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seanfalco · 3 years ago

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The Final Proposal | Misfits Timeline Anomaly’verse

an oc x oc collaboration between @seanfalco & @super-unpredictable98

Word Count: 6k Warnings: wedding proposals, wlw smut, thigh riding, scissoring

[ masterlist ]

"What're you doin' up so early for?" Win's Nathan asked as he found Win out in the living room on her phone, her guitar in her lap. She looked up at him and then over at the bedroom door.

"I'm lookin' for someplace that's hostin' an open mic night. I wanted to propose to Lyddie while we were performing together, but we don't have any gigs since she's working on the musical. So this'll be the next best thing," Win mused.

"Man, y'gotta stop wakin' up so fuckin' early! What the fuck is wrong with... hey, Winnie," Lyddie's Nathan changed his tone when he saw her. "Good mornin', baby," he let his chin rest on her shoulder. "Open mic night? Lyds must know where t'find one..." he suggested as if that was smartest idea ever.

"Hey babe," Win greeted, turning her head to steal a kiss. "I suppose we could ask her. That part doesn't have t'be a surprise..." she mused.

"Okay, so first of all, someone recognized me at Starbucks and I got my lemonade for free. Second of all, I had an idea, I'm gonna p- Win! You're up," Lydia froze in place. "Did you sleep well?"

"Oh-- yeah, sort of," she laughed nervously, setting her guitar aside. "Had some weird dreams, but uhm, hey, I was thinkin' it might be fun t'play at an open mic night somewhere, like under the radar. I miss performin'. Do you know any places that have something like that?"

"Aww I miss performing too... we could go to the Green Room 42, they're having one on Friday, I'm sure I can get us in," Lydia sat next to Win and offered her a sip of lemonade. "There's also something happening in the 54 Bellow, but I'm not sure when..."

"Why all the places around here have a name and a number? What's up with that?" her Nathan grimaced.

"Friday would be great!" Win exclaimed before clearing her throat, trying to not look too eager.

"I'll get us on the list," Lydia giggled. "I always wanted to say that... we could get there a little early, some actors from American Idiot will be performing Green Day songs, I'd love to watch it."

"Sounds great," Win said, unable to hold back her grin as she snaked her arms around Lyddie, pulling her in for a hug.

"Wow, you're really excited..." Lydia smiled, hugging her back. "If I knew you missed the stage so much I would've suggested it weeks ago."

"I just miss performing... with you," Win murmured. "I feel so close to you on stage," she admitted, pulling back to look at her girlfriend.

"Yeah, me too, we're an amazing duo... and you look very hot when you play," Lydia sighed, remembering her stupid reaction when seeing Win for the first time. "I'll forever thank my manager for making me do that festival."

"It was the best idea ever," Win agreed, overwhelmed with affection for a moment.

Win's Nathan watched them for a moment, a small smile tugging at his lips. He honestly never imagined his life might be anything like this, but he'd never trade it, or the two women in front of him for anything.

This was exactly what Lydia needed to be sure, she has been thinking about proposing to Win for a while. They were the only ones not engaged, as Simon had pointed out when she gave him the big news about the second Nathan.

"You are so adorable," Lyddie pulled her girlfriend closer again, drowning her in kisses. "I love you!"

"I love you too!' Win cried, nearly pulling Lyddie down atop her as she giggled into her kisses.

"Okay, okay, now you're just gettin' gross over there," Win's Nathan teased.

"Look, Winnie, someone's jealous..." Lydia crooked an eyebrow, making her own Nathan laugh as he watched the entire scene. "Don't worry, we love you too, you twat."

"Yeah, that's why we're wearin' these rings, remember?" Win asked, holding up her hand before pulling Lyddie back to her. "Y'hafta learn how t'share," she teased back.

"Shit... I forgot to check the mailbox," Lydia groaned. "And it's so cold outside, I don't wanna go," she whined dramatically, falling with her back against the couch.

Win turned a pleading eye on the Nathans. "Would one of you get the mail?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

"Fuck! Why is it always on us?" Lyddie's Nathan grunted as he grabbed a winter coat hanging next to the door.

"Thank you, baby!" Lydia shouted as he left.

Nathan marched all the way to the first floor, opened the tiny mailbox and found only a note with his name on it. Nathan, I need you to make me a ring. I wanna surprise Win this weekend, don't say a word to her. Love you, Lyddie.

"There, uh, there was no mail," he exclaimed, completely pale as he walked back through the door..

"Nothing at all?" Win asked, "huh, that almost never happens," she mused.

"Nothin'..." Lyddie's Nathan gave his clone a terrified look. "We gotta talk, right now," he whispered.

Win's Nathan looked confused, but he followed his clone into the other room. "What's that look for? Y'look like yeh seen a ghost."

"No! Much worse..." Lyddie's Nathan shook his head, half the time he didn't even realize when he saw an actual ghost. "Lyds wants to propose, she left this note."

Win's Nathan snatched the note from him to read over. "Shit..." he breathed, running a hand through his hair. "How are we gunna do this? Though, wouldn't each of 'em need a ring anyway?"

"I s'pose, but we can't let Lyddie plan somethin' big and then on Friday... y'know, she'll be devastated," her Nathan huffed in frustration, trying to find a good solution when he didn't have to tell any of the girls what the other was thinking.

"You're right," Win's Nathan agreed. "Oh! I have it!" he exclaimed suddenly, snapping his fingers. "What if we convince Lyddie t'propose to Win onstage too, that way they propose at th'same time and neither of 'em'll feel bad."

"That could work..." Lyddie's Nathan agreed. "She loves that shit! You're a genius, I would expect nothin' less from someone who shares a brain with me."

Meanwhile Lydia was slightly apprehensive with her Nathan's reaction, he’d definitely found the note... so why did he have that face?

"Great minds think alike and all that," Win's Nathan exclaimed with a cheeky grin. "We better talk t'Lyds, put all of this in motion."

"You okay, babe?" Win asked, noting how tense Lydia had gotten.

"No, I just remembered that I forgot my contacts at the theatre, but I have an extra pair somewhere," Lydia pushed those thoughts away, holding Win against her chest.

"Yeah, yeah..." Lyddie's Nathan left the room looking much calmer, which made her feel better as well.

"What're you two up to?" Win asked suspiciously, comfortable in Lydia's embrace.

"Well y'know... guy talk," Lyddie's Nathan shrugged, joining the girls on the couch.

"You two have a whole lot of guy talks," Lydia mocked. "Where do you even get so much shit to talk about?"

"Hey now, we have loads t'talk about," Win's Nathan exclaimed. "We share th'same brain anyway."

"Yeah, a brain with not much inside..." Lydia snorted with laughter. "But it's okay, cause you're both so cute, we just forget about it."

"Are yeh sayin' we're just a pretty face?" Win's Nathan gasped, looking affronted, though his small grin ruined it.

"No, you're so much more," Win exclaimed with a snort. "You're a nice cock too."

"Yeah! And a sexy butt as well," Lydia bit her lip, for some reason thinking of that one time Nathan decided to strip on the rooftop for no reason.

"Can't believe you're objectifyin' us like that..." Lyddie's Nathan exclaimed with an exaggerated frown. "I'm really hurt now."

"Oh no, should we kiss it better?" Win asked innocently.

"I wouldn't complain..." Lyddie's Nathan leaned back. "The pain is pretty much everywhere, but it's really bad on my cock."

"Aw, I can fix that," Lydia playfully ran her fingers over his lap.

“What about you, love?” Win asked, looking at her Nathan. “Do you need a kiss?”

He shrugged. “Well, if y’wanted t’give me one, I wouldn’t say no,” he exclaimed.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "We could do that... or, we could leave you with your guy talk and have our girl talk in the bedroom, what do you think Winnie?"

"Hey, hey, no!" her Nathan protested. "That's not fair! Can't just wake up the beast and walk away like that..."

Win’s Nathan pouted at them. “Oh Lyddie, look at those faces though,” Win cooed.

"Your face makes me bend, their faces don't," Lydia lied.

"I know how t'make you bend..." her Nathan teased. "It's so easy it's not even funny."

“Yeah, no kiddin’,” Win’s Nathan chimed in.

“Aww you are jealous?” Win taunted.

"I'm not that easy... am I?" Lydia tried to fight a grin.

"C'mere, Lollipop, bet I can make you beg in five seconds, wanna see?" her Nathan drawled, poking her shoulder.

“Not as fast as I could make her,” Win taunted, blowing’ a kiss.

"Who's jealous now, huh?" Lyddie's Nathan chuckled.

"Wait, you guys can't possibly think I'm that easy..." Lydia blushed. "I have willpower... sometimes."

“Of course you do, sweetheart,” Win said, running her fingers through Lydia’s hair.

Win’s Nathan gave his clone a pointed look. They needed to somehow get Win out of the room so they could talk to Lydia.

"Hey, Winnie," Lyddie's Nathan put one hand on Win's thigh and kissed her neck just for good measure. "I'm goin' for a smoke, wanna come, baby?"

“Oh, I see what you’re doin’,” she laughed, shivering at his touch. “But yeah, that sounds good, I could use a cigarette,” she said, standing.

"Me? I'm an angel, baby, just wanna have a smoke with my fiancé..." Lyddie's Nathan grabbed the coat before opening the door.

"Heeey," Lydia sat on Win's Nathan's lap as the others left.

“Heyyyyy,” Win’s Nathan replied with a grin, wrapping his arms around Lyddie’s waist. “Thank goodness, now I have yeh all t’myself,” he laughed.

"Oh, and what could you possibly wanna do with me, Natty?" Lydia gave him an innocent look as her hands roamed all over his chest.

“Ohhhhh,” he groaned, trying to stay strong. “I can think of several things, but first I need t’talk to you about what was in th’mail.”

Lydia pulled back, suddenly very nervous. "What about it? I know that face Nathan, is there something wrong?" she frowned, thinking of a million possibilities.

“No no no no!” he exclaimed quickly. “Th’other Nathan and I were curious how you were gunna propose, we were thinkin’ it might be super cute if yeh did it on Friday at the open mic night while you’re on stage with Winnie, since performin’ together is so special to th’both of yeh. That’s all.”

"Thank God," Lydia was able to breathe again. "I was gonna take her to the Bow Bridge, but this sounds a lot better actually... It's a very good idea," she closed her eyes imagining Win's reaction. "I'm surprised with how smart you two can be when you want to."

“Hey!” Win’s Nathan yelped, affronted. “ We might not be smart about certain stuff, but when it comes to our girls, that’s a different matter.”

"Yeah, seems like it," Lyddie laughed, kissing his lips softly. "Don't tell anyone, but I think you're both very clever," she whispered.

“Why would I not tell people that?” he laughed, pulling her closer, pressing his lips to hers. “Now what kinda ring do y’want for dear Winnie?”

"I was thinking... maybe one that matches yours, but with a tiny little blue topaz or aquamarine to remind her of me," Lydia felt overwhelmed with happiness, she never thought that one day she was gonna propose to someone. "What do you think?"

“I think that sounds perfect,” Win’s Nathan said with a grin. Holding the image in his mind he snapped his fingers and with a flourish the ring she’d described appeared between his fingers. “What d’you think?” he asked, handing it to Lyddie.

"It's beautiful, babe!" Lydia's eyes were filled with tears. "I love it, thank you, Nats," she hugged him with every last bit of her strength. "You're the best, I love you so much..."

“Aw you’re welcome, Lollipop. I’d do anythin’ for you, y’know that right?”

"I know... but it's always nice to hear it again," she pressed her lips gently to his neck while playing with his hair.

Just then the door opened, Win and the other Nathan returning, a rather fresh dark mark peaking over the neck of her jacket.

“Oh, hey,” she said, hastily running her fingers through her hair to fix it. “Didn’t mean t’interrupt.”

"You didn't," Lydia ended up forgetting the whole sex thing with all the proposal talk. "We were just chatting."

"Oh, us too," her Nathan fell on the couch.

"I can see that" Lydia laughed, admiring the hickeys on Win's neck.

Win cleared her throat, her face reddening slightly. “I mean, yeah, we were mostly talkin’ though,” she said, poking Lyddie’s Nathan in the side.

"Just remember... indecent exposure in New York can send you to county jail if you already have a criminal record," Lydia joked, discreetly hiding the ring in her bra.

“We were just snoggin’ that’s all,” Win assured her, though her lips twitched with amusement. “I’ll be right back,” she announced, jumping back up to head for the rest room.

"So..." Lyddie's Nathan leaned in, shoving his hand in Lyd's blouse to grab the ring. "Lemme see, lemme see!"

"Hey!" she laughed, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"This is nice..." he mused, carefully analyzing the ring. "I think it's perfect."

Win’s Nathan grinned smugly at his clone’s praise. “I thought so too, it’ll look nice on Win’s finger.”

"Now give it back, I'll hide it with my rehearsal stuff," Lydia took the ring and ran with it to the bedroom. "I'm so excited!" she whisper-yelled.

Win’s Nathan watched her go, grinning fondly. “I talked her into proposin’ on Friday,” he whispered to his clone. “Everythin’s in place.”

"Good one," Lyddie's Nathan nodded triumphantly. "We're good at this shit... avoidin' crisises, problem solvin', who would've thought."

“I know right! It’s all that hands-on experience bein’ a young offender and all,” Win’s Nathan agreed.

As promised, Lydia called a few people and got all of them on the VIP list for the event on Friday. When the day finally came, she was freaking out. Lyddie knew there was no reason for Win to say no, but there was always a little voice in the back of her brain saying things might go wrong.

"Nah, I'm not hungry," she shook her head when her Nathan offered a bite of his sandwich.

Win, on the other hand, was slightly more confident, having seen how Lyddie’d reacted to her Nathan’s proposal.

“Hey, you excited for tonight, Lyds?” she asked, pressing a kiss to the other woman’s cheek as she passed her.

“Oh, I'm... very excited!" Lydia put on a smile, she was, she was scared, but very excited. "It's gonna be awesome, I should probably pick something to wear, I don't wanna be late," she got up nervously. "And Natty, you shouldn't be eating that much, there will be food there."

"You underestimate me, Lollipop," he called as she headed to the bedroom.

“Do you want help picking out an outfit?” Win asked as she re-emerged from the bathroom, fixing her hair.

"Yes, please," Lydia looked through her wardrobe, nothing seemed worthy of the moment. "I wanted something colorful, but not too colorful, cause I'm happy, but I don't wanna look like an attention whore..."

“I think you look lovely in anything,” Win said, joining her at the wardrobe. How about this blouse and skirt?” she asked, pulling out a dark skirt and a neon coloured top. “Maybe with some fishnets and boots and that sexy jacket you have? Just a pop of colour,” Win mused, holding the shirt up to her.

"Yeah, I like it, you have great taste, baby," Lydia looked in the mirror at the combination Win suggested. "I love you," her voice nearly disappeared as she undressed to try the new outfit on, contemplating if that top would look better with or without a bra.

“I love you too,” Win whispered in her ear, snaking her arms around her from behind. “You look so beautiful.” She pressed a kiss between her shoulder blades before stepping back and feeling in the pocket of her tight leather pants to make sure her ring was still there.

"Look who's talking... You're gorgeous," Lydia has never been good at taking compliments, even after all these years, it still sounded like mockery, but she has been working on it. "Any specific songs you wanna play tonight?"

“Whatever you want to, babe. Though I thought it might be fun to play Black Sheep again, since it was our first song,” Win mused.

"It is a Sapphic anthem," Lydia chuckled, sitting down to lace up her white combat boots. "And I love that song, we should do it! But only if you kiss me again at the end..."

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Win chuckled. By the time they got to the venue, Win was buzzing with excited energy, she could barely stand still.

Lydia tried not to get too anxious, which was almost impossible, but when it was their turn to go on stage, she felt strangely relaxed. Unlike most people, she didn't have stage fright, quite the opposite actually. "You ready, baby?" Lyddie twirled the sticks between her fingers as she sat behind the drumset.

“Heck yeah,” Win answered, flashing a wink at Lyddie before strumming the opening chords.

The crowd was much smaller than their usual shows, but Win didn’t care. She grinned at the Nathans leaning against the bar.

By now Lydia knew this song by heart, so she didn't worry too much about getting it wrong, it was engraved in her memory like a tattoo. She didn't notice until then how much she missed performing like that, especially with Win. It was a moment just for them, no one else existed while they were playing.

As the song came to a close, Win felt her adrenaline kick in, the nerves she hadn’t felt before gripping her tightly and she reached into her pocket, catching the small band between her fingers as Lyddie approached for their finale.

"pulls away ooh from you... Jesus Christ! Oh my-!" Lydia jumped when she noticed something shining between Win's fingers and her Nathan nearly spit his drink everywhere laughing at her reaction. "Wait a second! Is this what I think it is?"

“Yeah, it is,” Win laughed, moving her guitar to her back to get down on one knee in front of Lydia. “Lyddie, will you be my wife?” she breathed, holding out the ring as she looked up at her.

"That depends..." Lydia mumbled, not exactly knowing how to react, that wasn't in her plans. "Will you be my wife, Winnie?" she knelt too, reaching for the ring in her pocket as well.

Win’s eyes widened, completely taken by surprise. “I—“ she laughed in shock for a second. “Yes! Fuck yeah, I will!” she cried, letting Lyddie put the ring on her finger.

"Just for the record, I say yes too," Lydia murmured before pulling Win in for a kiss as the room was filled with the sound of cheering, clapping and screaming. Lyddie's Nathan didn't wanna admit how emotional that moment made him, hiding behind his phone as he filmed the whole interaction.

Win couldn’t believe it, she’d had no idea that Lydia was planning the same thing as her, and as she kissed her back the rest of the crowd fell away and all that mattered was her. Win’s Nathan glanced over at his clone, quickly rubbing at his eye before anyone could tell he’d teared up. He felt better when he noticed the other Nathan looking rather emotional himself.

"You have no idea how much I love you," Lydia felt tears streaming down her face. "And how grateful I am for having you."

"Fuck..." Lyddie's Nathan took a deep breath trying to keep the tears in unsuccessfully. "Cold isn't it? I think I'm comin' down with somethin'..."

“Probably about as much as I love you,” Win whispered back, kissing Lyddie’s tears. “What d’you say we get off this stage and celebrate?” she asked, trying to keep her own voice from trembling.

“Yeah, it’s a bit nippy in here,” Win’s Nathan agreed with a sniffle. Any other time and he would’ve teased his twin, but this time, this time he’d let him have a moment.

"I think it sounds perfect, my future wife," Lydia offered Win her hand as they jumped off the stage and ran to meet the boys at the bar. "Jesus, I love saying that... my future wife."

"That was beautiful, kinda sappy for my taste, but..." Lyddie's Nathan started, but was quickly cut himself off, not wanting to sound like his dad. "Actually, it was just perfect, I can't wait t'get married."

Win’s heart leapt at Lyddie’s words. She couldn’t believe she was now engaged to the three of them. “I can’t wait either!” she exclaimed, unable to hold back her giddy smile.

"Now we just gotta find someone who will officiate, but don't worry, we'll figure it out," Lydia took the glass from her Nathan's hand and finished his drink. "So, um, you guys wanna go somewhere or...?"

“Where’d you have in mind?” Win asked, leaning against the bar as she watched Lydia, wanting nothing more than to ravish her.

"Well..." Lydia realized drinking, especially on an empty stomach was probably not the best idea. "I'm kinda hungry, so we could get something and then, maybe... go home, or somewhere else if you want," she tried not to say anything stupid.

“How about we take food home?” Win countered, hoping she wasn’t too transparent, avoiding the Nathans’ knowing gazes.

"Yeah, sounds good..." Lydia tried very hard to hide how excited she was to get home. She’d been trying to prove her point during the last few days that she wasn't, in fact, as easy to get as the Nathans seemed to think she was.

“Just good?” Win asked, pulling Lyddie toward her. She was a little confused why her fiancé wasn’t as excited to head home to celebrate as she had been the other night with Nathan.

"Dinner sounds good," Lydia purred next to Win's ear. "But I'm more interested in what comes after dinner," she teased quietly, sliding one hand down her back. "I want you for dessert."

“Now that’s more like it,” Win replied with a grin. “Where would you like to get food from?” she asked, feeling better.

"Let's just get a pizza on the way, you look hot eating pizza," the words came out before Lydia could even think twice.

"Jesus, that was fast..." Lyddie's Nathan huffed a laugh. "I thought you'd at least wait 'til we're home."

Win turned to swat at him before turning back to Lyddie. “Then pizza we shall get. That sounds wonderful. I love that you find that sexy,” she whispered in her ear before packing up her guitar and taking Lyddie’s hand.

The comment made Lydia feel validated, she'd been insecure about her sex drive for as long as she could remember, but what Win's Nathan said at Camp suddenly came to mind: it's healthy.

And maybe it was. she knew despite all the wind ups, her Nathan wouldn't want it any other way.

Back in the security of their apartment Win grabbed a slice of pizza from the box, moaning as she put it in her mouth, uncaring of the grease that ran down her forearm as she ate.

Lydia started eating very quietly, staring at Win, nearly hypnotized by her. I can't fucking believe that's my fiancé, she thought to herself.

Her Nathan nudged his clone's arm without a word and pointed at her with his eyes, she looked so cute all flustered.

Win’s Nathan glanced over, noticing Lydia’s love struck expression and he grinned. Leaning in so only his clone could hear him, he pitched his voice low. “As much as I hate t’say this, maybe we should let th’girls have some alone time after dinner. What d’you think?”

"Yeah..." Lyddie's Nathan huffed, knowing that it was their night, so his twin was right. "Maybe we should."

"So messy," Lydia giggled, using her fingers to wipe the sauce from Win's lips before licking them clean. "You're adorable."

Win hummed, leaning in to kiss Lyddie’s lips. “You’re adorable,” she said as she pulled back.

“What are you two whisperin’ about over there?” she asked, noticing the Nathans as they quickly jumped apart.

"Nothin'," Lyddie's Nathan swallowed nervously. "Just thinkin' what we're gonna watch later, can we pick from your collection, Lyds?"

"Um, okay, but I thought we were gonna... you know," she looked back at him confused.

“Well... we thought, y’might like a little... girl time, just th’two of you...” Win’s Nathan stuttered, hoping they wouldn’t be offended.

"Oh, okay..." Lyddie watched Win carefully. "Is that okay with you, sweetheart? I'm feeling rather selfish tonight."

“That’s definitely okay with me,” Win murmured, flashing a grin at the Nathans.

“But y’know, if y’wanted to tape it... we wouldn’t complain,” Win’s Nathan mumbled.

For a second Lydia remembered the disaster that was their first sex tape, but that was all in the past, everything had changed, so there was no reason to be scared. "Yeah, a little early wedding gift for the boys..." she played with Win's hair.

"Sounds good t'me," Win agreed excitedly. "It's th'least we could do."

"I agree," Lydia took the last sip of her drink and took Win's hand. "Are you all done, baby?"

"I'm ready," Win said, squeezing Lyddie's hand. As they passed the boys she gave them each a kiss before following Lyddie to the bedroom. As soon as the door shut, her mouth was on her fiance's.

"Hmmm," Lydia laughed against Win's lips. "The camera isn't even on yet..." but she made no effort to stop her, kissing her back eagerly, making sure to touch every last bit of her exposed skin. "Fuck, you're so sexy, Winnie."

"Mmm, you're sexy, Lyds," Win moaned. "Can't keep my hands off you," she murmured, though she stepped back reluctantly. "I supposed we should get the camera before we go any farther."

Lyddie never moved so fast in her life, she grabbed her camera and didn't even waste time setting a tripod, she just dragged the nightstand to where she could get a nice angle and left it there. "I can't believe you're mine," she sighed, kicking her shoes away and shedding her jacket.

Win laughed as she watched Lyddie move with haste, shedding her shirt as she rounded the bed to her. "That's right, Lyds, I'm all yours... and Nathan's... and Nathan's... but you know what I mean," she murmured, huffing a laugh. "But tonight I'm all yours."

"All mine," Lydia echoed with a silly smile. "I want you so bad, you have no idea," she whined, hovering over Win for a brief moment before capturing her lips again.

“Mmm, I like it when you take charge, babe,” Win hummed, letting her hands wander. “What are you gunna do to me?” she asked between kisses.

"I'm gonna make you scream, let the boys know how good I can make you feel," Lydia used her thigh to part Win's legs, pushing gently against her, while slowly kneading her breasts.

“Oh God, babe,” Win gasped, arching into Lydia’s touch. “Please be rough with me,” she pleaded. “I love it when you’re like this, God, you’re so fucking hot.”

Win's praise made Lyddie feel a lot more confident. She crawled to sit with her back against the bed frame. "Come here, baby," she curled her finger with a smirk. "There's something I want you to do for me," Lyds asked while taking off her fishnets.

“Anything, love,” Win murmured, crawling closer. “What do you want?”

Lydia grinned widely, slightly drunk with power. "Ride my thigh, I wanna watch you," she leaned back, both arms behind her head.

Win’s brows rose. This was something she’d expect from one of the boys, not Lyddie, but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t turn her on. “Yes, Lyds,” Win said obediently, straddling her thigh and rolling her hips, pressing her soaked cunt against her skin with a shudder.

"Such a good girl," Lydia cooed, tilting her head as she observed Win's every move, very tempted to just reach and guide her hips or pinch her nipples, but she wanted to make her wait a little bit. "Does that feel good, baby?"

Win bit her lip as she slowly followed Lyddie’s instructions. “Yes,” she murmured, grinding faster. “You like t’see me like this, don’t you.”

"I love to see you like this, baby girl..." Lyddie looked at the camera through the corner of her eye to make sure it was still recording, she might wanna watch it later too.

Win didn’t hold back with her sounds, wanting to make sure the boys got a good show for later. “Lyddie,” she moaned, not slowing, “what about you?” she wanted to reach out and touch her, but she didn’t want to disobey.

"Don't worry, Winnie, I'll get my turn," Lydia finally leaned in to kiss her, placing both hands on her hips. "I love it when you're good for me..." she felt heat coursing through her, the sounds Win made were enough to get Lyddie soaked.

“I love being good for you,” Win admitted. “I... kinda wanna try something,” she said, the idea coming to mind as she ground against Lyddie’s thigh. She’d seen it in several pornos but never actually tried it herself.

"Yeah? And what's that?" Lydia murmured before kissing Win's neck, leaving several hickeys behind. "Tell me, what does my dirty girl want?"

Win bit her lip, for once a little nervous to admit what she wanted. “I want... “ she paused to wet her lips, leaning in close to Lyddie’s ear. “I want to try scissoring.”

Lydia lost all her dominant aura for a second and gaped. To be very honest she’d been thinking of asking Win for ages, but she didn't have as much experience with women and didn't wanna sound stupid. "Yeah, we can do that," she whispered teasingly.

Excitement coursed through Win and she captured Lyddie’s mouth in a searing kiss, pressing her gently to her back as she lifted one of Lyddie’s legs, settling atop her. “I’ve never done this with anyone before,” she admitted.

"I haven't either," Lydia had had all sorts of crazy sexual experiences with Win, but she’d never felt so intimate and vulnerable with her as she did right then, in a way it was like that weird and amazing feeling of uncertainty when she lost her virginity. "I love you..." she breathed.

“I love you too, Lyddie,” Win said softly, exhaling as she pressed down, grinding against her fiancé’s sex. Starting slow to find the best angle, she let out a moan as pleasure filled her. “Oh God, does that feel good for you, babe?” she asked.

Holding onto Win's shoulders, Lyddie rolled her hips almost instinctively. She didn't think it would work because it doesn't look like it should, but the friction felt like heaven. "Yes! It's so good, Winnie, please..." she threw her head back, moaning helplessly.

