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tb-gerschutz · 1 year ago

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Chapter Eight

Word Count: 6,222

Trigger Warning(s): language, graphic depictions of violence, subtle grief & agoraphobia

Summary: As Rocky and Whiskey confront Balor in a final fight, they find out a twist they didn't see coming.

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To reconvene and develop the next part of our plan, Whiskey and I ventured back to the Romanov Agency, carefully plotting out the next phase of this mission in our heads. So carefully, in fact, that we dared not share the personal ideas that we kept to ourselves. I had my ideas, and he had his. There was no way in hell that we were sharing any possible ways to take down Balor without conclusively agreeing on one together.

All plans have the chance to go to shit real quick, I thought to myself.

My daddy would always say that whenever you come with a plan for something, always have a backup plan. That way, if your first plan backfires horribly, then you have at least the backup plan to go off of. Of course, I kept that advice of Dad's glued into my brain because someday, it might be useful.

Hell, some of it is still useful to this day.

I decided to change uniforms just so Whiskey and I could continue to blend in with society here in Russia. That way, it would be harder for Balor to track us, and the element of surprise would still be used to our advantage.

"So what's the plan, Whiskey?" I asked, putting on a short black coat.

"I'm—I'm not sure, sugar," he answered.

I headed out of the bathroom and into the main part of the suite, where I found Whiskey once again staring blankly. He was acting weird, looking almost distraught. It was as if something was eating away at him. Something was definitely bothering him.

"You okay, cowboy?" I asked, being genuinely concerned for Whiskey as he's done for me.

He rubbed his forehead with his fingers and sighed. "Yeah. Somethin's just been botherin' me lately."

I finished slipping on my tight gray snow pants and white snow boots and took a seat next to him on the blue couch in our room. "What's going on? It's okay. You can tell me."

It felt a bit weird saying that, but of course, it was a good thing. I was finally drifting away from my abrasive personality, though I didn't intend on revamping it entirely. I became almost used to this no-nonsense, stubborn personality, and I don't ever intend on letting it go. I will keep embracing my genuine, heartfelt side when it's necessary to.

"Remember at the masquerade ball when we escaped into that small storage closet?"

"Yeah. What about it?" I asked.

"What I did there, it just—it just ate at me. I don't know what came over me, and I just needed to get that off my chest so that it didn't bother me anymore, sugar. I'm sorry for what happened back there, and I don't know what came over me."

I took my hand and started to run it up and down Whiskey's arm slowly, making sure he was comforted. "Why are you apologizing?"

He glanced over at me. "Because it threw you off-guard, and you probably felt uncomfortable with it," he answered.

"Why are you apologizing for something that I was okay with you doing?" I questioned.

"Because you didn't specifically ask for it, and I just feel like—"

"Ah, ah, ah, ah. Back up the train there, cowboy," I interrupted, putting my finger over his lips to shut him up. "You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. And if you ever apologize for somethin' like that again, I swear to fucking Christ that I'll smack the shit out of you. So hard that whatever got into ya will fly right out. You hear me?"

I guess Whiskey was afraid of me in that hot minute because his eyes widened after hearing me say such a thing. Apparently, it's one of the darkest threats that I said toward Whiskey. Of course, I didn't mean to hurt him, but he was definitely shaken by the fact that I have a dark side. A morbidly, gory dark side.

"Yes, ma'am," he finally responded, saluting quickly and wearily.

As Whiskey and I ventured out to where Balor and his men were hiding, I carefully put on black fingerless gloves and matched his steps. I had to be right next to Whiskey as we formulated our plan of attack on Balor. It had to be perfect. There was no room to fail at this point.

"What do we do now, Whiskey?" I asked, matching his stride.

"I suppose you have a good idea, don't ya?" he asked.

"I'm glad you asked, babe!" I exclaimed excitedly. "So what I was thinking is that while you're following Balor and his men to the hideout location, I could use myself as bait for Balor. I'll make myself vulnerable enough to get captured by him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't see how this is going to help us any," he commented.

"No, trust me. This will get good. After he kind of tortures me a little, I'll say a phrase that contains a specific curse word. I think I'll go with motherfucker. Yeah. That's what I'll do. I'll say something that contains the word motherfucker. Once I say that, that's your cue to come out of hiding and into the hideout. That's when the real fun begins," I said, smiling mischievously.

He chuckled. "You sure do like to drive me crazy, don't ya?"

"Well, of course I do. What fun is there when I'm not doing that?" I said.

After a few minutes of walking, Whiskey and I could finally see Balor's hideout from across the street. It looked empty and desolate, something we almost expected. Maybe it was another one of Balor's traps for us. Maybe it was supposed to be that way. I don't know.

"Sugar, get down," Whiskey commanded as he dragged me by the wrist and into a dark alley.

"What the hell, Whiskey?" I rightfully asked.

As we crouched down and blended in with the alley's shadows, one thing—-one horrible memory emerged. The night of Devin's murder. The night that I found his bloodied, lifeless corpse inside of a dumpster that reeked of a rotting odor. When I closed my eyes, everything started to come back to me. The flashing red-and-blue lights, the reeking smell, the guilt that beared down on my shoulders...everything from that tragic night came flooding back to me. Hell, I can even remember my parents' reactions when the police came over to the house to tell them that Devin was dead.

Remembering how they reacted broke my heart all over again.

Luckily, Whiskey witnessed my heart breaking and healed it good as new, gently grabbing my hand and tightening his grasp.

"You okay? You never space out like this," he asked in a concerned manner of voice.

I shake my head. "Yeah, totally. It's just—being in this dark alleyway is bringing me back to the night of Devin's murder," I said.

I sniffled and started wiping away some tears that had escaped out of the corners of my eyes. "Sorry," I said.

"Sugar, like I said before, don't be sorry for grieving. Trust me. I know what grieving is. It's not pretty. But sometimes, it's necessary to remember that person," he responded. "Just know that I'm always gonna be here to comfort ya. I ain't leavin' ya."

While I laid my mourning eyes on him, Whiskey laid his caring, sympathetic eyes onto me. It warmed the coldness that was left in my heart. I have guilt to thank for freezing it over and making me feel cold and withdrawn. It didn't debilitate me too much, so everything returned to normal as quickly as the flashbacks came.

"You think it's actually Balor?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. Henchmen in tuxes, black sports cars...that has Balor written all over it," I answered, keeping my eyes glued on the commotion across the street. "Just give it a hot minute, and Balor will slide out of that black Lambo and stroll tight into that diner hideout he's got."

And sure enough, Balor soon slipped out of the black Lambo with ease, buttoning up his sharp black tux. Once again, I saw his true colors shine, and this was just by judging his debonair suit and his dark, cruel gaze. I didn't see Balor. No...I saw something else. Something a lot more frightening. There was no man there anymore. Instead, in his place, it was the Devil himself. The dark, sadistic reincarnation of Satan himself that everyone dreads.

They even tremble fearfully in his presence, even.

Even from far away, I knew of his wicked stare. The stare that bends power toward his way in one second. I saw these black eyes before, and already, I knew that there was nothing there. Absolutely nothing behind them. The internal, nefarious flame that fuels his destructive soul had burned anything that he might've hidden deep down inside. Now, he was just a heinous monster that soon became a bane to humanity. A bane to society, even. And I dread ever being in his presence because of his torturous, malicious nature.

"Should I go for it?" I pondered.

"Yeah. But you have to do something so out there that Balor has no choice but to capture you," Whiskey answered.

"What the hell do I do, then?"

"This is where you've gotta get creative as an agent, sugar," he replied. "Sometimes, you have to abandon your original set plan and improvise. I'm sure that Secret Service training taught you that."

I turned my head relatively quickly toward Whiskey. "The only thing they pretty much drilled into our heads was to protect the president at all costs. Lay your body on the line, sacrifice everything you have...just make sure the president doesn't get severely wounded, or worse. Killed. The rest, I learned and remembered on the fly."

"And in all that time, they taught you nothin' about being creative?" he asked.

"Nope."

I rose to my feet and first turned to Whiskey, hesitating before I went off to get purposely captured. What if this went horribly wrong? What if I get killed right away? I don't think that'll happen, but the thought of that still looms within my head.

"It's okay, sugar. I'm right here waitin'. Just give me the signal, and I'll be in there faster than a bullet cuttin' through the air at the speed of light," he said, reassuring me and calming my nerves.

I nodded and breathed deeply. I was finally ready to enact this plan of ours, even though there was definitely great risk in me dying. I was ready for it. Whatever it took to save the world from this cruel bastard of a monster, then I was willing to do it.

After boldly marching across the street to the hideout, I held my head high as two of Balor's men stood guard at the front entrance. They stood firmly in their place, occasionally turning their heads to look out for any possible intruders. Once they noticed me, they readjusted the cuffs on their tuxes and laid their cold, soulless eyes onto me. Like Balor, there was nothing behind their eyes, except for a burning flame from hell. It wasn't as raging as Balor's internal flame, but it was still enough to be noticeable, if one was to stare deep into their souls, of course.

"You don't look like you're from around here," one of them said.

"I'm not," I simply responded. "I'm just here to speak with the Big Man inside."

"We'll have to see some ID," the other henchman said.

Of course, I didn't immediately consider flashing my Statesman ID because I knew the two henchmen might tackle me down to the ground. Then, my thoughts changed.

What the hell? I'm getting captured anyway, I thought. Maybe I could somehow convince them that I "surrender willingly". God, I'm so deceitful.

I confidently flashed my Statesman ID and showed the two henchmen that I was part of an organization that considered the enemy. I didn't care. My first goal was to get these fellas convinced that I was surrendering to Balor peacefully, even when they didn't know that Whiskey and I had a plan up our sleeves. After they carefully examined my ID, they exchanged a glance of confirmation and turned back to me.

"You're from the Statesman, huh?" one of them said.

I nodded confidently. "And I'm here to formally surrender to the big boss man himself."

They smiled crookedly to one another, deciding what to do with me next. "I'll go let the boss know of your surrender," one of them said, going inside to inform Balor of my presence.

After a bit of standing and waiting, the same henchman that went inside came back out, and he had a devious look on his face.

"Go on in," he said. "He's been expecting you for a while now."

The henchmen stepped out of the way, making a clear path for me to Balor. A familiar fear rose in my throat, and my heart pounded louder than ever. I knew that I was going to come face-to-face with the most dangerous monster in the world, and there was a big possibility that I'd either die or get severely tortured. Either way, I had to do this.

I stepped through the door and into the diner, where I saw Balor sitting eerily confident in a black chair that he seemingly retrieved himself. His cold, dark eyes laid on me and established their presence of cruel malice clearly. Immediately, I felt like I was already in the deepest, burning hell, all thanks to this monster ahead of me. And even though he may be the vilest bane of society there ever was and ever will be, I was not afraid of him. Sure, a small part of me was reasonably frightened, but I didn't let that show. I had to be strong. Not only for myself and for my future but for Whiskey's as well.

"I've been expecting you, Agent Blackjack," he sneered with pure malevolence.

"So I've been told," I responded simply.

"I'd never thought I'd see the day when an agent would formally surrender to me," he commented. "You put up a valiant effort, trying to stop me, but it was all for nothing. I didn't know how long it'd be before you realized that."

