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sweetestlamb · 3 years ago

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Flashlight

Author's note: Wasn't episode 8 just lovely? I just couldn't get this out of my head, they're becoming so dependent on each other. Be still my beating heart. They're reminding me of my MoonMun couple so much and I think that explains my obsession and the amount of fics I've written thus far lol.

Summary: Just for tonight he'll be selfish.

"Are you okay now? Is there someone there?" He moves towards the dark alley that she came bolting from looking as frightened as he's ever seen her. He feels his muscles coil ready to protect her by any means possible. But before he can move she's tightening her hold on him, clinging to him now he can feel her warmth all around him like a blanket.

"No! Don't leave me." Hearing that scared plea causes a blurry memory to resurface in his mind, he can almost feel the words swimming in his mind but the memory is foggy and it evaporates as quickly as it formed.

Strange.

"Okay, okay. I'm not going anywhere. Let's go inside." He starts to maneuver her toward her house at first she moves with him but then she stills, letting out a small sound of recollection.

"My phone." She whispers into his chest, they are pressed so closely he can feel her heartbeat still pounding through her chest into his. He strokes her back in a lazy soothing manner, shocked when she melts into his embrace further. Nothing is making sense at this moment but he doesn't care enough to stop, this.

"What about your phone?" He redirects the conversation and she continues, "I dropped it in there when I ran away."

"Okay. I'll go get it, wait here." He starts to gently untangle her hands from his flannel but she lets out a whine, gripping his shirt even stronger and moving with him.

"I'll---let's go together."

She's trembling now, positively shaking in her spot and he wants to argue with her to just go inside and wait for him but her earlier plea echoes in his ears. He can't leave her alone not right now, so he steps forward feeling her move with him, one step after another until he sees the rectangular object on the ground.

"I'm going to bend down to get it." He can feel her shifting beside him looking around wildly but thankfully no ominous figure appears, they are alone.

After a moment she nods, letting go enough for him to bend and retrieve the device and he checks the screen noting happily that it's not damaged but when he touches the screen it doesn't turn on so he tries again.

"It's dead. I forgot to charge it." She admits, taking the phone from his grasp.

He turns to her with a sharp stare, "You stayed out late after what happened and didn't charge your phone? Are you that fearless?" He chides, frustrated with her lack of awareness and disregard for her safety. If anything ever happened to her he would.... He would.......

"It wasn't on purpose. I didn't realize. I know it was irresponsible."

It's not a response he's expecting, the Hye Jin he knows would argue back, hardly taking shit from him ergo her meek uncharacteristic reply makes him feel worst, he shouldn't be blaming her especially after seeing first-hand how scared she is.

"Let's go inside now, it's cold and you're shaking." They both know the temperature has very little to do with her tremors but she doesn't disagree and carelessly he enters the code when they reach the door, ignoring the jolt in his chest that erupts as he enters his own birthday and the door clicks open. He thought she would have changed it by now.

He's grateful she hasn't.

They both take off their shoes, standing side by side now her arm around his waist and his around her shoulder. It's a small space and they can barely move but they work around it, reluctant to release each other.

"Thank you." Her voice is barely above a whisper, he thinks that he almost imagined it. He had an excuse prepared this time, he was merely patrolling and happened to pass her house. That was the lie he intended to go with, but something in her voice stops him from saying those deceitful words. He's tired of hiding and making up excuses for being around her.

"You're welcome. Here sit down, I'll make you some tea." Thoughtlessly he moves towards the kitchen, taking two steps until he can't move anymore. She's holding onto him tightly, he turns around looking at her small closed fists and then her trembling pretty face.

With a soft sigh, he takes her hand rubbing a thumb across the smooth skin.

"Just come with me." Immediately she steps forward pressing into his back, he tries to calm his heart taking the teapot and filling it with water, then he opens the cabinet retrieving a mug and setting it aside.

"I like honey. And a squeeze of lemon." He smiles at her soft demands.

Now that sounds more like his dentist. The bottle of honey is in her top cabinet and he grabs a fresh lemon from the fridge cutting it in half.

They stand silently as the water boils and he finally feels his anger boiling away as well. Angry that he was almost too late and that his town isn't safe anymore, angry that someone was able to shake this immoveable woman.

The shrill ringing of the teapot breaks him from his impasse, on autopilot he pours the water on the tea bag, then squeezes the honey in the steaming water, "I like a lot of honey." She's attached to his back her voice vibrating straight through him, he freezes when she wraps her arms around his waist. Her closeness is messing with his mind, but he tries to finish his job and get them on the couch maybe with some distance between them.

For his sanity.

"Let's go sit down." He grabs both mugs walking over to her couch, placing her cup on the far right and taking a seat on the far left putting a sea of distance between them. But immediately she sits down right next to him, leaving no space between them she might as well be in his lap. He squirms in place, standing up to get some reprieve but she grabs his hand staring up at him.

"Where are you going?" Fear bleeds into her voice and he lets go of his hesitations, tonight is not about him.

Leaning over he grabs her cup, tugging it closer.

"Nowhere, I'm not going anywhere. Drink your tea."

She blinks slowly at him before nodding and bringing the warm beverage to her lips. Her hum of satisfaction warms him all the way down to his toes.

"It's good. You really are good at everything." He preens at the compliment, thinking of all the times this week he wasn't needed or was cast aside for Director Ji. He's been swallowing his jealousy all week. So her words fill a hollow space in his chest.

He watches her drink the entire cup, ignoring his own growing cold on the table.

"I need to charge my phone." She suddenly says and he stares before nodding, taking the opportunity to drink his lukewarm tea. But then he notices that she's not moving despite having the phone and charging in her hand.

"What's wrong?" He raises an eyebrow in confusion.

She looks embarrassed now, unable to meet his eyes and he's flabbergasted at her reaction.

"Come with me?" He stares at her, feeling the same pride bloom as when she sat next to him instead of her sunbae, she's leaning on him.

He spots an outlet across the room, "Okay let's go there." She looks relieved at his lack of teasing, together they walk over to the outlet and she bends to plug in the charger and puts the phone on the ground.

In seconds the phone comes to life and he feels a sharp pain in his chest as a barrage of messages light up her phone, the majority from one person. When she clicks to open the message he instinctively looks away, not wanting to witness their conversation.

"He messaged so much." Her voice is filled with awe and childishly he moves away. He'd almost forgotten that she didn't actually need him. He was just conveniently there.

"I should go now. You're safe. Make sure to come home earlier from now on, maybe ask him to walk you home." It hurts to utter those words but it's easier than being replaced later, it's okay if he's the one that pushes her away first. "I'll see myself out."

He stands ready to leave, pointedly not looking back before he changes his mind and stays forever.

She was just scared, tonight didn't mean anything.

He grabs his fallen bagpack thrusting it on his shoulder, hopping into his boots all ready to head out. But it's unusually quiet, the silence is so deafening that he can't stop himself from looking back over at her. It's a mistake, a huge one at that. The phone has fallen from her hands, abandoned to the side and she's looking at him with the most desolate stare he's ever seen, moisture pooling in her huge round eyes.

"What's wrong? Why are you cry--"

"You said you wouldn't leave me. Why are you changing your mind? What if someone is still there? What am I supposed to do without yo--u?" Her voice cracks on the last word and his heart follows, she needs him. Nobody else has this week but here she is breaking down because he tried to leave, she needs him.

His decision is made for him in that moment.

As soon as he's close enough to touch she's clinging to him once again, he only absently realizes that she's trying to lead them to her bedroom but even he's not saintly enough for that so he stops her.

"Let's go to the couch. You'll feel more comfortable."

She doesn't question him seemingly happy to follow his lead.

The couch is comfy but definitely not intended for two grown adults, leaning over the arm rest he tries to get situated and once he stops moving she's snuggling into his side curling around him like a cat.

"Whenever I was scared, my mom used to stroke my hair."

He stares at the wall in front of them, wondering if she's aware of just how many lines they're crossing tonight- no catapulting over. But he's tired of second guessing himself so he stops thinking and just listens, bringing the hand that is curled on her shoulder up to her head before dragging his palm down her soft hair, gulping when she moans at the ministrations.

Her breathing starts to deepen and he feels her body losing its tension, she's falling asleep and once she succumbs he can finally make his escape, that's his plan. But he doesn't expect her to start stroking him too, her hand delicate on his chest.

"You've worked hard. Stopping a scammer and saving me all while recovering from a cold."

It's nothing. It's what he's supposed to do.

But it feels so good to hear those words, words that he hardly heard growing up.

"Go to sleep." He says instead of thank you, instead of kissing her like he's wanted to since he saw her outside and she ran straight into his heart.

It's a miracle but she listens to him, drifting to sleep her head heavy on his chest and he knows that he should wait a few minutes and try to extract himself but he can't, not tonight. Just for tonight he'll be selfish.

"You're making me want all sorts of things." He whispers to her sleeping face, terrified of her and all that she makes him feel. Feeling emboldened by their almost kiss initiated by her, he pushes her hair behind her ear taking a second to really looking at her face. She really is that beautiful. It doesn't seem fair. Leaning down he presses a soft kiss to her forehead, her skin is sleep warm and perfectly smooth. He presses a second one shamelessly. Her lips are right there and heavens knows that he's tempted but he can't take advantage, can't bring himself to do anything else. That's enough.

He doesn't know when he fell asleep but he wakes up to Mi-seon throwing a blanket over them, he keeps his eyes tightly shut mentally berating himself for that leaving when he had a chance.

"Just friends my ass. Just admit that you like him, look at the way you're clinging to him."

Somehow they traversed further down the couch in their sleep, both laying horizontal now with her body on top on his and her head tucked under his chin.

"I've never seen her sleep so peacefully though. She looks so young."

He tries not to think too deeply into what that might mean, listening to the retreating footsteps of her roommate and feeling himself losing the battle with sleep. She'll probably be embarrassed to find them this way tomorrow but that's a hurdle for another day.

Just for tonight I'll hold her. Until I'm not allowed to hold her anymore.

#hometown cha cha cha #another episode coda #hong du shik #yoon hye jin #they are taking over all my brain activity #another fluffy drabble #this episode broke me

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jackiearbs · 4 years ago

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things that rwrb characters have said that i will never forget, a thread:

alex claremont-diaz, giving off dumbass™ energy (he has the most on this thread, for obvious reasons)

- "put them in my room, put them in my room, put them in my room-"

- “Jesus Christ, it’s like they can see into your soul. cornbread knows my sins, Henry. cornbread knows what I have done, and he is here to make me atone.”

- "do it for the 'gram"

- "leading member of korean pop band bts kim nam-june"

- "whatever, fine. henry is annoyingly attractive. that’s always been a thing, objectively. it’s fine.”

- "see attached bibliography"

- "i said, you look great, baby!”

- "yo there’s a bond marathon on and did you know your dad was a total babe"

- "awesome, fuckin' love doing things out of spite.”

-”Huge Raging Headache Prince Henry of Who Cares”

-”it is amazing you can sit down to write emails with that gigantic royal stick up your ass.”

- “who names a dog David? He sounds like a tax attorney.”

-” “Do I go on your side of the cubicle and turn off your Dropkick Murphys Spotify station, no matter how much I want to?” Alex demands. “No, Hunter, I don’t.”

- “for fuck's sake, man, you just had my dick in your mouth, you can kiss me good-night.”

- “Bake Off makes Chopped look like the fucking Manson tapes.”

- “THEY KNOW. THEY KNOW I HAVE ROBBED THEM OF FIVE-STAR ACCOMMODATIONS TO SIT IN A CAGE IN MY ROOM, AND THE MINUTE I TURN MY BACK THEY ARE GOING TO FEAST ON MY FLESH.”

- “You’re from Boston, Hunter. You really want to talk about all the places bigotry comes from?” (he really hates hunter goddamn)

-”so, what? you want me to quit politics and go become a princess? that’s not very feminist of you.”

hrh prince dickhead😎 - "the moment you first called me a prick, my fate was sealed. O, fathers of my bloodline! O, ye kings of olde! Take this crown from me, bury me in my ancestral soil. If only you had known the mighty work of thine loins would be undone by a gay heir who likes it when American boys with chin dimples are mean to him.”

-"“I’ve been gay as a maypole since the day I came out of Mum, Philip.”

-”i will turn this car around.”

- “yes, the cocaine, alex.”

-”i am a delight!”

-”have i mentioned lately that you’re a demon?”

- “are you psychoanalyzing me? i don't think royal guests are allowed to do that.”

- "i can't believe even mortal peril will not prevent you from being the way you are.”

-“the phrase ‘see attached bibliography’ is the single sexiest thing you have ever written to me.”

-"i just mean to say, you know, Philip is the heir and I'm the spare, and if that nervy bastard has a heart attack at thirty five and I've got malaria, whither the spare?”

- “they wanted something less fruity than the truth, but truly, what is gayer than a woman who languishes away in a crumbling mansion wearing her wedding gown every day of her life, for the drama?”

- “You are a delinquent and a plague. Please come?”

- “fat and sexually conquered, snuffed out in the spring of my youth. Here lies Prince Henry of Wales. He died as he lived: avoiding plans and sucking cock.”

june: “- that is a clear quartz crystal for good vibes do not @ me.”

- “He’s just so frail, it’d only take one good push-”

- “ugh! men! no emotional vocabulary. i can’t believe our ancestors survived centuries of wars and plagues and genocide just to wind up with your sorry ass.”

nora:

-”sorry, are we not? did i skip ahead again? my bad. hello, would you like to come out to me? im listening. hi.”

“prince henry is a biscuit. let him sop you up.”

- “you’ve been, like, Draco Malfoy–level obsessed with Henry for years.”

- “i don’t know, man. I was in my junior year of high school, and I touched a boob. It wasn’t very profound. Nobody’s gonna write an Off-Broadway play about it.”

dahra:

- “You need to get back to fucking England now, and if anyone sees you leave, I will personally end you. Ask me if I’m afraid of the crown.”

- “both sides need to come out of this looking like your little slap-fight at the wedding was some homoerotic frat bro mishap, okay? So, you can hate the heir to the throne all you want, write mean poems about him in your diary, but the minute you see a camera, you act like the sun shines out of his dick, and you make it convincing.”

-”come on, you backyard-shooting-range motherfuckers,”

ellen (should i say PRESIDENT claremont)

- “Diaz, you insane, hopeless romantic little shit"

- “I had Planned Parenthood send over all these pamphlets, take one! They sent a bike messenger and everything!”

- ”where? Are you hiding a turkey habitat up your ass, son? Where, in our historically protected house, am I going to put a couple of turkeys until I pardon them tomorrow?”

-“As your mother, I can appreciate that maybe this isn’t your fault, but as the president, all I want is to have the CIA fake your death and ride the dead-kid sympathy into a second term.”

PEZ !!!

- “frolic naked in the hills, frighten the sheep, return to the house for the usual: tea, biscuits, casting ourselves onto the Thighmaster of love to moan about the Claremont-Diaz siblings, which has become tragically one-sided since Henry took it up with you. It used to be all bottles of cognac and shared malaise and ‘When will they notice us’-”

-”-and now i just ask henry, ‘what is your secret?’ and he says, ‘i insult alex all the time, and that seems to work.’”

**extra: nicer quotes from alex and henry

alex heartthrob diaz - "never tell me the odds"

-"we were not afforded that liberty."

-“I hate this so much. I know. But we’re gonna do it together. And we’re gonna make it work. You and me and history, remember? We’re just gonna fucking fight. Because you’re it, okay? I’m never gonna love anybody in the world like I love you. So, I promise you, one day we’ll be able to just be, and fuck everyone else.”

- “On purpose. I love him on purpose.”

- “history, huh? Bet we could make some.”

- “But the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable.”

-“Take anything you want and know you deserve to have it.”

- “Someone else’s choice doesn’t change who you are.”

- “I am the First Son of the United States, and I'm bisexual. History will remember us.”

- “America: He is my choice.”

- “Give yourself away sometimes, sweetheart, There's so much of you.”

- the entire list of the things he loves about henry. i would die

henry:

-”i’ll be damned but i miss you.”

- “when you rang me at truly shocking hours of the night, I loved you. When you kissed me in disgusting public toilets and pouted in hotel bars and made me happy in ways in which it had never even occurred to me that a mangled-up, locked-up person like me could be happy, I loved you. and then, inexplicably, you had the absolute audacity to love me back. Can you believe it?”

- “it sounds like you did your best.”

- “I’ve bloody well had it. I’ve sat about long enough letting you and Gran and the weight of the damned world keep me pinned, and I’m finished. I don’t care. You can take your legacy and your decorum and you can shove it up your fucking arse, Philip. I’m done.”

- “Should I tell you that when we’re apart, your body comes back to me in dreams? That when I sleep, I see you, the dip of your waist, the freckle above your hip, and when I wake up in the morning, it feels like I’ve just been with you, the phantom touch of your hand on the back of my neck fresh and not imagined? That I can feel your skin against mine, and it makes every bone in my body ache? That, for a few moments, I can hold my breath and be back there with you, in a dream, in a thousand rooms, nowhere at all?”

#rwrb #red white and royal blue #casey mcquiston #rw&rb #alex claremont diaz #prince henry of wales #june claremont diaz #nora holleran #ellen claremont #rwrb shitpost

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ordinaryschmuck · 4 years ago

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My Favorite Moments from It All Started with a Jacket (Chapters 1-10)

Now that I have written ten chapters of It All Started with a Jacket (how the hell are y’all still reading it), I thought I comemorate the occasion by sharing my favorite moments from each chapter. More specifically, every moment that was the most fun for me to write. This can range from moments that made me laugh at my own dumb jokes, or moments that I felt proud of for how well they turned out. Either way, this list is gonna be long. Like, rrrreeeaaallllllyyy lllooonnng. So you might want to strap in before clicking ‘Keep reading.’

Chapter 1

Amity and the car horn

"Oh no, you don't!" Luz sprinted over to Amity's car, to which her rival had already gotten in, and locked the doors. Just as Amity started the engine, Luz was already there, beating her hand against the window.

"If you think I'm too afraid to break a car window, you've got another thing--"

HOOONK!

"...You've got another--"

HOOOOOONK!

"You've got--"

Amity raised her hand above the car horn again with her eyebrow raised and her grin amused. She was essentially challenging Luz to finish that sentence.

"..."

"...You'vegotanotherthingcoming--"

HOOOOOOOOOONK!

"THAT TEARS IT!"

Amity sniffing Luz’s jacket (the main reason why I wrote this in the first place)

Amity set the hanger back where she found it and slowly lifted Luz's jacket up to her face. For a while, she did nothing, choosing instead to just stare at it. And then, she briefly took a small sniff.

'Well, that was a mistake,' was all she could think as intoxicating smells of pinecones and lemons started overtaking her senses. Almost immediately, Amity grabbed the jacket with both hands and shoved her face into it, inhaling more of the scent. After letting out a euphoric sigh, Amity looked at it again, shrugged, and put it back on.

Amity’s apology

"I said that I'm sorry." Amity continued, "Not just for the jacket, but for everything. The insults, the name-calling, and especially the fighting. I'm sorry for all of it."

"...Are you dying?"

"Wha--No!" now Amity turned to face Luz, "Why is that the first thing that came to your mind?"

"I don't know, man," Luz shrugged, "This just seems like some sort of final repentance type of shit. Like when Tom needed Jerry to sign him off to take the escalator to heaven."

"Who the hell is Tom and Jerry?"

"The greatest comic duo of all time, that's who!" Luz genuinely seemed insulted that Amity didn't know, to which she rolled her eyes in response.

Luz’s reaction

Luz opened the door and was about to leave. But then:

"I saw the bi flag."

After Amity spoke, Luz froze in her place. One foot was out the door, and her face was already turned away from Amity's, so she couldn't gauge an expression. So Amity took her chance to go on.

"It's hidden in a spot a person could barely notice, so there's no way that it came with the flag already sewn it," she explained, "Even if you bought the jacket from someone else, you could have easily torn it out. I've seen you done worse. But you kept it in, which makes me think that maybe...That maybe you're bisexual."

Luz didn't say anything.

She didn't do anything.

Instead, she stayed frozen in place, and Amity still couldn't tell what was going on in the human's mind at the moment. Not that she ever could. Eventually, Luz slowly and stiffly sat back in the passenger seat and slammed the car door shut. Her eyes were tight shut, and breathing was ragged, and Amity thought Luz was seething. But then Amity recognized what Luz was doing. She had done the same thing many times when forced to talk with her mother.

Luz was forcing herself not to cry.

Luz’s rant

"...Did you not tell anybody?" was all Amity could ask.

"...I told Willow," Luz confessed, "She has gay dads, so I thought: 'Hey, she gets it.' Other than that, nobody else knows. Except for you."

"Not even your mom?"

"Especially not her! She's super religious! If I came out to her, then I might as well pack a suitcase and get ready to live on the streets!"

"Why?"

"Because humans are not like witches," Luz looked back at Amity, clapping her hands for emphasis, "For humans, what matters in life is the color of your skin, the people you like, and the gender you're given at birth. Go against any of that, and you're screwed!"

"That's awful."

"That's life!" Luz stated, her eyes glistening, "And I had to put up with that bullshit for all of it! I had to deal with dumb gringas in the locker room who might think that I was a pervert just because I liked girls. I had to deal with pretending to be interested in one gender and hide a part of myself that people think I should be ashamed of! I had to deal with the fear that the one person I trust the most might throw me to the curb because of something that shouldn't even matter!"

Luz paused to wipe tears that had leaked out from her eyes.

"I had to deal with all of that," she went on, "Because that's just what humans are like. I wish we were like witches. I really do. But we're not, and the sad part is, we might never will."

Chapter 2

Luz is a prick

Luz kicked a discarded beer can down the sidewalk. Only to just as quickly picking it up and ditching it in a recycling bin that someone left out on the curb for trash day. Luz may be a rebel, but she isn't a lazy prick.

"And what the hell does me being bi have anything to do with it?"

"Bi what?"

Luz stopped both her walk and her ramblings after hearing that voice. Looking to her left, Luz saw a woman carrying her groceries to her house. That woman is Mrs. Kranstien, a white, middle-aged gossip who's part of Luz's mom's church group. Also known as the last person Luz wanted to find out that she's bisexual.

"Uh, bilingual," Luz brushed it off, seeming like she isn't panicking right now. Which she is. "Significa que hablo dos idiomas. What else could I mean?"

"Well, you don't have to be so rude about it," Mrs. Kranstien harrumphed, "It is not becoming of a young lady."

"Y no tienes que meter la nariz donde no pertenece," Luz shrugged, "Pero, ¿quién soy yo para juzgar?"

"...What does that mean?"

"It means you're absolutely right, and I am so sorry for being so rude," Luz turned on her heel and kept walking, "Adios, gringa!"

"Is 'gringa' a compliment!" Mrs. Kranstien called out as Luz walked away.

"Sure is! Make sure to say it to your friends when you have the chance!"

Ok, maybe she is a little bit of a prick.

Luz’s indecision

"Should I do this?"

Luz gently rubbed the blade of the knife.

"...Yeah. Yeah, I definitely should."

She lowered the blade over a thread sewn in but stopped a tenth of a millimeter away from it.

"But it's not even noticeable."

Luz raised the knife away.

"Although Blight did notice it."

And lowered it back down again.

"But that's because she was wearing it. It's not like mom could ever wear this."

"But what if it's laundry day and she takes the jacket without you knowing?"

"I mean, that could happen, but she would have to actively search for it."

"Is that really worth the risk, though?"

Luz started twirling the knife in her fingers at this point. The bi flag still remained intact, with not a single thread being taken out. Most days, Luz would barely notice it, and she's the one who always wears her jacket. Now, more than ever, the bright colors of the flag seemed incredibly noticeable.

"No," Luz shook her head, "It's not worth the risk."

She lowered the knife again and even got the blade under a thread. But before she could do anything remotely similar to removing the string, she hesitated. Again.

"...But it's also who I am," Luz sighed, pocketing her knife and putting the jacket back on.

"It's a part of me," Luz lightly beat the back of her head against the wall, "Taking it off isn't going to change anything, and it especially won't make me any less bi."

Chapter 3

Nerds being nerds

Amity nearly spat out her slushie.

"You read The Good Witch Azura?" Luz rolled her eyes at the question.

"Alright, listen," she started, "Before you make fun of me for it, you should know--"

"I love Azura."

"--It's not the cutesy kids' book that people think...it...is..." Luz looked shocked as she faced Amity's wide grin, "What did you just say?"

"It was my favorite book series growing up," Amity explained, "It still is, today."

"...No shit."

"Yeah! In fact, when I was nine, I wished I could have been just like Azura herself."

"Same!" Luz's smile became just as wide, "The grand adventures? The ability to just get along with everybody she meets? That was the shit for when I just a little tater tot."

"For me, it was how powerful her magic is," Amity confessed, "I could only dream of being as talented as she is."

Chapter 4

Snowball fight

And that's when something cold hit her in the back of the head.

Turning around to find the culprit, Amity saw none other than Luz hiding her laughter behind a hand.

"Did you just do what I think you did?!" Amity asked incredulously.

"Hey, we may be cool now...but I'm gonna take a shot when I see it. Alright?"

Amity glared at that, drawing a spell circle soon after. At the circle's completion, two dozen snowballs began to rise in the air around them, and Luz's face became pale to the sight.

"...On second thought," Luz nervously smiled as she raised her hands in surrender, "Parlay?"

"..."

Amity pointed her finger at Luz, and all of the snowballs immediately knocked the human onto her back.

"I don't think so," Amity quipped, walking over and offering a hand to her friend.

“Drug” deal

"Is that a bad thing?"

"...Eh, probably not," Luz shrugged, "I got the goods in my backpack, by the way. You want me to give it to you now, or wait until after school?"

"t sounds like you have drugs in your backpack with the way you said that."

"Who says that I don't?"

Amity let out a light laugh. Luz didn't even seem shocked anymore.

"I'll wait until after school," Amity said when they got to the double doors, "The last thing I need is the wrong person to find out that I like...you know what."

"Got it," Luz nodded only to then lean closer to whisper, "I'll see then for the transfer. And if you get caught, I was never there."

"Ok, now I got to ask: Are you actually planning to give me drugs after school."

"Of course not!"

Luz winked.

"Drugs are bad, especially for our age."

She winked again.

"I wouldn't ever dream of doing something so vile."

And again.

"...I hate you."

"What else is new?"

"Just give me the book after school, doofus!" Amity said between chuckles.

"Yes. Of course. 'The book.'"

Luz winked for the fourth time, and Amity just pulled the human's beanie over her face in response. The two then laughed as they went their separate ways.

Amity’s jealousy

"Hey, is it ok if I ask you a favor?"

"Depends," Luz blew into her hands for extra warmth, "What's the favor?"

"Well...Skara invited me to a party she's throwing next Friday. And I was wondering if you could come with me."

"Which one is Skara again," Luz asked, "I know she's one of Boscha's lackeys, but I can't remember. Is she the tall and skinny one, the small and cute one, or the hot yet nerdy looking one?"

If she wasn't wearing gloves right now, Amity would wager that her knuckles went white with how tightly her hands gripped the steering wheel.

