#i should draw her in her infirmary uniform?

[anonymocha]

more lamont character exploration but arcanist-focused

[helenadurazzo]

The Lord Of The Underworld and His Lady of Spring Part 3

In this continuation. The guys and Asteria check up on their friends in the infirmary and try and do counts of who is missing and who is present after the intruders invaded. Epel invites Asteria to stay in Pomefiore for the time being, but they run into someone who is in quite a hurry. As always, Asteria belongs to @princess-of-pearls-and-stars

“Man…” Ruggie groaned as he walked, putting his hands behind his head. “Why did Leona have to put ME in charge? Talk about drawing the short straw.”

Rook easily overheard this complaint, “It means that Roi des Lions has great faith in you.” He gave him an assuring smile, “The dorm is his pride, he knows he can trust you with it.”

Asteria noticed that Ruggie didn’t seem convinced, “Yeah, well trust doesn’t fill an empty stomach. There better be some T-bone steaks in it for me later or it won’t be worth it!”

Rook sighed, also noticing Asteria’s blank expression before he turned to Ruggie, “Yet another reason we must make sure they return safely.”

“Ruggie!” Jack called as he came around the corner running, still dressed in his PE uniform. He took a few moments to catch his breath before continuing, “I got your text! What’s this about Leona getting kidnapped by the guys who attacked the school!?”

“You pretty much summed it up right there.” Ruggie informed him before scratching the back of his head as responsibility weighed on his shoulders. “Look, I need to round up everyone in the dorm and check in with them. Could you give me a hand?”

“Happy to.” Jack accepted, still gaining his bearings before his eyes landed on Asteria, “Hey Asteria! Why are you all banged up? Did those intruders beat you up to? And where’s Helena?”

“They took her…” Asteria revealed and sighed, “But don’t worry about me, it’s just a scratch, who cares about that when everyone else is in trouble in a place we can’t find?”

Rook was quick to elaborate about what occurred at Ramshackle, “The NRC tribe members were together at Ramshackle when it occurred. We were in the midst of the SDC postmortem when they attacked us. Vil, Jamil, Helena, and Grim were all taken just as Leona was.”

“They got all of them too!?” Jack exclaimed.

Rook nodded before continuing, “And the freshmen that tried to rescue them were gravely injured.”

“Argh.” Jack growled with annoyance, “Why are does guys so reckless?”

Rook shrugged his shoulders, “I would love to stay, but I must return to my dorm and fulfill my duties as vice hosuewarden but, Monsieur Fier-à-bras, would you be so kind as to go with Asteria to check up on our injured comrades in the infirmary.”

“That would actually help me to.” Ruggie seconded Rook’s request, “You can see if any students from our dorm are there.”

“Got it.” Jack accepted the quest, “I will alert you once I know more, let’s go Asteria.”

~~

Asteria barely paid attention to what was going on around her as she walked to the infirmary. She supposed she should be thankful that Ace, Deuce, and Epel were still in school property, yet there was no confirmation about how severe their injuries were.

“Excuse us, coming in.” Jack announced as they walked inside the hospital wing.

“STAY!” Professor Crewel ordered, “Sorry but all beds are occupied. Write your names on that paper and then wait in your dorm. The nurse will attend to you later… Wait you’re both perfectly fine. What business do you have here?”

“Ruggie and Rook wanted me to check up on the guys here.” Jack stated plainly. “What about you Professor Crewel?”

The Professor was quick to reveal his reason for his presence, “I heard a pair of pups from my class got injured. Really, how can these whelps be so foolhardy” he then eyed Asteria more closely, noticing her hand, “Hmm, I see Asteria has come minor injuries. Come here, I can patch up simple scrapes.”

As the Professor went to grab some bandages and helped Asteria gently wrap her hand, Jack cleared his throat as he examined the room, “So which beds are Ace and Deuce in? …oh.”

“They haven’t woken up yet.” Epel revealed, standing up from a chair placed in between the beds Ace and Deuce were placed in, still unconscious from the attack.

Jack showed a rare look of concern, “Should you be out of your bed Epel?”

“I’m fine.” Epel insisted, “Still a little shaky, but that’s all.”

“I analyzed the residual traces of the spell they cast on you.” Professor Crewel revealed. “It was meant to stun. Unfortunately, you sustained greater injuries because of where you fought.”

“What do you mean professor?” Asteria asked, looked up from her injured hand, now wrapping up and healing.

“I mean enemies and friendlies alike are bound to get hurt when you fire off magic in an old, antiquated, and delicate building.” Professor Crewel elaborated. “Freshmen would have a hard enough time using attack magic while simultaneously trying to shield themselves from falling debris. Surprise battles require the coolest of heads. Otherwise you’ll wind up how they did.” He motioned over to Ace and Deuce.

“Heh…” Epel gave a quick awkward chuckle. “I guess you are right, I do remember a bunch of falling debris during the fight.”

“Along with some falling cauldrons.” Asteria added. “And glass shards flying around like birds.”

Professor Crewel sighed, “This is the problem with bad boys who act without thinking. I plan to train them all over again when they awake.”

“But Professor!” Epel attempted to remind him, “They did it to try and save Grim and the others.”

Professor Crewel only raised his hand to silence Epel, “Their reasons are irrelevant. It’s a trainer’s job to scold their pups when they do something phenomenally stupid. They got off lucky this time, at least they will make a full recovery soon enough. But imagine if those soldiers had been casting lethal spells? Things would have ended up much differently in such a case.”

Epel replied after a few moments of silence, “You’re right, I’m sorry. Vil must have known that which is why he ordered the freshmen to stay back. Then we went into mindlessly making idiots of ourselves. And what do we have to show for it? A big ol whoopin that’s what. They hauled off Vil and the others and I’ll I could do was watch ‘em do it.”

Asteria facepalmed, “Ugh, I felt so useless back there, if only I attacked quicker. Perhaps a different-“

“…no one can do everything right out of the gate much less know how to do properly in a heated situation.” Jack interrupted her. Look at the housewardens, none of them were born as excellent mages, child prodigies maybe, but even then they didn’t know everything and had to learn. They went through trials of their own to get where they are today. The only reason it doesn’t seem this way is because we met them when they had learned these lessons and bettered themselves as mages. And moping about what you couldn’t have done isn’t going to help. Focus on what you can do now. So both of you quit your bellyaching, you did what you could and we are here now, we will find a way to solve this. It’s getting as annoying as nails on a chalkboard.”

Epel gave him an earnest gaze, “Jack…”

Professor Crewel seemed impressed by his speech, “Nicely said Howl. That’s the right attitude, you make your dorm proud.”

“Thanks Professor.” Jack shyly smiled.

“The faculty will look into what we can do about are abducted students and the headmage.” Professor Crewel continued. “Felmier, Othonos, I expect you to both rest and recuperate.”

“Yes sir.” Epel agreed, “I believe I can walk long enough to make it to my dorm. So I’ll head that way.”

“I’ll head back to Savanclaw.” Jack declared, “I don’t see any of my dorm members here, I need to inform Ruggie that his number should be accurate.”

“Professor Crewel?” Epel asked before departing, “Please take care of Ace and Deuce.”

“I wouldn’t abandon these pups.” Professor Crewel reminded him, “Especially under my supervision … that goes for Asteria… and Grim and Helena of course. All the 1-A students are pups under the tutelage of the great Crewel.”

“It means a lot Professor.” Asteria smiled, as she stood next to Jack and Epel.

“Now listen you three.” Professor Crewel ordered, “Let the faculty handle this, we don’t need any more injured pups, you must remain safe.” To which the three nodded and gave verbal confirmations before departing the infirmary.

“Say Asteria.” Jack began shortly after they left heading towards the Hall of Mirrors, “Since Ramshackles all busted up from the attack, where are you gonna stay?”

“I’ll be fine.” Asteria quietly insisted, “A roof is still there right? And I have dealt with a leaky roof before, this should be no different.”

“You shouldn’t be staying alone in case another attack happens” Epel pointed out before making an offer, “Why don’t you stay in Pomefiore? We will need to get Rook’s permission but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, it’s what Vil would have wanted, I’m sure of it.”

“Sounds like something he would agree with.” Jack assured the nervous Pomefiore freshman.

“If you insist…” Asteria replied, not having the energy to argue as they walked into the Hall of Mirrors

“Catch you two later!” Jack gave his farewells before making his way to Savanaclaw.

Epel gave Asteria a comforting look “It’s been quite a long day, let’s just try to relax and- AH-“ he called out as he was knocked over by someone returning from Pomefiore.

“Are you ok Epel?” Asteria asked as she helped him back on his feet.

“I’m fine.” Epel assured her before fuming, “Who goes running out without a care in the world! You could have hurt someone-“

“My apologies Monsieur Pommette.” Rook spoke softly and genuine, “I was in a great hurry, are you sure you are alright?”

“Oh it’s you Rook.” Epel realizes with widened eyes, “I should ask you that question, I have never seen you in such a rush… and that’s a big suitcase you’ve got there… and you’ve got your broom… are you going somewhere? Don’t you need to be in the dorm more than any of us now that Vil’s gone?”

“Look, I apologize but I must depart.” Rook firmly spoke, “Keep your chin up.”

Epel looked horrified, “What’s that supposed to mean!? Where are you going that can’t wait!?”

“The Island of Woe!” Rook declared.

“You can’t be serious…” Epel groaned. “It’s a death sentence! No one knows where it is, not even the professors! You need to hold your horses mister!”

“Do not stop me.” Rook insisted, “My mind is set. You see, I came to a horrifying realization when I returned to the dorm.”

“Really?” Asteria acted invested, “What was it?”

“When Vil was captured HE WASN’T CARRYING A SINGLE SKIN CARE PRODUCT!” Rook cried out.

“Huh?” Epel raised an eyebrow.

“That’s what this is about?” Asteria said equally confused, “I get they are important but…”

“It is a dire situation.” Rook elaborated, “The changing of the seasons can have tremendous effects on one’s skin. Dryness is the natural enemy of a healthy complexion, and without care, the forbidden red fruit will swiftly bloom on their forehead and chin.”

“You mean pimples?” Asteria inferred.

“Ah pimples…” Rook sighed, “The symbol of youth, they certainly have their own charm. But Vil has a photo shoot next week for a magazine cover. And he is firm believer that one must show up to such events in their top form.”

“Phooey to this photo shoot!” Epel exclaimed, “We don’t even know if he is ever coming back!” A statement that once again shook Asteria, thinking about Grim and Helena once more, “And you’re the VICE HOUSEWARDEN, you can’t leave the dorm unsupervised.”

“I am La Chasseur d’Amour first, and Pomefiore’s Vice Housewarden second.” Rook firmly explained. “I have dedicated my life to the pursuit and defense of beauty. I cannot sit idly by when beauty is in danger like this! And so, I now depart to safeguard my friend’s exquisite face!”

“But Rook…” Epel tried to catch his attention.

“How are you even going to get there!?” Asteria finished for him.

“Worry not.” Rook comforted the freshmen, “For I can envision where Vil and the others are.”

“Envision?” Epel raised an eyebrow, “What in tarnation is that supposed to mean?”

Rook gave him no answer, “Alas as the sun sets I must painfully make my exit. I bid you good day! Adieu!” He gave them his farewells before rushing out before another word could be put in.

“WAITTT!” Epel called out, but it was simply too late “He left…” Epel breathed out the truth. “The Island of Woe is surely crawling with those guys who took Vil and the others. And Rook is flying straight into danger, surely he knows he can’t handle all those guys by himself…” he then turned to Asteria, “What should we do? Tell a teacher? Or maybe…”

“We could follow him ourselves.” Asteria predicted his words. “We could either stop him before it’s too late, or at the very least join him in his pursuit. Three people is better than one.”

“You heard Professor Crewel.” Epel hissed, “He told us we need to stay put… You know what?” His tone suddenly changed, “FORGET IT! We can’t spend all day sitting and waiting like damsels in distress when we can contribute at least some extent! And I certainly ain’t gonna sit back on the sidelines. Let’s go after Rook!”

Asteria chuckled, “Now you sound like yourself, the Epel I know would never want to sit still and look pretty while someone else gets the work done and its corresponding credit.”

The thoughts flashed through Asteria’s head. The words Mickey told her and Helena when everyone was trying to search from Grim. Grim clinging to the bars of his cage begging to be let out. Helena lying on the debris filled floor in an unconscious state only to be abducted mere moments later. And even Ace and Deuce lying helplessly in hospital beds due to their injuries. Leaving unannounced would surely hurt others but it wouldn’t matter to debate that now, not when Grim and Helena were in an unknown state.

“I’ll make sure you aren’t dead weight.” Epel placed a hand on Asteria’s shoulder, “Regardless if your magic is any use, you got the spirit, and that’s what matters. Night Raven College students like us don’t take matters like these lying down! Come on Asteria, let’s show these guys what we got!”

[discow1tch]

Mutual Attraction

Summary: You run into the redheaded Green Lantern in the watchtowers infirmary after you both get injured in a fight and things get weirdly flirty

Warnings/tags: sexual tension, partial nudity, flirting, reader-insert

Notes: Look, I have terrible taste in men. I know this. Please try not to judge me too hard for wanting to fuck the worst green lantern.

Also, I'm not entirely sure where this is set. It's sort of loosely based on a combination of comics and cartoons. I'm really enamored with the version of him in YJ and the way Pat Gleason draws him in GLC.

You can also read this fic on AO3

"I'm fine," you insist but Dr. Mid-Nite is having none of it. He practically pushes you into the med bay.

"You hit your head. A professional needs to look you over."

Seeing as he is a professional you should probably listen to him.

"Yeah, alright."

The room is already occupied by one of the Green Lanterns - the redheaded one - sitting on the exam table and Mr. Terrific who is looking him over. The Lantern is a hot fucking mess. His hair is stuck to his head with sweat and there's blood spatter all across the knuckles of his gloves and the side of his face. It's hard to tell if it's his or someone else's. They both pause to look over at your intrusion. You give them a hesitant wave. Dr. Mid-Nite breaks the silence.

"Oh, good. You're already assessing the injured. When you're done with him can you check her for a concussion?"

Mr. Terrific sighs like he's being asked a monumental favor.

"Sure."

"Thank you. She hit her head pretty hard out there today. Better safe than sorry."

"Of course."

And then Dr. Mid-Nite is gone, leaving you to stand awkwardly in the doorway.

"I'm just getting my shoulder put back together. These things don't usually take long, right, doc?" Green Lantern says.

"I'm relocating the joint," Mr. Terrific corrects, "but yes, it should be just a few minutes. Feel free to take a seat."

"Kay." You locate a hard plastic chair by the door to wait on and pull out your phone.

 Ah. Of course. No service on The Watchtower. And no wi-fi.

"Alright, GL, suit off. I need to get a look at that shoulder."

You drag your eyes away from your screen to watch. You've always wondered how the suits work. You've been told that they're ring constructs but they're way more convincingly real than anything else you've seen the lanterns make. You can see all the creases in the fabric and everything.

"You got it, Doc." Green Lantern says as he pulls off his ring. You watch in amazement as the suit disappears in a whoosh of air and shimmer of light back into the ring leaving him in street clothes.

He's wearing jeans and a t-shirt with some sort of sports logo on it. It's all very normal except for the dried blood still spattered across his skin. You can even see the line in it across his neck where his GL uniform was sitting. You're wondering how it all fits under the suit and why none of it is wrinkled when he reaches back behind his head with his good arm to pull his shirt off in one fluid motion.

Your eyes go wide.

Ginger Lantern is built and has been spending some time in the sun if the freckles across his shoulders are anything to go by. There are faint tan lines around his biceps and collar. A not insignificant amount of hair covers his chest and trails down to the waistband of his jeans. You've never really talked to any of the lanterns but now you're thinking maybe you should.

You're jolted back to reality when Mr. Terrific speaks.

"This shouldn't be painful. Just sit still for a moment," he says as he works the lanterns joint back into place. You drag your eyes away from Green Lanterns chest only for your eyes to catch his. He tilts his head back just the slightest and gives you a cocky grin.

Oh no.

You can feel heat creeping across your face and neck. You dart your eyes away back to your phone. There's no use pretending that didn't happen but you try. The next minute stretches into eternity as you wallow in your embarrassment and pretend to be checking your email.

"There you go. That should do it."

From the corner of your eye you watch ginger lantern rotate his arm experimentally a few times.

"Thanks. The ring should be able to do the rest of the healing on its own." he says as he stands up and grabs his shirt. You steadfastly glue your eyes to your phone as he dresses but it doesn't stop your imagination from running free. It's not weird to fantasize about a strangers abs, right?

Mr. Terrific calls out your name and you practically jump out of your skin.

"Yes?"

"You're up next." he says with a tilt of his head towards the exam table before stepping across the room to look through a storage closet.

"Oh. Yeah."

Green Lantern reaches the door just as you're standing up. He stops with the door open and his hand on the outside doorknob.

"I saw how you were looking at me. You ever wanna do more than window shop just let me know."

You blink dumbly as his words sink in. He gives you a self assured smirk and then he's leaving. You stare at the door as it closes behind him.

That man is going to be the death of you.

[oligbia]

Heels Over Head

Izuku MidoriyaXReader SFW, Fluff

Midoriya tightened his glare, brows furrowed, green hair falling into his face. His scowl turned into a smile, determination seeping from his skin in the form of beads of sweat. He was not going to lose. His arms were purple, bones broken from overdoing his somewhat new quirk.

You flung yourself upwards again, your quirk launching you high into the hair. You quickly started a decent, nose-diving at rapid speed to Midoriya. You knew he was better suited to use his arms at this point in training, he wouldn't be able to reach you this high. You began to rotate your body, coming down on him with your fist extended like a screw gun onto a board.

You struck him in the head, sending him flying back. His limp body skidded off of the fighting circle, and he showed no sign of getting up. You flung forward yourself, still unsure of the best way to land after falling from such a tall height. You hit the ground with a large 'oof'. You were pretty sure you heard your ankle break, or at least get a pretty gnarly fracture.

You heard Present Mic announce you as the round's winner, but you were struggling to get up and bask in your victory yourself. You may have won your round of the Sports Festival, but you weren't sure you could make another. You finally found the strength to get up, your weight visibly shifted off your damaged ankle. A classmate rushed over to you, and you draped an arm over their shoulder and shifted your weight onto them. You watched as they loaded an unconscious Midoriya onto a stretcher and wheeled him to an infirmary.

Your classmate droned on and on about the Sports Festival, your win over Midoriya, and needing to make sure you can compete next round to 'do your class justice.' But, honestly, you were more worried about Midoriya. You hadn't met him prior to today, but you still felt guilty. Your goal was to beat him- not make him unconscious. He was a fair oppinant, he gave you a run for your money. He had a lead on you for a while, but once he started to break his bones his restraint became his downfall. You took that chance to take a few hard blows to him, landing you where you are now.

You and your classmate stumbled into the infirmary, and they dropped you into a chair to wait. You hadn't had a chance to look at your ankle yet, but in the chair you did. It was bruised all around your foot, the purple and yellow hues almost looking black at points. Both ankles were swollen, but the bruised one was two or three times the size of the other.  

You heard a few final remarks faintly from Recovery Girl, something about taking time to rest and a concussion. You weren't able to see her, but from the sounds of her voice she was behind a curtain on the other end of the infirmary. You watched as she wandered over to you, her tiny legs shuffling under her.

“You’re the young girl who fought Young Midoriya. Good fight…” She survives your ankle, “...nasty results.” She pokes at your bruised ankle, you grimace with pain. A strong throbbing pain shot through your foot. “This one is definitely broken, but lucky for you young lady, the other is just sprained. Nothing I can’t fix for you, deary.”

You watched curiously as she placed a long kiss on your broken ankle, but you didn’t notice any immediate changes.

“It should be better after a half hour or so, in the meantime I will wrap up your other ankle. You should be fine to compete later if you want.”

You smiled and thanked her. She worked on wrapping up the sprained ankle, some of the pressure already relieving. Almost on cue after finishing, she received a call to go to the arena to care for a student on sight- something about the explosive kid from 1-A and a girl he took down. She told you that you were welcomed to stay until you could see yourself out and offered you a pair of crutches before she scurried away.

You sat in silence for a while before you heard faint mumbling coming from behind the curtain. Curiosity got the better of you, and you got up on the crutches, wandering over to the curtain. You drew it back a little, peaking your head behind it.

Midoriya sat propped up in bed, his gym uniform a little torn and twisted up, exposing his bruised abdomen. His arms were wrapped up, but less purple. It was a safe bet that Recovery Girl gave him the same treatment that you had received. His left eye had a pretty bad bruise, making his already dark iris seem even darker. He was scribbling into a notebook, mumbling to himself. You cleared your throat and his eyes shot up to meet yours.

His eyes widened and he quickly closed his notebook, shoving it to the side and trying to move it out of sight. “Ah! I’m so sorry, I probably was being loud!” His voice was frantic and he stumbled over his words.

You peered over to his side. “What were you doing?”

“I was taking notes. I write about different things I think can make me a good hero.”

You nodded. “I’m sorry I beat you up real bad…”

He smiled, his posture relaxing some. “It’s alright. I’ve seen worse.” He lifts his arms up. “I break these pretty often, actually.” He chuckles a little. You looked at him awkwardly, unsure of the joke.

“You had me beat for a while. I wasn’t sure I would win. I’m no good at distanced combat.”

He looked down at your ankles, noticing their state. “Well, your quirk is based on your feet, right? Actually, I have some questions about that…” he pulled out his notebook again. He started flipping through pages of it quickly. You sat down at the edge of the bed, square with his torso. Midoriya, not aware of your presence, began to ramble on about different strategies he had noticed about your quirk. You didn’t have a complex quirk by any means. Your feet had invisible springs, allowing you to jump to incredible heights. It had it’s limitations like everyone else’s. You watched his face, eyes constantly drawing to the large bruise over his eye and the gash on his lip that had been caked over with dried blood. Without thinking much about it, you pulled the wet rag from the bedside table next to Midoriya and gently patted at his lip, trying to clean off some of the blood.

Shivers traveled down Midoriya’s spine at the feeling of the cool washcloth patting gently on his bottom lip. He stopped his thoughts abruptly, looking up at you. Your eyes were focused on his lip, unable to meet his. His pupils grew in shock at your care, especially considering you had just kicked his ass and you had another fight later.

Noticing his silence, you filled in some blanks for him, still dabbing his bottom lip. “My quirk is essentially large invisible springs on the bottoms of my feet. But, like springs, you can't constantly jump high. You have to get a handful of small jumps before a big one. It’s almost like a trampoline, I guess.”