The sight of Lyddie like that below her only filled Win with want and she sped up her movements, grinding desperately. “Oh, fuck, that feels so good. God, Lyddie, you’re beautiful, I want you to be loud for me, don’t hold back.”

Win's words sent delicious shivers down Lydia's spine, their bodies moved like one, a perfect match. Something about the sounds of their skin, or their arousal mixing as they moved was incredibly sexy. "Oh my- fuck, I want you so bad! Winnie I'm getting close, baby," Lydia cried.

“Me too,” Win gasped, bracing herself with Lydia’s leg, wanting them to come together. “Come for me, Lyddie, please baby, I need to hear you,” she cried, feeling warmth suffuse her, teetering right on the edge.

Seeing Win beg did something to Lydia, made her feel wanted and powerful, which pushed her to climax, pleasure running through her body like electricity. "Winnie I'm... oh, you're so good to me, I love you so much!" Lyddie moaned louder than she intended.

“Oh God, Lydia!” Win cried as she came, Lyddie’s loud moans pushing her over the edge and she rolled her hips several more times, riding her through her high til with an over-stimulated shudder, she stilled, collapsing next to her and pulling the other woman into her arms. She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks, but they were happy tears. “I love you so much, baby,” she breathed, hiding her face in the crook of Lydia’s neck. “That was so perfect.”

"I love you too, sweetheart, this was fucking incredible," Lydia used the last bit of her strength to reach for the camera and turn it off, this moment was too special and intimate to be recorded. "I'm so happy to have you, you are just... too good to be true, I can't believe you fell in love with me," she took Win in her arms, seeking her warmth, just like the first time they were together, only now she didn't have to say goodbye.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m dreaming, and I’m so afraid that I’m gunna wake up and I won’t have you,” Win admitted. “I can’t imagine my life without you in it,” she murmured, her tears smudging her makeup.

"Aww, baby, don't cry," Lyddie kissed the top of Win's head, she was crying too, but that was beside the point... "I know it's scary sometimes, but if I had to, I would travel through every single dimension of the multiverse to get you, I'm not letting you go."

“Good,” Win said, letting out a watery laugh as she squeezed Lyddie tighter. “You’re so perfect for me,” she murmured, raising her face to catch her fiancé’s eyes. “I can’t believe I’m gunna marry you.”

Lyddie smiled, wiping her tears away before pressing her lips to Win's forehead. "Yeah, it's kinda hard to believe that the hottest, most amazing girl on Earth will be my wife..."

“I’m not the hottest, or most amazing,” Win protested with a laugh, though Lyddie’s words warmed her. “That’s you!” she insisted.

"I suppose we agree to disagree..." Lydia blushed, pulling Win even closer. "That's what marriage is all about isn't it? Learning to live with our differences."

“Mhmm,” Win murmured, getting comfortable next to Lyddie, never wanting to move. “Can I tell you something?” she asked softly.

"Anything, baby," those words made Lydia slightly nervous, but she wanted Win to be able to open up to her no matter what.

“I don’t know if he told you... but my Nathan proposed to me once before... before we’d met you,” Win admitted. “At the time I wanted to say yes, but I was scared. I saw how fast my dad moved on after my mum died and how Nathan’s parents were... I didn’t wanna end up like that. But... I’m not scared anymore,” she said, glad to finally be able to tell someone that.

"Aw sweetheart, I understand. But I'm glad you're not scared anymore, we're a family, we love each other, so we wanna get married..." saying that was somehow so unreal, but so wonderful. "We're not gonna end up like them, we're not even gonna end. If you learn to project your power, we'll all be immortal."

Win nodded. She’d been working on that, quietly without telling anyone and she could feel her power growing. It still wasn’t strong enough to project the effects permanently, but she was getting closer.

"We're gonna be so happy, trust me, I just know it..." Lydia was sure, somehow, that it was true.

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

Tag List: @the-freckled-luba @firstpersonnarrator @phoenixhits @salvador-daley @forenschik @a-ghoulish-tale @love-is-dirty-baby @vonkimmeren @violetrainbow412-blog @falloutby @asimp4you

#misfits #misfits fic #nathan young #nathan young x oc #nathan x win #nathan x lyddie #otp: green apple lollipop #collaboration

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taetaespeaches · 4 years ago

Text

“Wait, I’m nervous.”

taehyung x reader (or oc) genre: fluff word count: 1.9K

a/n: Ok, lovelies, here is just pure wholesome fluff with Tae and Peaches. They are in their own little world again, of course, and they are just feeling real in love at this point lol. Very loosely based on ‘invisible string’ by taylor swift. I hope you all enjoy and thanks for reading! :))

p.s. if you want the playlist Tae makes in this, here you are.

HIS hands were gorgeous as he dragged the pen across the page, etching lines to form an abstract piece straight from his vibrant mind to the drawing pad. The diner, one you were well acquainted with, was relatively empty, only a few other patrons besides you and your boyfriend as you awaited your best friends’ arrival.

Jimin and his girlfriend were unsurprisingly late, and as you waited, Taehyung suddenly stopped drawing, reaching for his phone that was attached to a set of earbuds from his pocket. Holding the left bud out to you, he positioned the right one into his ear.

“I made you a playlist,” he smiled softly, a tinge of bashfulness evident in his features. Your lips curving up happily, you eagerly put the earbud into place.

“Show me,” you told him in excitement, Taehyung chuckling as he started the first song, ‘Make Out in My Car’ by Moses Sumney and Sufjan Stevens. Your boyfriend leaned over to you, leaving a sweet kiss to your shoulder before sitting back upright, returning to the drawing pad.

As you took in the lyrics, Taehyung continued sketching the simple but interesting image, you watching ever stroke of the ink. The lyrics entering your mind reminded you of the shift in yours and Taehyung’s relationship, as you skirted the lines of friendship and romance, fighting yourselves, trying not to fall in love with each other despite desperately wanting to love one another fully.

I’m not trying to go to bed with you

I just wanna make out in my car

And though I’m dying to fall in love with you

I just wanna make out in my car.

Despite the public setting, as you sat with your boyfriend listening to the music only you two could hear, it felt as though you and Taehyung were sitting in a moment of time separate from reality, isolated from the other patrons and kitchen staff. A space that was made for you.

When Taehyung entered your life, he came unannounced, all his youthful vibrancy interrupting your daily routine and changing everything forever. He was eccentric, radiating an array of colors that everyone saw, and you fell in love with them easily. If someone were to ask you what your favorite color was, you’d reply with whatever color is shining from him today. The inner-child within Taehyung inspired you, reminding you of the little girl inside yourself.

As the days turned into weeks, building up to months and accumulating into years, Taehyung was still by your side. You’d watched each other grow up, make mistakes, achieve goals. It’s not that Taehyung completed you, or you him, but life, within your little world, just seemed a little less worth living without him in it.

The song ending, Frank Ocean’s version of ‘Moon River’ started playing, you resting your head on Tae’s shoulder as you allowed the music to penetrate your heart.

My dream maker, my heartbreaker

Wherever you’re goin’, I’m goin’ the same.

How true that was. The man beside you was the one person who could both make your dreams come true, but held all the power to shatter your heart, but regardless, you were going with him wherever he went.

The song had a slow fade out, providing a nice transition into the next tune, ‘Early’ by Joy Crookes and Jafaris. The lyrics portrayed a relationship that is either doomed or is meant to be and meant to last. Much like how you and Taehyung viewed your relationship. The fear of failing as a unit plagued you for years until you and Taehyung mutually decided to take the risk.

I’m crossing borders of this friendship

You’re turning water into wine

I can’t believe it

Because, what if it works? You recalled asking him that very questioning, both of you choosing to throw caution into the wind, telling yourselves you were destined. You were either going to last forever, or it was going to crumble in front of your eyes, and you were both still aware of the risk that came with giving into your feelings. But you both decided it was worth the risk. He was worth it.

My ride or die

And I cross my heart

This is where we start when you walk my way

Left the baggage on the floor

You want us and we want more

Don’t you know I open door when you walk my way?

Lifting your head from Taehyung’s shoulder, his eyes drifted from the sketch to you, you smiling softly, matching his fond grin. “Is it ok?” He asked.

“The drawing or the playlist?” You asked, bringing your hand to his face to stroke his cheek with your knuckles.

“Uh,” he looked at the drawing for a split second before lifting his eyes to you again. “Both.”

“Both are great, baby,” you complimented. “You know what you’re doing,” you grinned, Taehyung chuckling.

“With the playlist?” He asked knowingly, both of you understanding the storyline of the songs he chose. You nodded, leaning toward Taehyung, the man dropping his head to gently rest his forehead against yours. “I can’t believe it,” he sang along with the song, moving his head a little bit to go along with the groove, you giggling at the cute action.

“Out of all the places I could have been that day,” you commented, Taehyung’s eyebrows raising as he pulled back a bit to allow his eyes to travel your face. “We could have so easily missed each other.”

“That’s crazy to think about,” he let out a breathy chuckle, his eyes falling to your hand that was resting atop his thigh. “I mean, I guess everyone we come across happens by chance, but not everyone ends up meaning so much,” he noted thoughtfully, you smiling at the comment.

As the song came to an end, Bruno Major’s ‘Easily’ starting, Taehyung wrapped his hand gently around your wrist. “If either of us had been walking by there just a few minutes, or maybe even seconds later or earlier, we would have missed each other completely,” your boyfriend realized, setting your hand on the tabletop.

Coming and going

Inside out and back to front

Oh, tangled and messy

That’s how we’ve always been and we’ll always be

And that’s alright with me

Just because it won’t come easily

Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

The song added to the story line, bringing you back to the fights and the jealousy, the falling out and ignoring each other, only to always end up back together. You couldn’t quit each other, and you didn’t want to. Taehyung was the easiest yet most complicated relationship you’d ever had, and he probably always would be.

Bringing the pen to your skin, you watched as Taehyung drew a little heart on the inner edge of your wrist. “You’re cute,” you smiled, Taehyung flashing you his stunning boxy beam. The smile you’d never tire of seeing.

“Don’t look,” he told you as he prepared to add to his drawing. “I mean it,” he smiled wider, you mimicking the expression as you covered your eyes with your free hand.

Anticipating the touch of the pen against your skin, you spread your fingers apart, finding a glaring Taehyung staring at you through the slits between your digits.

“No peeking,” he whined with a giggle, you chuckling as you apologized.

“Ok, I’m sorry, I won’t peek, do your thing,” you told him recovering your eyes.

“I knew you’d do that,” he complained as the pen touched your wrist, moving over your veins.

“I promise I won’t again,” you giggled, Tae letting out a huff of feigned frustration. When ‘Easily’ ended, Ella Fitzgerald’s voice soothed through the earbud, singing ‘In A Sentimental Mood’. Your lips formed into a soft smile at the song, swaying your body gently as Taehyung completed his work on your arm.

“You can look now,” he told you, you tentatively pulling your hand from your face, looking into Tae’s warm brown orbs.

“Yeah?” You asked, not wanting to jump the gun and ruin his surprise. The man immediately turned your hand over so your wrist was against the table, you frowning at him.

“Wait,” he smiled bashfully, “I’m nervous.”

“Nervous?” You asked in surprise, smiling at him. “Why? What did you draw on me?”

Taehyung giggled cutely, his eyes shaped in crescents, his smile wide and boyish, the man looking adorable as ever. “Nothing,” he said with the innocence only your boyfriend could convey.

“Why are you nervous, Dearest?” You asked again, nearly cooing at how cute he was. Just as you were preparing to turn your wrist over, a knock on the outside of the window next to your booth startled you both, you and Taehyung jumping as your eyes darted to the noise, spotting your best friend standing with Jimin as they waved dorkily at you.

“Jesus,” you huffed, clutching your racing heart, Taehyung immediately letting out a noise of complaint. “I forgot they were even coming,” you commented, Tae letting out a low chuckle at the comment.

The surprise intrusion made you forget the ink on your wrist for a moment until you re-registered the song humming in your ear.

Rose petals seem to fall

It’s all I could dream to call you mine

My heart’s a lighter thing

Since you made this night a thing divine

The lyrics resonated so deeply with how you felt toward Taehyung, you found yourself rotating your arm to view the addition on your wrist, the air leaving your lungs for a moment as your heart skipped a beat, then pounding several times quickly to catch up.

Next to the heart he drew were the words, I’m in love with you.

Taehyung’s lips appeared near your ear, their soft plumpness just barely grazing your skin. “It’s true, Peaches,” he told you, making you turn to face him as Ella Fitzgerald continued to sing to you both, the song coming to a close.

In a sentimental mood

I’m within a world so heavenly

For I never dreamt that you’d

Be loving sentimental me.

Leaning toward Taehyung, you kissed him with intent and passion and love. So much love. It wasn’t the first time he had told you he loved you, or you him, but it was the first I’m in love with you, and it was definitely the first since the terms of your relationship had changed. You were both very careful in skirting around the word “love” since you crossed the line of friendship.

Your hands were on both sides of his face, his gripping your wrists as his thumb brushed over the confession he scribbled on your skin.

“I’m in love with you,” you mumbled against his lips. “I’m so in love with you,” you told him again before falling back into the kiss, though Tae’s widening smile, which caused you to smile, made the kiss a bit harder to maintain.

“Jeez, you two, we’re in a public restaurant,” your friend suddenly spoke as she scooted into the booth, Jimin following behind her. Separating from Tae, you rested the top of your head against his chin, your boyfriend wrapping his arms around your body, holding you to him as he placed a kiss to your hair.

“Whatever, we’re in love,” Taehyung dismissed the girl, Jimin smiling widely at the scene.

In love. You were. And you couldn’t help but be beyond thankful that you decided to take the leap of faith with Taehyung. Because in that moment, it was absolutely the right decision. You were meant to find Tae, and love him with all of you. Your paths weren’t simply meant to cross. They were meant to meet and become one. You had no doubts. And you were in love.

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lovelysugawara · 4 years ago

Text

LOVE ME AGAIN; special episode

(Missing him Badly)

Kuroo x OC

You wake up after you dozed off this afternoon, you are tired and it’s a good thing your daughter is so busy playing with her toys with her nanny. You look outside and it's already dark. You felt a bit cold. Then you remember you forgot to put the comforter and even forgot to set the aircon to low. You were so lazy to get up but you feel hungry and at the same time don't want to shower. And your daughter probably wants to eat together with you.

You should have showered at this time. Because at 6 pm your husband will arrive. But not today you think. He's been busy.

Kuroo Tetsuro, the president of the company who recently hit millions of sales in the world market. He is your husband who is currently MIA for three days now. He's not actually missing but he's not been home for days. He's been busy, trying to close a deal with Argentina and Brazil. You're okay with it on the first day but you're worried as days passed. He tends to forget to eat when he's into his work.

You looked at the clock on your bedside table, and it's already 7:15 pm. You got your phone tucked on your pillow and started to speed dial your husband's number.

"Hello, mam." a familiar voice of a woman once again answered your call.

"Is he still busy, Rei?" you asked.

"I'm so sorry mam, but the president is still at the online conference with the Brazil representatives. Do you want to leave a message so that I can deliver it to him later?" the kind secretary feels sorry and offers it to comfort you.

You sighed a bit heavy.

"Thank you, but just let him know I called again." This is your 5th call for the whole day, and you haven't got a chance to talk to him.

"Understood mam." The kind secretary says.

"Did he need something? Like a change of clothes, he's been there for 3 days now. Did he always eat on time?" you added, a bit worried about your husband who always so focused on his job.

"Don't worry mam, he always orders something for the team, he also eats on time. We even heard him muttering something like "I miss my wife's cooking" and he's in a bad mood when his work keeps filling up. We can really feel how he wanted to go home." She said as you both laugh at the man's silent complaints. You felt happy, despite your bad cooking, he still missed it.

That made your heart feel happy.

"I guess he's still good. Just make sure he eats on time and just tell me if he needs something." You felt a bit relieved from what you heard from the secretary.

"Will do mam. I'll report it to you if he becomes stubborn and won't eat on time." the secretary makes sure about it.

You can't help but giggle a little, he got a good secretary. "Thank you so much, Rei. You too, don't skip dinner. Goodbye."

"Thank you mam, goodbye." and you end the call.

When suddenly Megumi runs towards you.

“Mama, let’s eat! Let’s eat!”

You laughs and you kiss her on her cheeks.

“Let’s go eat dinner then, baby.”

You stand up and walk hand in hand with your cute daughter.

***

To make the time pass after dinner, you started to fold some laundry and clean stuff. It's night time and only soft instrumental music surrounds your house.

Megumi is also busy “messing” with the clean clothes at the moment.

"Mam, where do we put these plants you bought?" your maid asked you.

"Just put it in the garden, for now, I'll fix it tomorrow." You said it while you folded some of your clothes and put it down on the bed.

Even if you got 5 housemaids, you at least want to personally clean and wash your husband's clothes and stuff. Tetsu loves the fabric conditioner you used to wash clothes. He even stops using his perfume and it pains you because you love his musk smell. Very manly you may say. It adds to his sexiness. Thinking about that, you started to ponder how you miss your husband.

***

"Hey kitten, did you miss me?" he whispered to your ear.

"T-tetsu, don't come to me like that! You'll give me a heart attack." You said it as he hugs you from the back.

"Then how should I ‘cum’ to you?" he sexily whispered to your ear.

You automatically felt hot flowing to your body. He's making you turn on.

You felt your blush, remembering last week's happening.

***

Sex huh? It's been weeks since you guys did the thing. You can't hide it but you miss him. You miss him and his arms caging your small body, his hands cupping your face as he will deeply kiss you and make you his woman. Oh, you can't wait to see him again. You shake your head and put his jacket on your face, smelling him. Even though it's a new freshly washed cloth, it's still him. You really miss him.

***

8pm, and you haven't had anything to do. You eat dinner a little and after that, you go to your bed and open your laptop in hopes to see how your friends have been doing lately on Facebook.

You saw some familiar faces who are online.

Some are from the Karasuno volleyball team you befriended way back in high school. Some Nekoma High classmates and schoolmates and from Fukurodani High.

You can't hide your smile remembering some old sweet memories you had in high school.

With those feelings right now, it really makes your heart flutter just by looking at the photo frames that are inside your room.

You look around and on the other side of the room is the Nekoma VC with you awkwardly standing next to Kuroo, your high school inter-high, your graduation and you and Kuroo's photo when you two are still dating, his proposal, and of course, your wedding picture.

After your marriage, every day has been so happy and perfect. You really love him.

And finally your picture with you and Kuroo’s sweet girl; Megumi.

Megumi is already 5 years old right now, and she grows quite faster that you wish you can stop time so that she will remain your cute, little sweetheart forever. But you know that’s not possible.

“Mama, where is papa?” Megumi darted at the door.

“Hi sweetheart! Yeah unfortunately he’s still busy. Let’s wait for him for a bit okay?” You said as you sat down in front of her.

“But it’s been a week.” she pouted.

You even smiled seeing her this cute. If only Tetsu sees it, you think.

“Can’t he skip it?” Your daughter still insists.

“That won’t do, baby. Papa works harder for you.” You slightly pinch your daughter’s nose.

“But I miss him, mama.” she then pouts again.

You hug your daughter.

“I know. Me too sweetheart. But I’m sure he will come home soon. Because he missed you too.”

“Really?” She’s so cute asking you.

“Of course, because papa loves you.” and you kissed her on his forehead and she kisses you too.

***

The time is 8 pm when suddenly, your phone rings. Seeing the name on the screen, 'Hubby', you answered it so fast that you almost threw away what you were holding.

"Hello wife." a deep voice echoed on your ears. It's like that voice can make you calm and you even felt how sweet his voice is. You have to hold on to something so you can support your body, who yearns for him.

"Hey husband, I miss you. When will you come home?" you're smiling while saying husband. It's like you two are just newlyweds.

"I miss you too, wife. Few more and I'm done. I'll let them do the rest since I've done the crucial one. Did you have dinner? Want me to buy you something?" His sweet voice never fails to bring you to your happy place.

"Just come home straight, baby. Plus your daughter is demanding you to skip your work." You can’t help but laugh a little on your daughter’s demand.

You heard a little chuckled on the other line. As if you see him shift his body to the other side. “Is she? Haha, well I guess my little lady is the more demanding one than her mother.”

You laugh at his comment.

“I really wanna see you.” you actually made your voice a bit sexier.

You heard a deep sigh on the other line, and it was so manly.

"Me too, I really miss you." He emphasized the word you. And you know what he means.

"I'll buy you something, I know you will like it." You still have your smiling face and you know he's preparing to leave.

"Just message me if you change your mind and want something else, okay? I'll hang up. Be there soon, my kitten." And it's like a password, you really know he plans something when he calls you kitten.

"Okay then, I'll wait for you." You started to feel hot inside.

You drop the call. And after that, you started to run to the bathroom because you remember to haven't taken a shower. You didn't expect him to come home tonight anyway.

All you knew is, you are happy and contented with your so called perfect world with your family. Your love for your husband and child will be forever.

END

***

A/N: Hello again! I hope you guys like it, and yeah, I guess i can’t have the courage to post the R-18 version of this episode. Ahahahaha. Yeah, i did try the R-18.

And I guess I’ll post it on my AO3 account. Thank you for reading, and have a great day! ^^

Taglist:

@dekuspet @mkkhaikyuu @captain-eagle-art @rozesarered @kurooloves @elianetsantana @saamsstuff @seijohsangel @i-vonsnyeeoj

#Kuroo Tetsurou #kuroo #kuroo haikyuu #kuroo fanfiction #kuroo x oc #kuroo x original character #kuroo angst #haikyuu!!#haikyuu fanfiction

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raindancer2004 · 4 years ago

Text

A Cullen / Volturi Christmas

Word Count: 2,953 Demetri x OC Cullen Part Four - Final Part. Warnings: Fluff

Demetri decided Carlisle needed to hear the news from him and noone else and tracked him down to his guest room. He knocked on the door “Come in” Esme called softy and Demetri opened the door stepping inside to see Carlisle and Esme sitting on the sofa by the fire. “Hello Demetri, it’s nice to see” Carlisle greeted him with a smile “Hello Carlisle, Esme, it’s nice to see you too” He replied and Esme sensed he was nervous. “Come and sit with us” She gestured to the chair to the left of the sofa “You seem a little nervous, everything ok?” She asked and he shifted in the chair whilst trying to collect his thoughts “I do have something I want to talk to you about...I just hope...oh god why is this so...breathe Demetri” He was looking at the floor now; Esme and Carlisle couldn’t help smiling, they had never seen Demetri this nervous, flustered even “Does this have anything to do with Lily?” Esme asked gently, Demetri looked up at her and nodded “Is she ok?” She asked and he nodded again and took an unneeded breath “Firstly Carlisle, I want to say that I value our friendship and was pleased; honoured even when you asked me if Lily could stay with me, as it meant that you trusted me with her, trusted me to keep her safe...” He paused and breathed in again “Secondly, I want you both to know that I think a lot of your daughter, of Lily. She’s an amazing person, she’s funny, kind, loving and I’ve enjoyed getting to know her” Esme was smiling at him not that he had noticed as he continued to tell them how great their daughter is “As my friend I wanted to be the one to tell you and Esme that I have found my mate...in Lily” He finished and felt so nervous he didn’t make eye contact with either of them.

After a moment’s silence Carlisle spoke “I kind of figured something had developed between you as you both get along with one another so easily and I have noticed the little looks you two share when you think noone is looking” If Demetri could blush he would be. “So you’re not angry about it?” “No Demetri, we are not. It’s a bit of a surprise but if I’m being honest...if my daughter’s mate had to be a Volturi guard, I’m really glad it’s you” Esme said softly smiling at him “You really mean that” He replied low “Yes we do because we know you can and will protect her, love her forever” Carlisle replied “I know you threatened the lower guards with dismemberment and the dungeons, if they hurt Lily, even after she moved into your room” He added “I thought that was rather sweet actually” Esme said smiling at Demetri “Has she accepted you as her mate?” She asked “Yes, she has. I gave her a necklace this morning...it’s kinda how I told her...she was mine” Demetri replied; Esme stood up and he did the same when he saw her hold out her arms to him “Welcome to the family Demetri” She said warmly as she hugged him “Thank you” He replied as he hugged her back “Don’t worry about our friendship either, nothing has changed” Carlisle said as he shook his hand whilst patting him on the shoulder “Thank you Carlisle, truly.” Demetri replied. He made his way back to his room pleased that Carlisle and Esme approved of him and Lily. Once back in his room he climbed into bed beside her and held her whilst she slept.

It had continued to snow overnight and it was still snowing when Lily woke up Christmas morning; lying in Demetri’s arms “Merry Christmas Demi” “Merry Christmas Lily” He replied, kissing her lips gently “I trust you slept well?” “I did, thank you Dem.” “Just to warn you Lils, you do have a few bruises from last night and I’m sorry for that” He said low as he rested his forehead to hers “Don’t worry about them Demi, I’m not. I enjoyed last night…I enjoyed being with you” She placed her hands to his face as she kissed him “Oh Lils, I enjoyed being with you too…more than you know. It’s just…I promised I wouldn’t hurt you and…” “You haven’t hurt me…it’s just a few bruises Dem. I’ll be fine” She cut him off “Besides you marked me last night as yours” She smiled at him “That’s.because.you.are.mine” He said between kisses “Well bruises I can hide…your mark I cannot” She replied “Don’t worry about that. I spoke to your parents last night whilst you slept…I wanted them to hear about us from me… and noone else” “How-how did they take the news?” “They were ok with the news…your mom said she was glad you’re with me and welcomed me into the family with a hug. Carlisle said that you and I being mates will not affect my friendship with him either” Demetri answered “Glad they approve of you…of us. Oh and get used to the hugs as that’s mum’s thing” Lily giggled at the last part “I think I can survive a few hugs now and then” He chuckled back.

Demetri and Lily were cuddling on the sofa “I have a few gifts for you mi amore” He knelt down on the floor by the tree and Lily joined him “I have a few gifts for you too babe” She replied smiling. They each took turns in opening their gifts. Lily bought Demetri Peppermint bath bombs, The Hunger Games trilogy and a pair of red and black check pyjama bottoms and matching black t-shirt. “Thank you for my gifts cara mia, they’re great” He said smiling and leaned towards her capturing her lips in a loving kiss. Demetri bought Lily a pair Disney’s Sleeping Beauty pyjamas, Cranberry Martini bath bombs and a reindeer charm for her charm bracelet “Thank you Demi, I love them” She climbed onto his lap wrapping her arms around him and kissed him passionately “I love you Dem” “I love you too Lils.”

Once everyone was in the family room the Secret Santa gift exchange commenced. Demetri watched as Renesmee opened her Secret Santa present from him; her eyes lighting up upon the seeing the ‘Beach Barbie and Barbie’s Beach House.’ Lily watched Jane open her Mac make-up; two eye shadow quads, a contouring kit and a selection of lip pink glosses. “Thank you Lily” Jane said smiling “How-how did you…?” “It was a guess sweetie” Jane replied. Alec opened his gift from Chelsea; a book of poetry and a book containing 365 puzzles; one for each day of the year. Felix watched Lily intently wanting to see her reaction to his Secret Santa gift of Disney’s Twisted Tales; volumes 1 and 2. “Oh my god. I love them. Thank you to whoever got me the books” Lily said smiling “Thank you for the gift ideas Esme” Felix said low to Esme, who smiled back “You’re welcome.” Demetri’s Secret Santa gift was from Gianna and she bought him a navy blue shirt and a pair Christmas socks. Everyone was talking and laughing and trying to guess who their Secret Santa was.

