I exclaim, Mija walking in as the words come out of my mouth. ‘You know what?’ she says, sitting down beside Tae, ‘I don’t even want to know.’

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Winner’s Curse Ch. 19

Well this came as surprise to me. Literally, the whole idea came to me before I was going to bed so I wrote it the next morning, and here we are. Features some Aladdin quotes, see if you can spot them. Enjoy! 

“And then Icarus, what a guy, he is so convincing as Hades, Pain and Panic start following him!” Calix hooted.

“No way, man that didn’t actually happen.” Jay challenged Calix’s story.

“No, no I’ve heard Icarus’ Hades impression, he’s good.” Aziz confirmed, “Hey, remember Icarus’ Hades impression after three drinks at Dionysus’ bacchanal?”

Calix gulped back the drink Circe had left in their shared room and where he, Aziz, and Jay were passing the time sharing stories while waiting around for Uma and Jordan’s arrival.

It had been a pretty placid three days since Jordan reversed Jay’s hypnosis for Malik’s last wish. At first there was a panic when they realized how suspicious it would be if Jay was no longer under Jafar’s thrall but they fixed that with Jordan giving him glowing red contacts. Allowing them to have another infiltrator at the Coven meetings besides Jade, Calix and Uma.

The door opened and Jordan slipped into the room, gingerly cradling her lamp in her hands. But no Uma behind her.

These three placid days had driven Uma to distraction since they were laying around on their asses and not doing anything so she arranged for this new meeting so they’d find something else to do besides eavesdrop for news of what was happening at next week’s Summer Solstice.

But even though this meeting was so important that she felt the need to threaten them with slow, graphic strangulation with her tentacles while Harry used his hook to disembowel him, apparently their leader was late.

“Where’s Jade?” Calix asked, throwing back another shot. It was a fair question since Jordan’s lamp was still technically under Jade’s possession. Or so the Coven thought.

“Showing makeup techniques to Lala and Malik.” Jordan answered.

“Oh right, Lala mentioned that to me this morning.” Aziz warily eyed the fifth shot Calix gulped down.

“Oh, she did? You talk about things other than the plan?” Jordan smoothly slid between him and Calix, her voice was suspiciously too nonchalant.

“Yeah, conversations spawn into different topics. That’s what happens when two people hang out with each other.” Aziz said a little testily with how Jordan was scanning his face like she was searching for some secret that he’d be careless enough to slip.

“Oh you and Lala hanging out together.” Jordan pursed her lips lightly, sounding way too similar to a disapproving aunt, “Can we have a private conversation in my lamp.”

Before Aziz could suss out whatever she was trying to pull and where this was coming from, Jordan had transported them into her lamp.

“Do you have a crush on Lala?” She blurted out accusingly.

Aziz decided to go for a joke, “I-I don’t know about me crushing her, bu-but I can’t blame her if the reverse is true. I mean, look at me.”

Jordan stared with an unamused raised eyebrow.

“Aziz, I know you.” She started, as if that explained why she was so sure she found the romance of the century after two innocent sentences, “I've seen you go through this before. You’re just hanging out with a girl but then you start talking about every topic under the sun. And then you get a crush and you’re all like “She's smart and fun, she’s got these eyes that just...and her hair wow! And her smile!”

“Then you go on a date that doesn’t really go anywhere for whatever reason and get pushed aside. Remember, Lonnie, and Ruby, and Alexandria and Alfonsa, and Arabella, and her twin sisters, woah! Now that I list them out, you date a lot of Triton’s granddaughters.”

“What is your point? What does that have to do with me and Lala? Not that there is anything happening.” Aziz felt himself gulping back the nervousness that he knew exactly what she was talking about even as he denied it.

“Oh please, you’re half smiling while you say her name!”

“I’m not!” Aziz unmanly squawked and cleared his throat into a deeper contralto, “I do not.”

“My point is it’s one thing to date an Ak. You get your heart broken. But a Vk? She’ll try to steal your throne and break your heart.” Jordan said.

“Steals your throne and breaks your heart. Sounds the title of a sex tape. Do you want dibs or can I have it?” Aziz took a shot in the dark to try joking his way out of this again.  “Now is not the time to joke about the title of our sex tapes. This is serious!”  “You’re still hung up on, “Can your friend do this?” It’s a bit obvious.” Aziz pointed out. 

“Oh, you wanted to call your first sex tape, “A whole new world,” like that’s original.” Jordan shot back.  “And the “Welcome to the Cave of Wonders” piece you did with Calix was a unique one?” Aziz retorted. 

“For your information, I couldn’t choose any title but that because.. wait wait wait? Now is not the time.”

“Aziz Ali iban Aladdin, explain yourself right now.” Jordan crossed her arms.  “Jordan, we’ve been over this. You’re not my mom.” Aziz huffed at the use of his full name.  “You’re right, I’m not. Your mom doesn’t know about what happened in Odiferous during spring break. Now I have a phone and I have video. So tell me about your feelings for Lala.”  

“You’re jumping to conclusions.” Aziz said exasperatedly which was no use since she was ignoring anything that came out of his mouth.

“When did you first feel something more?” Jordan demanded.

“Rarw. Rrrawr. Meow? Are you understanding me at all?” Aziz asked the stony faced leopard man.

Aziz had to admit some of his attempts to talk to the leopard-men was out of boredom. He was starting to get a bit stir crazy being stuck in the castle all day pretending to be Jade or Lala’s slave boy. He could understand why Uncle Genie hated being in the lamp. It was so boring, having to wait for permission to do things and the things you were allowed to do was stuck inside. No running around the corridors and flipping off roofs with wind rushing through your hair or the pit in your stomach when you almost break your neck.

He missed it.

And although Lala was pretty focused in studying the Atlantean texts her mother laid out for her, even she seemed to be getting bored because at random moments, she would angrily shut her book and demand to hear Aziz talk about Agrabah.

He had to admit that if he had a choice, he’d rather be with Jordan and the others trying to make a plan to escape or at least go outside. Talking about Agrabah was getting to be the highlight of his day.

He had started with daring adventure stories about the things his parents used to get into before the Great Uniting like when they had to fight a landshark or the time his dad literally lost his head to the decapitated wizard, Caliph Kapok, and they had to get body and head back together again. He had lots of those stories, Genie often said they could create their own tv series, possibly an animated one for kids to enjoy.

And then, upon Lala’s numerous aside questions, he started describing Agrabah with its alluring spices, chests of gold and diverse and eccentric cast of merchants and travelers that lived in the Seven Deserts. He described the bad like the previous-rampant poverty that seemed similar to the Isle albeit with more head chopping from fellow humans than from a bitter decapitated wizard. It was embarrassing but one time he looked at the ornate diamond-encrusted sand-dial and saw that he had passed over an hour talking about his home. He hadn’t meant to but it just came out. He loved his home so much and describing it felt like he was back there on the dunes for a little while.

He had never talked to anyone about his home before. Jordan already knew what it was like obviously, and no one at Auradon Prep cared beyond the merchandise they could buy at the kazbah. It was so much more than that to him. Living there was an experience, an adventure. You never knew where the smell of spices could lead you or what the secret nooks and crannies would reveal.

The thing was Lala seemed just as enthralled with the place as he was. Usually when he discussed his home, people would shudder in horror at the thought of being accidentally turned into a rat due magic gone wrong and seeing the world from down below or cringed at the thought of getting sand in uncomfortable places after intense competitions of sand surfing.

But Lala looked at him with a sparkle of excitement in her eye and would occasionally point out fun variations to try like horse racing only instead of across the desert, race under the desert, jumping to the few dry spots that were present in the muddy underbelly.

He hoped that if they succeeded in defeating the Coven, Lala would visit Agrabah one day. He had a feeling that the adventures they’d get into together would be amazing. Potentially life threatening. But fun nonetheless. He’d love to watch her go against Fashoom. Or better yet, back to back against the giant scorpions guarding kanz quadim. With his wits and knowledge and her skill and cunning, they’d be an unbeatable team. It’d be fun to go with someone who wanted to be there. 

Normally, he went with Jordan but she said it was only because it was her obligation to keep him from breaking his neck and/or all the bones in his body. Her words.  And his few Agrabah friends who would be game to go, were commoners who had to work during the day and it would be unfair for him to ask them to ditch just because he wanted some fun. 

Yeah, it’d be fun to explore the hidden valleys of the Seven Deserts with her. He looked back to the white-haired girl where she was still bent over a book of indecipherable Atlantean words and figures, so he turned back to Kaj II, Usulan II and Muviro II. Lala’s leopard men she had named after people she knew would annoy her mother.

Aziz growled with two purrs spaced between like he had heard Raj do but the leopard men looked at him like he was an idiot. He wasn’t sure he was even speaking cat-language but it was better than accidentally challenging him to a fight so he’d take it.

“Will you stop with the ridiculous sounds, you’re not speaking leopard. Better stick to monkeys.” Lala cut through his attempts at conversing.

“How would you know? You said you don’t speak leopard.” Aziz shot back, happy that there was some element of human conversation. How the hell she lived in a jungle for days on end without human interaction was beyond his capabilities. “True. However, I know what a leopard sounds like and you don’t sound like a leopard. More like a sick alley cat.”

“Excuse me, priestess” Aziz rolled his eyes, and made another purr-growly sound at the leopards just to be contrary.

When could he go outside? When? When? When?

No, it was stupid. He couldn’t go outside and risk looking like he was escaping and ruin the whole damn mission requiring the others to get his ass out of the dungeon again.

He shuddered, gingerly touching the cheek where Staqauit had struck him numerous times, the malicious laughter of the cat twins taunting him about his impending death.

He needed to do something. Being stuck here with just his thoughts was going to drive him insane.

“Hello?”

“Huh what?”

“I said,'' Lala cleared her throat, “If you want to sound more leopard-like, start with a growl in your throat while meowing and add like you’re going to scream.” She demonstrated her leopard yowl which did get  the leopard men’s attention as they looked around for sign of attack or danger.

Aziz tried to mimic what Lala did with her instructions but failed part way through as a tickle caught in his nose before his attempted scream and he fell into a coughing fit, painfully hacking his throat.

Aziz panted, catching his breath while Lala had the grace to look back at her book and pretend not to be amused, “Okay maybe talking to cats is not my thing. But you got a leg up me with your feline self.”

“Feline self?” Lala cocked her head curiously, bringing once again to Aziz’s mind, “Curiosity killed the cat.”

“You know, your eyes, the leopards, the-” 

“You think I was born with these eyes? You think I’m part cat?” Lala questioned. “Nooo,” Aziz hedged, already seeing he was going to be wrong, “Not anymore. It’s just your mom has the same eyes so I-”

“It’s spell.” Lala explained, “My mom did it when she got her staff. She did it to me when magic got through to the Isle. It helps me understand the leopards and for them to understand my orders, and it helps my reflexes. There is always a way to improve. Not that I needed improving, but I’ll admit some leopard senses are better than human’s. Like smell. Now I can smell everyone’s scent a mile away.”  .

“Scent?” “Yes, your natural scent. You smell like all that baklav Jordan’s been giving you.” She sniffed the air around him again, “Sand. Jasmine. Musk.”

“What does Jordan smell like?” Aziz asked curiously, and a little relieved that he didn’t smell worse like blood and sweat and general stink from not showering for two weeks.

“Hmm I can’t get a clear smell. You know, not objects per say. But she smells like pheromones, sometimes like fire, sand and wind. Mainly reeks of desperation.”

“Well we’re all in desperate straits here.” Aziz chuckled even though it wasn’t really that funny. Well sort of. Jordan absolutely hated not being in control. Or at least looking like she wasn’t in control. She’d freak if she knew that she quote unquote “reeked of desperation.”

“What about Jay?”

“Sweat, oil, grease, brass, musk, dirt. Something else I can’t tell which usually means someone’s hiding something or lying. Not a surprise there. He’s lucky no one else can smell him, the stench of oil and deceit is unbearable on him.”

“Yeah, good thing. I doubt he’d have a lot of admirers around him if he did.” Aziz said, feeling his mind wander off to too familiar but inevitable train of envious thought. 

“Admirers? He has admirers in Auradon? I thought you people didn’t like thieves and bad guys. Why is he popular?”

“He’s good now.” Aziz reminded her, but couldn’t stop the bitterness creeping into his voice as he thought of the crowds praising Jay as he scored yet another goal. All the girls and some guys ooing at him and being utterly charmed as he showed off that he stole their wallets. Or if he executed a pretty decent backflip. The guy looked so cool and attractive no matter what he did. And that bad boy act made him even cooler in everyone’s eyes.

“He’s a good thief like Aladdin,” he remembered hearing someone say and Aziz had burned. Good thief?! Jay wasn’t a good thief! Jay wasn’t stealing things in Auradon because he was hungry or wanted to give to the poor. He stole because he was greedy. Aziz could steal too, Dad taught him the tricks, but when he showed off, he got no applause. They thought he was being inappropriate for a prince of his station.

Or now that Jay was here, it was a second-rate kind of steal. He could steal a watch from someone, but Jay could steal a person’s computer and lunch bag. He got the bigger score.

“People love him and his parkor and stupid tourney goals.” Aziz genuinely growled. He felt his blood pump at how everyone were magnets drawn to his presence while he waited in the wings of the tourney field. They did all the same activities, but Jay was better. People were saying he was equal to Aladdin.

If he was forgettable before Jay came around, now he was just invisible.

And honestly useless compared to Jay. He knew Jordan invited him on this mission because she trusted him and it would be breaking unofficial rule that if one of them went on a life changing save the world adventure, the other had to come too, that was just how things were done. But had he really done anything useful?

No, he had gotten captured. They all had gotten captured but he was the only one who had almost died. Because he was mortal, untrained and weak.

The thoughts came again. Had really been less than a week since he had been in the dungeon? Less than a week but at times he still could feel it as if it had been hours ago.

He could remember it all, some of it was blurred darkness. The only thing registering was that he was in pain. But he remembered the beginning.

Staqauit wasted no time grabbing his throat with one hand and choking him, Chimera and Illusion wrapped their arms around him almost as if they were giving a comforting hug. The thought was quickly diminished as their claws tore through his shirt and dug into his skin, he could feel it, feel the slight curve of their sharpness like a hook that wouldn’t be able to get out. And they didn’t no matter how he fruitlessly thrashed.

But it was only the beginning…

Just as he saw the world fuzz around the edges Staqauit threw him to the ground with Chimera and Illusion still stuck to him.

“Squish” Aziz wanted to scream at the pain that entered his torso and at the sickening sound of his blood squirting out. It felt his insides were dipped into boiling water.  

But he didn’t, he stubbornly refused to cry out. He was supposed to be a hero, he would not admit weakness like this. He would use his wits to get out of it.

But he had barely time to think up a clever escape as he vainly scrambled to stop the blood from gushing out more. He didn’t recall any of the princes or his father ever being stabbed mid-battle.

Chimera and Illusion extricated themselves from him, their low voices purring contentedly at the pain wrought.

Aziz tried to get up but he couldn’t. He felt the stabbing pain even though he wasn’t being hit anymore. He couldn’t concentrate. He just felt the agony. He struggled to his feet but the muscles in his legs gave out as he slipped on the puddle of his own blood that was seeping the floor.

“Ah ah ah, you think I’m done with you?” Staqauit’s accented voice sneered, “That was only a minor surface wound.”

Aziz didn’t look at the man. He was too concerned with trying to stand up straight again, but that was for naught when he felt the scraping cement of what seemed to be a boulder dropped on his back.

“Carry this to the other side of the room. Double time.” Staqauit ordered, his rapier scraping the ground in front of Aziz’s face.

Aziz didn’t know why he thought it was a good idea. Perhaps because he truly couldn’t think of what else to do. He rationalized to himself in some irrational way that if he did this, maybe Staqauit would get bored. Maybe he’d survive.  So he did as Staqauit ordered. He tried to lift the boulder.