Your eyes finally meet his, and you give him a quick smile. His eyes trace your face, trying to memorize every detail of it. He thought you were quite cute, he was particularly fond of the way your hair was still messy from the fight and the way your eyes seemed to hold an extra layer of determination behind them. He watched as you placed the rag next to you and ran a finger along his cheekbone, caressing the bruise covering his eye.

“Your eye is really swollen, I’m sorry about that too…”

“No! No, no it’s alright. It was an honor to get kicked in the head by you, L/N.” His voice cracked at the beginning, your intimate gesture taking him by surprise. You laughed a little, moving your hand off his face. “Whatever you say, Midoriya.”

He watched as you stood up, taking the crutches under your arms. “I have another fight with some kid from your class- Tokoyami, I think. Anyways, I don’t expect to beat him. My quirk isn’t any match for that shadow thing he has.”

Midoriya smiled, “Well, at least you can say you beat the problem child.”

You shook your head and smiled, grabbing the notebook from his chest. Before he could start panicking and asking for it back, you flipped to the page with a drawing of you and notes about your quirk. You scribbled out your number for him.

“Call me sometime, problem child.”

[athena-is-a-chaotic-lil-shit]

Of Ice and Blood

Part 4

Welcome back! Hope you enjoy✨

Pairing: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Human OC/Reader)

Warnings: Violence, cursing, shouting, and fighting. No blood mention. Just broken bones and stuff.

2.1k+ words [originally 1.6k but I revised it and added more details!]

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 5 Part 6

Sensing another one behind me, I went low and struck his leg with mine, using his fall to punch his chin with my right fist this time, being careful to use a controlled amount of force or else the nerve I hit will result to permanent brain injury and can be fatal.

I got up, swift in my actions as I saw the guy with a raised baseball bat heading towards me from my left flank, and the other one from the right, fast.

On reflex, I leaned back, the bat that was aimed at me hitting his comrade on the shoulder instead. Guy's lucky, actually. He would have suffered internal bleeding if it bashed the side of his skull.

Four down, two to go.

I took my stance once again to ready myself. This dude was a foot taller than me, with muscles packed with raw strength, but even so, pale in comparison to Tai'chi's p—

Stop thinking that! Focus!

"Smash her head Dan!" The man behind him yelled.

This 'Dan' went straight to me with his bat raised with intent once more.

Breathe in.

Everything slowed down. I let my heart rate decelerate, my hearing sharpened, my sense of smell heightening even further.

I closed my eyes, letting the rest of my senses take over. Years of practice, days of pain from training, each motion engraved to my entire body with purpose. To defend not only myself, but also those who are looked down upon, discriminated and stepped on like dirt. My parents had always taught me to defend myself. Me. Don't get me wrong, my parents are good people, albeit wary of the other races in our community. But the moment I left the roof of my home, I knew it was time for me to defend someone other than myself. I don't give a damn about where we come from or what kind of blood flows within our veins. I will protect those who need protecting, and set anyone straight and down to the ground when they deserve it.

Breathe out.

At the last few moments, with my eyes still shut, I changed my form. I followed his aura and pictured out the shape that was drawing up to land a serious blow to my head. Dan is solid and heavy, but everyone has at least one weakness. And this guy is not spared from that.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

I opened my right fist, right foot forward and relaxed my arms, my legs serving as a firm foundation for my upper body. With the bat inches away from me, I smoothly dodged to the side, using my palm to push away the hand holding the weapon and punched a vital pressure point right under his bicep.

I bent my legs even lower and struck the center of his ribs with my thumb, closing my hands as I jabbed his sciatic nerve on each side at the same time, both located in the middle line of the thigh between the groin and the knee. A solid blow to those nerve points will cause intense pain and shock to the person, along with a temporary immobility of the feet.

a/n: Self defense 101! Remember that dear readers♥

With the support of my left leg, I went behind the man, standing straight and proud. Calm, I opened my eyes when I heard his fall, staring right into the fearful ones of the moron that started all of this.

"Y-You- You killed them!"

Is he that dumb?

"Correction, I didn't. I knocked them unconscious is all. And the fellow that attacked me first? Well, he passed out from the pain of his now funny-looking arm." I stated flatly as I trudged to where he was standing.

"S-Stay away from me! Monster! Freak!" He stumbled, his ass on the ground and away from me until he felt a tree trunk on his back.

I scoffed and withdrew my knuckle dusters back under my baggy sleeve.

"You wanna know who the real monster is?" I stopped and held him in place with my scrutinizing gaze. He was trembling like a wimp at this point.

"It's you.

"You and your disgusting racist friends.

"You, along with all the people who view and treats anyone other than humankind as lowlifes and pests that are meant to be squished and eradicated from the society.

"No, it's you, and the ones who have the same mentality as you, who are monsters under the guise of a human."

I paused, not even blinking as I bore holes into his skull.

"I am human, down to every inch of my being. But unlike you, I respect and treat everyone, regardless of kind or gender, and to those who deserve it, fair and right."

Before I could continue, I scented new people coming into the scene. It was the teaching staff, along with the uni's guard.

Shocked of what they have seen, they turned towards me, angry, surprised, confused expressions on different faces.

"What have you done?!" A female, human instructor, looking to be around her late 20s shouted.

"Ma'am, if you would just let me explain—"

"You are hereby expelled from this institution, young lady!"

All the color of my skin left me as I heard the words I have dreaded even before I set foot in the campus grounds.

"Now let's not go straight to conclusions. We need to deal with this professionally AND properly Miss Holson. You are also not in authority to suspend this student." A heavily bearded dwarven professor, clad in a brown suit and Oxfords, told her off firmly.

"What are you saying Mr. Dulrik? Look at her! Look at this! She murdered students and oh my God, is that the dean's son?!"

For the love of— she blind? Why does everybody think I killed someone???

"Ma'am they are—" I was about to tell her but got cut off, again!

"Helpmehelpmehelpme!" He scrambled away from me and ran to the group of teachers and hugged the young instructor. "I don't know what came over her! She just attacked us out of nowhere!"

The audacity of this fucking bitch!

"Pardon me? Attacked you? YOU were the one who followed me out here! You and your" —I gestured to the bodies laying flat on the ground— " buddies over there!"

"She is lying! The orc was with her and and and—"

It dawned on me that I almost forgot about Tai'chi. My eyes widened, and I frantically scanned the area around for him. And there he was, standing by the oak tree, right where I told him not to move.

He seemed...irritated?

Oh no. At me?

"I have not moved an inch from where I am standing ever since I planted my feet here." He said with his deep baritone voice, turning to confront the staff. "What she's speaking is the truth. They were the ones who followed her here and attacked her, first."

"And how can we be sure you are telling the truth, orc?" Miss Holson replied spitefully.

Even the teacher, huh? Her odor smells like vomit. I mean, I knew she was...foul, but I thought it was because of the situation. Guess not.

Tai'chi did not respond. Instead, he moved to look at me in the eyes. His gaze, searching, but not in an awful way. Was he asking me what I'll do?

"How about we discuss this in the office, shall we?" An elderly professor spoke. She was wearing the university's formal teaching uniform together with black, flat, closed toe sandals. "And Miss Holson, please quiet down. As Mr. Dulrik said, we should not jump into baseless conclusions."

Miss Holson fumed and shut her mouth, holding the coward in her arms.

"Now then, Miss...?"

"Blackbell."

The woman paused. I caught a smell of surprise and... astonishment?

She cleared her throat "Well, then Miss Blackbell, please follow us to the Dean's office, along with your, companion."

Weird.

"Oh and Mr. Smith, kindly call for assistance and take the unconscious students to the infirmary to be treated and looked unto. Thank you." She told the guard. With that, she and the rest of the faculty started walking back.

I glanced at Tai'chi once more to find him, again, staring. I approached him warily, expecting him to be mad at me.

"Uh. Hi?"

I let out a long exhale when he replied, with a slight tug of his lips, his tusk jutting out. "Hi."

I fidgeted, trying to come up with words to explain myself.

"I uh, uhm. Are you mad?"

With his brow raised, "Why would I be?"

Yeah why would he be?

"I-I never told why I keep wearing my mask." I stuttered, "You see I—"

"You two! Start moving before I force you to." A teacher yelled at us from a distance.

"We'll talk later, Pearl. For now let's get this resolved first. I know for a fact that they won't expel you unless they ignore the ill intentions of the ones who attempted to harm you first. But better be safe than sorry, he was the dean's son afterall."

"Yeah... Thanks. We should.. go." I turned and started walking along his side.

******pov shift for a bit*******

Little did Pearl know, he was thinking about how...nice, yeah that's the word, definitely not sexy, you were when he witnessed your skills in combat. It awakened something in him that it took a lot of control not to get aroused there and then, which was the real reason why he stood there, unmoving from his place. Not once did he leave his eyes from you, almost jumping to help you when the guy with the baseball bat was closer than we would have liked. But oh no, he was not surprised, he was astonished and shookt , amazed when you pulled that last technique, sending the human plummeting to the ground almost soundlessly. And the way you stood right after, he knew he was smitten. That proud and intense aura you gave off was enough to make him bow down at your feet. He could feel it. He could smell it. That was his secret, he can scent people and catch any mood shift they make. Even though he told her that her eyes and brows gave it away, it was not entirely true as he could smell, literally, you and the changes on your scent.

Oh but little did he know you could to. Just not as observant as he is.

:>

*******************************

Wow— when I copy pasted the original thing from my notes to my drafts in Tumblr I was like "okay, so. I should read it AGAIN before I post it if I wanna avoid more unnoticed mistakes and keep editing it again and again even though I posted it already! " And I never though it would lead me to adding almost a half thousand words and a pov shift— which i found interesting and really nice! Should I do it more often? Like little inserts of what Tai'chi or another characters thoughts in second pov in between fics if necessary? It's just, nice, to put them in and write all out about what they were thinking outside of Pearl's pov! Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed reading❤

Tags: @kokokatsworld @crackinanutshell

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 41

THE ROAD SO FAR

One step closer to the end.

FIVE Seconds

John 'Soap' MacTavish

Task Force 141 Base - Infirmary

We overcame Ultranationalists, chopper crashes, danger close with gunships but a goddamn dog is what'll get me into an infirmary? Rabies, ridiculous. What a waste of time. 

John wrote down his anger in his black journal. It housed all his thoughts ever since being recruited at the Task Force regarding mission briefings, regrets and training schedules. It was his outlet on all the things going on around the world.

He noticed that Captain Price also slept by the other bed, his eyes looked tired from staying up late, he never gave up on Volt that he tired himself out.

He winced at the pain of the bruise the rotten dog gave him. He was never really a fan of them as most dogs tend to chase him wherever he went. Yesterday was another proof. Luckily, France seemed to catch up on his body language, how he didn't want anyone to know that a dog was the reason he's in the infirmary. The way she knew it without telling her was starting to convince the Scotsman that he got himself a keeper. Someone who understands.

Speaking of which, the same gorgeous blonde girl entered the infirmary, greeting Soap with a very genuine smile of relief. 

"Hi." She smiled quietly as Price was still asleep. 

"Aye. Hello there." He greeted, his voice was low and rough as he attempted to catch the lady off guard. She may look tough wearing her 141 training uniform, but Soap knows how to make her lose her composure. 

"How's the wound?" She asked, her face was already turning red as she approached him. She looked so cute right now, Soap won't mind kissing her amidst the Captain being there along with some CCTVs.

"Getting better. Hopefully enough to join the fight. How about you?" he replied, smiling at the female soldier. The general mood of the room quickly shifted and the two of them were pretty aware about it.

"I'm fine. I'm just here to thank you for saving me back then. But you didn't have to… I deserved that bite for not being careful." She muttered.

Soap sighed. 

"Eh, you know full well that I care for you, France. For once let me be the hero." He chuckled and France laughed.

"You already know that you are my hero, dummy." She winked as she started to leave.

"I gotta go. It's my turn to clean up the comms. Wish you'd help me though, Hero." she teased as she left the room, Soap was left staring at her beautiful figure exit the room.

"You sure got yourself a tough lass there, lad." Price grumbled as he woke up, commenting on the two.

"Aye. She's definitely a keeper. I just hope I don't mess up. Because I think she's the one." Soap finally admitted, to Price of all people. The captain just chuckled.

"Yeah. My word of advice. Go with what your heart and mind says." He said with full sincerity, as if he didn't want Soap to regret everything. There was flavor in his words that made Soap wonder if such advice came from experience. Though he did hear rumors that he and Laswell had some sort of history, and he got that from France.

"Aye, Captain… Will do." Soap nodded and Price got up.

"I'm giving Volt a final visit." He grumbled and went off, leaving Soap alone in his thoughts once again.

The next day, Soap was cleared from the infirmary and was immediately tasked on the mission. Last night, Nero started his assault on the capital and thousands of rangers were struggling to keep them off the country. With Volt finally given up, he relayed information regarding one of Nero's allies.

They were going to Havana, the home base of the mind manipulation and the command center of Nero's forces. How it managed to stay hidden, nobody knows but the team was eager to find out soon. Especially that another nuke is ready for launch.

Abandoned Building, Cuba, Havana

Soap could hear France hum the song Havana quietly as she crossed her arms just before the plane started. She was nervous and Soap knew that so he tried to hold her hand in secrecy, showing him a face that assured her that everything will be alright.

In this mission, time was of the essence so stealth wasn't an option. They were headed to the base guns blazing, all in hopes to disable the second nuke launch.

The helo flew dangerously low as metal clanged on it's base as soon as enemies fired at it. It was a risky move but the squad needed to drop by the rooftops to get a clear vantage point.

Soap immediately seeked for cover by the edge of the rooftop, eyeing the door that led to the lower floors where the command center should be.

"We'll hold them off! You go!" Alex yelled as Soap, Price, Roach and France breached the door, descending to the second floor of the building. 

The place was abandoned and very open, enemies' footsteps echoed across the halls, making the team aware of their positions.

"Soap, focus on getting to the control room. We'll take care of them. France, cover his six. Roach and I will make a grand distraction." Price said, popping a grenade on the main hall and Roach assisted him, drawing all the attention towards them.

"Alex, when you're done sweeping up the yard, I need your team down here asap." Price muttered over comms.

"Roger that." he replied.

"Looks like it's you and me against the clock now." Soap managed to chuckle at their situation. France just chuckled and cleared the location so Soap could advance. This was her forte. Stealth and close quarters.

"You're good to go, John." She said as she took the stairs down. Soap cautiously followed as he heard gunshots from France's location.

"Two tangos down." She declared, clearing the staircase to the basement.

"Multiple tangos in the basement. Looks like we're in the right place." France nodded and Soap followed, pulling the pin of a grenade and tossing it to the narrow hallway.

"GRANADA!!" One yelled and an explosion followed, signaling the couple to press on the narrow hallway while they're dazed.

They shot down the enemies until more emerged from behind, trapping the two of them.

"Shite! At this rate we'll never push forward. We're pinned!" Soap called for help.

"Someone's escaping! Reinforcements are arriving!" Alex warned as the team was now overwhelmed with hostiles. Time was running out.

"John! Watch my six and I'll clear a path for you." France said and left without letting him reply. This worried Soap but he had to trust her and so he covered her six. Shooting at enemies dumb enough to dive on to the narrow hallway. He did his best to retaliate by firing back and tossing any grenades back to its source.

It felt like the longest two minutes of his life. France fought her way to the command center and him, defending the entrance while his ammo slowly ran out. Then after what seemed like forever, he heard her go signal.

Soap ran as fast as he could, and just before he lost sight of the entrance, he saw Price immediately follow him. They did it. They cleared the entrance.

He fished out his journal for the cryllic translator, decoding every letter just so he could stop the launch. They only had five seconds left. 

Soap furiously typed the code Volt gave them and pressed enter as soon as it's done. The launch didn't stop. Soap figured that they were too late, but Price's face never looked worried.

"Captain. The launch didn't stop! What are we going to do?" France said, worried.

"It's all according to plan." He muttered as he signaled his head to head back to the rooftop.

"Let's burn this place down." He added and they all ran back to the rooftops for exfil.

"Dropping the skyhook now! Latch yourselves in!" Eagle Two Four yelled as the thick rope dropped from the sky, Soap quickly latched himself in and looked behind him. France was a few meters away from the final hook as a stray bullet grazed her thigh.

"France! Hang on!" Soap quickly detached himself almost automatically, without thinking. The rest of the team were already being hoisted up when they noticed the two members still on the rooftops.

Soap's body felt the rush as he quickly carried her up and held her tight, running toward the last hook and quickly attaching himself in, all while holding her tight in his arms.

"Why didn't you call out to me? You know I'm going to save you whatever it takes." he whispered as he felt France already in tears. If it wasn't for him always checking out on her, she would've been left alone in that abandoned building.

"Is she going to be fine?" The worried Scotsman asked the nurse. His voice was almost loud enough to disturb everyone else.

"She got hit twice. One on the chest and one on the thigh. They're both minor but she just passed out from the panic and exhaustion. We found this on her chest. The thing practically saved her life." The nurse handed over his journal. Soap's eyes widened at the hole that pierced through the whole book. He must've left it when he typed the abort codes and she must've grabbed it from there.

"The bullet barely pierced through her armor thanks to that book." She said as Soap looked up and silently thanked that she was safe. He quickly flipped through the pages until he found the page where he drew her. The bullet hole on the page was where her heart was. It was funny because it was the other way around. That woman was the one that fired a bullet straight to his heart. And he wasn't a big fan of metaphors at this rate.

"So is she okay?" Roach quickly ran to Soap's side, a worried look on his face. Alex and Price were behind him.

"The journal saved her." He said, raising the pierced black book as proof.

"She's lucky enough you got her on time. I couldn't think of any other way she could be saved from there." Price commented as she looked at her through the glass.

"She's a tough lad. But sometimes she needs to understand that she isn't alone." Price added and Alex nodded. 

"She'll wake up soon." Alex tapped Soap's shoulder and he nodded, as they left the infirmary for another briefing.

On the way to the briefing room, they caught up with Ghost and Alexandra bringing an unknown man to the interrogation area, which prompted the team to follow.

Inside the interrogation room's observation area, the team sat while Price and Jack talked to the man.

"Nice to see ya, Jack. Thought Nero got rid of you." He smugly said with a wide annoying grin on his mouth.

"Who is this prick, anyway?!" Roach hissed.

"That's Gabriel Lannister. CIA's Research and Development Head." Alex said nonchalantly, Soap could see the disbelief in his eyes. There was more than just one mole in his previous department.

"He was the one in charge with the mass manipulation of the missing persons cases." Ryder added.

"While you lot launched the nuke, he went off running with four convoys of protection. Luckily we were able to intercept them by the bridge." Ghost informed.

"What about the nuke?" Soap asked, completely forgetting about it. It was his responsibility, as he typed the whole command on it.

"Blasted at Nero's fleet not too far from the White House. If you were five seconds later, the war would've ended differently." Ryder supplied the information.

"And the capital?" Roach asked.

"Mostly damaged, but it will recover. Turns out Nero did really burn the place down." Ghost answered. 

"What about Nero?" Alex asked, eyes not leaving the whole interrogation.

"No one knows where he is. We were hoping this guy would give information about him." Ryder pointed to Gabriel, who was having a fun time at the interrogation.

The tension inside the room was different. Each person had their own little realizations and this pushed them to end the war as soon as possible.

Soap immediately exited the area and went back to the infirmary.

"Hey." He was greeted by France, who was already up.

"How are you holding up?" He asked, his tone more concerned than ever.

"Well, It doesn't hurt right now but… I'm… I almost died out there, John… What if I died?" Her voice croaked and tears started falling from her eyes. John quickly approached her and hugged her gently close to his chest.

"Don't say that… What's important is you're alive… I got you and you're safe…" He whispered.

"Thank you." She croaked. John just rubbed her back assuring her everything will be alright.

"No. Thank you. You changed me, France. You made me realize a lot of things. I know that this isn't the most perfect place right now, but… Will you be my girlfriend? Because I can't help thinking about how every single day of my life since I met you, I can't stop thinking about you. Your smile, your face, the things you say, the way you hide what you really feel. I want all of those and after that last mission, I realized that I shouldn't have left you waiting. There was no better time than as soon as possible." He said, offering his notebook as replacement for flowers.

France nodded with tears in her eyes, accepting the journal with confusion.

"Turn it on the last page." Soap said as she did it, showing a sketch of her and him together happily smiling. She wore the clothes she wore when they were out together in that coffee shop.

"This is beautiful." She said, tracing a finger on the paper.

"I love you, John MacTavish." She said as she leaned in for a kiss, not letting him reply.

Next Chapter : FOUR Weeks of Silence

Notification Squad my Beloved

@smokeywhalee @enderio @samatedeansbroccoli @ricinbach @whimsywispsblog @bumblingbee1

[athenawrites-stuff]

Of Ice and Blood

Part 4

Pairings: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Human OC/Reader)

Warnings: Violence, Fighting, Use of curse words, and shouting.

Word count: 1.8k + words

*

Sensing another one behind me, I went low and struck his leg with mine, using his fall to punch his chin with my right fist this time, being careful to use a controlled amount of force or else the nerve I hit will result to permanent brain injury and can be fatal.

I got up, swift in my actions as I saw the guy with a raised baseball bat heading towards me from my left flank, and the other one from the right, fast.

On reflex, I leaned back, the bat that was aimed at me hitting his comrade on the shoulder instead. Guy’s lucky, actually. He would have suffered internal bleeding if it bashed the side of his skull.

Four down, two to go.

I took my stance once again to ready myself. This dude was a foot taller than me, with muscles packed with raw strength, but even so, pale in comparison to Tai'chi’s p—

Stop thinking that! Focus!

“Smash her head Dan!” The man behind him yelled.

This ‘Dan’ went straight to me with his bat raised with intent once more.

Breathe in.

Everything slowed down. I let my heart rate decelerate, my hearing sharpened, my sense of smell heightening even further.

I closed my eyes, letting the rest of my senses take over. Years of practice, days of pain from training, each motion engraved to my entire body with purpose. To defend not only myself, but also those who are looked down upon, discriminated and stepped on like dirt. My parents had always taught me to defend myself. Me. Don’t get me wrong, my parents are good people, albeit wary of the other races in our community. But the moment I left the roof of my home, I knew it was time for me to defend someone other than myself. I don’t give a damn about where we come from or what kind of blood flows within our veins. I will protect those who need protecting, and set anyone straight and down to the ground when they deserve it.

Breathe out.

At the last few moments, with my eyes still shut, I changed my form. I followed his aura and pictured out the shape that was drawing up to land a serious blow to my head. Dan is solid and heavy, but everyone has at least one weakness. And this guy is not spared from that.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

I opened my right fist, right foot forward and relaxed my arms, my legs serving as a firm foundation for my upper body. With the bat inches away from me, I smoothly dodged to the side, using my palm to push away the hand holding the weapon and punched a vital pressure point right under his bicep.