Everyone gathered in the ballroom and had sat around the long tables that were covered in blue tablecloths with silver Stag decorations standing in the centre. Christmas songs were playing in the background whilst Gianna, Lily and Ness ate their Christmas dinner and the vampires drank their silver glasses of blood, although Demetri did try some of Lily’s Turkey out of curiosity and wasn’t that impressed. ‘Baby it’s cold outside’ had started playing and Demetri got up from the table, turning to his left and took Lily’s warm hand in his cold one “May I have this dance?” She nodded and he led her a little further into the room before taking her into his arms, starting to slow dance with her. They swayed to the music whilst quietly singing to one another; he spun her away from him and pulled her back into him, her back to his chest and swayed them side to side a little, him smiling into her hair as he held her close. He then turned her in his arms so she was facing him and taking one hand in his and raising it above her head he twirled her on the spot before dancing around the floor with her in his arms. Lily was smiling at him ‘He’s such a good dancer’ she thought to herself as he led her around the floor. He dipped her a little then bought her back into his arms before he spun her away from him again. He pulled her back to him; her back to his chest and they swayed side to side again, him enjoying holding her in his arms, noticing she had relaxed into him smiling, her eyes closing briefly. He then turned her in his arms so she was facing him again and looking down at her lovingly before taking one hand in his again and raising it above her head twirling her on the spot and they continued to dance, twirl and sway around the floor.

They were so caught up in themselves they didn’t notice that Gianna and the room full of vampires were watching them dance together. Aro, Marcus, the wives, Esme and Carlisle all had big smiles on their faces as they watched the newly mated couple dance together. “He’s quite the romantic isn’t he?” Esme whispered to Carlisle smiling “Yes, yes he is…and he’s perfect for her” He responded low holding his wife’s hand in his. ‘Well done my dear boy’ Marcus thought to himself smiling. “I think our tracker has finally met his mate” Heidi said low to Felix as Demetri held Lily to him and swayed to the music once more “Her siblings are just going to love him” Alec said smirking as he watched them move around the floor effortlessly together; Jane nodded smiling, thinking how Edward is probably going to disapprove the most out of her siblings. Demetri dipped Lily low as the song ended before bringing her back up into his arms; arms wrapping around her waist “Merry Christmas baby” He whispered in her ear “Merry Christmas handsome” She replied low wrapping her arms around his neck.

Breaking the news to their families was easier than they thought as some of them had noticed how close the pair had become since the Cullens had arrived at the castle, others noticed the necklace Lily wore bearing the message ‘Mine for eternity. D’ in Italian. Others kind of figured it out watching Demetri and Lily dancing after dinner. Edward read Demetri’s thoughts and discovered they were together; growling low catching the attention of Bella and Emmett. Edward’s reaction made Demetri smirk and he watched as he filled in Bella and Emmett on the news “As long as he continues to protect her I have no issues with them being together. I mean he clearly loves her Edward” Emmett says looking over at Lily and Demetri talking with Esme and Carlisle “Mom and dad obviously approve too” He added. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it. He’s older than all of us and he’s a Volturi” “Edward” Aro said in a warning tone “Demetri deserves to be happy and it would seem that your sister is key to that…she has accepted him and you will not interfere” Aro added before making his way over to the couple.

“Demetri, Lily I’m so happy you two found each other and wish you a long and happy life together” Aro said smiling at them “Welcome to the family my dear” Aro added smiling at Lily “Thank you Aro” Lily smiled at him, Carlisle and Esme were smiling too. “Oh Demetri, my dear boy I’m so glad you finally found your one…and she’s so pretty” Sulpicia said smiling, placing her hands on Lily’s face “Thank you mi’ lady” Demetri replied bowing his head. “Welcome to the family child” “Thank you” Lily added with a smile “Where is she? Where is the beautiful human that’s captured our dear Demetri’s heart?” Athenodora says as she pushes past Aro and Sulpicia to wrap Lily in a hug; Caius is right behind her. Demetri couldn’t help smiling seeing how excited the wives were to meet Lily and how easily they accepted her; how easily Caius accepted her too considering their history with her family. “I would like to welcome you to the family too, although it would appear our brother Marcus kept this news all to himself” Caius said looking at Marcus; who just smiled and shrugged “I wanted them to figure things out for themselves without any interference…and I think it worked out rather well…don’t you?” Marcus replied sounding a little smug.

That night Demetri ran them a bath using one of the peppermint bath bombs Lily gave him for Christmas “Bath’s ready when you are Lils” He called softly from the bathroom; Lily was in the closet putting away the clothes and shoes she had received for Christmas from her family. She made her way into the bathroom to see Demetri already laying in the bath “Déjà vu” She said smiling “Not quite…you’re still wearing your robe” He replied; his smile widened when she dropped the robe and walked towards the tub “You’re so beautiful baby” He said as she climbed in and sat in front of him, he pulled her to him one arm wrapping around her, the other turning her head towards him as he placed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. “This is the best Christmas ever…and I should know I’ve celebrated quite a few” He said looking at her with nothing but love and adoration in his ruby eyes “I agree Dem. This has been the best Christmas ever.” She kissed him back before resting her head on his chest and enjoying their shared bath.

It was New Year’s Eve and everyone gathered in the North facing garden waiting in anticipation for ‘Emmett and Felix’s New Year Extravaganza’ They had gone all out and bought fireworks, sparklers and party poppers “We’re going to see the New Year in with style with our family and friends” Emmett said smiling wide “This is bound to end in disaster” Jane muttered low “Just watch him set himself alight” Demetri chuckled low in Lily’s ear “Oh be nice. He’s your best friend” She said looking up at him “That was me being nice…I could have said watch as he sets your brother alight” He chuckled again and Lily joined in “That’s very true Dem” Once the firework display was over they all went back inside to the throne room and everyone danced the night away. Everyone counted down to midnight “Happy New Year” greetings rung out the room. “Happy New Year handsome” Lily smiled up at Demetri, kissing him “Happy New Year baby” He replied kissing her back and tightening his hold on her waist “Here’s to the first of many New Year celebrations we get to share together” He added kissing her again.

The day had arrived for the Cullens to leave and Demetri was dreading having to watch Lily leave him and return home with her family. Demetri entered the closet expecting to find Lily packing but she wasn’t, she was just staring at her clothes in the closet. He came up behind her and gently turned her to face him “Stay with me Lils…please” He looked into her eyes and he knew her answer instantly “Yes. Yes” She said excitedly and wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him; he lifted her into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist. He growled low as she bit his bottom lip gently and she slipped her tongue into his mouth deepening the kiss, their tongues moving against each other as he tightened his hold on her waist hugging her to him. “I love you Lily” He said low resting his forehead to hers “I love you too Demi” She whispered in reply.

They went and spoke to Carlisle and Esme; telling them that she wanted to remain in Volterra with Demetri. “Hi mom, dad can we come in?” “Of course hunny. What’s on your mind?” Demetri and Lily entered the room and sat on the sofa; Lily took a deep breath and Demetri squeezed her hand reassuringly “I know we are supposed to go home this evening but…I want to stay here. I want to stay with Demetri” “We thought you might so we have spoken to Aro, Caius and Marcus and they have agreed that you can stay here with them and that you are able to leave and come home to us whenever you want” Carlisle replied “You mean you really do not mind?” Demetri asked his friend “Of course we do not mind. You’re mates and shouldn’t be kept apart and with Lily staying here for a little while means the two of you can continue to get to know one other; strengthen your bond” Esme replied “Just remember Lily you will always have a home with us and you Demetri are welcome to come back with Lily with anytime. After all we are all family now” She added smiling and hugging both Lily and Demetri.

Later that evening as they waved off her family at the airport Lily turned to Demetri and smiled up at him “I am looking forward to spending forever with you Demi” “Me too Lils, me too” He replied smiling looking down at her in his arms “Our forever starts now” He adds softly.

#demetri volturi #felix volturi #jane volturi #alec volturi #aro volturi #marcus volturi #caius volturi #Heidi Volturi #volturi #carlisle cullen #esme cullen #renesmee cullen #edward cullen #bella cullen #emmett cullen #rosalie hale #alice cullen #jasper hale #the cullens

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deepperplexity · 4 years ago

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Title: A Bludger To The Heart [pt.4]

A/N: Part 4 of A Bludger To The Heart as requested by @darkthought15 , @witch-of-reblogs & @prinlee :D

[Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3]

Imagine prompt by: @boodalinski-gifs "Imagine Severus meeting his future s/o when they (being a younger Malfoy relative) accompany Lucius to see Draco's quidditch match."

Pairing: Snape x Female!Malfoy!OC

Setting: London -> Rome

POV: Third limited, Snape tilt.

Word Count: 5041

Warnings: Harsh language, mentions of previous violence, violence, blood, abuse

Ending recap: "What, what do we do about Rovius?" she asked with a shaky voice and Severus stiffened ever so slightly. "He's not to be taken lightly. You are aware of his connections and status. And I fear, he will use that to find you." "I know, he's, he's not a man that lets things go. Ever," she whispered and her thin arms shook as she clung to him. "I won't let him have you." The words were as clear as the first light of dawn on a winter morning after the darkest of nights.

He would live by them forever. He would live by her side, for her and with her for as long as she allowed him to be. If the day came, when she did not want him any longer, he knew he would be ruined and ended at that moment. But for the time being, he allowed hope to enter his heart and love to fill the empty void she had once left him with.

Masterlist page // Masterlist post

After a short stop in London at a small motel, where Severus went out to buy two sets of clothes for Arabella, they headed off to Rome. Now, you may think Severus had never been to such a place as Rome - or anywhere else for that matter - but he was, in fact, a quite well-travelled man. All the world held ingredients for potions and he was not aversed to some travelling to acquire them.

They had set up in a small apartment in a quaint little area at the outskirts of Rome. The people were friendly, the food was excellent, the architecture stunning and the weather... Well, the weather was a slight problem for him. The heat, the fucking heat was killing the poor man.

But Arabella revelled in it. Sundresses, shorts, skirts, crop tops, blouses and sandals. She wore it all and looked absolutely stunning as the bruises had healed, her body was filling out again, her hair shined and her sunkissed skin was flecked with little freckles. She was the picture of joy, again. As she had been when he met her.

Or, actually, no, she was more joy now than ever. A constant smile on her lips, that high pitched singsong voice always lulling on some tune, her body near always in a swaying motion and she seemed as perfect as a sunrise over the horizon of the Mediterranean sea.

He was enthralled by her. She occupied nearly all his thoughts and dreams. It had been such a long time since he had nightmares now that he was more rested than he could ever remember. It was strange, a strange feeling to actually wake up in the morning and be rested.

"Honey," Arabella called as she stepped into the little apartment as dusk settled and made the white walls shine in golden light and the second-hand furniture looked perfect for the place. Severus smiled at hearing her voice. "Here," he called back from the living room just two steps from the entrance.

"Look," she said with excitement and held up a basket of groceries and on the top were parmesan and mozzarella cheeses resting. She looked happy as could be. "Lasagna?" he asked and she nodded excitedly. He sighed but smiled and rose from the chair while folding away his paper. "Come on, you prep, I will cook. WE don't want another accident like the pancakes," he said with a tender voice before he kissed her cheek softly and grabbed the basket.

She giggled and sang along to the music that drifted in from the many open windows as he layered the lasagna before topping it off with a huge amount of cheese. "A little more?" Arabella asked as she wrapped her arms around him from behind and rose on her tippy-toes to kiss his exposed neck. "More?" he asked on a drawl and arched a brow. She just giggled and nodded. He sighed and added another handful of parmesan and another handful of mozzarella slices. "Yay," she giggled and let him go to et the table out on the tiny little balcony now that the sun had gone down and Severus could actually be out there. Without melting.

"You are beautiful when you eat," Severus said as he put his cutlery down and just watched his love devour one of her many favourite dishes. She looked up with a puzzled look. "I mean it." And he truly did. She had her body back, her smile and that joy in her eyes he loved deeply. "I love your food," she said and took another mouthful, "you know I do," she continued and he arched his brow. "Sorry," she mumbled still with food in her mouth. A habit Severus actually could not stand. He gave her a small smile.

After they had cleaned up they both ended up out on the balcony. Arabella with a glass of red wine and Severus with a tumbler of whiskey infused with cinnamon and a hint of ash wood. They sipped as his free hand stroked her back softly. She hummed as his cool hand chilled her and he could not help but kiss the top of her head.

"Are you happy, darling?" he asked silently. His voice was barely a murmuring whisper. She looked up at him from the side. Her eyes twinkled and her smile was as wide as it could be. "Very, honey love," she said back and reached up to stroke his still pale cheek. The touch made him shudder. With delight. As did her words for him.

He sat down the tumbler and wrapped her up in his arms from behind as they watched the city fold-out beneath them. Lights twinkled and the town bussed with joy and song as the weekend took over. They stood there for a long time and just watched, enjoyed the calm and the cool night that gave them a short time to breathe before the next day would come with burning heat once more.

"When will you allow me to see you, Severus?" she asked as dawn graced the world and they laid in bed, wrapped around each other. "What do you mean?" he asked as he kissed her forehead lightly. His voice a bit gravelly from the night and she sat up. The cover billowed around her waist and he marvelled at her beauty in the mornings golden light.

"You know what I mean. There is not an inch of me you have not discovered, touch, seen or kissed, honey love. But I, I have not seen all of you. Nor touched or kissed you all over as you have done to me," she whispered and her voice broke ever so slightly on the last word. He sat up, his white nightshirt hung loosely around him as the worn cotton had stretched over the many years he had owned it.

"Darling, I-" "Don't you trust me?" she asked in a hurt tone. He smiled softly as he looked at her beautiful face. "I trust you, completely." He stroked her cheek gently. "However," he continued, "I am not, how to put it, so unkind as to hurt you in that way," he said and his eyes fell away from her. He had never been ashamed of his scars, but he was not happy about them and he knew that Arabella would be hurt by his revoltingly marked skin should she see it. He felt it, in his gut, for some reason unknown to him.

"Severus, love, please. It, it hurts to not know you." He looked at her as she pleaded with him. She pulled at the strings at the top of the shirt. "I do not want to hurt you," he said again, "and I fear you may, may not feel for me as you do now if you saw me clearly." There, I've said it, my silly feelings of insecurity in being with a beauty such as you, he thought and the feeling that gnawed at him developed elongated canines to dig deeper with.

"Severus, love," she leaned closer and kissed his hooked nose, "you are perfect in all ways. I know what you look like, I have seen you in tight clothes you know," she smirked and kissed him on the lips. He chuckled but sighed. "Oh Severus, please stop this nonsense. You're perfect just as you are." He arched a brow expertly and huffed ever so slightly.

She straddled him swiftly and he laid on his back, one hand on each of her soft thighs. "Let me be close to you," she whispered as the birds chirped, a man called out about selling bread and women chattered joyfully outside the open windows. But Severus felt dread and fear. Not joy. Despite Arabella, in all her naked glory, straddling him in the mornings light.

"I won't change my opinion of you, all I want is to be close. I just, just want you to let me love you all the way. Like I allow you," she said softly as she completely opened the neck of his nightshirt. He swallowed, small beads of sweat misted his skin - from her touch, her words and the damned Italian heat. "Say you love me," he said and she smiled. "I love you, more than anything." He sighed and nodded.

She climbed off him as he sat up. His hands shook as his heart pounded. Nobody had ever seen his upper body. He had revealed his marks to no person and now that he was about to, he felt uncomfortable, to say the least. He was nervous and almost afraid. Or it was a feeling that resembled fear at least.

"Severus, I love you, all of you. No matter what," she said softly and he grabbed the hem of the shirt. He pulled it up and over his head in one swift motion and avoided to look at Arabella with all his might as he heard her gasp. It hurt more than he had thought it could as she started to sob beside him.

"Severus, honey love, what happened to you?" she whispered ever so softly as her hand landed gently on his scared back. She sobbed as her fingers trailed the countless marks that made his skin uneven. "Tell me, talk to me. Please," she said as her fingers kept trailing the marks. He shuddered and closed his eyes. She does not hate you, she is not running away, she is not running away, he thought as a tear rolled down his cheek. He was so relieved.

"It was many years ago, I was young and unable to defend or heal myself," he said in a low murmur. "My father, well, let us just say he consumed rather large amounts of alcohol and the brew did not make him kind," he continued as her hand kept stroking his back as he sat leaning forward. "He was not a soft or gentle man," he said and cleared his throat slightly. "But it was a long time ago, darling. He is since long gone from my life and I prefer to keep it that way." Arabella's hand landed on his shoulder and he finally took the courage to look at her.

"Why did you hide this from me?" "I did not want to hurt you, or, make you run away from me," he said and she huffed. "Severus, I fell in love with you, not your body or skin. Although, it might have had a little to do with it..." Her cheeks blushed, "I don't think I'll ever forget that tight frock coat or that billowing cloak... The cravat the hid your throat, I wanted to rip it off..." Severus brow arched and she giggled.

"Severus, I love you, I'm not running away and I am so happy that you've finally given yourself to me, fully." "Arabella," he said and leaned back while he pulled her on top of himself, "I love you and I am yours, fully. Always," he said and she caressed his lightly haired chest where cigarette burns and belt scars marked him. "Love me," she whispered before their lips met and he hummed as joy overtook him once more. For she had not left, had not hated his appearance and above all she still loved him. So he did as she wished, and loved her until breakfast turned to brunch.

He put away his coffee cup, where is she? He rose from the chair in the living room. The sun stood high on the sky and he huffed. The heat really did not agree with him despite it the fact it had been nearly two months since they came to Rome.

"Where is she..?" he mumbled as he looked at the clock on the wall. Nearly two in the afternoon and she had never come back for lunch and Arabella never missed a chance at eating his cooking. He was a bit worried, actually, as he stepped out on the balcony. The sun fried him yet he stood there, looking out in his white cotton shirt and grey cotton trousers, his feet bare against the stone floors.

"Mrs. Cutillo!" he called as a lady in a floral dressed passed down on the street. "Ah, Mr. Snápe," she called back with an Italian accent. "Have you seen my woman?" he called back, "Ara-bella, si?" "Yes, Arabella, have you seen her?" he called and she smiled. "Si, the markétt," she answered with a smile and Severus took a deep breath. "With gentleman, molto bello gentleman!" she called with a mischievous grin. Severus stiffened. "Italian?" "Ah, nono, English," she answered and a lump formed in Severus's stomach.

He had socks and shoes on in an instant and ran down the many stairs and out on the street. "Where, Mrs. Cutillo, where at the market?" he asked as he panted slightly. "Ah, eh, frutta, eh, fruit," the lady said and Severus thanked her before he took off running. He could not risk using apparition among muggles. Arabella, Arabella, please, be there, be there... His thoughts went wild as he took shortcuts, jumped a fence, ducked under laundry and squeezed through a narrow pathway.

The market was buzzing with people, everywhere there were people despite the heat and the blasted sun. He looked for the fruit section as he looked for Arabella at the same time. His heart pounded, fear that Dox had found them filled him as he desperately looked for his love.

He stopped for a moment, in the middle of the fruit stands. Sweat dripped down his neck and face. His hair was moist and the damn sun shined in his eyes as he looked and looked for Arabella. But he could not see her anywhere. Her platinum blond hair should have stood out among the rest.

His heart pounded and it felt as if he could not breathe. "Where are you?" he mumbled as he spun around. That's when he saw her, she disappeared in between to walls, pulled by a pale hand. He was running before his mind caught up.

"No, let go, let me go!" Her voice echoed towards him and he ran faster despite barely being able to push down enough air in his tight lungs. "You, belong to me!" The voice of Rovius Dox echoed after hers and ice filled his veins despite the damn heat. It made him think more clearly, made all other things fall away as he reached the place they had gone in.

It was a tiny pathway between to builds and he managed to squeeze through as Arabella cried out in pain before the distinct noise of a body hitting the ground echoed towards him. "Rovius, stop!" she screamed as her voice was half choked. "You little bitch!" And at that moment Severus managed to get them in his field of view.

Arabella laid on the ground, her hair tousled and tears streamed down her cheeks. Dox stood by her, his chest heaved and anger seemed to fill his body by the looks of it. That's when Arabella caught site of him, Severus. His face was stone cold. His eyes burned with rage. His fists clenched as he took one step towards them.

"Severus," Arabella whimpered and that was when he saw the broken lip. His body stiffened. He had made a promise; to never let that man lay a hand on her again. That she would never be within his reach ever again. He had failed her. His mind went blank as his hands stayed fisted.

Dox looked up, his eyes hooked on to Severus as his anger seemed to amplify. "You," he growled as he started to march towards Severus, "you stole my wife!" Severus did all he could to stay still, hid his emotions as best he could and kept his eyes solely on Dox - the furious man getting ever closer.

Severus had but a mere moment to come up with a plan. The rage that roared through him made it near impossible to think as all that filled his mind were Arabella. His beloved. But Severus had not survived for so long without wits and quick thinking. He had not been playing the Dark Lord, deceiving the Dark Lord, for years without his ability to react properly to any given situation without hesitation.

Severus chuckled and placed his hand behind his back so as to give a more relaxed appearance. "Surely, a man such as myself would have no hold over such a beauty," he said to Dox in a way of throwing the man's own words back at him. Dox stopped a mere three steps from him. "You stole my wife," he hissed, "she belongs to me. Forever." Severus allowed himself to half-smile at the man. "Well, it appears, " he said in a low hum of a voice, "she finds herself belonging to no man. Least of all you," he continued while holding the man's gaze.

His purpose was clear. Draw the lunatic's attention, keep him from Arabella and find a way to get rid of him once and for all if possible. His plan seemed to be working as Dox shook with anger. "I will have your life," Dox growled as he was seemingly unable to control his emotions as Severus could. "I would not wager on that," Severus replied as a small grin crossed his lips. It seemed to throw Dox out of balance as he blinked. The man was obviously not used to not getting his way.

"You filthy old-" "Careful, Mr Dox. Do not forget to whom you are speaking," Severus warned as his face hardened and his lips turned to a thin line. Dox laughed. "Oh, I'm not forgetting, you old traitor. I'm not forgetting at all and I know many will salute me for ending your life," Dox said as wickedness gleamed in his dead eyes, "I will end you and then I will have my way with the girl and end her!"

Dox reached for his wand as Severus did the same. Pure fury boiled in him as the words sent him into a fit of rage. Arabella was his to love, his to cherish and his to protect. The volatile lunatic in front of him would not ever again lay a hand on his beloved. If it so was the last thing Severus ever did he would see to that.

They battled, lightning of magic shot from their wands as they tried to finish each other. Severus was quick on his feet, quicker with his curses and even faster at blocking Dox's attacks. Arabella screamed, Severus attacked and Dox flew back a few feet before thudding to the ground. Severus straightened as he slowly walked towards the fallen lunatic.

"Severus," Arabella whimpered as he was right at her side. He lowered himself to check on her before he was to check on Dox. He made a mistake. The moment he was hunched down by Arabella's side he heard Dox scream a spell and he had a mere second to react as he shielded Arabella with his own body.

The spell hit him and his ribs broke. He felt the cracking yet all he could think of was Arabella's safety as she screamed his name beneath him. For a moment he could not move. For a moment he was panting in pain. For a moment he could not rise and attack. He felt Dox's hand around the collar of his shirt as the man yanked at the fabric. But Severus was heavier than he probably had assumed. Or you're just used to throwing woman around you pathetic piece of shit!

Severus spun around and his clenched fist landed with a cracking noise over Dox's nose bridge. He felt the breaking of the man's nose as he hit. Dox stumbled back. Severus was on his feet quicker than a house-elf could snap its fingers. He landed another blow to Dox's jaw, a third to his ribs and the fourth he pounded against his throat.

Severus was panting, Dox was stumbling and moaning. Arabella whimpered and cried. "You, do not, get to touch her." Severus's words were final. Absolute. Dox coughed and blood splattered the cobblestone beneath their feet. You, are through," he continued with a thundering voice that was low yet seemed to be screamed at the same time. He took a step towards Dox who straightened and that wickedness was gleaming in his eyes yet again. But this time it was paired with fear and anger.

"I will have her," he said with a bloodstained mouth, "I will have her and you can do nothing about it." Those words were enough for Severus to launch himself at the man. The fell backwards, Severus landed atop the volatile man and his fist made contact with all the places he could reach. He pounded and hit, over and over. Until Arabella clung to him and tried to pull him away.

"Severus! Severus, please! Stop!" she screamed with cry-muddled voice. A ringing of panic seemed to accompany her voice and Severus ended the pounding of the bloody heap that was Rovius Dox. He turned toward his love and engulfed her in his arms after he had stood up. She shook, he did as well. She cried, his heart pounded violently. His fist ached and they were covered in blood that stained Arabella's hair and dress as he held her.

"I love you," I love you, I love, you, I love you," she cried into his chest and he held her tighter. "I love you," he murmured into her hair. At that moment Dox coughed and Severus spun around, how are you not dead? The bloody heap coughed again and Severus saw him fumble for his wand that laid several feet away. Oh no, you don't, he thought as he stepped on Dox's wrist. The man moaned as Severus leaned and added more weight to his foot.

"You, will not, touch her, again." Severus pressed even harder and the bloody heap both moaned and coughed. "Severus, stop, let's just go," Arabella cried as she pulled on his arm, "he can't do anything anymore," she continued and Severus gave the bloody heap a disgusted sneer but stepped away. He grabbed Arabella's arm and pulled her towards him. "Come," he said and started walking towards the way they had entered. She hurried along closely pressed against his side.

As they were almost at the opening between the two buildings, ready to leave the bloody scene, Severus heard the unmistakable sound of twisting and moving of a wounded body. He turned and pulled his wand just as Dox had grabbed his own and directed it's tip towards them. Without hesitation, he cast the Sectumsempra spell and Dox cried out in agony before Severus silenced him with Muffliato.

"I am sorry," he said to Arabella, "but this will never stop," he whispered as he kissed her forehead. Arabella whimpered, her eyes were red and a strand of blood had seeped from her broken lip and down her jaw. Some bruises had started to form over her temple, jaw and around her neck where Dox had obviously grabbed her harshly. It only made Severus's rage burn brighter.

A slight nod was all she gave him and he walked over in long strides to the silenced man bleeding from every part of his body. "This won't hurt," he mumbled as he pointed his wand at the man, "I promise." He focused on the terrified eyes that stared back at him. He had no choice, he knew that. He looked over his shoulder towards Arabella who stared at the scene. "Turn around love," he said softly and she obliged as new tears streamed down her face.

"Let us find out what you have been up to," he said and non verbally cast the Legilimens spell to enter the volatile lunatic's mind to figure out how many new about Arabella's whereabouts and his own involvement in her disappearance. He would need that information to protect her and keep her hidden.

Flashes of memories passed him, Dox was not good at Occlumency and his damaged state made him weak. Severus could easily penetrate the man's mind and see it all. He saw things he never wished to see. Beat up women, bloody chains, riding crops whipping, chocking hands and lights that left several women eyes. His own stomach twisted as the Bellatrix seemed like a kindergarten teacher compared to Rovius Dox.

Flashes of Arabella tied to a pole, stripped naked and bruised, filled his sight. Her starved body. Ribs sticking out and her face beaten severely as she hung limply only upright thanks to the ropes around her wrists. Dox's laughter, his despicable hands touching her delicate skin. He wanted to throw up.

Several memories just like that one passed him and then came the memories he was searching for. Just as he could barely take it anymore. The man's head was a hideous place and Severus did truly not want to be in it.

Dox was talking to Lucius, mentioning Italy and Severus himself. But nothing that gave away their location or Severus attachment to Arabella. Just that they both had disappeared at the same time. Lucius defended Severus, oddly enough, and said to Dox that he often travelled during summer to secure new ingredients and potion precipice. But in Dox mind he knew that man had not been fooled, the question was why Lucius had defended him?