He felt his hands bleed as they scraped and tensed to keep the boulder steady on his back. Bent down so low that his knees touched his chest. Pressing hard on the wound.

“At least it’s stopped bleeding,” was the sole hysterical thought in his mind. His lungs felt they were burning and just pounding his chest as if to get out of his body. Blood rushed in his ears and the slow smack of Staqauit’s whip on the floor, keeping time, sounded like gunshots to his ears.

He wasn’t breathing right. He knew that. Aziz felt like he had been running for miles. His throat felt the need for oxygen and his eyes watered. But he managed to get one foot forward, his thoughts running wild.

Where were the others? When was Jordan going to come back? For he knew Jordan would come to him the moment she could as she had since he was 4. What if that ruined the mission? That she failed because he was too weak to save himself?

Then his mind took a turn to what he had been suppressing the moment Staqauit got hold of this throat. What if this was it? What if this was how he was going to die?

His knees buckled at the thought and he fell to the ground, allowing the boulder to drop from his back to feel the sting of the whip. This time he didn’t hold back the scream.

That scream was like a whistle for them as Chimera and Illusion pounced, their punches, scratches and kicks indistinguishable from one another.

And there was more…. he remembered the water boarding vaguely but he was glad he mostly blacked out of that, the boulder and the choking was enough for him.

But when he woke up and saw Lala, all he felt was shame that he had to be rescued. 

Like every fight, he thought of what he should have done after the confrontation was over. When Staqauit was choking him, he should have kicked him back in the stomach. The stomach area was always a quick disable to an opponent. Staqauit would have let him go and then he could have parkored and fought his way out with the weapons that were stationed around the dungeon.

But he hadn’t done that. He had thrashed and took the assault and hadn’t been able to think up anything on the sly like he knew Jay was infamous for.

With that thought, some defeated admittance slithered into his voice. Not that it was much of a defeat. It was barely a competition when Jay was naturally better and Aziz could never match no matter how hard he tried. “People love him, he’s strong and fast.. everyone wants him or to be like him…..I wish I could be like him too.”

He hated how much it was true.

“Why?” Lala scrunched her nose in confusion.

Aziz sighed, wishing his explanation didn’t sound so pathetic, “I’m forgettable in Auradon. I’m the third in line for the throne so I’m not inheriting the kingdom like all the other guys in my class. And I’m not that talkative. Believe me, in Auradon that is not a good thing if you want people to notice you. Or at least not be forgettable, and Jay can...” he trailed off. He didn’t want to get into the time in the dungeon. She had been there, she knew he was weak.

“And how does Jay fit into this?”

“He’s like me, I guess. Only better in everything. Better thief, better at tourney, more witty, better at flirting. I just blend in...I don’t want that anymore it sucks.”

“Blending in is a good thing. It allows you to skulk and learn your enemies’ tactics so you can ambush them.” Lala said.

“Great. But that’s in the wild. I’m not willing to move to the jungle just so my introvertedness can be an asset.”

“Okay maybe the ambush thing isn’t important but it is still applicable. It’s good that you’re not as outgoing like the others. Look at those people bragging and flirting and trying to garner attention onto themselves, they’re annoying. It’s always them, them, flash and boasts. They would never survive in life because they are always thinking of themselves. They don’t observe their surroundings, they miss the details that could help in the future. Like- like? I know-A fool who does not observe will fail. They will fail and try again and fail and try again. But a person who does take in their surroundings will learn the lesson once and remember it.”

“You don’t dominate the conversation but when you do, it is sensible and important. You don’t waste words. Same with your actions. You don’t talk the talk, you let your actions show how you get things done. I wouldn’t trust those extroverted people with my life. They’re too bold and impulsive and think with their fists. I ca-People can respect you. Trust you. You are genuine, and witty because you think so much, you will be successful later on.”

“I guess so.” Aziz smudged the dirt-packed floor with his foot, watching the sight of a small mealworm that had been habitating there, crawl out, “But it sucks. I get being successful later in life but what about now? In Auradon, no one takes a second look at me. You have to be a really sociable or talented person like Jay to get noticed. I can’t do that. I try but I- And, and what about in the dungeon, my observation skills gave me nothing! If I act a little more like Jay maybe I wouldn’t be the weak link needing to be rescued.”  Aziz blurted out.

Lala didn’t speak and Aziz cringed, staring at the ground. But the silence was growing so long he had to look back to gauge her reaction and saw Lala was waiting for him to look at her. 

Then she spoke, “You didn’t escape but you did survive. That takes a special inner strength especially when your enemies wish to demoralize and destroy you. And it is useless to ponder what others would have done when they weren’t been in the situation. You did what you could, and if you are so concerned about your aptitude, I’ll teach you. You have the strength, you need to practice better technique. Stop the self pity it’s a disgusting habit.”

Aziz tried to protest, but felt himself only mouthing the words as a damn nervous blush starting crawling up his neck. He still felt like he should have done better but he appreciated Lala’s words. He knew she held herself and almost everyone else on the standard of their physical skill and made it known when she thought someone was weak. For her to claim that he was strong even after she healed him, rescued him and saw him beaten bloody and battered, it meant something. 

And what she was about to say earlier? That little slip-up. She respected him. He hadn’t thought earning her respect was something he had wanted, but as she said it.. he felt so good that he did.

“As for the others, fuck them.” Lala interrupted, “Isn’t Auradon a place  where you’re not supposed to be shallow? See beyond first impressions and get to know them? If they don’t do that, fuck them. You shouldn’t even be complaining that people don’t notice you because it means to ones who do, actually care. You’re less outgoing than others. It’s not your fault that they don’t try to see beyond.”

Lala was still talking but Aziz stopped listening. What she said, “It’s not your fault” hit him like a sandstorm. The images of his attempts to try to be better. More funny. More entertaining. More talented. More outgoing. Things that people would want to talk to him like they gathered around his father or around Chad and the other royals.

Yet he was outshone by someone better. His constant overthinking working against him as he talked, praying that he didn’t look like he was trying too hard as he was. Praying that he wasn’t going to be forgettable to people. He failed. He wondered what was so wrong with him that made him invisible. He wondered how people like Lonnie and Jordan could insist he was so fun to be around when he couldn’t make his presence known when he was in the room with the likes of Jay.

But it wasn’t entirely his fault. He was born to be more of a listener than a doer. He preferred being one on one with people. He couldn’t change that. But he could accept it. He could accept that he was never going to be the star of the room and that people may not give him a second glance.

If so, then fuck them. Because it was true. If they could write him off as just forgettable, then he didn’t need their attention anyway.

His shoulder moved and he snapped back to realize he had zoned out in front of Lala. He felt a blush crawl up his neck, making him flush more. He hated how obviously red it was against his olive skin. “Sorry I- I was listening. You really.. I realized..I mean. You’re right. You’re absolutely right, Lala. You don’t know how much I needed to hear that. Thank you.” He leaned forward to hug her but held back. Touchy-feely was not the norm on the Isle, but he felt so grateful for her words that it felt wrong just to say thanks. So he settled for leaning close and smiling. He was pretty sure it was the smile of an idiot but he did it anyway. The nice thing was Lala gave a small-closed lip smile in return and roughly booped his nose.

“I know you needed it. Anyone who is considering to act more like Jay needs to be talked off the deep end.”

Feeling a bit more generous now that he was coming around to accepting he didn’t need to be as cool as Jay to be noticed, Aziz snapped back into psychologist mode, trying to see his observances of Jay through a more objective, less jealous lens.

Not that he had much time to observe Jay since he got hypnotized which was surely a traumatic betrayal on its own since it came from his father’s snake staff. Which spoke to how uncaring and domineering Jafar must be as a father if he felt the need to control his son.

“I don’t know. I think Jay is more than the impulsive idiot you take him for. I believe it's just a facade he puts up.” Aziz mused “To annoy people? It works.” Lala rolled her eyes.

“What went down between you that you hate him so much?” Aziz asked.

“I don’t hate him, I dislike him. He’s annoying. He stole my spears for himself, he thinks he’s so great he tries to fight Mabaya on his own and almost gets both of us killed because again, he took my weapons and then broke them! What idiot tries to chuck a spear out a charging elephant? It does nothing. If he had to throw the spear, he should have aimed at a vital joint or his eye at least. I can’t respect such idiocy.” Lala huffed.

“I understand but he was a bit out of his element in the jungle and it is his fall-back to try to boast and impress. Usually people who do that are trying to hide something.” Aziz said. Then he thought of a saying of his mother. It was a bit of what Vks called, sentimental Auradon crap, but he felt it should be said, “Sometimes we only see how people are different from us. But if you look hard enough, you can see how we are all like.”

“Whatever.” Lala yawned.

“What happened to not judging people? Look beyond the surface.” Aziz teased.

“That was for you. I’m a bad person, I don’t need to follow that rule.” Lala sniffed haughtily.

It would have been so easy to take that as another little joke in their back and forth, but his observing skills struck again. She sounded haughty but her eyes were downcast, and considering what she said that she was too like her mother… she felt it was true.

“You’re not exactly like your mother, you know. I don’t think so at least” Aziz said softly in case Lala didn’t want to broach the subject and could pretend to ignore him.

“I know I’m not exactly like her. I’m only as close to her as she allows me to be. She’s always one step ahead.” Lala muttered, not looking at him. “If I was like her she’d have me be the princess of Opar. But I’m not good enough for that. Not like Tarzan’s children.” “I don’t know Tarzan’s children that well but I don’t think Queen La would find them worthy heirs. I never saw Kerchak swing from a tree or pick up a sharp object in my life. And Victoria-”

“No. Not Tarzan and Jane’s children. Tarzan and my mom’s. The ones she’s planning to have in the future. They don’t even exist and I’m not as good as them according to her because I got one stupid scar and I’m claustrophobic.” Lala scowled, smacking the ground in anger of her own weaknesses.

“You seem to be handling your claustrophobia.” Aziz encouraged. 

“As long as I don’t think about it. That’s why I study so hard. It’s because it takes my mind off where I am, not because it requires my intense study. Trust me. But at night…” Lala inhaled deeply and tensed, “I hate this place. I miss the fresh air and space. Every time someone closes the door, I feel like it's going to be lock with this air that-” She inhaled deeply again.

“Let’s go to a window,” Aziz suggested motioning to leave the room. Lala took the offer eagerly and they bounded up the stairs to Lala’s room, the leopard men obediently behind them.

Lala threw open the windows to the balcony and breathed deeply. A blissful smile enveloped her features as her body relaxed. The wind was out today, and unlike Auradon, this wasn’t a refreshing light breeze. On the Isle, when the wind blew, it blew like a gust and Aziz was impressed that Lala stood straight without bending to its battering assult. But it fit her. Lala was the person who could stand strong against natural forces. Her face perfectly serene as the wind whipped her white braid about and ruffled her long sleeves.

Aziz stood next to her, keeping a hand to the side of his face as the gusts constantly pushed his bangs into his eyes and mouth and became a general nuisance. “I don’t think you’re exactly like your mom. Not just because you can’t live to her caliber.  You’re not shallow considering you speak to a guy who hasn’t rung any animal by his neck. Despite your wish for a kingdom, I don’t think, at least I’m guessing, you don’t have a real desire to lord over others like a tyrant.” 

“From what I’ve observed, and I’m a pretty good observer if I say so myself. You’re reserved because you know that’s the way to survive. But I also think it speaks to how genuine you are. You don’t deal with bullshit, if you respect a person you show it, if you don’t, you don’t. A little blunt but honesty is better than fakery. You seem to actually like learning and challenging yourself with the Atlantean magic. You laughed at my jokes which shows you have a brilliant sense of humor... And despite what you say, you did care about your siblings. You can’t live up to her mom and her imaginary children? Then fuck her. You’re pretty formidable by yourself. You’d be successful as a warrior or a priestess or whatever. You’d have awesome adventures no matter what you do because you’re a badass warrior princess.``

Although she wasn’t looking at him, he could tell she was listening. He could see the corner of her mouth twitching up and down, fighting a smile. So he decided to return the favor and nose boop her to get her attention.

She batted his hand away but a small laugh escaped her lips. “Badass warrior princess. Hmm you observed me very well.”

“Eh little observations here and there, some is just gut instinct. Some people may think a person’s reserve is them being stuck up but I get your’s is more than that.” Aziz coughed as a piece of his hair blew into his mouth.

“People may think you’re forgettable, but I understand you’re more of an observer.” Lala pursed her lips, catching her braid as it flew to hit Aziz’s cheek.

Aziz rubbed his cheek, his mother’s saying popping into his head again. He shrugged, feeling oddly self-conscious and nervous about repeating the quote. Which was weird because he said it about Jay just a few minutes before. But saying it, to Lala, seemed more..more meaningful somehow.

No, he was overthinking all of this again so Aziz ignored it, “Sometimes we only see how people are different from us. But if you look hard enough, you can see how we are all like.”

Lala smiled at him and there was something.. a something in the air. Energy, a vibe, he wasn’t sure but it made the fact that even though they were in the blustery air, he felt as if he were enclosed in a small world between the two of them.  Time to change the subject then!  “So speaking of observing, I haven’t really had the chance to do it around here much, but isn’t it fascinating to watch the people here?” Aziz asked. People watching was his go to subject for most conversations. Not that many people had much to contribute. People watching was not a thing most people engaged in which he thought was a shame. It was the most fun ever! People  had such weird idiosyncrasies even when they did a normal thing like walking past whether it was an odd head bop or having feet pointed in first position or the like.  Lala shrugged and Aziz nodded understandingly. He knew the topic wouldn’t probably go anywhere but then...“What's people watching?”  “Oh it’s this thing where you just sit and watch random people. You know observe their habits, stuff that they do.” Aziz sighed. It was a lot more interesting action than in explanation.  “Oooh!” Lala nodded understandingly, “Like observing your prey and enemies. I’ve done that lots of times. It’s entertaining.”  Aziz’s eyes widened, “You think it’s fun too!” 

Lala looked at him as if he was crazy for suggesting otherwise, “Yes. It’s a useful skill and people do such weird stuff.” 

“Such weird stuff!” Aziz said at the same time, and then he tried to dial down the enthusiasm in his voice when Lala made the “calm down” sign, snorting at his excitement.  “Remember when we were at Gaston’s bar and that Hun guy was fighting Stanley? I noticed in other fights that he does this thing with his head.. ugh I can’t describe it. But like he’d almost twist his...”  ———————————————————————————————

That had been three days ago and they almost talked for an hour when Kaj II growled his warning that Queen La was arriving and Aziz had to swing off the balcony and climb against the wall to the correct balcony that would lead to Jade’s room. 

Not that he had realized it but in hindsight, that might have been the moment he developed a crush on the warrior princess. Ever since then, he just… he just wanted to be around her a little more compared to the others. He wanted to hear more about her opinions or stories or anything she had to say.

And whenever she smiled at his jokes even if she rolled her eyes because it was corny, he felt like he won a tourney victory or something. And she was so..so graceful. Not cat-like graceful but beautiful, every move she makes was stunning.

Not that he allowed himself to think about it too much. There were more important things at stake like saving the world, and if he thought about how he had a crush on Lala then he’d get self-conscious and nervous and he didn’t want that. Their friendship was just fine for him. He was even teaching her monkey. 

Not that it was any of Jordan’s business.

“It’s not important.” Aziz said.

“It better not be. You can try to deny it but I can see that “Can you feel the love tonight” nonsense from a mile away. Why don’t you just forget crushing on mermaids and.. and maybe a nice girl from Agrabah. Or a nice boy. You had such a good time with Mena, remember.” 

“Mena was...Honestly Mena was the only guy I.. I can’t. I keep comparing other men to him which is— Can we not talk about him?” Aziz growled, partly from the memory of his sole boyfriend who had used him for the status of dating a prince and had been cheated on him the whole time, and partly because Jordan was bringing him up even though she knew it was a touchy subject. 