I chuckled, letting my white teeth show clearly. "Oh, then you're in for a real treat."

He gave me a confused look. A much different glance than what I was used to. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Look, jackass, I'm not at liberty to say. It's part of the legal obligations of being a secret agent."

"And you're going to be hurting until you tell me," Balor sneered, slowly getting closer to me.

"Tough shit, asshole," I responded. "I guess you'll have to pound me to a pulp, then."

I guess Balor didn't like my cockiness, or rather...he was confused by it. He wasn't expecting me to be this cocky and confident in this type of situation. He abandoned his original plan of beating me to a pulp, only because he used it as a threat. He thought that by threatening me, I'd be coerced into doing anything for him.

Well, guess what? That ain't gonna work on me.

"Have a seat then," Balor commanded in his anger.

"Gladly," I responded, sitting down at the empty black chair that Balor had previously sat on.

He marched quickly to the front entrance and spoke a brief command to his henchmen, who almost immediately came back inside and made their way toward the back entrance.

Bad move, I thought as Balor turned his attention back to me. He didn't even barricade the front entrance. Boy, is Whiskey gonna have a heyday!

Balor stood face-to-face with me, imposing his threatening presence onto me. I wasn't intimidated by it, nor was I threatened. Me surrendering and getting captured was all part of the plan. The genius plan that will eventually lead up to the final confrontation. I had to act like I was formally surrendering in order to distract Balor from what was coming up.

"You seem awfully cocky for a secret agent," Balor finally said, pacing around the chair. "They're typically secretive, shut-in...You're not like that."

"Are you trying to seduce me? Because it ain't gonna work on me. I'm a lot stronger than you think."

"Of course not, Agent. That's not how I'm going to extract information from you," he sneered, tying my hands behind my back with a strong rope.

I cocked my head up to him, staring through his dark, serious eyes. "Information? I ain't telling you a thing."

But Balor wasn't phased by my mouth. "You seem so sure of that."

He chuckled in a low, dark tone. Almost like an evil laugh. "I admire your confidence, Agent, but it isn't going to save you. Just like my tragic upbringing didn't save the world from being doomed to rot in hell forever."

"You're saying the world's going to rot in hell forever? I think you got that wrong," I said. "I know almost everything about you, Balor, and I can tell ya that you are definitely known for lyin' and gaslighting, among other things."

He laughed as if I had been joking. I hadn't. I was as serious as I could be.

"You? How could you know almost everything about me?"

"Remember, I'm an agent," I said, "and part of my work includes running background checks on assholes like you. So yeah. Naturally, I found pretty much your entire backstory on databases or through eyewitnesses."

"Who were the eyewitnesses?" Balor pestered.

"I can't say. I'm an agent. If I leak top-secret information to people that aren't the people I work with, I lose my job," I answered, "and there's no way in hell I'm gonna allow you to be the reason I lose this job."

Once again, Balor laughed, but it was in a sense of malice on top of bewilderment. Balor, like always, thought I was joking with him, even though I wasn't. Still, I kept my Stoic, emotionless face through Balor's fit of laughter. I couldn't break. Not when this plan was going so smoothly already.

Out of nowhere, he raised his hand and slapped me across the face. A sudden sting overwhelmed my left cheek, but it didn't bother me. Like I said from earlier to Whiskey, I'd been through much worse pain. I could handle a slap to the face.

"Ouch," I yelped. "Motherfucker, you better be able to back up that slap before I kick your ass."

"You're cute, Agent. Thinking you're going to take me down," Balor sneered, "but guess what? That isn't going to happen. You're all tied up, and there's nothing that is going to come and save you from what I'm about to do next."

I knew what Balor's intentions were when he raised his clenched fist up in the air. He was going to punch the answers I had out of me, but that wasn't going to work. Instead, a familiar lasso appeared and wrapped around Balor's arm, stopping him from carrying his plans through. When I looked to see where this lasso came from, I smiled when I saw Whiskey standing at the front entrance, holding his lasso in one hand and a small pistol in the other. He gave a crooked smile as he and I locked eyes again.

I was saved.

"Not so fast there, jackass. That's not how you treat ladies, now is it?" Whiskey teased as he used his force on his lasso to whip Balor around to face him.

I could clearly see Balor's expression change drastically, going from a serious, monstrous look to a look of shock. It was like he thought his plan was foolproof when, in actuality, it wasn't. It wasn't at all. Sending his men to the back entrance was a bad idea because that leaves one entrance open. Either he could've hired more men to guard both entrances or send one to the front and one to the back.

God, such a rookie mistake. I'm a rookie and see these horrible mistakes, even.

"You—you're—you're with her?"

"You bet your ass I am," Whiskey answered cooly, giving me a wink and, once again, the crooked grin. "Now, get out of my way before you hurt my girl more."

He used his force on his lasso to whip Balor out of the way, causing Balor to hit the counter hard and be temporarily dazed. Whiskey took this time to bring back his lasso and rush to my side, making sure I wasn't hurt.

"You okay, sugar? Did he hurt you at all?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Only slapped me, but hey. I've been worse," I answered confidently. "Now, can you please untie my hands so I could help you beat this guy's ass?"

"Absolutely," he simply answered.

He quickly untied my hands and hoisted me up to my feet. After examining my wrists and getting the painful sting in them to go away, I cracked my knuckles and prepared for a fight. A fight for the ages.

Sure enough, Whiskey and I had to prepare rather quickly. Balor rolled up his sleeves and lunged at me, beginning the final confrontation that I was anticipating all along.

So began the flurry of punches, whipping, and God knows what else goes on during a fight. I mainly stuck to grappling, wrestling, and any physical move that required only your body to be at risk, while Whiskey used his whip and high-tech lasso in hopes to cut off something of Balor. Mr. I'm-the-biggest-dickhead-in-the-world-but-won't-admit-it—the monster we've been trying to fight all along—tried his best to avoid everything Whiskey and I threw at him, but there were some points where he'd get knocked flat on his ass. He kept getting back to his feet and wanting more.

Like Balor, Whiskey and I were knocked off our feet a fair amount of times, but we kept getting back up as if nothing happened. If I happened to be on the ground and Balor was standing over top of me, either I'd try to kick him at the knees in hopes he'd be knocked down for longer or Whiskey would spring up and torture Balor some more.

Safe to say that Whiskey did NOT like seeing his girl getting hurt.

Things would only get a hell of a lot more complicated when Balor escaped out of the front entrance of the diner, getting into one of the black Lambos and zooming off to—what I assumed to be—his base.

"Shit!" I shouted.

"Fuck me," Whiskey said in an exasperated tone.

Not even hesitating, I dashed outside and commandeered the other black Lambo that Balor left behind. I hopped in the driver's side, while Whiskey hopped in the passenger seat, and right after he slammed the door shut, I slammed on the gas pedal and zoomed off after Balor, who had—to our luck—been stopped by a stoplight that was about five blocks away.

As Balor did everything he could to avoid us, I didn't give up and sped after him in a car that I did not know how to drive. I'd say I was doing fairly well considering I kept my ten-feet trail behind Balor's vehicle. Weaving through the normal vehicular traffic on major highways and putting the thought of the police pulling me over for speeding and breaking every road law known to man, I kept my eyes laser-focused on the road. Whiskey, however, was on the edge of his seat, choosing not to hold onto the "panic bar" on the passenger side.

"Come on, sugar. Ride his ass off the road," he shouted.

"I'm trying, Whiskey, but I'm operating a car I don't know how to drive!" I answered. "You're lucky we're this close to him, or else, we'd be toast."

"So why don't you try to run him off the road?"

"Because if we run him off the road, he can get out and escape, which makes it harder for us to corner him. If we nab him at his base, then we could possibly corner him and kill him in an easier way," I explained.

As we neared Balor's secret base, I told Whiskey to get one of my black glocks out of my right pant leg. I was driving, so I really couldn't get it out and loaded while driving. I'd easily lose sight of Balor, therefore fucking us up for good.

"Whiskey, get my glock and load it up," I said, keeping focused on the speeding Balor up ahead.

He looked all around the Lambo and couldn't find it. "Where is it?"

"In a holster on my right pant leg," I said. "I'd do it myself, but we're so close to him, I can almost smell the cologne on his neck."

Without asking any more questions, Whiskey unclipped the holster on my right leg and took out my glock, but he stopped once he realized that he couldn't find any ammunition.

"Where's the bullets?"

"Check the pouch on my left side here," I said.

Whiskey reached across the console and grabbed the ammunition I kept. He loaded up my glock rather quickly, snapping the cartridge in with enough authority and ease to impress me. Even though I was slightly turned on by Whiskey snapping the cartridge in with authority, I had to ignore it for now because we had just arrived at Balor's base.

Just as Balor was getting out of his Lambo, Whiskey and I followed suit, as we were about five feet behind him. Balor started dashing away, but I managed to raise my glock quickly and pull the trigger. The bullet hit Balor's leg, incapacitating him and making him fall to the ground. He got up rather quickly and continued to hobble toward his secret base. Whiskey and I continued to chase him, keeping our hands close to our weapons just in case Balor nipped back.

Luckily, he didn't. That is, until we got into the secret base. Balor tried taking several swings at me, but I managed to avoid them all and lay some good hits on him. Hits that were extremely detrimental to Balor. Everything turned, however, when Balor managed to kick me in my right shin, knocking me down for a good amount of time. This opened the door for Whiskey to unleash his anger on Balor, using it to lay severe hits and whips to every part of Balor's bruised body, especially his face. Oh God, Balor's face. It was so bloody and battered that I barely knew that it was Balor underneath all those scars.

"Lay one more hand on her, and I swear to Christ that you'll be diggin' your own grave before you say your next word," Whiskey said as he gripped Balor's arm and twisted it to an unusual angle.

While Whiskey continued to lay the brutal beatdown on Balor, I glanced over to the giant chemical weapon that stood a couple feet away from where I laid. Next to it, I saw a couple of freed samples of "antidotes" that weren't snapped into the weapon.

Perfect, I thought. Maybe I could use one of these antidotes against Balor.

I quickly stumbled up to my feet, hobbling over to retrieve one of these antidotes. Why was I hobbling? Well, mainly because in the midst of the fight, I banged my bad ankle. You know, the broken one that's in the splint.

"Whiskey!" I shouted.

As he struggled against Balor, Whiskey glanced over at me and kept Balor's wrists twisted enough to make his hands completely useless.

"Catch!" I shouted, tossing one of the antidotes to Whiskey, who caught it with ease.

Whiskey catched the antidote with ease, as I was left leaning against the silver railing on the landing that laid close to the weapon. He snapped off the top of the capsule and immediately rammed the capsule into Balor's mouth, poisoning him with the gas. Even though Balor tried to fight back, it was no use. The chlorine gas slowly burnt his insides to a crisp, killing Balor slowly and painfully.

"That's what you get for messin' with my girl, asshole," Whiskey finally said, standing over Balor's dead, burnt corpse.

"I hate to ruin your little moment, Whiskey, but we have a chemical weapon here that's on a self-destruct timer, and it's set to go off in three minutes and forty-seven seconds!" I shouted in a panicked tone.