Another memory, Dox was sat by his desk, a heap of papers strew out over the desk's surface. Severus could glimpse Arabella's name. Marriage certificate, a will as well. Dox was amending it. 'Should I perish, nothing shall be given to my wife. All will be awarded to my sister. My wife, Arabella Dox, should be left with nothing but what she had when our marriage was started...' Severus read over Dox's shoulder and gave the will disgusted sneer. Not only was the man abusing her in life but he would also leave her broke and damaged in his death. Bastard, Severus thought.

Another memory swirled into place. Dox was talking to the Dark Lord. A stone as cold as ice form in Severus's gut. Dox seemed to be trying is hardest to persuade the Dark Lord of his treachery and lies. Of him stealing Dox's wife and working for the Order while preventing him from seeing his own wife. Severus was anxiously waiting for the Dark Lord to speak but he seemed merely annoyed by the vulgar man that took up his time.

The Dark Lord finally answered that he did not doubt about Severus or his allegiance. Something eased in Severus's stomach as the Dark Lord spoke to Dox about Severus aromantic inclination (no matter how false that was) and his age in comparison to Arabella's. He also, apparently, deemed fit to speak of Severus's demanding life and his many services to the Dark Lord himself before - and Severus had to admit he enjoyed this part - he used Crucio on Dox and then commanded he never speak in such a way to him again.

The last memory Severus witnessed was Dox making a complete mess of his office. In a fit of rage, he smashed furniture, ripped curtains and threw whatever ornaments he could get his filthy hands on. He seemed utterly enranged and a complete raving lunatic. Severus merely watched as Dox's office door opened and a young girl, barely 17, stepped in. Severus grew cold again as Dox wickedly smiled at the young girl who seemed to be working as a staff member; judging by her attire.

Severus could not bear to watch the rest of the memory after Dox had beckoned the girl over with those dead eyes gleaming off hatred. He knew all too well what would follow and what that girl would endure. So he stepped out of Dox's mind. His stomach twisting and knots formed as bile rose in his mouth. He barely had time to turn his head from the bloody heap of a man on the ground before he threw up. The memories filled him and forced his body to bend. He heaved until there was nothing left to rid his stomach of.

"You despicable, filthy, abhorrent animal," he growled as he straightened. He could barely look at Dox without his stomach turning inside him. "You will forget her, you will only remember that you married and felt it wasn't right to take her beauty from the world. You will remember that you got a divorce and you will never wish to see or speak to her again," he growled as he pointed his wand at the man.

Severus did not wish to admit it but he wanted to end the miserable lifeform. Spare the world of hideous existence. Yet, he could not risk going to Azkaban nor risk the wrath of the Dox family; or the Dark Lord. So he did what he was excellent at. He used Obliviate to adjust Dox's memory and left only what was necessary for the man to function properly and no trace leading anyone back to himself or Arabella. "Obliviate," he said quietly and the tip of his wand glowed faintly in silver as it sucked out the memories.

Severus turned to Arabella as Dox's eyes looked blank and confused. "Stay here," he said to the back of her head and then he grabbed Dox by the arm and apparated outside Malfoy manner. He merely had time to let go before he apparated back to Rome and Arabella. As the little swoosh was heard she turned towards him.

Her face was swollen, her eyes red and clouded with sadness. He walked towards her and she ran into his arms. He caught her and held her firmly. She started sobbing and her knees went week so he held her up. "Is he gone? Truly gone?" she asked through a sob, Severus nodded and kissed the top of her head. "He is, love. He is," he said ever so softly and she cried violently. He silently held her as tears of his own rolled down his cheeks. Perhaps now they could finally just be a couple?

Hey guys! :D Hope you enjoyed this fourth part of A Bludger To The Heart - please tell me what you think and don't forget to heart if you liked it! :D It means so much to me and really makes me happy! :D

Anyway, this part was FUN to write no matter how horrible it was for Arabella and dear Severus. I hope you enjoyed the justice that was served (to the volatile lunatic by our beloved Severus) and that you wish to read a fifth part as I have one planned! I got a request to have a little marriage ceremony for our dear couple and I feel like we need some love to end this rollercoaster ride - so perhaps there will be a wedding (maybe not, we'll see) but what is absolutely certain is that there will be plenty of love - and other things... O.O <3

Also, I do take requests :D

Masterlist page // Masterlist post

Taglist: @lizlil

#snape #severus snape #snape fanfiction #snape fanfic #snape fic #a bludger to the heart #deepperplexity fic #deepperplexity #snape love #arabella #malfoy #dox #harry potter fandom #pro snape #professor snape #fic writing #writing #fanfiction

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igotyouniverse · 4 years ago

Text

Breathe Me - Chapter 3 [nct vamp au]

Pairing: Oc x Taeyong , Oc x Johnny [side: markxoc, tenxoc, lucasxoc, jaehyunxoc]

Included Members: Taeyong, Johnny, Mark, Lucas, Ten, Jaehyun, Doyoung, Haechan (maybe more)

Genre: Drama, Romance, Angst, Fantasy

Warnings: angst, blood, death (this chapter), strong language

Description: After dropping out of college and coming home for the first time in two years, 22-year-old Ava Lee gets caught up in a mystery surrounding the people she thought she knew for so long. Between friendship, affairs and true love the young women finds herself being pulled into a nightmare she would never wake up from.

a/n: dundunduuun. I re-wrote this chapter 8476 times. Yikes.This chapter is from the boys' (mostly Taeyong) point of view so you get a little insight on the different relationships and what happened :o Plus some explanation to what they (obviously) are and other stuff . *winkwonk* Anyway I hope you enjoy this! I’m actually hyped to write the next one, oof. (I had to delete and repost this because Tumblr wasn’t showing it anymore and idk why)

[tagging @neowritingsnet and @czennienet because tumblr won’t let this post show up in the tags, whysoever :^)

words: ~5k

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||

Taeyong sighed, resting his back against the wall of the café. He looked down to his feet, listening to the conversation the two girls had, while hiding in the back room, to avoid looking at them. Yes, he felt a bit ashamed for eavesdropping but was it really eavesdropping if he would understand every word anyway? He didn't even have to try to specifically listen to them. The café was quiet, just some cozy music playing in the background – nothing that would distract his sensitive senses.

He let the back of his head fall against the wall, his eyes now facing the ceiling when someone came into the room.

“You good?”, Jaehyun said and Taeyong nodded at his friend, straightening himself up and walking up to the table, thinking if he should just make some more pastries to keep his thoughts collected and senses calm.

He saw how Jaehyuns eyes were glued to the small doorway arch, leading into the main room of the café. Taeyong knew that he was listening as well. How couldn't he?

“Did you know that she was back?”, Taeyong asked, raising one of his brows, looking directly into Jaehyuns eyes when he turned his head away from the noise and towards his friend.

Jaehyun kept silent for a minute and bit his lip. Taeyong knew, that he couldn't lie to him. Well, he could try.

“It's fine if you don't want to tell me.”, Taeyong added softly and let a small smile escape his lips.

“Thank you.”, Jaehyun answered, seemingly relieved.

Taeyong looked away, not wanting to disturb his friend much longer.

“Strange, isn't it? Why did she come back now?”, Jaehyun asked quietly, starting to set up some hot water to get himself some tea.

“I don't know.”, he answered, his voice sounding dry.

He felt how Jaehyun looked at him.

“It doesn't matter, as long as you won't let her out of your sight.”, Taeyong added and sighed.

“Of course I won't. I didn't let her out of my sight for the past years now, just how you told me to do. But it's not like we're that close or something. She rarely really talks to me anyway.”, Jaehyun answered truthfully.

“I know. You don't need to tell me what you're doing if you don't want to, Jaehyun. I won't force you to tell me.”, Taeyong tried to smile again, not letting his emotions out of control for a brief second. He knew, that Jaehyun knew he was hiding something, yet he didn't further ask him anything.

These years ago, after the incident, Taeyong needed to change something. He knew that she was at risk of getting hurt. But Johnny was incapable of even talking about her, after what happened. Taeyong just had to know how safe she was in New York, so he entrusted her safety with Jaehyun. The boy knew, what could happen if he sent Jaehyun but he couldn't care about his own feelings. It wasn't right. So he didn't.

Yet, it was indeed strange that she decided to come back for now. It was even stranger that no one seemed to feel the need to tell him. He could understand them, though. None of them knew his part of the whole story – not even Johnny. And that's how it was supposed to be. Still, he wished someone had told him so he could prepare. But as much as he was worried to show anything, he knew that she wasn't able to see it anyway. However, the encounter with her wasn't how it was supposed to be. The way she looked at him, he could see her emotions written all over her soft face. She remembered something in the back of her head. He sighed slightly, trying to think about what he'd done wrong. It wasn't usually like this. She was supposed to see him as a complete stranger.

“You want some tea?”, he heard Jaehyun ask and shook his head. It wasn't like they needed it anyway, yet he knew that Jaehyun enjoyed the taste of it.

They both looked up as they heard how the girls stood up and brought their plates and cups to the counter. They noticed how Ava stood still for a moment, before leaving the café.

“Do you think it's a good idea to let her come to the party?”, Jaehyun asked after he took a sip of his tea.

“Well, you can't un-invite her. As long she won't be left alone, nothing will happen.”, Taeyong patted his friend's shoulder before going out to collect the dirty dishes and putting them in the sink where he started to clean them.

“Ah, Johnny's outside.”, Taeyong said as he sensed the presence of his friend right outside the back door. “Would you mind picking up some books from the store?”, he added and looked at Jaehyun, who was staring it him for a second too long. Both heard that Ava was probably going there right this second.

The room got silent for a while, only filled with the noise of running water and the scrubbing of the sponge, Taeyong cleaned the dishes with.

“Fine.”, Jaehyun sighed, not able to say no, even though Taeyong didn't do anything.

Taeyong listened how both of them went to the store next door and finished doing the dishes and putting them back in the shelves where they belong.

It wasn't easy for him to see Ava after this time, yet he just had to pretend he rarely knew her. Honestly, he wasn't even sure if he'd knew her at all. All these memories he buried in the last corner of his brain, where they should just fade slowly, but they simply weren't as slowly fading as he wished for. It was tiring for him. Way easier, when she wasn't in the small town, though. He even resisted from asking how things where going whenever Jaehyun had some news. He just pretended he didn't care at all. It would be way too awkward and exhausting if he'd tell them. It was for the best just like things were.

Maybe she wasn't staying for long anyway, maybe it was just a short visit whatsoever. But deep down he knew it wasn't. He was a little uneasy thinking about the part, maybe even anxious. It wasn't like he thought their house was a dangerous place, yet he preferred to let her stay out of it for as long as possible. He sighed and looked at the clock, thinking about how he would survive for the next hours with his head full of thoughts.

Lost in thought, he cleaned the tables. Was it insensitive for him to send Jaehyun and Johnny together when he knew she was there? Maybe. But it wasn't his cup of tea, honestly. He didn't want to interfere with their lives, especially not hers. The years went by and she got more grown-up, he thought, probably much stronger than before, so she'd knew what was best for her. Or at least, that's what he wished for.

He knew that the city she knew changed and it wouldn't take long until she started to ask questions. Things happened, life went on. Taeyong wanted nothing more than to protect her from all these things which had happened and will happen but he wasn't in the position to do so. He just hoped time went by quickly and she'd return to a city where she was safe. Well, safer than here.

Taeyong could easily hear how Johnny and Jaehyun came through the backdoor again, their hands full with books. He could tell the shifting atmosphere between them and watched how Johnny just quickly nodded at him before bringing the books into the café, placing them in the intended bookshelf on the wall at the back.

Taeyong sighed and looked at Jaehyun who just shrugged his shoulders and completed his task the same way Johnny did.

“Why did you tell her to come?”, he heard Johnny ask Jaeyhun as both of them joined Taeyong in the back.

“Well, technically I didn't tell her. Her friend invited her beforehand.”, Jaehyun chuckled and tried to avoid Taeyong's staring gaze.

“You do realize I'm not blind, don't you?”, Johnny hissed and Taeyong saw how his jaw clenched. Johnny wasn't good at hiding his emotions. He never really was.

“I know.”, Jaehyun answered plainly and leaned against a big table in the middle of the room.

“I don't know what you want. Do you want to make me mad?”, Johnny's voice was strained, he got angry. Taeyong avoided to look directly at his friend, continuing to listen to their conversation, even though he didn't even want to hear it at this time.

“Jeez, not everything is about you, Johnny.”, Jaehyun said annoyed, running his hand through his dark hair and sighing, looking at Taeyong, asking him for help but Taeyong just turned around and headed outside of the door.

He obviously didn't tell Johnny about the task he obliged Jaehyun with as he honestly didn't think of them to collide like this any time soon. He sighed and stood in front of the back door for some time, fighting with himself if he should listen to their conversation or not.

“Since when are you close to her anyway? I never even see you talk to her.”, he heard Johnny ask Jaehyun.

“You mean because you talked to her so much the last years?”, Jaehyun chuckled, “Honestly, you should seriously get your shit together. She won't wait forever, you know.”

The door opened in front of Taeyong and Jaehyun stared at him before closing it behind him, leaving Johnny alone in the room.

“I won't ask you to tell me why you want me to do this.”, Jaehyun sighed once more and started to walk next to Taeyong, who fell silent.

･.｡*†*｡.･◆･.｡*†*｡.･◆･.｡*†*｡.･◆･.｡*†*｡.･

“Didn't you say it was a small gathering?”, Jaehyun said while watching more and more people casually walk into their house. Most of them had some kind of booze or snacks in their hands, everyone already seeming to feel a little lightheaded, as they started to laugh and dance to the music.

“Yeah, I might've told some people and you know-”, Lucas answered apologetic and pouted towards Jaehyun, who just rolled his eyes and patted Lucas' shoulder to signalize him that it was fine. He couldn't change it anyway now. Lucas face lit up and he smiled at Jaehyun, thanking him for being chill and cool, before wiggling his way through the mass of people, in which everyone seemed to know him.

Jaehyun's eyes followed the youngest with every step he took. He was young, just wanting to enjoy is life, Jaehyun thought, yet he knew that Lucas wasn't quite there yet. He still had his phases in which he still was unable to control himself. Not being able to control oneself, mixed with young people who were buzzed was a delicate matter. He did trust Lucas, though. He knew, that he would never hurt anyone on purpose and saw how much he tried to fit in and adjust to his life with them.

“No need to worry, he has a good day.”, Taeyongs voice appeared next to Jaehyun, who turned towards his friend and smiled mildly.

“He seems to be in a good mood.”, Jaehyun said, when looking at Lucas again, who was now standing amidst a group of people, probably telling some story or jokes. The music and people way too loud for him to focus on his hearing ability to listen to their exact conversation.

“Yeah, he kinda invited half of the town, as it seems.”, Taeyong said, scratching his neck

“I'm honestly surprised to see you down here anyway. You don't like parties.”, Jaehyun stated, his head turning towards his friend again who shrugged his shoulders, his eyes scanning the people in front of them.

“Just wanted to check in what's going on in my house. I'll probably go upstairs soon.”, he said after finishing his quick scan and look back at Jaehyun whose eyes were still on him, totally aware of the fact that he wasn't telling him something yet again.

Jaehyun let his eyes wander back at the room, watching how two of the local detectives came in together, where they immediately got greeted by some others. He watched how the girl took just a minimal step back, as soon as another girl stood next to her. The human didn't even notice it, just continuing with her talking but Jaehyun saw how the girl shifted every time another person was close to her. For a second, he looked back to Taeyong, whose eyes were focused on her as well.

Just as he looked back at her, her eyes met theirs and for a quick second, he felt something. A feeling in his stomach, a small burning, a signal. His muscles immediately tensed and he felt how his mouth got dry.

“Do you think she knows?”, Jaehyun whispered to Taeyong, whose muscles were clearly strained just like his.

“The question isn't if she knows. It's why and what exactly she knows.”, Taeyong answered and kept on looking back at the girl, “I'll be upstairs. Would you mind coming up later?”

Jaehyun looked at Taeyong for a second and nodded before his friend let the girl go an quickly walked the stairs up.

When he turned away, the girl and her friend were gone. He sighed and squinted his eyes, looking at his hands.

Taeyong closed the door to his bedroom behind him, quickly running up to his desk to search in the documents he so carefully made the last months, when things started to change in the town. He knew, something was about to happen. He felt it in his guts ever since that day when Lucas had to join them. Something happened that night – not only a transition but something more. He felt how a ritual took place inside a house somewhere in town, he just couldn't figure out where exactly. He searched the whole night but couldn't smell or hear anything at all in the middle of the town, which was more than suspicious to him, keeping in mind that his senses were so old and trained, he could hear noises hundreds of miles away. That's when he knew there had to be something non-human going on. Something magical.

Which was technically impossible, because the last real witch who lived in town has died and as of his knowledge she didn't have any children. It wasn't usual for witches to hold a ritual on some random night, no, they need to plan their rituals carefully and with months, if not years, of preparation, especially if it's a ritual to welcome a new member to their family.

He knew, that witches weren't evil and usually he got along with them for the past decades but the way the ritual took place and the fact that they used magic to shield their ritual from them made him think about the motives. It backed up his feeling that something was about to happen, something that the witches know about. Yet, he didn't know where they come from. They could've used magic for weeks to hide themselves from him and his friends. But why would they do this?

“Damn it.”, he whispered under gritted teeth, his eyes scanning his documentations from the past months, trying to figure out what they're planning. The fact, that the girl lived in town for years before made him feeling unwell. If they were somewhat able to hide her powers and family history to him, they could be up for more.

He sighed and walked up to his window, facing the front yard, watching cars pull up and people walk in. His gaze quickly caught two familiar figures in the dim light and saw how they slowly walked up to their entrance. Taeyong followed the movements of Ava for as long as he could, watching how she looked over the yard, while talking to her brother before they stepped inside.

A mild knock on his door made him look away, waiting for the person to walk into his room.

“She's a witch, isn't she?”, Jaheyun said and looked over at Taeyong, who let himself down on a chair.

“I think so, yeah.”, Taeyong sighed once more and watched how Jaehyun leaned himself against the door frame.

“She's talking to Ava.”, he added and the look in Taeyong's eyes changed for a quick second, before he closed his eyes and tried to collect his thoughts.

“Well, that's nothing we should be worried about.”, Taeyong finally answered and clicked his tongue. “You should probably know, that Ava doesn't have magical powers.”, he added and looked at Jaehyun, who just shrugged his shoulders.

“She could have, though. I didn't know that girl had them as well.”, Jaehyun said while letting his eyes wander through the room to keep them busy.

“She doesn't have powers.”, Taeyong stated once more, his voice firm as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Maybe they aren't active, yet.”, Jaehyun tried to argue but as soon as he saw Taeyong's look he shut his mouth.

Taeyong knew that Ava couldn't be a witch but for now he didn't want Jaehyun to know more than he needed to at this point. He saw how Jaehyun rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Fine. I still think it's weird, that she's coming back to town just after the witches activate their powers.”, Jaehyun added.

“Of course it's problematic. Just try to keep an eye out for her. Especially tonight.”, Taeyong said and looked away, trying to put the memories back in the corner of his head.

“I will.”, Jaehyun said and as soon as Taeyong looked back at him, his friend turned around and walked back downstairs.

Taeyong sighed, standing up to look outside the window, before resting his head on the cold glass. His mind was way too loud for him to focus on one single thought or sense. It was a mixture of emotions, covering his thoughts like a thick mist. He needed to find out what was happening in the middle of the town, before his family got alerted. It was enough, that Jaehyun already sensed his uneasiness. He didn't need all of them to sense the distress he was going through. It was his task, his purpose, to keep the peace for as long as possible and he knew he couldn't risk any danger to it.

He closed his eyes for a second, trying to structure his thoughts. If Jaehyun sensed something, it wouldn't take long for the others to feel the same, especially now with that witch in their usually well guarded house. He needed to know what her motives were. Yet, he knew he couldn't underestimate her. Even when she was young and got her powers recently, he knew what they could do. Sooner or later he needed to talk to her. His eyes opened, fixating a small figure running out of the house. He saw how Ava practically stormed out, just to stand still for a second, her face turning towards the forest next to her. He furrowed his brows, her eyes were red, her blood pulsating rapidly in her body. Taeyong watched how she closed her eyes for a quick second, before walking straight forward into the woods.

He waited for a moment, looking after her shadow, which was quickly disappearing in the dark, where not even his eyes could follow. He could clearly see how upset she was. He sighed, realizing how stupid it was for her to come into this house.

Taeyong walked outside of his room, were he was greeted by Johnny standing next to Jaehyun in the small hallway upstairs.

Johnny's head was rested against the wall, his eyes squinted together, while Jaehyun just stood there next to him, arms crossed in front of his chest, eyes wandering towards Taeyong, who could see clearly how Johnny's breath hitched and how he tried to keep his emotions in control.

He thought about saying something, but he couldn't think of anything which might be helpful for Johnny. Noone could actually help him with his emotions or guilt. It was something he needed to figure out by himself, so Taeyong decided to leave them behind, making his way downstairs, quickly disappearing through the front door without someone noticing him.

He looked around, trying to make Ava's figure out but he couldn't. He furrowed his brows, following the path he saw her going at through his window. The music slowly disappeared behind him, making it easier for him to hear and try to find the girl. He stopped in his tracks when he suddenly heard noises somewhere around him. Footsteps. More than one. He knew the steps didn't belong to a human as he started to follow them, his heart starting to beat faster as he heard more noise moving further away.

Taeyong's breath started to hitch, his eyes scanning every inch in front of him, jumping from point to point, trying to get her tracks. His senses were on edge, he felt his body burning as he rushed through the woods in his supernatural speed, trying to follow the scent, which was already burned inside of him. He felt her emotions wandering through the air. He could clearly feel fear surrounding her, paired by fast, swift footsteps.

He heard bricks cracking under someone's steps, letting his legs carry him towards the sounds. He could hear her short breaths. His ears could hear how her heart beat rapidly in her chest, he could feel the terror running through her. Taeyong felt his body tense, his mind going blank when he heard the scream. A scream, so full of terror it felt like his blood froze in his veins.

His eyes scanned the surrounding, trying to see anything in the dark, which usually wasn't a problem but something felt off. It was, like he couldn't quite see as clearly as he was used to, as if his vision was blurred, which was impossible. He continued to run through the woods, slowly losing the sound of her breath and heartbeat, which both got quieter with each second passing by.

But then she saw her. It felt like he choked on air, seeing how the girl lied on the leaves, covered in dust. He looked around, a feeling growing inside of him. His emotions swirled around in his body, unsure about what exactly he was feeling at all. He was afraid – in fear. The prominent bite marks on her neck were in a deep red, blood still drooling out of them.

He looked at her body, how her eyes were closed, her skin looked pale. For a quick second he thought she might be dead. Fear spread through his veins, closing his eyes trying to concentrate on his senses. He sighed in relief, when his ears could hear a slow heartbeat.

Taeyong looked around once more. He knew he wasn't alone. He could feel something lurking in the woods around him, carefully watching him. But there was no time. He couldn't go and search for the one who did this.

With a quick motion he picked the nearly lifeless body up, pressing her against his chest. He looked at her fragile body, which was barely moving. Her eyes were sunken, skin pale due to the blood loss. He could see her veins through the thin, white skin, yet her face looked like it was covered in shadows.

He pressed his lips together as he rushed through the woods, leaving the lurking shadows as far behind him as he could.HIs mind went completely wild, thousands of thoughts and screams spinning through his head, feeling like it was about to explode at any seocnd.

The house was no option to put her, obviously, with that many humans around. Nobody could see her. He knew, that it wouldn't take long for his family to smell her blood through the air. He knew, they'd come fast.

His legs carried him back near the house, a small entrance covered by trees and bushes leading right underneath the earth, into the crypt of his house. He breathed the muddy, thick air underground in and couldn't remember the last time he went in there, usually preferring to stay upstairs.

He rushed inside a big room, covered in dust and spiderwebs, laying her down on the stone table in the middle.

“What the fuck.”, he heard Jaehyun whisper behind him, his eyes wide in shock, “Who?”, he asked looking at Taeyong.

Taeyong was suddenly angry – no, he was furious. “I told you to not let her out of your sight! How could you let her wander through the woods alone?!”, his voice was deep as he felt how his blood started to pulsate in his veins, turning the skin under his now shining eyes black., “This is your fault!” he hissed, trying is very best not to fall into a rage.

“I- Listen. If I knew she'd go into the forest I would've followed her, I thought-”, Jaehyun tried to explain himself, knowing that he had to calm Taeyong down. His own voice not as steady as he wanted it to be, his eyes fixating on the body in front of him.

“Clearly, you're unable to actually use your brain!”, Taeyong growled, grabbing Jaehyun by the throat, pushing him against a cold-stoned wall, a small choking sound escaping Jaehyuns throat.

“I'm giving you one simple order and now she's dying and it's your fault. Her blood is on your hands, Jaehyun.”, Taeyong's emotions covered his thoughts, making it nearly impossible for him to think clearly.

“Y-You're hurting me.”, Jaehyun gasped, his hands on top of Taeyong's, trying to fight him off but his strength wasn't even near Taeyong's.

“What's going on?”, Johnny asked as soon as he came rushing into the room, trying to get Taeyong's hands off Jaehyun's neck, before even realizing what was going on.

Within a second, Taeyong suddenly snapped back into reality and out of his rage, when he heard more people saying his name. He let go of Jaehyun's neck, turning towards his family, who was staring at them before their gazes went down to the table, eyes growing wide in shock.

“Oh my God.”, Johnny's voice was shaking as he stumbled through them, falling on his knees next to the table, his hands desperately grabbing for hers. His eyes scanning her body until they met the marks on her neck. He gulped, feeling how his stomach turned upside down.

“What happened?”, Johnny whispered under his breath, his eyes still fixating on the girl's neck.

Taeyong took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second, waiting for his rage to pass. He looked at Jaehyun, who was now standing in the corner of the room, his eyes on Ava as well. He could see the shock covering his face now.

“I found her in the woods.”, Taeyong answered and looked down at Johnny, who started to shake. He put a firm hand on his shoulder, trying to distract him from his urges, “I don't know who attacked her.”, he added, his eyes focusing on her chest and heartbeat, which was getting weaker with any second passing by.

“She's dying.”, Johnny whispered under his breath in pain and strain, his eyes still glued to the girl in front of him. “This is my fault.”, he choked, closing his eyes for a moment.

“It's not your fault.”, Taeyong tried to comfort him, his voice slowly softening.

Taeyong's mind screamed at him, fighting over what he should do next. He felt like his chest got pressed together, barely able to breathe. But he couldn't show any weakness now. He couldn't allow it. He took a deep breath, letting go of Johnny's shoulder. It was more than enough, that Johnny had to see his emotional outburst before.

“She's dying.”, Johnny repeated, his hands still on hers

Taeyong looked over her face, how her skin now lost every bit of color it had left. Her lips were chapped and blue. He was aware of the fact, that there were only two possible outcomes and he was sure he wouldn't be able to handle both.

“Please, Taeyong, you need to do something.”, he heard Johnny plead, his eyes locking with his for a moment. He saw fear and desperation so clearly in Johnny's eyes, it felt like something hit him right in the stomach. Taeyong hesitated for another second before he walked up to stand behind her head.

Taeyong looked down at her once more, his fingers now carefully stroking over her dirt-covered hair. He pressed his eyes together before burying his fangs in his wrist, biting down until the thick, dark red blood ran down his skin, feeling how Johnny watched his movements closely.