“I know he didn’t work out but it’s like you told me, you can’t give up on the whole male population because of one cheating boyfriend. Cheating would be nothing compared to this. This crush is a mistake.” Jordan huffed.

“Why is it a mistake exactly?” Aziz raised an eyebrow at Jordan’s judgemental attitude. Usually she was all for Aziz meeting someone and start planning their dates even though her tastes were a bit extravagant like setting off fireworks when he leaned in for a kiss.  

“I get the appeal, really. She was a mysterious stranger swinging on a vine. But she’s the same stranger who broke Calix’s arm! He’s lucky that he has magic on his side and could heal the arm that she broke. If he was mortal, he’d be doomed. There’s no hospitals here, we’d have to cut it off.”

“That’s not how unattended broken arms work, Jordan.” Aziz rubbed his temples at her wildly dramatic reasons why having a crush on Lala would be bad, “It doesn’t matter, I’m not going to do anything when there are more important things at stake.”

“I know. I’m just saying you shouldn’t even pursue this when we get back to Auradon. Think about, Aziz. Really think about it. Imagine what would happen if you even got together? She’s the daughter of Queen La. Allah knows that if she got jealous, she’d murder the other person and kill you for looking a for wandering eyes.” Jordan said.

“Then I guess you both have something in common.” Aziz said sarcastically, “Like when you sent your ex a box of scorpions when you found him cheating on you.”

“That’s completely different! He deserved it! You don’t deserve to feel pain. I’m telling you it’s not good to act on love at first sight.”

“Love at first sight?” Aziz scoffed. Did she not even know him? They always joked about people who thought they fell in love at first sight. 

Sure, for some it was true. Auradon was practically built on it but more often than not it could lead to a very difficult marriage. That’s why Snow White took that job as a reporter so she wouldn’t be around King Florian so much.

Jordan should know him better, he may get a crush at first glance, but he wouldn’t act on it unless he was sure there was more.

“I’m not in love with her. I’m not doing anything with her.”

“You’re hanging out with her!” Jordan cried.

“I’m also hanging out with Jade. With your logic, I could be crushing on her. She’s clever, she’s daring, we have things in common, we can do parkour together. Plus she’s the daughter of one of our families’ enemies. Star crossed lovers and all that. It’s a perfect fairytale romance.” Aziz breathlessly mocked.

“Jade is not… she wouldn’t use you like Lala.”

“She’s a Vk, who says Jade wouldn’t.” Aziz pointed out.

“Jade’s like you and me.” Jordan defended lamely.

“How? What? Because she’s descended from Agrabahians?” Aziz cried. He knew she could be judgemental and superficial but really? This?

“No. I mean technically yeah but no. She and Jay. She cares about him. They’re like us.” Jordan said meaningfully, grasping his hands and looking lovingly in his eyes in a way that made Aziz feel small and childish.

He hated it when she got like this. Acting like she was so much more worldly and knowing because she was a genie. She had a duty to protect him, the poor sheltered mortal prince who didn’t know any better or understand the morally grey areas of life. He survived torture in the damn dungeon!

Which now that he thought about it, beyond the hug Jordan hadn’t asked him a single thing about the incident. It seemed to have completely slipped her mind. Yeah, she cared about his safety. But for all the wrong reasons.  

“So? If that was true then why don’t you trust Jay if his bond with Jade is so much like our bond.” Aziz asked, pointing out the hole in her little argument.

“Well um I, Jay’s Jay’s complicated and I mean I don’t distrust him, it’s just after he said that thing about me giving..”

The epiphany dawned on Aziz before Jordan finished her sentence. How could he not have realized it before? It was all Jordan ever worried about.

“It’s because Jade hasn’t asked you for wishes and Lala has. That’s it.”

“She probably figured out that I’d back out of my promise so she’s trying to use you so you could convince me to give her wishes!” Jordan cried like a detective solving a case with her convoluted logic.

“And you think she’s going to seduce me to do that? Do you have so little trust in me?” Aziz used the calm steely tone that he knew would annoy her most. Not only did she act like he was a sheltered, naive mortal but a weak willed one too.

“NO no I do trust you! I know you would never intentionally do that to me. But I don’t want you to get hurt just because she’s manipulating you to get to me!” Jordan screamed, stamping her foot childishly that he was not giving into her.

“How self-absorbed can you get? Jordan, the world doesn’t revolve around you and your powers. Is it such a crazy thought that she might actually fall for me?” Aziz matched his volume to hers.

“Why wouldn’t she want me? I have phenomenal cosmic power and convenience for everyone. A lamp that forces me to obey their desires. You can’t offer her that. You’re just..you.”

Aziz stared at her, the sentence hitting him like a gut punch. He couldn’t believe Jordan of all people was saying this to him. She was the one who always helped him out on dates and assured him that anyone would fall in love with him after

….Maybe all that helping out wasn’t just from the goodness of her heart? It was because she secretly thought he couldn't get a girl on his own. Why would he with his so few talents? He wasn’t debenoir or charming enough like Jay. He wasn’t going to inherit the throne like other princes. What did he have to offer that the other boys at Auradon Prep couldn’t offer or even top? All he had was a genie friend who’d make “a whole new world”  dates.

Moreover, it hurt. His best friend in the world also thought that he wasn’t good enough on his own. She thought he needed her to survive through life and love and all those trials.

Now he was glad he told Lala how he felt ignored. Clearly his so-called “best friend/wingwoman/sister” was too oblivious and selfish to comfort him. Not even that. She secretly shared everyone else’s opinion that he was forgettable!

“Me? What does that-“ Aziz snarled.

“I-I just don’t want you to spend so much time with her.” Jordan seemed to sense his anger and began backtracking, “You know I don’t have a lot of people to hang out with. So many people just want me for my wishes. You-you don’t want to use me. You’re my best friend. That’s why I need you. After everything I’ve done for you, all I’m asking is for you to be my friend.” Aziz heard her but didn't listen, her hurtful words still ringing in his ears. Besides that was completely unbelievable. She was afraid of losing him? That was a ridiculous idea and she knew that. If she was going to lie to his face, she could try to make it believable! 

And what? It wasn’t like he owed her for everything she had done for him. That wasn’t how friendship worked! He didn’t ask her to do things and join adventures. She did it herself because she was his friend. 

Or he had thought it was because they were sibling/friends. Apparently it was because she believed he needed her. 

“You need me around forever to sooth your constant paranoid insecurity. I get it.” Aziz rolled his eyes sarcastically. 

“It’s not a paranoid insecurity. It’s a fact.” Jordan claimed.

“Jordan, have you ever thought, maybe the reason people will only look at you for your wishes is because your general personality is unbearable to deal with. That’s why no one wants to be your friend. There’s nothing likable to be friends with but thank Allah, at least if they hang around long enough they’ll get wishes out of you.” Aziz snapped.

Jordan froze, clearly hurt by the sound of the crack in her voice, “Do you feel that way too?”

Aziz didn’t give himself time to think. She didn’t deserve any amount of comfort from him after what she just said. She didn’t need to act like she knew everything about life and treat him like an incapable, forgettable mortal. That was what he was to her, a mortal. And he knew from all their talks together just how little she respected mortals. And apparently he was no exception. 

“Yes, sometimes I do.”

For a brief eerie moment, the wind was sucked out of the room and silence reigned. Oppressive, weighty silence that he could literally feel pressing against his chest and head and the rest of his body. He began to wonder if he should try to escape, that Jordan was about to do something they’d both regret.

“GET OUT!!” Jordan screamed.

“I can’t get out. You control your lamp.” Aziz hissed through his teeth to keep from yelling again. 

“Fuck you.” The sight of Jordan giving him the finger was his last vision before pink smoke and sand fogged up his view and he rudely fell to the floor.

He glared at the lamp, imagining its arrogant, selfish, all knowing, cosmic occupant pacing the floor, creating a mini sand storm in her anger. Fine.

“Fuck you too.”

[moss-sauce]

OCtober 18, childhood. got more angsty than intended but i TRIED to lighten it up,,, but i am proud of how it turned out for being churned in like 20 minutes

@oc-growth-and-development

“Reckless.”

“Mhm.”

“No regard for her own well-being.”

“Yup.”

“Unironically the most childish soldier I’ve ever had to deal with.”

“Preaching to the choir.”

Dodge snorts incredulously.

“What are you snorting at?”

“You’re talking about an actual child. There’s irony laced throughout your sentences, whether you want there to be or not.” The medic chides.

“‘An actual child,’” Zus snarls. “She’s, what, in her late twenties?”

“Consider though,” Buffy intervenes. “She didn’t exactly have a childhood.”

“Of course she did. Didn’t she?”

“Not for long, if at all,” Dodge shrugs. “I don’t know exactly how old the Tenno were when they boarded the Zariman Ten Zero, or how long they were left aboard it with their parents being their new-found enemies.”

“And then the cryosleep,” Buffy mentions. “We don’t know how long that was either.”

“Do the Tenno...age, during all this?” Zus asks, befuddled.

“Based on her growth in both stature and mentality, they did. They just never truly got to enjoy being a kid.”

“As if that excuses her being reckless now?” Zus grunts.

“Cut her some slack,” Buffy slugs his commander’s shoulder. “Let ‘er be a kiddo once in a while. She always straightens up and comes back to her senses.”

“For once, Buffy proves a valid point,” Dodge relents. “Maxis never had a chance to burn off all that pent-up energy, and now that she’s awake and active, it’s probably bursting at the seams to break free.”

“I just wish she was more...ugh, considerate,” the commander sighs, resting his head in a palm defeatedly. “I don’t mind that she ‘plays’, because she’s smart about when she does it. It’s how that gets me.”

Buffy is criminally silent.

“Yes, he’s talking about you,” Dodge snarks.

“I’m nothing if not a good influence,” the weapons specialist argues. “I tell her to stay safe and all that.”

“Besides,” Dodge tries to derail the argument before it got too heated. “Lately she’s been spending time with that Tinleah girl to blow off energy. She seems smart and reasonable, at the least.”

“Tin’s smart and sensical, yes, but…” Zus trails off.

“But?”

“Maxis shouldn’t even be meeting with her in the first place.”

“But she is,” Buffy shrugs.

“What I’m saying is, sometime, there’s going to the turmoil because of it. And we’re going to be caught in the middle of it,” Zus groans dejectedly.

“You’ve no faith in either of those two,” Dodge quips. “They’re both smart, even if one of them has all the braincells the other lacks. They’re not stupid. They’re not actual children, in their kid years. They’re young adults, almost technical adults. They know what they’re risking and what they’re doing.”

“I worry,” he huffs. “All we need is one disgruntled Hound or blabbering side-eye to notice them together and we’re done for. Her, us, the Hounds, all of it.” He rubs his face tiredly.

“Again, you worry too much.” Dodge smirks.

“Listen to me.” Zus snarls. “Enough of the faux-father bullshit. Yes, I have a soft spot for her. Yes, I want to keep her safe. But I can’t exactly keep her safe if we’re incarcerated or she’s captured or dead.”

The other two go deathly silent as he continues.

“Higher-ups won’t take lightly to someone they were reluctant to let among their ranks in the first place turning out to be a turncoat, in their eyes. If they don’t kill her on the spot, they won’t exactly make her life easy.” Zus clenches a fist angrily. “And she doesn’t really have anywhere to go after this. She can’t exactly meander back under the Lotus’ command after everything that’s happened.”

“So we keep her safe. Right?” Buffy queries.

“It’s not as simple as babysitting her a little more strictly!” Zus slams a fist down. “We’re risking our lives, and her life, by even having her here. If something happens, I’m not the only one that’s going to take a fault! The entire squadron will! They don’t exactly see us as ‘irreplaceable’, now, do they?! They could always just whip up another batch of clones or two to make up for our absence, and forget we were ever an issue.”

“Zus--”

“What I’m saying is I worry for her! For us! Yes, my friends and soldiers! I don’t want to be discarded like unusable salvage because we had a trait as faulty as ‘caring’ or ‘letting a child have a belated childhood’.”

“Zus--”

“What?” the commander snarls outright.

“Is he grumpus again?” Max’s voice rings through the barracks. Trouvaille’s nails click on the metal floor, and Hush’s footsteps sound of similarly. 

“He is,” Buffy sighs. “Better come comfort him.”

“I am not a child that requires comforting,” Zus growls again. 

“Bring the whole armada. He’s really grumpy this time.”

“Agreed,” Dodge pitches in solemnly. 

“You? I thought you of all would be on my side,” Zus laments.

“Make it ASAP, kid, he’s losing it,” Buffy frets dramatically.

Max patters in, Hush and Trouvaille in tow. “What’s up? Y’look...I dunno, worried.”

“Nothing important,” Zus grunts. “Go back to your bunk.”

“Well, now I’m not going to.” Max shrugs as she strolls in. Hush stays leaned against the door jamb. “For real, what’s up?”

“Typical dad-like worrying. You know how it is,” Buffy waves a hand.

“Again?” Max frowns. “I’m not a little kid that needs to be babysat. I can handle myself.”

“Can you, though?” Zus asks, though not accusingly.

“Yes,” Max responds with a level head. “I know you like to think I’m some rowdy, reckless hellion with no consideration for danger, but trust me, between you three and Tinleah, I’ve had a little bit of common sense pounded into my skull recently.”

“Just. Promise us one thing. One big thing.”

“Okay, I guess? Shoot.” She crosses her arms and waits.

“If we tell you to get lost someday, just do it. It’s not going to be because we’re fed up with you. It will never be that. If we’re telling you to leave and not come back, it probably hurts all of us just as much as it pains you. But it’d be for your own safety. Understood?”

Max goes silent, teeth likely working a lip beneath her facemask worriedly.

“Understood?” Zus prompts again.

“Understood,” she answers meekly.

“Good. Go lay down. I’m sure you’re worn out from being rowdy and rambunctious with your girl over the day.”

“D’you honestly think we just, what, fist-fight each other all day? We have gal time,” Max snorts as she turns.

“Sure. ‘Gal time’,” Buffy parrots with quotations.

Max immediately flushes. “Gods, I hate you all sometimes. But I do still love you,” she clarifies as she storms out.

[bcdrawsandwrites]

Leatherwing Rating: K+ Genre: Angst, Friendship Characters: Héctor, Chicharrón, original characters Warnings: Mentions of minor character death, BRIEF suicidal thoughts, minor violence. Description: Not everyone has a spirit guide in the land of the dead; they only appear to those who truly need guidance, and who are willing to listen to that guidance once they understand. And many years ago, there was a time when Héctor met those qualifications. View all chapters here!

---

Chapter 6: Fly Summary: In which Héctor makes a mistake.

---

Settling into Shantytown was both easier and harder than Héctor had expected.

He was quick to find a home—an old, one-room shack northwest of the front gate, at the far end of town. At first he was grateful, until he got a better look at the thing—the roof had holes in it that would need to be patched, and it had a lovely “window” that was, in actuality, a hole that had gotten knocked into the wall that was covered by a plastic curtain. Still, it was better than nothing.

Then he made the mistake of mentioning how lucky it was they had a spare house. Everyone went silent, some of them clearing their throats awkwardly, before the subject was changed. Héctor mentioned the odd behavior to Chicharrón later, and the old man clicked his nonexistent tongue.

“That was Alejandra’s house.”

“Oh.” Héctor rubbed his wrist. “Did she… move out?”

Chicharrón fixed him with a hard look, and then he realized—this was the land of the nearly-forgotten.

“Oh… ay, dios!” He covered his face in his hands, and Pizzicato fluttered up over his head, alarmed. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?! I shouldn’t—”

“It’s all right,” the old man said, stomping his way back into his house. “It’s what we have to do.”