"You think Cat is hot?"

"Eh. Objectively, yeah," Luz shrugged, "Also, I didn't know her name was Cat. Should probably make a note of that."

"She also has a boyfriend," Amity said a little too quick, "And she's straight as a board. So go ahead and...unnote that. Just take that note and...throw it in a river somewhere."

"...Ok? Weirdo."

"Anyways, Skara is the short and--" Amity steeled herself before saying, "Cute one."

Luz helping Skara

She eventually found herself in a hall that led to bedrooms, only to see Skara sprinting around and picking up discarded beer cans and red solo cups and tossing them into a trash bag. She then opened a random door, squeaked, and slammed it shut, leaning against it while pressing her palms into her eyes.

"Why do that in my parents' bedroom!?" she cried to no one in particular.

Usually, Luz wouldn't give a shit about any of Boscha's lackeys. And yet, something compelled her to walk over.

"Are they making out or doing something worse," she asked, which caused Skara to look up in surprise.

"...What...What are you doing here?"

"Don't question it," Luz nodded to the door, "In there. Are they just making out?"

"...Yes, but it's still--"

Luz pounded on the door, making Skara jump.

"Hey!" she shouted, "That's not your bed, assholes! If you want privacy, then go to the back of your car like decent human beings!"

"We're not humans!"

"Not the point!"

For a while, nothing happened. Then finally, two boys walked out of the room, hand in hand with their clothes ruffled, and started shuffling their way down the hall. Skara just stood where she was, not knowing what to say or do.

"Hey," Luz snapped her fingers to get Skara's attention, "If a person starts acting like a prick, be an even bigger prick. Someone's going to eventually back down, so don't let it be you. They'll get the point, then. Oh, and by the way..."

She pulled the photo out of her jacket's pocket and tossed it to Skara, who then fumbled with the thing before catching it.

"Someone tried to steal that," Luz told her, "I don't know where it belongs so, there you go."

Luz then began to head in the direction of the stairs.

"Thank you."

The broken tone of voice made Luz freeze for a second, turning over her shoulder to see Skara looking at the human, her eyes full of gratitude and amazement.

"...Don't mention it," was all Luz said before walking down the hall to find the stairs.

Literally, everything that Drunk Amity does. But here’s the top five:

#5-Snuggle time

"I hate my life," Luz muttered, shuffling over. She pulled the covers up and slowly got into the bed. But once she did, Amity didn't waste a second wrapping her entire body around Luz's. Like a koala bear, clinging to a tree.

"...Do you mind?" Luz's voice cracked.

"What? I'm sleeping on my side."

"Yeah, but I'd prefer it if you slept on a side that wouldn't result in me getting puked on."

"But how will we snuggle?"

"Oh my god," Luz sighed, "You're not gonna back down from this, are you?"

"Mm-mm."

"...tell you what. If you flip onto your other side, I'll--I can't believe I'm saying this--I'll...spoon...you."

Amity gasped, her eyes practically glittering with stars as she looked up at Luz.

"That's even better," she whispered, untangling herself from Luz's body so she can flip onto her other side, already getting into a position to receive comfort. Luz, slowly and reluctantly, turned over to wrap an arm around Amity, pressing their bodies together.

'This is probably punishment for...every shitty thing I've done in my life," she thought to herself.

#4-Drink it!

"Drink it!"

"No!"

"Drink it."

"No!"

"Drink it!"

"Noooo!" Amity flopped face down onto her pillow as if she was a five-year-old. The bunny-print pajamas that Luz changed her into didn't help, either (it was the minor victories). With one hand, Luz started messaging her temple out of annoyance, while the other hand gripped tight onto a glass of water.

"Amity, if you're gonna lay down like a baby, then lay on your side," she explained, "If you face down, or up, then you'll just drown in your own vomit. And is that how you wanna go out?"

Amity flipped onto her side with a harrumph.

"That's what I thought," Luz held the glass up to Amity again, "Now drink this water."

"I don't wanna," the witch wined, "It doesn't have flavor. It's boring. Give something less boring."

#3-Amity’s love for Emira

"Who are you talking to?"

"Your sister."

"Oh! Hey, Luz," Amity started tapping Luz on the shoulder, "Luz, Luz, Luz, Luz--"

"What?"

"Tell her--Listen--Tell...Emira that she is the worst...and that I don't like her. It's an--Look--It's an inside joke between us. She'll understand it when you tell her."

"...Will do."

"Oh! And Luz,"

"What?" This time, Luz was starting to get aggravated.

"Emira--Don't tell her this part--But Emira is, like, the most important person to me. And Ed too. Sometimes. Because they've both always been there for me when our parents are being bigger dicks than they are. I just don't--Hey--I don't tell them that because then they'll make fun of me for it. So don't-- Shh! Don't tell her."

"...You got all that, right?" Luz asked into the scroll.

"Sure did. What the hell did she drink?"

#2-Tossing cookies

Amity's face suddenly paled. Luz couldn't figure what was wrong at first, at least until she saw Amity lurch.

"Oh, shit," Luz then guided Amity over to the nearest potted plant, "Shit shit shit shit--"

Once at the plant, Amity bent over and...lost her lunch.

"...Are you o--"

And then her breakfast.

"...Are--"

And finally tossed one last cookie for good measure.

"...You good?"

"Yeah," Amity looked up at her victim, which was already starting to wilt, "...This my mom's favorite plant..."

She then slapped it.

"Fuck you, plant!"

And #1...

The good news is that Luz finally found her.

The bad news is that Amity was standing on top of a table as everyone stared at her.

"I am the lesbian queen of the universe!" she shouted, "Y'all can bow down and kiss my ass!"

"Get it, girl!"

"You bet I'll get it, whoever you are! Seriously, who said that?" she called back, turning in a circle to find the source of the voice. However, because of Amity's drunken state, she soon tripped on her own feet and fell off the table. Luckily, Luz was quick to realize that wearing heels and being drunk was a bad combination, so she had already run over to the table, ready to catch Amity.

The green-haired witch landed in Luz's arms, bridal princess style. Luz then set her down, but Amity still wrapped her arms around the human's neck.

"You're my hero," Amity said wistfully.

"Yeah, I'm a real knight in shining--" But Luz didn't get a chance to finish her snarky remark. Because Amity leaned in to plant a wet, sloppy kiss onto Luz's cheek. This caused the human to go still and red-faced, her brain ceasing to function as Amity pulled away with a Mwah!

And on the topic of kisses

Luz remained still for a minute or two, ultimately thinking 'screw it,' and kissed Amity's cheek. It was about a millisecond, maybe even half of that, but it did not stop Luz's face from heating up.

"There. Happy now?"

"Nope," Amity faced Luz with a drunken smile, "Because now it's my turn."

"Wait, no- Mmph!" But it was too late. Because the second after Amity spoke, she leaned in to kiss Luz's cheek, giving Luz no time to even turn her head. Which resulted in Amity giving Luz another wet and sloppy kiss, not on her cheek, but right on her lips.

And perhaps it was just as long as Luz's kiss. Probably even a second longer. But for her, it felt as though time had come to a standstill as Amity's lips were pressed against Luz's. But regardless, Luz didn't pull away. She didn't even shove Amity off, despite having every reason to. In fact, when Amity finally pulled away from the kiss, Luz had this strange desire buried deep within her brain, yet she was still aware of it.

Because despite how weird it would be and how Amity's breath will absolutely taste awful, Luz felt a strange desire to kiss her friend again.

Chapter 6

The morning after

Curious, Amity looked over her shoulder to see the culprit.

'Oh, it's just Luz," she thought, slowly turning back over.

...

Amity's eyes popped open.

She whipped her head back to look over her shoulder, which was a mistake because the sudden rush made her hangover say, 'screw you,' and leave Amity with a ton of pain. Once it slowly wore off (or, at least, became a bit more bearable), Amity got a good look at the person behind her. And what she saw both warmed her heart, as well as stopped it.

Luz. Sleeping in Amity's bed. Pressed up against the witch and peacefully smiling as she dreamed.

This left a myriad of thoughts in Amity's head.

'Luz is in my bed.'

'Luz is in my bed, and she's spooning me.'

'...I need to wake her.'

But just as she was about to wake her friend, Luz, in her sleep, then shuffled herself further against Amity. Her sleepy smile had grown wider.

'...And I am dead. I am dead, have ascended the stars, and this now my life for eternity.'

Huge misunderstanding

Luz remained still, glancing between Amity's eyes and her lips. Ultimately, she closed the distance between them and kissed her.

And kissed her again.

And again.

It felt so amazing, with each kiss sending a wave of euphoric energy through Luz's body. It was everything she didn't know she wanted.

"Luz?" Amity gasped.

"Hm?"

"Are you awake right now?"

"Mm-hm," Luz mumbled as she continued to kiss Amity's sweet, soft, hairy--

'Hairy?'

***

Luz peaked open her eyes, and instead of seeing Amity's face, all she saw was bright green. Remembering where she was, Luz's eyes became wide once she took in the fact of what she just did.

"mmBAAAAAAAH!" Luz shrieked, pushing herself to the other end of the bed. Unfortunately, she pushed a little too far and ended up falling off the bed entirely, face-planting onto the floor.

Luz’s hairball

It was Luz's turn to get up as she walked over to the pile of her clothes on the desk.

"Just let me change first and--" She coughed, "--And I--"

Suddenly Luz was coughing severely, her face going red from lack of air.

"Luz?"

"What's wrong?!"

While coughing, Luz pointed at her throat.

"She's choking!" Viney deduced, "Hang on, I got this!"

She ran over and went behind Luz. Placing the thumb side of her fist over the human's abdomen and placing a hand over said fist, Viney began performing the Heimlich maneuver. After a few thrusts, Luz finally coughed out what was obstructing her throat. Once she could breathe again, she got a look at what nearly killed her. Only to see a clump of wet, green hair on the floor.

"...Is that--"

"Anyways, I'm gonna go ahead and change!" Luz squeaked quickly, grabbing her clothes off the desk and dashing into the closet. Viney and Emira looked over at Amity, who, red as a tomato, pulled the covers over her head.

Amity explaining why she likes Luz...which goes on for a good chunk of the chapter and it would be ludicrous for me to paste it onto here. But trust me. It’s a great moment

Chapter 7

Pastor Benson’s sermon and Luz’s prayor

"I think I can speak for all of us when I say that the world is constantly changing," Pastor Benson began his sermon. "For every day, new lifestyles and ways of loving others are introduced and integrated into our society. Just the other day, I was given a chance to experience this first hand."

That caught Luz's interest for a moment.

"You see, my nephew gathered the whole family, everybody that he trusted, and did something none of us could have ever expected. He told us all that he was a homosexual."

Immediately everybody started murmuring with each other. And Luz had to admit, she was more than curious to see where Benson was going with this.

"I know, I know," he silenced the crowd, "I was surprised too. And as he continued, both he and his boyfriend, which was another shock to find out, started telling us all about what it means to be what they are. They explained what they considered the basics, answered questions, and soon enough, Micheal's parents stood up to give him a hug, and everyone else took turns letting him know that he is loved."

Now Luz was really interested.

"Later, I took Micheal aside so I can have a heart to heart with him," Pastor Benson pressed on, "I said to him that he is my nephew and that I will always love him. And no matter what, God will love him too, like all of his children."

For the first time in her life, Luz hung onto every word that a pastor said.

"But sin is still a sin, and I said that it's not too late to save his soul."

'There it is,' Luz thought, slumping into her seat and hoping that her mom didn't notice her reaction. Pastor Benson continued his sermon, but Luz mentally checked out, not caring about what he has to say next. It didn't matter if Benson told the secrets to the universe or the meaning of life. Because of what he said, Luz tuned him out for the next few minutes, stirring in a pissed-off mood she genuinely tried to keep out of church.

"--Now, I would ask you all to join me in prayer before we bring this congregation to a close," Luz heard Pastor Benson say fifteen minutes later. Everyone then simultaneously lowered their heads to pray, with Luz right along with them.

'Dear God,' she prayed, 'If you could be so kind, could you send down an angel or your son or something to tell all these homophobes that being gay isn't a sin. And the only reason why people think that's true is that some dickhead mistranslated a line somewhere. A translation, by the way, that was meant to tell people that pedophilia is awful. Something that some of your own pastors should learn from time to time.

'Because if you could send someone down to get the record straight, I, and many others, would really appreciate it...also sorry for swearing while during prayer. That wasn't cool of me. Bless my mom, and praise be to you.'

Camila and Claire

"If you ask me, that was crossing way over the line."

Camila looked over to her friend Claire, who stood with her as they waited in line at a makeshift buffet table to grab breakfast.

"Are you talking about Pastor Benson or his nephew?" Camila couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, absolutely, it's Benson," Claire whispered so as not to draw attention amongst the chatter, "I mean, here you have a kid who was in a safe space and just wanted to be accepted, only to have your uncle basically say you're going to hell. The man might as well have punched poor Micheal in the gut."

"Aye, I am so happy that you said that," Camila grabbed two plates for herself and Luz, who sat at a table for them. "I understand that he's a person of the lord, but that's taking belief a little too far. I believe in God, and I love him with my whole heart, but I would never say anything like that to Luz. If she was gay, that is."

"I'm right there with you," Claire nodded as she piled food onto her own two plates, "I have five kids. Two of them moved out with relationships of their own. But if my other three ever come to me and say that they're gay, then the last thing I'd do is make them feel ashamed of it."

"Right? I always make it clear to Luz that she can tell me anything. Especially if it's something like that."

Mrs. Kranstien calling Camila a gringa

"As I said, keep an eye on her. For both of your sakes," the gossiper said as she turned to walk in her own direction, "Adios, gringa."

Camila did a double-take.

'Did she just...No,' she shook her head, 'No. She couldn't have.'

Amity’s reaction

"...So we're just going to be spending some time waiting...alone...in a big house with nobody else around?"

"...Basically, yeah," Luz shrugged, "See you then. Oh! By the way, and I know it goes without saying, but try to do something that hides those ears. Because the last thing I need to do is explain why my new friend looks like an elf from Lord of the Rings."

With that, Luz hung up, leaving Amity to sit still as a statue at her desk. Eventually, she slowly dragged her diary over, picked up a pencil, and began to calmly write.

So Luz, literally right now, just asked me to come over to hang out at her house, completely unsupervised, as we wait to have dinner with her mom. Current mood: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Chapter 8

Boscha’s rage

"You little jackass!"

Luz turned away from her locker to see Boscha stomping over. It was the end of the school day, and Luz was already beyond stressed about having Amity over to her house. The last thing that anyone needs, least of all her, is to deal with Boscha's bullshit.

"Little?" Luz said with an annoyed tilt to her head. "Bitch, I am absolutely taller than you!"

"Not the point!" Boscha yelled once she finally got up to Luz, "Because here's the thing: You draw on my face, I'll be annoyed. You rip my scroll in half, I'll be pissed off. But make people think I have a crush on FUCKING, Matt!? That is something I should kill you for!"

"...I didn't draw on your face."

"YOU--" But Boscha stopped herself to take a deep, calming breath before looking back at Luz with murder in her eyes, "That slimy, greasy, weasely little weasel has been hitting on me ALL DAY! And it's all because of you posting on social media that I like him. I mean, what the FUCK did I do to deserve that?!"

"...Do you really want me to answer that?"

Misunderstanding

"Hey."

Hesitantly, Amity glanced over at Luz again. Who had put her full attention into the girl in front of her.

"Do you wanna make out?"

"WHAT?!"

Luz jumped at Amity's screech.

"...I said, ‘do you want take out?’" she repeated, lifting up her phone, "My mom just said she's going to be a while and isn't in a cooking mood. So she wants to know if you're cool if she picks up some chimichurri sandwiches on the way home."

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, that's fine," Amity could feel her face grow hotter by the second.

"Ok?" Luz texted a reply to her mom, "...What did you think I said, anyway?"

"..."

"It must have been something bad to make you react as if I called you the c-word."

"...So this movie is interesting!" Suddenly, all Amity's attention went to the tee-vee, "My favorite character would have to be that, uh, that girl with the...dyed hair and...giant hammer--What did you say this movie is called again?"

Luz opened her mouth to say something, but a small ping! from her phone distracted her for a bit.

"My mom wants to know if you have any allergies," she said.

"I do not."

"Got it," Luz sent her reply, "Now, as for what you thought I said--"

"Table it for later."

'So I can have time to think of a proper excuse.'

"...Alright."

Luz went back to watching the movie for another minute, looked at her wrist for some reason, and then stared right back at Amity.

"It's now later."

"Luz--"

"Look, if it's something embarrassing, don't worry about it," Luz waved off her friend's concern, "Your brain just misinterpreted what I said. It's no big deal. I'm just wondering what you thought I asked that got you all hot and bothered."

'She called me hot--FOCUS!'

"You really won't judge?" Amity asked for clarification.

"Can't be any more embarrassing than what I did on Saturday."

'I guess that's true.'

"Well," Amity nervously fiddled with the hem of her dress, "I thought that...that you asked if...I wanted to...make...out..."

She glanced over, and, sure enough, a blush was beginning to form on Luz's cheeks.

"...Oh," the human said.

"But it's like you said!" Amity quickly exclaimed, "My brain just misinterpreted the words! It's not like you would ever ask me to do that, right?"

"...Of course not."

"...You hesitated?"

"Hm?"

"I said that you would never ask me to do that, and you hesitated when saying no. Why did you hesitate?"

"I didn't hesitate."

"Yes, you did."

"Pretty sure I didn't."

"Well, I'm definitely sure that you did."

"Well, if I did, then that's because, um..."

"...Because, um, what?"

"..."

"...So this movie, huh?" Luz looked back at the screen, "It's, uh, Scott Pilgrim, by the way. Just to answer your question...from earlier...about what movie this is..."

And thus came the thickest, most awkward silence between them. Understandably enough, Luz now had no problems with sitting as far away from Amity as possible.

"...How long until your mom gets home, again?"

"Should be another two hours."

"Damn it."

"Yeah."

Baby pictures

"Actually, I do have a photo of that day in an album somewhere," Camila added, "I could go find it and prove to you how innocent Luz was."

Now Luz's face went pale as Amity's brightened with glee.

"No, she doesn't!"

"Yes, I do!"

The poor human glared at the rich girl.

"No. You don't."

"Yes. I do."

"Right then," Camila finished her sandwich and got out of her seat, "You two sit tight. I'm going to go find that album."

Once her mother was out of the room, Luz scooched over to Amity with murder in her eyes.

"I would like to point out that you still owe me, like, five more favors from what happened last Friday," she whispered-growled, "So I would like to cash in one of them for you to not look at my baby pictures."

"And I would like to point out that you saw me at my lowest last Friday," Amity said with a smarmy smile, "Which means I'm at least owed some middle ground."

"...I hate you."

"Sure you do."

Gravity Falls reference

'There's that weird feeling again,' she thought as a tingling sensation formed throughout her gut. It wasn't the first time that day when Luz felt this.

She felt it when seeing Amity's human ears, when Amity admitted that she always wanted to be friendly, and especially when Amity thought Luz wanted to make out.

'...Wait...do I--'

Luz shook her head.

"No, no, no no no," she said to herself, "There's no way. There's just no way! I'm sure this is just some...indirect way of Boscha's words getting to your brain."

Luz turned around to go back inside.

"By tomorrow, you'll laugh about how ridiculous a thought like that is."

At Midnight.

Ever since turning in at nine, Luz could not for the life of her go to sleep.

Why?

Because her head was filled with nothing but thoughts of golden eyes, wild green hair, and a smirk that became all the more attractive, the more she thought about it.

"...Goddammit."

Chapter 9

Skara’s advice

"In that case, as her best friend, I have to tell that she will destroy you."

"Whatever."

"And as her best friend, I probably shouldn't tell you to go for any of her weak spots."

"..." Luz shared a curious look with Gus and Willow, who shrugged. "What weak spots?"

"Well, as her best friend, I shouldn't tell you that Boscha suffered a lot of injuries from playing grudgby," Skara explained, "Like the fact that her right arm hasn't healed right and she prefers punching with her left. Or the fact that she's still recovering from breaking her left leg and that if you kick the back of it hard enough, she'll crumble."

"...It's too bad that you didn't say any of that," Luz played along, "Because that would all be incredibly useful. And I would have to ask why you would tell me that in the first place."

"Hypothetically speaking, if I did tell you all of that--which I didn't--it would probably be because I'm still a little mad that she destroyed my house for the sake of getting Amity back. And that I'm just as sick as you are that Boscha wastes so much time trying to win back a girl that is clearly not interested."

"In that case, I really hate that you didn't tell me any of that stuff. Because then I would have thanked you for the advice."

"And I would have said, 'You're welcome,'" Skara looked left, right, and hugged Luz for a fraction of a second to then scamper off to who knows where.

The first hit

"Uh-huh...I don't know what that means, so here's a question: What happens when I break that oath?"

"Oh, trust me, you won't break it. Now, are you ready to eat dirt, human?"

"Born ready," Luz said, regaining her confidence, "In fact, you can have the first punch."

Boscha raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You sure you want that?"

"Of course. That is unless you're too scared of breaking a nail--"

SMACK!

The entire stadium went 'Ooooh,' due to Boscha sucker-punching Luz so hard that the human immediately went down and into the dirt. Needless to say, Luz was very much awake now.

"JESUS CHRIST!" She shouted as she slowly stood up, nursing the now bruising cheek that Boscha hit. "What the shit do they feed you rich girls?! Also, what happened to no hitting the face?! That was my face! You said no hitting the face!"

"Oh, no, I meant my face," Boscha reiterated, "My face is off-limits. Yours is free real estate."

Adrenaline rush

While Boscha was distracted by that, Luz looked over at her own friends.

Willow scowled with her fists clenched, looking like she was about ready to jump in to kick Boscha's ass for Luz.

Gus was cheering for Luz to get up. At least, she thinks that's what he was doing. A sudden ringing in Luz's ear currently made it hard to decipher what anybody was saying if they weren't close enough.

And then there was Amity, who held Luz's jacket tight to her heart, eyes wide and complexion pale.

That's when it hit Luz: If she loses, she'll be forced by some magic bullshit to never see Amity again. All these weeks of getting close and building...whatever the hell their relationship is building towards would have been for nothing. Worse yet, Amity will be left with Boscha, who would treat the green-haired witch with as much dignity and respect as Boscha treats her friends.

It was the mix of fear and anger from that thought that gave Luz just enough adrenaline she needed to turn towards Boscha and kicked her hard in the left leg.

Goodnight

"Cool. Hey, mom?"

"Yes, mija?"

"If a person asks you to have lunch with them, just the two of you, what would you think that means?"

"I assume that means a person wants to date you."

"Cool. Anyways, I'm gonna go to bed now. Goodnight."

"You’re what?"

THWUMP!

Startled by the noise, Camila turned around to see that Luz had fallen face-first onto the living room floor.

"...Luz?"

"Hm?" Luz mumbled.

"Are you ok?"

"Mm-hm."

Chapter 10

Earmuffs

"Hi, Luz! Question: Me being a male cheerleader. Yay or nay?"

"I think it's absolutely a 'yay,' but we can talk about that later," Luz said as she sat down, "For right now: Earmuffs."

"Aw, what?" Gus whined, "C'mon!"

"No complaining. Earmuffs."

"But I'm younger than you two by two years. I can totally handle grown-up talk."

"Earmuffs!"

Gus groaned, reluctantly covering his ears, closing his eyes, and humming to himself to further block out any noise.

Assumptions

"I don't give a shit that you're dating her." Willow said plainly.

"You see--Wha-wha-wha-wha-What? What? I'm sorry, what? Just...Fucking what?!" Luz exclaimed, completely caught off guard.

"Hey, don't get me wrong," Willow continued, "I would much rather see you date almost anybody else in this school. But if--for whatever reason--Amity is the person you really want to be with, I won't say anything about it. The heart wants what the heart wants. Who am I to judge?"

"...We're not dating."

Willow blinked.

"You're not?"

"No."

"...You're not?!"

Spray Bottle

Then suddenly, bits of water started spritzing onto her face. Looking over, Amity saw that it was because Viney was using a spray bottle on her.

"Bad," she said between spritzes, "Bad Blight."

"What the hell?!" Amity hissed, "Why do you even have that?!"

"I take Beast Keeping," Viney explained as she pocketed her spray bottle, "It comes in handy, so I just keep it on me at all times. Now, back to your dumbassery..."

"Hey, try to look at this from my point of view, alright?" the younger witch growled, "You never had to deal with Luz and her dumb smirk or her...cute round ears and those...those gorgeous brown eyes that are so warm and soft and make you feel all ooey-gooey like a warm chocolate cookie and--"

Viney started spritzing Amity again.

"GAH! Sorry," Amity said, snapping out of it.

And that’s about it. Thank you all so much for reading this story for this long, and a very special thank you to @drabbles-of-writing for letting me write this story in the first place. Now if you don’t excuse me, I’ve got school shit to work on.

#the owl house #beta lumity #it all started with a jacket #cw: swearing

38 notes · View notes

xbladekitkat85 · 4 years ago

Text

Do You Remember Now?

Summary: It's Peter's birthday and everyone is planning on a surprise when he wakes up. Except there's a huge problem. Peter's gone missing.

Word count: 4k+

Warnings: Descriptions of violence, swearing, ANGST, mentions of dealing with grief.

A/N: I haven't really written angst before so I don't know how hard it's going to hit. I did tear up at one part while typing so maybe it's a bit heavy???

Peter's disappearance happened when everyone least expected it. It was the morning of his birthday, and all the heroes of the universe were going to be there. It would have been the first reunion in over 5 years where everyone was available to come, Asgardians and Guardians as well. Everyone was going to sneak into Peter's room to wake him up with a collective shout of "SURPRISE!" and pop an unnecessary amount of party poppers all over the room.

Tony peeked inside first to make sure that Peter was still asleep before beckoning everyone inside. But he felt a cold draft flowing from the crack between the door and the doorframe that shouldn't have been possible due to the picture windows.

He entered the room to find the window cut open and various items belonging to Peter scattered on the floor. There was no sign of Peter himself and the excited feeling that Tony had all morning quickly twisted into something he had felt only when Pepper had been taken years ago by Killian.

It was the feeling of debilitating fear.

Tony felt a wave of nausea hit him as various scenarios all ran through his head, each with Peter hurt, scared, or possibly even dead.

Pepper was the first to notice Tony hadn't come to get everyone. He came out of Peter's room after a few minutes more of waiting. But he wasn't acting like the excited father he was only moments before.

"Tony, what's wrong?" She asked, feeling anxiety building up with each second of silence.

Tony turned to look at everyone with a haunted look in his eyes. Pepper recognized it as the same expression he had when he had returned from space after fighting Thanos. Something was horribly wrong, and it had to do with Peter.

"Tony, talk to me. What's happening." Pepper asked gently despite the worry she felt.

"Peter's not there." He whispered hoarsely and turned to look at her. "Pep, we can't lose him again."

Morgan, Carter and Harley had heard what Tony said and they all felt a sharp stab of fear and worry. Morgan felt tears burning in her eyes, and buried her face in Carter's shoulder for a moment to compose herself. Carter held her close and stroked her hair while Harley walked into Peter's room to see it for himself.