He knew it was wrong to take the decision from her, to put this life on her but at least it was a life. He took another breath, whispering a soft “I’m so sorry” before putting his bleeding wrist on her opened lips, letting his blood run into her mouth just before she took her last breath and started her transition.

･.｡*†*｡.･◆･.｡*†*｡.･◆･.｡*†*｡.･◆･.｡*†*｡.･

#kwritersworldnet #cznnet #neowritingsnet #taeyong scenario #taeyong fluff #johnny suh #taeyong angst #taeyong x reader #jung jaehyun #nct 127 #nct johnny #nct scenario #nct dream #nct vampire au #lee taeyong #kpop au #kpop fluff #breathe me #taeyong imagine

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alias-b · 4 years ago

Text

sins of my youth. 012

Billy Hargrove x OC! Evie Fenny~ Also posted to my AO3

Summary: It was common knowledge that Billy Hargrove hated Hawkins. Hated Cherry Lane. Even loathed the strange girl next door. Evie Fenny wasn’t too fond of the chaotic Cali transfer either. An awful high school tradition sparks a chain of events that changes everything, ultimately bringing two frayed souls together.

A/N: Hey all! Billy and Evie continue their strange mating ritual. TW: Mentions of past abuse and student/teacher relationship. Heavy petting. SMUT. Phone sex. ;)

TAG LIST OPEN. Chat with me if you have the time xoxo

Chapter 12: Cupid and Psyche

Evie groaned the next time she woke.

Pain blared like the morning sun streaming on her face. Flames licking supple cheeks.

Billy gone in the bed upon turning over.

His scent apparent all over her damn sheets. Seeped into the pillows. Aramis. Hairspray. Paco Rabanne Pour Homme. Evie wondered if Billy liked to leave parts of himself where he goes. An impression similar to hands in wet concrete.

Sometimes a warm body pressed up against you was the only thing reminding you that you were here.

She curled around his pillow to inhale. Felt butterflies flutter her stomach. Landing on delicate organs to decorate them in jewel toned wings. Iridescent glows that washed harsh reds away.

Evie wondered what it would be like to crystallize. Utterly.

Feet touched the floor to leave such fantasies aside. Those butterflies decayed upon seeing her face in the mirror. Hissing, fingertips gingerly touched the skin on fire. Upset welts around her puffy eye. Lungs gave a shudder before Evie was scrambling to replace the emptiness.

Needy fingers went for her drawer and pulled out a box labeled “FB + EF.” Pushed all the way in back hidden under sheer and lacy panties. Hands clicked around the little pieces of jewelry she wasn’t able to wear in the open until she lifted a brooch to the light. A sparkling ladybug.

Fredrick got for her during the first month of that magical summer. They went to some dirty adult party three cities away where people in their twenties and thirties were doing cocaine out in the open. Evie shared a tab of acid with Fredrick that unlocked her entire psyche. Draped herself into him to watch colors spin along the TV. Felt his hand palm her breast before they found a room.

“Do you think I’m fat?” Evie asked between kisses, coming down from her trip and sweltering with heat. Trembling too hard.

“What?” He actually laughed into her mouth, came out and pulled her body flush. “You’re not fat, love, you’re so beautiful.”

At the time, Evie wasn’t sure how that answer made her feel worse.

But, the lady bug pin was now scuttling into her stomach. She nearly broke the drawer with her clenched fists pushing it down.

Exhale.

Oh, how she moaned like a wanting slut that night. Rode Fredrick hard and turned over afterward for him. Started to cry when he tried to take her home afterwards because she didn’t want to go.

Didn't want the dreaming to end. She wanted to stay wrapped up in him forever.

It was their first fight. He screamed she was being a child and manipulating him. They both shouted about telling her mother the truth.

Evie really started to sob that she hated him and he just held her wrists and kissed her deeply. Softened suddenly as she fell into his arms. Told her she was too pretty to be so upset. That she had a hold on him. That he was starting to fall deeply and madly in love with her.

And that made her feel like a god.

They ended up back at his place. Evie got home the next day to Mona hiding her pack of smokes behind a picture of Dolly Parton. Not asking where her daughter had been all night. Just said to get ready for her next talent show.

Hungover, Evie still won the prize money that went into some new clothes, her future fund, and fresh paint for the salon. Talent scouts cooed to keep growing.

“Evie!” A knock startled her daydreams. The drawer smacked shut. Heather poked her face in and frowned. “Oh, honey...you need some more ice on that. We made pancakes.”

“We?”

“Steve and I. Billy went home to shower, he had to give Max a ride somewhere. Come on, eat some breakfast.”

Evie changed, rubbing her throat on the way out. Steve blinked at her and tried not to wince.

“I know it’s not pretty.” Evie pressed her lips.

“You saw me after Hargrove kicked my ass.” Steve reached over the little island counter to give her chin this encouraging tap. Darling smile curling. Heather put a big plate down so Evie slid onto a stool.

“Thanks, sorry I passed out last night.”

“Ice cream will be a good pick me up later.” Heather kissed Evie’s good side. “Want us to stick around today?”

“Ah, we can hang out tonight. I gotta clean up and I wanted to go talk to Billy about something.” Evie took a bite and sighed. Steve and Heather exchanged looks. “Nothing happened. Perverts.”

A beat before laughter erupted. It felt so needed this hour

** ** **

Evie tried to use makeup to cover the easier welts. Felt useless with her eye socket the size and color of Jupiter. A huff before she flicked a brush aside and stood. She left Blue on the couch before venturing out. Frost and slush marked the unforgiving winter outside. Evie had waited until Neil’s car left and crossed over. Knocked.

Susan poked her head out.

“Oh, Evie, I... Dear, what happened?” Susan’s wedding ring caught the light as she touched her lips with worry. Red hair piled up upon her head and a sea foam sweater dress.

“I slipped on the ice.” Lashes batted. “Sorry, I caught you in the middle of something.”

“No, I was unpacking the last few boxes in our garage. Shifting some furniture. Think we’re finally moved in. I was just going to change and catch the bus, our shelves are bare.” Susan held the door back.

“I was here to see Billy, is he…?” Evie trailed off when she heard it. The blasting music from the farthest bedroom. Shut tight.

“Yes, in his room. Evie, he’s… He’s in a mood and might not come out.”

“A mood?” Evie studied the woman. Thin hands clasping so hard that they paled.

“Maybe a friendly face will be good.” Susan decided, not convinced but too polite to turn Evie away now. “Go on ahead.”

It appeared Max was out with friends. Susan disappeared into the kitchen after gesturing so Evie crossed down the hallway. Knocked and wasn’t heard. Pounded harder.

“I’m busy, Susan!” Came the bark.

“Not Susan.” Evie shot right back. There was a curse before some scrambling and the door yanked open. Billy in a white tank tucked into some jeans with grey socks. Lax. Chain shifting as he breathed. “You look real busy.”

Eyes screwed up at her. Seemingly irritated.

“What are you doing here?”

“You left, I just...wanted to hang out. Talk, I mean.” Her feet shuffled before she matched his taller posture. Chin lifting.

“Getting clingy on me.”

“As if you have any business talking about that.” She joked, arms crossing.

“I spent the night in your bed. We shot the shit, I’m not your boyfriend.” His clipped tone etched some surprise over Evie’s face.

“Okay, asshole, when and where did I ask if you wanted to be my damn boyfriend? You going to ease up a little bit? I don’t need that.” Evie flared and he sucked in his cheeks before pulling her into his room and shutting the door. “The fuck is your problem all the sudden?”

Billy had gone to turn the music down a bit, head craning to see her pressed into his door. One of his hands was idly rubbing his ribs. Some of their anger died. A tense expression crossed his face.

Evie realized she’d never really seen the inside of his room. Smelled like Billy. Smoke, hairspray, and cologne. Random plates and beer cans with smashed cigarette buds. A little vanity made of crates. Near empty shelves. Weights laying round. Laundry mostly in a basket propped up in the corner. Curtains that were really clipped up sheets. Something somber about it all. Like nothing was his. Like he had to make the space livable. Bearable.

“I don’t plan for guests.” He plucked up a pack of cigarettes.

“Bullshit, I see girls climbing in and out of your window.” Evie lightened the tension. Billy hitched as if he might chuckle. Felt guilty instead.

“Well, help yourself to a seat.” Billy kicked back into a beaten brown couch so Evie nudged her shoes aside and joined him on the other end. “Well?” He lit himself a smoke and scratched his chin, eyes on the window.

“About last night, that stuff I said...”

“Weren’t drunk so you can’t take it back.” The white hot cherry pointed to her.

“I’m just saying," Evie gestured at air, "it was a lot.”

“Me beating the fuck out of our second period teacher was a lot.” Billy got his cigarette snatched before he plucked it back. “Think of your pretty voice, yeah?”

Evie pouted, made this rumbling sound at him before she sat back.

It clicked in Billy’s head.

“You’re looking to drown your sorrows. Finally something I can really help with.” Billy reached over the couch and came up with a bottle of amber liquid. There was an unmistakable sound of the front door closing, signalling Susan had left.

“Heather and Steve wouldn’t approve.” Evie took the bottle anyways. Gulped.

“Easy, jesus.” Billy drank after. One quick swig. Watched her bring her legs up to cross them. Leggings and a thick, violet sweater with wool socks. Curls spilling. “Small drinks, don’t be an idiot.”

“Strong words from you.” She sipped that time. Savored the woody burn as it went down.

“Don’t I know it?” He puffed. Evie offered him the bottle and sighed, relaxing before she spoke.

“Did Fredrick cry when you hit him?”

“Like a bitch.” Billy exhaled smoke. “Drove past his place after I dropped Max off at her friend’s. Cleared the fuck out.”

“Oh.” It still ached. This person who touched her life was suddenly gone. Maybe never to return. Like her father. It should have been a fucking comfort and instead everything ugly swimming under Evie’s skin pushed to the surface.

“Did you like it?” A whisper.

“I always do.” He spoke, drank about it. Evie thought back to leveling Tannen’s face. Silently agreed. Wondered when he would break his chains to get revenge.

“Do you think I’m fat?” Her tone droned next.

“Why are you asking me stupid questions, Evie?” Billy’s cigarette was hanging lazily from his lips. Bold, crystalline eyes appeared bored at her as an arm came up on the couch. She blinked at him.

Evie liked that reply. She was fat. She was pretty, too. She hoped. They can coexist. Billy could just be crass about it. Obscene.

She enjoyed that about him, too. Even if she wouldn't admit it.

“Do you think about fucking me when you masturbate?” She said in the same controlled tone.

Billy choked, almost inhaling his lit stick, and spit it on the floor. Still coughing, his head snapped with bulging eyes. Stepping on the cigarette to kick it under the beaten sofa.

Pride swelled.

“What the fuck, Evie?” He set the liquor aside. Evie was on her feet lightning quick so he got up also. Just as quick. “Hey, why’d you come here?”

She had the door open when his palm smacked it shut. Evie spun there, pressed between him and the wood. Billy breathing into her space. One arm still outstretched. Too intent.

Evie thought for a moment, she heard his pulse begin to race.

Her heavy eyes flashed at him. Waiting there for something to crack.

And then trembling fingers dipped and clicked the lock on the doorknob without breaking eye contact.

This shrewd look crossed his eyes. Filled his whole expression with neon light.

God damn, he was just too beautiful. Stunning like ethereal Cupid about to revive Psyche with true love's kiss after their trials. Wings unfurling all delicate and feathery. They both crystallized.

“I should go.” Evie said without trying. Not moving an inch. Billy dropped his arms and stepped back to see her. Flicking his eyes before he let his light burn. Leaned forward and bit the inside of his cheek. A rasp.

“Take your fucking clothes off.”

Evie threw herself at him.

Knocked Billy back into the bed while their lips collided. The boy caught fire. He pushed her to turn them over. Already shoving between her legs. So hard, he figured he might blow his load right there. Evie’s lips on his neck made it worse. Made him moan until his leg shook like a dog’s would.

Yeah, it had been awhile.

“Fuck.” Billy pulled up, left Evie pawing for him. Fingers under her sweater to yank.

“Wait.” Evie gasped out so he stopped. All her fervor hid under the bed. Unable to meet those eyes.

“What?” Billy sat back on his knees. “Scared I won’t like what I see?”

“It’s too bright in here.” She turned to let the sheets fall over the blinds. Went for the other.

“Leave some light. Wanna see you.” Billy batted his lashes as he said that. Made her melt. Quickly, he pulled his own shirt off. Flashed the reason for all this anger earlier. Splotchy bruises along his ribs where Neil’s knuckles pushed in for whatever reason he picked that morning.

Evie paused to see them. Saw Billy’s rock hard chest sink in. Reached out and got her wrist snatched. Gentle as can be.

“Don’t worry about it.” His eyes averted.

“Don’t worry about mine.” Evie asked so Billy cupped her face and pushed her back into the sheets. She paused only to sit up and remove her top. Covered in fracturing rosy marks across fleshy curves. Before she had a chance to get insecure, Billy cut in.

“Leggings, too.” He winked, snapping the fabric. She scowled instead.

“You first.” Evie undid the loop of his belt, teeth tugging at her bottom lip as she did. Billy felt himself shudder. Stood up so she followed.

They stared at each other. Didn’t touch and undressed there in the too soft lights down to their underwear.

Billy’s eyes followed the swell of her breasts. Everything about Evie was plush. Dark curls hung over her shoulders. Really looked like a twisting goddess from a painting. She had her hands in front of her stomach and dropped them when he crossed. Inching her back into the wall.

A hand cupped her jaw before their lips opened. Arms went around his shoulders. Unafraid that he was looking at her in daylight.

Alive. Both of them felt alive.

Billy pressed further, let their bodies melt together. Tested how she felt against him. Flesh on flesh.

Several sensations erupted the moment his mouth was on her neck. Clouds bursting with rain. Fireworks splashing the night sky. Petals unfurled within Evie’s stomach. Gemstones grew out to crystallize. She wondered how pretty she’d be if Billy took a chisel to her flesh. Cracked the shell open. She ran her hands over his arms and felt the soft hairs there. Pulled him even in closer.

Fingers slid one bra strap down. Evie coaxed him further with digits woven into golden curls. Maybe Billy had a point about her being molten because she was about to spill hot between his fingers.

He came up. Moaned into her mouth. Palms gripping at flesh. Like he had to feel all of her at once. Evie bit her lip, neck craning back so he could inch lower again.

Billy Hargrove is about to fuck me, she could have giggled, and I’m going to fuck him hard and thoughtlessly.

She hitched a gasp just as his fingertips inched into cotton panties. Got ready to pull him back into bed.

Billy’s head lifted. The earring dangled almost violently when a door slammed. Evie’s dreams were sent scattering before they frozen together. Marble.

Water pouring over red hot iron to elicit the tempering sizzle.

“Fuck.” Billy recognized the sound. “Fuck. My dad.” He kept saying, pushing Evie’s clothing at her. “You need to go. Out the window.”

“What?” Evie barely had time to get dressed while he helped her. Both of them bursting at the seams. Billy yanked his jeans up and got the window open. Guided Evie over it as she was still forcing her sweater on.

“Billy!” Came a bark at the front of the house. Stomping followed. Evie plopped into the snowy grass with a groan as Billy dropped her shoes into her lap. Evie scrambled back up around the back of her house. Slammed the door and fell back against it like she had to hide too.

Lungs sputtered.

“What the fuck?” Her cheeks were an obscene cherry shade. She felt Billy all over her. Ached all between her thighs even in wet clothing. Huffed because she was unfucked and her sweater was inside out. “Shit.” Evie scrambled to her bedroom. Blue scuttled out to a food dish as Evie jerked the curtain open. Couldn’t see anything in Billy’s room.

Her phone rang.

“Yes?” A cry into the receiver.

“Cute that you worried for me.” Cool and even. Almost macho.

She puffed, sinking.

“Shut up.”

“Guess my dad’s beer run wasn’t as long as I thought.” Billy blew air out his lips. “Was hoping he’d be working today. They cut his hours down this week for some reason. Made him real fucking happy.”

“Come over here.”

“No, I’m locked in for playing my music too loud and for being disrespectful this morning. Gotta wait till later, he’ll get drunk enough and forget.” Billy reclined on his bed. Something horrible there because he was used to this. Music was playing softer behind him. Mingling with Neil in the living room watching some show play on. “You’re...intense.” His blase attitude and joke almost set Evie at ease. She fell into bed, eyes rolling.

“Uh. So, are you." A beat. "...Were you surprised?”

“Yeah, actually. I had you figured for a shy, little birdie.”

“Everyone thinks that about me. I sing and dance. I like sex and stage lights. I get mad. I’m not shy. Maybe at times about my...but, I get over it. Women can be as intense as men in the sack, you know?” Evie sounded insulted.

“Don’t worry, I’m a quick learner.” He’d mused. “Learning new things about you every day.”

Evie couldn’t explain why that made her blush. Hard. The silky timbre of his voice lulling her into genuine security.

“Learned that I can make out your accent more when you’re sleepy, on the phone, and in lust.”

“In lust? Shut up.” She mocked. “Don’t have an accent. You probably can’t even tell the uptown and downtown accents apart in N'awlins.” Ah shit. Billy found that hilarious as Evie cringed.

“That so, N'awlins?” Billy countered. “Just say the word, bayou, for me.”

“...That’s a hard pass. Are all Cali boys this insufferable?” She rolled over to swing her legs up.

“We are, actually. But, I am the prettiest.” His smile dazzled with no one to admire it. Evie saw it in her mind and wanted to just toss him over town.

“I’ll give you that for admitting it.” A breath followed. Evie toyed with one of her curls. Tugged. “I had you all shaky there.” His tongue clicked.

“No idea what you mean.” That cheekiness she enjoyed dripped from his rich tone. “Bummed, I was this close to seeing your tits.”

“They’ll be the same later. I think. I don’t know, I always thought they were shaped funny.” Brown eyes turned to the ceiling as she rolled back. one arm behind her head.

“Later, she says. Huh. And I’ll be the judge of that. I’m a professional and I’m not picky. Any shape is good, I’m in this for the taste.”

“Sleaze.” Evie pouted and a chuckle sounded. Billy sighed. "How'd you get my number, by the way?"

"Begged it from Heather on my way out. I can be smooth." He said. “You really want me over tonight? Steve and Heather won’t approve, am I right?”

She let out an aggravated sigh and Billy smiled again to himself. Imagined that scrunchy pout she liked to make. Fingers tapping his bare stomach.

“I mean, we can…hang out. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Like you came over just now to hang out, chica?”

“I didn’t come over just for that.”

“Sure. As if you also didn’t wet your blue panties for me.”

“You’re so gross.” Evie rubbed her legs together. Remembered his hands worshiping her flesh. Her flesh that she was conditioned to hate. Adjusted the phone and licked her lips. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“I’m just saying we can easily pick up where we left off, Evie.” The name rolled sinfully from his tongue. She swallowed. Flashes of Billy across her brain. His peachy tanned skin. His gold curls. His lips kissing her.

“Remind me where that was? Landed pretty hard there when you pushed me out the window.”

“Shit, yeah. About that-”

“I get it.” Evie didn’t need to make him explain. “I didn’t land on my head. Still raw from…” Where Fredrick tossed her into the wall. They both went silent. Just listened to each other breathe. Evie gave this dreamy sigh. “I like...your arm hair and I like the way you smell.”

He laughed.

"You're a funny girl, Evie."

"It's just...that intensity you have, I don't know. You are pretty." She rubbed her face. "I don't know what I'm saying."

“Your perfume goes right to my dick. You know that, too.” His joke lightened them both again. Evie rolled her eyes. “Explains why you practically crawl into my skin at night.” Billy remembered suddenly that he’d spent two nights with Evie and hadn’t screwed her. That was a rarity.

“You snore a little. Couple of grunts. Sorta adorable.”

“Don’t even get my started on how dead silent you get.” Billy’s eyes trailed over his room. He could still smell her honey amber scent lingering. Hummed into the pillow. Obsession by Calvin Klein. Odd scent for a teen, but matching him in intensity and she wore it so subtly. All they could do was battle and weave together. Obsession and Aramis. This strange dance he was thrilled to continue.

“Never answered my question.”

“Already forgot it. Was it where we left off or what I’d do to you next?” Lips curled as her breath hitched. “Let’s see. I had you against the wall. Moaning so pretty. Lipstick smeared.”

Evie almost didn’t speak up when he paused before...

“And?”

“And I was gonna keep kissing down your tits. Get the rest of your clothes off. Tongue my way over your sweet nipples. Stomach too, I like to cover all the ground I can. See how shy you really are.” He licked his lips and Evie’s eyes got heavy.

“Not so shy when I tell you to keep going.”

“No, I guess not. Not until I push your sensitive thighs open, I bet you’d quake and purr. Blush like you clearly are now.”

Evie realized she’d been holding her breath. Didn’t even fight him. Clutching her sweater as he spoke so casually.

“It’s a real fucking tragedy. Me, waiting longer before I find out how you taste. That’s all I’m saying.” Billy’s breath was labored on the other end. “Still with me here, Angel?”

“Is...this your private line?”

Another snicker.

“Obviously. Why?” Billy had his jeans open. Bit his lip while he pooled arousal around his tip. Watched it trickle down into his stomach. Again. No reply. “Answer was yes, by the way… What you asked early if I thought about you. I do a lot. Fucking you. Eating you out. I knew you were a hair puller, we have that in common.”

“Not sure I trust you to last and get the job done with how worked up you get. All the trembling, it was kinda cute.”

“You clearly haven’t ridden my tongue.”

Fuck him.

“You have to actually stop talking to do that, Billy.” Evie laughed in the open and Billy smiled brighter, eyes crinkling. He walked into that one. Idly, she ran her fingers up her thigh. “Between you and I, I never let guys eat me out.”

Billy stopped to sit up.

“No shit?”

“It always made me nervous so I stopped them when they tried. All the mouth action comes from me.” Evie had sat up on the other end too. “I’m pretty good actually.”

“You’d let me fuck that beautiful mouth after I taste you?” He’d cooed. “Betcha that lipstick won’t look half bad on my skin since you never did start buying waterproof.”

“I guess it’s only fair.” Evie dropped her tone. “Still think you can’t handle it.”

“There’s the ego I was hoping for.” He shook his head. “But, I have to say, sweetheart, you’re missing out. That’s the real crime, not letting yourself get tongue fucked once in a while. Do you not know how to treat yourself?”

Evie mashed her face into the nearest pillow.

“I can’t stand you. I shouldn’t have said anything.” She muffled and Billy only laughed again, laying down. Imagined how cherry her lips and cheeks must have looked. Thought about tracing his thumb over her wet mouth. Smeared in slick red.

“Don’t get shy on me now. We established you weren’t.”

“It’s weird.”

“Not weird. You just let a guy kiss down and nature takes over.”

“It’s not that simple with me.”

“Sure, it is. Let me walk you through it. Take your leggings and panties off.” He licked his lips. “C’mon, we got time to kill now.” There was some shuffling.

“It’s not a big deal,” Evie undressed anyways, “it’s just...I think about the angle and guys looking up and seeing my stomach and I get freaked out.”

“Sweetheart, my mouth will be buried in your pussy, I ain’t worried about your flesh. I’m more worried about my technique. These things you get so worked up about. Guys really don’t give a shit, the good ones anyways.” His vulgarity sent these fizzles all down her nerves. Actually made her feel better. “You just...tip your head back and enjoy it. Although, I don’t mind a little praise and eye contact. Make me feel like a good boy for once.”

“And I can’t like...play with myself to help?”

“You can, but just relax and let me take over. You can trust me to make you feel good, Evie. Might be nice to give up some control.”

He had no idea that he’d hit a nail on the head.

“So, kisses. Thighs open.” Evie settled into the pillows, free hand twisted into fabric with a cool breeze on her thighs. Breasts rising. “Would you use your fingers too?”

“If you ask me sweetly.” Billy saw beads of precum all over his abdomen. Throbbed and tried not to grunt. “I’d like to. I’d like to lick my way inside you. Hold your legs open and kiss your clit until you’re begging for more. Love the view of you. Spread open and wet for me. Like how you feel.”

“You’ve never been with a girl my size.” Evie broke into his daydreams.

“You don’t know that.” He paused. It was true.

“Yes, I do, Billy.” Evie didn’t know why the thought was stark and gnawing. “I’m bigger than you. Wider. Maybe even heavier.”

“Bet, I can lift you just fine.” He rubbed his face, eyes searching. “I liked it. Touching you. I wasn’t shy about it, was I? Fucking soft. I’m not used to that against me. You’re warm and when I squeezed you against me, I wanted to throw you on my bed so fucking bad. Can't explain it.”

She went silent so he found a joke.

“If it makes you so nervous, I promise to let you suck me off after.”

“A dashing gentleman if I ever saw one.” She broke out of the nerves.

“Just think about it, Evie. You ever just take the time to appreciate how wet you made someone? Up close. It's a thrill.” Billy hitched as he palmed himself. Evie swallowed a lump.

“Are you…?”

“Am I, what?” Billy’s labored breathing made it obvious, but he wanted her to say it.

“Did I make you wet?”

“Jeans are ruined for the day.” He offered, husky under the music. “Should have risked hiding you in the closet.”

“We would have so been caught.”

“His problem.” Billy gruffed, changed the subject to work himself up. “Two clasps away from those tits. I won’t forget that.”

“Maybe I’ll play with them since you’re not here to.” She moved a hand under her sweater and Billy outright groaned.

“What do you taste like?”

“I recall you predicting heaven.” Sarcasm etched out. “It's possible you’ll find out if I’m in the mood again. I could be just now realizing this was a lapse in judgement.”

“Ah huh.” Billy gave himself a few strokes. Evie listened to him sigh too soft and husky in her ear. Pictured him atop her. Rock hard and moaning. Gorgeous like Apollo. Sun streaming upon his back. Illuminating curls.

She slid her fingers down. Hitched a sigh because she was soaked and aching.

“Would you kiss me after I sucked you off?” Evie played with herself. Let him hear the moan.

“With tongue. You could spit directly into my mouth for all I care. In fact, I might like that.” Billy hummed, tone changing to give an order. “Slip your fingers in if you haven’t already. I know what you’re doing, Evangeline.”

“You were doing it first.” Evie’s head pressed back into the pillows. She spread her legs and drew circles into herself, pressed two fingers in and moaned.

“Who’s fucking you right now, Angel?”

“Oh, you.” She was forward about that. Heart thumping. “Want your mouth and hands.”

“Told you.” His head tilted back. Tried to stay immersed in the lingering scent of her. “Play with your clit again. That’ll do until I get my tongue on you.”

Evie cursed that time. Accent lacing her tone. It made him smile brighter.

“If I had it my way, you won’t play with yourself at all. Know that? You want to get off, you just come to me and let me take care of you.”

“What a chore.” Evie sped and started to rock into her own touch.

“I’m always up to the task.”

Billy worked himself on the other end to every little mewl and sigh. Dirty talk went out the window as she gasped. Started to build herself up. Pictured Billy slicked and surrendered against cotton sheets. Stunning and batting his lashes while he opened his mouth and pumped his fist.

“Get yourself there, Angel, don’t wait for me.” He heard her curse louder and almost drop the phone back. With Billy’s little murmurs of dirty encouragement, she rubbed perfect circles. Imagined his fingers and tongue. His sly eyes and those fucking lashes. Muscles bulging hot under her grasp. Evie cried out, succumbed there and hitched to shake and shudder. Billy closed his eyes while she got off. Couldn’t wait to be the one who got her there.

“Fuck, Evie. You’re killing me.” One fists jerked up and down. Unable to get close because he was distracted with her. “I can’t...fucking shit. I was almost there a moment ago when you were here and now, ah…fucking hell.”