If he’d meant those words as a comfort, Héctor didn’t take them that way. He couldn’t shake the thought that he could move in… because someone else had disappeared. When Pizzicato landed on the side of his face, he shook his head. “They’re all on the edge of it, Pizzicato,” he murmured. “All on the verge of…”

Peep! The bat’s tongue flicked against his cheekbone.

He shuddered, and shook himself bodily. “Right. I shouldn’t think about it that way.” Hearing laughter ring from another corner of the town, where a fire roared and music played, he managed a smile. “I mean… they don’t.”

In spite of the reminders of death (first and final) all around them, the town never wavered in its joy. It seemed near-relentless in that aspect, as though if they let themselves down for too long, they would never get up again. People held parties and games, shared what little they had, and constantly helped each other out. And, honestly, it worked.

For a time.

One night, as Héctor sat around with his “new” guitar (a worn-out old thing he’d gotten from Tío Eduardo) and several new friends (Primo Lorenzo, Primo Estefan, Prima Violeta, Tía Gloria, and Tío Carlos—he always made an effort to learn their names), a flicker of gold appeared among them that had nothing to do with the fire they sat around. Prima Violeta nearly tipped sideways off her stool, Lorenzo holding her up and looking at her in alarm. All at once the joy was gone. The others rushed to her side, Estefan calling out for others to come and help.

Héctor, meanwhile, found his guitar slipping out of his hands and clattering to the ground. Pizzicato was nudging and licking his cheekbone and squeaking, but she didn’t register. All he could see was the memory of his father, collapsing to the floor of the old living room, his bones shimmering gold.

A sharp pinch of pain brought him out of his trance, and he yelped, pulling Pizzicato away from his face. The bat looked pointedly from him to the woman on the ground, and whimpered. He followed her gaze.

“P-prima…?” he stammered, taking a hesitant step closer. Even though he’d only known her for a month, seeing her like this was…

Violeta smiled weakly up at him as Lorenzo held her up and ran a hand through her hair—hair that never got a chance to turn gray. “Lo siento, cousin,” she said. “Guess I didn’t get to hear as much of your music as I’d hoped.” Her body shimmered as another attack seized her, and her smile fell, her teeth grit.

Hearing the plucking of guitar strings behind him, Héctor hastily turned around. He grabbed the guitar (Pizzicato had to quickly flutter off when it was picked up) before he lifted it up and began to strum. Though his hands threatened to tremble, he did his best to keep them steady as he played for her. He couldn’t find his voice in that moment, but the others filled in for him, a couple of them singing along while the others hummed.

Moments later, before they even had time to finish, there was nothing atop the stool but a ragged pile of clothing.

Héctor could say nothing, dragging himself away from the scene and leaning against the nearest wall that wouldn’t give way. Pizzicato hovered over him as he stared down at his hands—at the carpals and metacarpals and phalanges that remained a threatening yellow-gray.

Something seemed to lightly poke at his feet, and out of the corner of his eye he could see an orange-and-blue glow beneath him. Immediately after he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry,” he said quickly, before Lorenzo could speak. “I-I couldn’t… I had…”

“It’s okay.” His voice had a rough edge to it, but he seemed to hold himself together. “It’s… never easy. Especially the first time.”

“It wasn’t the first time,” Héctor said, and swallowed, clenching his fists. He still found himself staring down at them as he unclenched them, then clenched them again.

Lorenzo followed his gaze. “You’ve still got a while.”

“No…” He drew in a shuddering breath, and looked up, holding his hand out to Pizzicato. “I’ve got no time to waste.”

---

The next Dia de Muertos, his plans for bridge-crossing got a tad weirder. This time they involved slightly more illegal activities, such as sneaking around below the bridge platform. He’d considered doing it before, but the only thing holding him back had been not wanting to soil his reputation for potential employers. Now, however, he had nothing to lose. So long as he didn’t actually hurt anyone, he shouldn’t be in jail for too long. Jail could only be a minor setback, now, rather than something that could destroy his opportunities for a job.

Sneaking below the bridge went about as well as anyone could expect, however. While he initially made it past the guards, they easily spotted him trying to scale the wall, and he slipped and fell in a panic. Pizzicato snagged his shirt and beat her wings in a vain effort to lift him up, and he felt something slam into his back. To his surprise, however, it was not the ground, but a giant, flying snake that had swooped up beneath him. He had to laugh at Pizzicato’s joyful expression when she thought her efforts were actually doing something… right before she spotted the giant alebrije holding him up, at which point her yellow eyes narrowed.

Still, they were grateful to the alebrije for helping them, up until it deposited them back on solid ground, directly in front of a pair of security guards.

Spending the rest of the day in a cell wasn’t too bad, all things considered. More importantly, it did nothing to deter them from further attempts. If anything, it fueled them.

Chicharrón found him a few weeks later drafting up plans for another attempt. “You just got outta jail! What’re you doing, planning another harebrained attempt like that?” he cried, jabbing his cane at Héctor accusingly. It looked like the only thing preventing him from outright striking him in the head was the bat that hovered angrily nearby.

Héctor only gave him a crooked smile. “Pshaw, what’re they gonna do? Throw me in jail again?”

The old man drew in a breath, looking like he was about to respond, only to stamp his cane against the floor and growl. “Well don’t expect me to help you with this… this…!” With a sound of disgust, he hobbled away.

He did, of course, help Héctor with his schemes on a number of occasions (after a lot of begging, pleading, and promising to return borrowed items). He was not alone in this, either—many of Shantytown’s residents would lend him items to help if he asked nicely enough, but sometimes they just did not have the items he needed.

One year, after digging through his Prima Alejandra’s closet (with her permission), he found that all of the clothing articles were simply too old and ragged to pass for what he needed. “Gracias, prima,” he said with a smile, only to let out a heavy sigh when he stepped out of her bungalow. “Guess we’ll have to make a new plan, Pizzicato.”

But Pizzicato was not there. Instead she was fluttering away from him, out through Shantytown’s gates. Confused, he followed along, surprised when she led him up through the lower levels and back to the Arts District, where he used to frequent.

Ceci, it turned out, was one of a handful of people outside of Shantytown who would still begrudgingly help him whenever he asked. She had found great success, now helping to create the wardrobes for many dead celebrities (Ernesto, unfortunately, included), and finally had a studio of her own.

Of course, she wouldn’t merely help him for free—Héctor found himself running errands for her, and occasionally helping out others around the district. Not that he minded. It gave him an excuse to hang around outside of Shantytown occasionally, and more things to do other than manically drafting up plans for Dia de Muertos every year. Pizzicato was good at finding him places to go to, people he could connect with. It was never anyone who could offer him a job, but folks he could talk to, or who he could do favors for in exchange for providing him with items he needed.

Even so, they didn’t spend all their time running errands in the Arts District. Héctor still enjoyed being with his Shantytown family, and still got use out of the old guitar his Tío Eduardo had traded him. Though he never busked in the upper towers anymore, he would gladly play requests for his family.

And no one there requested that song, for obvious reasons.

But as much as he enjoyed being with his Shantytown family, another family weighed constantly on his mind—a family that was still on the other side of the bridge. No matter how much he came to love the Nearly Forgotten that surrounded him… every time the golden shimmers seized a prima or a tío, every time another soul faded to dust, every time he glimpsed his own graying bones…

He would remember that his own time was limited, and he would retreat into his shack, and go back to preparing for his next plan.

But there was another thought that occurred to him many years later, when he caught sight of a calendar in Ceci’s studio:

He wasn’t the only one whose time was limited.

---

Héctor paced around his tiny shack, Pizzicato fluttering over his head in dizzying circles. “What am I going to do, amiga?” he cried for what was probably the fourth time, and bit into one of his knuckles. “Seventy… ay, she’s going to be seventy this year! And… and this is no place for her!”

With a groan, he threw himself back into his hammock, which immediately tipped and dumped him out backwards. He found himself with his feet still atop the hammock, his back and head on the floor, staring up at the bat alebrije hovering over his head. “This is no bed for her, either,” he mumbled.

Peep… Pizzicato landed on his chest, careful to avoid his bad rib (one he’d broken a few years back, that had never healed). Automatically he reached up to stroke her smooth shell, closing his eyes as he mulled over the dilemma.

It was true that he didn’t know when Imelda would die. Even in his loneliest moments, he would never wish an early death upon her. And while it was very much possible that she could live for another few decades yet, seventy was not young. Even if he was sure she hadn’t lost a hint of her beauty.

I wonder how she looks, now, he thought, wincing against the pang in his chest cavity.

“She’ll be remembered, though, when she comes… I hope,” he murmured. “Maybe she has that shoemaker job she wanted, and she could teach me. My own wife can’t deny me a job, right?” He tipped his head to give a hopeful grin to Pizzicato, who licked his nose. He laughed softly, then sighed, letting his head fall back with a clunk.

“I’ve got to do something, Pizzicato,” Héctor said. “I can’t just show up like this.” He gestured vaguely, as though to indicate his entire self. His bones were as gray as ever (though they hadn’t gotten much worse than when he’d first joined Shantytown), and his clothing was ragged and torn as could be.

The bat flicked her ear-wings this way and that, and carefully fluttered off of him, hesitating for a moment before hovering over to the door of his shack. Confused, he struggled to his feet, watching as she looked from the door to him a few times—she wanted him to follow her.

Even if there were a few times Héctor didn’t like to acknowledge it, Pizzicato rarely led him wrong. Without another word, he followed her as she led him out of his shack, out of Shantytown, and back to the upper levels of the tower.

---

Héctor grinned widely, in spite of the look Chicharrón gave him. “Eh? Muy guapo, right?”

“You really want me to answer that?” Chicharrón asked, narrowing his eyes at the old, blush charro suit Héctor was wearing.

“Fine, you don’t have to,” Héctor went on, still grinning as he put his hands on his hips. “I know someone who will think so.”

The old man glanced somewhere over Héctor’s shoulder. “She doesn’t count. She doesn’t even wear clothes.”

“Uh—wait what…?!” Héctor took a step back, blinking and scratching his head. “Wait, no, that’s… she doesn’t… uh…?” Following Chicharrón’s gaze, however, he found the man was looking at Pizzicato, who was hovering around above his shoulder. Dropping his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “That is not what I meant.”

Peep!

“Where did you even get that thing?”

Rubbing his right wrist, Héctor grinned sheepishly. “Oh, you know… I just… let’s just say I owe someone… a few dozen favors.” Of course, a few dozen was rounding it down, but he didn’t care.

Chicharrón cocked a brow-bone. “Wha’d’you need a fancy thing like that for?”

Pizzicato finally perched on the side of his face, careful to not let her claws snag his new suit. He reached a hand up to stroke her shell for a moment before answering. “I’ve… been counting the years,” he admitted, “and… Imelda’s in her seventies, now.”

“Sí. And?

Héctor sighed. “If… if I can make this last a few years…” He paused again, then shook himself, dislodging the alebrije from his face. She fluttered back into the air, watching him carefully. “I-I want something nice to wear. For her. When she gets here.”

“How do you know it won’t wear out before she gets here?”

“Ah, I won’t be wearing it all the time,” he said, brushing a spot of dirt off of the side. “In fact, I won’t wear it at all—not until she gets here. I’ll keep it nice.”

Even then, Chicharrón still looked unimpressed. “Why pink, anyway?”

Shrugging, Héctor shook his head. “Eh, pink, blush, ay… I can’t remember if it was exactly this color, but I think it’s close enough to the one I wore, when—” He stopped short, swallowing. “When I left.”

“So what?”

“Maybe if I wear it, play her song…” Finally he was smiling again, as he thought it over, the chords to Poco Loco already playing in his mind. “It’ll be like I haven’t been gone at all.”

To his surprise, Chicharrón rolled his eyes. “Pshaw. After what, fifty years?” He frowned, giving Héctor a serious look that made him feel small. “You really think that’s what she’ll be thinking when you show up after she arrives?”

Well, when he put it that way… it did feel sort of dumb. Even so, he looked back at Pizzicato, who lighted on his shoulder and nuzzled his jaw. “It’s… worth a shot?”

Chicharrón stared at him for a moment longer, and sighed, leaning against his cane and staring down at it. “You’re really hopin’ this’ll work, huh?”

“Of course!” Héctor managed a smile, even as darker thoughts clawed in the back of his mind. “I mean, if this doesn’t work, what will?”

For another moment the old man was quiet, rubbing his thumbs against the cane, before eying Héctor again with a frown. “Well unless you’re expecting your wife to drop dead of a heart attack in the next few minutes, get that dumb thing off of you.”

And get out of my house, was the additional implication, further clarified when the man furrowed his brow.

“Uh, right! Adios, Cheech!” With that, Héctor scrambled out of the bungalow, and proceeded to creep carefully through the town, mindful of rotten planks and any other hazards that might potentially ruin the suit.

“He’s being too pessimistic,” he grumbled at one point, as Pizzicato flew alongside him. “I think it’ll be fine, don’t you?”

When the bat gave him a cocked head and what looked like a concerned look in return, he sighed, his voice softening. “They’re all I can think about, Pizzicato,” he said. “My Imelda and my Coco… They probably have an even bigger family now, but… they probably still miss me, don’t you think?”

They were nearing his shack now, and Pizzicato responded by swooping into it. Moments later, he could hear the faint sound of guitar strings being plucked, and laughed. “Okay, okay. Let me get out of this suit first, and we’ll play some music, eh?”

And so they did, Héctor playing Poco Loco as Pizzicato weaved around, filling their little shack with bursts and ribbons of color. As he played, he looked up into the colors, imagining Imelda and Coco sitting beside him. Though with a pain in his heart he knew they were much older now, he still saw them the way they looked when he left, as best as he could remember them—Imelda being twenty-two years old, and Coco being four. If he closed his eyes, he could see—feel Imelda leaning against him, enjoying the sound of his music, while Coco stood up and danced around beneath the streams of color, trying to jump up to grab them.

Papá! Papá! Come dance with me!

Standing up, he opened his eyes, and the music faltered as the image melted away. So too, then, did the colorful flourishes that had, moments ago, filled the air.

“…Oh. Right.” Slowly Héctor sank back down onto the edge of his hammock. Pizzicato was immediately at the side of his face, licking his cheek, but he brushed her off. “No, no, it’s all right, amiga,” he said, plucking at the strings of his guitar once more. They came out haltingly at first, but soon he was back into his rhythm, this time playing a slower song he’d written—A Feeling—instead. “They aren’t here yet, but… they will be, someday.”

Someday, indeed, but that someday could be this year, next year, or ten years off. But when that day finally came… he would be ready for it.

---

It was not, however, that year. Dia de Muertos passed, and he spent the night in a jail cell for trying to sneak past the guards again.

Nor was in the next year, when after the holiday he spent an entire week in a cell for “accidentally” breaking one of the new scanners.

Nor was it even the year after that, when he’d actually managed to avoid being jailed (at the cost of running away, badly clipping a fence, and losing a floating rib).

But the year after that…

Héctor had had a particularly rough day the day prior, having been chased out of a shop by an angry shopkeeper (he’d been accused of harassing a woman—which wasn’t the case, he had only been asking for directions), gotten the package stolen that he had been trying to deliver for Ceci, and gotten chewed out by the seamstress herself (for a very good reason), who told him she was not going to let him do any more deliveries for her in the future. Now he was lying in his hammock, though it was already midday. Pizzicato had tried to get him up without much success, and now hung from the ropes on the opposite end, waiting patiently, while Héctor considered staying there for the rest of the day.

And then he felt it.

It was not near as intense as the first time he’d felt it a few decades prior, but it was unmistakable as he felt a sudden spike of anxiety that quickly faded, replaced with a harsh, physical pain where his heart used to be. As quickly as it had come, however, the pain disappeared, only leaving him with the vague sensation that something had changed.

Something had happened.

Héctor sat upright, his hands clutching his chest, as Pizzicato leaped off her perch with an energetic buzz-flap. He looked up at her, his smile wobbling, unsure if this was an appropriate time for joy, given what the feeling he’d just experienced signified.