Harley looked around the entire space. He checked the closet, the hammock near the ceiling, and the bathroom adjacent to Peter's room to no avail.

"FRIDAY, show me the tower's security activity from 11pm last night up until dad opened Peter's door." Harley requested.

But to everyone's shock, there was no familiar response of, "Sure thing boss." from the speakers throughout the tower.

FRIDAY was out of commission. That meant that somebody had been able to shut down an AI made by Tony Stark, which is no easy feat. This meant someone skilled was behind it and most likely planned the kidnapping with extreme scrutiny.

Nothing about the situation was remotely close to how everyone thought this day was going to go.

"We need to get Friday back online ASAP." Morgan shakily said. "If we are able to access the security cameras, there's a chance we might be able to find a clue."

Carter glanced at Morgan and saw the pain and worry in her eyes, and gently took her hand and squeezed it to reassure her. She squeezed it back to acknowledge his presence.

"Morgan, Harley, and Carter, come with me to my lab. Nat, you reach out to any contacts who may know something. Carol, this is a long shot, but I want you to ask off world allies if they have any clues as well." Tony ordered. "Everyone else start looking around the tower for clues of any sort. If you see anything remotely suspicious, make a note of it."

*Time skip*

Nobody had been able to find a trace of a clue regarding Peter's whereabouts.

Not any of Tony's extensive connections had an idea. Natasha's contacts hadn't heard any chatter about a kidnapping or hostage. Carol came up empty from every person she had asked but that wasn't unexpected.

Morgan had been back to school and Carter was supportive whenever she needed reassurance. But after a month of no news, or leads, she was starting to lose the little hope she had left. Peter would promise her before every mission, that he would come home safe and sound. But this time he hadn't come home. She didn't even know where he had gone.

Harley became fixated on building tracking devices, scanners, homing beacons, anything that could help find his brother. Harley had promised to always help Peter if he was in a pinch, regardless of how annoying he could be sometimes.

Tony had shut himself in his lab to fix FRIDAY and go through everything he could think of that could offer some sort of sign, a clue, a word, literally anything to bring Peter back home. He had invented time travel to bring him back so why couldn't he do something as simple as finding a clue? Peter would probably point out an error in his work that would solve his problem but now that wasn't possible.

Pepper busied herself by concentrating on running Stark Industries. Whenever she got the chance, she would drag Tony and Harley out of their labs to eat meals with her. God knows those two would forget to eat if nobody reminded them that food and water was an essential part of living. Peter would usually take care of that but since his disappearance, she took up the job.

Everyone felt a piece of their family was missing. But nobody said his name out loud, even though everyone thought about him.

It just hurt too much to hear his name knowing that by now he was likely dead. That he was never coming home.

And time would continue to pass, as the pain of losing Peter would too.

Until one day, on a mission, everything changed.

*6 months after Peter's disappearance*

HYDRA had suddenly resurfaced with no warnings whatsoever.

They had set off Tony's alert system designed to warn of threats, and a group immediately suited up. Having HYDRA stirring up trouble was never a good sign, especially since they were supposed to be gone. But as the saying goes, "Cut one head off, two more take it's place."

The team that had gone to check out the threat consisted of the original 6 Avengers as well as Harley, Bucky, Kate, and Wanda. Upon arriving at the location that had set off the alarm, they noticed that another group of people were there as well. One person among them in particular stood out to the OG Avengers. Before anyone could make a move, all the Avengers were suddenly knocked down, and tied up so they couldn't move.

"Hey, I found these guys lurking around. Who are they?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"Yo-Yo, you can let them go. We're friends. Well, at least most of us are, those three I haven't met. It's alright."

All the OG 6 Avengers felt a cold shock run through their bodies. That voice belonged to someone they thought was dead since the Battle of New York.

"Agent Coulson?" Tony asked in shock.

"It's former Director actually and yes, I'm alive." Coulson replied, as everyone was untied by Yo-Yo.

"There's no way." Natasha said as she stood up. "Fury would have said something sooner. And when were you Director of SHIELD?"

"I'm sorry, Nat, but he meant to keep it a secret from all of you. Me being resurrected." Coulson said with regret in his voice. "Said that if you knew, it would have distracted you from your goal."

"Steve, who is this guy?" Bucky asked in confusion.

Coulson's eyes widened in a very comical way when he noticed who had just spoken.

"Sergeant Barnes. It's an honor to meet you." He said, holding out a hand to shake.

Bucky took Coulson's hand to shake and noticed that his hand was not a real hand.

"Your hand... It's mechanical isn't it?" Bucky asked curiously.

"How much has happened with you since we last saw each other?" Steve asked.

"A lot. And we'll talk about it later after we take care of this HYDRA base. I assume that's why you're all here." Coulson said, gesturing to the other group.

"Yes, well, let's introduce the new members of our teams and then make a plan." Steve said.

Coulson informed his team of the change of plans. Everyone on Coulson's team met up for introductions.

"Daisy Johnson, aka Quake. She has the ability to manipulate natural vibrations as well as generate concussive blasts of vibrating air. Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez. She is able to travel at superhuman speeds within the timeframe of a beat of her heart before she bounces back. Hence the nickname, Yo-Yo. Melinda May, expert martial artist, pilot and empath. Mack, Deke, and FitzSimmons are on the Bus right now. You'll meet them later."

Everyone on Tony's side acknowledged their names and took note of their abilities and powers.

"Ok, for the new faces on our side, we have Barnes, the Winter Soldier, who you already know, Wanda, she's got telekinesis and can read minds, Kate, she's Clint's protege, slash eventual replacement and Harley, my oldest kid, who built his own suit." Tony said, introducing the group.

Daisy leaned over to Yo-Yo.

"Tony Stark has kids?" She whispered.

"How the hell would I know?" She responded. "I'm not the former groupie member here."

Daisy glared half heartedly at her.

"I said it was one time!"

"Not my fault you got drunk and told me that story." She shot back.

"Hey, focus we're not here to argue." May interrupted. "We have a mission."

Everyone quickly formed a plan and they all entered the base.

Yo-Yo ran through the halls to assess the amount of security as well as any potentially dangerous weapons. When she was done, she gave the report to Coulson and Tony so they could split their team accordingly.

"May, Harley, Kate, Captain Rogers, Wanda, and I will be one group. Daisy, Yo-Yo, Nat, Clint, Sergeant Barnes, and Tony will be the other. " Coulson explained. "Dr. Banner will be here on comms just in case. I've synced the signal our comms travel on so we're on the same channel. We're going to be split up, so only call for help if necessary. We have about equal amounts of power on each side, so take advantage of every opportunity if need be. Let's go."

Everyone nodded and headed off with their respective groups to raid the base.

(A/N Tony's team will be written in bold and Coulson's team in regular text to avoid unnecessary writing)

Wanda lead the group through the hallways, with May taking out the first few guards easily. Coulson shot ICER bullets at the ones May couldn't focus on while Harley made sure every guard was unconscious. Cap and Kate ran ahead to scout out the next few corridors and the rest of the group quickly followed.

Daisy knocked down the first wave of guards and Yo-Yo tied all of them up while Nat, Clint, Tony and Bucky advanced deeper into the building. A group of guards wielding batons and handguns immediately appeared in their path, blocking the way. Clint shot arrows into the walls that released smoke to obscure the soldiers vision and aim. Tony took advantage of their disorientated state and used heat signature seeking taser blasts to knock them out.

Cap almost got a punch to the face while he rounded a corner but he leaned to the side, barley avoiding it. Kate quickly rushed in and used the man's momentum to flip him over her shoulder into the wall while Cap recovered and punched another soldier trying to attack Kate from behind.

"Thanks." She said, a bit out of breath.

"No problem. Incoming from both sides, get ready." He replied, standing nearly back to back with Kate.

"You got it, Cap." She said, readying her bow.

He threw his shield at the closest guard while Kate shot multiple electric arrows at the hallway in front of her, effectively creating a bolt of electricity that hit multiple targets. They quickly rotated in sync and they repeated the same attacks as before, with Cap taking out the last of the soldiers in his way and Kate knocking out hers.

Tony watched Yo-Yo as she sped forward to scout the next hallway. He couldn't help but think of Pietro Maximoff, and how similar their powers seemed to be. Of course, Yo-Yo bounced back while Pietro didn't. He just kept going forward and never looked back.

Before he could even blink she had returned to the group.

"There's about a dozen guards outside a set of reinforced double doors." She said. "They're guarding something important."

"That's why we're here though. HYDRA has some weapon or something they plan on using, right?" Daisy asked. "Why else would they have resurfaced?"

"It's never a good sign when there's that much security outside an already pretty secure door." Clint added.

"They couldn't have possibly made anything more dangerous than supersoldiers." Bucky muttered.

"I wouldn't put it past HYDRA to find a way to do it." Nat said. "We got to make a plan. We can't just charge in."

Coulson's group had reached the end of the last hallway on their side. There wasn't anything at all to take as evidence or to destroy.

"It can't just be a dead end." Coulson said in disbelief. "There's gotta be a secret door or something at least."

Harley snorted at his complaint.

"I mean that's would I would have done." Kate said thoughtfully. "There wasn't anything of importance on our side of the base. So it makes sense that there's something we're missing."

Cap walked forward and proceeded to rap his knuckles on the wall.

"Whatcha doing there Cap?" Harley joked. "Hoping the secret door will open if you politely knock?"

Cap had moved to the left wall and knocked on it as well.

"He's checking to see if any of the walls sound more hollow than the others." May interjected. "It's a smart idea. It could reveal a hidden room or passage that isn't visible to the naked eye."

Wanda turned to Harley with a raised brow.

"Hey, can't you scan through walls with your suit? That would make this go a lot faster." She asked sarcastically.

Harley froze and everyone turned to look at him.

"Yeah, that would have made this a lot easier." Coulson said wryly.

"I'll get on it." Harley said sheepishly.

He scanned all the walls around them and eventually started walking in another direction.

"This way. There's a room further this way that I can't see through with the scanner. It seems to be lined with lead, which means x-ray scanners won't do the job. Whatever we need to find must be there." He said.

Everyone quickly followed Harley's lead as he walked down the halls, eventually leading them to where the other group had gathered in front of heavy looking doors. The soldiers that had presumably been standing guard were incapacitated on the floor.

(End of bold/regular text switches)

The entire group was preparing to enter the room they stood in front of. Whatever HYDRA had been working on had to be here. Nowhere else in the building had anything significant and this was the final stop.

The door had a keypad that required a passcode as well as a biometric scan. Of course, they could try using the guards to try to pass the retinal scan but there wasn't any guarantee they had access. Of course, they had to deal with the code as well. Maybe physical force would work.

Tony scanned the door's material and found that it was capable of taking the strongest hit from his and Harley's suit combined.

"All right, does anyone else have any brilliant ideas on how to enter this room?" He asked "I don't have enough firepower for this door."

Coulson turned to Daisy and nodded his head.

"Do your thing." He said.

She rolled her eyes and approached the keypad to the door and forced the device to open, revealing circuit boards and wires.

"What is she doing?" Harley asked in confusion. "I thought she could blast through stuff?"

Daisy took out a small tablet and hooked it to the keypad, quickly typing out code and breaking through the security.

"You're lucky I still carry a tablet, Coulson. We would have been in trouble otherwise."

Tony was impressed and slightly scared of how fast she broke through HYDRA's mainframe of security. He made a mental note to update his security system as well as FRIDAY's firewalls.

After a couple minutes of rapid typing, the door opened with a hiss of cold air.

"Remind me to change all my passwords on my social media." Harley said to his suit's AI.

"All right, lets see what HYDRA has been working on." Coulson announced. "Prepare yourselves for anything."

They walked into the room and immediately, everyone noticed the change of temperature compared to the rest of the base.

FRIDAY informed Tony that it was 10 degrees in the room and understandably, everyone was shivering.

Tony walked a bit further and then stopped suddenly. He felt his blood run colder than the room itself.

Coulson had said to be prepared for anything but he clearly didn't have this in mind of the things he needed to steel himself for.

"Oh my god." Kate whispered. "Is it?"

"Peter?" Harley asked in disbelief.

Tony's son was in the corner of the room, curled up in the fetal position, and unresponsive to the world around him.

"FRIDAY, scan for any vital signs." Tony asked desperately.

"He's got a pulse, but I believe he may be in a comatose state. He is also dehydrated and malnourished."

Coulson's team didn't know who this Peter was, but they knew based on everyone else's reaction that he was someone who had been missing for a long time.

"FitzSimmons, do you read me?" Coulson said into his earpiece.

"Yes sir, what's wrong?" Jemma's voice replied.

"We need you to set up the medbay immediately. Get an IV drip sufficient for dehydration as well as malnutrition." Coulson ordered. "We also need heat lamps, if you got any."

"Right away sir." She replied.

Steve picked Peter up and everyone followed him out of the base, back to safety.

*Time skip to returning to New York*

Morgan had been in the middle of a meeting for student council when her watch buzzed. Although it wasn't unusual for that to happen, this time it was buzzing in a pattern that meant there was an emergency that she could not ignore.

"May I be excused to go to the bathroom?" She asked the teacher, who nodded her approval.

She grabbed the hall pass and made her way to the bathroom and checked to see what the message was.

The message was from Harley and what he had sent broken down the walls of composure she had been building for 6 months.

Morgan, we found Peter. We're almost back to the tower and mom's picking you and Carter up. We'll tell you more when you get here.

She sank to the floor and started to sob.

How was this possible?

Where had he been?

How was he alive?

Was he still alive?

More and more questions ran through her head and she finally calmed down enough to exit the bathroom without looking like she had just had a breakdown. When she walked back into the classroom she was handed a summons to leave early.

She arrived at the attendance office and Carter was already there, waiting for her with Pepper by his side.

They all hugged for a good long while and they all cried a bit before Happy started to drive to the tower to meet up with everyone.

"Mom? Is he alive?" Morgan asked hoarsely.

She was silent for a bit before replying.

"He's alive but he's in a coma of sorts."

"Do we know why?" Carter asked.

"Dad said it was extensive exposure to frigid temperatures and that the spider DNA caused him to hibernate because of it." She answered.

"Do we know when he's supposed to wake up?" Carter questioned.

"I don't know honey." Pepper said honestly. "We have to hope for the best."

Morgan felt her heart sink in her chest as they pulled into the parking garage.

Everyone got out as soon as the car was parked and rushed to the elevator.

"FRIDAY, take us to the medbay where Peter is." Pepper said.

"Right away miss." She replied.

They made it to the medbay in record time and rushed to Peter's bedside, where he was still asleep.

Morgan almost didn't recognize that it was Peter in the bed.

His face was unnaturally pale and gaunt and he had lost weight, his frame looking thinner and weaker because of it. His hair was longer than she had ever seen it before and was tangled in knots. He had multiple bruises scattered around his body that should have been healed.

Tony and Harley walked into the room soon after and Morgan hugged them both extra tightly as she let out months worth of fear and anxiety in the form of tears.

"Shhhh, Maguna, it's ok, he's home." Tony whispered. "Breathe, you have to breathe."

"I thought he was dead." She sobbed into his chest.

"I know, but he's here now, everything's going to be ok." Tony reassured her gently.

Carter and Pepper joined in the hug and they all comforted each other.

Peter was finally home, where he belonged.

And he was about to wake up from his slumber.

"Hello?" a voice said, cracking in the middle of the word. "Where 'm I?"

Harley turned his head towards Peter so fast he almost gave himself whiplash.

"He's awake!" He said.

Everyone let go from the hug to gather around Peter's bed.

"Peter, are you ok? How do you feel?" Carter asked.

Peter turned to look at Carter.

"Who're you?" He asked confusedly.

Peter looked at all the people standing by his bed.

"Who are you guys?" He asked. "What am I doing here?"

Everyone's hearts collectively sank at his question.

Peter didn't remember anyone in this room. He couldn't recall his family. What had HYDRA done to him?

"Peter, we're your family." Morgan explained shakily. "I'm Morgan, your little sister. That's Harley, your brother, Carter, my boyfriend. That's mom and dad over there. Don't you remember at all?"

Morgan's voice broke as she asked him that question.

Peter looked at everyone's faces, one by one, trying his best to remember them but he couldn't. His memories were blank with a capital 'B'.

"Maybe photos or videos might help?" Carter offered weakly.

"FRIDAY pull up video footage from the folder, Family Shenanigans."

FRIDAY displayed footage from the timeframe that the Avengers were playing pool in the rec room.

Tony was on a team with Carter and Harley and Morgan were on the other. Peter and Pepper were watching them play from the side.

"Come on Harley, you can do better than that!" Tony teased as he put chalk on his cue stick. "Morgan's been carrying your team the whole game."

"No way, I've hit at least half of our balls in the pockets!" Harley protested, even though he knew he was spouting bullshit.

"I've done two behind the back shots and made them, how many have you done?" Morgan piped in, absolutely decimating Harley, the Roast King himself.

Everyone burst out laughing at her comeback and Tony immediately fell to the floor from laughter and pounded his fist on the ground.

Morgan had never seen her dad laugh so hard at something, let alone everyone else, including Natasha, who usually never let more than a chuckle out when she found something hilarious.

"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON ANYWAY?!" Harley yelled at her over all the laughter.

"That's my sister!" Peter said proudly, with tears of laughter in his eyes.

Friday played other videos taken during random moments, as well as displaying photos. Everyone took turns explaining what had happened that day and why it was special. Peter asked questions here and there and everyone answered patiently and with extra detail to help.

Eventually, they had gone through the entire folder and Morgan glanced at Peter to see if there was a flicker of recognition at all.

"Do you remember now?" She asked him softly.

Peter had tears in his eyes as he answered.

"I'm so sorry." He said.

Morgan wanted to scream her heart out. He still didn't remember his family. She didn't know if he ever would.

"I've been gone so long, and HYDRA erased my memories. But you guys were able to find me before they could finish the job for good." He said, finishing what he had wanted to say. "I do remember you guys. I can't believe I ever forgot how much everyone here means to me."

Pepper let out a gasp as she nearly tackled him in a hug. Everyone felt a huge weight lift from their shoulders as Peter laughed weakly at everyone's faces.

"Peter, don't you ever scare us like that again!" Harley scolded with tears running down his face.

"That was a shitty thing to do, seriously." Carter said, annoyed but mostly relieved that Peter was back.

"Peter, never forget how much we love you." Tony said, wiping a tear away from his cheek.

"I can't believe you're back." Morgan said, smiling despite the fact she was still crying a bit.

"I'm here, and I won't be leaving you guys like that again." Peter replied. "I mean, I'm bedridden at the moment anyway."

Everyone groaned at his joke before a group hug formed around Peter.

Everything was as it should always have been.

A/N: Here's a little fun fact about this chapter, the part where Morgan roasts Harley is based on something that happened within my family a couple years ago. In my family's version, I was on a team with my cousin and my dad and another cousin were on the other team. The dialogue is basically word for word what happened. I roasted my cousin, and my everyone started laughing, and my dad literally fell to the floor and was pounding his fist on the ground.

Taglist: @frostedgiant

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charlieliqueur · 5 years ago

Text

Bigby Wolf X Reader

Summary; Bigby is forced into going to a fair outside of the city. He expects to find Mundies and Fables, but not what he actually stumbled upon...

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It was loud.

Painfully loud. Footsteps, bell chimes, laughter, screams, so much noise. So many people. His footsteps hit the ground, grass sparse due to heavy traffic. The pathways were marked with orange cones and plastic tape.

Bigby spotted Beast at a strongman game, Holly and Grendal sitting at a table in the shade, Woody and Jack playing darts. He slowed, seeing Mundies and Fables alike crowding games and stands.

It was overwhelming.

The scents mainly. Sweet, salty, savory, natural, unnatural. All manners of deodorant, perfume, cologne, shampoo, laundry detergent. It fogged up his mind, and he instinctually reached into his pocket for his cigarettes. Sticking a lone one between his lips, Bigby brought the lighter out, and opened it. The metallic sound echoed in his head, as another scent joined the others right before he lit the cigarette.

He stalled, lifting his head up slightly. He took a breath through the nose. It was cluttered with all the other scents, but it was there.

Something so soft, a gentle pheromone of wood, rain, and untouched earth... of home.

It took his mind to memories of a place much kinder, much more pleasant. He searched for the source. A stand, an object, something...

Then a strong burst hit him, like lightning, and he saw you. You ran past, rushing after someone. Your hair a mess, with dandelions and daisies tangled in it. A temporary painting of a wolf sat against your flushed cheek, and a clutter of plastic bracelets and beads littered your wrists and neck, a collection of trophies you had won.

Your smile was a million fireflies, your eyes the sparkle of gemstones, your laughter a cascade of beautiful thunder. You were there and gone in less than a second. You disappeared into the crowds, chasing after your friend, and Bigby's eyes never left you as you ran. They still lingered long after you were out of sight.

"Bigby?"

The voice tugged him from his thoughts. He blinked a few times, slouching slightly. Bigby hadn't realized how alert he'd been, the sight of you such a shock.

He eased, and turned to where the voice came from. He saw Snow, a confused look on her face. "Someone you knew?" She asks, looking past him in the direction you rushed off into. "No... thought I recognized them, but I guess not," Bigby says, glancing back as he spoke. He looked back to Snow. Her hair neatly pulled back and braided, her wrists bare, her skin untouched. So unlike the wild, free-spirited delight that had rushed by.

"Well, Flycatcher, Beauty and I were gonna head to some rides. You in?"

"Uh, no thanks."

"Alright... just try to lay back a bit, okay Bigby?" She says, then she turns and leaves. He adjusted his tie, lit the cigarette, and continued walking.

But you still dominated his thoughts. Even in the chaotic space, you were all he could manage to think about.

Morning turned to noon, noon to evening. And as the colored lights seemed to be more at home, and the families began to leave, the thought crossed his head that he should go. Why would he stay if all he was going to do was mope over a girl he only had just glimpsed?

He slicked his hair back once more, sighing, pulling out another cigarette to try and dilute your presence. It had stuck with him all day.

Just as he lit it, he heard something.

"Oh my gosh, just do it!"

"No, I'm all awkward and it'd be weird."

"And?? Listen, either you do it, or I will. And I won't be gentle about it either."

"Okay, okay!"

It was you. Bigby wasn't sure how he knew. He just did. He pulled the lighter down, prepared to look around like a wild animal for you, but something tapped his shoulder before he had the chance. He turned around carefully, seeing you right there. A smile on your face, even more beads around your neck.

"Hey, I kinda sorta noticed you were wandering around on your own. If that was your plan, totally okay! But, if it wasn't, my friends and I were doing the same thing, hoping onto whatever rides have the shortest lines... if you wanted to maybe, I dunno, come hang out with us...?" You asked, still smiling, only a shyness had overcome you.

"Uh," he said, Bigby wasn't sure how to respond. He was still shocked that you had just strolled up to him like it was nothing. Nobody did that. No one. But here you were, smiling at him and eagerly awaiting a reply. "Its alright if you don't wanna, I figured I'd offer-"

"Nah, I'd, uh, I'd like to," he says, and suddenly your smile doubled, and you brought your arms up slightly, exclaiming "Awesome! Er-- I mean, cool." You rubbed the back of your head, your cheeked very flushed now, smiling, a touch of embarrassment added to your mix of emotions.

He couldn't help but smile slightly. "Well, shall we?" You ask, gesturing for him to follow you. He nodded, following you as you led him into the chaotic fairground full of people. "I have to warn you, some of them are a lot more... spontaneous than me. Don't take too much of what they say to heart, your best bet would be to stick with me," you offered, nudging him with your elbow. "Shouldn't be a problem," he says, pulling the cigarette out and treading it out on the ground. He wanted the whole of you in his mind right now.

He didn't want Fabletown, or being Sheriff, or his friends, or home, or Snow, or anything right now.

All he wanted was you.

"Oh, also, my names y/n! Name's are kinda important," you say, laughing to yourself. "I'm Bigby," he says, and you nodded, quickly saying "That's a rad name."

"Really think so?" He raised an eyebrow, a small smirk he couldn't help. "Oh yeah, that's the thing about me, I don't really lie. I'll phrase things weird, but usually no lying," you say, beaming.

"So what to first?" He asks, and you nearly jumped at his eagerness. "I've actually got a list," you say. But instead of pulling out a phone or paper or anything, you pull up your forearm, a list of ride names and places written on the skin, slightly blocked by all the bracelets.

"Oh, here," you quickly pulled off the biggest bracelet you had on, it being much too big for you. You held it out for him as you walked. He carefully took it, easing it onto his wrist. It fit rather well. "Oh, and some of these, before they break my neck," you joked excitedly, pulling a few of the colorful beaded necklaces off from around your neck, hopping onto your tiptoes, and putting them over his head and letting them fall around his neck.

"Voila! That means... actually, I dunno what it means, something in French," you say, bursting into giggles. He hadn't realized he could love a sound so much until he heard your laugh. "So first is actually, ooh, come on!" You grabbed his wrist and pulled him along, suddenly rushing.

That's how he ended up on a mess of rides with you, playing dozens of games, mostly you winning and him having to deal with your ridiculous victory dances. Your friends sometimes snuck around, yet oddly enough didn't stick around you both that much.

It was much darker now, probably nearing midnight. But you didn't have the faintest sign of tiredness. You seemed determined with your list, that Bigby had helped check off with you. "Oh, Ferris Wheel. I wonder if the line's short enough now? Let's see!" You reached back, grabbing his hand. He felt his face heat up, but you didn't react, you simply held it tightly, joyously rushing down a pathway.

He could hear his heart in his ears, thumping harshly against his ribs. He didn't know why he felt this way... and what was it he was feeling

You had brought the both of you to the line just in time to sneak into the last seats. "Want me to stop it at the top for ya?" Asked the operator as you sat across from Bigby. You both nodded.

Bigby couldn't keep his eyes off you. All of this seemed fake, almost as if a dream. He began to worry faintly that he'd wake up, finding himself in his little apartment, the atmosphere being that of his normal life. He realized how pleasing you were to the senses. Your beauty, your scent, your voice, how your hands felt against his skin. But there was still a box left unchecked, still one left on the list...

He wasn't sure if he should, or even could.

He wasn't sure if he had the courage to. It was such a funny thought, being the Sheriff, breaking up fights and hunting murderers, and yet he turned into a scared boy when faced with a girl.

You tugged him from his thoughts by quickly saying, "Look at the stars! Aren't they beautiful?"

He hesitated, still gazing at you a moment, before looking up where you were. They really were something. But they were nothing compared to how they looked reflecting in your eyes.

"Bigby?"

He suddenly realized he'd been staring. You smiled at him. "Seem more interested in me than the view," you teased, a smirk on your lips. Those lips... he felt his toes curl, not wanting to clench his fists infront of you. He was frustrated, but in a calm way. "Can't help it," he says, you noticing the touch of pink across his cheeks. Your smiled faded, but remained. A small, gentle thing.

He couldn't help but look at your lips. Then, you sat forward a little, as the ferris wheel stopped with you both at the top. You asked, "Did I tell you I can read minds?"