“Sounds like you need help.” Evie stretched like a cat against her pillows. Still trembling.

“Or another hand.” He sighed. “Or a mouth. Think about how you’d leave that red lipstick all over my dick.”

“I got an idea. If you give me shit, I’ll end you.” Evie pushed her blissful body up. “Come up to the window.”

“What…” Billy shoved a sheet aside to see her. Out of breath and curls sticking all over. Blushed and fucked. Gorgeous. “What are you doing?” He was still slowly jerking himself to keep the momentum. Evie looked around the grass and shrubbery. Rolled her eyes before lifting up her shirt and moving the bra down.

Billy’s mouth dropped along with his phone so she giggled as he disappeared to grab it.

“Fuck!” Billy caught himself and returned.

“Are they everything you pictured?” She bit her lip and winked. He was dead intent on her tits. Mouth open. Working himself harder.

“Push them against the window.”

Her hard, dark rosy nipples pressed there and Billy moaned. Wished he had them in his hands. Wished he would fuck her mouth and shoot his load on them.

“Yes, Evie, fuck.” He submitted. Almost sounded like a zombie. Under her spell. Typical boy. Working himself until… “Gonna cum.” Strings of release hit the wall as Billy dropped the phone again to finish. Evie still heard his muffled moans on the end and brought herself back down, giggling at the same time Billy fell into his pillows.

“Did I lose you, Billy?”

“No, but if you could pick my balls up off the floor, that’d be great.” He puffed and felt around for a tee to clean up with. “Okay. I’m gonna say this. We’re going to fuck. Hear me? I am going to fuck you. Can’t today. But, it's happening.”

“So certain. What, are you spent already?”

“Not gonna plan that far, we hang out as you say...and see what happens.” He caught his breath. “Can’t do it here and your two guards are going to be on you this week.”

“You thought awhile about this.” Evie licked her lips, still fixing her bra in place. “Maybe my common sense comes back.”

“Maybe you admit you’re warming up to me again. Sizzling fuse.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Evie rose out of bed and paused to sigh. Tone shifting. "Billy?"

"Hm?"

“What if he comes back?”

“He’s scared. He won’t. I stopped him.”

“I feel like I’m going to be constantly looking over my shoulder. You know?” Evie didn't want to touch the floor again.

“Then, I guess I know where to stand for your attention.” His quip had Evie biting her lip. Roses bloomed up her thighs and cheeks. “I also left my number under your lamp, by the way. Use it.”

Evie blinked and lifted it to see a torn slip with his handwriting. Slippery bastard.

“Yeah, I got it.” She bit back a smile. “I’ll...ah, see you later, Billy.”

“Yes, you will.” He paused. “One more question. More of a courtesy.”

“What?”

“Preferred method of birth control? Have a couple rubbers. I’m clean, by the way. But, are you an in or out type of girl?”

“Also clean. And I’m an avid user of the pill, smartass. Use that information however you like.” She hung up, leaving Billy to laugh on the other end. He brought the phone away, still so stupid happy. Dreaming himself away.

Psyche went through so many trials for Cupid. Billy wondered about the after. About Eros picking up some trials of his own to keep a girl that tangled him so ardently. About how it felt worth it down to the beating core. All’s fair...

Evangeline Fenny might really be the end of him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for tuning in!! That was actually my first full phone sex scene, it's so fun to write these two and their weird dance. I just love them more by the chp. xx Stay and chat with me if you can! As is open :)

TAGGED:: @80sbxtch @nottherightseason @orxhidshavana @alagalaska @alongcamedolly @kellyk-chan @10blurredsmoke10 @stanley--barber @charmed-asylum @unmistakablyunknown

#billy hargrove #Billy hargrove x oc #Billy Hargrove imagine #billy hargrove smut #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove fic #mine #writing #SOMY #Angel Fenny #billy x angel

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fivesevenseveneight · 5 years ago

Text

Second Chances: Part 6

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Word Count: 1470

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Characters: nonbinary!Deceit (referred to as Dee because I started this before the name reveal and I don’t want to change it), Alastor (OC), Carl (OC), Virgil is mentioned but not by name

Pairings: eventual anxceitmus

Warnings: Dee gets a snake, food mention, toxic relationship

A/n: I still do not know how to do a read more on mobile, so if anyone does please tell me. Please let me know if I need to tag something or if you want to be added to/removed from the taglist. @iosonnounpanne thanks for reviewing this for me!

Dee loved snakes. They had loved snakes ever since they learned what the little yellow creature on their palm was, and for their whole life, they’d dreamed of having one. They had researched everything that they would need to have and do to take care of a snake, and they’d been planning on getting one soon after starting law school. But then they met Alastor, life got complicated, and two-and-a-half years passed with still no snake.

Hopefully though, that would change soon. Dee had slowly been building up the courage to ask Alastor about getting a snake. It was a delicate process. If they asked at the wrong time, or caught him off-guard, or gave him any rational reason to say no, he would, and the topic would be closed for discussion forever. Plus, there was a pretty good chance of him yelling in any of those scenarios. So, Dee had been casually mentioning snakes and the idea of getting a pet, and Alastor seemed fine with both. But they had yet to actually ask him.

Today, Dee thought, their heart pounding. Today is the day I’m going to ask.

Alastor hadn’t slammed the door when he got home from work, he didn’t yell at Dee for forgetting to do the laundry, and he even hummed while Dee made dinner, which he only did when he was in a good mood. Dee had been waiting a long time for such a perfect opportunity, and they were not going to waste it. Not again.

Dee cleared their throat and looked meaningfully at Alastor, who was sitting at the opposite side of the dinner table. He swallowed the bite of food he’d taken and looked up at Dee.

“Do you need something?” he asked.

“I wanted to ask you about something,” Dee said, ignoring every instinct that screamed at them to be quiet. “I was thinking about getting a snake. I’ve been interested in getting one for a long time, and I know that—well, you’ve mentioned before that you like snakes, too. Besides, our soulmark is a snake, and I think it would be… fitting.” They held up their right hand and let out a tiny, nervous laugh.

Alastor went quiet for a moment, and Dee added quickly, “I’ve done a lot of research. I know exactly what I need, and I’ve saved up enough money for all the supplies. You wouldn’t have to pay for or do anything.”

After a nerve-racking pause, Alastor finally answered. “Fine. As long as you take care of it.”

Dee felt weak with relief. They thanked him, promising that they would work everything out. Then they asked Alastor how his day was, and listened to him rant about an annoying coworker until long after the neighbors had fallen asleep.

***

The harsh fluorescent lighting in the pet store hurt Dee’s eyes, but they couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful brown snakes in a tank on the wall.

“Ball pythons,” said an employee, walking up to Dee.

“I know,” Dee said, not looking away.

The employee stood there awkwardly, waiting to see if Dee would say anything more. They didn’t.

“Can I help you?” the employee finally asked.

Dee sighed to themself, reluctant to tear their eyes away from the gorgeous little snakes, and looked over at the employee, who wore a name tag that read: Carl (he/him).

“I’m not the usual reptile guy,” the employee, Carl, added quickly. “He’s out today, so I’m filling in.”

“I’m looking for a snake.”

Carl smiled. “Well, you came to the right place.” He opened up the tank with several baby ball pythons in it. “Is there a specific one you want?”

Dee looked over the small snakes curled up in various places and positions around the tank. It was hard to pick one; they all looked so perfect. Then, their eyes locked on a smallish-looking half-albino in the back. “That one,” said Dee, pointing. “In the corner.”

Carl grabbed a tiny cardboard box with small holes punched into it and carefully swept up the snake, placing it gently in the container.

Dee picked out the rest of the supplies they needed, signed a few forms, and went home. When they were sure that everything had been set up properly, they—very slowly and delicately—placed their new reptilian companion in the tank that stretched across a cleared-off spot on their dresser. The snake stayed still for a moment, then began slithering tentatively around the tank. Dee crouched down to watch the snake at eye level.

“I think I’ll call you Dante,” they said. “You look like a Dante.”

Dante flicked out their tongue.

Dee couldn’t help but giggle at that. “You’re a good listener aren’t you?”

Dante didn’t say anything (obviously).

Dee stood up. “I’m probably freaking you out now. I’m going to go for a run. You stay out of trouble, okay?”

Dante slithered under a rock.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

After checking one more time to make sure that everything in the tank was in order, Dee grabbed their jacket and went outside. The air was crisp and cool—perfect for an afternoon jog. The sky was gray and full of clouds. There were a few people walking around, mostly in pairs (presumably soulmates). They seemed to be taking advantage of the calm spring weather, just like Dee was.

Dee put in their earbuds and sighed, relaxing and letting the rhythm of their music envelop them. The whole world seemed to slow and shift so that all the fears and worries surrounding them went just out of focus. Dee loved it. It was like being underwater, except they could breathe fine. It let them clear their mind and gave them the space to think, whereas every other part of their life seemed crowded and smothered by people or expectations or some looming threat that wasn’t quite clear to them yet.

(Jogging was actually a suggestion from Dee’s therapist. Dee had decided to go to therapy about a year ago and admittedly, it had been helping. Although, Dee still couldn’t quite figure out how to tell Alastor that they were going to therapy. They just called it their “Monday night yoga class” and he didn’t question it, thankfully.)

Dee let themself slip into a trance of being relaxed yet alert, and jogged around the city, casually noting the things they saw. There was the pawn shop, and the large, grungy Going out of business! sign adorning its front window. There was the bookstore, and the pet store, and the tattoo parlor. Eventually, Dee reaches the park (where someone was walking a very large dog), and next to it, the cemetery.

Going by the cemetery always made Dee a bit nervous. They wouldn’t say that they were superstitious, but hey, you could never be too careful, right? Most days, the cemetery was empty; but today, there was one person there, standing near a tall, solitary oak tree. They were wearing a black hoodie and seemed to have purple hair (although, at this distance, Dee couldn’t be sure). It almost looked like they were talking.

Dee shook their head and refocused on their course. Whoever was at the cemetery, whatever their purpose was for being there, it didn’t matter, at least not to Dee.

Finally, after hints of indigo had begun to creep into the sky, Dee arrived at home. They took off their jacket and removed their earbuds, panting softly. They walked into their bedroom and checked on Dante, who was now curled up in the back corner of the tank. Dee set a hand on the dresser, careful not to shake the tank and startle Dante.

“How’s it going, buddy? You seem to be getting settled in nicely,” Dee said. “Just wait till my soulmate gets here. You’ll love him. I do.” Dee smiled. “I do,” they repeated to no one.

If anyone had asked, Dee would have happily shared that the reason they chose Dante was because of the pattern of scales on their head. The half-albino effect made their head entirely white—except for a large patch of brown on the left side of their snout. It was beautiful, like it had been painted on by an expert artist. It reminded Dee of the birthmark on their own face.

It looks beautiful on Dante. Maybe it looks beautiful on me, too. Dee gently traced the curves of the serpent on their palm, still watching Dante.

Slam! Dee flinched at the sudden, sharp noise of the front door shutting.

“Look who’s home,” Dee said softly.

He slammed the door harder than he needed to, Dee noted. He must’ve had a bad day. Again.

Dee slipped out of the room and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner, bracing themself for another long tirade from Alastor. He did not disappoint.

(Taglist: @sociallyanxious-1 @someone-idk-is-here @the-melody-of-eliza @froggols @deadeyedustin @sympathetic-deceit-trash @surleytemple @entitydark @sadgayisme )

#sanders sides #fan fic #sanders sides fanfiction #nonbinary!deceit #nonbinary!janus #deceit sanders #janus sanders #ts deceit #ts janus #anxceitmus #sanders sides au #soulmate au #sanders sides soulmate au #my writing #my post

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raywritesthings · 4 years ago

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Bird in a Storm

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Athena, Roy Harper, John Diggle, Thea Queen, Quentin Lance, Ted Grant, Moira Queen, Walter Steele, Raisa, A.J. Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Female OCs, Male OCs Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: The confrontation between the Hood and SWAT on the roof of the Winick Building goes differently, altering the course of Laurel’s career, relationships and efforts to save her city forever, the shockwaves of such an altered path making themselves felt throughout her family and friends. *Can be read on my AO3, link is in bio*

John had only just dropped A.J. off from their morning in the park. He’d given his nephew some pointers and shot a few hoops with him, then sat him down on a bench to finally tell him about how the cops had caught the bad man who took his father away. It was a simplification, maybe, and when A.J. was older, he would get the full story. But John wanted his nephew to know that justice had been done.

A.J. had listened raptly, then asked, “Did the Hood help them?”

John had smiled. Ever since his mother had been saved first by the Hood and then later by Laurel’s vigilante persona, A.J. had become rather enamored with Starling City’s unconventional protectors. If he only knew his uncle was right in the thick of it. “Yeah. Yeah, he did.”

He had turned the radio on upon getting back in his car for the drive home, only to find not music, but a news bulletin playing across the airwaves.

“An anonymous source delivered the blueprints to the bomb being developed at Queen Consolidated’s subsidiary Unidac Industries to this station as as reportedly to the police. Eyewitnesses outside the SCPD’s downtown precinct say they saw who appeared to be Moira Queen, the current CEO of Queen Consolidated, being led inside by officers over an hour ago.”

John had sat there, stunned, only able to listen as the news report continued on. Oliver’s mother stood accused of sabotaging the Gambit to kill her husband, having her second husband kidnapped, hiring the Triad assassins to kill Malcolm Merlyn and commissioning a bomb to be set off underneath the Glades.

That last one chilled him to the bone. He had plenty of experience with bombs going off in cities, destroying buildings or cars, killing handfuls of people here and there in an unpredictable pattern designed to cause terror and paranoia. But from the sounds of it, this device at Unidac Industries was so much more than that. No one had been meant to learn it was even a bomb.

Now we know why their symbol was the subway map, John thought grimly to himself.

Something was missing from the news report, however. Where was the rest of Tempest in all this? What about the man Moira had been talking to that night John had spied on her? The man whose voice had been too indistinct to make out on the recording?

“Oliver and Thea Queen have reportedly left the precinct,” the reporter announced, breaking John out of his shock. If Oliver had been at the precinct, then he knew more about what was really happening than the news was telling. And John had a feeling that as long as his friend and Thea were in the spotlight like this, they might actually need a bodyguard.

He called Oliver’s phone and got Laurel, though she quickly filled him in on where they were headed. John drove as fast as he could to the base, made difficult by the number of people out on the streets. Some were shouting, others just wandering around with their mouths hanging open like they just couldn’t believe what they were seeing and hearing. A restless energy seemed to hang in the air.

He parked and let himself in the back, entering the base to find Oliver already grabbing his suit to change and Laurel in her own clothes that she wore at night, minus her jacket.

“Where’s your sister?” John asked when Oliver caught sight of him.

“She’s upstairs with Roy. I need you to stay with them while I track down Tommy.”

John frowned. “What’s Tommy got to do with this?” He knew Oliver was in something of a silent feud with the man, however reluctantly, but it felt like that should be further down the priority list.

“Everything,” Oliver answered simply.

“According to Moira, Malcolm Merlyn was the real leader of Tempest,” Laurel elaborated, causing John’s eyebrows to rise as high as they were able. Their city’s supposed great humanitarian had been planning a terror attack? “She had him killed, and Tommy swore he was going to find out who did it. He would have had access to everything his father had on this device and the Gambit and everything else.”

“So instead of having her killed, he’s taking her down publicly. Setting his father up as a martyr, too,” John realized. “He probably told them your mother had Merlyn killed to stop him from going to them.”

Oliver’s fists clenched. “It’s an easy story to sell.”

“Does your mother have some kind of dirt on Merlyn she can use?” John wasn’t particularly fond of Moira Queen; the woman had been a party to this plot in some capacity or another. But she didn’t deserve to go down for the whole thing. Not when it wasn’t the truth.

“The Dark Archer took it,” Laurel said with a scowl.

“He’s still out there? Oliver, if he’s working for Tommy now, then I need to come with you. I can’t let you go into that kind of battle alone again.” He didn’t want to rub his friend’s defeat at the other archer’s hands in his face, but he would gently remind him if he had to.

“John, I appreciate that, but right now there is a whole city of people who think my mother is a domestic terrorist, and there are some who are going to be angry. If they can’t get to her, they will try to get to me or Thea. If I’m gonna fight the Dark Archer again, I need to know that she’s safe.”

As much as he didn’t want him to be, he knew Oliver was right. John looked to Laurel. “What about you?”

“I’d be pretty outmatched against that kind of fighter,” she admitted. “And that’s assuming I could even get up close to him. Besides, I’m gonna be needed in the Glades tonight. People are panicking. That never leads anywhere good.”

“Alright, you might actually be crazier than he is,” John decided. “The best thing anyone can do is hunker down tonight.”

“But a lot of people won’t be, and people are going to get hurt because of it. I can’t sit down here watching it happen when I started down this path to stop it.”

Oliver was frowning but held his tongue. Either they’d already been over this privately before John arrived or he was keeping his thoughts to himself. He couldn’t imagine it was easy. John had often found himself worrying about Lyla whenever they had run separate missions in Afghanistan. Sometimes he still worried.

Laurel took her wig off the table and bent over to fit it onto her head. She rose quickly, the blonde locks falling down her back. She shrugged into a jean jacket resting on the back of a chair. Then she turned to Oliver, placing one hand to his cheek.

“Be careful.”

“And you.”

Oliver bent his head to meet her lips in a kiss, one hand at the small of her back pressing her closer. John looked away, having no desire to intrude on their moment. This was hard enough for them both already. Then she headed out to the back where she kept the motorcycle Oliver had bought.

John joined his friend by the computers as he brought one of the monitors up. “How are you planning to find Tommy?”

“One of the things I had to do on the island was learn from example. The more I observed, the better off my chances were.”

“Which means…?”

“Which means that thanks to Felicity, I know how to ping a phone.” He stood back up to his full height after clicking and typing away in a far more serious manner than their temporary teammate had done. John wondered what she must be thinking about all the news. At the least, she was probably safe since her small townhouse was outside the Glades. “I’ll change and then run it. You should get upstairs.”

“Alright.” He held out his hand and Oliver clasped it with his. John placed his free hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Good luck.”

“Thank you.” Oliver didn’t need to tell him the thanks was for more than a simple well-wish.

John headed up to the club area of the Verdant, finding Thea and Roy sitting at the bar watching the news on a low volume.

“Mr. Diggle? Where’s Ollie?” Thea asked as he joined them.

“Still downstairs. He’s trying to take care of some things regarding your mother.”

“Okay, what about Laurel?”

“She went back out,” John answered, not missing the spark of recognition in Roy’s eyes. “Said she needed to make sure her home was secure ahead of what’s shaping up to be a pretty rough night.”

“I, uh, I should probably do the same thing,” Roy said, standing up.

“Wait, what? Roy, no,” Thea said, standing with him and taking his hands. “It’s dangerous out there.”

“I’ll be fine. But this is my home, Thea. I gotta do something. Stay here with your brother’s bodyguard. I’ll come back.”

“Roy!”

But the young man hurried out the front door. John went over and locked them behind him.

Thea stood there a moment before sinking back into her barstool. She looked terribly lonely and afraid.

“I know this isn’t easy, Miss Queen, but the best thing we can do is stay out of the public eye right now.”

“They’re really gonna blame me and Ollie for this?”

He looked down. “The truth will become clear eventually, but people aren’t interested in truth right now.”

She said nothing, and he took the time to send a text to Carly, checking that she and A.J. were at home and planning to stay there. The news continued to play in the background, and he tuned it out but for a few snippets here and there.

“Chaos as protests break out outside Alderman Blood’s office. The alderman himself appears to be leading them.”

“People are storming the local groceries, taking food, water and other essentials, many refusing to pay.”

“As you can see below, traffic is backed up several blocks as some look to flee the Glades. Mayor Altman’s statement that the Unidac device is in police custody doing little to calm a public fearing a Biblical reckoning.”

“Susan, is it true we have sighting of who folks have taken to calling the Woman of the Glades?”

John looked up, but just then a pounding started up at the front door.

“Open up, Queen!” A voice called, some muffled jeers accompanying it. “Your mom’s sending us all to Hell, and I want a drink first!”

John shut the TV off. “Sit down behind the bar,” he said in an undertone to Thea. She nodded and hurried to do as told. John crouched down behind a table with his gun drawn, waiting for any sign of the door caving in.

This was going to be a long night.

—-

Tommy surprised himself at times whenever he recalled how little time had really passed since his life had changed forever. Even if he started counting from the day Oliver had come back home and brought the Hood with him, it hadn’t even been a year.

He reflected on this past year as the chauffeur drove him and Athena to the airport. He had finally made a bid for the heart of Laurel Lance, only to find hers would always belong to another. He could only think of their time together with scorn, now. To think he hadn’t needed to throw fundraisers or offer to better himself at all; Laurel’s tastes had and always would be for the bad boy, and seemingly one who used his might to get his way. He wondered how she might feel once Tommy completed his training with Athena. Would she realize what she could have had?

He had been cast out of his inheritance, forced to face the reality that he was a grown man, and what sort of man he wanted to be. While his anger had once burned towards his father for what had felt a rejection, he had realized what his father had felt he needed to do. Tommy’s life had not held much meaning before that; a part of him had always felt life itself was meaningless when good, honest people like his mother were gunned down for nothing. Now, he was the head of Merlyn Global and the last, best hope for both his parents’ legacies.

His life had been placed under threat over and over again in the very neighborhood his mother had lost hers and even in the safer sections of downtown. Starling was diseased, was the only conclusion he could draw, and he felt a smug satisfaction that now the whole city could see it, too. It wouldn’t change anything for the better, of course. They would sooner destroy each other than work towards a common good. Just like how Oliver claimed to work for the good of the people and yet was little more than a killer.

Oliver. His oldest friend and someone he once called a brother. He had always been jealous of Oliver in many ways; he had the loving parents, an adoring sister, the heart of the girl Tommy yearned for and the ability to bed countless others. He had always tried to tell himself that jealousy was irrational and a part of him he needed to suppress. Now he could see it for what it had been: a warning of what was to come. That his supposed friend was really his enemy.

In many ways, Oliver had caused these changes in his life to happen. His sudden return had had Tommy anxious to try and secure an exclusive commitment out of Laurel, only for that to fail thanks to Oliver enchanting her with vigilante theatrics. His attack on his own mother had caused her to take action against Tommy’s father. His dad’s convalescence in Starling General had brought Athena into his life and opened his eyes to what was really happening in their city. So perhaps, in a way, he ought to be grateful to his friend and brother.

He wasn’t.

His thoughts were interrupted as the car slowed to a stop once it passed through the gates to the private airstrip.

“Sir, there’s someone — I think it’s the Hood standing on the tarmac,” the chauffeur called into the back, bewilderment lacing his tone. Athena’s perfect posture somehow straightened up more, but Tommy wasn’t worried in the least.

“Stop the car here and start loading the rest of our things. I’ll deal with him.” It didn’t surprise him that Oliver had tracked them here. His old friend clearly had or knew someone with tech capabilities who would be able to get a look at the flight manifests of Starling International.

Tommy let himself out and walked about ten paces away from the other man decked out in his costume. Athena followed, her hand hovering by her belt where she kept her knife.

“What do you want?”

“For you to tell the authorities the truth about Tempest,” Oliver said, a growl in his voice even if he had realized using that modulator of his was pointless.

“Why, so they can prosecute a dead man? Face it, Oliver, if you were serious about wanting to save this city, you would have needed to turn her in anyway.”

“Don’t pretend this is about saving the city. All you’ve done is caused a mass panic,” Oliver accused him.

“Good,” he replied, watching the shock play out across what he could see of Oliver’s face. “I never said I wanted to save it. And really, all I’ve done is shake them out of their apathy. Funny how an innocent woman can be bleeding out in the street and no one lifts a finger, but even suggest a threat against any of their lives and suddenly it’s riots in the streets!”

His old friend eyed him sadly. “What happened to your mother was terrible. It shouldn’t have happened at all.”

“For once, we agree.”

“I know you are better than this, Tommy. What about CNRI? The firefighters benefit. There’s a desire to do good in you in a real way. Not the posturing Malcolm was hiding behind.”

Tommy sucked in a breath through his teeth and released it, smiling as he said. “Funny you should say that. Getting involved in charity work was actually Thea’s idea. Said I should act like I was interested in the things Laurel was. What did Laurel call it…? Oh yeah, my annual attempt to get back in her pants.” He spread his arms wide. “Have to say, it worked for a while.”

He thought he heard the creak of leather as Oliver’s gloved fist clenched around the bow in his hand. For once, his friend could know exactly how he had felt watching him with Laurel all those years.

Tommy couldn’t possibly stop himself from adding, “You know she went down on me after the firefighter benefit? But I’m sure that’s nothing compared to what she lets you do every time you come swinging in to rescue her—”

With a snarl, Oliver drew an arrow and loosed it point-blank at Tommy’s chest.

Athena slashed it out of the air with her knife where it clattered to the ground before he could do more than blink in shock. A rope sprung harmlessly out of it a moment later.

His confidant went on the offensive, lunging towards Oliver, though he blocked the attack with his bow. The two traded blows while Tommy watched, wishing he actually did know this stuff already.

“Uh, Mr. Merlyn?”

He jumped in shock, having pretty much forgotten the chauffeur.

“The plane is ready.”

“Great. You can head back now. Don’t bother calling this in,” he added, holding out a one-hundred dollar bill. The man took it and dutifully went back to his car. “Athena! Let’s go.”

Athena was on the ground but had just swept Oliver’s legs out from under him as well. He gave an exaggerated wince as his once-friend went down like a ton of bricks. She jumped back to standing and came to join Tommy at the stairs, only for a second arrow to come flying and wrap around her.

Oliver had risen onto one knee and held another arrow in his hand ready to aim and loose. “I can’t let you leave.”

“Actually, you can.” Tommy smirked. “Because there’s something I know that you don’t, and after the year we’ve had, Oliver, that’s a pretty good feeling.”

Oliver stayed silent, waiting rather than give him the satisfaction of asking.

“Your mother was too hasty to get her revenge. Walter Steele is still alive.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’ll send you the address myself,” he offered. “Once I’m in the air. But if this plane doesn’t take off with me on it, the other men at that address will be ordered to finish the job. So what’ll it be, Ollie? Keep me here or save a man’s life?”

He could see the conflict that warred on Oliver’s face, knew the moment that he decided when his bow lowered just an inch.

Tommy nodded to himself. He’d known Oliver would have to choose Walter Steele and that he wasn’t really risking anything by offering the choice; how else could his old friend pretend he was a hero? “Just like you couldn’t beat my father at Christmas,” he said, watching Oliver’s eyes widen. “I’m going to learn everything he knew. Maybe once I have, we can settle this.”

He took the knife Athena had managed to work into her hand and cut her bonds for her, then turned his back on Oliver Queen and boarded the plane.

Once he sat down, he took out his phone in preparation to make good on his promise of revealing Walter’s location. Athena sat beside him, perfectly composed once more.

“How long will my training take?” He wondered aloud as the plane finally began to taxi down the runway.

“That depends on the dedication of the student. Your father completed his and rose to become one of our leader’s most trusted within two years. Another girl from your city has also excelled in her training, though she did so by seducing our leader’s heir.”

“A girl from Starling?”

“Yes. I believe she was called Sara Lance in her former life.”

Tommy froze, then a smile stole slowly over his lips. It truly was nice holding the most cards.

—-

Roy ran home as fast as he could, getting his gun and a knife out of their hiding places. He wasn’t going to try and use them tonight if he could help it, but he didn’t want one of his old crowd breaking in to take them and use them instead. With both tucked out of sight in his pockets, he grabbed his hoodie and pulled it down over his face and went back out into the night.