Ultimately, the joy won out over any uncertainty, and Héctor leaped out of his hammock with the loudest grito he’d belted out in decades. He could hear the faint voices of startled Shantytowners outside, but he didn’t care, bolting out of his shack as fast as his legs would carry him.

Peep! PEEP!

Wait, no. Not yet! Laughing and ignoring the bewildered stares of his primos and tías and others, he skidded to a halt and rushed back into his shack, scrambling to find the charro suit he’d kept preserved over the years, that he’d managed to avoid getting wrecked in the terrible flood two years ago. Frantically he put it on, nearly wearing the pants backwards at first, before running out of the house once again.

PEEP!

Skidding to another stop, he wondered what he’d forgotten this time, only to have his question answered by the plucking of strings. Right! Shaking his head, he bolted back into the house, tripped through the doorway, and crashed to the ground in a cascade of bones. Yet the whole time he found himself laughing, too giddy to care as he pulled himself back together, straightened his suit, slipped his guitar over his shoulders, and ran.

“Cousin Héctor, where are you going?” “What’s the rush, primo?” “Wait, is it—?!”

“It’s my wife!” he shouted, loud enough for anyone in the town to hear him as he ran. “I’m going to see my wife!”

PEEP!

And Pizzicato was right behind him, beating her wings frantically to keep up. It was a long, long distance from the far corner of Shantytown up to the higher parts of the towers and to the Department of Family Reunions, but Héctor felt like he may have had wings just like the bat that flew behind him, feeling lighter even than the tiny alebrije he could hold in one hand, because after years and years, decades and decades, he was finally going to see her again.

Imelda had finally arrived.

---

Héctor’s entire body felt heavier than the whole of the Land of the Dead, with all its towers and skyscrapers sitting upon the endless sea of oblivion.

Señor, please step away.

He could barely will one foot to move in front of the other. Occasional nudges from Pizzicato reminded him how to walk. Otherwise, the bat was eerily silent, the beating of her wings the only thing to remind him that she even still existed.

Señora, por favor, calm down—

His mind had gone near-blank, the faint echoes of moments ago still ringing through the emptiness. It had all happened so quickly, yet at the same time it felt like he’d rushed out of Shantytown a lifetime ago.

Someone get that alebrije out of here!

He had only the vaguest memories of a massive, monstrous creature that had somehow appeared just outside the door, all fangs and feathers and claws, though it had never touched him. It hadn’t needed to.

Por favor, put your shoe back on—

His right arm hung limp at his side, and he made no efforts to try to move it. He could not immediately recall why he was doing this, but he was not going to question it.

Someone—ugh!—someone call security in, please!

But the thing he could still remember most clearly were those eyes—the same eyes he’d seen watching him shyly as he played his guitar in the sunny plaza of Santa Cecilia, the eyes he had stared into as he held out the ring, the same eyes that had gazed down lovingly at the beautiful girl they’d created together—were narrowed in recognition, in fury.

In hate.

I never, ever want to see you again.

It was a long, long walk back to Shantytown.

---

No one approached him when he finally returned. While he kept his gaze on the rotting boardwalk below him, he could see out of the corner of his eye that anyone who was still out and about was giving him a great deal of space. He wasn’t sure if they were doing it on their own, or because Pizzicato was doing something to keep them away, and he wasn’t sure if he appreciated it or not either way.

He wasn’t sure of much of anything right now.

Slowly, slowly he made his way back into the shack that he’d bolted out of so joyfully several hours ago. And then… he stood there, not knowing what else to do.

His hammock hung in one corner, but he had no desire to sleep. He had a single chair and a crate that served as a table, but what point was there in drafting up new songs or new plans? He had a small stash of drinks hidden beneath a pile of junk in the corner, but he wasn’t sure he had the will to fish them out right now.

Peep.

There was no energy to the bat’s voice as she hung from something on his back—her voice was dull and tired, and he briefly wondered if she felt as numb as he did. Well, numb except for the ache in his legs—he’d been on his feet for hours now.

With a shuddering sigh, he moved to sit on his hammock, only to pause when he felt something bulky get in the way, and he remembered he still had his guitar strapped to his back.

Héctor reached back to pull it off, only to cry out when a horrid, sharp pain shot through his right arm.

The sound was so loud, like a beam snapping, and the attendants were immediately behind them, pulling them away from each other.

It was broken—she’d broken it, and dios, it hurt worse than his broken rib. He quickly gripped it with his other hand, hissing in breaths through his gritted teeth as he waited, waited for the pain to fade, but it hurt—it hurt—

His breaths came quicker, heavier, his rib cage heaving, and before he knew it he was sliding down to the floor, succumbing to tears. He couldn’t stop himself, and didn’t even make the attempt.

Moments later a soft, small presence lighted on his good shoulder, gently licking at his face. He didn’t reach up to pet her, as he usually did, nor did he try to speak.

Together they sat, Héctor weeping through a pain he hadn’t known since losing his parents, and Pizzicato trying to comfort him as best as she could.

It felt like hours before Héctor finally managed to calm down enough to think, feeling thoroughly exhausted and not much better. “Wh-why would this happen, Pizzicato…?” he managed to stammer, his voice shaky and hoarse.

The bat whined, nosing his cheekbone and licking it again.

Not that he didn’t already know, anyway—Imelda had laid it out quite plainly to him. He hadn’t come back then, so why would he come back now? It didn’t matter that he’d tried to explain that he’d died—she wouldn’t hear a word. And then when she’d noticed the guitar…

You can leave your familia, but you still can’t leave without that thing?! Why did I ever—

He shuddered, reaching back with his left arm to unhook the guitar strap, letting the instrument drop to the floor behind him. Pizzicato let out a concerned whimper.

“I tried, Imelda,” he whispered, curling in on himself, gingerly tucking his broken arm closer to his chest. “I tried to come home.”

For a long while he sat still, pressing his head into his knees, while Pizzicato still sat atop his shoulder. Eventually she gave a gentle peep, hopping into the air and hovering over his hammock. He lifted his head to watch for a moment before easing himself upright, prepared to follow his alebrije’s guiding as usual.

And then he stopped, staring up at her.

Guiding.

Pizzicato had been the one guiding him for all these years, the one who he’d relied on throughout most of his afterlife, the one he’d spoken to about his family every day. She knew how much he missed them. She knew how much he wanted to see them again. And yet...

“Y-you…” he said, his voice a weak croak as the thought rolled through his head. “You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”

Pizzicato’s ears folded, and she moved a few inches back.

The confirmation was like a blow to his chest, which was already hurting from the crying and the heartache. His frame trembled, and he lowered his head, holding a hand to his face. “You knew.”

It suddenly made sense—nearly every time he’d mentioned his family to her, she would go quiet, or look away. Whenever he tried to cross the bridge, there was always a reluctance to how she followed him. And even today, when he’d rushed off to see Imelda…

She knew. She knew from the beginning that his family did not want him. That his Imelda did not miss him. That this attempt would end in disaster.

All this time she’d been leading him, guiding him, all while knowing exactly where he would end up.

Before he realized what he was doing, he lunged to grab at her, and a second later found himself falling into his hammock, his bad arm pinned between his body and the rough material. “UGH!” he cried, struggling back to his feet, the pain in his arm and shoulder now only serving to fuel his anger.

Pizzicato was now hovering on the opposite side of his shack, her movements panicked and erratic. He rushed at her again, snarling when she fluttered out of his reach. “How could you do this to me?!” he cried, and she gave an alarmed squeak. “You’re supposed to guide me!”

He went for another grab, but this time she darted up to the ceiling, hooking herself there and curling up. “You took me to a bridge I can’t cross, and down to these slums, and to—!” His voice cracked, and for a moment the anger left him as he covered his face, trembling as he fought the urge to sob again.

Shuffling noises from the ceiling turned to the sound of a faint buzz-flap, ending in a plaintive peep.

And the plucking of guitar strings.

Uncovering his face, Héctor turned to see Pizzicato sitting atop his guitar, her ears folded, her eyes pleading. He looked from the little alebrije to the discarded instrument, and slowly he approached it, crouching down as he stared at the guitar.

You can leave your familia, but you still can’t leave without that thing?!

Why did I ever marry a musician?

His rib cage heaved as he reached out with his good arm, taking hold of the guitar’s neck as he stood upright. Face twisting into an ugly snarl, Héctor lifted the guitar over his shoulder and swung it at the ground, hard—

—not noticing the alebrije still clinging to it.

The resulting cacophony exploded around him as the guitar crashed against the ground in a shower of splintered wood and screech of clashing strings. But even above that noise was a simultaneous, deafening SHRIEK, followed by a frantic flapping of leathery wings. Héctor staggered back as the tiny form that suddenly seemed too dangerous for its size flew erratically around the shack, alternatively screeching and growling. A moment later, it tore past the curtain covering the doorway, and all at once Héctor realized what he’d done.

“W-wait, wait, no! Pizzicato!” he cried, moving to bolt after her. Immediately he stepped on a piece of broken wood, which slid out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor. “AGH! N-no! Pizzicato, come back! I’m sorry!” Frantically he pulled himself back together, ignoring the pain in his arm as he pushed himself upright and rushed to the door. “PIZZICATO!”

But the bat was already far, far from the shack, her dark form barely visible as it danced away through the night sky.

[stand-infected-jotaro]

Fateswap Part 2 Event: Start & Continuation

Dio stepped away from the area where Star Platinum and Jotaro were, seemingly down for the count, but he knew that they were likely to recover, it wasn’t a life-ending wound, especially for a vampire, however it was enough for him to be able to get away, hopefully far enough away from Jotaro to keep from being on his tail.

Either way, Dio couldn’t be happier to get away from that stand, feeling invigorated in a way he couldn’t describe. Perhaps it was because of the fact the now vampiric nature he possessed needed the blood he stole, or it was the thrill of battle he was getting acquainted with over time, due to having his own stand now.

As Dio stepped quickly through the town, getting as far away from the scene of the battle as possible, his own stand finally spoke up once more, projecting a panicked question. ‘Dio, what did you do? I thought you didn’t wanna do anything like that? You took his blood! Why? How come?!” 

Dio quietly replied, “I know, I said I wasn’t going to do anything like that, but we used a lot of energy in that fight, you know… I wanted to make sure we wouldn’t die, at least of starvation or something.”

“I understand, but wasn’t his blood what got us into this mess in the first place?”

“Perhaps, but we’re okay! We can make it out of here!”

As Dio kept going, he caught a glimpse of himself in the window of one of the many shops as he hurried down the street, a streak of purples, blues, black and yellow. However, the blonde seemed to be a bit less in his own hair it seemed, causing him to pause, back up, and actually look and examine his own reflection again.

His eyes didn’t deceive him, the sunlike color of his old hair, fading quickly as it made way for the encroaching color of a stark ebony filled night sky. Of course, the colors of All-Star shone through his own skin even more vibrantly than before. As he looked at his reflection, he noticed his canines poking out of his mouth slightly now. He was really losing himself tonight, wasn’t he?

Sighing, he shook his head, continuing his path out of the area, “Okay, maybe that didn’t help regarding the… What was the term that he used, manifesting? It really didn’t help regarding the manifestation of you, huh…?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m worried! I don’t want to end up hurting you overall by manifesting, Dio… I don’t want you to bring me out unnecessarily, please…”

“Alright, I hopefully won’t have to do that, then... But first we’ve got to get out of here.”

Dio finally stepped into an alleyway near the edge of town giving a quiet sigh of relief. He no longer felt the impending feeling of Star Platinum’s energy. As he finally relaxed for a minute, walking towards the city’s entrance, before feeling an unfamiliar stand energy, and some talking, resulting in a panicked choice of choosing between staying on the ground, or heading somewhere else, either nearby or away from the situation, though his curiosity overcame him, caving as he used his flight to get on top of a building to watch and listen to the unknown stand users.

“Joseph, you really should lighten up a little about this whole thing, you’re acting as if we’re in a hurry, you seriously should calm down, it’s not like fighting him is imperative, Holly’s already been consumed by her stand, you can’t stop that now. Especially since you were the first person in the bloodline to get a stand, if you plan on living through this whole thing… Well, you know how this works, don’t you?”

For some reason just looking at the yellow - seemingly somewhat armoured under his clothes - stand user made his eyebrows involuntarily furrow. That sounded like his own voice, however in an obviously condescending tone, the kind that fills someone with disgust.

“Dio, I don’t care, I’ve seen what he’s done first hand, giving innocent people stands, and making them fight for him.” The man covered in purple thorny vines glared up at the other. “He made me give you a stand. He’s given many of the people we’ve fought stands. I want him to stop, it doesn’t matter if he’s family now, it only matters that we put a stop to this...”

So that was the Dio that Jotaro was talking about it seemed. The one he was confused for just because he was also a Dio. Wild. Did Jotaro seriously think he was doing some kind of justice by treating the wrong person poorly, no matter how obvious it was? Gosh.

The Dio - who caused a butterfly effect that caused the now vampiric Dio a huge hassle due to being the same person but somehow not - exhaled, causing some stray sparks of hamon to sizzle over him, as he tilted his head at his nephew. “I see. Well. That’s fine. I can understand why, I wouldn’t do something rash to keep Giorno from both having a stand and a lack of a father… Though it’d spare him from the fate of having to deal with the stand…”

Just then a man with a bird’s head piped in with an interjection, “Seriously, Dio? You already know it’s been over 50 days, we can’t fix the fact they have stands now. At least don’t be rude about it. Especially because, well, as I said, you already know. So can’t we stop our bickering and just go to the inn? If we’re going to get any rest before we finally try to find Jotaro, we need to do that and work together instead of acting cruel!”

A man who looked mostly made of metal added quietly and sarcastically while looking away from the group, “You can just say he was acting like a bastard, Avdol,” as he picked at the steel-like skin poking out of his arms.

Huh, Dio thought, Bastard Dio… That has a good ring to it.

“Bastard” Dio shifted uncomfortably, eyes flicking quickly between the other party members, before huffing, “Well, I guess I forgot about that detail… Oh well, we better head to the hotel, right? I do apologize for bringing up such a subject matter...” Dio could read the Bastard Dio easily, because, well, they’re both Dios. The apology was insincere, yet most of the group seemed to accept it begrudgingly, except for his nephew.

As the group stepped forward, Joseph hesitated. “Wait.”

“What, don’t tell me you’re still mad at what I said, nephew?”

“No, it’s not that, but I am still mad. Look.” The vine covered old man pointed up to the place where Dio was hiding. He added onto his alert a tad quietly, talking about how “This stand user feels like Star Platinum, but they look different-”

“HEY! You!” Bastard Dio yelled towards Dio unexpectedly, causing his hair to crinkle in slight panic from being addressed so abruptly. “Come down here!”

Dio paused for a minute, before answering. “No!”

The other Dio squinted frustratedly before shouting back, “Why not?! We came all the way here just to fight you and your stand, Jotaro! You and Star Platinum! So get down here and fight us so we can get this over with!”

“I’m not Jotaro, you oversized banana!”

Bastard Dio was getting upset, which was given away by his hand starting to ball into a fist. “Mud- Mu- May I ask who you are, then?”

Dio stood up upon the roof, giving himself a full introduction. “Dio Joestar. I’m not here to fight, but… God, you ruined that kid, y’know.”

The crusaders, all except for Joseph and Bastard Dio, looked at each other confusedly. The vine filled grandfather looked up accusingly at his uncle, who only seemed to grow more frustrated at that, his expression appearing more aggressive.

“I’m not on anybody’s side here, I kinda just REALLY want to leave this entire situation, but geez, you’re even worse than I was before. You treated him so poorly, and that’s all he would talk about, ‘oh, my great uncle did this, my great uncle did that,’ and until now I didn’t even know that was you! Part of the reason I’m like this now is because of how you affected him, and now he’s acting out in the worst possible way! You ruined a perfectly good Jotaro! And you’re still even treating your even less great nephew poorly! What the fuck, man?”