"No, don't think you did. Can you?"

"I can read yours."

"Really, so, what am I thinking...?" He asks, curious.

"Come closer," you urge, gesturing. He played along, sitting forward. But as soon as he did, you quickly slammed your lips against his. He was shocked at first, but soon kissed back, his hand finding your cheek, the other your neck.

But just as the moment began, it was suddenly cut short by the ferris wheel jerking into motion. You both sat back, looking at each other, both blushing madly. The ferris wheel stopped, and you both got off, smiling softly. As you walked away, back into the crowds, Bigby carefully reached, feeling his wrist brush your bracelets, before his hand wrapped around yours.

The night was soon to end, and it made him upset, not wanting this moment to ever go. "I, uh, maybe we could, um..." you couldn't find the words. But somehow he knew exactly what you meant.

"Tomorrow afternoon?" He suggests. You smile, and ask "Where?"

"I know a few restaurants here and there, but maybe something a little more lively would be your style..."

"Yeah, that'd be great."

"Then, here..." he carefully wrote out the address for his apartment on her arm, along with a phone number. "The number is for my office, I basically live there," he jokes.

"Office?"

"Yeah, I'm a Sheriff," he says simply.

"SHERIFF?"

Epilogue

Bigby sat in his office, turning through another file. He had finished writing something, before opening a drawer in his desk, and he stopped. Inside were the necklaces you had given him, along with the bracelet. He smiled faintly, gently sliding the folder on top of them. He shut the drawer, just as the door burst open, and a familiar girl rushed in, immediately sitting across from him. "You will not believe what Bluebeard said to me! Now don't get upset, but this jackass-" and you went on to rant, gesturing wildly with your hands, and all he could do was sit back and smile.

"The only good thing that came out of it was Snow finally giving me the damn key!" You say, slamming it down onto the desk. You huffed, leaning back and making funny faces as you remembered the ordeal.

Bigby reached forward and grabbed the key off the desk, observing it. "This isn't 206's key," he says. "I know," you say softly, your cheeks heating up a little. "This is my apartment's key..." he added, looking at you. "Well I obviously need one, what with you working odd hours. What happens if I get locked out?" You say defensively, not wanting to admit to the other reasonings.

"Why would I lock you out?"

"Whenever you get shot or hurt and know that I'll be giving you hell about it," you say honestly. You did say that you told the truth.

"Why else would you need a key?" He asks, offering that smirk that always made you flustered. "Cause..." you say, getting up and reaching for it, but he pulled it back suddenly.

"Cause why?"

"I can take the key back-" He reached forward and grabbed your hand, stilling you as he stood up. He walked around the desk, and your face got even redder. "Why?" He asked, and you avoiding eye contact, bouncing your legs slightly, nervous. "In case I wanna... surprise you..."

"What kind of surprise?" He asks, leaning forward, lifting your chin so you'd have to look at him. "You're the detective, you tell me," you say, but your blushed face and rushing heartbeat said it all.

He chuckled, kissed you, and pressed the key back into you palm, whispering in your ear, "Then I guess you better hold onto this..."

#bigby wolf #twau bigby #bigby #bigby x reader #bigby wolf x reader #sheriff bigby #twau #the wolf among us

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miracul0us-multishipper · 5 years ago

Text

Welcome to the Back (Part 11)

First Chapter Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Lila knew the situation was getting out of hand, even before she heard Ladybug reveal that they weren’t friends. At this point, she had already escaped the school and hidden outside, where she was in no danger to be seen by Sentiquill.

“Stupid Ladybug!”, she muttered as she walked home, not bothering to check up on the others or return to school. Even after she saw the Miraculous Cure flash through the sky, her pace didn’t slow. She needed time to think of a fitting lie, and the fallout of today’s akuma would be enough to deal with tomorrow. Ugh, she hated Paris! You could never know what happened next, never plan ahead!

She groaned.

To be fair, the akuma attack was actually kind of convenient this time. It gave her a chance to check up on her looks at home, prepare for the meeting this afternoon. There was no second chance for the first impression, after all!

So when she entered the TV1 tower and flashed the employee ID she’d stolen from Mireille, she looked as professional as she could get.

René Bordeaux’s office was easy to find. His name was written on the door in bright, red letters and the voice that yelled into a phone on the other side was iconic. With a confident smile, she knocked on the door. The voice fell silent, then yelled into the phone once more before hanging up. Angry footsteps advanced and the door was flung open.

“What is it?!”, a middle-aged man shouted. Lila scanned him quickly. Carefully styled, blond-dyed hair. There was a hint of grey in his roots, something he obviously meant to hide. Scared of aging probably.

His suit looked brand new, but was a little too short on the ankles, she noticed and drew her conclusions: He valued luxury and tried to intimidate with pricy clothes, but didn’t actually know a lot about fashion and likely bought whatever looked the most expensive. He had sideburns, for God’s sake. 60’s nostalgia? Probably wanted to go back to “the good old days” his dad had talked about wistfully when he was young. She wondered if he was right-wing. A Control freak, judging by the meticulously organized room behind him, and he was single given the lacking photos of a girlfriend on his desk. Or photos of anything other than himself in general. There was a wedding ring on his finger, even though Lila’s research had brought up his disastrous divorce of Evelyn Leanne, and that he hadn’t married since. His lack of reminders of Leanne in the office - reference to the photos - made her doubt he harbored any romantic sentiment for her. He was only bitter about being shunned, and about losing a perfect trophy family. Likely hadn’t accepted the divorce.

All these deductions only took her seconds to complete, René Bordeaux was an open book.

Her smile widened. So much potential!

“Oh, my apologies.”, she said sweetly. “I was looking for René Bordeaux, but if he’s not here yet-“

“I’m René Bordeaux! Why do you think would I be in this office, otherwise?!”

She gasped in false shock.

“You? But you look so young!”

The man blinked, thrown off his rhythm. His anger deflated and his raised hand dropped to his side.

“I... I guess!”

He caught himself and crossed his arms.

“Well, you have a point. But I hear that a lot, young Lady, so what do you want?”

Perfect.

“I am Lila Rossi.”, she introduced herself. “I called you yesterday, about the Journalism Junior contest you produce. A great idea, by the way.”

“Ah, yes, of course. What was that about again?”

Time to get bolder.

“May I come inside?”, she crooned. “This shouldn’t be discussed so out in the open. Wouldn’t want the public to hear of it.”

Now she had his attention. Bordeaux had made his money as a populist and paparazzi, a reporter known for his scandalous articles. He’d lost his job after the lawsuits last year, but his new position as chief editor of TV1 didn’t mean he had lost his lurid hunger for sensations - especially if he was the first one to know.

He huffed, but stepped back to let her in. The view out of the window front was fantastic, but she wasn’t here to marvel at the city. So she came straight to the point.

“I am a great fan of you work!”, she lied. “Especially your article after the Leanne-Agreste Show Disaster. Your concern about your son’s well being was very inspiring for me. I wish I had a father like that.”

She was glad she didn’t have a father like that, but Bordeaux didn’t need to know that. His brows furrowed in confusion.

“Am I supposed to be flattered?”, he grumbled, but his chest visibly swoll with pride. “What does this have to do with the contest?”

Her shoulders dropped in concern.

“Monsieur Bordeaux, I don’t know how to tell you this, but... See, Felix is in my class, and I am very concerned about him. I wanted to do my report on him, but what I found during my research worries me.”

He’s a control freak, she remembered, and he has no real sentiment towards his family. He only cares about reputations.

“He’s surrounding himself with all the wrong people, and when I - as the class representative - wanted to warn his mother, she brushed me off as if she didn’t care at all.”

Bordeaux tried to hide his interest, but there was a spark of hunger in his eyes. He was sensing a chance.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. See, our class is very... diverse.”

If he leaned to right side of politics, the word would repulse him.

“There’s people like Felix, Adrien Agreste, the mayor’s daughter or me in our class, who are well educated and come from the right families. But there are also... less fortunate people. Like Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng for example, who has great influence over your son.”

He flinched at the foreign last name, just as expected. His face had turned sour.

“What are you saying?”

“I say, Felix needs you.”, she catered to his ego. “He has no father figure, no role model. His mother lets him do whatever he wants, not caring about his future or who might take advantage of him. He has an unhealthy amount of freedoms, and just this morning, he fell victim to Hawkmoth!”

Bordeaux’s hands twitched and his eyes widened.

“An akuma was after my heir?! Who was it? I need names!”

“Oh no, he was akumatized himself.”, she informed him smugly. He muttered something about bad publicity, then looked up again.

“What was the reason? His mother? He’s ridiculously devoted to her.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know.”, she lied. “He was alone with Dupain-Cheng when it happened.”

She sighed, then put enough urgency in her voice to make even herself cringe.

“He really needs someone who knows what’s best for him, who can look out for him and will set him limits. He needs you!”

Bordeaux scoffed and paced through his office.

“Do you think I didn’t try to save this family?! Evelyn won’t let me near them anymore, and Felix would rather live like a pauper before going against her.”

Lila smiled.

“I know.”

Her schemes were finally going somewhere.

“But I might have a solution for you.”

When Adrien came to school the next day, he felt numb. There was no Plagg at his side, no ring on his finger, no sense of freedom in his chest as he walked up to the entrance. Everything felt hollow. How could everyone be this carefree when his entire world had been uprooted yesterday? Didn’t they feel the shift in the air, the tension in the room? Chat Noir had vanished, yet nobody seemed to mind.

“Dude, there you are!”, Nino greeted him from a bench at side, surrounded by his classmates. “We were worried sick about you, yesterday! Did you see the Akuma Attack? We were all working with Ladybug, it was so cool!”

Adrien flinched, before stomping over to them.

“Really?”, he asked, trying to suppress his fury. “That sounds awesome! I was busy looking for Chat Noir, in case you wanted to know! So he could get back to protecting Ladybug.”

If Nino noticed how passive-aggressive he sounded, he only shrugged.

“Man, didn’t you hear? It was all over the news last night.”

Adrien frowned in confusion.

“Huh?”

“Yeah!”, Alix chimed in. “Chat Noir is cancelled!”

His blood ran cold. Did they... did they know he had lost his ring?!

“Look at this.”, Alya demanded and showed him her phone, playing a video on the Ladyblog. “Nino filmed this, since I was taken out.”

His eyes widened when he recognized the scenery. It was filmed from under the stairs, but Sentiquill and Ladybug were perfectly clear to see. His Lady held the Akuma in place with her yo-yo, ordering Chat to help. Alya was snorting with anger when the hero refused, leaving Rose at Sentiquill’s mercy.

“Can you believe it?!”, she seethed when the camera panned to Ladybug’s pained face, who apologized for rejecting him before asking for his help again. “He made her beg! He let Rose be drained for ink, just so he could force her into his stupid power play! And her apology?”

She scoffed.

“I can’t believe he would ask that of her! As if she owed him anything for rejecting him!”

“Don’t forget the part where he almost killed Ladybug!”, Chloé spoke up. “If I ever see his ugly ass face again, I won’t need a Miraculous to rip him apart.”

“But,” Adrien stammered, “We don’t know the whole story! Maybe he had a valid reason to-“

Chloé laughed and pinched his cheek.

“Oh, silly Adrikins. I always forget how little experience you have with people.”

Kim nodded.

“Yeah, if you get rejected, no matter how, you gotta accept it. Doesn’t mean you gotta take any shit” - he glared at Chloé, who had the decency to look ashamed - “But you sure have no right to pressure her into anything. And demanding an apology for saying no?”

He clicked his tongue.

“That guy definitely wasn’t present for Mendeleiev‘s lesson on consent.”

“He abandoned Rose.”, Juleka murmured from the background, holding her unusually quiet girlfriend’s hand. “I’ll never forgive him for that.”

Adrien gulped.

“Well, Miraculous Ladybug always undoes every harm, right?”

“Cut it, Adrien!”, Alya snarled at him all of a sudden. Everyone fell silent. The reporter blinked, then leaned back a little to regain control of herself.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”, she mumbled, staring at nothing. “What it felt like. Just because Ladybug can cure everyone doesn’t mean she can undo what happened to us.”

Nino put his arm around her and she relaxed a little. When she looked at Adrien again, she was as composed as always.

“I’ve never been more terrified than yesterday.”, she stated firmly. “And it was even worse for Rose, judging by how much ink Sentiquill got out of her. Chat could have spared her that, but he chose not to. To him, each of us was less important than getting back at Ladybug. Just for not catering to his whims.”

She shook her head.

“If Ladybug doesn’t kick his ass, Rena Rouge will.”

“Uh, I literally said it first.”, Chloé complained. “Tell Fox girl to stand in line, Queen Bee is the one that’s going to kick that mangy cat into orbit!”

As the others broke out in a fight of who would have the best chance to beat up Chat Noir - Sabrina stood eerily still in the corner, saying something about a knife and Chat’s eyes - Adrien slipped out of the yard. It felt like the entire universe was against him! Everything came crashing down around him, no one took his side anymore-

“Adrien?”, a voice behind him asked and he turned around to see Lila. “Are you alright?”

He swallowed down his feelings.

“Yeah”, he croaked. “Just worried. Ladybug told everyone about you, classes are going to be... tense.”

He sighed. He might not be Chat Noir right now, but he was still Adrien Agreste, Bustier’s sunshine boy. He had to keep the peace as far as possible.

“You need to come clean.”, he suggested. “Apologize and tell them the truth about everything, then maybe, this will blow over soon.”

And maybe Marinette would be his friend again. This whole Lila-mess had only harmed them all, it was time to set things right.

Lila nodded.

“Of course, you are so right.”

She smiled weakly.

“I know I never told you this, but you are a great friend. Thank you for protecting me as long as you could. I really wish people would listen to you more, you’re so thoughtful!”

He looked up.

“You think so?”

She nodded, patting his shoulders.

“They can’t see it, but I do.”, she assured him. “You do so much for your friends. You prevent them from harming themselves, from destroying the harmonic atmosphere. They can be grateful to call you their friend.”

He blushed a bit, flattered. And relieved. Finally someone that appreciated all his hard work!

Lila sighed and walked towards the yard.

“I’m really sorry you’ll be dragged into this mess, Adrien.”

He stiffened. Wait, what?

“What do you mean?”

She stopped to look at him, surprised.

“Well, if I tell them the truth about everything, I’ll have to tell them you knew everything from the start. You and I know it was only for their own good that you didn’t expose me, but they... You’ll be pulled into this inevitably. Things will likely be horrible for you for a while, maybe you’ll even lose some friends. Nino, Alya, Chloé... I don’t think they’ll understand you were doing the right thing.”

His mind was running wild. No! He already had them badmouthing Chat Noir in front of him, he wouldn’t be able to bear it if they hated him as Adrien too!

“Lila, wait!”, he called when she moved to walk on. “Maybe... Maybe there’s another way. To keep everyone calm. We can think of something, I’ll help you!”

She smiled.

“You would do that for me? You’re so sweet.”

Her eyes glistened eagerly.

“I think I already have an idea.”

“How are you feeling?”, Felix asked her. They stood in front of the classroom, hesitating to go inside. But Marinette had enough of fearing confrontation. Chat, Adrien, Lila, all of them were people she didn’t want to run from anymore. It was time to walk her way and hope that her friends would have her back. But she was through with waiting for problems to resolve on their own.

“Well enough.”, she replied. “And you?”

He shrugged.

“I don’t remember much of what happened, and I generally don’t care what others think of me. But...”

He sighed.

“I did hurt people. Not consciously, but it still happened because of me.”

Marinette couldn’t say anything against that, so she simply took his hand. Whether for his comfort or her own, she didn’t know.

“Come on.”, she said. “I’m sure they’ll understand, and... It’s not like Lila will be a problem anymore, at least! So let’s get this over with.”

With that, she opened the door and walked inside. Only to see Lila surrounded by their classmates.

“Marinette!”, she called. “Just in time. I was just telling everyone how Ladybug saved me again, yesterday.”

Marinette felt her eyes twitch.

“Ladybug- You- I-“, she pressed out, wanting to throttle her. How was it possible that she just sat here as if nothing happened?! Things were supposed to be different now!

Felix nudged her hand and she looked up to him. He nodded at the rest of the class with his chin, and her eyes followed his gesture. They weren’t hanging on her every word as she had feared. No, Chloé wasn’t even listening, filing her nails with an occasional roll of her eyes. Alya sat next to an angry Nino, arms crossed. Juleka’s eyes were shooting daggers at Lila.

All in all, the class looked suspicious. Not enthralled and excited, but almost annoyed. An improvement!

“Ya better hurry to give us a damn good explanation, girl!”, Alya growled. “Because I have Lb’s statement on video, and I won’t hesitate to post it online!”

Lila gave her a surprised glance.

“What are you talking about? Did I do something wrong?”

Nino glowered at her.

“That’s a damn bold question, Lie-la! Ladybug told us everything.”

His girlfriend raised her phone, playing Ladybug’s fight against Sentiquill.

“But fine!”, Marinette heard her alter ego shout. “If it makes you happy!” Then she started to rant about Lila, who looked suspiciously calm.

“Well”, she shrugged when the sequence was over, “she really went all out, didn’t she?”

“What do you mean?”

Lila chuckled.

“I mean, just look at her face! So disdainful, so authentic! A great actress, really!”

Alya faltered a bit.

“Actress?”

“Of course!”, she laughed. “Ladybug was obviously trying to placate Sentiquill, as we all know Felix doesn’t like me since our little misunderstanding. A bummer it didn’t work, but I guess she isn’t perfect either.”

She sighed and straightened herself.

“Ladybug told me to flee, since the Akuma was after me specifically. I would have stayed with you otherwise, and helped to defend you against Sentiquill. But she knew if I was nearby, he’d go after me and then Ladybug would be distracted. She cares so much about me, her worry for my wellbeing would have interfered with her ability to think straight.”

Alya frowned.

“How do we know this isn’t another lie? It’s your word against Ladybug’s, and you haven’t proven anything!”

Pondering, Lila tapped her finger against her chin.

“Hm, let’s see... Adrien! You saw us; you can be my witness, right?”

Everybody turned around and Marinette’s eyes widened. Adrien stood at the window, looking weary but determined. Surely he wouldn’t... He had covered for Lila before, true, but to lie on her behalf...

Her hopes sunk when he avoided eye contact with her.

“It’s true.”, he stated flatly. “I saw them talk after the battle. Ladybug...” He gulped. “Ladybug apologized for saying all these things, but it was only to protect her.”

“That’s not true!”, Marinette howled furiously. “What are you even saying, Adrien?!”

He looked away, pouting.

“Stop shouting at me. It’s the truth! I saw them when I was on my way... on my way-“

“-to accompany me to Jagged Stone!”, Lila finished for him, a smug look on her face. “I invited him along because he was so rattled after the akuma attack. To cheer him up! Jagged is the best when it comes to lighten the mood, right, Adrien?”

“Uh... yeah!”, the blond agreed hesitantly, obviously confused. “Totally! I, er, can confirm.”

Marinette’s eyes burned into his spineless figure, seething with rage. This had been his chance. For someone that preferred inactivity when it came to his friends, he was all too quick to stand up for a liar.

“So... it was all true?”, Alya dared to hope. “You really are Ladybug’s friend, and you know Jagged Stone?”

“Don’t forget Prince Ali, but yes. I’d never lie to you, Alya!”, Lila reassured. “Everything I said is true.”

Felix took a step forward, opening his mouth to protest, but Marinette put her hand on his chest to stop him.

“Don’t.”, she whispered, forcibly cooling down her anger to a simmering hatred. “They win this round.”

Everything Felix could say now would only further Lila’s victim role, and they had no proof right now. It would be a waste of time.

Felix clenched his teeth, but nodded. To their surprise, the others weren’t done yet.

“I don’t believe you.”, Juleka mumbled and Lila’s face fell.

“What did you just say?”

“I said, I don’t believe you!”, the goth shouted, startling everyone. Rose was clutching her hand like a lifeline as her girlfriend looked up, tears in her eyes. “When Sentiquill went after Rose, Ladybug didn’t hesitate to do the logical thing and save me first, even if that meant making herself vulnerable. I know she cares about Rose, but when push came to shove, she was still able to think tactical. God knows I didn’t like her decision, but it was what saved both of us.”

Lila narrowed her eyes.

“Juleka, you sound like you wanted her to sacrifice Rose! Do you really care so little about-“

“Shut up!”, Rose cried out. Marinette wasn’t sure she had ever seen her this upset. “That’s not what she meant, and you know it!”

“Are you two calling me a liar?”

Juleka shot her a glare.

“I’m saying that I trust Ladybug. She’s able to do her job, no matter the circumstances and who might be at stake. She cares about all of us and doesn’t play favorites. If your word’s against hers, we know where we’ll stand.”

She nudged Rose, who nodded. Together they walked towards the door, but stopped when they passed Marinette and Felix.

“I don’t blame you for anything.”, Rose murmured to him so that only they could hear it. “I know what it feels like to be controlled like that. To be forced to hurt people you care about. We’re all used to it by now, you’re not alone.”

Then they walked out.

The class only recovered slowly. Many regarded Lila with distrust, most were unsure. Even Alya, who was only too desperate to believe Lila, had her doubts.

Felix gave her an encouraging smile.

“Looks like things are in motion.”

Marinette nodded, tearing her gaze from Adrien.

“I think it’s time to move on as well.”, she confessed. “To leave old burdens behind.”

She thought of Chat Noir.

“To make a clear cut.”

Marinette was busy this afternoon.

Doing homework.

Changing her computer’s background.

Putting the finishing touch on the cravat she designed for Felix.

Feeding Tikki a macaron she’d made for Adrien.

Preparing an outline for her report.

Ripping Adrien’s pictures off her wall.

Playing video games with her parents.

Taking the chest with her gifts for Adrien to Prince Ali’s charity for sick children.

Calling Felix.

Clearing her calendar of Adrien’s appointments.

Crying a bit.

Calling Felix again.

Feeling better.

When it was evening, she finally ran out of things to do. And that meant, she had nothing to distract her from her own thoughts. That wouldn’t do.

“I’m going out for a walk!”, she told her parents as she bounced down the stairs, nearly tripping over her own feet.

“Be careful!”, her mother replied and waved. “And be back before dinner!”

“Don’t you want to take something to eat with you? Or a jacket? Or-“

“Tom.”

“Oh, right. Uh, have fun!”

Marinette chuckled at her parents difference. She’d always wanted to be in a relationship like theirs: one of mutual respect, but with room for silliness and fun. To have someone that was so different from her, but shared enough of her passions and values to match. A partnership of equals, that wouldn’t waver or fade when things got difficult. Someone who inspired her to grow. Someone who wasn’t afraid to learn from her as well.

She had thought that was Adrien. Part of her might even have considered Chat Noir - the yin yang symbolic hadn’t gone unnoticed by her. But her mother had explained her for what the Taijitu truly stood: not an eternal battle of opposites, but the harmonic completion of two contrasts, the ever changing nature of the world. Chat Noir wasn’t someone who completed her, and neither was Adrien. They had only brought her misery when they should have supported her.

She sighed as she walked through the park, the half moon rising above her. Black and white.

Her mother had often used the Taiji symbol to comfort her when she’d had one of her streaks of bad luck. It’s natural to have a hard time once in a while, she’d said. But see? The darkness recedes eventually and makes room for the light. It’s a circuit, and soon things will get better for you as well. Until then? Just search for the tiny white dot. The beacon in the darkness, it’s there!

Marinette leaned her head back, watching the darkening sky.

The light in her darkness? That was Felix. The only constant support she had these days. The one whose mere presence cheered her up, gave her the strength to keep going. It was so weird, now that she thought about it. He was so... harsh. Like a bright fire that could blind and burn mercilessly, but somehow drew her in like a moth to his flame. Like the sun, that could bring people’s worst flaws to daylight, or illuminate strengths she hadn’t even known she had. He had been both demanding and eager to give, from the very beginning. Forcing her to put her self-imposed limits aside and stand up for herself, but supporting her when he knew she needed it. In return, he had opened himself to her, learned to trust and bond with others. She’d never been more proud than when he had befriended Aurore, despite their rocky start. Or when he tried to dial his bluntness down around Marc, because he knew the boy was sensitive.

He had impressed her. Everything about him was challenging and inspiring and soothing at once. She’d never liked herself more than when she was around him. And when she wasn’t, she found herself thinking about him constantly.

Even now, musing over their influence on each other brought a smile to her lips and lightened her steps until she all but floated through the park. Now that she thought about it, she liked the feeling a lot. More than a lot. If she didn’t know any better, she’d almost say she lo-

“Marinette”, Tikki called her from her purse. “I sense someone. Wayzz is nearby!”

She looked up, searching the park for the familiar hawaiian shirt. Indeed, it was the guardian himself that stood in front of the fountain, hands clasped in front of him. Curious, she walked up beside him.

“Good evening, Master Fu!”, she greeted. “Haven’t seen you in a while. How’s the stomach?”

The elder man gave her a sullen side glance.

“I thought we had agreed to never talk of that again.”

She chuckled and followed his gaze to the fountain.

“Did we? I don’t recall!”

He didn’t smile, but his wrinkled forehead relaxed a bit. Weird. Usually, he was a lot more eager to joke around, given he had so little company to do that with.

“Is something the matter? You look upset.”

Fu sighed.

“Sharp as always. I am concerned for you, for Ladybug’s safety.”

Her face grew serious.

“That’s a concern I can understand.”, she muttered. “I nearly died yesterday. It was that close!”

Fu nodded.

“I saw.”

“Then why didn’t you do anything?”, she snapped, forgetting herself. “I needed help, and you could have given that to me!”

Her master lowered his head, eyes fixed on the water.

“Because I am weak.”, he admitted. “And a coward. And not the guardian you deserve.”

He looked so old when he rubbed his forehead, almost ancient.

“In my defense, if I had known the situation was this terrible, I would have taken the miracle box with me. Or at least the Turtle, Fox or Bee. Alas, I was only aware of Chat Noir’s miraculous turning dark, and thought that we would be enough to handle him. I didn’t expect the akuma.”

“Wait...”, she slowed him down. “Chat’s Miraculous was abused? Like... Like the butterfly is?”

Fu didn’t answer. Instead, he raised his hand to reveal what he held inside. A black ring, complete with a familiar green paw print.

“His miraculous!”, she whispered in awe, then turned towards the guardian. “What did you do?! When did you do that?”

“Immediately after you purified Sentiquill’s akuma.”, he stated wearily. “And that was already far too late. I should have taken it after Syren, Frozer maybe. I hope you can forgive me for that.”

She felt a pang in her chest that she had lost her partner of almost a year, but it was overshadowed by an euphoric sense of relieve. She hadn’t noticed how much Chat had troubled her until she didn’t have to worry about him anymore. No more fear to hurt his feelings, no more dancing around the truth to avoid upsetting him. No more tantrums and reckless sacrifices. No more pressure to feel something she just... didn’t.

“I want you to have it.”, Fu continued and raised his hands when she wanted to protest. “Not for yourself, of course! Marinette, I have chosen solitude as the safest way to protect the miraculous, and for a while, it worked. But times changed.”

He breathed out, his posture slouching in shame.