Whiskey hurried over to the weapon and immediately laid flat on the ground, trying to figure out how to dismantle it through a control panel near the weapon's base. He fondled the convoluted insides for a few minutes before stopping. He didn't know how to properly dismantle this weapon, nor did he know the mechanical makeup of said weapon.

"What's goin' on there, Whiskey?" I questioned, doing a quick scan around us with my loaded glock to make sure nobody else came to ambush us.

"There are a bunch of wires here, sugar. I don't know which ones to cut," he responded.

There was a brief silence, as I got on the ground with Whiskey to inspect the wires. There were five colored ones, all of which had different colors. The exact same colors Balor let slip on the night of the masquerade ball. I guess that was only one thing Balor did right—tell the truth.

"Whiskey! I know these colors," I exclaimed. "These are the color wires that Balor let slip the night of the masquerade ball. You know, when I seduced him and had him spill all of his secrets."

Whiskey quickly glanced over at me. "You know what color wires to cut in a specific order?"

"Hell yeah I do," I answered. "Balor rambled it off, and I somehow remembered it."

"Well, give it to me. We got damn near two minutes and fifty seconds left before the world turns to a crisp!"

I inhaled sharply before rambling off Balor's explanation he gave to me:

"First one to cut is green. Green symbolizes safety and positivity. Balor doesn't want to establish that sort of feeling for the people below when he hopes to unleash the weapon. That won't happen, now will it?"

Whiskey cut the green wire with a random scrap piece of metal, and I continued on:

"Next wire is blue. Blue symbolizes relaxation, calmness, stability...Balor doesn't condone it and definitely won't condone it when he unleashes chaos with this weapon. Next is red. Red symbolizes luck and prosperity, and Balor only wanted that for himself when he achieved his goal of world domination."

Whiskey cut the blue and red wires and awaited for the next wire to be cut, as the timer ticked down. My heart raced faster than a Formula One racer, but I had to ignore that feeling and continue the explanation:

"Next wire is gray. Gray symbolizes pessimism and control. It's an easy explanation, but Balor wants to have tyrannical control and live in a pessimistic light. He's the perfect villain in that way."

Whiskey cut the gray wire and briefly looked at the clock. "Hurry, sugar! We have a minute left!"

I explained the final wire that needed to be cut:

"The final one is black. Black represents darkness and evil. It resonated with Balor for ages. Despite what others think, Balor thinks he's a hero in his villainous acts. But we both know that he's a monster who deserved to die a painful death."

Whiskey cut the black wire in hopes the timer would stop. It didn't. Twenty-five...twenty-four...One by one, seconds went by, and I panicked. How could the countdown still be going? Wasn't it supposed to stop?

Twenty-three...twenty-two...

"Why is it still going?" Whiskey asked, also panicking.

"Fuck if I know!" I shouted back. "Here, let me get in there! Maybe the mainframe needs to be ripped out!

Through this panicking, Whiskey and I lost precious seconds in the countdown.

Ten...nine...

I found the mainframe and wiggled it loose from the framing.

Eight...seven...six...five...

I used all my might to yank the mainframe out of the machine. It broke free, and the countdown stopped. The machine gradually shut down as Whiskey and I slowly rose to our feet. After staring at the dead machine for a good ten seconds, we exchanged a glance and snapped back into reality. We excitedly embraced each other and cheered, knowing that we saved the world.

"We did it! We did it!" I exclaimed.

"I know we did, sugar. I'm so proud of ya," he responded.

"We saved the world! I can't believe it!"

Then, a familiar voice emerged through our earpieces.

"Well, not exactly, agents," she hesitated.

I was confused. "What are you talking about, Ginger? We destroyed the weapon. We killed Balor. What more can you possibly want?"

Ginger hesitated for a few minutes before speaking again. "Are you familiar with the phrase 'You may have won the battle, but you haven't won the war'?"

"What the hell are you saying?"

Ginger's next words frightened me. "The man you killed, agents, wasn't the real Balor."

"Real Balor?" Whiskey asked.

"The man you killed was a clone created by the actual Balor to distract other agencies while the real Balor continues doing God knows what behind-the-scenes. After you two destroyed the weapon, the real Balor abandoned his hopes of destroying the world and now is coming after you two," Ginger explained. "He's still out there somewhere, trying to hunt you two down, but from what I can gather, he's searching the entire northern part of Russia. You have time but not enough, so I suggest you two start going on the run once you come back to the states."

Even though those words sent a chill down my spine and made me more scared than ever, I knew that it all made sense. The clone, in an earlier time, mentioned 'the other one'. Connecting that to the news I heard, Whiskey and I realized that it made sense. But it still didn't stop us from being shocked by what we just heard.

The real Balor was pulling the strings all along. He used his clone to distract us from the continuous, heinous acts going on in private eye.

"I can't believe this," I said.

"I know, sugar," Whiskey said back, running his hand up and down my back for comfort.

"Everything we did, everything we've sacrificed just—just went to waste."

"No, it hasn't, sugar. Not yet, at least," Whiskey responded. "This is just a minor setback. There's always a way to come back from it. Trust me when I say this, sugar, but what we've sacrificed so far will definitely be of some use to us in the future when we take down this guy once and for all...and I don't plan on stopping until this jackass gets taken down once and for all."

Another voice then came through our earpieces, and it was a voice that I hadn't heard in a long time.

"Despite this news, agents, the United States government is beyond proud of you. You made it so the world could survive another day," the president of the United States congratulated. "That's the best you can do in times like these."

There was some positive light shed on the situation, which was definitely needed. We were duped into thinking that we killed the actual Balor, and...we didn't. It was like I was lied to. I was betrayed. It was almost the same feeling I had the night my twin brother died, but it wasn't exactly alike.

"Oh, and Agent Blackjack, I have some good news in light of this situation," the president said. "There's an opening in the Secret Service. I can definitely pull a few strings and get you that job if you're still interested."

I gave a shocked and desolate look to Whiskey, who shared that equally heavy-hearted look with me. I expected to be working with Whiskey for the rest of my life, and now, this bombshell—this unexpected bombshell—had possibly wrecked the bond we had together. I didn't want to leave him. It would hurt too much to leave him. I didn't want to give him up just because of a dream that I had for a long time now. I can't do that to him. I love him too goddamn much to do that to Whiskey.

No, I thought to myself. I can't do this to him. I can't leave him.

"Let me think this over, and I'll let you know once we get back to the states," I finally said.

I turned back to Whiskey, who still had that same desolate look on his face. It was like his heart was ripped out of his chest and shattered. He was broken. The most broken I'd seen him in all the time we'd been in each other's company. I placed my hand on the side of his face, showing him that I was there to comfort him and reassure him that I had not made a decision quite yet.

"I hadn't made a decision yet, Whiskey. This is a big opportunity for me, and I have to weigh all of my options first."

He inhaled sharply, fighting back the tears that were welling deep within his eyes. He was definitely heartbroken over the possibility of me leaving for D.C to be in the Secret Service. He knew that I had this dream for a while, but I had to put it aside because of what happened to Devin. Now, I slowly moved away from that dream after working alongside Whiskey.

And now, I'm not sure if I ever want to leave.

#writers on tumblr #agent whiskey #creative writing #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #writerscommunity #fanfiction

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makeste · 3 years ago

Text

BnHA Chapter 325: Deku VS the Outside of U.A. ~Conclusion~

Previously on BnHA: Ochako was all “dear bloodthirsty mob, this kid you see standing before you has fought harder than anyone and put his life on the line to protect you all, so please chill the fuck out, jesus christ. like, putting aside that he’s humanity’s best hope and so it’s very much in your best interests to let him rest and recover someplace safe so that he can keep fighting for us, are y’all seriously going to turn away an injured and exhausted child in front of his sobbing mother?? seriously?? come on now.” I’m paraphrasing here but that’s basically how it went down. Anyway so then the mob was all, “...” and Deku collapsed to his knees in tears, and Gigantic Fox Lady and Kouta ran over to give him a hug but then the chapter ended.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “FINE, YOU CAN HUG HIM”, which, was that so hard?? The U.A. Clown Mob is all “come to think of it, we’ve kind of been taking the heroes for granted this entire time, maybe we should be less passive in the future. anyway so Deku if it’s not too much to ask, can you please save everyone and fix everything.” Deku is all “I sure can, and by the way I forgive you for swarming around all menacingly two minutes ago and trying to deny me basic shelter and stuff.” Ectoplasm is all, “hey Todogang get a load of this. [walks in a circle].” Hawks is all, “that’s literally the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.” Rat Principal is all, “anyway so that’s what your students did today, hope you’re enjoying your new *~*ROBOT LEG*~*, Aizawa.” Aizawa is all “[lots of exposition about Kurogiri and for some reason, Toga, while being all brooding and sexy].” All Might is all “[standing here right outside of U.A. doing absolutely nothing and being foreboding AF]” and that immediately sucked away all of the warm fuzzy feelings from the hugs, goddammit.

each new week has become a waiting game of “when will Deku finally get to take a bath so people will actually be willing to go near him and give him the hugs he deserves.” the stakes have never been so compelling. I’ve almost forgotten about AFO entirely

lmaoooooo

me: for the love of god will someone please give Deku a hug before I die of old age

Mineta: YOU GOT IT!! --

Iida: [SWIFTLY CUTS HIM OFF] NOT YOU

fucking losing it at Mineta’s crying face. he really wanted to hug him. I legit feel bad but this is also the funniest thing I have seen all week, omg

somehow Kouta, who last week was only a hand’s breadth away from touching Deku’s head, is now twenty miles away from him in this new chapter

can I make a Loki reference here. is this recap a good place to insert a joke about someone using a TVA time-rewinding device to fuck with my poor boy Kouta over here. well anyway there it is

AND NOW HE’S BACK ALL OF A SUDDEN OMG

(ETA: since when is he “niichan” omg?? can’t handle this cuteness.)

BUT THEY’RE STILL NOT HUGGING HIM FFFFKFFFFF. WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO. WHO DO I HAVE TO BRIBE AND/OR BLACKMAIL

OH NO KOUTA IS CRYING THAT’S IT I’M DONE FOR

“when I heard that lady I knew that I had to go, but then stop again within inches of actually touching you because you smell like week-old rotten onions.” listen Kouta, I’m not saying I don’t get it, but you all can’t keep doing this to me. it’s the way you guys keep teasing it. like, if you’re gonna hug him, hug him. don’t just stand there with your arms held rigidly out in front of you like a molded action figure

OH MY GOSH BUT HE SAID THE THING

KOUTA SWOOPING IN AT THE LAST MINUTE TO TAKE ALL THE CREDIT FOR FIXING DEKU LIKE THAT ONE KID IN THE GROUP PROJECT WHO DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT STILL TAGS HIS NAME ONTO THE REPORT ANYWAY, WHAT A KNAVE

GASP

( ´͈ ᗨ `͈ )

SHE PICKED HIM UP LIKE A LITTLE BABY OMG?? she just leaned right over and lifted this child like he was a small animal. like a lil baby futon that she was about to hang up to dry. oh my god

-- HEY WHAT

(: well that’s extremely fucked up. though sadly not too surprising given what we just saw these past couple chapters

incidentally, I hope that anyone who was legitimately defending the civilians’ perspective earlier takes note here of how quickly that line of thinking -- “we’re just trying to keep our families safe” and all that-- can lead to straight up bigotry. if you’re willing to deny a child shelter and protection simply because he’s not YOUR child, and because you’ve decided based on Internet rumors (no real-world parallels there, I’m sure) that he might present a threat, it’s really not that much further of a leap to discriminating against entire groups of people simply because you perceive those groups as being dangerous. I’m sure the people who turned Gigantic Fox Lady away also told themselves afterwards that they did it to protect their families. “better safe than sorry.” “she’ll be fine, someone will take her in, but as for us, we can’t afford to take that risk.” people can come up with all kinds of justifications for treating other people as less than human, and the really scary thing about it is how fucking easy it is

one last quick side note, which is that Horikoshi does a great job here of showing how scapegoating works, given that AFO is the one who’s really to blame and who presents the actual threat, and yet Deku is the one who ultimately winds up being the target of the mob’s fear and outrage despite him being as much of a victim as they are. gotta love that irony, which unfortunately plays out far too often in the real world as well.

anyway I’ll get off my soapbox now, sorry about that. let us continue

YES, FINALLY OH MY GOD!!!!