I bent my legs even lower and struck the center of his ribs with my thumb, closing my hands as I jabbed his sciatic nerve on each side at the same time, both located in the middle line of the thigh between the groin and the knee. A solid blow to those nerve points will cause intense pain and shock to the person, along with a temporary immobility of the feet.

a/n: Self defense 101! Remember that dear readers♥

With the support of my left leg, I went behind the man, standing straight and proud. Calm, I opened my eyes when I heard his fall, staring right into the fearful ones of the moron that started all of this.

“Y-You- You killed them!”

Is he that dumb?

“Correction, I didn’t. I knocked them unconscious is all. And the fellow that attacked me first? Well, he passed out from the pain of his now funny-looking arm.” I stated flatly as I trudged to where he was standing.

“S-Stay away from me! Monster! Freak!” He stumbled, his ass on the ground and away from me until he felt a tree trunk on his back.

I scoffed and withdrew my knuckle dusters back under my baggy sleeve.

“You wanna know who the real monster is?” I stopped and held him in place with my scrutinizing gaze. He was trembling like a wimp at this point.

“It’s you.

"You and your disgusting racist friends.

"You, along with all the people who view and treats anyone other than humankind as lowlifes and pests that are meant to be squished and eradicated from the society.

"No, it’s you, and the ones who have the same mentality as you, who are monsters under the guise of a human.”

I paused, not even blinking as I bore holes into his skull.

“I am human, down to every inch of my being. But unlike you, I respect and treat everyone, regardless of kind or gender, and to those who deserve it, fair and right.”

Before I could continue, I scented new people coming into the scene. It was the teaching staff, along with the uni’s guard.

Shocked of what they have seen, they turned towards me, angry, surprised, confused expressions on different faces.

“What have you done?!” A female, human instructor, looking to be around her late 20s shouted.

“Ma'am, if you would just let me explain—”

“You are hereby expelled from this institution, young lady!”

All the color of my skin left me as I heard the words I have dreaded even before I set foot in the campus grounds.

“Now let’s not go straight to conclusions. We need to deal with this professionally AND properly Miss Holson. You are also not in authority to suspend this student.” A heavily bearded dwarven professor, clad in a brown suit and Oxfords, told her off firmly.

“What are you saying Mr. Dulrik? Look at her! Look at this! She murdered students and oh my God, is that the dean’s son?!”

For the love of— she blind? Why does everybody think I killed someone???

“Ma'am they are—” I was about to tell her but got cut off, again!

“Helpmehelpmehelpme!” He scrambled away from me and ran to the group of teachers and hugged the young instructor. “I don’t know what came over her! She just attacked us out of nowhere!”

The audacity of this fucking bitch!

“Pardon me? Attacked you? YOU were the one who followed me out here! You and your” —I gestured to the bodies laying flat on the ground— “ buddies over there!”

“She is lying! The orc was with her and and and—”

It dawned on me that I almost forgot about Tai'chi. My eyes widened, and I frantically scanned the area around for him. And there he was, standing by the oak tree, right where I told him not to move.

He seemed…irritated?

Oh no. At me?

“I have not moved an inch from where I am standing ever since I planted my feet here.” He said with his deep baritone voice, turning to confront the staff. “What she’s speaking is the truth. They were the ones who followed her here and attacked her, first.”

“And how can we be sure you are telling the truth, orc?” Miss Holson replied spitefully.

Even the teacher, huh? Her odor smells like vomit. I mean, I knew she was…foul, but I thought it was because of the situation. Guess not.

Tai'chi did not respond. Instead, he moved to look at me in the eyes. His gaze, searching, but not in an awful way. Was he asking me what I’ll do?

“How about we discuss this in the office, shall we?” An elderly professor spoke. She was wearing the university’s formal teaching uniform together with black, flat, closed toe sandals. “And Miss Holson, please quiet down. As Mr. Dulrik said, we should not jump into baseless conclusions.”

Miss Holson fumed and shut her mouth, holding the coward in her arms.

“Now then, Miss…?”

“Blackbell.”

The woman paused. I caught a smell of surprise and… astonishment?

She cleared her throat “Well, then Miss Blackbell, please follow us to the Dean’s office, along with your, companion.”

Weird.

“Oh and Mr. Smith, kindly call for assistance and take the unconscious students to the infirmary to be treated and looked unto. Thank you.” She told the guard. With that, she and the rest of the faculty started walking back.

I glanced at Tai'chi once more to find him, again, staring. I approached him warily, expecting him to be mad at me.

“Uh. Hi?”

I let out a long exhale when he replied, with a slight tug of his lips, his tusk jutting out. “Hi.”

I fidgeted, trying to come up with words to explain myself.

“I uh, uhm. Are you mad?”

With his brow raised, “Why would I be?”

Yeah why would he be?

“I-I never told why I keep wearing my mask.” I stuttered, “You see I—”

“You two! Start moving before I force you to.” A teacher yelled at us from a distance.

“We’ll talk later, Pearl. For now let’s get this resolved first. I know for a fact that they won’t expel you unless they ignore the ill intentions of the ones who attempted to harm you first. But better be safe than sorry, he was the dean’s son afterall.”

“Yeah… Thanks. We should.. go.” I turned and started walking along his side.

******pov shift for a bit*******

Little did Pearl know, he was thinking about how…nice, yeah that’s the word, definitely not sexy, you were when he witnessed your skills in combat. It awakened something in him that it took a lot of control not to get aroused there and then, which was the real reason why he stood there, unmoving from his place. Not once did he leave his eyes from you, almost jumping to help you when the guy with the baseball bat was closer than we would have liked. But oh no, he was not surprised, he was astonished and shookt , amazed when you pulled that last technique, sending the human plummeting to the ground almost soundlessly. And the way you stood right after, he knew he was smitten. That proud and intense aura you gave off was enough to make him bow down at your feet. He could feel it. He could smell it. That was his secret, he can scent people and catch any mood shift they make. Even though he told her that her eyes and brows gave it away, it was not entirely true as he could smell, literally, you and the changes on your scent.

Oh but little did he know you could to. Just not as observant as he is.

*************************************

Thank you for reading<3

I've already written Chapters 1-6 so stay tuned and check them out in my pinned post. Stay safe and healthy!

[babiedeku]

hi! a request! so in japanese culture, saying "aishteru" is only reserved for couples with maximum level of romance? how about lets say its years after muzan's defeat, giyuu and reader live a peaceful life together. giyuu looks back at all of the pain and suffering he endured as a demon slayer, but his thoughts are focused to the happy moments with reader. being the airhead he is, he says "aishteru", and reader is shookt bec giyuu literally confessed his deep and unconditional love for her lmaoo

hi anon thank you for this request this made me really soft while writing it! im sorry that it took too long to write, but i hope you still like it! :( and i hope i did our boy justice bc it’s my first time writing about him. here’s soft!Giyuu for y’alls! - marianne

my requests are open!

Life truly is beautiful when you’re not off on missions and don’t have the impending doom of Muzan looming over your heads.

It’s been 5 years after Muzan’s death by the hands of the hashiras along with Tanjirou, Inosuke, Zenitsu, Kanao, and the now back to human Nezuko. He’s lost so many people in his life already and yes he still lost countless of friends, fellow demon slayers, and Oyakata-sama which was the trade off he never wanted, but their deaths were not in vain, because life was now peaceful and beautiful.

Giyuu looked at you beside him, you were reading one of the books that was given to you by Obanai and Mitsuri for your birthday recently, you looked so peaceful and soft all wrapped up in his arm, a small smile on your lips as you continued to read, already engrossed in the story. 

You were someone that he never expected to come into his life amidst the raging battles and the constant loss of important figure in his life - you were the one person who stayed with him all throughout the entirety of the nightmare Muzan has subjected everyone in the corps to. 

And despite the severity of the situation that was at hand before, your kindness and gentleness to those around you never wavered, instead it just seemingly increased tenfold. Such as that time when you were able to cheer him up unknowingly when he had just returned from a mission he had failed to accomplish, letting the demon get away.

“Giyuu-san,”

He looked up from his sword to see you smiling at him softly, you were fresh from a mission, having just returned last night as well. There were still some healing cuts and bruises that peeked through the collar and sleeves of your uniform, but nothing could ever make you less … pleasing to look at, if anything Giyuu finds it admirable how you were able to take everything in stride.

“I just wanted to drop by and give you this,” You gave him a neatly wrapped bento box that contained his favorite meal, simmered salmon with daikon. “I heard you last night over dinner whispering about how much you missed your favorite dish.”

Giyuu was unsure as to what to say to you, but he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his lips. “T-thank you, (Y/N)-san” 

Having you in his life was a breath of fresh air he never knew he was craving for. You were his rock, the only person to be able to fully see past his stoic expressions and silence. 

Giyuu never questioned your ability on being able to read his emotions accurately, and he will never question it, because he’s thankful that he doesn’t have to explain himself to you as much.

“We both know you feel guilty about what happened to Rengoku-san,”

Giyuu just looked at you, a little confused, because you stood by the door frame, with a calm look on your face. He could never understand how you could still be so strong in the news of having just lost one of your colleagues, heck, you were all family at this point. 

You both have just lost a member of the family and yet here you stood, calm and collected.

“I should have been the one to have been tasked with that mission,” Was all he was able to say, still not trusting himself with words, because he is not sure how to process these emotions that are bubbling up inside of him.

Crossing his room, you took a seat beside him as he gazed outside his window. “We all signed up for this with the knowledge that each mission could very well be our last. Kyujuro fought with his heart blazing to keep the innocent safe.”

A tear made its way down of his cheek, no longer able to contain his emotions.

Gently grasping Giyuu’s hand into yours, you offered him a soft smile. “He wouldn’t have traded his place with you even if it meant him keeping his life, he would have wanted all of us to take his death as some sort of inspiration to continue the fight against Muzan,”

Even when the nightmare was drawing to a close, you were still there by his side, ready with your warm embrace to shield him from the world, with your words to put his mind and heart at east, and you presence to make it known to him that you will never leave his side, and that you are more than ready to follow him into the fight once more.

He woke up with a jolt, gasping as he tried to make sense of where he was, but all he could see what the familiar decor of the infirmary back at their head quarters.So could that all have just been a dream?

Okayata-sama, Shinobou, Muichiro, Genya - ?

“Tomioka,” You were sitting beside his bed, reading one of the books that Shinobou left lying around in her office. Seeing how shaken Giyuu looked when he whipped his head toward you, and growing realization in his eyes as tears started to form, it broke your heart.

“No,” He croaked, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. “please, no.” Giyuu knew it was pointless begging with you, because he knew it himself that no one could give back the people they have lost during the battle.

You could feel your own tears forming in your eyes, it hurt knowing that you have lost people whom you care for deeply and no longer be able to see them, but it also pained you to see Giyuu’s walls get torn down and finally break right before your eyes. 

Carefully climbing onto the bed with him, you wrapped him into your arms, his arm wrapping around your waist in a weak attempt to hold onto you. 

Giyuu is not a man of many words, and he appreciates that you understand that and don’t hold it against him in times that you seek his loving presence. You have mentioned that he shows his affection to you more so in actions such as compared to words.

And to think that despite the suffering he has endured in his life as a demon slayer, you were always there to shine your bright light to help him get through it and open up your loving arms to give him the warmth and affection that he never thought he needed.

There was a warm feeling in his chest, despite having been married to you for 5 years, he still has some difficulty pinpointing his emotions, and the smile that he just can’t contain whenever he’s with you.

“Aishteru,”

Beside him he heard you giggle softly, causing him to stiffen. Had Giyuu said that out loud? He’s always wanted to say it back to you, but not like this, he wanted it to be special and be said to you at a place that was of significance to you both. 

“I love you too, Tomioka, with all my heart.” You said quietly, just loud enough for him to hear, kissing his cheek.

Giyuu, and he was fairly sure of it now, is the luckiest man on earth.

[nerdettedreamteam]

robstar week 2020: day five

sorry for the delay, but i hope you enjoy! please support @samdraws715 art as well! she gave me the whole idea for this story :’) (my prompts for this year are still inspired by her drawings!)

Rescue

Rain poured hard over Jump City. Unfortunately for the titans that night they were super busy with missions. It eventually got to a point where alerts came up in between battle, figuring that it would probably be best that they split up to tackle as many at once. Robin had decided that him and Starfire check out the alert while Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy continue with their current mission.

It was a disturbance alert. It didn’t seem like much in the big picture, but after living in the city for a few years, Robin knew a disturbance alert could be anything. They had to prepare to expect the unexpected.

“What do you think Star? Do you see anything?” Robin asked from below ground to Starfire, who was patrolling the sky a little higher above him hoping to get a clearer view of the sight in front of them.

“I do not.” She turned her arm around her as she brightened the way, using a starbolt to help. “The rain is making it hard to see.”

She came back down from the sky and landed in front of Robin. “Do you think whatever was causing a disturbance is gone?”

“I’m not sure...”

A loud bang suddenly rang out into the air. It sounded as if whatever it was struck metal, making the loud noise. Robin and Starfire tensed up, pressing their backs against each other ready for whatever it was.

Nothing had happened for what seemed like several moments. Then out of the blue, a streetlight had slowly started to fall over. Starfire had noticed just in time and jumped to push herself and Robin out of the way. It fell to the ground with another loud bang.

They remained on the ground. “What caused that?” Robin said as she helped him back up.

A loud screech was heard, and out of nowhere emerged a creature. It was hard to tell what it was at first glance, but neither of them had time to think about that. Its arms outstretched and came into contact with Robin at a fast speed, the impact knocking him back into the rubble of an already destroyed building.

“Robin!” Starfire cried. She rushed to his aid but the creature had begun to attack her before she even had the chance. She dodged its attack and began battling with the creature. It wasn’t anything from earth, it had to be from another world, she just wasn’t sure where it was from.

It seemed to really dislike her starbolts, whether it was because of the amount of energy or the light that radiated from them, she wasn’t sure. All she wanted to do was to fight it off long enough so she could take a moment to get back to Robin.

Starfire gathered her strength and conjured up a bigger starbolt, holding it in her two hands. She threw it at the creature, screeching once again once the starbolt had hit it, knocking it back into the building on the opposite side. It wouldn’t stay down for long, but it gave her enough time to go check on Robin.

She flew to his side as quickly as possible. “Robin! Are you alright?”

Robin groaned. Only turning to his side to face her. Multiple wounds covered his body and stained his uniform a deep red. Even his mask had red specks of blood on it coming from the wound to his head. Starfire gasped upon seeing him in that state. It was heartbreaking; tears pricked her eyes but she knew she had to be strong. “Hang on to me. I will take you back home.”

Starfire had grasped Robin and took off into the air fast enough to just miss another attack from the alien. She flew smoothly but quickly, trying not to make his injuries worse. She had pulled out her communicator and spoke into it. “Friends, Robin has been injured badly, I need one of you to meet me back at the tower and to go back out to complete the mission.”

“Got it. I’m on my way, Star.” Cyborg had said straight away.

Starfire put away her communicator before hearing Robin grain again, trying to get words out. “Star, no… I can still…”

“Fight?” She finished his sentence. “You most certainly won’t. I am taking you home. You need medical attention.”

Robin didn’t continue to fight with her on it. The pain was too much, so he laid helplessly in her arms, leaning his head against her arm.

Starfire had finally arrived back at the tower. She continued to hold him as she walked down the hall to the infirmary, finally opening the door and carefully placed him down on the bed. She began to treat some of his injuries. Cyborg had arrived a few moments later to keep the two of them extra company until Starfire was finished so they could complete the mission together.

As Starfire continued to treat his injuries, Robin had slowly started to gain more of his strength back. She had finally finished cleaning and wrapping his last wound.

“I believe that’s everything.”

“How did this even happen?” Cyborg had asked.

“There is another alien not from earth wandering the streets. I have no idea what it is or where it’s from, but it isn’t friendly. Perhaps we could find more about it if we detain it in time. We have to go immediately.”

“Sounds good to me. Let’s go.” Cyborg nodded as he rose from his seat and began to exit the room with Starfire.

“W-Wait you two… I-“ Robin struggled to sit up.

Starfire had turned around and sighed. “Robin, you must stay here.”

“But… I can sit up! See? I promise I’m okay, you fixed me up so now I can-“

“Richard! Please!”

Robin shut his mouth instantly, eyes widening as he shared the same surprised reaction as Cyborg at the name drop.

“You have to focus on getting better… I don’t want anything else to happen to you.”

Robin lowered his shoulders and shifted his gaze to the floor. “Okay.”

Starfire leaned in and kissed his cheek tenderly. “I promise we will all be back soon. For now, try to get some rest.”

Robin gave a weak smile as she headed out, taking one last look at her as the door closed.

Starfire and Cyborg remained in their places on the other side of the door.

“So…” Cyborg started. “Richard, huh?”

It took about another hour for the titans to return. Once they did, they hung out in the infirmary with Robin giving him company and sharing what had happened on their missions.

“I seriously don’t know why Doctor Light even tried to put up a fight with us this time.” Beast Boy had continued. “I mean, he should’ve just given up the moment he saw Raven again.” He laughed.

“What can I say, he never learns.” Raven joked but still kept her voice monotone, giving the changeling a slight smile.

Robin had laughed from his bed. “Well I’m glad it went well.”

“Heh, yeah, but seriously you didn’t miss much at all, promise. We’re just glad you’re okay dude.”

“Yeah man,” Cyborg said. “How are you feeling?”

“Better now, I think... did you end up finding out where the alien was from?”

“Not yet, but we were successful in detaining it.” Starfire told him. “We plan to continue finding more information on it tomorrow if we’re able to.”

“Yeah, tomorrow sounds good.” Beast Boy cut in suddenly and yawned loudly. “I’m beat after all those missions.”

“I suppose it is getting late... perhaps we should rest for now.”

“Sounds good to me.” Cyborg said standing up before looking at Robin. “Try to get some good sleep tonight, Richard.”

Beast Boy’s jaw had practically dropped to the floor and him and Raven exchanged the same expressions. “Richard?!”

“Yeah?” Robin turned to him.

“I...” Beast Boy has lifted a finger to speak before putting it down. “You know what, never mind.”

The titans had exited the room in a line and Starfire was the last to leave. “Goodnight.” She told him as she kissed the top of his head.

“Night, Star.”

Starfire had walked out and the door to the infirmary closed. Each of the titans had now started walking to their own rooms further down the hall.

Beast Boy and Raven remained next to each other.

“So... that was interesting.”

“I know. I mean, Richard?! Can you believe it?” Beast Boy had said to her. “Well, if anything, I guess there’s a lot more mileage you’re gonna get from that, huh?”

Raven rolled her eyes playfully at the joke. “Sure.”

[dreamingwithbts]

Demon (Boku No Hero) - Chapter 4

Warning: Swearing

“Now, it’s time for combat training!” All Might say. “Sir!” I hear Lida and I look at him in his costume. “He looks like a transformer.” I think. “This is a battle center from the entrance exam, so will we be conducting urban battles again?” Lida asks All Might. “No, we’re going to move ahead two steps! Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside, but if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate. Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals. In this society filled with heroes, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows!” All Might say and everyone hears him attentively. “For this class, you’ll be split into villains and heroes and fight 2-on-2 indoor battles. However, the key this time is that there’s no robot you can just beat up.” All Might say. “Can we beat them up anyway?” Bakugo says of course. “Will the punishment be expulsion like with Aizawa-sensei?” I hear Uraraka. “How shall we be split up?” Lida asks. I see Dad explaining the exercise by reading a scrip and I couldn’t listen to him since I was trying not to laugh. “Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots!” All Might say showing us a yellow box. “Sensei! There’s an even number!” Lida says. “Yes, one group will have 3!” All Might say. “Isn’t that unfair?” Kaminari asks. “Expect the unexpected!” All Might say laughing loud.

 I went to the box and I took the letter B, I look around seeing who has the same letter. “Who has the letter B?” I ask. “Me.” I hear a familiar voice. “Shoto!” I almost scream, happy I was in a familiar face. “Aka.” Shoto says nodding, smiling a little, missing the glare Bakugo was giving at Shoto. “Why did she end up with him? Does she know him?” Bakugo thinks frowning. I look around, and I see Lida was paired with Bakugo. “Good luck Lida.” I think then I see Izuku with Uraraka. “Yes! My ship is sailing!” I say under my breath celebrating. “What?” Shoto asks me serious. “Nothing, nothing!” I say still smiling.

All Might picks up the starting team, and how coincident. “Team A will be heroes, and Team D will be the villains. Everyone else, head toward the monitor room.” All Might say. “Shit.” I think when I see is Izuku versus Bakugo. “His going to kill him.” I think, imagining Izuku death. We started leaving them. “Good luck Izu-kun, I know you can do it!” I say smiling and patting his back. “T...thanks Aka-chan.” Izuku says nervous. “Don’t kill him.” I say to Bakugo when I pass next to him. “Shut up.” He responds.

 Everyone was in the monitor room watching has they prepared the battle, I was next to Shoto nervous for Izuku, looking at Dad I know he was nervous too. I see Deku successfully dodging and able to attack Bakugo. “You can do this Izuku, but I have a feeling this is making him more angrier.” I think serious watching the battle. I heard All Might talking with my classmates, but I was to focus on the battle.

Minutes passed and the battle is getting worse and worse. “All Might.” I warn him. “Young Bakugo, the next time you use that, I’ll stop the fight, and your team will lose. To attack on such a large scale inside is inviting the destruction on the stronghold you should be protecting. That is a foolish plan for both heroes and villains! You will lose a lot of points for it!” All Might say. “His not going to stop.” I say making everyone look at me. “Why do you say that?” Kirishima says, and I could feel Dad eyes on me. “Bakugo deeply, isn’t doing this to win. His doing this to destroy Izuku, winning this would be a bonus.” I say serious, not taking my eyes off Izuku and Bakugo and everyone stays quiet. “Akuma is right, as a teacher, I should stop this.” All Might think. I hear everyone talking about Bakugo, but I only stay beside Dad worried about Izuku. “All Might!” I scream watching the battle, seeing Izuku being destroyed. “Bakugo! Stop! Don’t do this!” I yell in the mic. “Aka-chan!” Izuku says shocked while Bakugo stops walking frozen. “SHUT UP DEMON!” Bakugo yells angry but doesn’t move. “This doesn’t concern you.” He says and starts running towards Izuku again. “Dammit!” I say. “Akuma voice almost stop him, why?” All Might thinks. I saw Dad struggling to know what to do. “All Might!” I say and also Kirishima tried to stop the battle.