“Times changed, and I didn’t. Chat Noir is the proof that I am no longer fit to distribute powers like his. But you? You have proven time and again that your trust in others is well deserved, that your choices are wise.”

His voice was full of warmth and trust.

“You have to be the one to choose a new partner, Ladybug.”, he announced firmly. “Someone you can trust not to disappoint you. It’s about time you get a say in this, don’t you think?”

She stared at the ring, so caught up in an electrifying kind of awe that she couldn’t really process his words. This was the Miraculous of destruction, the other half to her powers. If she took it, she would hold more power in her hands than should be humanly possible. What if something happened to her? What if she lost it, what if Hawkmoth got his hands on it? As long as it had no wielder, it would remain in this state and show its true colors. Everyone would be able to recognize it!

“A-are you sure you want me to have this?”, she asked with a trembling voice. Master Fu smiled.

“I have made a lot of reckless decisions. This is not one of them.”

He held the ring out to her.

“I trust you, Marinette. And I know Ladybug will chose better than I did.”

Hesitantly, carefully as if it might burn her, she took the Miraculous from his hands. It was warm in her hands, as if it were alive.

“I won’t disappoint you.”, she promised Fu, her eyes blazing with determination. She wouldn’t take this lightly, wouldn’t fail him. This time, her Chat Noir would be a hero.

- - -

Phew, done. I don't know much about Daoism, and only just started to research the philosophy behind yin and yang (or the Taijitu), but I really wanted Marinette to be more in touch with her heritage. Mama Cheng spilled her wisdom, and little Marinette sucked it up like a sponge.

#miramu writes #welcome to the back #wttb #felinette fanfic #felinette #miraculous ladybug #mlb #ml felix

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carl-grimxz · 5 years ago

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Confused Feelings- Part 6

Carl Grimes x Reader

Part 6

Summary: The time has come... Y/N will finally proclaim her feelings to Carl! That’s all the explanation needed.

Word Count: 3,829

Warnings: None I don’t think :D

A/N: Sorry I know this part has taken a while to come out. I’ve been pretty busy the past couple weeks but I wanted to make sure I got it right and did it well rather than rushing it in order to get it out sooner! I will probably only do one more part after this one but may start doing some more, shorter ones. Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this part so I hope you like it :)

Suddenly, I was overcome with a new sense of radiating confidence. It may be due to my life altering realisation… Or it could be the completely enthralling notion that I’m about to tell Carl what (deep down) I’ve been wanting him to know for what feels like forever. All I know is that I am ready.

I began moving towards him and the closer I got the faster my feet went. I was a few metres away from him when he turned around quickly. He had clearly only just heard me coming. Carl looked taken aback by my sudden presence, shock written across his face. However, only a second after seeing me his face turned neutral and he simply stared blankly at me. I could tell he was hurt.

I stopped where I was, not wanting to intrude his space too much by coming any closer. He probably doesn’t even want me here.

I might as well just get straight to it.

“I was wrong before.” I spoke softly but with conviction.

“What?” He sounded troubled, but his eyebrows were raised with curiosity.

I’m not going to beat around the bush. For the first time ever, I’m going to be completely honest about how I feel. He deserves that, whether he still wants me or not. Probably the latter after the way I’ve been acting.

“It isn’t love that’s dangerous.” I said it so matter-of-factly but I spoke from the heart. He was clearly confused.

He doesn’t respond, so I continue. “ Before I said loving is dangerous, but… I’ve realised I was wrong.”

I think Carl is starting to realise what I’m saying. He scratches his head right below his hat and he has a look on his face that tells me he isn’t quite sure what to say. Carl looks kind of nervous, and yet he still wears his usual frown on his face.

“What Michonne told me, is that what’s actually dangerous is denying yourself a life with love”

Carl let out a small chuckle and then a sort of faint smirk rested on his face. Thank god. Maybe he actually doesn’t quite hate me.

“After thinking about it like that… I decided she’s probably right.” I sighed and smiled at him. A relieved smile. A ‘I’m an idiot and now I’m finally seeing sense, please forgive me’ smile.

“She usually is” He speaks at last, nodding. Carl seemed to be poking fun at me, given the now fully formed smirk written across his face. I wasn’t even the tiniest bit offended though, actually the look on his face made me really happy… he kind of looked adorable. He had the right to torture me over this.

Carl looked at me expectantly, with his eyebrows raised and arms crossed over his chest. He was waiting. I could tell that he wanted to hear me say it. I had to say the words out loud. Hinting at it would not cut it.

I tucked my hair behind my ears and shifted on my feet a little as I started to become nervous.

“I don’t feel as afraid anymore.” I looked down at my feet. “I’m not as afraid to tell you that well…” I hesitate. For a second, finally looking up at Carl, who is watching me longingly with his bright blue eyes staring into my own. “I think I’m in love with you. Well… I know I am actually” I uttered the last few words so quietly, looking down anxiously again. I’m not even sure he heard them. In fact I only realise that he did hear me when I look up after a moments silence and see the look on his face. He is smiling, but it isn’t one of his usual smiles. It’s a smile so genuine and sweet, with just the right touch of shyness that it caused unexpected warmth to rush straight through me, the moment our eyes met each others.

He still didn’t speak, probably in shock from my unexpected admission, so I carried on “You are so kind and smart and you care so much about everyone-” He started walking towards me slowly, as I was only getting more flustered, “and you’re the bravest person I know, you look after me and honestly I wouldn’t know what I’d do without yo-“ My words begin to fail me as he reaches where I stand and grabs my upper arms with his hands, holding me gently, and preventing me from rambling anymore. I was dead silent now as we were locked on each others eyes, only inches between our faces. His gaze was so deep I felt like he was staring straight into my very soul.

I took in a shaky breath.

“I love you” His voice was calm and collected, but was filled with every ounce of emotion. It isn’t until he says it that I realise how badly I’ve yearned to hear these words come out of his mouth.

My heart skipped a beat.

As soon as he’d uttered it he gave me a look and we both knew it was coming. A shy look, before he began leaning in, closer and closer until finally ever so slowly, I closed my eyes and our lips met. I felt like I was floating for a second. It was magic, the way his lips connected with mine like it was meant to be. His mouth was so warm, the feel of his lips softer than I could have imagined. It was short and sweet, only lasting a second before he slowly pulled away, and my eyes are open once more.

I furrow my brows while looking at him and notice that somehow he smells and tastes sweet, like vanilla… and then I know, that this is it. This is all I want for the rest of my life.

Him.

Carl looks at me apprehensively, trying to gage my response and moves back away ever so slightly, clearly unable to read my face. The kiss had obliterated every thought of mine, but all I know is that I have to have more.

Giving in to my desire, all of a sudden, I pull him back towards me by the collar of his shirt, my feelings for him taking control. Our lips crash together, not quite as innocent as before. Carl takes a second to respond, but then he kisses me back deeply and his hands find their way around me, holding me tightly in his embrace, as our lips move together. It was fiery, and full of passion, as if his lips were made for mine and every moment we have ever spent together has been leading up to this. I move my own hands up and cup his cheeks softly, careful to miss the minor wound, and he lets out a low and quiet moan. Sparks fly in every direction, and the world around us begins to slowly disappear, along with all of our troubles. As my mouth worked its way against his, I feel like nothing else matters. I wish I could live in this moment forever, thinking about how crazy it is that we’re doing this and I let out a small giggle. He responds by grinning into the kiss. I want to continue but I’m slowly running out of breath. I open my eyes and our lips disconnect, barely apart and he rests his forehead on mine, holding me closely. I move my hands from his cheeks and rest my forearms on top of his shoulders as we stand there breathing heavily. Carl sighs peacefully and then lets out a chuckle.

“Wow”, he utters quietly, looking me in the eye.

“I know” I said, smiling tenderly.

Not that I have anything to compare it to, but he really is an amazing kisser.

After simultaneously realising that we’d been stood outside in the cold for quite a lengthy amount of time, we decided that it may be a good idea to go back in now. We walked together, not holding hands but close enough that we were rubbing shoulders. I couldn’t help but smile to myself, and in the corner of my eye I notice Carl doing the same.

As soon as we cross the threshold I notice a few people give us some weird looks. They sort of smirked and very obviously fought back snickers, looking a little too smug if you ask me. I knew straight away it must have been because they were watching Carl and I from the windows. I mean I literally saw them scattering out of site when we turned to come back in. Knowing Carl probably clocked onto it all as well, I try to look down a little, attempting to hide my embarrassment.

Nobody said anything or specifically referenced our kiss that everyone clearly knew about. That is however until, I glance up at Rick coming towards us and just as I do so he looks between the two of us back and forth and gestured a slow but deliberate nod of the head at Carl, in what I can only imagine to be a seal of approval. Ricks eyes were lit up and crinkled at the outer corners from the uncharacteristically large grin on his face. He too turned that grin into a painfully clear smirk and shifted his weight clumsily, while folding his arms. Despite the tough exterior, it seemed Rick was just as awkward as I was.

I have no idea what gave Carl enough confidence to do this in front of the entire group, while they not so discretely gawked at us but after gaging his dads approval he reached down to my hand and clasped it in his own. I looked down at our hands interlocked and then immediately squeeze back with a nervous smile on my face and focused my attention on Rick. I feel my cheeks heat up slightly and assume I was at least a little red in the face.

Rick chuckled and his gaze went from me back to Carl, dropping his hand on his sons shoulder energetically. “It’s about time” he laughed. At that, the atmosphere no longer feels as tense or awkward.

Carl rolled his eyes playfully and looked at me directly, smiling and shaking his head humorously scorning his father. I finally let out a laugh that to be honest was more of an anxious snigger and I internally pray that there would be no teasing or comments about how everyone saw this coming, which yes I know, they did.

The rest of the day was spent laughing, sharing stories and simply just being grateful for all that we have. I haven’t really had the chance to speak one to one with anyone, but I know I need to thank the girls for their perseverance with me.

We all sat together, in the living area to eat some squirrel that Daryl and Carol had managed to hunt earlier in the day. We were all in very good moods and as I sit here, next to Carl on the couch I think about how happy I am right now in this moment. I observe everyone as they have a group conversation, and decide that because they’re busy chatting, I’m safe to rest my head on Carls shoulder without them noticing or god forbid teasing. So I do just that. I slowly let my head fall down to lean on him without saying a word and in turn, his own head moves to rest on top of mine. Carl doesn’t say anything but I do feel him brush against my thigh with the back of his hand and I smile knowing right now, everything is good.

At some point I must have dosed off on Carls shoulder, because I wake up to the sound of laughter. Abraham is a particularly loud man, especially when he gets all riled up telling one of his stories.

I lazily blink my eyes as I get used to the light and lift my head up off of Carl. I then look towards him and see that he is wide awake, apparently trapped underneath me while I slept. Poor boy.

He is also chuckling at whatever it is that Abraham is laughing at.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you” I apologise to Carl as he turns to look at me when I move off of him.

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it” he smiled reassuringly at me.

I laugh inwardly, “I didn’t realise how tired I was”.

Carl chuckles a little himself, before thinking about whether or not to say something. I can tell by the look on his face and I furrow my brows a little, curious.

“It was nice” he said after a moment with a smirk creeping onto his face.

I laughed quietly and turned away from him slightly in embarrassment, or maybe just because I was blushing. I felt my cheeks heat up either way.

“Hey listen, I’m actually pretty tired too. Dad made me wake up early with him to get rid of the walkers and fix up the fences. I’m gonna head up to bed I think”.

“Oh ok, I mean I probably should too to be honest. Wanna walk me to my door?” I ask with a smile.

“Sure” he laughed a little.

After we had excused ourselves and said goodnight to everyone, Carl and I made our way upstairs.

We stopped just outside my door and I leaned on it with my hands behind my back, facing him.

I smiled shyly up at him as I looked into his orbs. He really is beautiful. I also took a second to glance at the scratch on his cheek that he got from that walker. It reminded me how different things were only a couple of days ago.

“So...” he grinned down at me.

“So...” I mimicked back, with a giggle. There was almost always the remains of a smirk on his face ever since our kiss.

“See you in the morning” he said while raising one eyebrow at me.

“You will indeed” I replied playfully, raising an eyebrow myself.

It was almost as if neither one of us actually wanted to be the first to part ways. We stood in silence for a second. I was secretly hoping Carl would kiss me again, feeling myself looking between his eyes and his lips.

As if by magic, he actually ever so slightly begins to lean in.

I don’t hesitate. He is only a couple of inches away, and I can feel his warm and shaky breath on my mouth. He’s that close and I take it upon myself to lean up and close the remaining gap between us.

My lips are on his and it sends shivers down my back, the peck is slow and gentle. His lips brushed mine, softly, delicately, like butterfly wings. Just long enough that I could inhale his breath and feel the warmth of his skin. It only lasted a few seconds, before we pulled away. As we do so, I feel nervous throughout and I know that I’ll never get enough of this. It was the sweetest of goodnight kisses.

I smile at the shy look on his face, thinking that this feels so strange. Strange but right. So right.

I bite my lower lip timidly, not quite knowing what to say.

“Night Y/N” he speaks softly while giving me a look of complete adoration. Carl always had a way of making me feel so important to him. Just the way he gazes directly into my eyes, like he really sees and understands me. Truly knows me.

“Night” is all I utter with a small grin.

With that I open the door behind me and slip inside my room. My grin grows now that I’m alone and I can’t help but simper over the blue-eyed boy in the sheriffs hat, that I’m finally able to say is mine.

With a large, happy sigh I flop myself down onto the bed, face first, overcome with relief. I started off this day on such a low and now to think about how it’s turned out makes me seriously happy to say the least.

I slept incredibly well last night. The best nights sleep I’ve had in along time actually. My mind was finally at ease and my heart was full. I could finally relax and now I’m really looking forward to whatever’s to come.

I have no idea what the time is but I can tell it’s early. The sun is barely just beginning to rise but I got so much sleep that I’m ready to start the day regardless. Recently I’ve decided that I like to wake up early. The atmosphere is always calmest now and it’s nice to wake up to.

I get up out of bed, and change into some clean(ish) clothes that Sasha laid out for me. It’s just some dark blue skinny jeans, a grey vest and a navy flannel to go on top. As I look in the mirror I think of Carl. He almost always wears flannels.

I head downstairs slowly and quietly because it’s still fairly dark. I go straight to the kitchen in search for some water, planning to sit and chill on my own until everyone else wakes up. However, as I enter I see Rick sat at the table with Judith asleep on his lap.

“Oh… Hey Rick” I greet him curiously, wondering why they are both down here already.

“Y/N” He whispered sounding just as curious. “What’re you doin’ up so early?”

“Oh I couldn’t sleep anymore… I was gonna ask you the same thing” I responded and took a seat across from him at the table.

“Judy woke up cryin’. I think she was hungry. She just had some milk and went straight back to sleep” He said so matter of factly.

I nodded understandingly. She does only ever really get upset when she’s hungry. I don’t blame her.

“I’m glad I caught you on your own actually”

Oh man.

“How come?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Well I’m not gonna torture you about my son or anything” He smiled to himself while looking down at the table. “But I just wanted to say… I’ve never seen him happier than when he’s with you.”

I smile at the mention of Carl, and listen intently, as Rick continues.

“I know he likes you a lot. I’ve always seen something between the two of you. You make him happy and… that’s all I really want for him… for the both of you.”

I laugh a little at my own awkwardness and then look up at him. Ricks smile is so genuine. I see Carl in him a lot when he’s smiling.

“Thank you, Rick.” I nod my head sincerely.

Daryl came downstairs, then Carol and before long most of the group were down here, and as I sat daydreaming I couldn’t help but think about how much I appreciate Rick for saying that stuff to me.

A little while later I found myself talking to Rosita about… well actually, I’m not entirely sure. She was deep into a story about something or other and I was nodding along a lot. To be completely honest I wasn’t really listening. I was thinking about Carl… or rather, wondering when he was going to come downstairs.

My eyes kept glancing towards the door and back and as I laughed along to the punchline of the story that Rosita was telling me, I also laughed internally about how completely pathetic I was being. What is wrong with me? All I wanna do is see him and talk to him. I miss him… and I only just saw him last night.

Finally, a couple of minutes later, out of the corner of my eye I see the boy in question come through the door. As he greets everyone closest to him, I look away to try and ‘play it cool’ but then a second later I glance back at him. We make eye contact across the room and both exchange a smile.

“Hello… are you even still listening?” Rosita crosses her arms with her eyebrows raised. Whoops.

“Oh uh yeah, sorry” I try to concentrate on her.

She looks over to the doorway where I’ve been focusing my attention and she sees Carl, who is busy talking to Michonne.

“Oooh I see!” She laughs and I roll my eyes playfully, ready for the teasing to ensue.

“Sorry.” I apologise, but giggle along with her.

She smirks. “Go on then. Go and say hi.”

I shake my head while smirking “Thank yoouu” I stretch out the last word playfully and make my way over to Carl.

“Hey” I say with a grin as I get a little closer and his gazes rests on me.

“Hey” there was a tiny smirk across his lips.

“How’d you sleep?” I ask while shuffling to the side out of Daryl’s way. I was blocking his way out of the room but it was hard not to be in someones way. I don’t know why we’re all squished into this tiny kitchen.

“Yeah good, you?”

“Yeah really good actually”

Carl nodded in response. “Wanna go somewhere else? It’s pretty busy in here.” He asked, while looking round at everyone having somewhat loud conversations.

“Yeah c’mon” I reply, and I followed him out of the kitchen, to the couches in the living area.

When we arrived at the couches we both sat down next to each other. I turned my knees towards him and leaned in a little. He always had my full attention.

“So... what do you wanna do today” I asked in a cheerful tone.

We haven’t been in a stable place like this for a long time. The fact that we’re even here long enough to have to come up with ways of entertaining ourselves is kinda strange. Like what do we do?

Carl took a second to think. “Umm... we could... read some comics for a while?” He didn’t sound too sure. It was as if he’s worried that I wouldn’t want to. But I’d do anything with him to be honest.

“Yeah ok, sure” I made sure to sound sincere. I want him to know that I’d really enjoy that. I mean, we’ve always read comics together. It’s probably like my favourite thing to do.

“Ok cool.” The apprehensive look on his face disappeared, replaced by a growing grin instead. “I’ve been saving a couple of new ones for when we’re settled. I guess now we’re pretty settled, for the time being”.

Looking into his eyes, I am filled with contentment. I love seeing him smile and he is beginning to do it a whole lot more now.

“Yeah, I guess we actually are” I raise an eyebrow and smile brightly right back at him.

#carl grimes #carl grimes imagine #carl grimes fanfiction #carl grimes one shot #the walking dead #the walking dead imagine #twd #twd imagine #carl #carl grimes x reader

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sstthings · 4 years ago

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President John Tyler - by Dr. Lyon Gardiner Tyler

My granddaddy, John Tyler, was President of the US way back in 1841-45. He was born in 1790, 228 years ago. My Aunt Pearl died in 1947 at a ripe old age and whose grandfather was John Tyler, Sr., the president’s father, who was born in 1747. This marvel, that 3 generations could span 200 years, was written up in Ripley’s Believe It or Not. My “little 89 year old brother” and I are already at the 228 year old mark.

I heard too much about presidents growing up. A few years ago I met a lady who told me that she had come to our house in Virginia when I was probably 3 or 4 years old and I met her at the front door. She said that she had asked me, “Are you going to be President when you grow up?” and I said, “I’ll bite yo head off.” She said she said “And what will you do with the bones?” and I replied, “I’ll pit ‘em out!” In college, a buddy of mine brought me down to earth by saying, “Tyler, the best part of your family is underground.” I had to agree.

John Tyler was President of the United States from 1841-45. He agreed with the principles of the Jeffersonian tradition of limited federal government, strict construction of the Constitution and fiscal frugality. He opposed the American System of Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams, which advocated federal building of roads and canals, a Bank of the United States, controlled by private interests, and a high tariff on imported goods. Tyler believed in the so-called “manifest destiny” of the United States to expand across the continent and to help. the blessings of freedom__ and democracy around the world.

John Tyler’s father, also named John, was Thomas Jefferson’s roommate at the College of William and Mary. Jefferson and John Tyler, Sr. shared the same political views, played their fiddles together in college and remained life-long friends. John Tyler, Sr. was speaker of the House of Burgesses, and he and Patrick Henry organized a militia company just prior to the American Revolution. John, Sr., served in the Virginia legislature, where he made the motion that eventually led to the United States Constitutional Convention. He also served successively as Judge of the Admiralty Court, the General Court and the Supreme Court of Appeals, as well as on the U.S. District Court at President Jefferson’s urging. He also was Governor of Virginia. He had 8 children. After his wife died, when the future President was just seven years old, the father took care of all of them, besides serving as surrogate father for 15 or 20 foster children. A busy man!

John Tyler entered the College of William and Mary at age 13 and graduated soon after his 17th birthday. He gave the Valedictory address, remarkably, about the importance of women’s rights – especially in the field of education.

Before I attempt to discuss Tyler’s presidency, let me say a few words about his previous career and some things that can show us the kind of man he was:John Tyler was a state legislator in his early 20’s. Then he was a congressman, Governor of Virginia and US Senator. As a senator he was a loyal Democrat, but was disturbed by some of President Andrew Jackson’s over-reactions, similar to his earlier unauthorized invasion of Spanish Florida and his later reaction to the South Carolina attempt to nullify the Federal tariff when Jackson threatened to hang John C. Calhoun, his Vice President.

Both Jackson and Tyler opposed the recharter of the Bank of the United States, a privately owned bank which kept the government’s funds, but Tyler thought Jackson had gone too far when he removed the government’s money from the bank before its charter expired and put it in state banks which had supported him, hence known as Jackson’s “pet banks.”

Tyler in his campaign for the U.S. Senate had stated that as a Senator he would obey the instructions that might be given him by the state legislature. But he would soon face a dilemma concerning that promise. The US Senate had adopted a resolution to censure Jackson for removing the funds from the Bank. Then the Virginia legislature instructed Tyler to support a measure that would rescind the censure, which he felt was wrong because Jackson had broken the law. At the same time Tyler could not go back on his campaign promise to obey the state legislature. So he resigned and made this statement:By the surrender of the high station to which I was called by the people of Virginia, I shall teach them to regard as nothing place or office, when either is to be obtained or held at the sacrifice of honor.President John F. Kennedy included John Tyler in his Profiles of Courage for this incident.

It was always his children who were his primary concern. In his letters to his many sons and daughters the need for honesty is a regular refrain. Hear, for example, this from a letter to his son, John, Jr., back in 1832:

Truth should always be uttered no matter what the consequences. Nothing so degrades a man as equivocation and deceit. When I am in company with a double-dealing man – one who has one language on his tongue and another in his heart—I am involuntarily made to avoid him as I would a poisonous reptile. Trust such a person with not even the slightest circumstance on earth; for he will deceive you, if it be to his interest to do so. Learn then, my son, to speak the truth always. By doing so in trifling matters, it will grow into a habit from which you will not afterwards separate yourself.

In the words of a toast once offered to Tyler, he was a man “too firm to be driven from his principles—too upright to be swerved by the laws of ambition or power.” Indeed he was known as “Honest John.”

In 1840, the Whigs chose as their candidate William Henry Harrison, former Governor of the Indiana Territory, and victor over the Indians in the Battle of Tippecanoe and then the British in Canada in the War of 1812. For the Vice Presidential spot Henry Clay and the Whig Party settled on John Tyler of Virginia, hoping he could attract disgruntled Democrats.

It’s interesting that the future President Harrison and Vice President Tyler in this election grew up in the same small Virginia County just ten miles apart. Actually through Tyler’s mother they were kin. Through my mother’s side I am not descended from President Harrison, but I am from his father, Benjamin Harrison, Governor of Virginia and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The Whig campaign of 1840 was the first modern campaign with all the trimmings: buttons and banners, songs and slogans. The Whig slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler too,” really meant, “We’ll give you Harrison, a war hero. He’s for a strong national government, roads and canals, a national bank, and a high tariff, but if you don’t like that; we’ll give you Tyler. He’s for states’ rights and against all that other stuff.

The Whigs won easily and Harrison became president, but Harrison had already given away the store. He had agreed to be a one-term president and to have just one vote in the Cabinet which was to be hand-picked by Henry Clay, but Harrison died of pneumonia a month after the election. Nobody, including John Tyler, expected that he’d become president. The Whigs in Congress were shocked. They refused to recognize Tyler as the real president, since this was the first time a president had died in office.

But Tyler believed that according to the Constitution he was the President and he was determined to be President. He would make the decisions. He would not promise to let Henry Clay run the show. As a matter of fact when Henry Clay showed up to tell the Accidental President whom to appoint and how to conduct his office, Tyler thundered, “You go, Mr. Clay, to your end of the Avenue where stands the Capitol and there do your duty as you see fit and, so help me God, I will do mine at this end of the Avenue as I see fit.” From then on Clay had the votes but Tyler had the vetoes.

Tyler’s first act as President was to proclaim a National Day of Fasting and Prayer, to mourn the death of President Harrison, in which he stated, “When a Christian people feel themselves to be overtaken by a great public calamity, it becomes them to humble themselves under the dispensation of Divine Providence, to recognize His righteous government over the children of men… and to supplicate His merciful protection for the future.”

If Tyler had gone along with Clay and the Whig majority in Congress he could have had an easy road and many would have deemed his presidency successful. But he refused to take the easy road. He vetoed the bill to re-charter the Bank of the United States and the Whigs read him out of the Party. The veto caused his Cabinet to resign, except for Daniel Webster, his Secretary of State. Instead Tyler proposed a banking system with a Board in Washington and branches in various parts of the country, a system almost identical to the Federal Reserve System which was subsequently adopted in 1913.

Tyler was unable to do much of anything in the domestic area, but his administration is being increasingly recognized for his accomplishments in foreign affairs, including the settlement of the boundary line between the United States and Canada over half way across the continent. Tyler invoked the Monroe Doctrine to prevent the British and French from taking over the Hawaiian Islands. He sent the first American mission to China, which resulted in a treaty in 1844, opening for the first time the profitable trade between the two countries and granting American citizens in China extraterritoriality, the right to be governed by their own laws and not those of China. Tyler pushed through the annexation of Texas at very end of his administration by the novel use of a joint resolution by both houses of Congress.

Tyler’s first major biographer called him a Champion of the Old South – but I believe that is “incorrect.” Tyler had troubling doubts about slavery and never saw it as a positive good, though he was a slave owner. In 1832 he had introduced a bill to end the slave trade in the District of Columbia. He was also president of the Virginia Colonization Society, which aimed to resettle freed slaves in Liberia.

Tyler’s administration was hog-tied but its social life excelled. His first wife Letitia Christian, a beautiful Christian woman, was an invalid when Tyler became president and died during his second year in office. His daughter-in-law, Priscilla Cooper Tyler, then served as White House hostess, with the help of former first lady, Dolly Madison.

Tyler’s second wife was Julia Gardiner, my grandmother, a 24 year old debutante and beauty from Long Island, New York, who married the President when he was 54. Tyler was completely captivated by her vivacity, good humor, poise and stamina. When someone asked him if he wasn’t too old for her, he replied, “Well, I’m in my prime.” The reply was “When she’s in her prime, where will your prime be?” But John Tyler kept his into his seventies, later siring seven more children by her.