Laurel was going to be out here trying to restore peace to their streets. Why wouldn’t he be doing the same?

There wasn’t much point to jacking a car; the streets were packed with honking vehicles, people trying to leave like they thought the bomb was still going off. Roy couldn’t really blame them.

A block down the road, he saw two men with beers in hand grabbing the arm of a woman trying to go the other way. “Let’s have some fun before the end of the world, baby!”

“Let go of me!”

Roy charged down to meet them, slugging the first man across the jaw as he made a grab for the woman’s chest.

“What the fuck, dude?”

“World’s not ending, so get lost or get put down,” he declared, breathing harshly through his nose.

“Think you’re the Hood, big man?” The second man asked. He surged forward, only to stagger back with a howl as the woman sprayed him with a can of mace. “Shit!”

“Thanks for the help,” she said, and Roy nodded back. She turned and hurried to keep heading wherever she was going. Roy hoped she made it okay.

A wail caught his attention next, and his heart lurched as he noticed a toddler wandering dangerously near the curb, arms reaching up in a plea to be held. Roy ran and scooped the girl up, looking around wildly. Where the hell were her parents?

“Steffi? Steffi! Someone help me find my daughter!”

“Hey, that kid’s got her!”

Roy was grabbed roughly by the back of his hoodie and hauled around to face a potbellied man with a clenched fist.

“I wasn’t taking her—”

“Right, just a Good Samaritan, are ya?”

“Wait! Wait!” It was the grocer, Khan, who cried out. He rushed between them. “I know this boy. He would not hurt a child.”

He noticed who he assumed was Steffi’s mother standing just a few steps back, and Roy slowly lowered the little girl down to the ground. She was still sobbing, and he wasn’t sure she knew how to stop.

“I saw her near the road. I just…”

The man who had nearly decked him sagged while the mother gasped and hurried around him, picking up her daughter and shushing her.

Khan patted his shoulder and Roy looked down at the ground. All the times he’d stolen bits of food or dumb knick-knacks from the guy’s store, and he’d rushed to his defense.

“You should get home, Roy.”

“I’m alright. What about your store?”

Khan’s smile looked strained. “Ya Allah! It will wait until morning.”

“Okay. Okay, I’ll come check on you,” he promised. Roy took off running again.

He passed a number of smashed storefronts and people running in every single direction. He still saw no sign of Laurel or even the Hood. Where was the Hood? How could he save Roy’s life and not show when countless others needed him? How did he decide which battles he fought?

Roy stopped for a moment, panting. He took out his phone. Five missed calls from Thea. But a quick check of Channel 52’s webpage gave him at least one answer: Woman of the Glades escorts legal aide office workers to safety amid riots

Of course, her old coworkers. Roy turned and cut across the bumper-to-bumper traffic, hoping to head her off before she got too far.

Several blocks later, a police cruiser was stuck in the middle of the street unable to make anymore progress. A garbled voice blared from its speakers. “Return to your homes. I repeat, return to your homes.”

“Hey, fuck you!”

“Yeah, fuck the man!”

A couple of teenagers in designer ripped jeans and spiked hair threw a couple rocks at the car. Their buddies all laughed.

“Stand down. Return to your homes.”

They weren’t even from around here, he realized, watching another one in the group filming it all. How much of this rioting was just people from outside the neighborhood taking advantage of all the chaos?

“Hey, get the hell out of here!”

A couple of the kids turned in his direction.

“Do you want to start a shooting?” He gestured towards the car. “They’re not gonna throw rocks back.”

The ringleader of the group stepped up and pushed at his chest. “Mind your own business, asshole.”

Roy shoved him to the ground.

“Hey!”

They were on him in seconds, and even if Roy could hit harder than any of them, he was finding it hard to fight his way past so many. He hit the ground, blows landing on his back while he brought his arms up to shield his head.

The whistle of metal through the air preceded a number of grunts, and the punches and kicks let up. The other boys all staggered back nursing arms, legs and backs as Laurel stood there in her wig and mask, seething.

“Get out of my part of town.”

The boys ran off, and she reached a hand down that Roy gladly took.

“We should get you back to the club.”

“I’m good,” he said, rubbing at his ribs.

“Put the weapon down and surrender with your hands up!”

The both jumped at hearing the command. One of the officers had gotten out of the car and was unclipping his gun.

“Come on!” Roy kept Laurel’s hand in his and ran, ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest. Of course the cops weren’t interested in lifting a finger when some rich kids were beating up on him but when someone showed up to actually do their job.

They worked together, helping some who had stumbled and fallen or breaking up fights. There were shouts from a building where smoke streamed out, but when Roy raced forward, Laurel snagged him by the arm.

“You’re already having trouble breathing. Wait here.”

She kicked the front door open rather than chance the handle, waited a moment as an initial plume of smoke billowed out, then rushed inside with a hand pressed over her mouth.

Roy waited, hands twitching at his sides. He’d give it five minutes. No, two. Damnit, how long was someone able to go inhaling smoke?

“Hey, boy!”

He turned at the call, spotting an older Black woman two doors down. She was watching the smoking building with fear in her eyes.

“I have a hose. I don’t know if it’ll reach.”

Roy hurried over to the side of her house, grabbing the hose and yanking it as far as it would go in the direction of the building. “Turn it on!”

Water trickled and then spurted out, hitting the front of the building and getting in through the door. It wasn’t like TV; the smoke didn’t immediately start dying out. He couldn’t even tell if it was helping. But he was doing something, right?

Shadowy figures appeared through the smoke, then were spluttering as well as coughing when they were hit with the spray. Roy hastily moved the hose.

“No, it is good!” One man exclaimed, his Russian accent not nearly as thick as some of the others. He gestured for the hose, and Roy passed it to him, watching as the man drank straight from it. He offered it to each of his family in turn, each of them thanking the woman whose hose they had borrowed, a Mrs. Ross according to what they were saying.

The last ones out were Laurel and a woman with gray in her hair who clutched a necklace with wooden beads and crosses. “You save my sister on the buses, you save my family, you are saint.”

“Come inside, all of you,” Mrs. Ross insisted.

“Sorry, I can’t,” Laurel replied, her voice raspy with the smoke. She bent double, hands on her knees. There was a streak of something black on her cheek and the wig she wore looked frazzled rather than silky.

Roy moved by her to indicate he was staying with her. The Russian family took up their neighbor’s offer after many rounds of thanks, and soon it was the two of them left on the street.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just let me… let me breathe.”

He knew how she felt. Roy had no idea how long they’d been at this by now, but the streets seemed to stretch before them with no end in sight.

Eventually, Laurel straightened up. They exchanged a nod, and then were off running again. There was nothing in his head but the pounding of his heart, the whirring of helicopter blades as the news documented their struggle while never stepping in, and the buzz of his phone as Thea kept calling and probably worrying out of her head. It was stubbornness that kept him going, stubbornness and a sense of duty, but he wanted nothing more than to curl up in her arms and sob out his exhaustion.

Several minutes later, Laurel gasped and sped ahead of him towards a car wreck right on the main road. It was a pileup, and it looked nasty.

Some of those who had been involved had seemingly already gotten out of their cars. Blood stained the pavement beneath a few of the cars, indicating where more serious injuries had occurred. Roy saw a group of people gathered around a body that had been dragged to the sidewalk.

But the front of one man’s car was totally dented in, and the doors had crumpled up as well. The driver sat inside unmoving, a cut on his forehead oozing blood.

On the far side of a car, two kids who couldn’t be older than ten or twelve were crying. “Daddy! Daddy!”

He and Laurel each took turns yanking on the door handle. Roy went to the side door and opened it, crawling into the backseat to see if he could pull the man out that way, but he was wedged up against the steering wheel too tightly.

“Smash the window,” a gruff voice suggested, and Roy looked out of the car to see a man all in black with a mask on. He wasn’t the Hood, but who was he?

“Wildcat,” Laurel said warmly, a spark back in her eyes. She took her staff and did as requested.

Wildcat stepped in closer, his teeth grit together as he braced one hand against the inside of the driver’s door and used the other to pull the handle. There was a series of pops and crunches. The door finally opened with a great screech of the hinges.

The man’ kids came running around to their side, but Wildcat cautioned. “Easy, easy. We need to move him slowly.”

Together, the three of them managed it, gently laying the man to rest on the ground. Roy was relieved to see him breathing.

“How do we get him to Glades Memorial?”

The roads were too backed up even if they had a working car to drive him. Shouting and the occasional scream continued to rip through the air. They were surrounded by people, and yet no one seemed to care for anyone else around them.

Laurel’s face took on a pinched look for a moment before she suddenly started scrambling up onto the hood of one of the cars. “Hey!”

Roy exchanged a bewildered look with Ted, backing up a little when she whacked the roof with her staff. He noticed a couple people look up or around their way. Most of them didn’t.

On the roof of the car, Laurel was ripping one of her gloves off with her teeth. She shoved two fingers in her mouth and let out a whistle that had both Roy, the two kids and this Wildcat clapping their hands over their ears.

“Hey!”

It didn’t go completely silent. The whirr of helicopter blades still filled the air, and distant honking and sirens sounded on other streets. But every eye that Roy could see was now fixed on the Woman of the Glades.

“What we learned today is beyond words,” she began, her voice seeming to ring in the sudden stillness around them. “That there are some who consider human beings nothing more than collateral to pave a new parking lot over our graves. It makes me angry, too. It’s enough to make you lose faith in humanity.

“But we are more than they think of us! We’re better! We don’t step on each other’s necks to get to the top. We help each other.

“I was inspired by the Hood to take to the streets, yes. But I was inspired by this community to imagine the better world that might come if everyone was a little kinder, a little more like a family. Because that’s what I found here.

“So we can take out our rightful anger and fear on these buildings we aren’t allowed to own ourselves, or we can stand up tall and prove to those watching from the safety of their comfortable homes—” One hand pointed straight up to the helicopters still circling the sky. “—that we have our humanity even if they don’t. What’s it gonna be?”

Roy held his breath as he watched the faces of the people around them. Some stood slack-jawed. Others were nodding slowly, determination set in their shoulders and jaws. Still more simply watched, tears still leaking from their eyes.

“I need people to help me move this man,” Wildcat declared in the wake of her speech. “He needs a hospital. Someone to look after his children, too.”

“We can help.” Two men, older than Roy but not by much, came forward. “And my brother can watch the kids.” A teenager hurried to join them.

“I need a phone to call my son,” a woman called out, and her request was soon answered. As Wildcat led the group escorting the unconscious man and his kids away, Roy watched in wonderment as, little by little, the harsh shouts and screams of anguish turned to offers of aid and shared tears. It wasn’t as if a switch had been flipped. He had, he realized, seen brief moments of kindness all night even amongst the panic and boiling anger. But Laurel was making them all see it now.

On the hood of the car, still, she seemed to sag a little in relief, a tired smile rising on her lips. At least until a spotlight suddenly landed on her.

Roy shielded his eyes, heart sinking as he realized one of the helicopters hadn’t been for the news after all.

“Police! Remain where you are.”

Before he could act, a figure in dark green swooped down on a line, grabbing Laurel around the waist. She tucked her legs in, and they landed beyond the abandoned pile of cars in the shadow of two buildings. The Hood slowly let her back down, though their foreheads remained pressed together for a moment. Then the pair slipped away before the police’s searchlight beam could find them again.

Around him, people quickly helped each other make evacuation arrangements. None of them wanted to be around whenever the cops sent boots on the ground to canvas the area. Yet Roy stood there another long, stunned moment as his mind could only process one thing: the Hood was Laurel’s boyfriend. He was Oliver Queen.

Roy staggered back a step, then started running again. With a record like his, he couldn’t afford getting picked up by the cops on some trumped up charge to make them look good for doing something. And he wanted some things answered far more than he wanted to be sitting in a holding cell.

Good thing the one place he was guaranteed to get those answers was the one place he really wanted to be right now. Even if Thea was going to kill him.

—-

Oliver was exhausted even as he pushed on, Laurel running at his side. From confronting Tommy and being forced to acknowledge his friend had chosen a dark path to travel down all in the name of his murderous father, to the drive out to Bludhaven to rescue Walter and back again once he had made sure his step-father would be seen to by the local authorities there, he couldn’t actually believe it had been less than one day since his mother’s arrest. Since the city had turned upside-down.

He had arrived home to a Glades in chaos. Oliver had done what he could here and there, noting the shock on the faces of those he helped. He was known for beatings and killings, after all, not tying tourniquets around people’s legs to stop the rush of blood from a gunshot wound or ferrying them to the hospital. Oliver hadn’t stayed with any one person too long, partly to keep his identity safe and the rest because he was desperate to find Laurel.

And then he had heard her voice.

“We don’t step on each other’s necks to get to the top. We help each other. I was inspired by the Hood to take to the streets, yes. But I was inspired by this community to imagine the better world that might come if everyone was a little kinder, a little more like a family. Because that’s what I found here.”

Listening to her, seeing her standing there with a run in her leggings and her wig a disheveled mess of blonde, she had never been more breathtaking. She wasn’t just trying to save the world; she was doing it.

Just as things had calmed and taken a turn for the better, the police had caught her in their sights with a searchlight. Oliver had quickly jumped into action, swinging with her out of their view and hurrying away through the streets. In silent agreement, they were each putting off whatever questions they had for the other until they returned to the base.

Only there looked to be a slight situation developing outside it when they arrived. A number of men were gathered outside the Verdant’s locked doors, which had been painted in incredibly rude graffiti and negative sentiments towards his family. Every so often, one of the men would knock and holler something, a majority of them sounding half-drunk.

“C’mon, Queen! Open up, open up.”

How long had they been here yelling? Thea was inside, probably terrified out of her mind. Oliver reached into his quiver, but Laurel placed a hand on his arm. Then she stepped forward.

“Hey.”

A few of them turned, some slower and less coordinated than others. “Hey, that’s the lady — Shit, the Hood!”

Some small part of him couldn’t help being pleased at his reputation in this particular instance, and he knew he was smirking.

“The cops are coming through and probably looking to round up any troublemakers,” Laurel told them. “Go home, okay?”

“Or we can leave you here for them to pick up,” Oliver offered. She looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.

The men seemed to get the message, however, and they quickly scurried off, empty drinks and spray cans left behind.

Oliver led them around the side, sniffing the air in disgust at the scent of urine that permeated the alley. Laurel’s face had scrunched up as well. They quickly made their way to the back door to the base, relieved to step into the far cleaner facilities.

For a moment, they stood there, the weight of everything, the aches and pains from battles fought, the weariness that set into their bones overwhelming. But Oliver caught Laurel’s eyes, and suddenly nothing mattered more than being close to her.

They surged together, Oliver’s hands smoothing up her back beneath her jacket and Laurel’s hands gripping his face and knocking his hood back. He took a moment to pull the wig off her head and place it on a nearby table, his other hand coming up to massage her scalp. Laurel moaned against his mouth, and it shot straight through him.

“I’m sure that’s nothing compared to what she lets you do every time you come swinging in to rescue her,” a snide voice whispered in the back of his head. Oliver shook it off with a growl. He wasn’t going to let Tommy and his jealous words poison this. Laurel did what she chose with who she chose, and he was grateful that he was who she had chosen in the end. That was all there was to it.

A loud pounding on the door that led to the club upstairs had them both looking up sharply.

“Ollie, what is so important down there?” Thea’s voice called, a little muffled.

“Be—” he cleared his throat and shouted louder, “Be right up!”

“We gotta get you cleaned up first,” Laurel muttered, displaying her hands, the fingertips of which were all smeared in greasepaint.

She helped wipe his face off, then Oliver changed and hurried upstairs alone. Laurel wasn’t supposed to still be here, after all.

His sister was fortunately distracted from his entrance and didn’t even get a glimpse of what lay beyond the door as she was busy laying into a tired and worse for wear Roy Harper. “—can’t believe you stayed out there, you could’ve gotten killed!”

“I know, sorry, I just—”

“You were trying to find the vigilantes, weren’t you?” Thea accused.

“Yeah, and I did.” Oliver’s stomach dropped when, for the briefest moment, Roy’s eyes flickered in his direction. “But the cops chased them off.”

“And that’s probably a good thing,” Oliver added, making Thea jump and run to him. John sent him a questioning look over her shoulder, to which he gave a single shake of the head in a negative.

“You were down there forever. Did you not hear any of those guys that were lurking around outside?”

“Uh, no. Sorry, I was on the phone. The, uh, the police in Bludhaven, they…” he had no idea how to break this gently. “They have Walter.”

Thea’s eyes went wide as she backed up. “They found his body?”

“No,” said Oliver, and he saw Diggle’s expression turn shocked now as well. “He’s alive. The guy the Feds found, he was tricked. He heard a shot and assumed, but he was wrong.” Alonzo had been wrong which meant Oliver had been wrong. And in telling his mother bad information, he had set her on a path to bringing Tommy’s wrath and the law crashing down on her. Oliver had done this.

His sister, meanwhile, gasped. “Oh, my God. When can we see him? When- when does mom get to see him? What’re we gonna do?”

“I don’t know, Speedy,” he answered truthfully. He had put off all those questions before because he had thought if he could just get Tommy to go back to the police and tell them the whole truth, things would be better. But now Tommy was gone. His mother was still on the hook for a conspiracy to destroy an entire city neighborhood. What did the future look like?

“What’s it like out there, Roy?” John asked, and Oliver was grateful to his friend for taking the focus off him at least for a few moments.

“Not great. And the cops are gonna be crawling all over. They could probably get you home,” he offered to Oliver and Thea.

“I’m not leaving you here alone tonight,” Thea declared, gripping his hand in hers.

“We’ll stay here,” Oliver decided. “It’s best for us all to stay in a group. Unless, John, do you need…?”

“Carly texted me a half hour ago. Bunch of the mothers at A.J.’s school have made the gym into a big sleepover area. They’re staying there until the morning. You’re right, there’s strength in numbers.”

“Ollie, what about Laurel?” Thea asked. “She lives alone.”

“I’ll call her,” he said slowly. “See where she’s at. Um, John, do you want to come help me look for blankets or something? I guess some of us can use the booths to sleep in.”

His friend nodded and followed him back behind the bar. Laurel was listening at the top of the steps, the door cracked open slightly, but she waited until they all headed back down to the main floor of the base to say anything. “Walter’s alive?”

“Tommy told me. I- I had to choose between bringing him in or saving Walter.”

“He was going to have him killed?” Laurel looked aghast.

“It’s what he said. Maybe he was bluffing. But he left on a plane to learn everything his father knew… everything the Dark Archer knew, because apparently they were the same person,” Oliver revealed. “And I let him go.”

“You had to, man,” John insisted. “Whether he was bluffing or not, you made the choice to save a life. Tommy will have to come back sooner or later. We’ll get him to give up the full story then.”

“It’ll be sooner than later,” Laurel added. “He’s the key witness, so whenever your mother’s case goes to trial, he’ll have to show.”

Oliver smiled softly. “I almost wish you were representing my mother instead of Jean.”

“I’m not sure the police would be happy with that kind of conflict of interest,” Laurel pointed out, though a pleased smile played at her own lips. “They didn’t fight it in your case because most of dad’s superiors were convinced he had no case. Ironically enough.” She reached out and took his hands. “But I am here to offer you and Thea any legal advice I can.”

“Speaking of your sister, we should head back upstairs,” John reminded them. “You gonna come in through the front, Laurel?”

“Probably would sell it better.”

He and John grabbed a couple of the hoodies and towels they had down here to use as makeshift pillows or blankets, then went back up to the club. Thea had gotten out the first aid kit that sat under the bar and looked to be touching up some of Roy’s smaller cuts and scrapes while he rested in a booth.

“Laurel’s gonna come stay with us,” Oliver announced as he offered Thea her pick of their meager supplies. It occurred to him they were all running on little to no food, but there was nothing he could do about that problem. He knew he at least was used to sleeping on an empty stomach.

Not two minutes later, Laurel knocked on the front door. Oliver let her inside quickly, locking it behind her and cutting off the wail of distant police sirens. Thea was busy getting Roy situated for the night, so Oliver simply led Laurel back to their own booth.

“Are you actually going to be able to sleep tonight?” She asked quietly.

“I don’t know.”

“Okay.” Laurel pushed him to sit back in the booth first, then crawled in after him, resting her back against his chest and her head under his chin. Oliver brought his arms around her, gladly soaking up the comfort of her presence.

A thought came to him. “What happened to your bike?”

“Had to ditch it behind CNRI,” she muttered out of the corner of her mouth. “The roads were too backed up.”

“We’ll get it tomorrow. If it hasn’t been taken to sell for parts.”

“I’m sorry, Ollie.”

He shook his head. “A bike’s just a bike. You, you were amazing out there tonight.”

She snuggled a bit closer and closed her eyes. “I love you.”

Oliver’s breath caught in his throat, and his eyes felt as though they were burning for a moment. “I love you, too,” he finally managed, kissing the top of her head.

A hush settled over the nearly empty club as, one-by-one, the five of them all dropped off to sleep.

In the early light of dawn Oliver’s phone rang, and he answered it with a groggy, “Hello?”

“Oliver?”

Instantly, he was wide awake. “Mom?”

Was it possible the police had released her? That they had discovered the truth on their own?

“Are you and Thea safe?” Her voice sounded shaky, like she had only just managed to pull herself together.

He sat up, causing Laurel to stretch and yawn as she woke fully. “Yeah. Yeah, we’re both fine. Where are you?”

“Still in the holding cell,” she told him. “They’re reluctant to move me given how riotous the situation was last night.”

“But they haven’t released you,” he said, disappointment resettling in the pit of his stomach.

“No. I’m just being allowed my phone call, finally. Two phone calls, really. You see, Starling General phoned me this morning. It seems Walter is alive and was transferred to their care late last night.”

Oliver’s eyes squeezed shut. His mother would have been notified first as next of kin, but had no way of getting to her own husband. “Mom, I’m sorry.” Sorry she couldn’t see Walter; sorry she had spent a night in a holding cell; sorry that he had been wrong, and because he had been wrong she had lost everything. The last he could never tell her, no matter how guilty he felt.

“You shouldn’t feel sorry for me,” she told him. “I played Malcolm’s games instead of doing the right thing, and I’ve paid the price for it. I only hope you, Thea and Walter will be safe now.”

Oliver swallowed once, feeling Laurel slip her hand into his empty one. “We will be.”

“If I can ask you to do one thing for me, sweetheart—”

“Anything,” he promised right away.

“Could you go to Starling General? The doctors think it would do Walter good to have some visitors given how long he was alone.”

“Thea and I will go, mom,” he answered her request.

“That’s my beautiful boy.” The warmth in her tone threatened to undo him. “They’re signalling me that my time is up.”

“But Thea—” His sister was still sleeping and wouldn’t even have a chance to talk to their mother.

“Look after her. Look after each other. I love you both so much.” His mother said quickly. The line disconnected before he could reply.

It was quiet for a moment. Nothing but the sound of his own breathing and Laurel’s hand in his. He turned his face into her hair for a moment, hiding from the day and all it would bring. A city in turmoil, his mother imprisoned and who knew what else. He just needed a few moments more before he could face it.

Once he felt in control again, Laurel let him out of the booth, and he went to where Thea lay, one arm hanging off the booth she slept in across from Roy. “Hey, Speedy. You gotta get up.”

“Five more minutes…” Thea groaned, and it was such a familiar, innocent sight his heart ached for a moment.

“We can see Walter at the hospital.”

His sister shot up, blinking and rubbing her eyes. “What? Where? Oh,” she said, taking in the surroundings. Her face threatened to crumple for a moment as yesterday’s events no doubt reasserted themselves in her memory.

“Come on, they think seeing some familiar faces might help him.”

“Is he even gonna want to see us? What if- what if he thought mom was the one who had him kidnapped?”

“Even if he did, he’d know you have nothing to do with it,” Oliver assured her. “Walter loves you, Thea.”

Roy was sitting up, one hand pressed over his ribs. Oliver frowned.

“You need looked at?”

“I’m fine,” Roy said immediately, though it didn’t have the defensive air it ordinarily did. Rather it almost seemed like Roy was hoping to impress him with his answer.

“We’re going to a hospital anyway, so you may as well come.”

“Need a lift?” John had gotten out of his own booth and looked about as well as could be expected for a man of his size having squeezed himself onto a small cushioned bench for the night.

“We have the car. And your family should see you.”

“Would you mind dropping me at my place, though?” Laurel asked, smiling in gratitude when John nodded.

Their group split up into two, Oliver navigating the roads still littered with debris and the odd abandoned vehicle here and there. It was eerily quiet after the night the neighborhood had seen, and the amount of damage done was a lot to take in.

“Why would they trash their own stores and homes?” Thea wondered aloud.

“It’s not theirs,” Roy said shortly. “No one in the Glades owns anything.”

“They couldn’t, thanks to Tempest,” Oliver added on a sigh. His sister shrunk down in her seat, looking sorry she had voiced the question.

They arrived at the hospital and saw Roy off to a specialist. Oliver told them any treatment would be covered by him. Then they were shown to Walter’s room.

They both paused in the doorway. Despite what Oliver had said, he was a little nervous to see his step-father as himself again. What did Walter know? What did he guess?

He was sitting up in his bed, the television playing what looked like grainy cell phone footage of Laurel from last night. Oliver was relieved to see she was unrecognizable. Indeed, the caption on the lower third simply read Who is the Woman?

“Walter?” Thea asked timidly.

He started, then turned his head. A smile rose to his lips, though his eyes were sad. “Thea.” When he opened his arms, Thea ran forward and hugged him.

Oliver entered more slowly, reaching the bedside and saying, “It’s damn good to see you, Walter.”

Walter had the grace to laugh. He picked up the television remote and shut off the screen. “I’m very happy to be back in civilization. I can’t imagine how you went without it for five years, Oliver.”

“From the sounds of it, you didn’t have it any easier.” Of course, Walter may not have been physically harmed, but he had seen the room the man was being kept in with his own eyes, and it was tiny. At least on Lian Yu he had had freedom of movement more often than not.

“We’re so sorry, Walter,” Thea said.

“You’ve nothing to be sorry for,” their step-father told them. “Moira’s choices are her own.”

“You don’t really think…” Oliver said, wincing slightly.

Walter sighed. “No, I don’t believe she ordered my abduction. If Moira had been behind the whole thing, there would have been little point in keeping me alive. But I can’t say I know who I was being held as collateral by.”

“Mom says it was Mr. Merlyn,” Thea told him darkly. She looked back at Oliver. “Would Tommy know about it? Why haven’t we heard from him anyway?”

“His secretary said he left town,” Oliver lied, though it was technically the truth. “He might just want to process this alone.”

“It’s not a terrible idea, regardless if what your mother is saying about Malcolm Merlyn is true or not,” Walter said. “As much as I’m sure you both wish to be there for her, no one would blame you for wishing to get away from all this, at least for a time. Even if it’s to pursue higher learning,” he added with a look at Thea.

“I never actually applied to colleges,” his sister muttered.

“But maybe you should,” Oliver said. “Walter’s right, Speedy. We have no idea how things are going to turn out for mom or the family. The more you can learn and develop your own skills, the better off you’ll be.” Oliver truly didn’t know what he would do if the worst happened. He had no work experience outside barely running a club, and his only skills would out him as one of the city’s vigilantes.

“One thing that is certain that I should tell you both in advance is that I will be filing for divorce,” Walter told them, and he and Thea both looked down. “I wish things had been different, but I cannot remain married to Moira after this, not when I offered to help her find a way out of her situation before it came to something like this. But there simply isn’t trust between us. I’m not sure there ever was.”

“We understand, Walter.” Oliver said quietly.