Everyone was shocked looking at the end of the battle, I look at the ground my hair covering my face while I try to control my anger and Quirk. “I’m disappointed with you.” I say to Dad, the only one to hear me. “Akuma.” He whispers while I leave the room and go to the battle building. “Aka-chan.” Mina says seeing me leave. “Eh? Where is she going?” Kirishima asks. “Hero Team wins!” I still hear All Might.

 I enter the building room seeing Izuku being taken to the infirmary by robots, I stop and kneel beside him. “You did good, Izuku. You won.” I say and get up again seeing him go with the robots, then I look at Bakugo who was frozen in place. Silently I walk towards him and stay in front of him, red mist covering my fist, he looks at me and I punch him hard making him go against the wall, making a hole with the strength I throw him. “I’m going to kill you.” I say quietly making his eyes big, shocked, my eyes were almost red in anger, looking at him. “Not now, but if you do that again. I will kill you.” I say my red mist disappearing, and I leave the room leaving him hurt on the floor, both physically and mental. I passed by Dad without looking at me, and we don’t say anything. “WHY? WHY DOES SHE PROTECT HIM? WHY DOES HE HAVE SO MUCH LUCKY? WHY DAMMIT?” Bakugo thinks watching her leave.

 I enter the room and stand beside Shoto and everyone went silence looking at me, but no one said anything. “You okay?” Shoto asks me. “Fine.” I answer, and he goes silence again, then All Might and the others enter the room. “Well, even if I say that, the MVP for this battle was Young Lida!” All Might say, while Yaoyorozu talks I observe Bakugo, who doesn’t takes his eyes from the floor.

“All right everyone, let’s change locations and start the second match. Match two! Team B are the heroes, and Team I are the villains!” All Might continues the class.

Shoto and I were in the front of the building. “Like old times right Shoto.” I say smiling. “Yes. Let’s go.” Shoto says, and we enter the building fighting against an invisible girl and a guy with a tail. “They know each other?” Kirishima asks noticing that we knew each other. “Lucky guy.” Kaminari says. “So she does know him, how?” Bakugo thinks.

“Now, let’s start the second indoor person-to-person combat training match!” All Might say. “You know what to do.” Shoto says, and I nod immediately start using my red mist to levitate myself, trying not to touch the walls and floor while Shoto freezes everything. Shoto and I enter the room where they are with the weapon. “Hello!” I say levitating smiling at them who pose to fight. “You can move if you want, but the skin on your feet will come off, so you won’t be able to fight your best.” Shoto says stopping at the door. “That was dark Shoto.” I say while levitating towards the weapon. “He did not cause any damage to his teammate or the nuclear weapon, and on top of that, he weakened the enemy. And her using her Quirk was able to be with him and assist in any case, she was able to control her Quirk good enough to not touch the ice and is able to support the cold.” All Might say to the class. “They are so strong!” The class says.

“Hero Team wins!” All Might sas when I touch the weapon. Shoto starts melting the ice, so I levitate myself to the ground stopping my Quirk. “Sorry. The difference in our ability was too great.” Shoto says making me shake my head smiling. “You never change Shoto.” I think and all of us leave the building. “All right, everyone gather round for a review of the second match. Next, we will begin the third match!” All Might say. “He is very strong. She is too. Both stronger than me.” Bakugo thinks angry.

 The rest of the battles went on normally and the end of class came fast. “Good work everyone! We didn’t have any major injuries other than Young Midoriya, either!” All Might say, and I glare at Bakugo when Izuku was mention, and he only ignores me. “Well then, I must review the results with Young Midoriya! Change and return to the classroom!” All Might say running out. “Review, sure!” I think rolling my eyes teasing him in my mind.

The girls, who I finally knew the names, and I were changing to our normal uniform. “Aka-chan? Are you going to visit Deku?” Ochaco, who insists for me to call her that, asks me. “No, I know his going to be fine.” I say. “You were terrifying when you went to Bakugo.” Jiro. “Especially the punch!” Mina says imitating me. “He deserves it.” I say like it has nothing. “Is Midoriya your boyfriend Aka-san?” Yaoyorozu asks me making me almost shock on air. “What! No! His like a brother to me.” I say clarifying everything, and I swear I heard Ochaco sigh in relief.

The rest of the afternoon classes went normal with Izuku still in the infirmary, but Dad text me saying he was fine.

 The last class ended, and I see Bakugo quietly get out of the classroom without talking to anyone, a few minutes later I see Izuku entering the classroom, I smile at him who smiles back before everyone surrounds him, then suddenly he looks at Bakugo seat, seeing his not there and quickly left the class. “Well guys, I’m really tired, so I’m going to go home. See you tomorrow!” I say waving goodbye. “Bye Aka-chan!” Some yell at me while others just nod, and I leave following Izuku, but instead of listening to his conversation with Bakugo I teleport to the school gate waiting, for him.

“As I watched the ice guy and the demon girl I thought, ‘‘I can’t beat them’’! Damn it! I ended up agreeing with what that ponytail girl said! And I should have listened to the demon girl when she told me to stop! Damn it! Damn it, damn it!” Bakugo says to Izuku.

I see Bakugo passing beside me crying not noticing me. “Going home Time Bomb?” I ask teasing him starting to walk with him and I see him trying to cover his crying. “What do you want Demon?” He asks. “It’s okay to cry, you know.” I say. “I’m not crying!” He screams. “Okay!” I say putting my hands in surrender, then we keep walking in silence.

“Aka-chan?” Izuku says when he notices me walking with Bakugo. “Oh, I understand now.” All Might say making Izuku confused. “This may be good, they can support each other.” All Might think.

“Why are you following me?” He asks putting his hands in the pocket. “I’m not, were just going in the same direction.” I say and we both know that was a lie, but we kept walking together in a comfortable silence until we came to a crossing road. “Well, I’m going this way.” I say pointing to the right. “I’m going here.” He says pointing to the left. “Well then, see you tomo...eh?” I start saying. “What are you doing?” I ask him when I saw him going right. “What do you think I’m doing you stupid girl?! I’m taking you home!” He says not looking at me, so I didn’t see his blush. “Own! Who knew Bakugo could be nice!” I say laughing. “SHUT UP!” He screams.

 Note: Hope you like it! New chapter every Friday!

Tag List: @holaaaf​​

[atxlxs]

Beyond The Veil: Chapter 13

Thankfully, for Muska’s sanity, the next day the gate was repaired (because apparently it had been broken) and there were no reporters at the gate. That was probably due to Nedzu hounding them ‘politely’ which is honestly scarier than being called out.

She wasn’t too sure if blackmail was involved but she wouldn’t put it past him.

The day started normally, meeting up with Greenie and Gravity, the nicknames stuck, and heading into class. Bakugo was in his seat that morning, which considering yesterday they hadn’t seen him, was startling but she ignored him since he was treating the world as if it didn’t exist.

They spent the morning talking relatively quietly and when Iida approached to join Muska didn’t scowl or glare so overall, it was a calm morning. Well, except for Greenie’s subdued personality from the first day of school.

So it was a Bakugo thing.

Shoving that to the back of her mind for now, Muska focused on listening to the present conversation. She would have to talk to Eras about what to do while going forwards. Eras had always been strangely aware of the emotions people were feeling and what caused them to feel that way. Picking apart their behavior and posture to read them like a book emotionally so she could respond properly without harming the other person. For someone who hated dealing with her own emotions, she made damn sure to respect and treat others with care. Always telling them that what they were feeling was valid and that their response was normal for them so they shouldn’t have to change themselves just to make others more comfortable. If only she would take her own advice.

She was yanked back out of her musings when Aizawa walked through the door, his face set carefully blank as he reached his podium and commented about how it only took 8 seconds to quiet down that time.

“Today’s heroics class will be special,” a red quirked glare shut off the conversations and cheers that wanted to spring loose, “we will be taking a trip to a separate building on campus. You can choose whether or not you wish to wear your costumes or gym uniforms to go there.”

A very pointed look settled on Muska and traveled to Midoriya. Ah, obviously since their costumes were ruined (Midoriya’s more than her own) they would end up wearing the gym uniforms. She gave a subtle nod and Aizawa returned his gaze to the general class.

“Go head to the locker rooms and meet me at the buses.”

Leaving out the door much like the first day before the assessment tests, Aizawa was gone before her classmates could even ask questions. This time, thankfully, they got the memo relatively quickly and they all filed out to head to the locker rooms seconds after their teacher left.

Muska and Midoriya ended up being the only two who were stuck in the gym uniforms and honestly, yea that was expected. Why wear school sanctioned uniforms if you could be dressed as a robot. Speaking of robots, Iida was blowing a whistle, of all things he could carry around on himself, and was directing the class to line up in some kind of order. Taking his responsibilities as a class representative, which Muska had no clue what those responsibilities were, very seriously.

“Line up in two lines by seat order so we may properly board the bus!”

The class, reluctantly, started to get in those lines and Iida seemed to be quite proud of himself until he saw her. Muska was, admittedly, very confused and was just standing off to the side. Her facial expression betrayed none of her inner emotions and stayed carefully blank as she stared at everyone who in return stared back at her.

“Viridis-san! Why are you just standing there?! We need to get ready for the bus!”

Slowly, so slowly in fact that her neck should have creaked, Muska stared directly at Iida. Her eyebrow slowly raising until her face showcased confusion and she deadpanned,

“I have no clue what my number is Iida, what the fuck is a student number?”

Silence covered the class. The chirping of birds could be heard in the distance and Aizawa, who was just standing off to the side to avoid them, looked like he wanted to just take a nap. Muska could understand that on an emotional level.

Suddenly, because class 1-A can’t stay silent for long, a burst of laughter echoed from the line. Uraraka was clutching her side as she laughed and Midoriya stared at her, confused for a second, before a drawing realization appeared on his face.

“Ah, Viridis-san You sit behind me making you student number 19. I’m student number 18.” Midoriya elaborated.

Nodding, she headed over to stand behind him as Uraraka’s laughter seemed to subside into quiet giggles. When she finally looked up to see the bewilderment on her classmates' faces, she snorted before going to explain.

“After the practical exam, Viridis let it slip that she’s actually from Canada and despite living here for a while, she isn’t used to the way everything works due to habit.”

“I was homeschooled too so not much interaction with classrooms here anyways.” Muska added.

3 apologies from Iida later and 2 snorts from Uraraka that were reprimanded without heat, the class headed onto an open layout bus. Which warranted an extra snort from Uraraka and Muska at Iida’s down trodden expression.

Muska sat down next to Midoriya, he seemed to need a comforting presence nearby and he was kind and not touchy feely so it’s a win-win situation.

---Midoriya Pov---

Midoriya is confused.

It had all started with the practical entrance exam (That he absolutely tanked if it weren’t for the rescue points, god he was such a disappointment-) , Well, to be completely honest it had started in the auditorium where the practical was debriefed. Muska, who is an enigma herself, had taken it upon herself to reprimand Iida for calling him out. Saying his muttering was normal. That it was a natural way to think and therefore a testament to how serious he really was. He… He doesn’t really know how to deal with that so ignoring it seemed like a good option. (He was too used to teachers jeering and calling him creepy, that his muttering was an annoyance-)

Then there was her reaction to his rambling when she had caught him after Uraraka released his gravity. She listened and responded. She didn’t call him creepy, or drop him to deal with his injuries on his own. He didn’t even introduce himself and yet she was already responding to his questions and elaborating on what her quirk actually did! It was such a surreal experience.

The next moment when he was thrown for a loop, again, was while they were in the infirmary after Kacchan got… upset again. First, Muska introduced him to her guardian (who looked ethereal, her skin had a not quite alive appearance to it and her voice was as smooth as silk when she addressed him. Movements were graceful and fluid, yet a bit stilted with worry and anger(?) that he knew was not directed at him.) She had thanked him for saving her ward.

Midoriya didn’t know whether or not to be worried about the supposed body hiding capabilities but he chooses to believe it was a joke.

Then came his less than optimal decision to tell her that he hasn’t always had a quirk. (He was so caught up in her belief, in the casualty of the statement, that he was a hero, that he craved more. To know that wanting what he was working towards wasn’t wrong-) She just… blinked and asked why it mattered. Why being quirkless mattered when it came to being a hero.

He cried again at that.

Now, he was sitting beside her on the bus. The bus heading towards a special heroics class. Her casual decision to sit next to him was mind blowing. Not really talking, but then again Muska rarely talked unless it was quips or sarcastic responses. (He could tell she meant for none of it to be harmful, he knows on an instinctual level after having nothing but disdain and hatred aimed in his direction-) His nerves were still a little shot, school environments have been nothing but bad for him since he was 4, but having her beside him was soothing. There was someone here that he knows doesn’t care. Who doesn’t see him as any less for what he had been. This thought is what untenses his shoulders, why he relaxes when he saw her sit next to him when they first got on the bus.

It had been 5 minutes in when Asu- Tsu-san had asked him a question that had him tensing again.

“I apologize in advance since I’m blunt to a fault, Kero, but I say what's on my mind. Your quirk is similar to All Might's, Kero.”

The words “similar to All Might's” rang like warning bells in his head. Pounding against his skull as he scrambled, reaching in his thoughts for an explanation that wasn’t damning when he felt something strange.

It was as if something, gently, pried his thoughts away from the jumbled mess that they were. Soothing wash of clarity smothered his worries and he gave Tsu- san a small smile.

“In a way, though that’s probably due to strength enhancement quirks being more common than people expect. Just not to the length that All Might’s is.” He responded.

Strange, was all he could think as Kirishima cut in saying something about broken bones. The attention effectively mitigated. He had definitely never calmed that quickly before, he didn’t even stutter. It was as if his anxiety was just… washed away? He racked his brain for an explanation but came up empty.

Yet, it seemed familiar?

He was drawn out of his thoughts when Kacchan had started yelling and he was beyond startled that Kacchan was being teased. The bus arrived at the location and they all filed off the bus and headed over to the “USJ” as was explained by Thirteen, (Thirteen!) and he listened to Uraraka fangirl much like himself when it clicked. He turned his head ever so slowly to glimpse at Muska. She was standing behind them, slipping her phone and headphones back into her pocket, and Midoriya distinctly remembered an instance where she had shown off this specific ability before.

The reporters.

He subtly raised an eyebrow when they caught each other's eyes and Muska smirked.

He gave her a small and soft (relieved) smile and turned his attention back to his teachers. Gratitude settled in his chest as he listened to the exercise being explained. Hopefully, today will be a good day. He might not even break his bones!

Oh how wrong he was.

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

Tags:

@baguettehead

[julesby10]

i am easy to find

A/N: Hello again! Here’s a very late ShinoMitsu Week Day 2 entry! Prompt was insecurities / healing, taking care of each other.

Slightly more angsty than last time but hey.

Yet again, took inspiration from one of @tanukified ‘s drawings, but the drawing itself couldn’t be farther from what I wrote oops

Rating: G

Tags: Fluff, almost canon compliant, hurt/comfrt, late at night, insecurities

Summary: Shinobu has a tendency to lose track of time, staying up late into the night to work on her notes. Mitsuri is recovering from an injury at the Butterfly Estate.Mitsuri tries to talk Shinobu out of her self-destructive tendencies, but maybe she isn't ready just yet.

AO3 | FF.NET

The hallways of the Butterfly Estate were shrouded in darkness and silence. It was the middle of the night and Mitsuri was being very careful not to make any noise, to avoid disturbing all the other residents who were, supposedly, still sleeping. She usually wasn’t much of a night owl, but she’d abruptly woken up with this weird sense of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach and felt like she needed to get out of the stifling infirmary.

Honestly, she expected to be the only one awake, but a very small part of her wasn’t surprised when she noticed a blade of light coming from under the door of Shinobu’s private study.

Mitsuri should have really gone back to bed, an early morning was waiting for her and she wasn’t even supposed to be up in the first place. Shinobu had very clearly instructed her to rest as much as possible until her shoulder was fully healed. She could feel the bandages brush against the burned skin, but she also knew why Shinobu was awake and she had no intention of leaving her alone.

She headed for the door and carefully slid it open. The room was mostly dark except for the corner where Shinobu’s desk was, her silhouette outlined by the light of a single lantern. She was still wearing her hashira uniform, her haori neatly placed on its stand on the side when Mitsuri was used to seeing it on her shoulders. She cared so much for it and for a reason.

Seeing her at her desk was far from an uncommon occurrence. Shinobu had a bad habit of overworking herself to the point of almost physically collapsing until someone, usually either Mitsuri or Kanao, forced her to rest, sleep, eat. It was a cycle that seemed very hard to actually break. Plus Shinobu was stubborn as much as she was hardworking.

Mitsuri closed the door behind her and took a few steps into the room, fully convinced Shinobu would hear her, as she always did, and scold her for being there. Nothing happened, though, which was odd in and of itself. She got closer to the point she was standing in Shinobu’s peripheral. Still nothing, Shinobu was silently scribbling away at her notes.

“Shinobu?”

Shinobu jumped up from her chair, her pen falling out of her grip and clattering on the ground. Mitsuri looked down with concern in her eyes. Two buttons of her uniform were undone and her sleeves were rolled up which, to anyone else, would have been small details, easy to miss, but to Mitsuri it was a sign that not everything was at it should’ve been. She could count on one hand the times she’d seen Shinobu with a less than perfect attire. And then there were the bags under her eyes and her chapped lips. It looked like she’d been biting on them.

Mitsuri knew first-hand what self-destructive looked like and, even when Shinobu pretended she had it all under control, sometimes it felt like she really didn’t.

When Shinobu registered that it was only Mitsuri next to her she relaxed.

“Heavens, Mitsuri, you scared me.”

She sighed and brought a hand to her temple with a grimace as if trying to keep a headache at bay. Then she lifted her eyes to Mitsuri again and spoke in a rough voice, lower than her usual pitch. Another sign that she was way too tired to be awake.

“What time is it anyway? And why are you up?”

Her notes were scattered all over her desk, countless sheets of paper filled with neat writing, formulas and dosages that would never make any sense to Mitsuri. In all honesty, few could really understand the complicated chemistry Shinobu treaded around so casually. She’d mastered the craft of making poisons to the point where it had become an art. The art of killing.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Mitsuri said softly, placing her hand on Shinobu’s shoulder, dragging her touch over the stiff muscles in her back. “How long have you been up?”

Shinobu seemed to loosen up her posture slightly.

“I don’t know. Yesterday?”

Mitsuri moved her hand to Shinobu’s cheek and Shinobu leaned into the contact, closing her eyes. The small flame of the lantern cast pretty shadows on her skin, but they only highlighted how pale she was.

“Shinobu, it’s almost dawn , you can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

Silence fell between them. They’d talked about this, how pushing herself to her limits was nothing but dangerous. What if Shinobu was suddenly called on an assignment? What if she was too tired to fight? What if she got injured? What if-

“You know I can’t stop,” Shinobu murmured, breaking the quiet. “This is... the only thing I can do.”

Everyone was aware that Shinobu wasn’t physically strong enough to cut a demon’s head off, but no one had ever held that against her. She was perfect with her poisons so there was no reason for critique. Except she didn’t seem keen on thinking the same.

They did share that trait, being too strict on themselves, but Mitsuri had learned to be forgiving thanks to Shinobu and her words, the way she just cared. She had shown Mitsuri that she had value, as a person and not just as a pretty doll to be given away in marriage, that she had no reason to be ashamed of her body or her eating or anything, really. Mitsuri had learned to not resent her strength, she wished Shinobu could learn to not resent her weaknesses either.

Taking another step, Mitsuri pulled Shinobu into a gentle hug. It was at a weird angle, but Shinobu didn’t seem to mind as she gripped the back of Mitsuri’s nightgown. Mitsuri’s heart ached.

“Oh Shinobu, you are so, so much more than the things you can do. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, how much you mean to me," Mitsuri whispered into her hair.

Shinobu never cried. Shinobu never let down her defenses, except when Mitsuri was there, because Mitsuri was so painfully honest it was hard to hide anything in front of her.

Shinobu didn’t cry, but Mitsuri felt her shake in her embrace, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. The nights that were quiet made it easy to fall apart.

After a few minutes, the room was silent again.

“C’mon,” Mitsuri said, tugging her up and into her arms. "Let's bring you to bed."

Shinobu sighed into the embrace, leaning all her weight into the contact, still careful to avoid Mitsuri’s injured side. If there was one thing Mitsuri was grateful for, it was the way Shinobu had learned, albeit begrudgingly, to lower her walls when it was just the two of them. She loathed feeling weak, yet she allowed Mitsuri to see her when she was not as strong.

“As your doctor, I think you should really go back to the infirmary,” Shinobu murmured in her chest. “But I’ll let it slide this time.”

“As if you’re in any place to say anything about taking care of myself,” Mitsuri retorted, a smile at the corners of her green eyes. The way the light reflected in them was mesmerizing, so much Shinobu could’ve spent the rest of the night like that if only sleep hadn’t been aggressively creeping up her spine. She felt at peace with Mitsuri around.

“Fine, but I’ll need to change your bandages first thing in the morning.”

Shinobu looked beautiful, even with the heavy weight of her worries on her shoulders, even when she was this tired and vulnerable.

“Can’t say no to my doctor, can I?” Mitsuri smiled, then bent down to catch Shinobu’s lips. The kiss was brief, but extremely sweet, as if Shinobu was being careful. Mitsuri didn't have any explanation for that, but, then again, she didn't have an explanation for why Shinobu tasted like flowers either.

When Mitsuri looked again, Shinobu was looking up at her with fondness, a pinch of something Mitsuri couldn't quite recognize in the corner of her amethyst eyes. Sadness maybe?

Shinobu swallowed and her irises seemed to clear. "You know I love you, right?"

Mitsuri smiled softly. "I know," and kissed her again, one hand carefully freeing her hair from the butterfly pin and then placing it on the desk. "And I love you too, so much."

Shinobu smiled then, and Mitsuri knew it was not out of courtesy. It was small, but it was there and it was genuine.

Mitsuri quickly took care of the lantern as Shinobu changed into something that wasn't her uniform. They would need to wake up soon, but it didn't matter, not now. As they lay under the covers, all tangled limbs and warmth, what mattered was that they were together.

As Mitsuri closed her eyes, she noticed the bad feeling that had woken her up was gone.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Grounded pt4

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Family Characters: Scott, Tracy Family

7k words later and this thing that was supposed to be a short explanation for what I saw as a plot hole in Venom is finally at an end. Got rather out of hand but since when is that unusual with fics? This’ll be proof read, edited, and then posted on AO3/FFN soon; I’m still undecided if I should chapter split it or have it all as a oneshot but it won’t be exactly as it’s been split here because I’ve posted this as I wrote it.