There was tragedy in their love affair, however. The navy had a new ship, the “Princeton, which was equipped with a huge new cannon dubbed the “Peace Maker.” The President, his cabinet, and all the important people in Washington were invited to a cruise down the Potomac. The cannon was fired when they passed Mount Vernon and everyone retired below for food and music. On the return trip someone suggested they fire the cannon again. Most of the people went up on deck but the President and Miss Gardiner stayed to hear one more song. The cannon was fired and it exploded killing the Secretary of State Abel P. Upshire, the Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer, and others, including Miss Gardiner’s father. She fainted at the tragic news and President Tyler carried her down the gangway and sent her to the White House. Soon afterwards they eloped to New York City and were married there.

Tyler’s new young bride, Julia Gardiner Tyler, was a great political asset. The Whigs called Tyler “a man without a party,” but most everyone in Washington turned out for Julia’s parties. Julia had made the grand tour of Europe and had been presented at royal courts. She had been the first woman ever to be featured in a newspaper ad. She was called the Rose of Long Island.

After John Tyler retired, the couple went back to Virginia to the place he had purchased during his term in office. For a time he was very unpopular but he harbored no bitterness and he eventually regained the respect and admiration of the people of his state. Since he had incurred the displeasure of both parties and since he was accused of being an outlaw like Robin Hood, he renamed his plantation “Sherwood Forrest.” Julia made the plantation the social center of Charles City County. She decorated and they enlarged the dwelling until at 100 yards in length, it became the longest frame house in America. John and Julia had seven children to go with the eight that he had produced in his first marriage. The ex-president loved children. He never tired of them, took them hunting, fishing, riding and boating. On summer evenings, he would play the fiddle and sing with the black and white children.

He ran the farm himself. There were no whips, lashes, or brutal overseers. He saw that the slaves were adequately fed, clothed and honored. He would not sell any or break up families.

My great, great grandfather on my mother’s side was Edmund Ruffin, known as the “Father of scientific agriculture in America.” He was the same age as the ex-president but two more generations back from me. He had opposed Tyler, but he came to visit and was captivated by him. Ruffin would give up farming and research for politics. He was to be one of the fire-eaters who stirred up the South to Secession and he hated Yankees. He would wrap himself in a Confederate flag and commit suicide after the South lost the war and leave these last words in his diary, “Would that I could bequeath these words to every Southerner living or yet to be born, to have no traffic with Yankees nor any political, social or business dealings with the vile, perfidious and malignant Yankee race.”

Nevertheless, Ruffin could recognize virtue even though he could not seem to exercise it. In spite of all the ex-President’s enemies, Ruffin had hardly heard an unkind or hostile remark from Tyler and he would confide to his diary after the ex-President’s death in 1862 these thoughts: “How difficult and how much worse would I have acted in this their situation. I should have returned these undeserved manifestations of hostility, and of ingratitude, with scorn, contempt and hatred. I would have so increased and kept alive and increasing, the hostile feelings of all other persons to me - and I should have become a miserable misanthrope, living and dying without a friend. But more wiser and more politic was John Tyler.” Ruffin would even say that John Tyler completely exemplified the description of love as found in St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

After Henry Clay died, Tyler spoke at his memorial service. Tyler admitted that “We gave each other a few bruises, but he was a great man.” He noted Clay’s many accomplishments including his work in effecting the Compromises of 1820 and 1850, which helped to keep the nation together for a considerable time.

When the Deep South states seceded Tyler pleaded with the Virginia legislature to call a meeting of the Border States to try and form a bridge between the two sections. But the state delayed and invited all the states to what was called the “Peace Convention” which sought to find a way to restore the Union and prevent a war. John Tyler addressed the assembly in this manner:” Our godlike fathers created; we have to preserve; they built up. You have a new task equally grand, you have to preserve the Government and to renew and invigorate the Constitution. If you reach the height of this great occasion, your children’s children will rise up and call you blessed.”

But it was too late. On the same date the convention met at the Willard Hotel in Washington, the seven Deep South states met in Montgomery, Alabama, to establish the Confederate States of America. President elect Abraham Lincoln soon after arrived in the Capitol City in disguise for fear of assassination and told Tyler that it was too late to reconcile the sections, that the die was already cast.

When Virginia seceded Tyler saw no other course than to stick with his state. Elected to the Confederate Congress, he died suddenly before he could take his seat in 1862.

The unknown President could be an example to us all. We might ponder these observations from people who knew him:

“An honest, affectionate, benevolent, loving man, who had fought the battles of his life bravely and truly, doing his whole great duty without fear, though not without much unjust reproach.” (Henry A. Wise)

“A career which for rapidity in achievement, consistency of conduct, and exalted moral character, finds few equals, and no superior in the annals of American history.” (George L. Christian)

On the grave marker of his horse “General,” John Tyler wrote these words: “He never stumbled. Would that his master could say the same.” John Tyler was not perfect, but he came close.

#john tyler #lyon gardiner tyler

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razorblade180 · 5 years ago

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Lasting Embers part 29: The Gift

The long awaited day is finally here; the day nobody wanted to come. The famous and secret heroes of Remnant finally close the distance to venture off to a threat bigger than any of them. Friends and family by their side not ready to say goodbye but have to nonetheless. All but one that is.....a young and broken girl who still sits against her door; not moving once through the entire night.

[Jaune’s house]

Yujin:......*looks at her window*

Sunlight breaking through the blinds...

Yujin:(It’s morning huh? Have I really been sitting here the entire night? Wonder what time it is? Maybe it’s already past ten and they’re gone.) *looks around* (where’s my scroll?)

She keeps swiveling her head to spot it until it’s painfully clear she has to stand up to look. Blood eventually flows back into her legs and she’s able to move. High and low she search’s for it until she spots it under the door crack.

Yujin:All that searching and it was right next to me. *opens door* I guess I really am slip-......

Yujin:*picks up a small box wrapped in white, yellow, and blue.*.......(Mom did say was leaving the gift here didn’t she? It feels light; maybe it’s a-......why should I care? Why...do I care?)

Her finger rubs the thin paper; surprisingly, it looks like it came from a professional. One thing is for sure, Yang spared no expense when it came to effort. It irritated her slightly to know that. The box was held and admired for a solid five minutes by now. Maybe it would’ve been less time but deciding if she should open it was difficult. What she was holding just might be the last thing she ever gets from her mother. No matter what it is or how she feels it was a truth she had to accept.

Yujin:(It might not be my birthday anymore but still....*undoing paper* it’s only right to open a gift.) Hmm?

Yujin:*lifts up a scroll and a journal*.........(no way they’re school supplies.) *open it*

“Hey Yujin it’s me your mother, but I guess that’s pretty obvious isn’t it? Sorry, writing was never my strongest skill set in school so this might get a little clumsy so to speak. If you’re reading this then I just want to say thank you; taking the time to look at this means the world to me. I also want to apologize for being a terrible mother....."

Yujin:.....

“No matter how I slice it, some of the words you said was true about me. Going off to fight these villains instead of trying to defend you while staying close does not sound or look good. Knowing Summer, she would’ve attempted to at least make it work. Unfortunately I’m not her; the only way I know how to protect you is like this. Fighting along side our family and friends; yeah I’m including Adam in that. Honestly I see some of grit in you and it’s pretty damn awesome. I see so much of everybody who’s got to raise you throughout the years when we interact. Jaune’s will, Mom’s poise, Dad’s heart, and even aspects from Ren and Nora. The only person I don’t really see is me; it stings if I’m being truthful. All you wanted was to get to know me and I’ve robbed you of that. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Her heart nearly stopped as she turned the page. The left side was more of the message written to her. The right side on the other hand wasn’t a message at all; it was a table of contents. Birthdays, first fights, training, vacations, adventures, it was everything. In just under a week Yang Xiao Long had written about what seemed to be every major and memorable thing in her life. The story of her mother was currently in her hands.

“I know it’s no replacement for a face to face conversation but in this journal I’ve written numerous things about myself so you can know who I am. On the scroll you’ll fine videos of the events in the book; it’s named and put into chronological order thanks to your Aunt. You deserve to see me at my best and worst moments of my life; to know I’m not as glamorous as anybody might make me out to be. Learning about me though isn’t the only thing I wanted to share with you finally. Yujin I want to be able to push you forward in life; be a mother and help figure problems that might come you way. We didn’t get to do much together but if we did anything it was fight. The final chapters was everything I noticed in each one. Not only that but I’ve made a list of possible ways for your Semblance to be used. I hope it’s useful somehow.

Sure enough the list was there and detailed. The back of the book was filled with experimental new tricks that Yujin wouldn’t have began to dream off. Each one carfully described and some drawn for reference.

“I know it never seemed like I was there for you, but I’ve always been in your corner to cheer you on. Despite how you feel about me and whatever happens to me out there, know my love for you will never die. You’ll always be my little ember dragon.”

Yujin:....*starts searching through the scroll* First Day At Beacon? *hits play*

Yang:Yo this is Yang Xiao Long, future huntress extraordinaire. Making this little vlog on the airship because my dad is corny and wants memories. Not all bad though because *flips camera*

Ruby:*hides face* Don’t record me! I

Yang:My baby sister gets to join me! Isn’t she the cutest?

Yujin:(They look so young. I wonder if....) *fast forwards*

Yang:So that air ride could’ve gone better. Some guy ended up getting vomit on my shoe. He’s lucky it wasn’t my hair.

Yujin:(Yep...)

Ruby:Give him a break. Not like he wanted to do it.

Yang:Defending strangers huh? A model huntress already, or is puberty finally hitting you?

Ruby:Puberty has been here thank you very much! He is pretty cute though when his face didn’t look green.

Yang:Eh, not really my type. *video ends*

A small smile creeps onto her face that immediately changes to shock as she continues to searchl. Maybe it was out of instinct but her finger immediately kept scrolling until found it on the day of her birth. The file was named “Sundrop” The video opens with a very tired Jaune holding the camera and pointing it at an even more tired Yang.

Jaune:*whispering* Here we are at Vale General Hospital. It’s very late and we’re both very tired but it doesn’t matter. What matters is the little sundrop my amazing wife is holding.

Yang:*snickering* Sundrop? Not sure how I feel about that.

Jaune:It only makes sense the sunshine in my life gave birth to a smaller sunshine.

Yang:*cuddling her* As far as I’m concerned she shines brighter than me already. Just look at her, I can’t believe I’ve made something so perfect. From here on out it’s all about her from now on; forever and always. *smiles softly*

Yujin:.....*eyes watering*

Jaune:Uh oh, it’s been thirty minutes and Yang has officially lost her mind over this baby.

Yang:Our baby, and it’s been nine months and thirty minutes thank you very much. *kisses it’s forehead* Your daddy is acting like he’s not head over heels for you Yujin. Don’t worry though, as soon as he turns the camera off he’s gonna want to hold you and cry.

Jaune:Possibly.....*video ends*

Yujin:*wipes her eyes*(There’s......so much here. Six days and it’s so detailed. If this is about her life then what’s the last vid-)

“Homecoming”

Yujin:This date is....*presses play*

Ruby is recording her sister as she anxiously bounces her leg on the train ride home. You can tell het smile is filled with happiness and worry.

Ruby:Hello future me or whoever is watching this. You’re currently watching my big sister silently losing her mind as we finally head home from a.....I think eleven years of fighting evil. She’s so worked up that I don’t think she notices that the train seats are heating up and people are staring.

Yang:I’m what? *red* oh, sorry everyone! My bad.....

Ruby:*laughing* Please calm down. It would be a shame if you died of a heart attack before we made it home.

Yang:How can I be calm!? In a few more hours I’ll have Yujin in my arms again.

Ruby:You know she’s not four anymore right?

Yang:I know that, I can still hug her. Hehe I wonder how big she’s gotten, if she’s made friends, *gasp!* maybe even a boyfriend!?

Ruby:Calm down there dork. You’ll see her soon.

Yang:Hopefully she’ll recognize me; hopefully I recognize her. My four year old is fifteen today. *tearing up* God it’s been such a long time. Soon things will be calm; finally I can spend the rest of my life with her. She’s probably absolutely stunning by now. *smiles*

Ruby:Geez you’re about to smother Yujin, I can already tell. Hopefully she’s not in an angsty teen phase.

Yang:Even if she is I’m still gonna smother her! Things are looking up! *video ends*

She didn’t bother to play another video after that. Instead she decided to just stare at the screen as the journal in her hand got gripped tightly. Soon after, the screen became blurry to her; tears kept finding new ways to sneak their way out of her. This time though it was different than the rest. Anger, frustration, and sadness was what kept her down before; now it was the feeling that bothered her all week. For seven days and seven nights she’s done nothing but push out someone who’s been desperately trying to reach her just like how she wanted to reach out to them. The only difference is Yang never stopped trying to reach out for her. Yujin knew exactly what this feeling was and it was about to eat her alive. Guilt and Regret we’re going to ruin any memory she has of her mother, unless......

Yujin:*looks at the scroll*

“8:45 am”

Yujin:*rushing down stairs* Please tell me took grandpa’s car. Please tell me- *looks in garage*

Sure enough, her car was there and ready for use.

Yujin:*wipes her face* Okay..... I can do this.....

[Train Station]

Vale’s train station is one of the remaining architectural works that survived The Fall of Beacon. From here it’s the jumping off point to the rest of Remnant. This feeling is echoed by the fact that even though it’s called a station, there isn’t a real building. A massive slap of concrete with a umbrellas for shade is mostly what is here besides the ticket punchers with their small booths. It’s old fashioned but it works; people come and go from here often. Unfortunately Yang and Ruby didn’t think they’d be here so soon again; at least it’s a beautiful day out. Warm weather and a gentle breeze that blows through the rolling hills behind the rails gives off a sense ease.

Yang:Ruby can I tell you something?

Ruby:You can tell me anything.

Yang:This just might be the worse day of my entire life.

Ruby:Definitely top ten.

Yang:At least I have you though.

Ruby:Always....*grabs her hand*

Raven:You haven’t always had me but I’m definitely here for you! *smiles*

Yang:*snorts* Never doubted it for a moment. I wonder if everyone is still going to show up?

Weiss:What, you think we would “snowflake?”

Yang:Weiss get seri- oh hey you’re here. Wait, did you just make a pun!?

Neo:*walks up* She’s been waiting to say that for a week.

Ruby:Oh hey! I didn’t think you were gonna decide to come.

Neo:Nah I’m not coming; I’m not leaving the Arcs like that. They have good food; I’m just here to see Weiss off. *grabs her hand*

Weiss:*blushing*.......

Ruby and Yang:!!??

Weiss:It’s been an interesting week.

Ruby and Yang:I’ll say....

Tai:*looks at Jaune*......

Jaune:In my defense it wasn’t my idea. Also what were you and Raven doing for a week?

Tai:I can’t tell if you’re more like me or if Yang is more like me. Either way I guess I shouldn’t complain. I’m glad you’ve been someone they could always depend on. I couldn’t ask for a better son-in-law.

Jaune: That means a lot; think they’ll be okay.

Tai:Are you kidding? No one stops our family as long as they’re together.

Adam:Believe me, challenging them alone is a struggle in its own right.

Everyone:Turns to see Adam clothes similar to his days robbing trains. The only difference is the flower symbol is missing and a cloak is over it. His eyes are hidden by shades and even his hair is dyed black. The rest of the family, along with Ilia, and Blake walk behind him.

Yang:Okay so I have two major questions. One, why dye the hair when it’s already long and laid down.

Adam:Just in case.

Yang:Second, I learned you have my sister’s number for years. Why exactly?

Adam:*pulls out cross necklace* rose’s recognize other rose’s

Yang:*looks at Ruby*

Ruby:*holding a cross necklace* It’s a story for another time; maybe on the train ride sis.

Yang:I literally can’t with you all.

Jael:She’s not what I quite expected. What do you think Sien-

Sienna:Uh..excuse me? M...Mrs. Xiao Long?

Yang:Hmm? Well hello there, need something?

Sienna:*ears down* I’m not sure if you remember me but we’ve met before. You actually helped save my life when I was six. I bit your hand?

Yang:......*rubs her ears* Of course I remember you silly. How’ve you been? You’ve grown like a weed. *smiles*

Sienna:*wide eyed* Good! I’ve been really good! You may know or not but I have a sister now. *steps aside*

Jael:.....

Yang:Hey there *crouches* I’ve heard a bit about you. Adam makes cute kids I see.

Jael:Th...thanks. I’ve heard much about you; also your daughter.

There was a sort of coldness in her voice that everyone felt. Her absence was noticeably missed and it took Yang by surprise for her to mention it. Jael didn’t look worried though; she looked eager. Almost like she’s got an itch that desperately needs to be scratch.

Yang:Unfortunately she’s not here. Things for her are rough with all this going on.

Jael:She didn’t want to see you off?

............

Yang:*frowns* No, she didn’t.

Jael:Oh, sorry to hear that. Excuse me but I need a moment. *quickly walks off*

Jacquelyn:uhhh I’m just gonna...yeah. *follows her*

As Jael walks away Tenzen and company pass by her. No glances were exchanged but there wasn’t a need for any.

Tenzen:*stops walking*.......*turns around*

Ren:Everything okay?

Tenzen:Yeah.....just got a chill or something. I didn’t like it. *continues walking*

Jacquelyn:Hey Jael are you-

Jael:She doesn’t even show up to see her family off, is obviously angry with her mom about it, gotten our family roped into it by accident or not. I’m beginning to think I don’t have to actually meet this person before I form my opinion like you guys want.

Jacquelyn:......You hate her don’t you? Even after what your father told you.

Jael:He’s leaving to help protect me but I’m not dumb enough to believe not a piece of it is for her. Just thinking about how someone so loved and blessed with opportunity can be so....so.... *clenches her chest* yeah, I hate her.

Jacquelyn:*slightly opens up her kimono* look at this for me.

Jael:*staring at a scar below her ribs* A scar? How long have you had that?

Jacquelyn:Years, your father gave it to me on accident.

Jael:Wh....what? Why would he.....I thought.... he loves you.

Jacquelyn:Yeah, but you gotta remember the dad you see wasn’t how he used to be. A long time ago hate ruled his life. One time when our Oasis was still being built people came and destroyed everything. They didn’t know who we were, just low lives causing pain. Any time we relocated either grimm got the better of the place or them. We were tired and hungry; him especially. So when they came back again your father was ready to kill them despite my wishes.

Jael:You wouldn’t let him fight?

Jacquelyn:It was a delicate time for him. I was afraid any back pedaling would ruin any progress already made. There were times I fought them but more and more kept coming. Eventually Adam finally lashed out and it did actually scare them away; it wasn’t enough for him though. While one was running away Adam sent a moonslice at him; I jumped in front of it....

Jael:You what!?

Jacquelyn:I wasn’t thinking. All I knew was I was scared of this one incident turning into something worse. That night is still a bit of a blur; I remember an intense pain and then just laying on the sand bleeding. When I woke your father was over right over me crying. It might’ve been the first time I saw him scared and genuinely apologetic. He promised me that night things were going to be different; he’d try harder to do the right thing.

Jael:.......*looks away*

Jacquelyn:Hate and anger are dangerous. You might just get you or someone you care about hurt if it goes unchecked. You have the disadvantage of it most likely being both. Hating this girl is fine for now but don’t let it linger. Let it fade away with time. *holds her close*

Jael:Did dad’s hate fade away?

Jacquelyn:Sort of; he stopped focusing on the hate left by his past and found a way to fill it with love. Sienna eased his mind but I think you really filled it with the love he needed to have. *smiles* You saved him, not me.

Jael:.....I’m gonna just stand here for a moment okay? I’ll come back over when the train arrives.

Jacquelyn:Take the time you need. *kisses her cheek and leaves*

Adam:She okay?

Jacquelyn:Yeah, just processing everything. Sorry about that Yang.

Yang:It’s no problem. I should be the one apologizing; can’t help but feel like it’s my fault a bit. If I knew about her sooner then-

Adam:Geez, apologizing to me feels weird. Just watch my back when things get heavy. *smirks* I’ll watch your arm.

Everyone:.........

Yang:......*rubs nose*

Adam:........*smacks lips*

Both of them end up in a fit of laughter suddenly. To everyone’s surprise they even fist bump and causes everyone else to slowly begin to laugh as well. To any stranger you would think everyone here were old friends since birth. Only they would know the truth about the effort it took to get there. Even Jael admired the sight.

Jael:(Is this what happens when hate heals? If dad could do it then there’s hope for me. I just need time right?)

“9:45 train to north western Anima arrived. 10:00 train to Vacou will arrive soon.”

Ren:Well...that’s me. Time to get healed.

Mercury:We’ll miss you guys.

Emerald:Don’t you dare get lazy out there. We want to meet up with all of you.

Nora:Hopefully we’ll be done before you guys are. Don’t rush your healing for me ok?

Ren:As long as you don’t rush so I don’t have to join. *kisses her* Tenzen?

Tenzen:Yeah?

Ren:Be ready for me to out dance you when I get back. *winks*

Tenzen:*smiles* I accept your challenge! I’ll show the student has surpassed the teacher.

The unlikely trio gets on the train as they wave goodbye. Even with a nice goodbye however, hearts start to get heavy. No turning back now.

Nora:You okay Tenzen?

Tenzen:I’m okay *takes a breath* being here hurts more than I thought to see him go.

“10:00 train to Vacou arrived”

Tenzen:Now I gotta watch you.

Blake:Already!? It’s ahead of schedule.

Nora:*hugs him tightly* No matter what happens, never lose that smile of yours. Light up people’s world and live happily.

Tenzen:Bright and sudden like a lightning bolt; I promise.

Adam:Neo, you’re second in command. I know you and Ilia can handle things.

Weiss:Hey, you got that promotion you wanted.

Neo:By default but I’ll take it. You leave the organization in good hands.

Ilia:I’ll watch her....

Blake:Same....

Frost family:*stares at him*

Adam:*opens his arms* Don’t just stand there you three.

Frost family:*hugs him* Be safe, we love you.

Tai:Will you miss me this time?

Raven:I missed you last time. *kisses him* Don’t worry, I’ll be back in your arms before you know it.

Jaune:*hugging Ruby and Yang* It was seeing you two again*

Ruby:Next time it’ll be for good. You have my word. My house still needs to be rebuilt. I’ll give you two a moment. *dashes off*

Yang:.....I really wanted to wear that wedding ring longer.

Jaune:Next time you will. Until then...*tears up* it’ll be waiting for you just like me. Anything you want me to tell Yujin?

Yang:I don’t know if there’s anything more for me to say. If she never forgives me then......hehe *covers her face* damn it, please let her forgive me. *weeping* I don’t think I can live knowing she won’t!

She breaks down and drops to her knees; not caring who sees. The sight of it is almost too much for Jaune to take as she helps her back on her feet and guides her to the train door. From there Ruby takes her and everyone on it stares back at their family as the doors finally close. The whistle finally blows to solidify the journey, then it starts to move. Slowly at first but surly getting faster. Every so, everybody just keeps staring as the distance grows. The moment nobody wanted is here; the moment of uncertainty.

“STOP THE TRAIN!!!!”

Yang’s head jerked up in shocked. That shout was extremely close; too close to be possible. The train was moving near high speed by now. Already the station looked like a speck to them, but she definitely knew what she heard.

Yang:Please tell me someone else heard that?

Nora*halfway out a window* This is something you might want to see Yang.

Yang:*looks* Y....Yujin!?

Several feet behind them was none other than her daughter driving right beside the train at full speed. She glances over at her mother with an awkward smile and wave.

Yang:YUJIN!?

Adam:Never a dull moment.

Ruby:How’d she gey the mustang off of Patch?

Yujin:Tell the conductor to stop! I’m almost out of ga- *car slowing down* damnit.....!

Yang:Shit! Uhhh is there an emergency break or.... Oh! Make a portal mom!

Raven:That car is still moving way too fast. Last thing we need is mustang flying in here. If she got out the car then-

Nora:Would a boy flying through here be a problem? *smiling*

Once again they look out the window but the mustang is empty. A trail of orange lightning can be seen barely keeping up with the caboose of the train.

Raven:*grabs sword* I’ll try...

Yang:*walks to the back.*

Yujin:Whenever I need help you never hesitate.

Tenzen:*carrying her* By now you should know I have your back; even if your ideas are completely insane.

Yujin:*stretching*If I can just reach the back....I almost..... *grabs it* Ha!

Tenzen:*tosses her up* Good luck!

Yujin:Huh? Take my hand!

Tenzen:Nah, this is your goodbye. Tell my mom she doesn’t have to worry about me. *stops running*

She can see him wave as the distance increases. Her heart starts to race as her palms get sweaty. Only thing standing in her way now is a few doors. All she has to do is open it.

Yujin:*grabs handle* Here goes noth-

Yang:*Opens door*..........

Yujin:....Have you been crying? Your eyes are puffy.

Yang:Your eyes are puffy too......

Yujin:It’s been a rough morning. *pulls out journal* I guess you were wrong about me not getting anything from you; we cry the same. *shaking* You were also wrong about you being a terrible mom. I’m a sorry excuse for a daughter.

Yang:Yujin I-

Yujin:No, I need to get this off my chest. I...*sniff* I punched you in the face, screamed and shunned you. I said I didn’t care if you came back alive. *crying* How could I say that to you!? I am so, so sorry mom. I am ashamed and disgusted with myself for what I did. All you did was try your best to be around ever since you came back and I-

Before she could chastise herself further, Yang reached out and pulled her in close. Whatever Yujin was going to say turned into pure noise as she began to wailing into her mother’s shirt. All Yang could do his hold her tighter she started to cry again too.

Yujin:I can’t believe I wasted the entire week being upset; now I don’t know when I’ll see you again.

Yang:It’s alright, this moment right is enough. It’s more than enough. *lets go* I want you to know that I’m not mad at you in the slightest you got that? Life has a way of bringing people together when it matters most; I’ll come back to you and your father I swear. *wiping Yujin’s tears*

Yujin:We’ll be waiting for you; no matter how long it takes. Mom I...I love you, even when I thought I didn’t. Being your daughter is something I’ll never regret.

Yang:I love you too and I’m so proud of you as well. You’re growing up just fine. *smiles* Promise me something; promise me that you’ll continue to be the best version of yourself you can be and show everyone at Beacon what you’re made of.

Yujin:*smiles* Ha, with this journal I’ll make sure everyone knows what a Xiao Long can do.

Raven:*walks in with everyone, including Tenzen* Sorry to cut this short but people are starting to see we have stowaways.

Yujin:How’d you get on Tenzen?

Tenzen:*winded* We overshot a portal your grandma made. Please don’t make me run that fast again.

Nora:At least you got to see me one more time. *hugs him*

Raven:*makes a portal* this leads right to Jaune. Stay safe kiddos.

Yujin and Tenzen:See you later everyone!

Everyone:See you when we see you.

Tenzen:*jumps through portal*

Yujin:Later “Hunter extraordinaire.”

Yang:Later Sundrop.....