AND THAT’S THE STORY OF HOW GIGANTIC FOX LADY BECAME THE GREATEST HERO. PACK IT ALL UP, WE’RE DONE HERE KIDS

holy shit. the real MVP right there. thanks for getting it done champ

jesus christ I have had it up to here with these people

literally the bar is set so low at this point that I’ll go ahead and take it. helping him because it offers them a tactical advantage is at least one step up from not helping him at all

“WHY NOT SHIKETSU” MOTHERFUCKER I SWEAR TO GOD

-- thank you!!

okay this one guy with the antennae hair is having himself a character development speedrun here

-- okay, but this part?? fucking this part, right here??

can we repeat that again?? the part where this guy acknowledges that the problems of hero society were caused not just by said heroes, but also by said society?? the part where he acknowledges that they treated the heroes like celebrities who were putting on a show for them?? the part where he acknowledges that when push came to shove, the vast majority of those heroes, when faced with a situation that offered no reward, were nonetheless willing to put their lives on the line to protect the very same people who then turned around and blamed them rather than thanking them?? are the civilians of BnHA even allowed to have actual deep thoughts about this stuff. holy shit

bro!!

ANTENNAE HAIR GUY SHOVING KOUTA AND GIGANTIC FOX LADY OUT OF THE WAY TO SLAP HIS NAME ONTO THE END CREDITS AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. CONGRATULATIONS SON YOU FIGURED OUT THE CORE PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION AT THE VERY HEART OF THE MANGA. WAY TO GO BUD

meanwhile, on today’s episode of “one more chapter to go till the big volume cliffhanger, how else can I drag things out let’s see”

it’s a panel. of people’s feet. just a bunch of normal feet. with sneakers and shit

this All Might shirt guy is getting more screentime in this arc than 90% of the class 1-A kids

I guess I’m supposed to feel sorry for this dude now that he’s all “if we let you stay here do you promise to somehow magically fix every single problem that we are now currently facing?” those are some ridiculously exacting standards my dude. come on now

KACCHAN SIGHTING

thank fuck I’m not the only one who’s thoroughly unimpressed by absolutely all of this lol. I feel better now. meanwhile Iida and Kouda and Kiri are ready to run over there and hug them all. you guys are way too forgiving. damn you and your pure hearts

anyway so Deku’s like “yeah, definitely”

(ETA: almost forgot to comment on the “I’m no longer alone” part – he basically corrects the guy and says “sorry, but you’ll need to direct that question towards all of us, not just me, because moving forward we’re a team.” good stuff.)

you know what though, all joking aside... fuck yeah. because perfect victory, right. the strongest guys don’t settle for anything less. so I guess Deku has pretty exacting standards himself

also can you all just take a look at this fucking kid who’s got so much light in his eyes now that I’m gonna need eclipse goggles. hot damn. “you’re welcome” says All Might Shirt Guy as he is frantically interviewed by several local news networks asking him how he daringly managed to save Deku all by himself. “well I guess I’ve just never been the kind of guy who can sit back and let a bunch of rabble-rousers blame a little kid for all of humanity’s problems. someone had to step in and take action, you know?”

oH MY GOD THE SCENE IS FINALLY ENDING

don’t let the door hit you on your way out All Might Shirt Guy

but meanwhile, sudden Tododrama action??

oh shit

there are honestly so many ways in which Ochako’s very moving speech could have wildly backfired that I genuinely have no clue where this is headed lol. how exciting!!

so now Horikoshi is once again stalling for time with random filler panels, but this one is 10x better than the shoes lol omg

(1) was Ectoplasm’s jacket always this oversized. (2) did you guys know that if you go back to chapter 319 you can see that Horikoshi gave us a sneak peak at Enji’s Sad Detective disguise and I in fact made a joke about it in the 319 recap not realizing it was actually the stone cold truth. (3) did Shouto deliberately speed up out of impatience because Hawks was walking so fucking slow and he couldn’t take it any longer. (4) and what, I ask you, is up with these dramatic speedlines. so many mysteries here. what a masterpiece

everyone is acting all shocked about something ahh what’s going on

wait what

what the heck. did they just loop around behind everyone. what was the point of that lol. “anyway, so this is what they look like from the back” well okay, thanks for that Ectoplasm

(ETA: so it seems like they were actually hanging out someplace else away from the crowd this whole time, I guess? here I thought they had more faith in Enji’s disguise. I guess Shouto and Hawks don’t particularly want to attract this crowd’s attention themselves right now either, though.)

I am so fucking confused lmao

speaking of All Might WHERE THE FUCK IS HE lol. but yes, good, OFA brings everyone together, and Hawks is very deeply moved about this out of the blue all of a sudden. you know how it is

aw heck yeah now this is another filler panel I can get behind

Mineta really wants that hug, good lord. I genuinely love this actually. Mineta if you could just stay little and cute and keep crying about how much you love your classmates in a non-gross way for the rest of the series I would be so appreciative. you’re doing great

IIDA IS HOLDING DEKU’S HAND THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ONE TIME WASN’T ENOUGH FOR MY MAN HE’S ADDICTED NOW

what did I tell you. Kiri wants to get all of the mob’s autographs now. Kiri you’re a peach

Shouji having a conversation with another mutant type is a very nice touch! we really need to get to his backstory soon. I feel like that casual remark from GFL earlier was kind of hinting at more to come

is this the first time we’ve ever seen the Yaoyorictionary in action?? never forget that Viz tried to call it the “Yaoyorozu Reference Book” because they hate fun

last but not least, KAMIBAKU IS BACK ON THE MENU, FUCK YEAH. Kaminari trying to spice things up and introduce a little bit of controversy by smacking Kacchan on the back of the head for god knows what. I will be deeply disappointed after this if I can’t find at least one person unironically declaring that KamiBaku is now toxic and abusive

lfkdlWLWK TODODRAMA??

oh my god. Shouto’s face. Enji’s face. the back to “oyaji” again. the blunt, not-taking-no-for-an-answer, “I don’t know how much louder the universe can scream at you that doing things alone is not it, so hopefully you got the point” directness of it. fffdlkslj I’m so ready for this Horikoshi please don’t fuck it up my expectations are so high

HOLY FUCK

I SCROLLED DOWN AND HE WAS ALL “( ❛‿❛)” AND I JUST WASN’T FUCKING EXPECTING THAT OKAY. JESUS CHRIST. GIVE ME A SEC

lol okay moment over and now Enji’s pulling his hat down all dramatically like a world-weary Cowboy

OH MY GOD WERE YOU FACETIMING??

AHHHHHHHHH

(ETA: not to put Iida down or anything, but it’s kind of strange that Aizawa is all “the class rep sure did great” when Ochako is the one that was giving that whole big speech for like twenty minutes just now lol.)

(ETA 2: “thank god Iida stepped in just in the nick of time to keep Mineta from hugging Deku.” sorry Mineta I really do like you lately but it’s still low-hanging fruit lol.)

HE LOOKS SO SAD??! HE LOOKS LIKE HEARTBREAK ITSELF??! I AM BESOUGHT WITH THE URGE TO REACH INTO MY SCREEN AND PULL HIM INTO THE SAFETY OF MY ARMS??? MY GOD, AND I THOUGHT DEKU NEEDED HUGS

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH okay I was gonna just hold down the letter H for a full minute and count it out loud but within about ten seconds I realized I needed to chill lol

-- but then again NO, I DON’T NEED TO CHILL, I HAVE ZERO CHILL, ACTUALLY, BECAUSE IT’S AIZAWA WITH A ROBOT LEG AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

COMPLETE WITH ROBOT TOES FOR THAT EXTRA TOUCH OF AUTHENTICITY!! I LIKE HOW HORIKOSHI PUT ALL THIS EXTRA “!!!” EMPHASIS AROUND IT IN CASE WE COULD SOMEHOW POSSIBLY FAIL TO TAKE NOTICE. “REMEMBER, EVERYONE?” SAYS HORIKOSHI HELPFULLY. “REMEMBER THAT TIME AIZAWA CHOPPED OFF HIS OWN LEG?” oh wow now that you mention it we somehow forgot all about that. like who do you take us for

OH NO NOT THE SAD BOYFRIEND ANGST THAT I WAS SECRETLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WITH GLEE

well at least he’s not M.I.A. or back with the villains again like I thought he might be. still, that’s gotta be brutal to know your friend is in there somewhere, but to not be able to reach him again no matter how hard you try. that’s the kind of angst that pays off in final battles just when you most expect it. such is my hope, at any rate

what’s this now??

trying to decide if this is Horikoshi’s way of saying don’t worry about that, or his way of saying definitely worry about that lol

anyway so Aizawa is out here being all irresponsibly handsome once again. when is someone going to do something about him

here for Sexy Robot Leg Eyepatch Aizawa clenching his fists and making speeches about revenge. pretty sure we’re all here for that

WELL, WELL, WELL

IT’S ABOUT FUCKING TIME

I’M VERY GLAD YOU’RE ALIVE AND SEEMINGLY WELL, THOUGH!

BUT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK THOUGH, ALL MIGHT

ffff. bracing myself for that cliffhanger next week. you’d better not touch one hair on this man’s head Horikoshi. I’m watching you

#bnha 325 #midoriya izuku #u.a. clown mob #class 1-a #aizawa shouta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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madaboutmunson · 2 years ago

Text

Ouija Geebies

Summary: How Eddie discovers Heavy Metal. A 13-year-old Eddie Munson at the beginning of his stay with his Uncle Wayne. Struggling to fit in with the new locals, he takes solace in one of the things he smuggled from home, his parent's Ouija board.

Warnings: references but not the detail of abuse, swearing, ouija board, spirits, bullying references, being the new kid, separation from a loved one.

Author notes: This is a complete work of fiction. There are no facts here ☺️ Just in case anyone was wondering, I love music, and I don't believe any of it is satanic. I just thought it would be a fun idea to write about if maybe it was, but then as I was writing, the story took a completely different turn. Something I started before Halloween but didn't finish in time.