Someone mentioned ‘what if the ep was really like this’ so I’ll reiterate some of my earlier notes: this fic is a reaction to the lack of TB1 or Scott doing any sort of piloting in the S3 Venom despite it being a rescue where speed was important.  All the events in part 2 fit around the events we see in the episode seamlessly (I literally watched it in 5 sec bursts as I was writing to make sure of that), so to them and everyone else who thought that: this fic is designed to be that episode, just viewed through a different lens.  And then I made it worse after the episode was over because why not.

The reaction to this has been fantastic so far, way beyond anything I expected!  Thanks for that, and I hope you enjoy this last installment as much as the rest of it.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

There was a steady beeping, calm and methodical.  Beep… beep… beep… it went, more of a reassurance than an irritant to the dregs of his consciousness.  Scott recognised it, but couldn’t place it, and found himself more interested in the fresh air flowing around his mouth and nose.  That was more immediately familiar, a constant from his last bout of consciousness, and it didn’t take his stirring brain long to label it as a rebreather.

Was that really necessary? Frowning slightly, he lifted a hand to his face and tugged the machine away, fresh air replaced with warmer air that had just the faintest tang.  The air of the sea.  He’d been on Thunderbird Two, but Thunderbird Two’s air didn’t taste of warmth and salt, rather the recycled air of an enclosed plane in flight, crisp and just a little bit off.  If this wasn’t Thunderbird Two and he was tasting sea air, there was only one place he could possibly be.

He smiled, hand still holding the rebreather falling to his side limply.  He was home.

Opening his eyes was a little more of a challenge, eyelids still heavy and eyelashes catching on each other, but as he blinked his way into awareness, beads of moisture forming in the corners of his eyes but not falling, he realised that he was almost sitting upright, the bed raised to its full extent so he was facing the wall with its fake holographic window rather than the plain and boring ceiling.

Scott appreciated that, letting the rebreather fall from his fingers as he wiped the sleep and moisture from his eyes.  He’d spent far too many hours staring at the ceiling that never changed, and at least the hologram could change.  The actual reasoning behind his positioning was more likely his rib, which Scott would worry about later.  It wasn’t his rib that had tried to kill him, and he looked down at his left arm.

A neat band-aid – a childish one, decorated with bright red biplanes soaring across a blue background that he’d always fought for as a kid – stood out against his bare skin, just below the elbow, and he smiled, wondering which of his brothers was responsible for that one.  On that same forearm he also saw a cannula, attached to tubing with translucent liquid passing through, and grimaced.  He never liked being on a drip.

He was no longer in his uniform.  Part of him – the part that contained his pride – bristled at that, wondering who had stripped him while he was unconscious and why, but the clothes he was wearing were comfortable, well-worn, and unmistakable as his favourite pyjamas even without him looking at them.  His comfort-pyjamas, although he was fairly certain he’d never made the mistake of letting that slip to anyone.  The ones he turned to whenever things got particularly rough, a plain unassuming dark grey with worn patches from the times he’d needed all the support he could get.

It could just be a coincidence, although Scott was uncomfortably aware that if there was one person he couldn’t keep anything truly secret from it was John, but whatever the reason, he was glad of them now.  There was nothing like comfort clothes after a near-death experience.

Considering he’d just had a near-death experience, the lack of anyone in the room with him was somewhat unusual.  Virgil in particular he’d expected to see, his younger brother blaming himself for bringing him out on the mission even before he’d been bitten, let alone afterwards. Kayo hovering unassumedly in the corner, sharp eyes full of concern.  John flickering by his side, watching him for the slightest change. Grandma, retired from caring for strangers but never too old to stay up all night with her family.

Scott eyed the drip. If none of his family were with him, physically or virtually, then that meant something else was going on that trumped his condition.  In their family, there was very little that trumped an unconscious brother or grandson. And if they weren’t with him, he had no intentions of staying put.

He’d removed drips hundreds of times – his own and other peoples’.  By this point, he had it down to an art, even if his sneaky family had tried to make it harder on him by putting it in his dominant arm; there were benefits to being ambidextrous.  He reached across with his right hand, fingers gently probing the needle, and had just found the sweet spot when there was the unmistakable hsss of the door sliding open.

“What do you think you’re doing, young man?” Grandma demanded, striding in and gently but firmly forcing him to release his grip.  “That’s there for a reason.”

“Hey, Grandma,” he greeted, grinning at her and ignoring that she’d just caught him trying to escape. “How long was I asleep?”

“Your siblings brought you back four and a half hours ago,” she told him, picking up the discarded rebreather and placing it on the bedside table before perching on the bed.  Scott watched her carefully, accepting the hand cupping his cheek as a thumb swiped at what was presumably some sleep he’d missed.  “Trust you to wake up the one time I have to use the toilet.  This old bladder can’t hold it in like it used to.”

Scott grimaced good-naturedly at the tmi and she chuckled at him, patting his cheek lightly twice before letting her hand rest.

“You gave us all a scare there, Scott,” she said softly, eyes running over him once before meeting his own.  “You don’t have to try and beat Gordon on that score, you know.  It’s okay to let someone else have that crown.”

“I’d appreciate it if he never gave me another scare in my life,” Scott admitted, before glancing around the room again.  “Where are they, anyway?  Not to sound self-centred, but I don’t usually wake up here alone.”

“Alan and Kayo are dealing with a stalled freighter just outside of orbit and Gordon and Virgil are responding to a sinking cargo ship,” Grandma told him.  “They’ll all be back soon, and delighted to know you’ve decided to re-join the land of the living.”  She tangled her fingers with his, pressing them to her chest with a hand that was almost trembling.  “It was a close call, Scott.  Your brother almost didn’t make it in time.”

His brother? Virgil?  John?  John had had a plan, he remembered that much, although he wasn’t sure he’d ever heard the details.  Wait…

“I heard Thunderbird One,” he said, recalling the roar that had soothed him to sleep like a purr.  It could have been a figment of his imagination, but he didn’t think so.  A smile spread across his grandmother’s face.

“Of course you did,” she laughed.  “You boys and your machines.  Well on your way to see your mother and you still recognised your ‘bird.”  The smile was bright for a moment before it dimmed again. “Alan flew all the way to a lab in China to collect a dose of the antivenom before rendezvousing with Thunderbird Two to deliver it.  I’ve never seen that ‘bird fly so fast without you in the hotseat.”

Alan.  Scott could well imagine his youngest brother, face screwed up in concentration and fear, sat in the pilot’s seat.  The idea tied a knot in his chest, but at the same time there was pride, and an unexpected thankfulness for the rib injury that had kept him grounded and subsequently given Alan more flight hours in his ‘bird. Without that…

Without that, he might well have died.  The realisation doused him like cold water, his eyes leaving his grandmother’s to stare blindly at his lap.  He’d known he was dying, remembered a desperate fight against whispered promises of the stars and seeing his Mom again, but sitting in the infirmary, home and safe, it carried a different weight.

“Oh, Scott,” Grandma whispered, releasing his hand and cheek only to draw him in to a careful hug around his shoulders.  “It’s okay. It’s over.”  After a moment his hands found the back of her always there purple onesie, fisting around the fabric as his head rested in the crook of her neck.  “It’s okay.”

There was the slightest of cracks in her voice, a reminder that no matter how much steel she was made of, she wasn’t immune to the idea of loss.  Her parents, long ago, before Scott’s memories began.  Her husband, daughter in law.  Her son, who might still be alive and waiting for them.

“I’m okay,” he repeated, as much for her benefit as his.  “I’m okay.”

Her hand found the back of his head, fingers threading through his hair softly as though he was a young boy woken from a nightmare again.  It was the sort of treatment she didn’t give him in front of his brothers, knowing that he preferred to keep up the illusion of strength in front of them, no matter what.

“I want you to take it easy,” she told him after a minute or so, releasing him and instead gripping his hands in hers.  One pair was trembling, but he didn’t know if it was his or hers.  “I know that’s not in your vocabulary, but I refuse to let you throw yourself back in harms’ way until you’re fully recovered after what happened today.”

“But-” Scott protested, complaints and reasons why he shouldn’t be bedbound queuing up one after the other on the tongue.  A single look from his grandmother quelled them all before he could vocalise any.

“If you can’t do it for the sake of your own recovery,” she said, something in her voice implying that she thought he should treat himself better – he treated himself fine! – “then do it for our peace of mind, Scott.  We were all terrified when we heard what happened. Virgil was stuck watching you slip away with no way of stopping it.  That fear doesn’t magically go away, Scott.  We all know that.”

He was saved from answering by the swish of the door opening again.  He glanced over, wondering who it could be when he hadn’t heard any Thunderbirds come in to land.  Brains and the Mechanic were the only others on the island, and while it wasn’t unusual for Brains to check up on the infirmary, Scott didn’t want the Mechanic near him in his current condition.

It wasn’t the Mechanic. It wasn’t Brains, either – or MAX, for that matter.

“h’Oh, you’re h’awake!” Parker said with a surprised but delighted grin as he fumbled his way into the room carrying a tray laden with food.  “h’I was just bringing food for Mrs Tracy…” he trailed off, but continued to approach the bed.

“Parker, you shouldn’t have,” Grandma smiled, releasing one of Scott’s hands to move the rebreather off of the bedside table.  The older man set the tray down before stepping up to Scott’s side.  He didn’t reach for him, keeping his hands loosely behind his back, but sharp blue eyes raked him up and down.

“’Ow are you feeling?” he asked after a moment.

“I’m fine,” Scott replied, ignoring the eye roll from his grandmother, who clearly didn’t agree with his assessment.  Aside from some token weariness, which he knew was normal after a spell of time unconscious, he really did feel perfectly fine.  Even his rib wasn’t bothering him.

“h’I suppose that’s because you’re h’on the good stuff,” Parker shrugged, making Scott pause.  He should have realised that, especially after all the trouble his ribs had given him on the mission.  The temptation was there to ask how badly his recovery had been set back, but that would have just given Grandma even more ammunition to stay in bed. Besides, he’d be told eventually. Of more immediate interest was Parker’s unexpected visit.

“What brings you to the island, Parker?” he asked, glancing around the room again.  “I don’t see Lady Penelope around?”

“M’Lady’s in the lounge,” Parker told him.  “We came ‘ere to drop off the Centurion-21 fuel for Brains, but ‘eard h’about you and M’Lady requested to stay h’a while.”

“You’re always welcome here,” Grandma reminded him, and Scott smiled in agreement.  “Is she making any progress?”

“h’I couldn’t say for sure,” Parker shrugged.  “But I know M’Lady and Master John won’t stop h’until they get their way.”

Scott frowned.  Combined, John and Lady Penelope were an almost unstoppable force, but he couldn’t think of any reason for that tag-team, not right now.

“What are they doing?” he asked, because anything that big, he needed to know about.  Especially if working on that was a higher priority for John than checking in on him – John, the brother who was too used to sitting out of the loop and firmly inserted himself virtually into any situation with a brother operating at less than one hundred percent.  Scott knew he wasn’t at one hundred percent, not even by his own standards.

“Making sure today’s events never happen again,” Grandma answered, curling her hand back around his again.

Today’s events. The rescue?  Him being bitten?  That was all bad luck, how could they possibly ensure it never happened again? Although, he supposed, if anyone could, it would be the duo currently working on it.

His confusion must have shown on his face, because Parker took it upon himself to explain.  “h’It transpires that the reason the ‘ospital ran h’out of h’antivenom was a funding problem,” he said, sounding somewhat unimpressed.  Scott didn’t blame him – whenever money was the problem, he found himself wanting to strangle whoever had decided lining their pockets was more important than human lives. “M’Lady h’is setting up a charity to make sure all ‘ospitals can ‘ave all the h’antivenoms they need.”  Admirable and welcome, but that didn’t explain John’s involvement.  He certainly hadn’t been needed in any of her past charity ventures.

“So what’s John doing?” he asked, hoping his brother was not ruining whoever had decided money was more important than lives.  It wouldn’t be the first time, and while Scott agreed that they deserved it, sometimes John could go a little too far.

“Arranging for International Rescue to have our own stock of all known antivenoms,” Grandma told him, squeezing his hands gently.  “We might not be able to stop spiders sneaking into our Thunderbirds, or you boys throwing yourselves in front of each other, but there is no reason why you should have had to suffer for an hour because you didn’t have the right antivenom on hand.”

That made sense, and Scott nodded his approval.  International Rescue did have a stock of common antivenoms, as well as everything they needed to deal with the local fauna on Tracy Island, but if they could broaden that, at least to the most dangerous venoms, it would only be a good thing.

It was also a typical John reaction – finding out why something had gone wrong and immediately finding a way to stop it happening again.  That, at least, told Scott that John was okay.  If he’d found a solution to the problem then he would be satisfied. No doubt Scott would find himself under close holographic scrutiny in the near future so John could see for himself that he really was fine, but with a solution the what-ifs wouldn’t be playing on his mind.

His other siblings would be less easily pacified.  He had no idea what Gordon knew, having not seen his water-loving brother at all that day thanks to a fishing trawler in trouble, but Virgil and Kayo would be kicking themselves black and blue, and Alan would be stuck in the what if I’d been too late loop.  Scott knew that feeling very well indeed.

He hadn’t yet decided if the fact that it had launched rather than exploded made the fact that he’d reached the Zero-X too late better or worse.  He wasn’t sure he’d ever decide.

“Still, I think we’d better let them know you’ve woken up,” Grandma said, releasing his hands.  “I won’t be long, so don’t even think about getting out of that bed, young man.”  She shared a look with Parker.  “If you’re hungry, see if you can eat some of that food Parker’s brought in.”  A gentle hand touched his cheek lightly before she stood up and left the room.

One look at Parker told him he wasn’t going to be going anywhere, especially when the man perched on the section of bed Grandma had just vacated.  Parker was the one he’d learnt many of his escaping tricks from – if there was one person that would see through them all, it was the butler.

“h’I wouldn’t be in too much of a ‘urry to h’escape, Master Scott,” the older man said, and Scott found himself relaxing back against the bed.  Master Scott.  It was his favourite of Parker’s ways of referring to him, but also the rarest.  He’d graduated to ‘Mr Scott’ after the Zero-X, the man’s acknowledgement that he was now the head of the family without using the dreaded Mr Tracy.  Parker never called him that, not even in public when the rest of the world insisted. Sir was a substitute when society demanded, and Scott always appreciated that.

Master Scott only came out when Parker was being fussy, and never with an audience.  Just like Grandma, he knew and accepted there was a front to be held in front of younger siblings – even if neither of them approved.  If he was Master Scott, he wasn’t expected to make any decisions or take on any of his father’s responsibilities.

“Some food?” the butler asked, gesturing to the tray.  It was homemade, but not by Grandma, and Scott would have to be far worse off to even consider declining that.  In answer, he reached for the toast, only for Parker to lightly touch his wrist and stop him. “You’ll get crumbs h’everywhere if you h’eat like that,” the older man scolded lightly.  “Stay still, there’s a good lad.”

The tray was relocated to his lap, and Scott tore into the offering as soon as Parker retracted his hands, to an amused chuckle from his companion.

“h’It’s not going anywhere, Master Scott,” Parker reminded him.

“He’s just trying to finish it before the others get home and want to share,” John commented, and Scott’s head jerked up to see his brother’s hologram materialise alongside him. He looked tired, not that that was an unusual occurrence over the past few weeks.  “You’re looking better, Scott.”

“I can’t imagine that’s hard,” he managed through a mouthful of food.  The last time he’d been aware of John’s presence, he’d been deep in the clutches of deadly venom.  If he’d looked half as had as he’d felt, it would have been an awful sight.  “How’s the campaign going?”

John pulled a face.  “They’re asking for money, which by itself isn’t a problem because I expected that, but they’re trying to charge us triple what they charge hospitals, and as Lady P’s working to get those rates reduced because they’re extortionate, I’m not letting them use our lives to line their pockets.”

Scott grimaced along with him.  Money grabbers were the worst.

“So what’s your plan?” he asked, because there was no way John was letting that slide.

“Persuading them that it’s better in their interest long-term to not try and bankrupt us,” John offered, a bemused look on his face.  “We could afford it, but if they think that they’ll be driving the prices up with every new shipment.  More realistically, I’m talking to Colonel Casey to see if the GDF can’t pull some weight. As they’re military and not private, the companies couldn’t charge them as much.  It would leave us needing the GDF’s good will for access, but we already know the GDF don’t dare put us out of business.”

It was Scott’s turn to pull a face.  He hated getting the GDF involved in anything; for as long as Colonel Casey was a dominant figure in the organisation International Rescue wouldn’t have any issues, but in the longer term he was brutally aware that she was their father’s generation.  At some point, she would be forced to retire and then they’d – he’d – have to handle the full force of the GDF without inside help.

Still, he trusted John and Colonel Casey.  Anything they implemented would be beneficial to International Rescue.

“Let me know what you come up with,” he requested, and John nodded, turquoise eyes briefly scanning across him.

“Alan and Kayo will be returning home in five minutes,” he told him.  “Do you want me to tell them you’re awake or let them find out for themselves when they check in?”

“Tell them once they’ve landed,” Scott decided.  “Virgil and Gordon, too – what’s their ETA?”

“They’re racing Thunderbird Three home,” John shrugged.  “But Thunderbird Three will win.”  Scott chuckled.  Alan somehow always won their races home, no matter how much further away he’d been.

“What are they betting this time?” he asked, and John grinned.

“Loser gets to be your slave for the week,” he said.

“Mine?”

“Well you’re not doing much on your own any time soon,” John told him matter-of-factly.  “Has Grandma given you the rundown?”  Scott blinked, pausing mid-bite.

“I thought I was supposed to be walking around with the ribs,” he ventured tentatively.  “But no, I haven’t been told what the damage is yet. Care to fill me in?”

John glanced away at something Scott couldn’t see.

“Your rib re-broke,” he started bluntly.  “Which I’m sure you’ve realised.  So that’s another six weeks grounded, and this time no-one’s sneaking you onto a Thunderbird before that’s up.”

“Six weeks?” Scott groaned.  John raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“Well what did you expect?” he asked.  “Kayo filled us in on the mission details once you were stable.  You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.”

“But-” Scott protested. “What about the mission to find Dad?” John shook his head.

“The new Zero-X will take longer that to construct,” he told him.  “Brains and the Mechanic finished the T-Drive while you were out in Brazil and we’ve got the fuel, so they’re going to test fire it tomorrow to make sure it’s all working before they start on the craft itself.”

“Tomorrow?” Scott asked. “If it’s ready why not today?”

“Even engineers need breaks sometimes, Scott,” John scolded lightly.  “They’ve been working almost non-stop for the past five weeks, which I know you know.”  There was a slightly accusatory tone at the end of his sentence, and Scott realised John knew how closely he’d started watching the two engineers.  “Besides, Grandma and Virgil won’t let you out of that bed for at least twenty four hours, and we all know you won’t be happy unless you see it for yourself.”

Well, they weren’t wrong.

“You still haven’t told me why I’m getting a slave for a week over a broken rib,” Scott realised, and John once again raised an eyebrow at him.

“You haven’t tried to get out of bed yet?”

“Don’t h’encourage ‘im, Master John,” Parker groaned.  “Mrs Tracy ‘ad to stop ‘im h’earlier and ‘e ‘asn’t ‘ad h’a chance since.”

“It was an hour before the antivenom reached you, Scott.  The damage doesn’t get miraculously fixed just because the venom’s gone,” John continued.  “Your blood pressure is still low so I’d wager you’ll probably pass out if you try to stand right now, no matter how ‘fine’ you feel, and we don’t yet know for sure if it’s done any damage to your heart.”

“My heart?”  The soft background beeping caught Scott’s attention and he turned his head to the EKG.  It was on, signalling that it was receiving data from wireless transmitters.  He put a hand to his chest; underneath the pyjamas he felt the tell-tale patches, leaving him with no doubt that it was his own heartbeat it was recording.  “Oh.” That was low.  Not dramatically so, but lower than his normal resting rate.

“It’s recovered reasonably well, but Grandma and Virgil still aren’t happy with it,” John told him. From his tone, it wasn’t only the family medics unhappy.  “I know you don’t like staying in bed, but unless you want to fall over and make your ribs worse, I would suggest you stay put.”

Scott scowled.

“You’re also recovering from dehydration, so drink up and leave that drip in,” Grandma added, walking back in with a large cup, complete with straw.  “I see there’s nothing wrong with your appetite,” she observed. Parker obligingly removed the now-empty tray away from Scott’s lap and stood so that she could sit back on the side of the bed.  “Drink.”

Obediently, he took the cup with both hands and sipped at the liquid, which revealed itself to be simply water.  A dull rumbling even through the soundproofing of the infirmary told him Thunderbird Three was back.  John confirmed that before signing off to talk to their returning siblings.

Scott made a note of the time, wondering how long it would take before he had visitors.

Three minutes later and the door slammed open to find Kayo and Alan shoulder-to-shoulder, clearly racing each other.

“No running in the house!” Grandma barked, but neither of them looked the least apologetic.  They did at least walk the distance from the door to his bed, where Grandma had slipped off to let them get closer.  Both stopped short, Alan fidgeting from foot to foot at he stared at him with open relief, and Scott rolled his eyes.

“Come here,” he told his youngest brother, spreading his arms in demand of a hug.  As always, Alan needed no further invitation, crashing into him and wrapping his arms around him tightly, although it didn’t miss Scott’s attention that it wasn’t Alan’s usual rib-squeezing hug.  He appreciated that, curling his own arms around his brother’s shoulders.

Alan was trembling.  “I thought I was going to lose you,” he mumbled into Scott’s neck.  “I thought-”

“I’m still here, kid,” he interrupted quietly.  “And I hear I have you to thank for that.”  The sniffle he got in response told him it was Alan, the baby brother, rather than Alan the emergency responder he was dealing with.  “You did good.”

“I thought I was too late,” Alan mumbled, and there were tears against Scott’s skin.  He tightened his grip on his brother.  “You looked d-dead.  I d-didn’t think you were breathing.”

“I’m here and breathing,” Scott reminded him, letting him sob on his shoulder as long as he needed, rubbing the neoprene – both siblings were still in uniform – underneath his hand reassuringly.  He remembered the same reaction after EOS had first made herself known to them, only that time it had been John Alan had clung to in tears, post-adrenaline rush. They needed to stop putting their lives in Alan’s hands like that.

But Alan would settle, barring the new nightmare fuel that never went away, once he’d let out the initial emotions.  It was either a blessing of youth, or a coping strategy he’d been forced to employ too young. Kayo, who was watching with unguarded relief across her face, was like John; pragmatic and level-headed.  A serious conversation would settle her, although when she met his eyes, he linked his hands together behind Alan’s back and made them flutter, shooting her a quick grin.