As she walks up to the portal, Yujin stops for a moment and turns back around. Without warning she swaps her blue bandanna with Yang’s purple one.

Yujin:For luck, better have it when you get back. *jumps through portal*

Jaune:*waiting*

Yang:*smiling* Deal.....

Yujin:*hops out* Hey dad! Saw mom and I sort of lost the car in a ditch. Sorry for not telling y- *gets hugged*

Jaune:You’re such a handful you know that?

Yang:I think it’s genetics. Can we go home now? I’m super exhausted.

Tenzen:At this rate you’ll be spent before the exams begin.

Yujin:About that, *looks at journal* I think I’m gonna hold off on those until next year. I got some reading to do.

Sienna:*ears twitching* You hear that?

Jael:As clear as day.

Sienna:Guess that means you’ll be a year ahead.

Jael:Nah, *holds chest* I think....I want a breather and spend time at home a bit longer. Is that okay?

Jacquelyn:When would I say no to spending more time with my kids? So, you gonna say hi to her?

The idea was enticing and not a bad one. Before she agreeded to it though her eyes glanced back over at Yujin; specifically what was around her neck. A pendent in the shape of a sun. Not much different than the star pendant Adam gave her as a late birthday present during the festival. The only reason was it was late was because during her actual birthday he was already off to check in on Yujin like usual. But why would he give her one too? Unless both of them have close or the same-

Jael:.....*walks away* I’ll pass, not up to it. Maybe next time.

Jacquelyn:Oh uhhh okay? Let’s get going then.

Jael:Fine by me; not a fan of this place anyways.

Yujin:Hmm? Is that Adam’s family? Maybe I should say- *tugged away by Tenzen* hey! What ar you doing?

Tenzen:You smell like you haven’t showered in in a day, you’re in a tank top and pj pants with no shoes, and they probably need time to themselves. Not the best time for first impressions. Go home dork; I’ll call you later.

Yujin:You have a point I guess. Thanks for everything Tenzen; you are a real life saver.

Tai wraps his arm around the girl and walk off with Jaune. Neo finally decides to make her leave with Ilia and Blake as they discuss their next move. Tenzen however takes a minute just to stare at this mysterious girl with goat horns as she continues to walk away. He couldn’t put his finger on it but there was something about her aura that was just.....intense.

Tenzen: “A life saver” huh? I hope it wasn’t that serious. *walks home*

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survivorparr · 6 years ago

Text

the sun and her moon, pt 1/8 (Ex Wives/No Way)

In Which Everyone Knows that Anne Loves Cathy (Except for Anne and Cathy)

(Eep I don’t know what this is and I haven’t written anything in the longest time but it’s Thinking About Parrlyn hours and I wanted to do something productive... if this doesn’t flop, I’ll be shocked)

•

Kat looked up from her wet nails at Anne perched precariously on the couch, her gangly legs splayed in opposite directions, her thick brows furrowed in confusion at something on her phone screen.

“Anne? What are you looking at?” Kat questioned. Picking up on the concern in her friend’s voice, Anne crinkled her nose.

“Have you seen this, Kitty? Here - ‘hashtag Parrlyn’. Have a look”. She thrust her phone a little too close to Kat’s face. Kat repositioned the screen and began scrolling through photo after photo - Anne carrying Cathy piggy-back style backstage at the show, Cathy staring adoringly at Anne during a performance of DLUH, a clip from Megasix of the two shimmying suggestively together.

“I don’t get it, Annie - what’s this all about?”

“Can’t you see? People are saying I’ve got a thing for Cathy. Cathy?!? Has everyone gone daft? I mean, do we get on well, yeah, of course. Do I think she’s fit? I mean, I do have eyes... but do I have a THING for her?!? Are you nuts, mate?” Anne let out a long, exaggerated scoff, followed by one of her patented killer eye rolls. “Get real. I mean, can you believe?”

Kat scrutinized Anne’s face. She couldn’t help but notice the flush in her friend’s usually pale cheeks and the way Anne was chewing nervously at her lower lip. She raised one wary eyebrow, but quickly broke out into a reassuring smile - “‘Course not, Annie. I swear, some people have nothing better to do than to make stuff up about us. Don’t pay it any mind. Just the other day, I came across a chart someone had made that claimed I’ve only said ‘fuck’ once. As fucking if!”

Anne chuckled, and her body seemed to relax. Kat handed her back the phone, shifted her weight onto her other leg, and turned her attention back to clear-coating her nails. Anne went back to scrolling absentmindedly, now hanging upside-down on the couch by her legs in a way that had to have been making her dizzy.

“It’ll be nice to have her back, though...” she murmured into the silence after a few minutes, seemingly to nobody in particular. Kat looked up.

“Who’s that?”

“Cathy.”

“Ah, right.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Grace has been absolutely killing it these past few weeks, but it just feels... different without her, know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I do. I keep looking to my left during specific parts of the show to do our usual interactions and then remembering she’s on holiday”.

Both girls turned their heads as the door to the house swung open, revealing Aragon and Cleves, glistening with sweat and toting pilates mats.

“...at the end of it all, I just wasn’t even all that bothered about it, know what I mean? It kind of felt like getting fired from a job I never really wanted in the first place.”

“Oh totally, he was all like, ‘Sorry babe, I’m a Protestant now,’ and I was like, ‘Well I ain’t protestin’ that!’ Over it.”

“SO over it”.

Kat gingerly waved a still-drying hand, and Anne threw up a peace sign from where she still hung upside down on the couch. Cleves smiled brightly and waved back, while Catherine called, “Morning, queens”.

“Breakfast’s on, girls,” Jane called from the kitchen.

“Yo, alright-“

“-I am STARVED-”

“-Bless your heart, Jane!”

“Actually, I think I’ll have a shower before the Divorce Force has a go at the hot water.” Anne waggled her eyebrows mischievously as Aragon bristled. “What, it’s not my fault you lot reek!”

Aragon opened her mouth to retort - “Why, you-”

“Girls, food’s going cold!! Get a move on!” Anne took advantage of the momentary distraction and pranced up the stairs to the bathroom.

Aragon scowled deeply and then followed the others into the kitchen, where Jane had breakfast waiting. Kat was humming to herself and setting out plates. Cleves was carrying platters stacked high with eggs, bacon, toast, potatoes, and sausage from the stove to the table. Jane was pouring drinks at each of her friends’ seats: for Kat, chocolate milk; for Cleves, grapefruit juice; for Catherine herself, coffee, black. The kettle went off, signifying the readiness of Jane’s tea. Aragon busied herself with putting out cutlery for four.

Once all of the girls were sat around the table happily eating, Kat announced through a mouthful of eggs, “I’ve an update...” Three pairs of curious eyes focused raptly on her.

“Go on then,” Cleves prompted.

“Alright. Annie somehow found her way into the Parrlyn tag on tumblr-“

“-she what?!”

“-heavens!”

“-this ought to be good-”

“-Listen! So she’s all, ‘Kat, can you believe, me and Cathy, how crazy is that -“

“-HA! I told-“

“-come ON, but it’s so-“

“-nah mate, I don’t buy-“

“-owe me 10 bucks, Seymour-“

“-Let me finish!! She said she thought it was crazy, but she was chewing away at her lower lip the entire time,” Katherine finished defiantly.

“HAH! That lying... liar!” Jane squealed. “Everyone knows she only chews her lip when she’s fibbing. Annie and Cathy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-“

“Quit it, Jane, Cathy will absolutely cringe if she finds out about any of us making a fuss,” Aragon chided. “You know how private she is”.

“Plus, it doesn’t seem like Boleyn is ready to talk about it just yet,” Anna added.

“I know, I know, I’m just excited is all,” Jane pouted.

“Well, Cathy gets back tonight before our choreo brush-up, so I guess we’ll just... keep our eyes peeled for any further developments?” Kat suggested. The other three women nodded their agreement.

Just then, Anne came flying down the stairs, feet half in her sneakers, thick strands of wet, dark hair matted to her face. “Further developments in what?”

“C-Catherine has a rash!” Jane blurted. “F...rom her yoga mat”. Aragon’s jaw dropped in protest, eyes blazing with fury.

“Yeah! It’s reeeeal gross, Annie, you wouldn’t want to see, on account of you being all squeamish.”

“...Kat, darling, I’ve had my head chopped off. Do you really think I can’t handle a rash?”

“What makes you think I’d let you see it anyways, Boleyn?”

“Oh my good god, I don’t want to see the rash!”

“Alright, enough of this ridiculousness! We’ve got to head out now if we’re going to make call,” Jane declared.

Anne pulled an oversized green jumper over her head, secured her tote under one arm, shoved her heels in her shoes, and followed Kat’s bobbing fuchsia ponytail towards the bus. She tucked her wet hair behind one ear, secretly thankful that she’d run out of her own conditioner as notes of jasmine and coconut washed over her, and with them, thoughts of her absent friend. Sighing, she closed the door to the house behind her and bounded over to the bus where her friends were waiting for her to join them.

#if this flops this never happened #parrlyn #anne boleyn #catherine parr #six the musical #six #millie o'connell #maiya quansah breed

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starlightsoulwriting · 5 years ago

Text

Constellations Against Skin

n.t. “You hold him in your arms, a thousand stars in the bones of a man, and nobody could have thought you’d come so close to holding constellations against your skin.”

Dean Winchester X Reader; Castiel X Reader

Soulmate AU

[AO3] [Chapter List]

Two: Awake

You faded in and out of awareness for a day. Nurses moved around your room, taking your vital signs and redressing your wounds. Everything was fuzzy and floaty, like there was fog between you and the rest of the world. You heard voices, fading in and out. People you knew. There was a warm presence next to you - it felt like cherry pie and cedar-smoke. Like home. You reached out for it.

There were so many thoughts and feelings where you were. The energy was so jumbled and sad and sinking. Hope and despair and relief and worry and pain in a horrible emotion soup forced down your throat and into your lungs. It was too much.

At some point you thought you dreamt of an empty, echoing church and a boy with green eyes.

Your soulmark felt horrible on your ribs, the burning threatening to pull sobs from your throat even in your sleep. So much of you hurt.

It was that pain that woke you up.

You groaned, opening your eyes and blinking against the lone, dim light buzzing above a sink. The small room smelled strongly of disinfectant and linen. Shuffling noises echoed in the hall and a soccer game played lowly on TV. Voices on an intercom would occasionally interrupt the quiet, unobtrusive sound around you with loud beeps and cracking microphones.

Your head was cloudy, but you were aware enough to be yourself - even if your brain felt like it was stuffed full of cotton instead of thoughts. You had no idea how you got in this hospital room - and it was clearly a hospital room. You... didn’t remember anything after you took out the werewolf. Were you still in Wyoming? How much time had passed? Had you been in a car accident?

Wires and tubes stuck onto and into your body made it hard to move. You recognized the IV, EKG, and Oxygen mask but the rest of it was foreign to you. You wanted to get up and walk around, but were afraid you would wind yourself into knots. Besides, sharp pain shot through your whole body whenever you moved. You didn’t think you were going anywhere. It was worse than you were used to, and you were used to pain.

You reached out for the ‘call nurse’ button, but one of your hands wasn’t moving the way it should’ve. You looked down - your non-dominant hand was in a cast, your pinky, ring, and middle finger wrapped in gauze, leaving you with a lobster claw instead of a hand. The blue wrapping had a warding sigil written on it in sharpie - one that you had as a tattoo. Why had someone put that there? You didn’t need it twice. Your right leg was wrapped all the way up your thigh with fiberglass, and you couldn’t move it for the life of you. A frustrated sigh left you before you could help yourself. Just your luck.

You felt like you came down with a very bad cold and then ran into a wall face-first.

Every part of you that you could see was covered in bandages. A mask covered your mouth and nose; you could feel the faint tickle of oxygen coming through and brushing against your nostrils. There was even a fucking tube in your throat. You could feel it chafe every time you moved - it came out your nose and you had to stop yourself from gagging around it every other second. It gave you the worst sore throat you’d ever had on steroids.

The nurse better haul ass, you wanted this thing gone.

And your ribs, holy shit. Was that extremely painful or completely numb? Hell if you knew.

You stretched uncomfortably, choking back a grunt of pain as you reached for the remote that was just a little bit out of your reach.

A sharp intake of breath came from the door and something light hit the floor.

You turned to see none other than Dean Winchester - a man you’d been wanting to meet since you were fourteen, when you met John the second time. He’d been all too happy to shut that idea down quick, though. He hadn’t even wanted you around himself at the time, let alone his kids - a fact that never changed even after you started hunting in earnest around the same time Dean had. Didn’t need his sons meeting the freak, right?

John’s rejections had always hurt more than you were willing to admit.

You recognized Dean from the photos, though - more recent ones, and from the familiar soul thrumming through him. Different than his father’s gunsmoke and whiskey, yes, but the threads were there - you knew a Winchester when you felt one. Dean felt like campfires and old cars. A pine forest on a summer night.

You flushed scarlet. Of course when you finally met your dead friend’s hot son you looked like a drowned cat that got hit by a bus. (You felt like that too). You were injured to hell, but you had eyes - and you were in a hospital bed. There was no way you could flirt with him like this. Who the hell flirted while they were in the hospital?

This fucking sucked.

You made a pointed effort to avoid looking in his head. You didn’t need to hear his thoughts, they were probably just filled with the general hunter concern tinged with curiosity that you felt yourself when working a case. You didn’t have your necklace, which you’d enchanted and blessed yourself, so you were getting a metric shit-ton of the disjointed brain chatter and stray emotions it would normally keep away. The drugs dulled your senses somewhat, so it was more like cafeteria noise than legible thoughts, thank god. You would just have to not focus on him too much. Easy.

It wasn’t easy, he was very attention-grabbing.

Wait.

Were you a case?

Dean just looked at you in shock and then at the cheap coffee he’d spilled on the floor.

“Hey,” He gave an uneven smile before crossing the room to the sink and grabbing a few paper towels. “Bobby’ll be glad you’re awake.”

“Bobby’s here?” . You lowered your face mask to speak. That hurt more than it should’ve. Your throat was dry as hell, and your voice came out in a harsh, cracking whisper around the feeding tube.

You felt like crying. Had he been worried about you? How did he even know where you were? Had the hospital gone through your things?

You’d really missed him.

Dean coughed and looked away from you. Of course he would - he probably didn’t know how to deal with a random crying chick more than any other hunter. Which is to say, not at all. You blinked away your tears for the sake of both your pride.

“Yeah, he’s asleep back at the motel. Stayed here all night.” He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. “He only agreed to go back if someone stayed here with you.”

You sighed, settling back into the lumpy hospital pillow. “Can you get the thingy?” You pointed at the Call Nurse button. You were not stretching like that again, your whole body felt like it was on fire and underwater.

What drugs had they given you?

He nodded again, handing you the remote. “I’m Dean, by the way.”

“I know,” You rasped, with a wink that hurt way too much to make. Very sexy of you. “Nice to finally meet you.”

That caught him off guard, apparently. He gave you a skeptical look, one eyebrow raised comically higher than the other. You would think this man had never been flirted with by a grievously injured monster hunter before.

His deer-in-a-headlights look was cute, though.

You figured you should explain yourself. “John never let me anywhere near you and Sam, even when he kept telling me how great y'all are. Always figured it would be cool meeting a hunter my own age, though.” You gave the best, genuine smile you could muster and held out your good hand. “I’m (Y/n).”

He shook your hand, and you had to stop yourself pulling away in shock. Your energy had leapt out at his and latched on, sending a blush straight to your face and a warm, tingly feeling to your soulmark.

It’d never done that before.

You both yanked your hands away, looking away from each other.

Had he felt that too? He must’ve, right? If his flustered expression and red ears were anything to go by, then yes, he had.

Great, as if you weren't already a freak.

He cleared his throat. “I’ll go call Bobby. He’ll want to know you’re up.” He started, walking backwards toward the door. You nodded, hugging yourself as best you could and kept your eyes firmly planted on the wall. “I, um - I got your message, by the way.”

“What?” Your eyes shot up to meet his, confused You didn’t have his phone number. Was he talking about the polaroid of John you mailed Bobby to give the boys?

“Oh,” He waved you off, still walking backwards. He tripped on the trash can. “Nothing. You know what? Forget I said that.” And he left, pulling out his cell phone.

But you saw the sigil scratched on his hand - the same one that was on your cast. The same one that hid you from demons. One from your personal collection of Enochian seals. The one you hadn’t seen any other hunter ever use ever.

That’s sure interesting. You wondered idly if that’s what he thought your message was. But, as far as you knew, you couldn’t do something like that.

The nurse rushed in only a minute or two later, interrupting your thoughts, and looking absolutely beside herself. She didn't let Dean back in for a while, because right after her came the bedraggled Dr. Reyes, whose hair was threatening to escape her bun and run away. Apparently you were the biggest case in the hospital and she had just been… waiting for you to wake up.

The tests she ran were annoying, but you slogged through them all the same.

You could follow the pen with your eyes fine, your pupils were dilating fine, you knew it was 2006, and you didn’t seem to have any memory problems.

And nobody was answering any of your questions. Dr. Reyes just vaguely said there was an accident but refused going into detail, asking how much pain you were in when you pressed further. A different nurse than earlier brought in a new IV stand, hooking it up and handing you a button. Pain drip, she’d said - press when you needed more meds.

You pressed it as often as the damn thing let you.

Dr. Reyes agreed to take out the feeding tube shoved down your throat, but only after you proved you could hold down meals. And that meant you had to wait at least until after lunch, if not dinner. Boo.

You resisted the temptation to look at their thoughts to figure out what was going on. You hated, hated, hated doing it on purpose. It felt intrusive and gross to reach into somebody’s head like that and pull out what you wanted. Like prying a snail out of its shell.

And it reminded you too much of your time in New York.

When she was done looking you over, Dr. Reyes sat down on her rolling stool and leveled you with a serious look, face sad and empathetic but no-nonsense. “You don’t remember what happened?” She sighed when you shook your head, but continued. “Would you like me to tell you what happened, or would you like your family to come talk to you? I can come back later and explain everything medically if you’d prefer it that way.”

You swallowed, fear spiking in your chest at her tone. Bobby had brought at least Dean with him, and you had no reason to believe Sam hadn't followed. Why would he do that if it wasn’t something bad? This was serious, wasn’t it? He wouldn’t have brought back up if it wasn’t. If it was a normal case he would’ve come alone.

Did you want Bobby to tell you?

Yes, yes you did.

He’d been there after your parents died, and for most of your teenage years; he’d already seen you at your worst.

So you waited a few minutes for the nurse - Callie, her tag said - to get him from the waiting room. He’d apparently gotten there just a few minutes after Dean called him. Dr. Reyes left with the promise of coming back in an hour or so to go over your chart and explain all your injuries, wires, and treatment options.

Bobby looked like he hadn't slept in a week. You weren’t the only one who looked like a drowned cat, apparently. He squeezed your good hand for a second and pulled up what you were sure was a horribly uncomfortable plastic chair. He gave you a sad smile - which made you feel worse, nerves rising in your chest even more. He was never this soft-looking. “How you doing, kid?”

You just shrug weakly, making sure not to move too much, and acting more nonchalant than you felt. “Confused.” You murmur, before looking away and biting your lip, wanting to curl in on yourself but unable to, pain singing in your muscles at your attempt. You hit the pain button again and huffed when it made a beep that meant you’d already gotten your next dose. “I don’t remember how I got here.”

He sighed and sounded centuries old. You felt bad for asking him to come in, for making him so tired. You wanted to make him turn around and get some sleep. To stop worrying about you so much. But he would give you a better idea of what happened than the doctor could, if this was related to a hunt. And you had a sinking feeling it was.

“I think that’s a good thing, champ.”

You furrowed your brows and looked up at him, searching his face for answers. He just looked exhausted. And you felt just how drained he was. How frustrated, how angry. Heavy.

You felt like a little kid again, waiting for him to tell you why your house had been set on fire. Small, and confused, and clueless. “What happened to me, Bobby?” You breathed, voice small.

You were suddenly afraid to hear the answer.

“Alioth found you. Hurt you real bad,” He started, and you took in a sharp breath that stung your ribs like a bitch.

That stupid demon had been after you for years. But you’d exorcised him last year. He’d never been able to crawl out of hell so fast. You normally had two years of freedom from him at least. Bile rose in your throat and you wanted to run anywhere but where you were. He could be anywhere now.

Had he been exorcised? Were you still in danger? How had he found you?

Who had saved you if it wasn’t Bobby? Because it sure as hell hadn’t been Bobby, you could feel as much. Did you save yourself? You doubted that, as much as you wanted to believe you’d been able to kick his ass all by yourself.

You needed to leave now.

Bobby put his hand lightly on your arm and you jumped, eyes going wide. “You're safe now. Me, Sam and Dean are gonna find the son of a bitch and send him back to hell if he so much as breathes in this direction.”

You just nod stiffly, staring at the wall, frozen in the sitting position you had bolted into in your panic. “How bad is it?”

“Well, I think you should ask your doctor that-”

“Bobby.” You didn’t have time for this.

Would you be able get discharge papers or would you have to sneak out yourself? Could you even sneak out like this?

“Your insides are fine, besides the fact that your heart’s real stressed out.” He sighed again, clearly either oblivious of your impending panic or hoping it would go away by itself. “You’re going to have a lot of scars, though, kid. I’m sorry.”

You forced yourself to breathe. To think, to let that sink in. You looked straight ahead and tried not to imagine what you looked like under your bandages. You would listen to the doctor first, figure out how to handle your wounds, and then get discharged against medical advice. For sure. You could do that. That was a plan.

You didn’t cry.

You refused to cry. Not for your vanity, and not out of fear. It was part of the life, nothing you haven't dealt with before. It’s not like you had anyone to impress, anyway. You were tough, you told yourself, it didn’t matter. And you had three hunters with you. If a demon so much as sneezed there would be a lightning storm, and they would help you get out of here before he found you again.

Not like you would be hard to find, given how much everybody seemed to be talking about you.

"What day is it?" You changed the subject, stubborn to avoid your freak-out. You could drive three states away and follow up with someone there by the time anyone realized you were gone. No need to hyperventilate. It was just the thing that killed your parents. No big deal.

"July tenth. Monday. A bartender walking home heard fighting and called 911 the night before last." He looked at you hesitantly, like he’s afraid of what he could hear. "So what… Do you remember?"

You had to shut your eyes to think past the blank spots in your mind. It was hard - you felt all floaty from the meds, thoughts slipping through your fingers like grains of sand. Everytime you thought you latched onto something you hit empty, gaping holes where the memory should be.

So you found the very last solid memory, and focused.

A gunshot.

Yellow eyes going dark. A body falling to the floor. Cleaning up a scratch on your shoulder. Putting weapons away in your Mustang.

"Finishing a wolf hunt." You croak, wishing you could get yourself some water. "After that there's nothing." You shook your head, frustrated, and run your hand through your hair.

"Do you know where you might've been heading?” Bobby pressed. “A motel, a store, a bar?"

"A bar." The memory flashes. You'd wanted a drink. "The country-themed one by the book store. It was crowded."

"Dude, I wanna ride the bull."

"Dean, you're not riding the bull."

"Not now, obviously," Dean said on their way past the machine and toward the back of the bar. It was empty, a little past three o'clock in the afternoon, and the place had just opened. The mechanical bull was mocking him, artificial red eyes glowing under the tin-can lights. "When we finish the case." He heard Sam's annoyed huff and chose to ignore it. He was obviously just too intimidated to try and didn’t want Dean to upstage him. Duh.

Dean flashed his FBI badge at the bartender, and his brother did the same before speaking. "I'm Agent Wright with the FBI; this is my partner Agent Mason. We're here about the attack Saturday night. We have reason to believe the victim was here earlier in the night."

That was Dean's cue to pull out an polaroid Bobby had given them, sliding it onto the counter. It was from last year. A headshot. You were smiling and covered in grey mud, just after you’d wiped off your face with your sleeve, your arm still pressed against your cheek. Your hair and shirt were trashed. There'd been some spell ingredient you were digging up and it rained the night before, but you hadn’t been letting that stop you. You sent pictures to Bobby pretty often, apparently, though Dean had never noticed. Maybe he had them all hidden in a box somewhere?

Oh, he was so snooping when they got back.

The man behind the counter - his name tag labeled him as David - shrugged after eyeing the photo for a moment. "I wasn't in on Saturday," He nodded to the back. "Duncan was though, I'll go get him."

Sam nodded. "Please do."

"David and Duncan, huh?" Dean muttered when the man was out of earshot. "As if this place needed any more D-bags."

Sam made a choked noise, leaving Dean with a wry grin. The worse his brother reacted to a joke the better he'd done, in Deans humble opinion. Half the fun of road trips was torturing him. Captive audience.

Duncan came out and crossed his arms, apparently swapping places with David. He was standing maybe a little too tall, puffing his chest a bit too much. He didn’t look happy to see them. "You think that girl who got attacked was here?"

"Considering she said so, yeah," Dean said, nodding at the polaroid. "So?"

Duncan took a moment, squinting. "Maybe." He shrugged. "She might've been the rum and coke I had around nine-thirty, but I can't be sure." He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "The place was packed, dude. I could barely keep up with orders, let alone remember every single face. "

What a beacon of empathy.

Sam and Dean just looked at each other. "Do you have security cameras?" Sam asked.

"You’ll have to ask the boss." He waved them off, making to leave.

Sam cleared his throat, stopping him. “Then go get them, please.”

Back at the motel, Sam worked his laptop open and Dean studied a map of the small highway town - seeing if there were other cameras they could track your path with. He was circling businesses and intersections along the shortest route between the bar and the paper mill where you'd been found.

He'd been careful to hide his hand from view while they'd been out - he didn't need randos thinking he was satanic.

It had been a shock, waking up with the sigil scratched into his hand. But Bobby reasoned that it was a message, somehow. It was the same tattoo you got on your leg - the one the demon burned through. As far as Bobby knew it was a kind of ward - made it hard for demons to track anyone wearing it.

It freaked Dean out, personally. You'd been unconscious and ten blocks away from him and you left him with that? It gave him the heebs and the jeebs. He was really looking forward to eavesdropping on Sam's inevitable conversation about psychic powers with you.

But Dean drew it on your cast nonetheless. Your protection had been stripped away, and he didn’t see a reason not to give it back to you.

And that wasn’t even mentioning whatever the hell happened when you shook hands. It felt embarrassing, somehow. Vulnerable, like whatever that energy was had shot through all his walls and shone a light on his insides. You’d seemed just as surprised as him and he didn’t like that one bit.

"Got him," Sam said suddenly from across the table, flipping the laptop around so Dean could see the feed - the camera at the back exit of the bar. A guy in a suit - the dead guy they had yet to get an autopsy report for - held you by one arm and shoved you into the alley, making you almost fall on your face. You weren’t reacting at all, just letting him push you around. He could see the shakes in your legs, though. Why weren’t you doing anything?

Then Dean saw the gun in his hand. Great.

"The place was packed, right?" Sam started, and Dean knew where he was going with this. "He must've gotten the drop in her."