Word Count: 10.5K

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The rhythm of the rain against the trailer window made a familiar beat that Eddie's freshly shaven head nodded along to as he worked the needle in and out of the material in front of him.

The Jedi robe of Obi-Wan Kenobi from last year was being repurposed into a cloak for Radagast the Brown. It just needed a bit of roughing up and a few random patches of other textures here and there, some feathers and vines. He had picked out the lining of the original to wrap around the cardboard wizard's hat he had made.

Eddie loved Halloween, and after everything else that had been taken away from him this year, he wasn't about to let his favourite time of year join that list.

He takes a moment and looks around his mostly bare room, save a few things he refused to part with. His acoustic guitar last used to play "Do you believe in magic" to his Mama down the phone earlier today as they sang together. A few LP Records he would listen to with his Mama that his Dad wasn't precious over. His small bundle of favourite books, which had allowed him to escape the obstacle course that was living in a new town these last few months. His almost destroyed comfort blanket he'd had since he was a baby. A few of his personalised button-down shirts, though he was rapidly growing out of them physically. Lastly was smuggled under some bedding to get it here, his parent's Ouija Board game.

Eddie loved that thing. Every year on Halloween night, he'd scare his friends with it. Either pushing the planchette himself or using fishing wire to make things around the room fall down, whilst all that was illuminated by candles in the room was the board itself.

But this year, he had neither the friends, the fishing wire, or enthusiasm. He missed home. He missed his Mama, no matter what anyone said about her. He missed his friends and how everything there worked as expected, and people were not as stuck up. It didn't matter if you didn't like sports, read books and had longer curly hair there.

Eddie knots his thread and bites it off. Then, standing up, he slips on the cloak in an effortless, spinning, fluid motion and twirls around in it before putting on his hat and looking in the mirror. He smiles happily at himself in the mirror for a few seconds until the backfiring of a car makes him hit the deck in a trembling, curled-up ball.

Shaking, he crawls up to the bottom edge of his bedroom window and looks into the twilight with wide fear-filled eyes as the culprit car chugs past and backfires again. "Jesus Christ", he gasps in a whisper clutching his chest over his rapidly thundering heart.

He scrambles to his feet, takes off his costume and hangs it up in his minimalist wardrobe. As he does so, he looks up at the box hidden under the blanket. There was no one to play it with this year, Wayne sure wouldn't go for it, and so far this year, Eddie had successfully made a grand total of zero friends.

Everyone was just so tough in this town. Tough personalities, tough to get along with, tough to read, tough luck, Eddie thought.

'Ah, screw it', he thinks and grabs the box and pulls it down to the floor next to his bed, ready to push underneath should he be disturbed.

He turns out the main light and uses his bedside table lamp so only the board is illuminated. The rest of the room slowly slipping into dim light and finally into inky black in its deepest recesses.

Feeling slightly uneasy in the silence, he turns the radio on low for company.

Eddie sits on the rug, the board in front of him. He reverently places his fingers on the planchette. He moves it around in circles, increasing and decreasing in size and velocity. He begins with his usual performance piece, but this time in a whisper, "I welcome all that mean well and none that wish me harm".

He sits in the low light accompanied by a late-night radio DJ, his fingers lightly touching the planchette while waiting on the board. The plastic felt warm now after warming it up by rushing it around the board.

Eddie feels disappointed in the lack of movement. He'd obviously only ever used it to scare his friends before. He had no idea if something like this would ever actually work. Then he remembers he hasn't even asked a question yet. He speaks quietly into the corner of his room. "Is there anyone here that wants to speak?"

Eddie waits a few minutes for a response, but the mysterious message indicator does not budge. Finally, he sighs deeply and thinks, "Shit, I can't even make a friend when they have nothing better to do, floating around in the afterlife."

He feels his finger slip on the planchette, or at least that's what he thinks at first until it keeps moving. Not a sudden jolt like he used to do to scare his friends, an almost weak pull, moving his hands with it.

S-A-D.

It spells out gracelessly.

Eddie's eyes were wide again, he'd scream if he had any voice to do so, but it had left him alone with the board and his thoughts.

'You're sad?' He thinks.

His hands are pulled to point at 'NO' and then Y-O-U.

At first, he feels fear. He wants to throw the whole set-up back in the box, hide under his comforter with his blanket, and wait it out until the sun comes up.

The more curious part of Eddie focuses on something else. Someone was talking to him. Responding. Even though it only seemed to want to let Eddie know he was sad. Like he wasn't already acutely aware of it.

Eddie feels shame creep over him. That sadness constantly lurked over him like a rain cloud, but just a constant drizzle of rain, not enough power for a full-blown storm to get it to leave him be. For it to rain itself out, for it to be over. Just the constant steady reminders of everything he'd lost.

He tries to pull the indicator towards Good Bye on the board, but this time it pulls back hard.

'E-D-D-I-E'

The sight of his own name being spelt out with power and, this time, speed was enough for him to dump everything back in the box, wrap it back tightly in the blanket, chuck it in the wardrobe, and slam it shut in here.

"Everything ok in there, Eddie?" The deep voice of Wayne rings out in the darkness.

Eddie grabs his blankie and sits against the wall on the bed, with his knees curled up to his chest, terrified but managing to croak out, finally, "No. I had a nightmare. Can I sit with you or call Mama?"

"Tell you what, how about I read you one of your stories, huh?"

Wayne sits on the edge of Eddie's bed. He reads to him until he's so immersed in middle earth that he's quite forgotten his scare and slips into a restful slumber.

That night Eddie dreams of his usual hero's journey. Again, being forced away from his home by an evil tyrant. To live in exile. To battle the terrors of a new land. But this time, something changes. His weapons and armour are gone, and he has no staff to even cast a spell. In their place, all he has is his guitar.

The mighty tiger-headed ancient suea peek, its usual half tiger, half peacock form, was changed to a colossal half tiger half dragon.

He grips the neck and body of the acoustic against his slight frame like it could possibly do anything to save him from his fate.

Then he hears a sound. No. A voice. He can't make out what it's saying. It seems to be speaking in some ancient tongue until he hears something he recognises.

"Eidde! Nosnum Drawde!" It was speaking backwards.

He thinks fast, "em pleh". He shouts against the roars of the gigantic beast.

"YALP!!" The voice booms in a low multi-layered voice.

Eddie does precisely that. He strums his guitar, and a deep cackle sounds out in stereo around him. Then a swirling grey mist begins to spiral around him. Within it, he sees demonic faces, faces pleading for help, sobbing faces and screaming faces. Until, like a reverse bolt of lightning, it shoots into the sky. Then appears to crash back down into his mouth and into his guitar.

He feels the mist consume him from the inside out, and he lets out an ear-splitting yet tuneful scream like he's singing. It reminds him of something, a Led Zeppelin song. Then his arm strums at his guitar without his command, but the clean, beautiful strum is gone. In its place, a distorted gravelly howl of an electric guitar forced the air before him to ripple.

The chugging rhythm he plays quietens the beast, shrinking it until Eddie's left hand is dragged forcefully to the higher, smaller frets. His fingers dance rapidly over the strings, hammering on and off them, his picking hand a blur, causing the guitar to squeal out its solo beautifully. He bends the strings aggressively, and it feels good. He felt powerful. He looks back up at the beast, glaring at it now and takes a step forward, then another and another until he runs towards it.

The beast recoils in fear away from him. Eddie raises his hand, and with a final hard strum of the strings, a boom emits from him, stripping the beast of everything but its bones which clatter to the ground. The dust they stir up clouds and completely obstructs Eddie's vision until his eyes open to a new morning.

Slowly waking up, he looks back to his closet and wonders. The light streaming through the window removed at least one spooky element.

Eddie hates feeling scared, especially in his own home.

Decision made. He gets out of bed, takes a deep breath and opens the closet.

Lays out the board again in front of him as he sits on the floor.

"I welcome all that mean well and none that wish me harm", he whispers as he warms up the board by circling the planchette around it.

"You scared me last night," he says quietly.

S-O-R-R-Y spells out slowly.

"Did you speak through my dream?" Eddie quietly asks

I-H-E-L-P-U it says, moving faster.

"It was a metaphor, right?"

The planchette pulls to 'Yes.'

Eddie sits still for a minute, trying to think what to ask next, "Can you help me make friends here?"

Eddie's hands get flung around the board by the indicator "Yes" M-A-N-Y.

Eddie likes the sound of that, "What do I need to do?"

H-E-A-V-Y-M-E-T-A-L

Eddie contorts his face. "Like a steel girder?"

"No" M-U-S-I-C

Eddie tries to ask a question, but the board has other ideas.

B-L-A-C-K-S-A-B-B-A-T-H is spelt out as his arms are pulled around the board.

Eddie wracks his brain. That sounded familiar.

"Are they like a band?"

"Yes" L-I-S-T-E-N-P-L-A-Y

The planchette moves around the board at a feverish pace, and Eddie can barely keep up.

"Hey! Whoa! Whoa!" Eddie says a little loudly, as his fingers feel stuck to the indicator and yanks his tiny frame around, pulling him from letter to letter frantically.

Eddie screws up his face and feels the anger build up in him. He was sick of being pushed around but everyone, and now this.

He lets out a yell of pure anguish.

The plastic beneath his fingers slows.

"Yes" L-E-T I-T O-U-T

"You promise the music will help?" Eddie asks weakly and quietly. He's pretty confident he can hear Wayne listening at the door after he cried out.

"Yes" O-N M-Y S-O-U-L

Eddie hears a gentle tapping on his door and quickly bundles up the board and shoves it under his bed.

"Eddie? You ok in there? Want some pancakes? We can go to the diner?"

Wayne's voice though deep and gruff is gentle and almost sad.

"Yes, please" He grabs his wash bag and opens the door.

Wayne backs up a few steps so Eddie can get to the bathroom. Eddie gives him a silent nod, looks away quickly and hurries into the bathroom.

He looks at himself in the mirror. The dark circles under his eyes and the yellowing bruise near his temple shouldn't be something a thirteen-year-old should probably have. Still, nothing about anything recently had been normal.

When his Dad finally got put away, he thought his problems were over, it would just be him and his Mom, and that was perfect.

And it was... for a few months, Eddie's house had never felt so openly full of laughter. They didn't have to watch the clock or listen out for cars. But then the red-lettered bills started arriving, and his Mom got sad.

She tried to transport some product for one of his Dad's old friends. It would have made them a life-changing amount of money, but she'd been arrested before she'd even stepped onto that plane. Someone had squealed.

Eddie had been pulled out of class and sent to his grandparents. But, unfortunately, no one could afford the bail. Eddie was beside himself, and his grandparents were no better than his Dad. Every time he cried, he got in trouble, so he acted out in other ways. Ways that they didn't like either, but at least they just shouted at him and didn't call him names for it.

Moodiness, slamming doors, general disobedience, which grew into other things stealing cigarettes, stealing beers, slashing tires and stealing the tractor.

Then after learning his Mom would have to stay in prison, despite Eddie pleading that they could run away together. He shut himself in his room and cried like never before. His grandfather raged at him and threatened to smash his guitar, and that was all it had taken for Eddie to go out in the night and set their barn ablaze.