The resulting glower she sent him didn’t hide the softening in her eyes, or the way her shoulders slumped. Satisfied for the moment, he returned his attention to his youngest brother, who seemed content to stay where he was.  Scott let him, nodding at Parker when the older man gestured that he was going to leave the room.

No sooner was Parker gone than Gordon burst through the door, Virgil hot on his heels.

“Scott!”  Gordon skidded to a stop just behind Alan, reaching out to put a hand on Scott’s shoulder where he could.  “Don’t do that again,” he demanded, amber eyes flicking to the EKG for a split second before he found some space to perch on the bed behind Alan.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Scott shot back.  Gordon grinned.

“I won’t if you don’t,” he said.  “Deal?”

“Deal.”

They couldn’t really promise that, not in their profession, but Scott saw something lift behind Gordon’s eyes, the banter regardless doing something to reassure him.  Gordon had always used humour to cope.

Four siblings down, or at least addressed, and one to go.  Somehow, Scott didn’t think a hug or joke would work quite so well on Virgil. Guilt was deep-set in brown eyes, but Virgil didn’t look at him directly, focusing on the EKG and drip as he bustled around.

“Virgil,” he said, pulling one hand away from Alan to catch his brother’s arm the moment Virgil got in reach. It was the arm with the needle in it, bright band aid stark against his skin.  Virgil’s eyes focussed on it and Scott sighed, tightening his grip on the neoprene beneath his fingers.  “Look at me.” He couldn’t do much, not while Alan was still clinging to him, but hell if he was going to let Virgil shut himself away and stew in a self-inflicted puddle of misplaced guilt.

Virgil stilled, but didn’t obey.  Scott closed his eyes and sighed again, squeezing Alan lightly.  The blond snuffled but didn’t otherwise move.

“Virgil.”  That was John’s voice, his final brother reappearing holographically at the foot of Scott’s bed.  The middle brother ignored him, too.

“Kid, your brother’s talking to you,” Grandma chipped in.  “At least have the manners to look at him.”  Despite the words, there was no scolding in her tone, just a quiet encouragement.  Virgil glanced up at her, and a look passed between them that Scott couldn’t see before Virgil slowly turned to face him.

“Thank you,” he said before Virgil could apologise, or say something else nonsensical.  Whatever his brother had been gearing up for, it clearly wasn’t that; he blinked, startled, before opening his mouth to probably-protest. “I know it was Alan that got the antivenom, but you’re the one that kept me alive long enough to get it.”

“I’m the reason you needed it in the first place!” Virgil snapped, looking away again.  “If I’d paid more attention… if I-”

“If nothing,” Scott interrupted, conscious that they had an audience but unable to ask anyone to leave.  He wanted his family there, with him, and knew they were all busy reassuring themselves that he was going to be fine.  “You’d have done the same thing if our positions were reversed, except I’m not as good as you with all the medical stuff.”

“You’d have done enough,” Virgil mumbled, and Scott rolled his eyes.

“And you did enough,” he returned.  “No what-ifs, Virgil.”  Hell knew he’d told himself that enough through the years, with varying levels of success.

Virgil at least met his eyes again, even though Scott could see it wasn’t enough to lift the guilt. That would take much longer, including him making a full recovery and a conversation without the rest of the family listening in, intentionally or not.

“You’re staying in that bed,” he said instead, and Scott made a grumbling noise of protest.

“So I’ve been told,” he replied.  “I can’t say I’m happy about it, but John made quite the compelling argument.”

“Does this mean you’ll listen to me for once?” John asked disbelievingly, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

“What do you mean, for once?” Scott asked.  “I listen to you!”

“When it suits you,” John rebuked.  “I have a list, if you’d care to hear it.”

Scott wouldn’t put it past John to actually have a list.  He turned his attention back to his other brothers without responding, to an amused noise from the space monitor, and gave Alan a grin as the youngest finally pulled back from his shoulder, eyeing him with teary blue eyes.

“I’ll sit on you if you try and get up,” the youngest told him firmly, look somewhat ruined by those eyes. Gordon laughed.

“Alan, you’re a twig.”

“Am not, fishboy!”

“Are, too!”

“Not!”

“Boys,” Kayo interrupted, taking a few steps closer to the cluster on the bed.  With one arm now free, Scott reached for her and got a light hug at his silent request.  It didn’t last long, but it was enough for the rest of the tension to leave her shoulders before she stepped back, out of his reach again.

“Hey, where’s my hug?” Gordon demanded, and Scott raised an eyebrow at him.

“You want a hug, you’ve got to come get it yourself,” he said.  “I’m not moving.”

Permission gained, Gordon shoved Alan out of the way, the younger falling off the bed with a squawk of indignation, and wrapped himself around Scott.  It was far looser than his usual hugs, but out of all his brothers, Gordon was best at gauging what an injured person could take.  Scott rested his chin on his shoulder, feeling the dampness of the neoprene that betrayed that Gordon had been in the water during his mission.

Tension drained out of his aquanaut brother’s powerful shoulders and Scott found himself relaxing as well.  He’d always found it easiest to relax and wind down when his brothers were okay, and with three out of four openly reassured, his own nerves were less on edge.

“I’m still sorry,” Virgil said after a moment.  Scott still had hold of his bicep, and glanced up at him as he spoke.  That pain and guilt was still there in brown eyes, but it was Gordon and Alan that Virgil was looking at.  A big brother himself, he too was being drawn into some sort of reassurance by the youngest two calming down.

There were many responses Scott could give, and maybe later once it was just the two of them he’d dive deeper in if Virgil hadn’t managed to settle himself and needed a stronger release, but in that moment, with his family around him and the knowledge that whatever happened next, they’d survived this hurdle, there was only one thing to say.

“I know.”

Surprised brown eyes met his, as though Virgil had expected another rebuke, another it’s not your fault, but Scott knew better.  He didn’t blame Virgil at all, but it wasn’t his forgiveness Virgil needed; his brother needed to forgive himself for his perceived transgressions, and that he couldn’t do as long as Scott stayed stubborn.  He tugged at the bicep in his grip, coaxing Virgil closer with an inviting smile.

Virgil hesitated, understanding but unsure.  Scott didn’t say anything else, didn’t push harder, but then Grandma put a hand on Virgil’s other arm and whatever remaining fight there was seeped away.

It was Gordon’s turn to squawk as he found himself nudged out of the way, but he went willingly, surrendering the space to Virgil as Scott’s dark-haired brother wrapped his arms around him cautiously.

“I’m okay,” Scott murmured into his brother’s ear, returning the hug as fiercely as he could.  Like Alan before him, Virgil shook ever so slightly under his touch, but unlike the youngest, no tears were shed.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Virgil mumbled.  “You stopped breathing for a minute just before Alan arrived and I thought that was it.”

“I heard you,” Scott admitted, just as quietly.  “I don’t think I’d have had the strength to keep fighting without you.  Alan might have got the antivenom, but you saved me, too.”

Virgil gave a shuddering breath and his arms tightened, just a little.

They stayed like that for several minutes, Scott managing to relax further now that was the fifth and final sibling’s immediate concerns addressed, but eventually Virgil pulled back, the ghost of a smile on his face.  He looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, Gordon crashed into him.

“Group hug!” he declared, reaching out to snag Alan and pinning an unprotesting Virgil in place as Scott’s three youngest brothers gathered as close as they could for a tangle of arms and bodies on Scott’s bed.  Alan flailed in Kayo’s direction and the woman stepped closer, slipping an arm delicately around the back of Scott’s neck and more tightly around Alan.  Scott grinned at her before looking past the mass of brothers to lock eyes with the one he couldn’t reach.  John grinned back at him, and even though he wasn’t physically there, Scott didn’t need it to know his immediate brother was just as relieved.

The hug lasted until Grandma intervened, suggesting that they let him have a little bit of space. He didn’t need space, but they all heard the underlying reminder that he was in that bed for a reason.  After that, it was back to business as usual, his on-Earth siblings scattering to change on Grandma’s order and reconvening later in their civvies with various forms of entertainment while John went back to his latest project.

Lady Penelope poked her head in later, but he didn’t see Brains – or the Mechanic – until the next day.

“I-it’s time to t-test the T-Drive e-engine,” the engineer told him the next morning, after checking him over in his own desire for reassurance; there was some guilt there as well, for pushing him out on the rescue, but thankfully Brains was much easier to calm than his brothers – the fact that Brains hadn’t seen him almost dead helped.

“Give me five,” he said, reaching for the drip stuck in his arm.

“Make that ten, Brains,” Virgil rumbled, catching Scott’s hand.  “Scott’s not up to walking even if he thinks he is.”

Scott groaned, but Virgil raised an eyebrow at him.

“I thought John made a convincing argument for you to stay in bed?” he challenged, and Scott shrugged.

“That was yesterday.”

“And your heart rate still isn’t back to normal, so it’s the hoverchair or nothing,” Virgil rebuked, rolling his eyes.

Scott sighed but dutifully held out his arm for Virgil to remove the drip instead.

“No, that’s coming with you,” Virgil corrected, gently pushing it down to his side again.  “Just the EKG.”  The machine was turned off, but Virgil made no move to relieve him of the transmitters, telling Scott that it was being linked back up later. Wonderful.  “Now then, let’s get you out of this bed-”

Scott leaned forwards and swung his legs around, placing them on the floor and pushing himself to his feet.

“Woah!”  Virgil sprinted around the bed and caught him as his vision fuzzed.  “John’s compelling argument?”  Scott was vaguely aware of being shifted around as the world spun around him, but it was a surprise to find himself in the hoverchair by the time he was fully aware of his surroundings again.  Usually, Virgil would dump him straight back in bed.

“Okay, John’s compelling argument still holds,” he admitted, leaning against the back of the chair and closing his eyes briefly as the world tried to spin a little more.

“Let’s get going,” Virgil sighed.  “Hands off the controls; I’m steering.”  Scott grumbled, but had no doubt that the controls had actually been disabled.  “As soon as the test is over, you’re coming straight back.”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” he asked, and Virgil chuckled.

“Not at all.”

They were last to the balcony; it didn’t escape Scott’s notice that the Mechanic was the other end to the rest of them, talking quietly to Brains but otherwise ignoring the Tracys. That suited Scott just fine; if the test worked, he was well aware he owed the man an apology for his accusations of sabotage.  Although maybe he’d keep that back until the Zero-X2 launched successfully and Dad was home. Just in case.

“You look pale,” Grandma commented.  “Did he try to stand up?” she asked Virgil.  Scott glowered as Virgil rolled his eyes in answer.

“What do you think?” he asked rhetorically.  “He didn’t pass out entirely, otherwise the test would be happening without him, whether he liked it or not, but it was close.”

“He is right here,” Scott grumbled.

“And he’s going to keep his mouth shut and drink this up,” Grandma informed him, pressing a cup of water, complete with straw, into his hands.  “You shouldn’t be out of bed at all, young man.”

“T-test is ready,” Brains announced before Scott could find a retort that wouldn’t get him taken straight back to the infirmary.  “I-igniting T-Drive in three, two, one.”

Without binoculars, it was difficult to see what was happening on the platform, but nothing exploded and after several moments all that could be seen or heard was the whining of an engine.  It was higher pitched than the engines Scott was used to, but there were none of the warning noises suggesting that something was wrong.

Beside him, Virgil sighed in relief while Gordon and Alan whooped.

“C-cutting engine,” Brains called, and it powered down easily.  Smooth as any of the best plane engines Scott had piloted – and he’d piloted many.

It had worked.  They had a T-Drive engine.

They could go find Dad.

“Scott?”  Virgil sounded worried, and he opened his eyes – when he had closed them? – to look up at his worried brother.  Alan and Gordon hovered nearby, and he looked at them all in turn, even John’s silent hologram – his ginger brother hadn’t been there when the test had started, hadn’t been expected after he pointed out their holotech’s range didn’t reach that far.  “Are you okay?”

Was he okay?  He had a broken rib, was recovering from a near-fatal spider bite and its side effects of dehydration, bradycardia and hypotension, and the man who had almost killed his brothers multiple times was standing the other end of the same balcony.

But they were one step, one significant step closer to Dad.

“Yeah,” he said, staring out past them, at the platform cradling the most important engine International Rescue had ever created.  For the first time since that horrid trash mine day five weeks earlier, he could honestly say, “I’m okay.”

Fin

[daddywankenobifics]

Fred and George Weasley X Reader- Tragic Magic

Tragic Magic-

Genres: Fluff, Slice of life, Slow burn, implied smut, pregnant reader sad ending

Warnings: Implied smut, mild language, character death

Quick Summary: (Y/N) has grown up close to the weasley twins, and considers them to be best friends. But as time goes on, that friendship slowly grows into something more. But will those feelings survive the trials and tribulations of war?

AN: Lemme hear you say WAY HOOO! first fic on this blog, I hope you all enjoy! I did my best to edit out all the small errors, but if something slipped by me let me know!. I already know when it comes to the HP time line things are a little off! I hope it doesn’t bother you guys too much! Without further ado enjoy...

-----

You had known the Weasley's your whole life, you can’t remember a day in your childhood it wasn’t filled with their laughter. Growing up you were best friends with the twins of the large family. You first met them while visiting the countryside, you were only 5 years old. Your family was hopelessly lost, and then out of nowhere appeared the weasley household. Just standing alone in the countryside.

Molly invited your parents inside to talk over tea, while you were just a shy and young thing and decided to hide behind your parents the whole time. It didn’t take long for the twins to notice you. Pulling on your pigtails and beckoning you to play with them, they were charming even as boys.You were hesitant at first, but slowly you came around to the twins. You couldn’t tell them apart at all and they used that to their full advantage. Fred and George Weasley were without a doubt the most curious creatures you had ever met. They pulled you out of your shell, from playing tricks on their younger brother, pulling pranks on each other and just being mischievous kids. Your parents quickly took notice of this, and realized that there was no stopping your blossoming friendship. It was almost as if fate wanted you to get lost in order to meet your future best friends.

Needless to say, as you grew up together you grew closer. By the time you were ten years old and preparing for Hogwarts, Fred and George had exhausted most of their tricks on you. They couldn’t fool you with their “Forge” tricks anymore. The boys knew that if they pulled the wrong prank on you, there would be no end to your wrath. It seemed like no matter how much you grew up, they stayed childlike and carefree.

That’s what you loved about the Weasleys.

Things took a turn when the time for Hogwarts came around. Fred and George were quick to find their place in Gryffindor. You however were hesitant to accept your place among the Slytherin students. You knew that the boys wouldn’t look at you differently because of it. But all their friends took one look at you and you could tell they had you all wrong. Your Slytherin classmates tried to tell you time and time again that Fred and George were no good. Half-way through the school year you were fed up with everyone telling you “Fred and George are this and that” or “(Y/N) was just an untrustworthy cut-throat slytherin girl”

You decided that you would be rebellious and stay friends with Fred and George, you didn’t care anymore.

It was the best decision you ever made.

The boys assured you that they didn’t care about you being a slytherin.

“Honestly (Y/N) do you think were stupid? Only an idiot would stop being friends with you George would say.

“And besides, it’s not like we can resist you.” Fred would say sneaking behind you and pulling you into a hug.

You would sigh and roll your eyes, but true to their words you never the boys remained devoted to their friendship with you.

Everything was so simple when you were kids, Hogwarts…Fred and George…learning magic in an ancient castle…all of it seemed like a fairy tale…

Everything was so simple in those first few years.

Just because you were lucky enough to overcome your personal issues at school, it didn’t mean the three of you were without insecurities and scrutinizers.

You were sitting at the Gryffindor table with Ginny, waiting for her brothers to meet you after quidditch practice. Ginny was buried deeply in a book, she had become quite the young lady over the years. You remember when she was shy and easily embarrassed. Just like you….

You were sitting with your elbow propped on the table and your chin in your hand. You watched Ginny as she read, watching her expression.

She looked up to you and laughed slightly. “what?” she asked, as she noticed your gaze.

You raised your eyebrows and sat up, “nothing…just trying to figure out when you became so grown up.”

“I don’t think you become grown up…I think you chose to grow up.” She said, “Surely your friendship with my brothers has taught you that.”

“My friendship with your brothers has taught me many things…” You said, “mostly that I have a patience of steel.” The two of you laughed, and it was this laughter that sparked the interest of your underclassman Draco Malfoy.

He stood up from his spot at the slytherin table and stormed his way over towards you.

“Oi, (L/N) what the matter with you?’ he asked.

You sighed, and looked up to Malfoy. Ever since he enrolled in Hogwarts he would always ask you why you were so nice to everyone. By everyone…he usually meant Gryffindors. He would respect you as an upperclassman but…that was about it….in the past couple of weeks you could tell that the respect he had you for was beginning to wither away. He had become a real thorn in your side.

Whenever he asked you about your fancy for Gryffindors he usually accused Fred and George of something ridiculous. You would always respond calmly with a smile.

“There is more than one way to get what you want in life Malfoy,” You would say “You mistake ambition for dishonesty.”

He would drop the subject after that…. But today, he seemed to be standing his ground.

“What do you mean?” You asked, “Do I look sick or something?”

“You’re real sick,” Draco said, “you want to be associated with such disgusting low-class people?”

“Hey!” Ginny yelled.

“Buzz out of this Weasley.” He barked.

At this you slammed your hands down on the table and stood up. Draco took a step back, but you grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. The great hall fell silent, as the students all stared at your and your scene. 

“My house does not dictate who I can and cannot be friends with….and neither does my blood purity.” You said.

Draco seemed slightly taken back, “What do you mean by that?” He asked.

“Maybe you should try talking with someone who isn’t a pureblooded Slytherin” You said, “or are all you supremacists’ friends like you are related?”

Draco narrowed his eyes, “I talk to you, don’t I?” He said, “you may be an upperclassman but your no friend of mine…stupid half-blood…no wonder your friends with the Weasleys…how did you even become a Slytherin?”

You sighed, and bit your tongue. With a roll of your eyes you looked over to Ginny, “tell your brothers I’ll meet them later.” You said.

With that you turned your back on Draco, you were storming your way out of the mess hall when you spotted Fred and George in the doorway.

All the irritation on your face suddenly melted away as soon as you saw them. As you smiled at them, their eyes suddenly widened.

You stopped in your tracks in confusion. Just for a split second everything moved too fast for you to even see.  George pulled you into his arms and shielded you with his body, while Fred jumped in front of you and deflected a spell.

A spell casted by Draco.

“What the bloody hell is wrong with you?” Fred and George yelled in unison.

Your eyes were fixed onto Draco.

The whole mess hall had fallen silent, everyone was staring at you and Draco.

“Attacking your upperclassmen is grounds for expulsion.” Ginny scolded standing up. She rushed over towards you and her siblings.

Fred and George began to usher you out of the hall, you pulled away from them and looked back to Draco.

‘Petty isn’t a good look for you…” You said, your words dripping with venom. You would be sure to avoid Draco from now on.

Fred and George held tightly onto you as they pulled you along through the hallways. You could tell they didn’t completely know where they were going, they just wanted to get you away from Draco.

“Guys I'm fine, I'm not some porcelain doll that you need to protect.” You said pulling away from the two of them.

Fred and George stared at you like you were mental, the two of them were still clad in their quidditch uniforms.

“How are you not mad, an underclassman just tried to attack you.” Fred said.

“You had your back turned on him too, if not for us you would have gone to the infirmary.” George added.

You bit your lip and crossed your arms. “It’s not that I'm not mad.” You said, “have neither of you been paying attention to the news?”

The two of them were quiet, Ginny looked at her brothers in disbelief. “Oh you idiots..” She said embarrassed

“The relationship between the ministry and Hogwarts is growing thin…and with rumors about “You Know Who” things aren’t getting any better.” You said. You leaned in and whispered to the two boys while looking up to them “There have been muggle attacks…people are talking about a full-on war.”

“What are you getting at (Y/N)? George asked.

“Draco is an impressionable and easily influenced young boy. And that snake he calls a father isn’t the greatest of influences either. In short…. I understand why he did it.”

“What?” They asked in unison.

“(Y/N) You don’t think that the Malfoys have anything to do about the death eaters, do you?” Ginny asked.

“Why not?” You asked, “Harry has been barking up the same tree, hasn’t he?”

It was at this exact moment in time, professor Mcgonagall decided to turn the corner, interrupting your conversation.

“That is a serious accusation miss (L/N),” She said, “I should think to deduct points from your house for such gossip!”

“Mcgonagall!” You exclaimed “I just- “

“Now you show up?” Fred asked

“Where were you when Malfoy decided to draw his wand on (Y/N) for laying some truth down on him?” George added.

 “What nonsense are you talking about?” She asked, clearly surprised by the boy's sudden attitude.

“Malfoy tried to attack (Y/N) in the great hall, everyone there saw it. Just go ask them!.” Ginny said.

Mcgonagall was silent, she looked at you while you scowled, “And what would you like me to do about this Miss (L/N)?” she asked.

You were busy thinking, you leaned your back against the wall, your eyes narrowed. “I for one believe in that natural order of the universe.” You said “he will get his karma…but not from you Miss Mcgonagall. “

“I hope this isn’t your means for more trouble, I have my hands full already as it is.” She said.

“Don’t worry professor.” You said, “I promise on my honor as a Hogwarts student, I am on my best behavior.”

Mcgonagall sighed and rolled her eyes, before pushing past you, “I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” She said.

“When are you not?” Fred and George asked.

You smiled slightly, as Fred and George nudged at each other. Ginny seemed less than pleased before walking off towards the Gryffindor common room.

“Hey, look now George…she’s smiling again.” Fred said pointing to you.

The two began to close in on you, leaning their hands against the wall on both sides of you.

Your smile changed to a smirk, “Oh are you sure about that George, perhaps you need to get your eyes checked?” you asked playfully.

“Cold as ice, like always (Y/N)” Fred said, leaning into your ear.

“should we cast a spell to melt that cold heart of yours?” George asked.

You pushed past the two boys easily. “I’d rather cut my hair, and have you mistake me for Pansy Parkinson!”

“That can be arranged (Y/N) …” George said.

“Oh, but most definitely arranged.” Fred said.

You gave a simple girlish laugh, before running off, Fred and George couldn’t help but chase after you.

If only all of you knew that this was just the start of all your troubles…

You stared blankly at the notebook in front of you, your hand moved mechanically as it took notes.  All you could think about were your dull and bitter feelings…. Fred and George had left Hogwarts…

All those dreams and any individuality you had was drained from you in this environment…. inside this cold house of chains orchestrated by no other than Dolores Umbridge.

Memories of their laughter and pranks rang through the hallways…yet without them here beside you it left a haunting memory of nothing but a ghostly fever.