“He never treated me with any kind of respect! He w-”

“Dude, I know! I was treated how he would’ve treated you! But jeez, he was a kid! No wonder he didn’t respect you, you certainly didn’t. He didn’t do anything to you then, but you kept doing things to him, making people not believe him!”

“He fleshbudded his grandfather! Do you seriously think that’s ok?!”

Dio paused as it took him a second to remember exactly what a fleshbud did. “Oh! No, of course not, but apparently from what I was told he really trusted him.”

“Then why would you fleshbud someone you trust, huh?! Using his trust?!”

He paused again, before thinking for a minute. He thought about why this was the case, then answered, “Well, I mean… I got to know him and his motives, and I think that it was exactly why he did it, because he trusted him! Probably the same reason he revived me and gave me a stand... I don’t think that’s good at all, but I certainly don’t think he’d do that to someone who treated him poorly, huh?”

A man with a gun looked between the two Dios, before asking, “Wait. If y’all’re both Dio, same name’n everythin’ which… That’s pro’bly impossible, but why would he trust you if what you’re sayin’ is true?”

“Cause I didn’t instantly belittle him! Cause I helped him and the rest of the group when they were in a bad situation! So Dio, or uh… Yeah, Bastard Dio, you really weren’t someone he trusted at all! You didn’t even deserve to be fleshbudded!” “How dare you!” Bastard Dio shouted angrily, punching the building Dio was standing on, breaking a hole into it.

The man that really did seem to be almost properly clad in armor stood bewildered at that comment, “How was that an effective insult?”

The other man holding a gun shook his head confusedly, “I really dunno what’s happening anymore, I dunno if we should interrupt, this is so weird.”

Dio looked down at Bastard Dio as he looked up, clearly seething anger. All-Star interjected to Dio, “What are you doing?! Why are you making him angry like this?!”

Which Dio finally replied quietly to his stand, “To prove something to them.”

“Are you going to need me to fight them?! Didn’t I say that we shouldn’t fight unnecessarily?”

“Yes, and yes. But this is an exception.” Dio looked down at the other Dio, who was winding up to ‘muda’ the building. “He’s been being a real jerk all these years, you think I’m gonna let him do that? Something needs to be done.”

Bastard Dio didn’t even hear, as he let his stand attempt to bring down the building, causing the last spark of hamon to fade, using his stand entirely, causing a flurry of fists to attempt to bust down the building.

It was clear that Jotaro picked up some problem solving skills from his great-great-great uncle.

While Bastard Dio was preoccupied, Dio took the opportunity to jump down, not onto the ground, no, to drop kick the bastard. Despite the rest of the group attempting to warn them, the stand was a stand which had a tendency to ignore everything except what they were trying to do in the first place, meaning the drop kick struck with no problem. Dio pushed back off into the sky afterwards, causing The World to stumble back slightly, helmet-like skull getting scuffed in the midst.

“Geez. You two are so alike, so focused… You influenced him a lot, Jotaro…”

The World attempted to leap at Dio, as he easily dodged out of the way. As the world started to land from the leap, they got an elbow to the back from the now vampiric stand user. “He picked up the way you treated others after all this time, and it shows!”

The yellow stand attempted to turn around quickly to bring a fist to Dio’s face, though he already leapt back into the air before the punch landed. Dio and The World briefly had eye contact, Dio seeing the bright orange eyes of the stand, while the stand saw Dio’s reddened eyes, causing them to smirk to themselves, being reminded of something.

Dio, now preparing for another attack, watched the stand carefully, as they reached into the jacket, gaze leaving Dio briefly, leaving an opening, the vampire seizing the opportunity, speeding downward, landing a heavy punch on the side of the helmet-like structure, giving it a small crack, the stand dropping the knives they were attempting to get out of the jacket falling to the ground.

Though... there was a problem.

Just then, Bastard Dio’s stand grabbed his arm, pulling him closer. The stand spoke in “muda’s” to the other stand user. “You can hear me, right?”

Dio squinted angrily at the other stand while attempting to pull away, but the stand only tightened its grip, due to The World being manifested, while All-Star was not.

“Judging by that reaction, you can. Listen here, I don’t know who you are, or why you SAY that you’re Dio, but let me tell you something. Dio’s already fought against a vampire and won. And you’re going to be no different in that, ‘Dio.”’

Dio’s red eyes showed an expression of disbelief and anger, “Are you… Are you talking about Jonathan?”

The bastard’s stand smiled, bringing Dio even closer, eyes meeting the orange with nowhere else to look, “Of course, Dio fought him and won. I figured that if you’re really Dio, you’d have had a similar experience, right? Fighting your brother, winning, watching the sparks of hamon go through him, making sure that he won’t cause anyone else to be subordinates of his vampiric desires! Surely if you’re him, you’d understand that!”

His eyes widened, watching the stand describe it like it was a good thing. “Let me guess, he gave him the mask, huh? Your Dio?”

The stand gave a silent confirmation.

“I knew it, he didn’t do anything to you, he never did, he didn’t deserve anything like that to happen, you asshole! I may have done something like that, but I apologized, and I made it up to him! You killed him!” Dio punctuated his sentence with a fist to the crack in the helm, making the crack bigger and causing it to bleed metallic, greenish blood, the force causing his head to turn away.

The World turned back to Dio, still holding him firmly. “You know how you beat a vampire, right?”

Dio felt like he knew what was coming. It felt familiar, somehow. But in a bad way. “All-Star!”

All-Star started to manifest, attempting to pull away from the crazed stand, however it was too late, it seemed, the stand finally remembered it could breathe, starting to take a deep breath. The duo panicked, all All-Star kept thinking was how to get him to stop, if only things would slow down how they seemed to during the fight with Jotaro, to give them an opening.

Then somehow it happened.

Time did slow down...

To a screeching halt.

All-Star and Dio saw the electric appearance of hamon starting to go down the bastard’s arm, but it wasn’t moving. Neither was anyone or anything else for that matter. It appeared the rest of the group was talking, but was cut short due to the time stop. Did they seriously just do that? Is that what Jotaro had his stand do to get the advantage? Either way, they didn’t have the time to question it too hard, they didn’t know how long it’d last, after all. The stand quickly punched the other hamon using stand’s hand a few times, breaking it, as it was still exposed.

As time resumed, All-Star pulled away, jumping into the air, the hamon sparking into the now broken hand, tingling and starting to reform. The stand watched, somehow unable to look away. “Eugh…”

“What just…”

As All-Star hung in the air, more confused by the way the hamon was acting than anything else, they felt a strange presence. Jotaro. It was time to leave.

All-Star was getting ready to speed off in a random direction, while everyone else’s attention was somewhere else, namely the stand user that was now approaching the group, with a small crack in the star on his forehead, causing an odd piece of flesh to poke out, and a wound in his gut that was starting to heal.

“Well, it looks like you two are now on an even playing field, both hurt and all… Uhm… I’m just gonna…” All-Star finally left, as Jotaro looked down at the group of stand users who looked on semi-confused, along with The World, who immediately met the gaze of Jotaro, who glared while smirking back to the Dio, before quietly slinking back into the shadows. That will save Jotaro enough time to prepare for a proper battle, on top of The World now being at a disadvantage.

Even if Dio got away, his plan still worked, albeit not in the way Jotaro intended. It was still a small victory.

For now, however, Dio and All-Star needed to find a place away from the whole ordeal before sunrise.

[evansnjames]

Top Ten Theories

Summary: Top ten theories why the Head Boy and Girl would  receive two nights worth of detention. Top theory: caught shagging. Reality? Pretty far off. One shot. Fluff.

Can find here at ff.net!

"Padfoot, you piece of crap, stop staring."

"Then spit out the truth and your dreams will come true."

James just glared at his best friend and went back to his Arithmancy homework, ignoring the beady eyes of Sirius Black who hadn't stopped hounding him since the rumors circulated that James Potter and Lily Evans had been caught snogging or shagging (who knew) in the Astronomy Tower yesterday evening during rounds. This was very curious rumor indeed considering the two weren't even officially or unofficially together.

Granted, no one actually knew what happened, but the next morning the entire school was awoken to the news that the Head Boy and Girl were both served two nights worth of detention from Professor McGonagall herself. Rumors spread like wildfire (like they did when it came to Potter and Evans) throughout campus as multiple bystanders claimed to have witnessed Potter, Evans and McGonagall head to Dumbledore's office late at night.

Quickly theories were spread and currently the top ten theories were:

They were caught mid-shag/snog/whatever you want to call it

Trapped Filch in a broom cupboard

Practicing illegal spells on the Slytherins

Lily was trying to murder James

They were trying to murder someone else – victim remained unknown aka murdered

They were burning school property

Flushed Mrs. Norris down Moaning Myrtle's bathroom

Attempting to escape school before the dreaded NEWTs

Egging Peeves on to cause chaos

It was all just rumors

Sirius usually minded his own business and tried never feeding into or believing the Hogwarts rumor mill but there was something very fishy about this entire situation. One, James refused to talk about what exactly happened; second, the rumors swirling had become so incredulous that Sirius was starting to consider where there's smoke there's fire. Because James, for all his Marauding and such, had become much less of a public troublemaker in the last few years and detention wasn't something a responsible Head Boy easily achieved these days. Oh sure, most of their friends shrugged it off claiming it was nothing but detention to the Head Boy and Girl from their Head of House was not nothing! It was most definitely something.

So Sirius Black was on top of it. Not that he cared a prat's rat ass about the rest of the school but he was sure now that James was hiding something. So he considered the top ten theories and easily concluded that theory number one (they were caught mid-shag/snog/whatever you want to call it) was the most obvious. Also, he knew for a fact that Prongs and Evans were indeed shagging or snogging or at least hiding something as a week into term he had woken to the sounds of giggles and a hushed voice coming from James' bed were the hangings were drawn, which the boys never did but James hadn't been thorough enough and at the very front he could see a touch of red hair. Sirius smirked and fell back asleep, not mentioning anything the next morning but a cheeky 'hello'. So it had been pretty easy to conclude the sneaky pair was off doing the deed on any flat surface they could find including the Astronomy Tower were privacy was abundant considering it was closed to all students when not in use. Case closed.

Now he just needed James to admit it.

"Wormtail," Sirius started. "Don't you think Prongs looks a bit cheeky today?"

Peter gave a slight snigger as he glanced over at James who was unrelentingly ignoring the two of them. "Looks the usual disheveled to me."

"Hmm," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair. "Well then, if you won't tell me what happened I'll just have to find out for myself."

"I did tell you what happened," James muttered. "You just won't listen."

"That the two of you got detention because you locked up Mrs. Norris in an empty classroom? Sorry, two nights worth of detention and a visit to Dumbledore doesn't seem to fit the crime. Anyways, Evans would never, she loves cats."

James grumbled into his parchment and Sirius raised his eyes. "What was that? Didn't hear ya quite well between the mumbling."

"I said," James growled, throwing his parchment at him. "Will you quit it?"

Feeling the tension vibrating from James, Peter cut the conversation in order to avoid destruction. They had been kicked out of the library one to many times and Peter needed the library time more then ever this year and was attempting to stay on Madame Pince's good side. "What's the detention anyways?"

"Scrubbing the dungeons."

Sirius cracked his knuckles and admired. "They always sent us there when they wanted to teach us a lesson."

"No, you idiot," James said kicking his chair so Sirius fell forward. "They sent us there when it needed cleaning."

Moody, Sirius thought. Very moody. "This detention with Evans then?"

As if on cue, the redhead walked into the library alone, scanning the room when she landed on their table. Sirius watched her walk over, her face becoming pinker, her twitch becoming more deliberate as she got closer, and James, immediately tensing up at the sight of her. Interesting, very interesting.

"Evans! We were just talking about you," Sirius said.

She nodded her head and looked at James who was avidly not looking at her. "James… can we talk?"

But James didn't answer and an awkward tension filled the open space, even making Sirius a bit uncomfortable.

"Now Prongs, she's asking you something, be polite," Sirius said sarcastically but they both ignored him.

"James, please," Lily whispered when he finally looked up and saw her red-rimmed eyes. Well, he grunted in his thoughts, he hoped she was crying.

"What do you want, Evans?"

She seemed to flinch at his tone and swallowed. "Can we talk?"

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say to my mates," he said testily and Sirius seemed to reconsider the idea that theory number one was the reason they got detention as Lily just deflated at his words.

"Alright then, so I'll uh just see you in detention?" she said dejectedly but James showed no sympathy.

He gave her a cold shrug, looking back at his paper as if he hadn't been obsessing over her for three years and continued writing as if she had never been there. When Lily walked away, Sirius looked at his friend as if he had grown a second head.

"Wormtail, knock on Prong's head there and see if anything is inside."

James knocked Peter's hand away and fiercely glared at his friend. "I said to quit it."

"Don't you think you were a bit harsh on her? She seemed pretty upset for two kids who were caught shagging," Sirius retorted.

James smacked his book shut at his question and shoved his notes angrily into his school bag. "I told you to quit it!"

He walked out of the library then without another word.

Sirius and Peter stared with lightly gaping mouths at their friend's temper tantrum.

"So what theory do we think now?"

"Something is going on between Evans and Prongs," Sirius said plopping between Marlene and Mary on the couch, later that night in the common room, and grabbing a piece of fudge they had left on the table.

"That we already know," Marlene said pushing Sirius' hands off her shoulders as he left crumbs along her lap. "But Lily has been acting dodgy all day."

"Prongs straight up through a hissy fit in the library right now."

"Well, we know their shagging…" Peter said. At one point or another, everyone had witnessed James and Lily's poor constructed hiding. The idea of them being together had been talked about so many times and now that they were finally together but not admitting it, the whole concept was becoming far-fetched.

"Yes, but that doesn't explain this whole gloom and dome scenario," Marlene countered.

"Well we know the theories… which one do we think it is?" Mary questioned, looking at their group of friends.

"Well we can cross off 'caught shagging', yeah? I feel like they wouldn't be so upsetwith one and other if that was the case," Marlene threw out.

Peter nodded. "Maybe Lily caught James dueling with the Slytherins? Theory number three? Got upset at him again?"

"Could be…" Mary said slowly.

"But then why would James be so upset?" Marlene disputed.

"Maybe because she ended up hexing him and getting mad at him instead of the Slytherins," Sirius offered completely unsure. This entire situation was becoming ridiculous.

"Listen," Marlene started. "All of this is guessing games, I reckon there is a much easier way of figuring it out."

"We could, you know, spy on them, in detention," Peter suggested.

They sat silently for an entire moment, looking at each other, before they all raced out to the portrait opening forgetting they had curfew, as if they cared.

"Shh!" Mary shushed, as they got closer. "They'll hear us."

They tiptoed as they got closer but any creaks or swishes they thought they heard were just imagination until they did hear a loud cough behind them. At once, Marlene, Sirius, Peter and Mary jumped and then sighed in relief at Remus who was on rounds but staring at them with raised, amused eyebrows.

"Moony, just in time, we are spying on Prongs and Evans… Unless you already know why they got detention?" Sirius said accusingly.

Remus rolled his eyes at his friends' antics. "Not a clue."

"You would think being a prefect we would get some inside information," Marlene said snidely.

"I can say that prefect meeting was interesting," Remus offered.

"How exactly was there a prefect meeting when the Head Boy and Girl are in detention?" Mary asked.

"That's what we were all thinking until Professor McGonagall came in and informed us she would be leading the meeting tonight, and then proceeded to take ten points from Ravenclaw when Humphreys asked what happened last night."

They continued down the hallway with Remus in tow. "So you noticed too Prongs acting funny today?"

Remus shrugged. "He's been acting funny since term started. You haven't noticed? One second he's down the next high."