He knew Wayne but hadn't spent much time with him. Eddie was worried he would just be like the other Munsons, so he was wary, but Wayne did seem to care. He let Eddie call his Mom and wasn't overly strict. So Eddie was trying his best to behave here.

Eddie ran his hand over his shaven head. It had been such a mess when in a temper, he'd hacked at it himself in a rage. Luckily one of the people in the trailer park was a hairdresser, and Wayne asked for their help. But learning his beautiful dark waves and curls were no more had made his Mom cry on the phone. He hoped it was worth it.

He showered, brushed his teeth and put on a fresh pair of jeans and one of his checked button-down shirts. He lovingly strokes his fingers over the initial embroidered by his Mom on the pocket.

"You're gonna need your coat, Eddie. Probably a hat, too, on account of your new hair cut" Wayne offers a small half smile and hands Eddie a coat and hat.

He looks up at Wayne, takes the items carefully, and quickly puts them on.

The car ride to the diner is silent. Eddie stares out the passenger side window, and Wayne focuses on the road.

"Hey, how about we go to the toy shop before we get pancakes, huh?" Wayne asks gently.

"Ok", Eddie answers quietly. Even though he wasn't really interested in toys all that much.

"Or we could go someplace else if you wanna?" Wayne tries again.

Eddie looks over at him quickly and then back out the window before asking faintly, "Is there a music store?"

"There sure is. one of the biggest stores we got, funnily enough", Wayne says enthusiastically. "Want me to come with you, or you wanna have a look-see by yourself?"

Eddie doesn't know the correct answer to this question or the reaction either answer might cause, so he stares out the window hoping Wayne will decide for him.

"Either is fine, Eddie. I can come with you, get you a few records, or you know I can give you some pocket money, and you get 'em yourself. I can wait outside, in the car, or at the diner. Whatever you want, buddy," Wayne adds kindly.

Eddie thinks for a moment. He wasn't sure who was gonna be in the store, and he didn't really want any of the kids from his school to see him with Wayne, but he also was afraid he'd run into the kids from his school and get hurt again.

"Hmmm, what if I go into the music store, and you can go in the store next door?" Eddie asks, expecting the worst.

"Absolutely no problem. Well, it might have to be two stores down because...well...the store next door is for...um...ladies," Wayne says awkwardly.

Eddie smiles a little as he looks out the window as they pull into a parking spot.

Wayne hands Eddie a considerable amount of money. Eddie thinks more than Wayne probably has to spare, as his eyes widen, looking at the money in his hand.

"Now you don't gotta spend it all in there, but it's yours, ok? So if you wanna go someplace else, you let me know, yeah?" Wayne says with a gentle smile.

Eddie swallows nervously and nods, shoving the money in his pocket and getting out of the car.

Wayne points out the store to him and then points at the hardware store to let Eddie know where he'll be.

Eddie walks into the store and is hit by a wall of heat. He looks around at the different music genre placards around the store but can't see what he's looking for.

"Well, hello there, young man", a woman's voice chirps, "Can I help you today?". Eddie reads her badge. Claudia.

She seemed nice, with full rosy cheeks, smiling eyes and a gentle demeanour. She raises her eyebrows at Eddie in encouragement.

"D-do you h-have any...um...metal?" Eddie stutters out quietly.

"Metal?" She chuckles heartily, "No honey, this is a music store. The hardware store is down the street, but even there, you're gonna have to be a little bit more specific than metal."

"Oh...um...heavy metal...er...b-b-b-black Sabbath", Eddie manages to force out.

Claudia looks at him, confused and tilts her head.

Eddie doesn't know if it's his embarrassment or the heating in this place, but he's almost sweating, so he undoes his jacket and takes off his hat.

Claudia gasps as she looks at his hair.

"H-h-had a fight with some clippers. They w-w-won," Eddie tries to joke.

Claudia's expression though still concerned, a small smile returns to her face, "A little comedian, I see. Let me ask my friend over here about your, Black Sabbath, was it?"

Eddie nods, smiles at her and follows her to a guy hunched over a box with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair in a low ponytail.

He turns sleepily to Claudia, a thin-lipped but happy smile on his face, his eyes barely open. "What is up, Mrs H?"

"Well, Ricky. This young gentleman was looking for something I hadn't heard of...Heavy Metal? He mentioned Black Sabbath if that helps?" She asks hopefully.

The man slowly looks around Claudia, and one-half of his smile turns upward even more, "This little guy? He's into downer rock?" He looks Eddie up and down and nods at him with a look of approval, "Nice!"

"CLAUDIA!! PHONE FER YA" a voice booms out from the back of the store.

"Oh, that might be Dusty. I'm sorry, sweetie. I'll be right back." As she rushes to the back of the store.

"Not to worry, my young friend Rick is gonna get you where you wanna go" Rick stretches up his arms to the ceiling. Eddie wrinkles his nose. This guy smelt odd. Not bad. Just odd.

"Follow me, little dude" Rick waves him over to some records and starts flicking through them. He turns to Eddie, "That term you're usin' is pretty fresh, you know? You not from round here."

Eddie stares at him wide-eyed and shakes his head in a no.

"You know, if I was a betting man, and I have been known to bet, looking at your hairdo, I woulda guessed you a punk," Rick says in a relaxed tone.

Eddie panics. He can't believe rumours have flown around so quickly here. "A punk? No sir, I'm a good kid."

Rick lets out a big goofy laugh and wiggles Eddie by the shoulder, "No man, the music punk. You know it?"

Eddie shakes his head again.

"What's your name, little guy?"

"Eddie", it almost comes out in a whisper.

"Well, Eddie, are you in for a night of mind-blowing musical exploration courtesy of one Reefer Rick" Rick points his thumbs towards himself.

"First port of call, do you have a stereo with a headphone jack?"

Eddie nods

"Do you have any headphones? Because believe me when I say you are gonna need 'em, your Ma ain't gonna like this."

Eddie looks at the ground a little sadly.

"Oh hey now", Rick puts his hand on Eddie's shoulder, "You ok, little dude?"

"I don't live with m-m-my folks," he says sheepishly.

Rick sleepily smiles at him, "All I meant was a lot of folks would find this music a bit loud or scary. If it ain't pop or country and teens listen to it, it gets a bad rep. It's just music. They used to say The Beatles, The Stones and Elvis were all in league with the Devil at one time, and now you can listen to 'em over Sunday lunch, right?" Rick does a hip-swinging Elvis move.

Eddie giggles, feeling more at ease and excited to be talking about something he loves. His stutter calms. "Right. I've got headphones at home. Is this heavy metal easy to play?"

Rick raises his eyebrows at Eddie, "You're a musician?"

"I play the guitar a little" Eddie smiles up at him.

"Well, al-right! A fucking rockstar already, right? What you got? A strat-type guitar? You look like a strat kinda guy." Rick gives Eddie a vast toothy grin of excitement.

"It's an acoustic", Eddie says with a little too much excitement and then looks around nervously before retreating back behind his quiet mask.

Rick matches his initial energy. "Well, firstly, punk generally might be a little more simple to play than the heavy stuff, but are you gonna love the guitar solos from Sabbath and Priest!!! I'd definitely recommend getting a second-hand electric as soon as you can, my friend. Also, you don't need to be shy around me, little buddy. You're good here."

The bell of the store door rings, and a group of kids from Eddie's school pile in. Eddie quickly puts on his hat and moves out of their eye line.

"So I'll just take these, yeah?" Eddie tries to hurriedly grab the records Rick is holding.

Rick holds them up higher, "These kids givin' you shit?"

Eddie says nothing.

"Wait here, my friend," Rick says, handing him two records. One has a UK import sticker on it, a bright white face with a leather and studded hat, and sunglasses with blasts of red on them. Judas Priest. Killing Machine.

The other has a woman in black clothing near a pond and an old building, but the colours are strange, making the scene quite creepy. Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath.

Rick comes back around the corner, "Hey man., I've set Claudia on them. They'll be outta here in no time", he chuckles.

Eddie looks puzzled, "Is she mean? She was nice to me."

Rick shakes his head, "It's not that, buddy. She's super nice, but kids your age sometimes find her a little...um...much" The bell over the door rings again, and just like Rick said, they'd left. Leaving Claudia shrugging in the middle of the floor.

It's at that moment Eddie is glad he isn't friends with them. Especially if they were mean to someone as kind as Claudia. She'd been so nice to him.

Rick turns to another section and gets two more records. The Stooges Raw Power and Ramones Rocket to Russia and hands them over to Eddie.

"How are you boys getting on?" Claudia asks kindly.

Eddie beams up at her and displays the records. Claudia looks between the records and Rick, her eyes finally landing on Eddie, "Well, now, don't they look nice" she smiles.

Rick, Claudia and Eddie head over to the register.

"Mrs H, seeing as you helped me make a new bud today, how about you take these sales, huh? For you and Dusty" He smiles and hands her over the records.

She looks at them and back at Eddie, "You know, Ricky. I think these ones are priced wrong. I'm pretty sure we've got a one-day-only sale on heavy metal, don't we?"

Rick furrows his brow for a second and then smiles. He hands her the price tag gun. "Oh yeah, totally forgot to put up the sign. I swear I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on. I'm pretty sure it was something like 4 albums for $6.66" his goofy laugh fills the store, and Eddie laughs a little too.

"You know that sounds right" She puts the albums in a bag for Eddie, and he gives her $10.

Eddie looks between the first two kind people he's met in this town that weren't Wayne.

"Keep the change, please. For all your help," Eddie says nervously, looking between them both.

Claudia looks like she just might cry, and Rick gives Eddie a big dopey smile.

"You know what, little man. You're welcome back here anytime. We won't let anyone bother you here, kay? I think you're gonna love those records. If we get any heavy metal in, We'll put a copy in the new Eddie box," Rick adds.

Eddie smiles back, "Thank you," he says before zipping up his jacket, adjusting his hat, taking the bag of records and clinging closely to them, and going to find Wayne.

"Got everything you wanted, Eddie?" Wayne asks.

"Er...yeah...and..." Eddie reaches into his pocket for the extra $10 and gives it back to Wayne, who looks at him surprised and gives him an endearing smile back.

"That was for you, Eddie. Tell you what. I'll keep it safe for ya. Maybe for your next trip to that there record store." Wayne says, tucking the money in his inside jacket pocket as they walk towards the diner.

"I could go back?" Eddie says, then covers his mouth quickly, eyes widened in fear. He didn't mean to let that out. He feels his heart pound in his chest, worrying about Wayne's reaction.

Wayne gently reaches for Eddie's hand, which is covering his mouth, which Eddie initially flinches away from. Wayne looks at the ground, "Easy now, kid" Wayne asks with a soft gruffness and reaches for Eddie's hand again.

Eddie is watching Wayne's hand get closer to his. He can't peel his eyes away. Then, to his surprise, Wayne gently moves Eddie's fingers from his mouth and his hand away from his face.

"Look at me, Eddie." Eddie's wide doe eyes shoot up to Wayne's, possibly still in shock. "I'm not gonna hurt you, ok" Eddie looks around the street and can see people staring at them.

Wayne lets go of Eddie's hand and follows Eddie's eye line, "Tell you what, let's talk about this inside, but answerin' your question. Yes, you can go back." He gives a closed mouth little smile at Eddie and gets a half smile in return.