What would Fred and George do if they were here? Why should you care about them now anyway? They were selfish enough and stupid enough to give up their lives at Hogwarts…who would give up the magic even if it was only for a moment?

‘Who would do that?’ you thought…

You looked up from your notes and up to professor Snape, as he continued his bland lecture on how to properly summon a patronus.

It was at this, you slammed your fist on the table. “How do you expect us to summon an embodiment of joy when there isn’t anything for us to be joyful about?!” you yelled.

“I would suggest you hold your tongue miss (L/N).” Snape said.

“This is wrong and you know it! This isn’t the Hogwarts way! With all these rules this school is like a prison…all you do is talk down to us like some kind of elite warden!” You yelled pointing your finger at Snape.

“That will be enough (L/N) …50 points from slytherin, remove yourself from my classroom immediately…you just earned yourself a detention.” Snape said menacingly.

You smirked as you collected your notes, “I will gladly remove myself from your classroom.” You said storming off.

You could see Draco smirking at you from the other side of the room. He loved to watch you struggle, like you were beneath him.

You rushed through the halls of the castle, letting your instincts guide you. The Hallways were unusually empty, no thanks to Umbridge. Running up staircases, you were relieved to see that this tower’s paintings had yet to be removed. You searched desperately for the one painting you knew would relieve the stress built up inside of you.

The fat lady.

You approached her dead on, she seemed momentarily shocked by your bold approach.  

“P-Password?” she stuttered.

Without a moment’s hesitation, you responded “Abstinence.” You said

“but your- “

“A trusted friend of the Weasley’s I need to talk to Ginny…hell I’ll talk to Ron if I have to! Open up!” you barked.

She seemed surprised by this, yet opened nevertheless. You barged into the tower, calling out for Ginny or Ron.

Hardly anyone was around, however the people who did see you seemed just as shocked and confused as the fat lady.

You ran into the common room, to find Ron Harry and Hermione sitting in front of the fireplace. They stood up as soon as they saw you.

Ron rushed over to you and hugged you tightly. He knew just how close you were to his brothers, and having known you the longest out of his friends, felt the most sympathy for you.

“This place is hell without them,'' you said softly, as you hid your face. You had always prided yourself on your ability to keep yourself together, but as it would seem you relied more on Fred and George than you thought.

Ron didn’t say anything, Hermione and Harry made their way towards you and rubbed at your shoulders.

You bit your lip, and looked up to Ron, “when did you become taller than me?” you asked, trying to dismiss your feelings.

“(Y/N)” Harry said, “you don’t have to take this anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” You asked, pulling away from Ron.

“let’s meet up after class…talking about it in the open isn’t safe.” He said.

“I’ll have to meet you after detention…” You said.

“let me guess…you told someone off?” Ron asked.

“am I that predictable?”

The three of them were quiet, you sighed and tried to smile slightly. “I look forward to seeing what kind of mischief you are brewing Harry.” You said.

During detention, you were silent as the others around you winced in pain. Sure, the blood running down your arm signaled that you were in pain, but not a single sound left your lips, not a twitch of your eye or a bite of your lip. You stared at headmistress Umbridge the whole time as you wrote in your notebook. “I will not talk back in class.”

Thoughts of Fred and George still lingered in your head. It was this woman who pushed them away…it was all her fault.

Umbridge approached you calmly, with that smug and superior look on her face. “I never expected the likes of you to show up in my detention room (Y/N).” she said, “I always thought you were a good girl.”

Already you were annoyed with her, the way she talked down to everyone. You have had enough of it, it’s sickening. She’s no better than the rest of you.

“Perhaps you thought wrong of me.” You said, still looking her on the eye, you dared not look away.

She was quiet for a moment, as she stood next to your desk. “Perhaps I did, “she said “but then again, once I saw you were friends with those Weasley twins I guess I always knew 

that you would end up in trouble eventually.”

At this you stopped writing, “and what do you mean by that professor?” you asked.

The corners of her lips curled up into a smile, she had you now.

“Those Weasleys. They are quite the troublemakers…always causing some kind of trouble whether it be that clumsy boy, Ronald, or your friends, the twins and their messy pranks…they are quite dirty don’t you think?” she asked. Her voice peaked as she finished her statement.

So that’s how she was?

You didn’t bat an eye, you didn’t wince, or frown.

You took a deep breath, and wrote your final sentence in your book. You slapped it shut, making sure the feather marked the final page.

You handed the book to Umbridge, and leaned in closely.

“you forget one thing about me Professor.” You said “my friends are Gryffindors…natural born leaders…and I’m a Slytherin…we know how to get what we want.  Be careful of who you provoke…in these dark times…you never know who’s on your side.”

Umbridge’s smile fell, her eyes widened as her short and furious temper began to take over her.

“I’ll choose my own friends Professor…I’ll see you tomorrow.” You said. With that you turned on your heel, and strutted your way out of the detention room.

Umbridge looked down to your book, opening the page where your feather had marked it. She read down the columns until she got to the final sentence.

“You do not scare me.”

You could hear her scream get cut off by you slamming the door shut. You knew there would be hell to pay for it later…but right now…you didn’t care…you didn’t care about the words you had inscribed on your arm…you didn’t care about the politics or anything.

You rushed down the halls of the castle, cold air tickling your senses, your heart beating loud.

You ran straight to your dorm, and quickly scribbled down a letter to Fred and George.

Dear Forge,

         I have realized exactly why you decided to leave Hogwarts. I admit that it is lonely in this castle without the two of you. I can’t stand it here…if I were to leave it would break my mother’s heart…I want to see you...i just want you guys to come home…Hogwarts is our home…

With love,

(Y/N) (L/N)

During the Holiday season there was usually so much cheer and joy in the castle.

You were surprised that Umbridge allowed for a Yule ball…nonetheless it was the talk of Hogwarts for months. As soon as you caught word, you scribbled a letter to Fred and George.

You knew that those pesky twins would appear sooner or later…in the meantime…you made merry with your friends. Hermonie and Viktor danced next to each other, while Harry and Ron sat next to the other famous twins of Hogwarts Padma and Parvati. You held a glass of pumpkin juice in your hand, a lonesome smile on your face.

You could hear a laugh emanate from over your shoulder, here appeared Draco Malfoy.

“Look at you (Y/N) …all dressed up yet no one to dance with.” He said

“Perhaps, I don’t like to dance…and I simply came to have a good time?” You said

“please, surely even a girl like you can’t enjoy sitting around doing nothing.” He said with a smirk. 

You sat your drink down on the table and stood up, glaring him down. Your heels gave you extra height over Draco who shrunk slightly. 

Before you could open your mouth, your eyes flicked over his shoulder, in the window just outside was the patronus of a Coyote. It prowled about, before looking up at you.

“perhaps I have better things to do than argue with an underclassman.” You said, smirking as he showed signs of discomfort. “or perhaps the underclassmen enjoys arguing with me?”

Draco’s face went bright red, as you pushed past him.

You grabbed your shawl and ran outside, you were careful to avoid Snape, who patrolled the grounds looking for troublesome couples.  

That would be you....

Fred and George were smart enough to meet you closer to Hagrid's hut. You knew well, that even if Hagrid caught you, he wouldn't turn you over to Umbridge.

You were walking through the meadow, just at the forest's edge.

"Fred, George." You called out in a soft whisper yell.

Your heart began to race in a fit, as leaves and twigs snapped underfoot. You couldn't see into the trees, but you could tell it was Fred and George that were approaching.  

A long whistle rang through the air, as the twins finally emerged from the shadows.

"My god, George....it seems we have died and gone to heaven." Fred said eyeing you up and down.

"Oh sweet angel of death, comfort me with your sinful embrace...carry me home with your sweet yet poisonous kiss." George teased.

You couldn't hold back your smile, you ran into the two and threw your arms around them. They were quick to embrace you, a hand on your shoulder, another at the small of your back.  

"We wanted to see you too (Y/N)." They said softly.

You glanced up at the twins and they whispered mischievously at you. You tried to hide your blush as your face went red.

"The first time we see you in months, and you have to show up looking like that." Fred said.

They advanced on you like a pair of hungry monsters. The hand on your shoulder, slid forward and rested on top of your chest. Right above your racing heart. The hand on your back ran up your spine, before settling on the back of your neck.

"H-hey." You said nervously "what's with those hands! I-I may have wanted to see you two, but don't make me out to be desperate!”

"But that's just how your letter sounded." George said, as he leaned in over you. You could feel his breath on your skin.

"It's not nice to trick people you know," Fred said.

"You’re ones to talk." You said "all you ever do is play tricks! You sly foxes..."

Fred and George looked to each other, a smirk on their face.  "That we are..." They said.The two of them leaned down and tried to place a kiss on your cheeks.

At this you pulled away from the boys, "guys I...I love you both so much...but we cant..."

"What's wrong?" Fred asked.

"Just...everything that’s going on...with Umbridge and…”You Know Who”...I just-I'm afraid of-"

"(Y/N), all of that...it's just the reasons why we should do this." George said.

"Tomorrow is never promised," Fred said.

"Never." George added.

"Now, George and I have agreed to make things easier for you." Fred said.

"We won't make you pick between us." George finished.

Your face went bright red, you instantly knew what they were talking about. Yet even if your heart knew well what they were walking about, your brain refused to accept it.

"What are you saying?" You asked, looking to the ground "how could you both love me that much?"

Fred and George closed in on you again, before whispering to you.

"We just do."

All your caution was thrown to the wind. Both of them loved you,

You closed your eyes, as they leaned in, you chin instinctively tilted up. You could feel the heat from their bodies envelop you. Slowly and intimately you could feel their lips press against the corners of your mouth.

Every touch, and every kiss, you could feel their passion. They held you like it was your last night on earth.

As the world went on you realized the ugly truth in Fred and George’s words that night.

If the world were to end in flames you wouldn't have cared, as long as you burned with those that you loved.

The beloved figures you once called your parents were dead. They died because they tried to stand up for what they believed in...what they thought was right. Two more victims Voldemort and his followers had to account for...

The flame that you called your passion had died out of fear.

You were cold and afraid, no one could return to Hogwarts now...not after everything that had happened with Umbridge...the death of Dumbledore...and now Snape?

Still beyond all your fear, you hid safe and sound inside the Weasley house hold. The light and warmth of this house is what kept you sane.

"I thought Spring was supposed to represent rebirth." You said as you say at the kitchen table.

Molly stood at the sink washing dishes, she looked to you with a smile on her face. It was that nature of hers that kept you coming back to the Weasley household. That and two other things...

"It does," she said as she scrubbed at a plate. "Perhaps you are looking in the wrong place, if you are looking for change that is."

You smiled and stood up, "perhaps," you said. "Maybe once this is all over...the world will be just a little bit better."

"That's the spirit (Y/N)," she said "go wash up dearie....it's getting late."

You wished her a good night, before making your way up the staircase. You were supposed to be rooming with Ginny and Hermonie...however as of late, you had been retreating to the familiar embrace of Fred and George. You couldn’t explain why you felt so afraid for them...you couldn't get that fear out of your heart...

The twins had yet to return home from their daily business in Diagon alley. Your energy felt drained without them...so alone and unhappy. Were you being clingy? Or perhaps just too attached?....they were all you had left...those blasted Weasleys....

You mustered up the strength to take yourself to the bathroom and wash the dirt of the day away. You could feel the water cleanse your skin, giving you just a moment of peace.

After you had dried off and changed your clothes, you found yourself laying in what felt like Fred's bed. You could tell the small differences between the twins even if they were microscopic. Fred smelled slightly different from George, both of them chose to smell like pumpkin and spices. But to you, Fred always smelled just a bit more like pumpkin than George....George always smelled like cinnamon.

You were trying not to think about all the enclosing darkness and just try to drift asleep. Your sense of time was beginning to fade, and you were close to falling asleep when you felt a weight shift on the bed. Groggily, you looked up to see the form of Fred and George looking down at you.

"F-Fred...George..."you muttered as you rubbed your eyes. "Your home."

The two of them smirked, "that we are," Fred said "that we are." George repeated.

Before you knew it, George's lips began to attack your neck, while Fred's lips sealed your own. your eyes widened in surprise before softening. When Fred pulled away, you gasped for air as he and George switched places. Your fingers ran through their hair as a moan left your lips.

"Ah...Fred...George..." you called out.

"Do try to keep your voice down (Y/N)," Fred said as he kissed your collar bone.

"Or do we have to charm the room?" George added, as he bit at your ear.  

You slapped your hand over your mouth as you squeaked, your heart was beating so loud.

"I think you know what that means..." George said as he rolled off of you.  

Fred continued to kiss you, everywhere he could, while George pulled his wand from his pocket.

"Imperturbable." He whispered. His wand pointed at the door. The spell covered the door, as well as the walls in light. As soon as the spell was set in place, Fred bit down on your neck. You still tried to stifle your loud moan.

"Don't hold yourself back (Y/N)..." George said. "We can do whatever we want."

Fred licked at your neck, and pressed his body against yours. George laid down next to you, and placed his arms around you.  

"Don't be greedy Fred, leave some of (Y/N) for me.'

The time you spent with Fred and George was the closest thing you would ever get to heaven in your life. After that night with them together, together in a warm and welcoming home....

Everything that surrounded you was dark. In this darkness you refused to cower in fear, this was your lone mistake.

You didn't know any better, all you had on your mind was justice.

Not the lives around you.

That night almost left like a dream, and you woke up in a nightmare.

Smoke covered your skin blocking your vision, as you flew about frantically on your broom. This was war, you should have known better. The only thing you had on your mind was getting to the designated safe place Harry and the others had talked about. Fred and George were leading you there, unwilling to leave your side.

Your mind was racing, as you twisted and turned. You held a hand on your stomach as every little movement caused you pain. Explosions went off around you, you shut your eyes tight.

A hand reached out and grabbed your arm. Your eyes shot open and for a single second the fear of death eaters flooded your veins. Your heart was still beating fast when you saw the outline of Fred.  

You didn't say anything, you let your eyes do the talking for you. You were still afraid.

An explosion sounded behind you, and Fred quickly pulled you along. He brought you over towards George. His eyes were hard, but the second he saw you, they softened. He was worried about you, and had a million other things on his mind. But the number one thing in his head...was you and Fred.

You could see the others now, they were fine...everyone was going to be fine.

The moment you relaxed, that was when it happened. You could hear maniacal laughter, the sounds of spells flying by over your head. Your eyes looked to Fred, then over to George. Someone yelled out that the safe spot was just ahead. You felt your heart twist, You could hear that laughter again. Fred's eyes widened, and the next thing you knew, he had leaned over and kicked the side of your broom. You were pushed to the side, and almost fell off your broom. You looked over just in time to see the explosion go off.

"NO!" You screamed.

Your vision blurred with tears, and your hands were shaking. As the smoke around them cleared, you could see blood dripping down the side of George's head.

Fred staggered about on his broom. You rushed over to him, as you and the others began to descend. He leaned against your side, and spat up blood. You helped to steer his broom to the ground. 

The only thing

Your feet tumbled as you hit the ground. You fell with Fred in your arms, George rushed over to his other side. The two of you continued to cry, you laid your head on Fred's chest. You felt his hand twitch, as he tried to raise it to hold your own. It was like the world had just stopped.

Molly's scream rang through the air, as she saw Fred. Mcgonagall appeared behind her, the two rushed to Fred.

Molly was in hysterics, as she Mcgonagall and two other students that you didn't know pulled Fred away from you. They began to ramble about how to heal him, your protests were ignored. As they pulled him away you could see his hand fall from his side.

They would never get the chance to heal him.

Immediately, you rushed into George's arms. You remained on your knees, as you buried your face in his chest. You let out small screams of protest.

"George...did that just really happen?" You asked.

He didn't respond, the only sound you could hear was that of the beating heart in his chest. It was racing fast, almost as if it was ready to break out of his chest.

Everything was all so fast.. George placed his arms around you and hid his face in your hair.

"(Y/N)...." he said

It was worse when Ron found out, by then you had used up most of your tears. Your head hurt, you sat on a small set of steps staring blankly at your hands. George stood next to you, looking over the dead body of his twin brother. His face looked angry and so unfamiliar.

You looked up to him, with your red and puffy eyes.

"George, " you asked "what's gonna happen now?"

He was reluctant to respond to you. You could tell that he wanted to protect you, but he would have to avenge his brother before he could do that.

"George..." you asked again.

It was painful to admit, but now that you were looking at George....all you could see was Fred. The ghostly image of his brother swelled up inside you, until you were forced to look away. You shook slightly as you sat, waiting for George to speak.

"Go home (Y/N)." He said suddenly, he didn't look at you, he just kept staring at Ron who was weeping over Fred.

"George...what are you saying?" You asked. "My home is with you and-"

"Fred is dead (Y/N)...I just lost my twin...the other half of me..." He said "I don’t want you to end up like him..."

"George...you know I can take care of myself." You said

"If you could take care of yourself, Fred wouldn't have pushed you out of the way." He said suddenly.

The room fell quiet, everyone had heard him. Ron looked up from Fred, you could see the pain in his eyes. This was too much, you could feel that twisting knot in your stomach again. This time it crept its way up into your throat. You quickly stood up and turned your back.

"Don't you dare blame me for this George Weasly." You said "You know better."

George didn't say anything, this irritated you. You cocked your head to the side and spun on your heel. You turned and faced him.

"This isn't going to be fair George...war isn't fair." You said.

"I know it's not," he said "look around  (Y/N) how many bodies do you see?"

"I see someone I love laying dead on the ground!" You yelled. You took two steps back. "And I see his ghost standing before me telling me it's my fault."

"(Y/N)...." a silent whisper came from the crowd. You looked to your right to see Molly covering her mouth in shock.

That's right...the others didn't know...

"I loved Fred," you said to Molly "and I love George too...but no matter which path I took I guess we were doomed to end it here. "

You turned back to George, "no matter where I go now...if I chose to leave or stay...It's not my fault."

The room was quiet again, George took your hand and looked you dead in the eye. 

"That's right...you wouldn't want to be haunted by the ghost of the man you loved." He said.

You felt your heart snap.

You pulled your hand away from his, "then this war is for nothing." You said softly.

You waited until their backs were turned, to let the tears begin to fall again. You walked away from him, you could hear the other Weasleys calling your name. Ginny and Ron mostly, but somewhere in that mix you could hear Molly too.

They didn't just lose Fred that day.

It wasn’t fair to the others for you to just leave them, but it wouldn’t be fair to you to stay...it would never be fair again....

You did something you were told to do for the first time ever that day. You did as you were told. You left. You went into hiding until the war was over. You didn't want to think about what happened to Fred, but after a few weeks of hiding, that's when you found out.

You were pregnant.

You gave birth to a healthy little boy with your eyes, and a tuft of bright red hair. You were a young mother, alone and afraid.

You wanted to reach out to George, but after the birth of your son you also found out that George had married a former classmate of yours.

You didn't know where to go or what to do. How could you deprive your son of a family? No matter what you did...you just couldn't do it.

After sometime in half-way homes and hopping from town to town, you managed to find a job working in Diagon alley. You worked at a small little bakery, the pay was enough to get by. The owners were kind enough to allow you to live in the flat above the bakery, so long as you kept the shop clean.

It was even far enough from Weasleys Wizards Wheezes that the chances of you crossing paths with George were minimal.

It's not like you went out much anyway, now, and then again for groceries and essentials.

Everything was beginning to come together, it was just you and your son.

Fredrick Forge (L/N).

When he was just a toddler he would often ask you about his dad. You kept a picture of Fred on your windowsill by your bed. Every now and then he would take it and show it to you with a mountain of questions. You would pull him into your lap, and tell him the story of his father. You wouldn't tell him much, for your own sake. Only that he saved you during the darkest hours of the great wizard war.

If he asked where he was now you would always answer;

"He won't be coming home today baby, maybe tomorrow."

You knew it was cruel to trick him like that, but part of it was to partially fool yourself. You wanted to believe that Fred was somehow alive, that one day he would walk right into the store and take you away back to the home you grew up in.

You wondered about the Weasleys, it was a very public affair when Ginny married Harry. Hermonie became the head of the ministry of magic, and her husband Ron an Auror. You wanted to reach out to them so much... you wanted to hear from George...

Part of you was still in love with him...and always would be.

Everyone got their happily ever after...but...did you? Were you really happy with this life? He would find out sooner or later about Fredrick..

You would never be ready for that day....

11 years came and passed in the blink of an eye. Your son had already grown so much. He stood tall next to you, gripping his cart tight. He was quite different from the other kids, and he could tell that. He seemed somewhat insecure that the others had two parents to show them off instead of one. You ruffled the top of his head to ease his trouble. Locks of red hair ruffled in your hand. His owl, whom he had named Bugsly squeaked and flapped his wings.

"Freddy, I'll take your luggage over to the loading station, why not go look around for a bit ok?" You said.

His eyes widened and sparkled, he had been waiting for this day for a long time. The stories you told him about Hogwarts danced in his head all throughout his childhood. He loved magic, just like his father....

He gave a nod of his head before running off. You smiled as you watched him disappear into the crowd. Somehow in this moment a familiar wave of content ran over you. You looked to the ground, before pushing his cart over to the loading station.

You smiled at the station worker as you approached, you started to hand him bags while checking all of his name tags.

"First year?" The station worker asked.

"Yes, I'm not worried though, my son is so excited to go to Hogwarts." You said.

"I remember my first year...it seems so long ago now." He said "I graduated just before the war and attack on the castle....my mum called me a lucky one...how about you?"

You looked away and bit your lip, "I...wasn't so lucky." You said.

The station worker fell silent, "My apologies miss....I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright," you said "That's all behind me now."

You gave a smile, and handed over another bag of luggage.

Suddenly, Fredrick burst through the crowd, screaming "Mom! Mom! Mom!" Your eyes widened as he crashed into your side, he grabbed onto your sleeve and began to pull you along.

"F-Fredrick! Where are your manners?! What's the matter?" You asked as he dragged you away from the luggage station. You looked back to the station worker who gave you an amused smile.

"It's dad! He's back!" He yelled "he finally came back!"

Your eyes widened, you felt your heart stop.

"Fredrick, what on earth are you talking about?!" You yelled. Fredrick ignored you and continued to pull you along the platform

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" He yelled.

The top of red hair caught your eye, and as the sea of people seemed to part just for you.

There he was...for a moment part of you really thought it was Fred. Hearing Fredrick call him dad put the thought in your head for the first time that George may have actually been his father...

You felt your heart skip a beat, and your breathing hitch as he turned to face you.

"Dad!" Fredrick yelled " I knew you would come back mom always said you would! The other kids never believed me but I knew it! We've missed you, haven't we mom?" Fredrick wrapped his hands around George’s waist, locking him in a hug

You were speechless, all you could do was stare at George. He seemed surprised too, the two of you were locked in each other's eyes.