Sirius considered what his friend said and tried to really think about it. In past five weeks since term started, James had been acting a bit strange… More aggressive in Quidditch practice and randomly disappearing (though he assumed that meant he was just off with Evans). His jealousy regarding her was at an ultimate high, and if Sirius hadn't already known about them, he would have surmised considering James had given Adam Cooper three nights worth of detention when he heard from Lily that he'd asked her to Hogsmeade one night after studying for Alchemy together. He justified it by saying Cooper had been wondering the halls after curfew, which no one bought (including McGonagall who'd retroactively dismissed the detention).

They arrived outside the dungeon doors, the Marauder Map telling them which classroom to find them in. They stared at each other before lowering themselves flat on the floor (like the creeps they were) and stuck their ears next to the opening of the door and performing a sound heightener charm.

"James, I'm sorry," was the first thing they heard.

"I'm not interested," James said coldly.

"I'm sorry, okay! I've said it a million times, what more do you want me to say?"

"How about just leaving me alone?"

"Please, James, you've never been this mad at me before and it's confusing."

"Good," he said shortly.

They didn't hear anything but a few creaks of movement and a mop dropping and then, "Evans, stop."

"So it's Evans now after everything?" Lily asked, her voice sounded so low that the group felt bad for her.

"Yes."

"C'mon, James. It was… a shock reaction."

"A shock reaction?" James barked. It became silent for a brief moment and they pressed their ears harder to the opening when they heard, "You know what, Lily? I'm done. I'm done with you and I'm done with this."

A second later, the door swung open and all five friends looked up guiltily at James's furious expression and Lily crying. They got up, wiping their clothes, trying to act casual as if it was normal to be caught so obviously eavesdropping (which in some ways it was for this group of friends).

"Sorry about that mate but-" Sirius began but James didn't wait for an explanation and stormed down the corridor. "You can't just leave detention like that!" Sirius yelled after him but James ignored him.

With the absence of James, all eyes turned to Lily's puffy eyes.

"Lily," Mary said going over to her and giving her a hug. "Why are you crying?"

But all Lily did was cry. Now, the thing about Lily Evans was that she was hardheaded, stubborn, infallible. She did not cry. And Sirius watched as tears flowed freely down her face becoming more and more dumbfounded and knowing he wasn't the only one. What was going on? None of it was making any sense. Obviously, something big had been kept from them.

"Lils," Marlene said softly, stroking her hair and looking at Sirius muddled. What the fuck, she mouthed and Sirius shrugged just as befuddled.

"Miss Evans, I seemed too have found-" Professor McGonagall started and then stopped at seeing triple the amount of people she had expected. She stood in the doorway with James besides her, his hands in his pockets looking down moodily. "Is there a reason the five of you seemed to have wondered into this room at this hour?"

"Just to have a jolly chat with our Head Boy and Girl and figure out what exactly happened last night to spark such an outcry," Sirius filled in.

"Out," she said with her hand pointing to the door. "Or do you also want detention?"

Sheepishly, they shuffled out and the door snapped shut behind them. They stood looking at each other (again) moving from side to side hesitantly before all at once collapsing to the floor (they were weak, and what were they suppose to do? They had a mission to accomplish).

"Now, I realize the two of you are cross with one and other but that is no excuse to abandon your detention in the middle," McGonagall's voice wafted.

"For the first time, Professor, I don't deserve this detention," James said.

"What?" rang Lily's voice. "You were there too!"

They didn't hear anything until: "ARE YOU THICK IN THE HEAD, EVANS?"

"That's enough, Potter!" McGonagall said. All they heard was deep breathing then a mop being picked up. "Now get back to work and if I find you leaving detention in the middle again I'll double it."

James grunted.

A moment passed and then: "As Professor Dumbledore said yesterday, it seems a pity to fight emotions when they are so apparent and time is being wasted."

"Yeah, tell that to Evans," James mumbled.

"James, I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, well sorry isn't good enough this time. Wait, Professor," James called out and the group on the floor realized McGonagall was near the exit and looked at each other skittishly if to abandon their spot.

"Yes, Potter?"

"I realize I have detention with Evans, but can I not have detention with Evans tomorrow?"

Their was gapping silence and then, "If you wish, Mr. Potter."

The group looked at each as they heard McGonagall open the door and sprinted with all their might back to Gryffindor Tower.

As they reached the portrait huffing, wheezing and barely alive, holding their sides for cramps and stiches, Mary somehow was able to utter the password and they tumbled into the common room.

"Wh-What the bloody hell is all this about? Wh-what happened last night?"

But only five blank and puzzled stares looked back at each other.

"We-we need to go over the th-theories again," Peter panted. "What's the top one?"

The next morning, when Lily came into the Great Hall for breakfast and saw all her friends eating plus a James Potter, the group facing the entranceway immediately spotted how Lily halted, stared at the back of James's head, turned around, stopped, turned back around, looked determined, started marching towards them before stopping altogether and leaving the Great Hall.

"I better bring her some toast," Marlene said to a Sirius who was staring at the developments with his mouth open.

"Toast, to who?" James said as he turned around to stare, his own mouth filled with food.

"Who else would come in here and leave at the sight of you? Now Prongs, you want to tell us which of the top ten theories is real considering we spent the better part of last night reviewing them instead of our homework?" Sirius provided.

James glared at his friend and flicked his sausage at Sirius's face but he flicked it away. "You lot are garbage friends."

"We personally believe it's theory number three with a few abbreviations though you and Lily keep insisting it's theory number seven," Marlene interjected.

"Are you lot talking about the theories?" Gryffindor sixth year Warner Walker asked as he slid onto the empty seat besides James.

"Yup," Mary said. "We think it is theory number three."

"I've got one galleon going that it's theory number eight," Walker said confidently.

James turned to glare at him. "Watch it, Walker or I'll put you detention for harassing the Head Boy."

"Calm your horses but I'm not the only one. Hornby bet me double or nothing that it's theory number six and King upped the anti by claiming it's theory number eight. At least we don't think you lot are dumb enough to get caught shagging, which is most of the school. Almost two hundred galleons just on theory number one."

"We aren't shagging," James muttered under his breath at the same time Peter exclaimed. "Two hundred galleons, how do I get in on this?"

Walker chortled as he got up and looked at Peter. "Talk to Peck in Hufflepuff, he's got all the tallies updated hourly. See you lot later."

"Why can't people mind their own business?" James snarled as he watched Walker stroll away chummily.

Not amused, Sirius leaned in. "Come off it, James, what happened?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

Sirius groaned in frustration and slammed his hands on the table. "Do you think we are idiots?"

Remus stepped in then. "All we are trying to say is that obviously something is happening, and we just want to be there for you two."

James huffed and then stood. "I have Quidditch practice because their is a game tomorrow and everyone seems to be forgetting I'm captain."

"I didn't forget!" Peter said but they all ignored him.

"But from the events of a few nights ago, we know you're Head Boy considering he got caught with the Head Girl… shagging?" Marlene tempted.

"For fucks sake, me and Lily were not caught shagging! And we didn't get into any duels with the Slytherins and no, we didn't lock Mrs. Norris in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom if that's what you lot want to know so badly!" James all but yelled at his friends. James's voice though was loud enough to be carried down the Gryffindor table were people started stare.

"Aha!" Sirius jumped up onto the bench and pointed at James. "I knew you were lying about Mrs. Norris."

Remus pulled Sirius down and looked at James gently. "Fine, so what exactly did happen?"

The group of eyes stared at James and James groaned and looked at the top of the cloudless ceiling. "Ask Lily, alright? She's the one with all the secrets to keep."

With that he turned away and headed to the field, the rest of his Quidditch team unsure if to follow their irritated captain but did so, but followed a few steps behind.

"We should go study…" Mary said slowly.

"Or," Sirius offered. "We go find Evans?"

They stood abruptly and made their way to Gryffindor Tower, charging against the traffic as they passed through the throngs of people bustling on their way to their weekend activities.

"Now that we know it's not the Slytherins, what do you think happened?" Peter said as the portrait hole was within sight.

But none of them had any answers as their second top theory was crossed out. "Maybe they really were trying to sneak out of school?"

But even as the theory was offered none of it made sense. Why would James be so angry with Lily? The last few months, James and Lily could barely hide their uninhibited attraction to each other. Flirting dangerously in classes, always scheduling rounds together, laughing at each other's jokes even when they weren't funny… What could possibly have gone wrong?

They entered into the pretty empty common room to find Lily sitting near the fireplace. At first, they didn't hear it but as they moved closer they heard the cries, then the sobs and finally saw the tears. Lily Evans was crying hysterically. Marlene rushed to her.

"What the bloody fuck is going on?" Sirius yelped as Mary shoved past him and embraced her friend.

Lily jumped at the unexpected guests and tried wiping her tears but more fell in replacement. "Nothing, I just don't-"

"Bullocks and you know it," Sirius said, taking a seat on the coffee table across from her and the others followed. "Now, what happened?"

Lily was silent and stared at the floor and gulped for air between her deep breaths she couldn't seem to take because of her sobbing. She exhaled slowly and then looked at her friends. "Me and James have been… together." She expected at least a gasp of surprise but looked at five different blank faces that didn't seem to be all too shocked.

"Sorry to break it to you, love," Marlene said. "But you two weren't very good at hiding."

"I mean besides the fact the two of you have been flirting relentlessly and you let him touch you all the time without hexing or yelling at him anymore, I caught the two of you at the lake a few weeks ago," Mary said shrugging.

"At least the lake is partially hidden, I saw them in the empty classroom near the prefect's lounge," Remus laughed at a Lily who was growing increasingly redder.

"I got you all beat," said Peter with a knowing smile. "In James's bed in broad daylight ditching Potions, hangings ups and everything."

"You- you knew? You all knew?" Lily said horrified. "Why didn't any of you say anything?"

"Didn't seem like our place," Remus said kindly. "Figured you would come clean when you felt comfortable enough."

"But honestly, it's almost as if you two weren't even trying to hide," Sirius said smartly as he rose from his seat and looked down at Lily. "So… want to tell us what happened two nights ago that you're in tears and James is stomping around?"

Lily swallowed and shook her head. "Not really."

"Not really giving you an option," Sirius said flatly.

Lily looked down and then up again and then down again and more tears filled her eyes. "James, he uh, well… James never wanted to keep it a secret."

"Surprise there," Sirius chirped.

Lily glared at him. "Listen, I just wasn't ready. Everything was happening so quickly and I couldn't keep up. I mean," Lily said waving her fingers through each other anxiously as if she had thought this over a million and ten times, which she probably had. "One day I was hexing him and the next he was responsible and kind and he helped that cute Hufflepuff in First Year when he tripped on the trick staircase and lost all his books."

"Wait!" Marlene said jumping up, standing next to Sirius and glaring down at her friend. "That was last year! James helped that kid last year and don't even try to convince me different because I remember those mooneyes you had after! HOW LONG HAVE THE TWO OF YOU BEEN SNOGGING?"

Lily swallowed and shrugged guilty. "Around about nine months… since my birthday."

This was the reaction Lily had expected as their mouths fell open gobsmacked. "Nine months?" Mary repeated. "But, but how?!"

"Why?" Sirius said. "I get what you said at first with the fast and the hexing but it's been nine bloody months, obviously not so fast anymore."

"And nine months isn't exactly snogging," Marlene butt in, continuing her glaring at her friend and not caring at how further dejected she looked. "You lot are in a full throttle relationship is what you two are in! Call it what you want."

"Lily," Remus said gently and touched her shoulder kindly, trying a different approach from his friends harsh one. "Why the secrecy?"

Fresh tears fell down her face and Lily looked up at the group agonizingly. "At first, it was just confusing! You have to understand, he was Potter but then suddenly he was James and he was so, so compassionate and reliable, and I just couldn't understand how I didn't see it before. And then I liked snogging him but I couldn't figure out if I liked him but then I did like him, a lot. And it was just confusing so I asked him to keep it between us so I could figure it out and then the summer came and then term started…"

"And nine months later?"

Tears streamed freely down her face and she wasn't even trying to hide it as their friends realized they weren't just dealing with a couple of sneaky students hiding their snogging. This was a real couple, a nine-month anniversary kind of couple…

"Well, James didn't want to hide it anymore," Lily explained.

"I can't imagine why," Sirius intervened but Lily ignored him.

"He's always been so honest and… even though he didn't want to keep it a secret he did for me."

Mary stroked her friend's hair and considered. "So what happened?"

"He uh," Lily hiccupped and looked at her friends. "The second term started, he just kept badgering me on and on and I couldn't take it anymore, you guys know how he can be…"

"Listen, at nine months I would be too," Sirius muttered under his breath but Remus shushed him.

"So when we went for rounds, we were circling the Astronomy Tower and he just, he just kept hounding me…"

"Lily, c'mon! There's nothing stopping us, let's just be together."

"We are together, now shut it!"

"I can't keep it a secret anymore, and I'm pretty sure all our friends know anyways."

Lily twisted around and glared at him. "What? Did you tell them?"

Her animosity startled him. "Of course not… I just… Lily, I want to be with you and I want to share that with everyone. I'm tired of all this hiding, all right? I can't do it anymore."

"So what are you saying?" Lily said sternly, looking anywhere but him. "You don't want to be with me anymore?"

James gaped at her and took a step forward, pulling her into his arms. "Are you mad? I'm saying the exact opposite! I want more then anything to be with you and for everyone to know!"

Lily pulled away and looked to her side as she crossed her arms. "I'm just not ready… I…"

"Is it me?" James finally asked earnestly, desperately. "Do you just not love me enough?"

Lily's eyes widened and she shook her head adamantly as she crossed over to him and touched his cheeks. "No, James, of course not. You know I love you."

"Then what's the problem? I love you, you love me and there's absolutely nothing to hide!"

"James-"

"No! I'm sick of hiding. I'm going to tell everyone tonight."

"No, you are not!" Lily said panicked as she pulled at his shoulder. "Just stop it."

"Or what?"

Lily looked at James and he looked at her just as ardently because they had reached a crossroads. The situation had become impossible for him.

"I can't do this anymore. I don't want too."

Tears formed in Lily's eyes but James didn't rush to brush them away. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," James said sincerely. "That I want to shout it from the rooftops that we are together."

With that James jumped onto the ledge of the Astronomy Tower and looked down at Lily who was looking at him horrified.

"James, get down from there!"

James cupped his hands instead and yelled, "I LOVE LILY!"

Lily pulled at his pant leg but he stepped away from her. "James, stop it!"

"Or what?" he mocked and yelled into the open sky again. "I LOVE LILY AND SHE LOVES ME BACK!"

"Stop," she hissed, trying to pull him down.

"ME AND LILY ARE IN A RELATIONSHHH-"

"And then I pushed him," she concluded.

The group was silent as they stared stunned, their words lost as they tried to formulate complete sentences.

"You pushed James off the Astronomy Tower?" Sirius yelped. "How did he survive?"

Lily swallowed and huffed loudly. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to do it obviously! He was just being so frustrating, standing up there declaring those things."

"Must be hard having someone love you so much that he stood on the Astronomy Tower and yelled it," Marlene shot at her.

"But how did he survive?" Remus repeated wide-eyed, staring at Lily in a totally new light.

"Well, McGonagall must of heard all the shouting because she uh happened to, well see me push James and right away Levitated his body to the fifth floor balcony, and James cast his own cushioning charm so that when he landed it wasn't that bad."

The group just outright gaped at her, unsure how to proceed. "This is mad," Remus finally said. "Lily, have you lost your mind?"

Lily jumped up in frenzy and looked around at them. "Listen, it wasn't the right reaction but I didn't know what to do! Obviously, I shouldn't have pushed him but he just wouldn't shut up! And I regret it and it was an accident clearly but if James knew anything about me then he would know that was definitely not the way to get me to agree!"

But the astonished faces didn't fade as Lily made her way to her room.

"This is mad," Mary concluded.

"I was not expecting that…" Peter agreed as they looked around at each other.

"I don't even know how to move forward," Marlene added.