Wayne finds them a booth tucked away in the corner, and the waitress comes over.

"Afternoon Wayne, and who is this sweet little fella?" She asks. Eddie looks at her and reads her name badge, 'Patty'. She looks a similar age to his Mom.

"This here is my nephew, Eddie. He's gonna be staying with me," Wayne says proudly.

"Well, welcome to Hawkins, handsome. What can I get you?" She asks Eddie with her notepad and pen at the ready.

Eddie blushes furiously and looks down at the table, trying to hide the smile threatening to form on his face.

"Erm...p-p-p", Eddie tries. His smile fades as his nervous stutter gets out of his control.

Patty crouches down, tilts his chin towards her, and looks him in the eyes. "Hey there, sweetheart, take a big deep breath for me, yeah."

Eddie does as asked, and she opens a menu in front of him on the table, "Why don't you have a read of this, and when you're ready, you let me know what you'd like, ok honey?"

Eddie scans the menu, breathing deeply, calming himself and finds what he was trying to say, "Blueberry Pancakes...please...Patty," Eddie manages after a minute or so.

She positively beams back at him, "See, you handle those letters just fine, don't ya. Just need to take your time." Then, she turns to Wayne, "Usual for you?"

He nods, and Patty leaves them to it.

Wayne taps each corner of a little beer mat as it turns between his fingers. He finally blurts out, "I'm sorry you didn't come to me first. I didn't think I was ready to look after a kid. Still don't, but when I heard what happened...where you'd ended up...well..." he sighs deeply, "I lived in that house too, but you don't ever have to go back there, ok? Never"

Eddie nods, looking down at the menu, avoiding Wayne's eyes.

"I know it's not easy, but I hope you can trust me one day. I don't mean you any harm, Eddie. I just want to try my damnedest to make you a home where you're safe, that's all," Wayne says quietly.

Eddie hears his words and wonders. Could he be different? Could Wayne have grown up in that house and not been like his grandparents and Dad? Eddie was so distrustful of him. Any minute he could switch on him, just like they did. On the other hand, he did sound like he was trying his best.

"Thank you, Sir," Eddie says and makes a second of eye contact with Wayne as he does.

"Sir", Wayne pretends to shudder, "I never much liked that, too much like 'The Man', people who demand your respect before earning it, you know? So you can just call me Uncle Wayne or Wayne if you like?"

Eddie glances up again and gives him a small smile, "Ok, Wayne."

Eddie sees a smile appear on Wayne's face that reminds him of his Mom. The kind that made the corner of their eyes crease and their pupils sparkle. A real one, Eddie thought.

Eddie takes off his hat and jacket and places them neatly next to him.

"Now let's see what you've been treating yourself to, huh?" Wayne says, reaching for the record store bag on the table.

Eddie puts his hand on it quickly, nervous energy running through him. Rick said he wouldn't like it, and how could he explain where he heard about it? Eddie could end up locked away somewhere, and no one would believe him.

Wayne raises his hands in submission, "Sorry, didn't mean to pry, was just interested to see what you like."

Eddie tilts his head a little. Interested? Eddie thinks for a minute. Maybe he could show him one or two.

Eddie selects the album with the safest cover, Ramones - Rocket to Russia, pulls out the album and hands it over to Wayne, who accepts it gently and looks at the cover and turns the album in his hands.

He reads for a bit, and then Wayne's eyebrows raise. Eddie braces for the worst. It wasn't even the most offensive looking of the bunch.

"I wonder if these are covers, here look. There are songs with the same title as ones that came out before you were born" Wayne points to Do you wanna dance and Surfin' Bird.

"Does that mean Mama might know 'em too?" Eddie asks excitedly.

"If they're the ones I'm thinking, absolutely. Your Mama loved to dance. She'd know 'em" Wayne smiles warmly at Eddie.

"Will you listen to these songs with me? Make sure they're the ones?" Eddie asks, leaning over the table towards Wayne and looking up at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. We can do that. No problem." Wayne's smile is enormous, and Eddie feels something he hasn't felt for a long time, excitement. He's looking forward to something. Maybe this wasn't gonna be so bad.

Patty returns with a hot chocolate for Eddie, piled twice as high with whipped cream and marshmallows, and a coffee for Wayne, "Here you go, gentlemen."

The peak of whipped cream sways as it makes its way down to the table in front of Eddie. "On the house" she smiles at Eddie and then glances at his head.

He tries to make the same joke again. This time it's easier, "I had a fight with some clippers...They won"

Patty lets out a laugh, wholly packaged in joy, wrapped in a ribbon of surprise, which thoroughly infects Wayne and Eddie into doing the same. Eddie looks at them both and feels a little more comfortable.

"Funny too, huh?" She manages when she composes herself. "This town doesn't stand a chance. It's due something good to be true," she beams at Eddie, "I'm gonna see how you're pancakes are coming along, honey."

Wayne takes a sip out of his coffee, "You know, when I was a kid, I loved music. I remember when I was about your age. I had to go into town, take 'em some produce. I was waiting, and there were these kids there...well, they were older than me at the time...slicked back hair, black leather jackets and dirty blue jeans like the guys on your album there. We called 'em greasers on account of the stuff in their hair. They were just passin' through. Some kinda youth motorcycle cavalcade. Most folks despised 'em, not the diner, though, cus they were making a lotta money offa 'em. Anyway, they're playin' this music I ain't never heard before in my whole life. And this girl with them notices my foot a-tappin', and she asks me for a dance. She didn't wait for an answer, mind. Scooped me up, she did, danced me round that whole place until I was leadin' her. I was redder than strawberry, I don't mind tellin' ya, but that music got under my skin like nothin' else. Anyways I got home, got a hidin' because gossip travels faster than a thirteen-year-old boy apparently, but you can bet your ass I got me some of those records. No surprise to you, I'm sure, but they got smashed up for all different reasons, and none of those reasons made a blind bit a sense. Some folks said it was wicked music, couldn't see it myself. It just had a good beat. I lost my whole doo-wop and rock n roll collection to the trash, except for at the diner. They couldn't smash those."

Eddie listens to the story, totally engrossed, leaning over the table at Wayne. He hadn't detected a small whipped cream peak on the end of his nose yet, as he sipped his hot chocolate, never taking his eyes from Wayne as he detailed the story.

He nervously takes the other three albums out of the bag and hands them to Wayne, "The guy in the store said folks might not like it, so I was worried. But, please, don't break them. I can take 'em back and get your money refunded. The people in there were real nice."

Wayne waves his hand, "No need. I'm not gonna break 'em, boy. It's just music. Maybe I won't like it, understand and ask you to turn it down on occasion, but it doesn't mean you can't have it." Wayne laughs, "Would you believe I've actually heard of these two?" Wayne holds up the Black Sabbath album and the Stooges album, "Heard about 'em after 'nam. One of the guys, Houston, from my platoon, got into them when he got home. I didn't hear the music, just the names."

Eddie notices Wayne look a little sadly out of the window for a few seconds and then quickly turns his attention back to the albums and Eddie. Wayne hands the albums back, "Kids are always gonna have music the older folks won't like because they don't get it, but it wasn't made for them" he gives Eddie a smile.

"You got a little something right there" Wayne points at his own nose, and Eddie quickly runs his fingers over his and finds a blob of whipped cream.

Wayne chuckles, and Eddie joins in quietly.

Soon enough, the pancakes arrive, the blueberries arranged in a smiley face. Eddie looks up at Patty, "Thank you, Ma'am", as he gives her a half smile before tucking into his pancakes.

Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad here, he thought. Perhaps this is what the board meant. The music had helped him gain friends today. Sure not like his peers like he wanted, but people had been kind to him, and he learned a little more about Wayne.

When they get home, Wayne sits with Eddie, and they play some of the albums and listen together before Wayne has to go to work the night shift. The first night shift since Eddie got here, he said it paid better money. Wayne had introduced him to the neighbours in case he got scared, or anything went wrong, he could go see Mrs Roberts or Ms Grant.

It turns out that the music wasn't really to Wayne's taste, maybe in parts a little creepy, but Eddie loved it because it was so immersive. They confirmed that the two songs on the Ramones albums were indeed covers, and when the time came, Eddie played bits of the record down the phone to his Mama.

Her ripple of giggles down the phone line fills Eddie's heart like a hot air balloon. He grips the phone cord like he's frightened he might float away.

"Oh, I sure remember those songs, baby bear" He can hear her beautiful smile as she talks, "You gonna learn 'em for your Mama? Before you run off and be a big-time rock star?"

"Even if I did become a rockstar, I'd always make sure to play them for you, Mama," He says gently.

"Oh, that's nice to hear, bear" She coughs, and it turns into a loud stream of coughs and spluttering.

Eddie grips the handset, "Mama? MAMA??!! Are you ok??" His eyes widen with panic as he shouts into the phone, pleading, "Are you still there, Mama? Can you hear me?" His eyes darted to Wayne for help, but what could he do? He was stuck hundreds of miles away, just like Eddie.

"Sorry, baby bear, I'm right here" her voice sounded weak, and her words were croaky, "Just a nasty cough, that's all. Listen, I gotta go, but we'll talk real soon, ok sweetheart? I love you so much, Eddie. I love you 1, 2, 3...."

"Forever," they say together.

Eddie sighs. The calls always seem to end so quickly. He missed her so much that it physically hurt sometimes.

"Come on, buddy. She'll be ok. Let's get you something to eat." Wayne tries

Eddie feels a stab of anger surge through him. What did Wayne know? His Mom was stuck in prison, not a spa retreat. It was terrible. She didn't belong there. She belonged at home. She belonged with Eddie.

He glares at Wayne, contorting his face into a deep frown, clenching his fists and tensing his body.

Wayne sits back down, nods at Eddie and casts his eyes to the floor.

Eddie storms off to his room, slamming his door behind him and making the whole place shake. He turns on his stereo and turns it up as loud as possible. He picks up a pillow from his bed, slams his face into it and yells before slamming it back down on his bed and punching it repeatedly until his arms are as sore as his eyes are.

Then the tears came, like rivers coursing down his face, as he threw his head forward into his hands. Thankfully, the music was loud enough to hide his guttural sobs.

It wasn't fair.

He couldn't do anything about any of this. He felt so helpless and out of control. He hated feeling this way. No one understood. He just wanted to feel normal. Not afraid, not full of rage, not full of sadness. Eddie flops back down onto his bed and hides under his tear-stained pillow.

Alone in the trailer, Eddie gets his guitar later that night and tries to work out some songs and how to play them. Some sounded weird on an acoustic, but some songs lend themselves to that.

His fingertips had started to ache a little, so he put the Black Sabbath album on again. The beginning scene, setting with the rain and bell tolls, the moodiness of the music draws his eyes back to where the ouija board lies in the darkness. Eddie lies down on the floor on his stomach and reaches into the inky black under his bed until his fingers meet the blanket, and he pulls the board back into the low light of his room.

Eddie sets out the board and, with no one home, asks aloud this time, "Hello, is anyone there?"

Without any warming up this time, the planchette forcefully pulls him towards 'Yes.'