Dean sighed, running a hand down his face. He should’ve gotten a drink when he could’ve. "Everybody in there was a hostage and the dumb bastards didn't even notice."

Sam just nodded. "I mean, it's smart. If she starts something, he can either play the victim or start shooting people."

He kicked Sam’s shin under the table. "Don't compliment the demon, Sam!"

"I'm not complimenting the demon!” He kicked back. “I'm just wondering how we would handle it. With all those people in danger."

Dean held his arms out in a ‘duh’ gesture. "Wait until you’re in a dark alley and then fuck him up when there’s no one he can hurt."

Sam hummed judgmentally at him.

"What?"

"This is from the bookstore’s footage." Sam turned the laptop around again to a different alley.

It started the same as before - the demon pushing you along. But after a second you elbowed the guy in the face, grabbing the gun from his belt in the same move. Before you could do more, he fisted a hand into your hair and shoved you against the brick wall. He made to punch you, but you ducked and kneed him in the balls, making the demon let go of you and double over. You grabbed his head and kneed him again, this time in the face. Three times, actually - Dean could see dark blood spatter onto the concrete below you.

And then you punched him in the stomach and ran, legs wobbling dangerously.

You made it all the way to the end of the alley. But the demon reached its hand out and you froze, entire body going stiff. You stood stock-still for a breath. Then your body jerked backward, flying through the air and landing you bodily against the demon's chest. He didn't look happy.

He dragged you out of frame.

"Looks like she thought so, too, Dean." Sam was wearing his bitchface.

What was his problem? Had he not slept again?

"What do you want me to say?" Dean aggressively opened a beer. "Oh, boo hoo, we're fucked if some bastard tries that? We fight, dude, even when the odds are shit. (Y/n) obviously thought so too."

Sam shrugged. "I was thinking more along the lines of ideas."

Dean groaned at his brother.

This fucking case.

It was later - much later, after you’d had bland hospital food and proved you could hold down meals. Callie had already pulled the tube from your throat, thank god. You’d gagged around it and thrown up on the floor, but she told you it was normal, to not worry about it, but you were embarrassed anyway, pulling the scratchy blankets over yourself and curling up as much as you could. You were able to keep the rest of the food down after that, though. You hid in your blanket cocoon as long as you could manage.

Screw the tube.

You were leaving in less than an hour, and would be in the back of your Mustang on your way to Bobby’s. Dr. Reyes was understandably concerned for your wounds, but you would rather leave now than risk Alioth finding you. If you needed to, you could check in to a new place in South Dakota. As long as it was away from here it didn’t matter.

Callie started changing your bandages one last time before you left, making sure you knew which wounds needed what kind of wrapping, that it would all be in the follow-up file they would send with you and on and on. You had to try stupidly hard to remember it all, but it was better than staying in this place, so you endured, partially comforted by the fact that it would all be written down.

Dr. Reyes had made it clear that ‘Someone’ (Alioth) had taken a torch to your soulmark. You’d been trying not to think about it while you waited for discharge, mindlessly playing the sudoku book Sam, who you liked almost instantly, brought by after lunch. He was smart and kind - and he offered to help you when you were out of the hospital, that he could stay in Bobby’s other spare room. Although, he did seem relieved when you let him know you wouldn’t need it. You had enough money to hire a nurse to come around once a day to help you change your bandages. Being psychic made you a very good poker player.

The worry about your soulmark was there all afternoon, though, despite the idle distractions you made for yourself.

You asked to look at it when Callie was changing the wrapping.

You know, like an idiot.

You could still feel it under the pain and numbness. It wasn’t so shallow a connection that it was dependent on the skin above it. It was in your soul, after all, and the mark was just the spiritual made physical. It wouldn’ matter if it was damaged. You would be fine.

You repeated that to yourself as the Callie brought you a hand mirror, and held it so you could see the left side of your ribcage.

You almost screamed.

Your entire soulmark was gone.

Completely. Gone.

All of it, replaced with a swath of discolored, grafted skin. The only bit left were thin, decorative wisps that barely brushed beyond the edges of your graft. But the important part - the name - the strange name written in a dead language that kept you waiting for miracles when there were none to be found - it was gone.

You fought against any tears that were forming and stubbornly tried to avoid your feelings. This was stupid. It was just a pretty word on your side, you shouldn’t be so upset. You could still feel the warm glow of your connection, you would be fine. But there was still a gaping sinkhole in your chest.

It was thirty seconds before a tidal wave of grief hit you.

You crumpled in on yourself with a shriek, whole body wracked with painful, painful sobs that shook your frame and made all the hurting ten times worse. It felt like a part of you had been ripped out and thrown in the trash. Like a part of your soul was torn out with a rusty ice cream scoop, leaving raw, torn edges. An empty, burning, ache rose in your chest and pushed out everything else, hollowing out your lungs and filling them up with a burning saltwater nebula.

There was a reason only serial killers went after soulmarks.

“It’s okay, honey, don’t you worry, okay? Marks are stubborn. Everything will be just fine in a few months, just you wait,” Callie shushed you through your snotty sobs and brought you tissues, trying her best to be reassuring as she hastily re-bandaged your side. “I’ve seen them regrow over scars, or somewhere else altogether, it’ll just take some time.”

But that hadn’t been the point.

Alioth wanted to hurt you and it had worked. It was violating and ruthless and it just felt so wrong to the core of your being.

You wanted to scream.

Instead, you did nothing at all, opting to stare at the ceiling and let yourself grow numb as Callie changed the rest of your bandages. The roaring sea subsided eventually, leaving nothing but fog in its wake. You were empty.

You didn’t ask to look at the rest of your grafts and cuts. The room was quiet against the background shuffle of the hospital. You didn’t say goodbye to Callie when she left.

You shut your eyes as tight as you could and returned to the cocoon of your blankets, eyes still burning with fresh tears.

I’m so sorry, Castiel.

Wherever you are.

A/N: I’m actually pretty proud of this story for once. I’m so excited to get to the good bits, we just have to get through the setup! So, let me know what you think so far! I’d love to hear some feedback. Anyone else out there a hoe for Dean Winchester? Cause I am! Who boy, and just wait until Cas shows up!

Until next time, thanks for reading!

#supernatural #dean winchester x reader #Castiel x reader #soulmate au #supernatural x reader #injury tw #c.a.s.#chaptered #longfic #x reader #x reader requests

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alex-baebae · 6 years ago

Text

Immaculate

Chapter 10

Pairing: TOP X READER

She ignored me, she appeared to be shocked and too much focused on TOP "Daniel, Daniel, where have you been?" she said worried. Maybe she was just pretending in order to made TOP felt sorry for her, so he would go with her.

She tried to reach his arm "Hey! what's wrong with you?!" I pushed her hand away from TOP "why are you messing with my boyfriend?" then, she looked at me "he is mine, I bought him. He's my property" she was furious, her mood changed in no time "no, no, no" I said really angry "he is my boyfriend, you are wrong"

She tried to move me away "get off my way, bitch" she said pushing my right shoulder, so I pushed her back "you are messing with the wrong person, calm down" I said more angry if that could be possible "he is not yours, he is my boyfriend, you're confused" she again appeared shocked "no, he is my robot, I'm sure" she said before looking at TOP bewildered. He had gained weight also he was wearing sunglasses and a facemask plus a hat, she wouldn't be able to recognize him... even if she could, I had have a very good excuse in mind.

"Well, let's call the police and resolve this quickly" I looked around rapidly there was a policeman who was looking to us maybe, he thought we were going to punch each other in any moment.

"Police, police" I called him "please, help us" I made eye contact with her, she was still confused, and as soon as the policeman was in front of us she looked afraid.

"What's the problem, miss?" He asked me "she says my boyfriend is her robot, of course she's wrong" I explained "oh, well we can resolve this problem quickly. Do you have the product number, miss?" He asked to her, "N-no" she hesitated "but I remember it" she said.

The policeman took a white sheet of paper and a pen from his pocket "well, could you tell me the number miss?" He write it on the paper and showed it to both of us "if I haven't written it the same as the miss said, please tell me... So, is it correct? " He asked us, we saw the number then we nodded "please, Mister show me your right wrist" he demanded.

I looked at TOP's covered face, he was in the verge of crying... somehow I knew it, as if I could be able to see through his sunglasses. I tightened my grip as a way to tell him 'everything is going to be okay, don't be worried'

He looked at me and then he uncovered his right wrist "nothing" said the policeman, the girl was speechless she didn't seemed to know what was going on "s-sorry I just" she tried to figure out what to do, "miss, let me remind you that the genetic of the robots comes from many humans. So there are many robots which are similar or sometimes identical to real people... if you have lost your robot please go to the police station, you cannot be just attacking people that appears to be your robot" the policeman said, she was zoned out for a minute.

She looked at him "but-" she tried to complain "also, if this lady wanted to sue you, she can do it right now. You cannot just go through a street claiming that someone is your robot, it is considered defamation" he interrupted. "As you can see miss, he has nothing in his right wrist where the product-number is supposed to be printed on" he added "Y-yeah I just... Sorry, I'm so desperate to find him... Sorry" she was looked at the floor and then at the sky "well, my work here is done" said the police man "and... by the way, miss if you want to sue her, you and your boyfriend can go to the closer station I can escort yo-" the policeman was interrupted "no, please" she said worried "Sorry, don't do it please. As you can see...I love him so much that I was... I didn't know what I was doing and, please forgive me... I won't do it again" she was afraid about going to the police station, I didn't know well why but I took advantage of it "if you get any closer again to me or my boyfriend I'll sue you, get it?" I said looking to her eyes with fury "yes, yes just... sorry" her mood changed one more time, she seemed like...inoffensive "sorry" she said and started to walk away "well then... ma'am, mister... have a nice day" the policeman said smiling "thank you very much" I said before he left.

TOP was still frozen, a tear fell from his eyes "my angel, are you okay?" I asked softly "Ye-yes" he looked at the floor and started to sob "hey, sweetie... sweetie" I took his face into my hands "it's okay, it's okay. I'm here" he sobbed harder "I thought that... I will have to go with her" he closed his eyes "No, sweetie. I won't let that happen, I'll protect you until the end of the time" I tried to comfort him "see, sweetie. Let's go to other place, it's not safe here. And please try to not cry here, I know I told you to cry as long as you want but... we have to conceal our situation" he understood our condition quicker than I thought and then he nodded.

I took his hand, we went in the opposite direction to hers. I found a big store where many people were in, so we got into "we are safe here, I'll order the car to pick us up" I took my cellphone and called the car.

"_____" TOP said my name softly "yes, sweetie?" I responded "I have a problem" he said concerned, I looked at him "what?" he looked down to his pants "I... I peed my pants" he said almost crying.

I felt so f*cking bad, he was so much scared that he even peed. I was so mad at that 'girl' in that moment I wanted to went out of that store, find her and... well, I had to do my best to hide my fury, for him. I felt so impotence I almost wanted to cry. +

I couldn't imagine how much someone must fear a person for react that way, how much scared he was... That though made me felt the worst emotions I had ever experienced in all my life.

"Don't worry, it's okay" I took off my sweater and attached it to TOP's waist "this will cover it and, nobody will notice" I smiled "it's normal, sweetie" I took his hand, he nodded saying no word "the car will be here in no time and when we arrive home, you will take a shower and everything is gonna be alright" he said nothing, I felt dizzy... I was so shocked...

Whe the car arrived, TOP sat on the driver's seat in order to dissimulate, the car of course was driving by itself. TOP didn't said anything all the way home, he was just holding my hand. I also didn't talk because I didn't know what to say, maybe be quiet was better.

We arrived home, I locked the door, TOP failed on the ground and started to cry so much hard, I had never seen him like that. This time was different... this time he seemed so lonely, sad, it was like every single bad feeling he had was flooding him, as if trying to escape through his tears.

I looked at him a few seconds before ran into him. I hugged him tight "I love you, my angel" I said, not for told him about my love but to comfort him "you're going to be okay, I promise" I also cried a little without letting him know... seeing him like this was so terrible.

...

"I have to clean me up" he said then he broke apart from the hug "yes, I'll warm up the water" I offered "no, I can do it myself" he said emotionless, he entered in the bathroom and closed the door softly.

I sat on the couch... I was trying to collect my thoughts and figure out what I was going to do, I was also shocked.

First the expressions of that girl... Why she was so afraid about going to the police station? If she owned TOP legally, why would she be afraid?... She could have stolen TOP.

She of course was mentally unstable, so I couldn't be able to guess her next movement, I had to be careful. I also thought about... How could I had control myself? I really wanted to kill her in the moment she tried to touch him, but the image of TOP's face came to my mind... I realized that he was the reason.

...

Too much time had already passed and TOP hadn't finished yet. I was getting worried, so I walked towards the door, I heard him sobbing.

I opened the door and saw him in the tub, he had been scrubbing his body too much that the skin that wasn't covered by bruises was quite red, it seemed like was about to bleed, however he didn't stop.

I took his hand in mine "stop it, you'll harm yourself" I said before hug him "I'm still dirty, it is not easy to remove " he tried to scrub his skin again tears were rolling down his face "you're not dirty, so please stop" I tried to reach his hand again "why don't you understand I'm dirty?!" He cried out, I was surprised by his reaction.

Good night guys, I hope you have a really nice weekend ❤️

My best wishes for y'all 🎁🐶🎉

Alex

#t.o.p #t.o.p x reader #t.o.p angst #bigbangxreader #bigbang x reader #bigbang angst #bigbang stories #bigbang #kpop x reader #kpop stories #kpop angst #kpop

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generallynerdy · 7 years ago

Text

Mermaid (Spencer Reid X Reader)

Summary: Going to the beach as a team is the best idea Rossi has ever had and you are loving it, especially the part where you and Spencer get to take long walks together. On the first of many of those walks, you try and convince your dork of a boyfriend to do something spontaneous.

Requested by @messyrat : Hey! I see you have written one Spencer Reid x Reader shot. Could you write another one? Something fluffy where the Team is on a beach and the reader tries to convice Spencer do something spontanious? Like jump into water just for fun or something? Anything super extra fluffy anyways. Just make it your own text!😊

Key: (Y/N) - your name

Warnings: Fluff

Note: I know this was requested like a week ago and i have so many other requests that are older, but i have so much Spencer to get through, i figured i should do this while i’ve got him on my mind, so...here’s hoping nobody requests spencer for like a month lmao (jk, request whoever you want, but be warned it may be awhile before i get to another spencer request. I still have like 3 in my inbox.) god i need a nap

Going to the beach as a team is the best idea Rossi has ever had. He’s spared no expense; booking the best hotels and restaurants for all of you and with good reason. It’s been years since any of you have had a real vacation, so it’s about damn time.

You’re only a day in and you already feel like you could stay here for the rest of your life without issue.

It might be cheesy, but the best part of this vacation is that you get to spend it with your friends- your family- and Spencer. They mean the world to you, so it’s great to get away for a while and just relax, just be together and have fun with it. So far, it’s gone perfectly and you couldn’t ask for much more.

At the moment, you’re waiting for the others to get out of the hotel, because they’re taking way too long to get ready. Since you arrived last night, you couldn’t wait to get to the beach this morning, though everybody else has plans to go out for breakfast. So, you dragged your poor boyfriend along for a quick walk on the shore before you have to go.

Standing at the edge of the water with bare feet, you can’t help but hold out your arms and feel the ocean breeze, unbelievably relaxed. “God, that’s amazing,” You breathe out.

“Actually, it’s kind of cold,” Spencer corrects you from a few feet behind.

You turn to him with a sigh, “Spoilsport.”

Spencer smiles a little, “You look really pretty from here, you know.”

You flush and drop your arms, looking down a little. You quickly snap back up, though, with a great retort, “I bet I look better from up close. Get over here.”

Your boyfriend quickly complies, wrapping his arms around you in a warm hug and kissing you on the nose. You smile and kiss him on the lips instead, not appreciating that he missed the first time.

After a moment, though, you walk over to the water again, up to your calves in it this time. You walk in a little farther, loving how cold it is against the tropical heat.

“Uh, what are you doing, (Y/N)?” Your concerned boyfriend questions, still standing on the beach in his sandals.

“Getting in the water,” You answer sarcastically, “What does it look like, Reid?”

“You don’t have your swimsuit on.”

“Uh-huh.”

You can practically hear him tilting his head in concern and confusion. “You’re going to be cold.”

“No, the water feels great!” You protest though you can’t deny that you’re a little cold. You turn back to Spencer with a grin, “C’mon, Spence! Join me!”

“You’re shivering,” He answers with a sly smile. “I think I’ll pass.”

You pout slightly and start back toward him, only to grab his wrist and try pulling him toward you. “Babe, c’mon. Do something spontaneous! You’ll love it, I promise.”

“We have to go to breakfast-” Spencer starts to protest, but you’re not having it.

“Well, if you won’t come willingly…” You smirk mischievously and use both hands to grip Spencer’s arm, pulling him into the water with you.

He falls forward and exclaims something in shock, but you don’t quite catch it. Soon enough, both of you are completely soaked. You surface and cough a little, brushing back your hair and laughing. You look around for your boyfriend, but he’s nowhere in sight, which is weird, considering you just dragged him into the water.

“Spence? Spence?” You call before huffing and crossing your arms. “Not funny, babe-”

You’re immediately cut off by Spencer reemerging just beside you, making you scream as he grabs you in a hug, soaking you once more.

Once the shock wears off, you laugh and smack his arm, “You are such an ass!”

“You started it,” He shrugs a little, leaning down to kiss you warmly as an apology.

Smiling into the kiss, you mumble, “Apology accepted.”

From far off, you hear a deep voice calling your names. “Yo, lovebirds!” Unsurprisingly, Derek is the one calling you, followed by your entire team, who quickly approach.

As you and Spencer make your way out of the water, Rossi snorts, “Already swimming and you’re not even dressed for the occasion.”

“What can I say?” You joke, “I’m basically a mermaid.”

Spencer, feeling particularly happy, despite being soaked in salt water, leans over and kisses your cheek, holding you close. “My mermaid.”

You flush and kiss him back, wowed by the fact that you have such an amazing boyfriend who tolerates your spontaneous bullshit.

Rossi is having none of it, though. “Keep that cute crap up and I will personally shove you both back in that water.”

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

-Ryunosuke Satoro

Masterlist

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shadowsof-thenight · 6 years ago

Text

Had a voice: Chapter twelve

Story summary: For two years you had let him dictate your every move. Dictate your time, your friends, your work. Everything, literally. And for the life of you, you could not understand why you’d done so.

Now, here you were. In a beautiful but still strange city that had never become your own. And you were all alone. It was time to take back your life.

Ship: BuckyXreader

Words: 1994

Warnings: none for this chapter.

A/N: Finally another chapter that flowed a little more easily. Most of it was written earlier this week. Luckily, because I’m down with the flu right now and I would not have been able to spend much more time on it than I did now. Sorry for any mistakes that I missed. Let me know what you think.

***

Masterlist Story Masterlist ***

Two weeks went by. Weeks filled with sending out resumes and walking into businesses, hoping for another chance encounter. After all, landing the theatre job had been mere luck. Who knew what luck would befall you if you kept trying. It certainly would not happen if you gave up, so no matter how hard it got, you kept going.

Every few days, Bucky would pick you up, taking you to the compound. There you would put on your best happy go lucky face. You would smile, laugh, play games and help out wherever you could.

You had even begun working out with Natasha, getting a routine couldn't hurt anyone. She was going easy on you, building muscles and endurance, telling you that she would fight you in two months time. Not something you were looking forward too. As much as you loved her, valued her friendship, she as a fighter -an avenger- scared the crap out of you.

Wanda had been busy with her own recovery, getting better by the minute, it seemed. She needed less and less rest, almost getting back to normal. Which also meant her powers were slowly coming back to her in a more manageable way. She no longer needed too much focus to keep anyone out of her head. And her instincts got stronger as well, which she was most grateful for. After all it had been something she had relied on for a long time, before the incident.

Today however, as you wandered the compound, you felt a little lost. Natasha and Steve had left on a mission, Wanda was in physio therapy with Clint. And you were still avoiding Bucky as much as you could. Your feelings had not evaporated and being around him was getting uncomfortable. Conversations were strained and you were awkward. It would only be a matter of time before he would figure out why. You could not have that. Surely he would freak out on you if he did.

But as you wandered, you mind had wandered as well and you weren't paying much attention to where you were going. It caused you to bump into the one person you knew was at the compound at this moment. Bucky himself.

He chuckled as he grabbed your arms to steady you. You had quickly proved to be the clumsy girl you had told them you were from the start. Then they had all thought you were exaggerating, but now all of them knew it to be true.

“You know, free tip, when walking it's always best to actually keep an eye out on your surroundings” he laughed and you could not help but join him.

“So what were you doing” you asked him, calling him out. He laughed even louder now.

“I was standing still,” he said pointedly and you blushed. Naturally this had been all on you.

“Sorry” you muttered shamefully. Even when you weren't paying attention to him, you were making a fool of yourself.

“Don't be. I was actually hoping to see you” Bucky admitted with a smile. He draped an arm over your shoulders, walking with you.

“Why?” you asked confused.

“Want to get lunch?” he asked, ignoring your confusion.

Everything inside you screamed to say yes. You wanted to have lunch with him. It had been something you did often when Wanda was injured. Something both of you seemed to enjoy, the conversation and the food. You wanted too, but you couldn't.

“Not really hungry” you said shrugging, cursing the day you were born, because as you said this your empty stomach growled loudly. Much to your relief, Bucky pretended he had not heard a thing. Seconds later his phone rang and he excused himself before picking up. He put up his hand, asking you, silently, to wait for him. To which you nodded, showing him that you would. And so you stood, shifting from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

“Please, indulge me, my treat” he said as he came back to you. His pleading smile, combined with those blue orbs made it hard to say no again. Not to mention your empty stomach giving protest.

“Please” he said again and held out his arm for you to link yours through. With a sigh you did and as he guided you through the building, towards the garage, you rolled your shoulders. Hoping to find some relaxation. You forced on a smile and he opened the door to his car, letting you step in, before running to the drivers side.

“There is this place on the edge of town that I just found, it's supposed to be really good” he said and started the car. You just nodded and lay your head back against the headrest. You had not eaten anything for hours and your body needed sustenance. You just wished you didn’t need to rely on others to get it to you.

As you got back to the compound two hours later, Wanda found you and whisked you away from Bucky with a grin on her face. She pulled you to her room and closed the door behind you, to make sure nobody would overhear.

“That was a long lunch” she said with a smirk on her face.

“He insisted on trying out several things. It was a new place” you explained simply. Not much had happened. You ate and talked about the weather, steering clear of anything heavier. It had been nice, and a little weird. Bucky usually discussed everything from music to politics to his favourite book. But now the conversation had remained on the weather, food and some movie he had recently seen. It wasn't one you knew, which dulled the conversation a little.

You had shrugged it off, as you had enjoyed the company, loved the food and did not make a fool of yourself once. An accomplishment all on it's own. Wanda just smiled and nodded as she listened to your narration of the afternoon. She didn't interrupt, even though you could tell she bursting at the seams to ask you questions. And when you were finished, she asked one.

“Did you have butterflies?” she wanted to know, grinning.

“The entire time” you sighed and fell back on her bed with a groan. Wanda jumped down next to you with a hearty laugh.

“Are you going to tell him yet?” she then asked.

“no. no. not yet, maybe not ever” you exclaimed horrified. How could a man like that ever respond in a way that would not break your heart?

“Why?” Wanda asked surprised. Her expression changed and you knew she was trying to get a sense of your feelings.

“He could have anyone. What would he want with a unemployed, clumsy no good girl like me”

“First of all, you're a woman. A beautiful and kind woman. He would be lucky to have you!” she said sharply, looking at you with sincerity in her eyes, “and second of all, unemployed?”

Your eyes grew wide as yo realised your mishap. For the past few weeks you had done really well with keeping it from Wanda. With her recovery she had not be able to read anyone as well as she used to do. It was exhausting for her and therefore she had been training on tuning it out. Which worked for the most part, as long as someone wasn't overwhelmed with feelings or thoughts. You had not wanted to worry your friend and figured that she would only hear of it once you found yourself a new job. No such luck now.

“Since when? Why?” Wanda exclaimed as she sat up and her face got serious. With a sigh you sat up as well and sat cross-legged across from her. You were silent for a moment, figuring out how to tell her. It was important not to make her feel responsible for it and you were certain she would. So you fibbed a little, adding a few sick days to your absence that had nothing to do with her.

“Are you okay?” she asked when you had thoroughly explained the situation. You snorted, before quickly covering your mouth. Were you okay? You weren't sure you had been for a while now. And work wise, you certainly weren't. However, you did not want that to weigh on her, so you just nodded and smiled.

***

When you left Wanda's room 15 minutes later, your heart was feeling heavy. She had promised to help you figure everything out after her nap. And you had nodded and said that you would be just fine. Even though you were having trouble believing that yourself.

Again you wandered absent-mindedly through the compound, deciding to find Bucky and ask him if he would take you home. Wanda would understand. And staying was just too depression right now.

Before you could set out finding Bucky, however, you were summoned by Tony. Al right, not summoned, you ran into Pepper and she informed you that he had been looking for you. Wondering why on earth he wanted to see you, you set off and made your way to his favourite lab, knowing he spend most of his time there.

Walking in you were greeted by a smiling Tony. He stepped out from behind his desk and greeted you happily, asking you how you were doing. He didn't wait for you to answer as he linked your arms and guided you through the lab, towards the office next to it.

“As you can see, this one is empty.” he said, his open hand waving through the room, showing the truth to his words. You nodded, your eyebrows furrowed. “My last assistant got herself another job upstairs and now I'm short a helping hand” he explained and you could not help but wonder why he was telling you this.

“I heard you used to be an assistant before the theatre and was wondering if you could possibly help me out here” he said and shock ran through you. Why was he offering you a job? He never saw your resume, he had no idea what you were capable off.

“Why?” the word was out if your mouth before you knew and shocked you brought your hand up to cover it, as if that would take it back. Tony just chuckled.

“Because, I know you need a job and I need an assistant. Win-win right?!” Tony's honesty was refreshing. He was kind, but didn't beat around the bush. That happened to be just what you needed. Looking down at your hands, you shifted a little nervously. How did he know? Could Wanda have been that quick?

“Who told you?” the question came out timid and weak.

“Bucky,” Tony said, a kind smile still on his face, “He worries about you”

“He really shouldn’t. Surely I'll land on my feet” your tried to defend yourself.

“Of course you will. And with this job, just a little faster” he said and you chuckled. Taking a moment to think it over, you looked around the room. You never had a such a beautiful office, not even close.

“I...would love it” you finally said and Tony hugged you, happily.

“Great, Pepper will help you settle in, explain everything. It'll be great” he said and walked with you out of the office, through the hallway and into the office of pepper. There, Pepper had already been waiting with a contract, ready to sign.

A part of you was angry that Bucky had told Tony. And a part of you was happy that he did. It meant that he cared, it meant that he wanted you to be well. It also meant that you were not as good at hiding your problems, as you thought.

Chapter 13

Tags: @gracelynn318

#Had a voice #MCUfanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #fanfiction #james buchanon barnes #marvel

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