"Mom?" He asked, his eyes glimmered with a beam of sadness.

This seemed to snap you out of your trance, you took a step back and looked to the ground. You pulled on Fredrick's arm.

"Fredrick, the train is going to be leaving soon. "you said "go get on board."

"What?!" He asked "but dad just got here!"

George stepped in front of you and took a knee in front of Fredrick. "Listen to your mom, chap..." he said

"Will you be here when I get back?" Fredrick asked.

George was quiet, Fredrick suddenly hugged him again before pulling away. "That's ok...I had a feeling you wouldn't stay long. I love you mom, I love you dad." He said before running off.

You watched as he ran off to the train, you felt a pang of guilt in your heart.

"(Y/N)....Wanna tell me what's going on?" George asked.

"Will you blame me again this time?" You asked, feeling somewhat spiteful. "I don’t know who his father is if it really is you or Fred…but look at him...tell me you don't see Fred in him..."

"(Y/N) I-" He started

"Don't bother George...we both remember how it ended...what do you think it would have done to me to go back to you? "

"What do you think it did to me when you left?" He asked.

You fell silent. George smirked, "That ugly nature of yours rears its head again...what could I have ever seen in a Slytherin? Goodbye (Y/N)." He said. He turned on his foot and began to walk away.

You looked to the ground, "His name is Fredrick!" You shouted.

George stopped in his tracks.

"Fredrick Forge (L/N)..." you said...George turned around and looked at you.

"Forge?"

"I told him stories about Hogwarts every night. About the flying books, and the changing staircases...the thrill and danger of Quidditch...My fun loving trouble-making best friends..." Your voice began to croak

George began to walk back over to you, every step he took felt like a milestone...

"(Y/N)..." he called.

"The one thing I always wanted to show him...was my patronus t-to... show him mine..." by now your tears were falling. "But I could never do it...it all hurt too much..."

"(Y/N)...." he called again

"I was still so young when he was born...I had nowhere to go...how do you think I felt when you got married...I still love you George...and I still love Fred...."

"(Y/N)?!" He yelled You felt his hands grab your shoulders. "Would you quit rambling?....sad isn't a good look on you..."

You hid your face in his chest. You bawled your fist, and beat it on his chest.

"Why did we run away? Why did we cut each other off?...we both know Fred wouldn't have wanted that..."

His arms slipped around you and pulled you close. "I don’t know... (Y/N)...all this time...I've wanted to say your name...but I've had no reason to other than to apologize to you..."

You wanted to keep yourself hidden...you didn't want to look at him...you just wanted to feel him and hear him. But the mention of an apology sparked your interest. You looked up to him with tears in your eyes.

"(Y/N)...I was in shock when Fred died...I never blamed you for any of it...I never wanted to hurt you...all I wanted was to keep you safe." He said, " the only way I could think of doing so was to push you away...but if I had known about Fredrick...I would have ran with you..."

"You were afraid of losing me...I knew that much...but why didn't you reach out to me?" You asked.

"I hurt you...and you hurt me...when you called me the ghost of Fred...I was afraid that if I were to reach out to you...all you would see was him." He said

"George...!" You threw your arms around him

You held each other like that, in a loving embrace as all the years of pain and suffering faded away.  You knew there was no happy ending for either of you…the only thing you could do now was accept the lives you had made for each other.

Perhaps one-day Fredrick would be able to meet his family...

You could feel a warm ghost like hand on your shoulder, and a force pressed against your back. George seemed to notice it before you did, he looked to you and smiled. The train’s whistle gave a loud howl, and slowly the engine began to pull it out of the station. You and George turned to face the train, you wiped away your tears and smiled as you spotted your son in the window.

He was smiling so bright, sitting next to two other kids who would undoubtedly become his friends. You and George waved him off. All the worries of the future seemed to fade away as the train pulled out of the station. Perhaps when Fredrick returned for the winter, you would come clean to him…

“So…(Y/N),” George asked, “where are you staying these days?”

You blushed slightly, “I work at The Magician’s Bakery. The owners were kind enough to give me the flat upstairs.”

“You’ve been so close yet so far away all this time?” He asked, he laughed slightly to himself. “You should come by the gag shop sometime, mom and dad pop in all the time they’d love to see you again…”

The two of you fell silent for a moment, “I’d love to see you again..” he said.

You smiled, and glanced over his shoulder, Angelina Johnson, now Weasley, stood looking for George. She was holding a younger girl close to herself. You sighed and closed your eyes.

“I’ll make time if I can, but don’t get the wrong idea George.” You said “we will both love each other in some part…but there are others who love us too.”

George glanced over his shoulder to see Angelina, he looked back to you. “Friends then?” he asked, extending his hand.

“were we ever not?” You asked, shaking his hand. That warm feeling pressed tightly down on your hands. You smiled at him before pulling away.

“Goodbye (Y/N)…”

“Goodbye George.”

[ymir-me]

Soulmate dry your eye (’cause soulmates never die)

A/N: Hello everyone, happy Royai Week!!! This is my first English fic and I made it for the “Old Wounds” prompt, I hope you’ll enjoy it! Thank you @the-inarticulate-chikin for being my friend and beta, love you so much <3 

AO3

@royaiweek

Summary: Fuhrer Roy Mustang has to deal with some old wounds, luckily General Riza Hawkeye is always by his side.

The mess hall was crowded as it usually was at noon, the familiar sound of chattering breaking  into the hallway when Fuhrer Roy Mustang opened the dark wooden doors. It was so loud he couldn’t hear the storm raging outside anymore, the rain had been pouring down since the early morning and the wind was so strong it bended a tree he could see from his window. 

His new rank came with responsibilities, sure, but with some privileges too, like a personal chef and a private room where to eat his lunch in peace and quiet. He had never took advantage of this opportunity once and continued having lunch with his subordinates at the same, old, chipped table. He merged in that crowd sneaking past people, trying to avoid being recognised and start the usual chain of salutes, small talk and unnecessary gossiping. 

Waiting for his turn to take his bowl of stew, he scanned the room looking for his team and finally spotted Havoc, Catalina, Fuery, Falman and Breda, uproariously laughing their hearts out at a joke, and judging by the expression painted on Havoc’s face, he was the victim of that joke. The old lady working at the cafeteria greeted him and served his portion, that looked slightly more abundant than the others’, and handed him a little loaf of bread to match it. With his usual womaniser smirk, he thanked her and went his way with his fragrant stew bowl, already savouring the tasty meat and fresh vegetables. 

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck through his right hand making him lose grip on the tray, which fell on the floor loudly causing everyone to turn towards his direction, thus ruining his undercover mission. The stew spilled everywhere and the bread started filling with the hot liquid. Not that he cared about the mess in that moment, kneeling on the floor, squeezing hard the aching hand with the other, his breathing quickened and teeth clamped. That pain wouldn’t go away and latched onto every one of his nerves, strangling them. He could feel them throbbing, begging him to set them free from that torment.

Those were the wounds that King Bradley inflicted on him with his swords, moment before opening the Portal of Truth. The Philosopher’s Stone he used to heal Havoc’s legs and to restore his own sight had been long used by Dr. Marcoh and its power wore out before he could use it on his hands. Or General Hawkeye’s throat. Roy had accepted it, fully confident he could have healed all the same. He was wrong, of course. He later discovered how delicate hands could be and how hard was to recover from literal holes carved in his palms. A small gathering of people approached him, visibly worried for their Fuhrer’s well-being, but before he could even speak a familiar voice stepped in, inviting everyone to go back to their business. Hawkeye squatted in front of him, over the stew puddle, and rested a hand on his shoulders.

“Perhaps you need a hand, sir?” she whispered teasingly. He rewarded her with a strangled laughter, finally lifting his gaze from the ground.

“Make it two, Hawkeye. They both hurt like a bitch right now.”

“That’s what I thought. Let’s go to the infirmary, sir.”

 -

Roy had always hated the infirmary and yet he had to see it far more than he would have liked. The sour green and white walls were painted recently and he wondered why they chose the same colors again. Shouldn’t they ask the Fuhrer first?

“Sit, sir. I’ll be right back with some ice for your hands,” Riza gestured towards the doctor’s chair and he obeyed, but sat on the desk. The General let out a defeated sigh but didn’t argue, she then vanished behind the door of the ice-house shuffling the medicine vials, looking for some ice cubes.

The pain in Roy’s hands had numbed down, turning into a dull ache reverberating through his fingers and wrist, up until the elbow. Trying to give himself some relief, he tried to massage the center of his right palm, where the reddish scar was, failing miserably since the other hand wasn’t collaborating either. Letting out a frustrated groan, he abandoned his task shortly after, and started scanning the room to focus on something that wasn’t that pesky sensation.

Hawkeye finally came back, mission accomplished, and grabbing a clean handkerchief from the inside of her uniform she wrapped the ice in it. 

“Open your hands, sir,” she ordered, handing him the cold, little bundle. She rested the back of his hand over hers and put the ice on his right palm, then grabbed the other hand and placed it over the cloth. She gingerly cupped them both, helping him holding them in place. The cool sensation of the wet handkerchief soothed the pain instantly and the Fuhrer sighed, relieved.

“Thank you,” he said, sternly. “I really made a fool out of myself, didn’t I?”

“I don’t think so, sir. You can’t control the weather and barometric changes make the old wounds hurt, it’s a normal bodily response.” 

“I suppose, it happens when it rains. I guess water still makes me useless,” Roy grinned.

She gave him a fleeble smile and fell silent for a few minutes, both enjoying the companionable silence, lost in their own thoughts. Riza’s hands were warm and soft against his and the contrast with the cold ice was giving him an unfamiliar yet pleasant sensation. He could feel his hands going number and number, to the point he couldn’t feel his palms and fingers anymore.

“Are you feeling any better, sir?” Riza’s voice was almost a whisper, as if she didn’t want to break that comfortable atmosphere the silence had created. Roy lifted his gaze and found hers already on him: he was the Flame Alchemist, his flames could create an intolerable heat, but her deep brown eyes were threatening to melt him on the spot, like one of the ice cubes he was currently holding.

“I can’t feel them anymore, to be honest. I guess that’s positive,” he shrugged, still not retracting his own hands, seemingly wanting to absorb Riza’s body heat until he caught fire himself. Because she, her body and her soul, reminded him of fire whose tongues could both warm and mistreat with its licks, motherly and dangerous, both blaze and hotbed. 

“Good, we can switch to some exercises to warm the hand up,” Riza’s hands opened his, carefully removing the dripping handkerchief. She quickly tossed it in the sink and sat again on the chair facing the desk on which Roy was sitting.

“You know how much I hated those exercises,” he eyed her, lifting an eyebrow. “I don’t even remember how to do them.”

“Well, good thing I do remember. Let me help, sir. Please,” she said, and it sounded more like a pleading. Roy could sense something was wrong with her, he should have known better: she was acting weird since they had arrived at the infirmary, her body language betraying her stoic expression; that vein on her temple raging was proof of her uneasiness. 

A thunder shook the building, the floor trembled below their feet and the rain started pouring harder and faster than before. The wind slammed the window open, Riza felt her back and hair dampening with raindrops but didn’t move from the chair she was sitting on. 

“You’re gonna catch a cold if you keep staying like this.”

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you from that madness,” she finally spoke, her voice no more than a whisper. She looked so tiny now, sunk in her shoulders, sheltered by her winged fringe. “I’m sorry I failed you… I’m sorry I couldn’t follow you into hell.”

Roy froze on the spot, flashes of those black hands dragging him through the Portal of Truth, all those information forcefully shoved in his brain, the world around him suddenly going from blinding white to pitch black. 

He shook his head lightly, trying to get a grip on himself. Last thing he wanted was to make her feel worse than she was already feeling. A whirlwind flared up in his mind, he couldn’t stand to see her in that sorry state, but what was bothering him more than everything was that she was right. What he saw was actual hell, and he was glad she didn’t get to see it. She had already seen enough of it.

He lowered his eyes to his hands, her thumbs were drawing circles over the red scars while applying a light pression, expanding the movement gradually until she reached fingers and wrists. She knew what to do, she had followed every medical examination attentively back when they were at the hospital, both recovering from their wounds. Riza made sure to learn every stretch of the fingers, hands and arms, every point where to apply pressure, and was meticulously repeating them by heart. 

In those small gestures there was everything he meant to her: hope, devotion, redemption, friendship, connection… Love. 

“You know, you were there,” When he spoke, he couldn’t help but to touch her hair, pushing the damp strands from her forehead and cheeks. She lifted her head, startled by his words; her cheeks had dried up already and her expression shifted into a giant question mark, which Roy found very funny since it was hard taking her by surprise. “Over my Portal of Truth there were engraved two serpents and a Sun, which looked really similar to those on your back. The Elrics told me their Portals were different from mine.”

“That’s just the Flame Alchemy,” she argued, arching an eyebrow.

He scoffed, for the first time in his life he was about to checkmate Riza Hawkeye. “You didn’t do your homework, General. Those serpents are meant to represent water and femininity, the White Queen in alchemy embodies these elements and she’s also seen as calculated and controlled. Does it sound familiar to you? You were there, Riza. You were there with me, you’re always with me.”

A tiny smile finally dawned on her face, softening her expression. She stopped massaging his hands and started bending genty each finger and once she was done, she switched over to the other hand, giving it the same ministration. 

Then. Then she did something Roy had never expected: Riza drew his hands near her face and placed the tiniest, sweetest kisses on both his palm, over the scars.

And Roy felt like he was on fire. If she really was water, in that moment she was boiling hot. He knew he was blushing like a teenager in love and he also knew she noticed, because of the playful smile she was giving him.

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your words. Do you feel better now?” 

He could tell how relieved was feeling now. He squeezed lightly her hands in his, dwelling in their warmth for a few seconds more. Then, he let them go. The storm had finally calmed down, but she was still wet from the rain poured down on her back and hair.

“I am, thank you. Now let’s go get some lunch, I’m starving,” he said while making his way to the infirmary door, eager to take a breath of fresh air and calm his racing heart.

“Yes, sir. Can I ask you a question?” He turned towards her and nodded, encouraging her to go on.

“What does the Sun mean? And why was it engraved along with the serpents?”

Roy swallowed, caught off guard by her way-too-specific question. Should he explain that the Sun, associated with the Red King, was meant to represent him and thus the intertwining of those elements was specifically addressing the marriage of the two? No, like hell he was explaining that. He felt his ears flushing even harder than before. It looked like Hawkeye was about to checkmate him once again. In that moment, he realised he had forgotten she had studied alchemy at some point in her life; she had intentionally cornered him. The only choice was to leave the game. “Dry up and meet me at the mess hall, Hawkeye. I can’t run a country on an empty stomach.”

He quickly closed the door behind him before she could get the chance to reply and heard her unmistakable, clever and crystal clear laughter expanding through the room on the other side.

-

P.S.:

That part on Riza’s tattoo was inspired by this video, if you haven’t seen it yet GO SEE IT NOW IT’S THE BEST!!!

Title taken from the lyrics of “Sleeping with Ghosts” by Placebo 

[scribbles97]

Left Behind - Chapter 36

PART 1 / PART 2

Chapter 22 / Chapter 23 / Chapter 24 / Chapter 25 / Chapter 26 / Chapter 27 / Chapter 28 / Chapter 29/ Chapter 30 / Chapter 31 / Chapter 32 / Chapter 33 / Chapter 34 / Chapter 35

Read on on AO3

It was easy to take her frustrations out on the punchbag in the gym, to vent the anger into strength and power in her arms and legs. Sweat beaded down her face, merging with the few tears she had allowed to escape with the thought that maybe she wasn’t worth the man she had found herself loving. 

Virgil could do so much better. 

Virgil didn’t need someone that had a murderer for an uncle. 

Virgil wouldn’t want her, not really. 

Even when out of sight her damn uncle was ruining everything. Just like he always had as long as she could remember. 

There was a photo somewhere, in her mind it was faded and crumpled, but she knew the digital version would still be clean and crisp no matter how much she wished to shred and burn it. She must have only been ten or twelve at the time, her mothers birthday she remembered. That morning Tanusha had run to the bakery to get the pastries mother had liked best. Uncle had turned up just after dinner, a card in hand and a smile on his lips as he had greeted her parents. She had ignored the sharp low tones her father had greeted his brother with, simply pleased to see the man that had always brought her gifts from the west of clever tools that most young girls would show little interest in.

It was only when she realised that the tools were really weapons that she began to question just how he had gotten them into the country. 

The night had ended in an argument, her mother insisting Gaat was bad news, her father insisting that he had meant well. She hadn’t seen the harm at the time, thrilled with her gifts, her mother’s birthday forgotten. It had only been at bedtime when she had heard mother crying that she had realised what her uncle was doing to her family. 

It was only months later that her mother was dead. 

The memories of all that had happened in that single year had scarred her deeper than any other physical wounds she had. 

Out of breath, and too mentally drained to continue her assault on the punch bag, she bent double and wiped her face on her sleeve. 

“You must not blame your Uncle for everything in life, ‘Nusha.”

She straightened, glaring at her father with a shake of her head, “You don’t understand.”

His smile was soft, sympathetic as he tilted his head in consideration, “I was hurt by him too, do not forget that.”

Snatching her water from the bench, she turned her back on him. Their issues were different. Her father was not the same man as her uncle, he had been older when he had been hurt, already moulded into the man he was. She had only been young on the other hand, still being formed into the woman she would become, malleable and easily influenced. 

“You cannot use him as an excuse to drive us away.” Her father warned, “You know that would be what he would want.”

She wanted to snap at him, tell him that he didn’t understand what she was feeling and to leave her alone. Was a little space too much to ask for?

“Kay?” The second voice did make her turn, her father stepping back through the door as Virgil replaced him, “Please don’t drive us away, I don’t want to see you hurting.”

The door of the gym slammed shut, her father making a point she didn’t doubt, less than subtly. She didn’t need to hear the soft click of the lock to know that they were shut in and not likely to be allowed out any time soon. 

“He talked to you didn’t he?” She guessed, watching Virgil. He was out of uniform, changed into a t-shirt and sweats, ready for a settled evening of peace. 

Part of her scoffed at the notion, he was in for anything but. 

“Kinda.” Virgil nodded, scratching the back of his head, “He asked if we were a thing.”

She eyed him, not believing that father would as such a question straight out. 

“Well, I think that was what he was getting at.” He shrugged, “I guess he wanted to know my intentions.”

That sounded more like it. 

Though she wasn’t sure what he might have answered. There had been tension between them since the hospital. Then there had been that kiss that she had to try not to shudder and smile at the memory of. The time since then though, there simply hadn’t been anything, both too busy and tired with rescues to possibly consider something quite as big as what they were both facing. 

Had he even had any intention of taking things further?

Or had she read it all wrong and that kiss had been the biggest mistake of her life?

 “I wanted to talk to you.” He stated, hand dropping from his hair as he stepped closer, “Everything just happened though, I’ve spent every day cursing that damned hot air balloon rescue because it was that that really got in the way and then training and then Scott and the radiation scare and…”

He rambled when he was worried, when he was scared that something was going to go wrong and he wasn’t quite sure how to make it right. She’d seen it plenty over the years, when he’d been caught literally with his hand in the cookie jar and the excuses had come tumbling out. 

It was kind of cute. 

“Kay?” He had tilted his head, brown eyes watching her, brows dipped in concern, “I haven’t been avoiding you on purpose, you get that right? You know I don’t make promises I don’t mean to keep.”

She did know that. It was his most perfect fault, anyone could hold him to anything that he knew he had promised. His kid brothers made a point of using it against him. 

He had made a promise that evening in the infirmary, after a long afternoon of worrying over his biggest brother she had gone to comfort him. It was the first time she had held him rather than the other way around, she remembered wondering if it was physically possible for her arms to stretch all the way around his broad frame. She remembered how he had relaxed into her touch, his hand resting over her wrist as he had promised that he wished he had been in the same mindframe as she. 

His mind had been on his big brother though, not in the right place for figuring things out between them. 

But he had promised he had wanted to. 

So much else had happened since then though, the promise forgotten as quickly as it had been made. 

“Kay,” He sighed, stepping forward again and reaching out to take her hands, “I told your father and I need to tell you too. I was terrified of losing you today, all the things that I haven’t had time to say, things that I should have made time to say.”

She swallowed, still not believing that he could possibly have felt all the same things she had in those moments that had flashed by far too fast. 

“Kay, you are beautiful, and strong, and smart and so, so much more. And I love you.” 

He reached out to brush her cheek, wiping away whatever mix of sweat and tears had dried there.

“I love you as more than a sister, and I wish I had said it after you kissed me. I’m an idiot because I didn’t.”

She sighed as she caught his hand on her cheek, unable to help but smile as she sighed and shook her head at him. 

“You’re rambling again.”

He shrugged, “Sorry.”

Shaking her head she stepped into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her face into his chest. 

“I’m sorry.” she mumbled into the material of his t-shirt, soft and warm and comforting, everything he was. 

Resting his cheek on her head he wrapped his arms around her, “For what?”

She wanted to say everything, but Virgil would have a response for that. He was the kind of person that didn’t accept people berating themselves, she knew that he would force her to a different train of thought as soon as she mentioned it. 

It wasn’t something she was ready to face, not that night.

“I wanted you to fly back with us,” He murmured, “Or at least come after you when you left. But your Dad said you’d need some space, a bit of air to think.”

She wasn’t sure she was ready to talk, that she would be able to manage to explain everything going through her mind in that moment. 

“You can tell me anything.” He whispered, “I’ll always be here to listen, whenever you’re ready to talk.”

She pulled back, looking up to him with a smile that was more genuine than anything she had ever felt before and a relief that filled her so completely she thought she might burst. 

“I do need time,” She admitted sofly, “But I don’t think space is what I need.”

Virgil nodded, “Promise me you’ll always tell me what you need?”

It didn’t take a moment for her to think about the request before she was nodding in agreement, making the promise that she knew she would never break. 

She wasn’t sure she could break any promises to him. 

“Hey, there you both are!”

Gordon was red faced and out of breath as he held the gym door open, drawing both of their attention. His eyes were bright, brighter than she had seen them in weeks as he looked between them both. 

“Now really isn’t time for a makeout session guys,” He grinned, body already turning to run, “Mom’s awake, like, properly awake.”

Virgil straightened next to her, every fibre of his being suddenly on full alert as he shifted to follow his brother. She hesitated, not sure she was invited to the reunion. 

Turning back to her, he tugged at her hand and nodded towards the door, “You coming?”

It was posed as a question but she could tell it was anything but. 

He wanted her there. 

That was enough for her.