"Right well, you two talk to Evans, and… we'll talk to Prongs," Sirius said, scratching the back of his head. "But I have to say… if I were him… I mean, she pushed him from the Astronomy Tower."

They sat silently before they heard a light snigger and looked over at Peter who shrugged. "It's a bit funny, I mean imagine his face."

Mary rolled her eyes but Marlene couldn't help cracking a smile and Sirius outright busted out laughing. Soon they were all laughing, even Remus, at the absurdity of the entire situation.

"Evans pushed Prongs off the Astronomy Tower," Sirius repeated, now with tears in his eyes. "Imagine what they'll tell their children."

"What are you lot laughing at?" James grumped, climbing through the portrait hole and towards his friends. He seemed to scan the group and sighed in relief when he realized Lily wasn't there, which honestly just made the entire group sad. It used to be the opposite. He slumped onto the vaccinated spot on the couch left by Lily and looked into the fire, brooding.

"We just had an interesting chat with Evans," Sirius started and with that the two girls bid their farewells and went to meet Lily in the girls dormitory.

"Yeah," James said, picking at a string on his Quidditch robes. "What she'd have to say?"

"Only that two of you have been shagging for oh say nine months?" Sirius supplied.

James's head snapped back to his best friends, his mouth hanging opening. "She told you? She actually said it out loud?"

"Sat just where you were now," Sirius nodding in false seriousness.

"She, she told you guys everything?" James asked slowly as the idea that his friends finally knew this deep, dark secret relaxed an unknown tension that had been high strung within him and out came a dazzling smile.

His three friends couldn't help but grin at his reaction as Peter clapped a hand on his back. "I'm assuming a congrats is in order?"

James started to say something but he seemed to fall back into himself. "It doesn't matter."

His friends glanced at one and other before huddling around their obviously depressed friend. "After all these years of pining, you finally get Evans and you're going to let one little push-"

"She shoved me off the Astronomy Tower."

"A setback," Peter offered but James continued to glower.

"Listen, we were down here talking to her and she seemed pretty remorseful-" Remus started but James waved him off.

"She's upset?" James said dryly. "Do realize that she would rather push me off the Astronomy Tower then even admit publicly that we are together?"

They couldn't fight with that logic so they remained silent, eventually James slumping in his seat. "It's been torture is what it's been. All I want is to be with her! And she… would rather accidently kill me then be with me! It's like what is there even to be ashamed of?"

"James," Sirius started slowly, patting his friend on the back. "It's Lily, she's always been like that. Thinking too much, worried too much. It's because she cares too much. And she doesn't want to get hurt, again."

James shrugged despondently, knowing all this but it had become enough and that much was obvious to everyone. How much was he expected to take? He loved her. He wanted to be with her and he was done hiding it. And, he was never going to hurt if he could help it. All he wanted to do was make her happy. He told his friends as much.

"Like I said," James said getting up. "It doesn't matter anymore. The ball is in her pitch. And if she wants me, she knows were to find me."

"And if she doesn't?"

The sorrow that filled his eyes made his friend instantly regret asking anything at all and James just shook his head as he slouched to his dormitory, the very notion that he had already lost Lily much to close to his reality.

"Lily," Mary asked kindly as she entered into the room to see Lily spooned on her bed, holding onto her extra pillow.

"Yeah?" she asked despondently.

The two girls looked at each other before surrounding her bed and sitting besides her. "Just checking in."

They remained quiet as Marlene stroked her friend's hair and Mary her arm. Silent tears fell down Lily's cheeks as she sniffled. "He's never going to speak to me again, is he?"

"C'mon, Lils," Marlene said, trying to lower the sadness overwhelming the room. "He's been obsessed with you for years, I doubt he's just going to let go."

"It's different this time."

The girls looked at each other because they couldn't deny the fact that pushing James off the Astronomy Tower was a bit radical.

"Lils," Mary asked gently. "But what's stopping you? Everyone already knows…"

Lily gulped and sat up, leaning against her headboard. "It's all so confusing. I love him but I'm scared. What if he wakes up and realizes all of me isn't worth… well, the effort?"

"Lily," Marlene groaned. "He's been asking you out since fifth year! Been crushing on you since forth and you've been together since sixth! He's kept it a literal secret for nine months. What makes you possibly think he wouldn't want you?"

"And if doesn't… well, Lily, you are strong and capable, and it will be alright. Eventually it always is," Mary said calmly.

Lily sighed. "You're probably right, but James is… furious. He won't even look at me. I tried talking to him during our detention but he just ignored me. He's never been this angry with me before. I don't really know how to take it, honestly."

"James just has a bruised ego right now," Marlene said. "I mean, you did push him off the Astronomy Tower."

"It was an accident."

"Still happened."

"He's never going to forgive me," Lily sighed, slumping back onto her pillow.

"He will, he just needs… some time," Mary said. "But Lily… I think you need to decide if you truly want to be with him."

"Of course I do!" Lily said appalled at the question.

"Right, well you need to start acting like it, by telling people," Marlene said, butting in. "I mean it's been nine bloody months, I'm surprised James didn't push you off the bloody Tower."

"I told you lot," Lily motioned.

The two girls looked at Lily sympathetically and gave her grim smiles. "I don't think it's enough honestly."

Lily glared at her ceiling at the un-satisfaction of it all. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know," Marlene said, at last moving to her own bed. "Think what James would do."

It was the next day, morning of the first Gryffindor Quidditch match of the season versus Ravenclaw. The girls had shuffled into the room, forcing Lily down the stairs in her House colors, to eat breakfast.

"He doesn't want to see me," she had insisted to their denials though Marlene wasn't quite sure after her brief conversation with Sirius last night.

"He's pretty upset," Sirius explained as they pulled on their own clothes after a brief shagging section in a broom cupboard. "I'm pretty sure I heard him crying into his pillow earlier. I don't think Evans is getting away with it that easily to tell you the truth."

They sat at the table and Lily didn't even try not to stare at James and the multiple girls surrounding him. She mashed at her food and pouted into her morning tea.

"Lily," Mary said softly but she shrugged her off as the rest of the Marauders sauntered into the room and took a seat by them.

"Good morning, lovely ladies," Sirius said as he took a bit of toast and started pouring scrambled eggs onto his plate.

"Morning," Lily mumbled as she took another glance at James.

"Uh," Sirius laughed into his food. "Unrequited love?"

She ignored him but Sirius wasn't one for being ignored and called down the table. "Oi, Prongs! I think someone has something to say to you this morning."

James looked over at his best friend, saw his whatever sitting next to him and got up. "Yeah, what's that?"

Lily became tongue tied as James stalked over and stood over their friends as he looked down at Lily expectantly. "I uh… I just wanted to wish you luck."

James crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "That it?"

Lily bit her lip and looked up at him desperately. "What more do you want me to say?"

But that seemed to make James angrier and he just stomped away and Lily looked after him mutely. She got up then and chased after him, grabbing his hand near the side of the entranceway, their friends moving closer to the end of the table trying to hear the hushed argument.

"James, I told you I'm sorry, what else can I do?"

"It's not that simple anymore."

"James…"

"You pushed me off the Astronomy Tower!"

He said it loud enough that a few prying eyes looked over curiously. Lily blushed under his intense gaze, glaring at him to be quiet while trying to ignore McGonagall's piercing look. "Please be quiet. And I'm sorry! I obviously didn't mean it, you know that."

"Come off it, Evans," and Lily flinched at the use of her surname. "You would rather push me off the Astronomy Tower then be with me. I mean look at us now!" Motioning his hands around the Great Hall because even though they were making a commotion, their voices were so hushed no one could clearly hear what was being said. "It's still a bloody secret."

"I told our friends," she said grabbing his shoulder as he turned to walk away.

He looked over and shrugged her off. "Under duress and it's not enough."

"What am I supposed to do? Shout it for everyone to hear?" she demanded.

James turned around and lifted his chin. "Yeah, do that."

Lily crossed her arms in defiance. "I'm not like that and I'm still… I'm…"

But James punctured at her words and looked away from his source of distress. "Right, I reckon I'm going to go."

"So that's it?" Lily asked franticly. "You'd rather just break up, just like that? Just because I'm not ready to, to tell anyone!"

"I'd rather just be with you, Lily," he said brokenly. "It's up to you, it always been. I'm just asking you to meet me halfway."

"James," Lily croaked. "I'm just not… I don't…"

Bu he completely deflated at her indecisiveness and at his Quidditch team came hurrying up and surrounded him completely. James took one last look at her.

"See you around, Evans," he said miserably as people tried to get him away from her and Lily was left standing there, heart sinking further and further down her chest.

Their friends came to a stoic Lily and hugged her. "Let's go to the pitch, yeah?" Mary offered, taking Lily by the shoulders and leading her out.

"I think we just broke up," Lily muttered wretchedly.

Their friends looked between them, unsure of what to do, again. How was it that two people who were so supposed to be with one and other just couldn't get it together? It was straight up mystifying.

They found seats near the announcer box, a bit removed from everyone else because even though no one explicitly heard the contents of their talk in the Great Hall, the scene only opened further speculation on what exactly the Head Boy and Girl did to receive detention.

Lily looked on sadly as Madame Houch called out the members of each Quidditch team and they zoomed into the air.

"And off the teams go," Jaxson Grant roared into the enchanted microphone. "Now, Ravenclaw has a steady defense this year considering…"

The voices faded far away as Lily watched James catch a Quaffle, weaving through the players. A Bludger suddenly hit him in the back and Lily silently cried out as she watched James lean forward, dropping the Quaffle in the process.

"Woah!" Peter said to no one in particular. "James never gets hit! FOUL!"

But the roars of the Gryffindor were ignored as the gamed picked up and Lily watched dully as James tried scoring and missed, holding the Quaffle dropping it or just getting hit by Bludgers randomly even when they weren't headed towards him.

"He's off his game," Peter said, and the boys looked at each other and then at Lily.

"Wonder why?" Sirius said pointedly but Lily didn't even have a response.

But when Lily watched as a Bludger almost knocked James off his broom, his face completely desolate instead of frustrated, and her heart lurched from her chest. What exactly was stopping her? What was she so scared off? James loved her. She loved him. And for heaven's sake, their friends already knew. They had known for months! Who cared?

Lily took one frantic glance at her friends as she jumped up and leaned over the rail.

"James!" she called out but he obviously didn't hear. "JAMES! JAMES!"

Even if he heard her shouts through the wind and roar of the crowd, he ignored them and zoomed right past her without even looking.

Lily huffed in frustration and looked at her friends who were looking at her with matching confused stares.

"And Potter drops the Quaffle again! Wonder what's gotten into him," Grant commented and Lily looked up at the announcer room with sudden inspiration. Her friends watched confounded as she leaped from her seat and raced towards the stairs leading to the room. With widen eyes they watched as Lily opened the door, as Grant was mid-sentence.

"And Marlowe blocks the Qua- what the hell, Evans? What are you doing in here?" Grant bellowed into the microphone as Lily burst into his room and the entire stadium stopped to look over at the announcer booth and both Grant and Lily felt the eyes of everyone, including non-moving Quidditch teams who remained motionless on their brooms. Lily especially noticed the lightly gaping mouth of James Potter.

She ignored Grant as she shoved past him and took the microphone into her own hands.

"Potter," she said breathlessly into the microphone, staring unwaveringly at him. James, for his part, was staring back at her unsure, confused and hopeful, and she wanted to take away any doubt he was experiencing. "I love you."

Everyone gasped as she swallowed the words as she only had eyes for James who just gawked at her.

"I'm sorry I pushed you off the Astronomy Tower," she said to more gasps. She saw McGonagall start to move and realized she was running on limited time and rushed through. "But it was only because I was scared by how much I love you. And if I'm being honest, I've loved you since fifth year; I just didn't know it then. Well, maybe I didn't love you but I definitely fancied you even though I tried desperately to hide it hoping those feelings would just, you know, poof… but they never did. I love you James Potter, I always have and I'm so sorry if you ever doubted me for one second of one day. Because I think about you all the time and think 'Wow, James would find that funny' or 'Wouldn't that be nice to do with James'. I'm sorry I kept us a secret but I don't care anymore, I just want to be with you, that's all I want. So please forgive me. Please.

"Anyways, that's all I wanted to say."

As her babble died into nothingness, the entire stadium was silent and Lily's heart was pounding into the depth of her eyes like razor sharp rocks against her chest, her eyes never leaving James, whose were round as saucers.

She felt a total loss as the adrenaline that pushed her forward faded and she was left with an entirely too silent of a stadium. No one seemed to move or make a sound but stare at Lily agape as she handed the microphone back to seemingly stupefied Grant. Lily looked back over at James who was staring, and felt her pulse speed up, as his eyes flamed looking over her.

She heard the door open and was surprised to see McGonagall with a sympathetic hand on her shoulder as she finally turned away from James, trying to ignore the severe disappointment spreading throughout her burning body. She faced her professor, red with embarrassment because Lily Evans did not do things like that especially considering James just stared at her as if she cut off her own limb instead of publicly declaring her love, she thought vehemently. She had done just as he wanted!

"Evans, why don't you come with me?"

But in that moment the door was slammed open for the third time and James sprinted through it, his broomstick rolling down the stairs abandoned, and Lily didn't think or consider and just leapt into his arms, bursting into tears and kissing him without thought as she wrapped her legs around his waist as he swept her against his own body.

And he smothered her with kisses on her cheeks and neck and ears as she held onto him for dear life because he was her life and she never wanted to let go. Lily was crying then and even James wiped his eyes on her hair as he proclaimed his love in return and she said it back because finally for James it was real and alive for everyone to see. And the roar of the stadium filled both their ears as the entire school exploded into thunderous cheers, and James distinctly heard Sirius whopping and Marlene yelling crudely and a laughing Remus. But James kissed Lily again because it was Lily and she was finally in his arms and she wasn't hiding them anymore.

"Is this real?" he asked dazed

She gives him a weepy but happy smile. "Yup, and now you're stuck with me."

"Good," he murmured and pulled her back for another kiss.

"I love you," she said and James grinned with the absolute knowledge that only this morning they had hidden their hushed argument and now the entire school heard their make-up. It was a Marauder dream come true.

"You have no idea how much I needed to hear that," James said as he kissed her nose.

"Don't get used to this," Lily murmured as a blush formed her face and she finally looked out to the crowd who was blatantly staring and gossiping and cheering but James only had eyes for her.

"I love you, Lily."

Lily smiled back and was about to respond but McGonagall tapped them on the shoulder. Even through her no nonsense, stern face, they both could see her obvious affection. "Detention."

"C'mon, Professor! I don't deserve this detention either!" James guiled but he released Lily, setting her down on her feet steadily without releasing his wrapped arms around her.

Lily smacked him but she couldn't have looked happier as she gazed at him.

"Why don't you finish this match?" she said with raised eyebrows.

"Oh yeah, that thing," James said with an easy smirk as McGonagall ushered them out of the room and James was handed his broomstick by an amused Remus. "Off to be the hero," he said jumping onto his broom, kissing Lily once more before winking to the crowd and zoomed back onto the pitch to numerous cheers.

Lily blushed deeply as she went back to sit with her friends, grinning uncontrollably as Marlene hugged her and Sirius pulled her around the neck. "Wasn't so hard, was it?"

Lily shrugged haplessly as the Quidditch figures started moving around once again.

"Alright," Grant drawled. "Now that we've established that Evans loves Potter, we can get back to the match. Though I gotta point out, interesting that theory number four, Lily murdering James, was the reason they got their original detention in the first place."

The crowd laughed hysterically and James lifted his arm in mock strength and Lily shook her head at her very public boyfriend. What a showoff but then again, so was she apparently.

"So Wormtail, how much money did we win?" Sirius said and Lily looked at him astounded.

"You bet on us?"

"What? You two were good money, theory number four and all. Thanks for the tip."

The End