“That doesn’t mean I wish to see either of you out of my life,” the man added. “When I married your mother, I consented to making Thea, and later you, Oliver, part of my family. That won’t change.”

“It won’t change for us either,” Thea promised, and he nodded along.

Oliver’s phone started ringing once again. “Excuse me,” he told them both before stepping out into the hall to answer it. “Hello?”

“Oliver? It’s Ned Foster,” said a voice he vaguely recalled. The COO of Queen Consolidated. Oliver felt a headache coming on. “I’m hoping to have you come into the office so we can discuss what things are going to look like for you and your family.”

As much as he wanted to just put it off, Oliver knew it would only make things worse in the long run. “Okay, yeah. I can do that. Is it fine if it’s just me?” He didn’t want to have to pull Thea away from Walter so soon. And given that Roy was still being seen to, she would need to stay for him as well.

“Thea will need to sign some legal documents, but your family’s attorney can deliver those papers to her.”

“Okay. I should be there in about ten minutes, then.” Oliver hung up and ducked his head in to let Thea know where he would be going and to call him if anything came up. Then he went back down to the visitor’s garage and drove over to Queen Consolidated.

There were paparazzi stationed outside the building probably hoping he or his sister might turn up. Oliver shielded his face with a hand and marched through the shouting crowd to the front door where security turned them away. Inside the elevator to Ned’s office, he could reflect on some of their questions. Had he known his mother’s plans, what did he think of them, what was going to happen to the company and the Queen fortune. That last question was about to be answered for him.

Ned shook his hand when Oliver was shown into his office. “Thank you for coming by so quickly. I can’t imagine it’s an easy time for your family.”

“No,” Oliver agreed quietly.

Ned grimaced as he sat down. “It’s also not an easy time for the company. You see, the authorities have determined your mother a flight risk, so they’ve frozen her assets. This is a document for you and Thea to sign that will protect the assets your parents left to you.”

Oliver read over the whole thing before signing. He had known this was the case, but the lack of mention of the manor did not speak well to their chances of keeping it. Ned took the paper back and placed it in a folder.

“Now, the trouble is the company. As it stands, the board has voted to remove your mother from the position of CEO. They’re also not open to accepting your or Thea’s candidacy.”

“That makes sense,” he replied, even if his heart was sinking. This was his family’s company, and it was being taken away.

“You have to understand that the board is doing what they can to get out from under this media storm. The stock has taken a serious nosedive, and that threatens the livelihoods of countless employees here and at our various international branches. As it stands, we’ve already made the decision to try and sell off Unidac. We’ll see if anyone takes it.”

“Right. Right,” he agreed. It would be selfish to hold onto the company if it was just going to cause people to lose their jobs. “What, uh, what do we do about income?”

“That’s not really something I can tell you one way or the other, Oliver.”

He thought for a moment. One thing that worried him more than all the rest about losing the company: his base. He had beta sites, of course, but it would be inconvenient to lose his main one.

“What about the Verdant property? Could I purchase it from Queen Consolidated? Most people associate it with me, so it’s probably not something the board will want to hang onto. And it can’t be very valuable compared to the other holdings.”

Ned sat there a moment or two. “That is not an unreasonable request. Let me talk to the board and Legal, see if we can work out a sale. I’m glad you’re thinking ahead for you and your sister, Oliver, and I do wish you both the best of luck through all this.”

They stood and shook hands again, and soon Oliver was descending in another elevator. It stopped on a random floor, and he nearly hit the close doors button — except Felicity Smoak had just walked in, head buried in her tablet. Before she could blindly reach out for whichever floor’s button she needed, Oliver pointedly cleared his throat.

She jumped, eyes widening at the sight of him. “Oh! Uh, hi.”

“Hi.”

“Sorry about your mother,” Felicity said, then immediately added, “I mean, I’m not sorry she was caught. Someone had to do it if you couldn’t — though I can understand that would be a tough position to be in. And obviously this is a really bad position for you to be in. Um… what are you doing here in this specific position?”

“Getting my family’s affairs in order, the best I can,” he told her. “I guess you were right about me ruining lives.”

Felicity winced.

“Walter’s alive,” he added conversationally.

“I know. I was reading about it, actually,” she said, gesturing with her tablet. “The Hood rescued him.”

Oliver hummed.

“Thank you,” she said in an undertone. “And I hope that, you know, you and your girlfriend’s hobby works out for the best.” She blinked and said. “That really sounded dirty, but I meant—”

“Felicity, I know,” he interrupted. The elevator doors opened on the lobby, and he stepped out. “For what it’s worth, I wish you the best.”

“Thanks.” She smiled shyly, and the doors closed on her like that.

Oliver sighed and left his old teammate and his family’s former company behind. If his years away had taught him nothing else, it was that people and places came and went. So long as he held onto what was most important in his heart, he could make it through.

—-

Having not actually gone home the previous day, it was a little jarring to pull up outside her place and find her windows boarded up. So were Anita’s and Jerome’s.

“You need me to stick around?” John asked.

“No, I’ll figure it out,” Laurel said slowly, opening her door and stepping around bits of trash strewn around the yard from her can, which had apparently been knocked over. She would get around to it later. First thing first was seeing if she could even get inside.

Her key worked, and Laurel couldn’t honestly spot a thing out of place. Before she could think on it too much, there was a sharp rapping on her front door. Laurel checked the peephole and smiled as she pulled it open.

“Anita,” she said as she hugged her friend. Anita hugged her back. She was honestly relieved to see she hadn’t been hurt, not having seen her all the last day.

“Was starting to worry you weren’t coming back,” Anita said when they pulled apart. “Jerome did your windows anyway. Soon as we heard the news yesterday, we knew it was gonna get crazy, and we had some extra boards in the back.”

“Thank you so much. You both were safe last night?”

“Yeah, we just stayed put. No way was I letting him go to work last night. Your dad came by around two-thirty, though. Probably woke the whole street up hollering outside your door.”

Laurel winced. She had a number of missed calls, most of them from him. Anita had tried once and Joanna as well, though the latter hopefully didn’t realize she’d seen Laurel last night. “Sorry about that.”

She shrugged. “Can’t blame him for worrying. I was, too.” There was something heavy to the weight of Anita’s gaze on her, but her friend changed the subject. “Jerome’s helping clean up the main street, and I’m making a bunch of the volunteers some food. You wanna help?”

“Yeah. Just, um, just let me clean up my yard and I’ll be over.”

Laurel got all the trash picked back up and back in the can, and by the time that was done Anita had finished most of her cooking. It was probably for the best. Laurel assisted her in carrying it the several blocks where they found a card table had been set up to host what looked like an impromptu potluck.

“Take what you need,” Mrs. Ross was telling a mother with her three kids. “Anita, put yours down on that end. We got paper plates and napkins set up on the other.”

“Laurel!”

She turned at the sound of Raisa’s voice, smiling at the sight of the other woman. “Raisa, hi. How’s your family?”

“We could be worse. The building, someone threw a- a—”

“Smoke bomb.”

“Yes. There is some damage, but we still have our home. I only saw it this morning. The staff at the manor, we remained at the house last night. No one knew what to do after Mrs. Queen…” Raisa looked down, and Laurel patted the woman’s arm in sympathy. “But I wanted to ask, have you seen Mr. Oliver or Miss Thea? They never came home.”

“Oh. Yes, they are both safe. The police actually found Mr. Steele, so they’re visiting with him at the hospital.”

Raisa gasped. “Mr. Steele is alive? Oh, that is good news. If only…”

“Yeah.” Laurel bit her lip, then asked. “Raisa, is there anything you might have heard Mrs. Queen ever discuss with Mr. Merlyn about all this?”

The housekeeper slowly shook her head. “I never intruded. But I always suspected he made her uncomfortable. She would request a glass of her favorite red after any of their meetings to calm her nerves. Was he involved with this Tempest?”

“I’m not sure how much I can say,” Laurel admitted, to which Raisa nodded in understanding. She looked around. She wasn’t much use at the food table accept for eating it. Laurel snagged a couple sandwiches for her empty stomach, then approached Jerome and a few more men tacking tarp up over missing windows. “What can I do?”

She was directed to help another group sweeping out storefronts and setting displays and other furniture back to rights. They were headed to 17th Street, and Laurel took the lead, anxious to check on Pam and her job.

The windows of Green Glades had survived, but every last pot and planter out in front had been smashed. “Oh, Pam.”

Her boss was using the push broom, and Laurel quickly took possession of the dust pan. “It’s to be expected. People want something to control when they feel like they’ve lost control of their own lives. I was perfectly safe upstairs.”

Laurel helped Pam to set everything to rights, then spent a little time at the other storefronts with the group she had joined up with. Someone had brought some kind of speakers, and the music and food helped create something of a lighter atmosphere. Back on the main road, Anita had coaxed Jerome into dancing while he and his group were on a food break, and Laurel smiled as she saw kids skipping around on the sidewalk. People were complicated things, but she thought so long as there were times like these, they could weather through the bad.

“The hell you doing showing up here?”

The angry shout had Laurel turning sharply. A few men had intercepted Oliver, Thea and Roy. The Queen siblings, both changed into what Laurel knew were their less nice t-shirts and jeans, looked unsure how to respond to the harsh greeting, if it could be called that.

“We- we just want to help,” Thea offered timidly. “We’re so sorry—”

Laurel cringed and hurried forward.

“Sorry?” One man repeated with a sharp laugh. “Sorry doesn’t cut it. What your mama did—”

“Isn’t what they did,” Laurel interrupted, coming between the two groups. “They didn’t know.”

“Yeah, they both work in the Glades,” Roy added. “How dumb would they have to be to do that if they were in on it?”

Most of the street had stopped what they were doing to watch this unfold, even a few of the children abandoning their game to stand and stare in confusion. Jerome had pulled Anita close, half-shielding her from the Queens and frowning at them. Raisa had a hand over her mouth, clearly worried for her charges.

“Thea and I were ignorant of what our mother and her associates were involved in,” Oliver agreed quietly. “Ignorance also isn’t an excuse for what could have happened had it not been exposed. What we hope is that we can atone for the things our family has done to yours if you will accept it.”

Laurel stared the men down, making it quite clear that if they chose to reject that offer with anything other than words, they would be going through her.

“They’re right.” A man in coveralls with a receding and graying hairline stepped forward. “Queen isn’t his parents. I heard you try to give Derek and his family a fresh start last fall, before that horrible business at the bank.”

Oliver swallowed once, not seeming to know what to say to that.

“We’re better than them in their mansions. We’re not gonna judge. You wanna do the work? Then do it.”

At the tables, Mrs. Ross gave an affirming hum. Anita patted Jerome’s chest, and her husband looked away and nodded.

“Innocent till proven guilty,” Hank shouted from where he was serving his usual wraps free of charge today. Laurel felt her lips twitch despite herself.

Gradually the small group that had gathered in front of the Queens slowly dispersed, some less happy than others, but Laurel let out a breath in relief.

She turned to the Queens. “I’m really glad you guys came out. It’s not going to be easy, but the more people see the real you, the more they’ll understand why you shouldn’t be tarred with the same brush.”

Raisa joined their group, hugging both Oliver and Thea. “It is a hard time for you both.”

“It’s not just for us. Raisa, the accounts… things aren’t looking good,” Oliver admitted to Laurel’s dismay. She’d known the Queens were going to take some kind of hit over all this, but she had no idea how this might affect Oliver’s ability to operate as the Hood. “We might lose the house. I’ll have to call the staff together for a meeting, but it can wait. This is more important.” He briefly pressed his lips to Laurel’s temple before heading over to Jerome’s group since they were getting back to work. The men grudgingly set him to work, though Laurel thought she saw some of their distrust melt away to grudging respect when it quickly became apparent Oliver was no slouch when it came to manual labor.

“Maybe we could offer to keep an eye on those kids?” Thea suggested to her boyfriend. “Roy has bruised ribs,” she added in explanation.

“Then something like that would be perfect,” Raisa agreed. “Come.” She led the young couple off, only for Anita to join her instead, looking smug.

“So, giving billionaire boy another shot?”

“Shut up.”

The next several days passed in a strange haze. No one quite seemed to know what happened now that the world hadn’t ended. Oliver was busy constantly between getting the outside of the club cleaned up and handling his family’s affairs. Laurel kept herself occupied with cleanup efforts and checking in on her friends and neighbors, both old and new. That had her climbing the steps to her old office building one afternoon and stopping at a desk buried under paper.

“Have to say, kind of glad I was fired before all this,” she remarked.

Joanna’s head shot up. “Laurel! Oh, thank God.” Her friend got up and pulled her into a tight hug which Laurel readily returned.

“I texted you I was fine,” she pointed out with a smile.

“Yeah, well fine for you could mean anything from you caught a cold to your house is burning down.”

Laurel held up her hands in surrender. “Well how’ve you been? Lot of new cases?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe. Even Anastasia’s moving her butt now. There’s probably going to be a class action suit brought against the Queen family. Anyone who lives in the Glades is entitled to compensation if we win,” Joanna told her. “But that won’t be on the docket for a while. Her assets are tied up right now because of the criminal case.” “I know.”

Jo winced. “How are Thea and Oliver taking it?”

“As well as can be expected. I think they’re just relieved the bomb wasn’t actually, you know.”

Joanna nodded. “Considering how crazy it was the other night without the bomb, I agree with that completely. Have you, uh, heard about the Woman?”

“The one in the mask?” Okay, Roy really had had a point, she should have thought of a name before starting all this.

“Yeah. She showed up that night, helped me and the others get out of the Glades since there were people outside the building.”

“Wow,” said Laurel, hoping she sounded surprised.

“Yeah, I kind of felt like you a bit. Don’t tell my mom,” Jo added with a laugh. “She doesn’t want me getting anywhere near vigilantes after what happened to you.”

Laurel smirked. “Oh, it hasn’t been so bad.” On the inside, she was relieved; Joanna definitely hadn’t recognized her that night. Her friend would’ve demanded answers by now if she had.

She left Joanna to her work soon after, thinking back to that night. It had been exhilarating and exhausting all at once racing from one end of the neighborhood to the other, first on her bike then on foot. Roy’s company had been a comfort when she had found him, and Ted’s appearance a welcome surprise. And part of her had just known Oliver would find his way back after facing Tommy, that he wouldn’t leave her to face it all alone.

It was strange, though, walking down streets and hearing bits of her own words played back at her. It didn’t really sound like her. Part of that was because it had been captured on somebody’s cell phone, and it didn’t seem like their speakers were the best quality. Another was that, for maybe the first time, Laurel felt like she heard a sense of command in her own voice.

She hadn’t been planning to make some kind of speech that night. Yet she had needed to reach people, some way, any way. And to her own amazement, she had. That was the real power that being a vigilante gave; a voice that was listened to.

By the end of the week, she was back to work at the flower shop. And that was where her father finally caught up to her.

It was startling seeing him enter the florist’s. He seemed so out of place and knew it, too. Pam opened her mouth to start her customary greeting, but Laurel said, “That’s okay, Pam. This is my dad.”

“Oh. Well, what a delight to finally meet the man who helped bring my lovely assistant into the world,” Pam said, and if Laurel wasn’t mistaken, seemed to be at least somewhat serious about it.

“Yeah, uh, good to meet you, too,” her dad mumbled. “Listen, can I talk to my daughter for a moment? I’ll be quick about it.”

“I suppose,” Pam agreed. Laurel had been sort of hoping she would say no. But she squared her shoulders and came around the counter to join him outside.

“Stopped by your place that night of the riots,” he began.

“I know.”

“Where were you? Where did you go? You know how badly I panicked when I realized you’d left the station?”

“Dad, we’ve talked about this. I’m living my life, my way now, you know?”

His shoulders slumped, and his head shook from side to side. “Look, I’ve accepted that you’ve made a life here in the day-to-day. But riots are different.”

“It’s not different for any of my neighbors and friends who have nowhere else to go,” she pointed out.

“But you weren’t even home!”

“I was at a shelter,” she lied, and thought she was more convincing than even with Joanna. Laurel had practiced this one because she’d known it was coming. “One of the local schools was letting people stay in the gym and needed volunteers to help keep things organized with all the kids. I was too busy to notice my phone at first, and my battery died overnight so I couldn’t call you back.”

He paused, scrutinizing her. “So you weren’t out there that night?”

“Why would I be?”

Her dad studied her another moment, then pulled her close. “I just worry about you, honey. You know I- I’m used to knowing everything about what you’re up to. I miss that.”

Laurel looked down. “I know those times made you feel better, but they weren’t what I needed.”

He blew out a breath. “I know.” A rueful grin rose on his lips. “You know, it’s funny. I keep going back over what she’s told us so far, how it was all for her kids.” He didn’t have to clarify which her he meant. “Her kids never would have wanted her to do it.”

Laurel blinked. Implied or not, that was one of the nicer things her father had had to say about Oliver in a long time.

“Maybe we all just kid ourselves. Maybe we don’t know what our children want, cause we don’t ask them or we think we still know best long after they’ve grown,” he continued. He cupped her face with one hand, thumb brushing the corner of her lip that had only just finished healing from that night she’d gone toe-to-toe with the corrupt SCPD officers. “But how’s about you keep me in the loop just a little from now on, eh?”

Laurel smiled, though she hoped he didn’t think it was sad. There were parts of her life now that she knew she would never share with her father. He just wouldn’t be able to take it, and it had the potential to destroy his career. “Yeah. A little.”

With a one-armed hug avoiding her dirt-smeared apron, he let her get back to her shift.

At night, she and Oliver patrolled together which more than made up for the time spent apart during the day. The nights were busy given that after the crackdown on the riots, the police had once again retreated back out of the Glades. They didn’t talk much about what was going on with his family, though she knew he had been to see his mother at least once more.

She also knew the day of Mrs. Queen’s hearing to determine if she would be allowed bail. It was a closed session given the possible danger to Mrs. Queen’s life if someone with revenge fantasies like the Savior had had decided to show up, so after her shift, Laurel went to the Verdant to wait, Roy keeping her company when he wasn’t needed to wipe down the scant few tables that were occupied.

When Oliver and Thea entered with morose expressions behind John, Laurel didn’t need them to say that Mrs. Queen would be spending the time before her trial behind bars. She stood from her stool and offered each of them a hug.

“We knew it wouldn’t happen,” Oliver said in monotone. “It just…”

Laurel squeezed his hand, unable to say the words he really needed to hear with Thea and Roy present: this wasn’t his fault.

Oliver gave a small shake of the head. “We need to talk about the future. Thea… I really think you should consider Walter’s suggestion.”

“I’m not just leaving home,” Thea said immediately.

“What’s this?” Laurel asked.

“Walter thinks it would be a good idea for Thea to take some time away from Starling while she considers her options regarding higher education or a career. You don’t have the guarantee of an easy life anymore, Thea. A college degree is something you might need someday.”

Thea scowled but had no argument.

“Look, all I am suggesting is that you take a vacation for a few months while the worst of this dies down a little. Take some online classes to improve your transcript, write a few college essays in preparation to apply.”

“While you stay here?”

“I have to stay here. I own a club, and I can’t afford a new manager.”

“What if you and Roy went together?” Laurel suggested.

Roy blinked. “Me?”

“What?” Oliver immediately demanded.

Laurel rolled her eyes. “Thea does not want to be separated from everyone she cares about, so if you’re staying here then her boyfriend is the next best option. It’d be good for Roy, too, let him see some more of the world.” She doubted her younger friend had had a vacation in his life. “And as long as they promise to behave themselves, I don’t see why it’s a problem. They’re both adults, and we went on trips together at their age.”

“We didn’t behave ourselves,” Oliver murmured in her ear, and Laurel smirked.

Thea, meanwhile, seemed to be warming up to the idea. “So Roy and I could take a trip together so long as I fill out some applications? Okay.”

“I want you to take this seriously, Speedy.”

Thea waved a dismissive hand, already getting out her phone to start looking at vacation hotspots. She grabbed Roy’s hand, but he stayed put.

“Find a table. I’ll be right over.” Once Thea was our of earshot, Roy said, “I can’t leave right now. The city’s a mess.”

“Roy,” Laurel said.

“Look, I figured it out. You’re — you know,” he said to Oliver after a furtive look around. “I want to help you. I helped Laurel the other night when things were crazy.”

“And you were hurt pretty badly,” Oliver pointed out. Roy looked about to argue, so he held up a hand. “Take the vacation to heal and to think about what you’re asking for. This kind of life is not easy, and sometimes, it takes more than it gives. If you come back and are still committed, Laurel and I will discuss it with you then. That fair?”

Roy didn’t exactly look happy about it, but he seemed to realize it was the best offer he was likely to receive. “Fine.”

“Good,” Laurel said. “Now go plan your trip with your girlfriend.” Roy left the bar for Thea’s table, and Laurel turned her attention on her own boyfriend. “Now we need to talk about you.”

“Me?”

“You’ve been sleeping downstairs, man,” John said, coming forward now that the discussions surrounding Thea and Roy were over. “And not even on a real bed.”

“The island didn’t have real beds,” Oliver deadpanned.

“But you’re not on the island anymore. And you shouldn’t have to feel like you are,” Laurel pointed out. “If you needed a place to stay, you could have asked one of us.”

“One of you?” He repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“Figured you’d like having options better,” John explained.

“And I know better than to assume we’re living together,” Laurel added lightly.

Oliver’s face fell. “Laurel, you didn’t assume anything. I told you we could do it even when I knew I wasn’t ready.”

“And now?” She asked.

“Now I would love nothing more than to be with you,” he told her. A smile spread across her lips, which didn’t stop him from leaning in to kiss them. “I’ll bring my things over tomorrow.”

“My day off. Perfect.” It was far from perfect, she supposed. Instead of a spacious downtown apartment with a five minute emergency vehicle response time belonging to a lawyer and the heir apparent to a Fortune 500 company, they would be sharing a cramped one-bedroom on a forgotten street in the poorest neighborhood as a florist and the owner of the least popular club in all of Starling City. But it felt, in a funny way, far more them than the children their parents had tried to raise them to be, and in a way that was its own perfection.

That morning, she was in the middle of her workout when a knock came at the door. She hadn’t actually expected Oliver this early, but she called to him, “One second!” before grabbing her towel and heading over to unlock it. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Ted!”

Her old teacher nodded at her. “Morning. Mind if I come in?”

“Sure.” Laurel grabbed her tank top off the couch and threw it on as well, noticing that Ted had stopped by the heavy bag she had only just been working at. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing. Just was thinking, I might need this back,” he explained, gesturing to it.

“Oh,” Laurel said, her shoulders drooping.

“Seeing as you’re welcome to start lessons back up any time,” he added, turning around to look at her with a sheepish smile. “Turns out you were right and there’s, well, still stuff we’re needed for out there.”

Laurel grinned. “I knew there was still fight in you.”

“Wouldn’t be much good at teaching it if there wasn’t. I’m not kidding about the bag, though,” he added, but Laurel just shoved at his arm which had him smirking.

Ted stayed for a moment or two longer where they hashed out a schedule, both for her lessons and for nighttime. He wasn’t so keen on getting to know the Hood just yet, and Laurel knew it was something she would need to talk to Oliver about first anyway.

After her teacher left, she thought about hitting the shower before Oliver arrived, but there was another knock at the door. Laurel pivoted on the balls of her feet. “Coming!”

She checked this time to find Anita waiting rather than her boyfriend. Laurel opened the door and showed her friend in. Anita carried a bag with her, which she held out for Laurel to take.

“Finished this last night,” her friend explained as Laurel lifted out her black leather jacket. She smiled. She’d been using the jean jacket at night for now, but it just hadn’t been the same.

“Thank you so much,” Laurel said, running her finger over the arm where the tear had been. “Hopefully by Christmas I’ll have made something all by myself to pay you back.”

“Yeah, well look the whole thing over before you thank me,” her friend said.

Laurel did, puzzled at first, with her eyes widening as she turned over the jacket to see the back.

“I should have asked before I did it,” Anita said. “But I kept thinking about that photo you’ve got of the thing in its cage and how it wouldn’t shut up, and I thought it was sort of like you, you know? Trapped in a shitty situation but not gonna go out without a fight. But that’s why I did the wings spread,” she added, stepping forward and smoothing her fingers over the yellow embroidery thread. “It symbolizes freedom. And that’s what you are now, Laurel. You freed yourself.”

She stared down at the outline of a bird with wings spread, a strange sort of lump sticking in her throat.

“I mean they’re probably gonna call you the Bird Lady or something stupid now,” Anita muttered, and it shocked her enough that Laurel looked up to meet her friend’s eyes.

“I—”

“You don’t gotta explain it. I won’t say a thing more about it.”

Her eyes watered and spilled over as she moved forward and wrapped her free arm around Anita in a hug which she returned. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You don’t hate it?”

“I love it. Really.” She sniffed once and let go, stepping back. Laurel hugged the jacket to her chest, smiling.

Yet another knock on her door had her quickly tucking the jacket back in the bag even if she suspected who this finally was. Laurel let Oliver in, her smile widening at the sight of the bag he had slung over one shoulder and one box tucked under his arm.

“Hey, everything okay?” He asked, reaching out and wiping at her cheek with a calloused thumb.

“Yeah. Come meet or re-meet one of your new neighbors, Anita.”

Anita’s eyebrows shot straight into her hairline. “Billionaire boy’s living here? This is one for the books.”

“It’s uh, Oliver,” he said awkwardly, holding a hand out.

“Well, welcome to the neighborhood, Ollie,” Anita greeted as she gave it a firm shake. Laurel stifled a laugh behind her hand. “I gotta head out, so have fun unpacking, you two.”

“See you,” Laurel told her. The door shut, and she spread her arms a little, turning one way and the other. “Well, make yourself at home.”

“Thank you,” he said, taking the box and setting it on her counter. “This is for you.”

“Everything you own fits in one bag?” Laurel asked dubiously. “Also you really don’t need to be getting me presents right now.”

He shrugged. “I missed your birthday.”

“You paid to fix my front window.”

“Well it’s our window now, so it doesn’t count. Anyway, I really want you to have this.”

It clicked, and Laurel reached for the box. “Is it—?”

She opened it to find a rather sleek ensemble in black and dark blue. Laurel couldn’t identify the material it was made out of, but she imagined it was sturdier than her leggings. A brand new wig and mask sat underneath.

“It’s amazing, Ollie.” She felt far less guilty knowing he’d already paid for it before his financial situation had become precarious. Laurel dove for the bag and her jacket, holding it and the undershirt of her new suit up to see how they might look together.

“Is that a… bird?” Oliver asked, eyebrows furrowed as he peered at the design on the back.

“It’s a canary,” Laurel answered. She set both items back in the box, smoothing the jacket down so the embroidered image rested face-up. Then she went to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “And it’s what I’m going to start calling myself out there.”

“The Hood and the Canary,” he said. “Doesn’t quite go together.”

“You could always pick your own name for yourself,” she offered. “Instead of letting everyone else decide it for you.”

“Maybe. If it weren’t for you going out there, the Hood probably wouldn’t even exist anymore,” he admitted, and Laurel tilted her head in an unspoken question, her hands sliding to his shoulders. “I became the Hood to fulfill my father’s mission. And in a lot of ways, I failed because I was playing my parents’ game. Sticking to the shadows, paying more attention to the wealthy than the victims suffering from those with wealth. Starling City is going to take a long time to get better, and it has to start here.”

“That all sounds good to me,” she agreed. “And now that you’re doing things your own way, without all the family secrets, I think we really can make a difference. Whatever’s coming, we’ll handle it together.”

He smiled down at her. “Then let’s save the world.”

Laurel met him on her tiptoes for a kiss to seal that promise.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #green arrow #black canary #my writing #bird in a storm

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