"I got the music. I like it. I'm learning to play it. Like you said"

G-O-O-D

"My Mama-" he starts.

S-I-C-K

"Yeah"

E-D-D-I-E T-H-E H-E-R-O

"I can save my Mama?" Eddie asks hopefully

R-O-C-K-S-T-A-R

Eddie is utterly confused and thinks for a moment, "I need to play her the songs?"

R-U-N-N-E-R

Eddie, still bewildered, tries to ask something, but he's already being pulled around the board again, increasingly fast and forcefully.

L-E-A-D-E-R

F-R-E-A-K

"Ok, that's enough!"

B-A-N-I-S-H-E-D

"No! This is wrong. I'm not...please," Eddie cries out, his fingers feel welded to the planchette as it circles the board. Finally, it stops, but Eddie cannot release it. Instead, it forcefully and purposefully moves to its following letter, and grooves appear in the board as it scrapes between the letters.

K-I-L-L-E-R

"No. That's not true!!" Eddie yells out.

A cold chill creeps up Eddie's back and over his shoulders. Like someone's ice-cold hands. He realised what he forgot to say before he started using the board today.

"You aren't who I was talking to last time, are you?" Eddie whimpers out as it points to no, the clear window in it cracks, and feels his fingers detach from the plastic.

The planchette flies from the board, throwing him backwards and Eddie ducks just in time for it to fly past his head, where it stabs forcefully into the wall.

Eddie starts crawling backwards out of his room, never taking his eyes from the planchette currently vibrating in the wall like it was trying to dislodge itself.

Eddie slams his door shut and runs out of the trailer, desperate to remember whose trailer was who's.

As he runs, he turns back to the trailer and hears an almighty crash, but he keeps going until he's at a door Eddie thinks he recognises.

He wants to hammer on the door for them to let him in, but he's already in so much trouble. He taps a few times. His grateful eyes stare at an old, wizened, shawled Ms Grant.

"Oh, Ms Grant. It's me, Eddie. I live with Wayne. I was wondering if I could wait with you a while?" He says, out of breath, looking back at the trailer a few times.

"Something spooked ya, boy?" She says, looking through her tiny spectacles and down her nose at him.

"You could say that," Eddie says, casting a fearful look back at the trailer.

She purses her wrinkled mouth, "Wait there, don't move, young'un."

Eddie is so desperate to get into a safe place he contemplates barging past her to safety, but he waits, sweating with terror, but he waits all the same.

Ms Grant returns, hobbling back into view on her walking stick, with something burning in her hand. She motions with it, wiggling it around in the space in front of Eddie and around his head. It smelt weird.

"Ok, now you can step inside, boy" she steps awkwardly to the side and lets him in, wafting the smokey stick behind him.

Eddie looks around her trailer. It was a place at odds with itself. One half what you'd expect for a little old lady floral painted crockery and tea set, patchwork blankets, a tub of knitting and yarn balls, a stack of puzzle books, and an old TV blaring out some game show in the corner.

Meanwhile, amongst all these things were plants hanging from the ceiling in bundles, a set of rifles, a set of hunting knives, candles, a rainbow of what looked like rocks or pebbles, some weird-looking books and symbols drawn all around in some sort of powder.

"Thank you, Ms Grant. Would you mind if I stayed until Wayne gets home?" Eddie says with relief and hopefulness.

She was busy hobbling over to the kitchen area. "Oh, yes, of course, young 'un. I've been expecting ya" she smiles a mostly toothless smile and brings over two already-made cups of tea.

Eddie rushes over to help her with the tray.

"Mighty kind of ya, Eddie. Just set it down over there" She loosely gestures to a small table between two armchairs, one of which she settles into, picks up her cup and takes a sip.

"I know you're new here, but you should know this place isn't the quaint small town it seems." She rocks back in her chair and peers at Eddie over the rim of her cup, "Wanna share what spooked ya?" She says, raising her eyebrows which only seem to exponentially multiply the wrinkles on her forehead.

"Erm..." Eddie starts, he couldn't possibly tell her the truth, but he got the feeling she would be able to know if he lied, "I thought something flew past me in my room, and I got scared and ran."

"Like a poltergeist?" She says, leaning forward in her chair, so it ceases its squeaky rocking.

Eddie looks at her blankly. She picks up her stick and gestures to a box on top of the bookshelf, "Get that for me, would ya?"

Eddie puts his teacup down and goes to get the box for her.

As he clambers up on a nearby stool and retrieves the box, he notices some booklets lying down on one of the shelves. The cover shows an armoured hero fighting a faceless armoured villain, presumably.

"Like that game too, do ya?" She croaks out as Eddie descends to the floor and puts the box in front of her. As the box makes contact with the floor, the thick layer of dust on top of it springs up, throwing him into a coughing fit.

Eddie grabs his tea, takes a sip, and peers into the box as he manages, "That book is a game?".

Below the layer of dust Eddie can see candles of all shapes, sizes and colours and more bundles of herbs.

"Well, I'd hardly call it a book, dearie, but yes, my great nephew Paul loves playing it. So if you wanna borrow it, go ahead. I know where you live if you don't return it." She cackles.

"Maybe next time he visits, you can meet him, he's a little younger than you, but he doesn't have many friends either," she says creakily as she pokes through the box with her stick.

"I'd really like that, thank you," Eddie says politely. Slightly concerned, as below the candles, weirder things are emerging from the box, bones, teeth, tiny dolls, little bottles or liquids.

Ms Grant leans down towards the box. Eddie swears he hears twenty different joints pop or creak as she does. She picks things out of the box and starts loading Eddie up with them.

"What's all this for, Ms Grant?" Eddie looks down into his arms at the collections of trinkets, herbs, and candles.

"We're gonna go over to yours and cleanse it," she says matter-of-factly, "You see, it sounds to me like you have an unwelcome visitor."

Eddie nods, the fear that what happened becoming confirmed as real is even more troubling than what he ran away from.

"We'll go over there and sort it all out for you, youngun'."

She reaches up her old wrinkled hand to Eddie, and he gently helps her back to her feet and helps her down her trailer stairs and up into his own.

"Where'd it happen?" She says gently. Eddie points a shaky hand to his bedroom.

Ms Grant starts to plod towards it, her smudge stick of burning herbs still in her hand. Eddie reaches out to stop her, "You aren't seriously thinking about going in there, are you?" he says with alarm.

"We've gotta get rid of it, young'un. Do you want that thing hanging 'round ya forever?"

Eddie shakes his head rapidly, his face etched with absolute fear, his mouth is trying to form words, but he seems unable to get them out. The frustration builds, and he wrinkles his nose and clenches his fist at himself in frustration. Finally, he takes the smoking bundle of herbs from Ms Grant and moves in front of her, quietly and cautiously moving towards the door.

His free shaking hand reaches out in slow motion to the handle. His fingertips make contact, and he glances back over his shoulder at Ms Grant, who, to his alarm, is nowhere to be seen. He frantically looks over his other shoulder.

"Jesus H Christ!!" He shouts when he is almost nose-to-nose with her. He had no idea how she had snuck up on him so silently.

She's staring past him at the bedroom door. "You know, some of these things, they cling to people, to objects, and they can grow more powerful the more negativity they have to feed off".

She reaches out and touches Eddie's arm. "I know you and Wayne haven't had the best run at life so far. But, I think you both, being in the same place, made a feast for this thing, must be how it got through," she muses, but never taking her eyes from the door.

"Well, it also might be because I used my ouija board. I forgot to do the ward first," Eddie says openly, assuming that he couldn't sound crazier than what was actually happening.

"I doubt that was the cause. It was probably already lurking. It was just waiting for you to believe in it. The board usually acts as communication. Sometimes they might try to attach themselves to a seeker using the board." She says, looking over the door.

Eddie shudders, remembering that ice-cold feeling from earlier, and he starts to feel a panic set in. "I th-th-think it m-m-might have t-t-tried...." He takes a deep breath, " that."

Ms Grant's eyes finally turn to Eddie's, "Then you cannot go back in there!" She snatches the smudge stick from Eddie, the bells in her hand jingle, and from inside his room, Eddie hears a whoosh and another thud, "Stay here. Do not open this door. D'ya hear me, boy?!" She says with authority.

Eddie looks worried, but nods, a little ashamed and steps out of her way.

With bated breath, Eddie watches as she opens the door and slips inside the room quickly, the fastest she's moved since Eddie met her.

He can hear her mumbling something, the bells gently chiming, but he can't quite make it out. He moves closer to the door and presses his ear against it.

WHACK, something hits the other side of the door with force.

"Leave that boy be, evil one! " Ms Grant bellows as Eddie falls back from the door onto his backside, finding himself crawling backwards from his bedroom door for the second time today. He can barely catch his breath. The room seems to be slipping away from him. Almost like it's getting gradually smaller in his vision until it is just a pinprick of light, and then there is only darkness.

Eddie lurches forward, taking a deep gasping breath. He feels the ice cold first, then the water, he rubs it out of his eyes, and Ms Grant swims into vision, "Ah, thought I'd lost ya then, boy." She reaches out a leathery hand to him to help him up. Eddie takes it but uses his own body strength to get back up. "Ya ok?" She asks, and for the first time, she seems to have genuine concern in her eyes for him.

"Don't worry about me. What about you?" He says as he moves into the bathroom to grab a towel for the floor and one for himself.

She smiles at him crookedly, "oh yeah, nothin' to it. Everything is gonna be fine now. Now I hope ya don't mind. I took the liberty of destroying that board and planchette and put you up some of Pauly's posters to cover up some of the damage it caused. You know. Until ya get your own posters."

"Wow! how long was I out for?" Eddie forces himself to laugh, trying not to think of one of the few things he has from home has been destroyed.

"Oh, a few hours, not to worry. You're scrawny enough to easily walk around," she lets out a cackle.

Eddie gives her back a tiny smile and grabs his jacket, "I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you enough, Ms Grant. I still can't believe you believed me!!!" He says in astonishment, zipping up his jacket over his still-damp t-shirt, "Want me to walk you home, Ms Grant?" Eddie offers her his arm.

She sighs, "You know what young 'un. You had a big scare here today. So I'll do you another favour, I'll stay here with ya til Wayne gets home."

Eddie feels the panic rise in him. Wayne might lose his mind if he found out what had happened, or what Eddie had been up to. It must show on his face as she moves to reassure him quickly.

"Ya Uncle, he's a quiet man, keeps to hiself mostly, but he's a good 'un." She says as she moves towards the sofa to sit down, and Eddie follows and sits next to her, "I won't be telling him any of what happened, so don't ya worry your perdy little head 'bout it alright?" She settles back into the sofa, "As for thanks, there's a few things ya can do, actually."

Eddie leans towards her, "Yeah, absolutely anything."

She smiles at him, "Well, first of all, next time Pauly visits, you should come meet him, he's a little strange, but I venture you are too. Next, you can cut your Uncle a lil' slack. He ain't perfect, buts compared to most around here, he's a saint. He was so happy when he could finally get you here with him. Wouldnt shut up about it. Lastly, and this might be the most important thing, I need you to heed me well."

She turns to face Eddie and looks him directly in the eyes, her voice low as if she doesn't want someone to overhear, "This town, it's cursed. Now don't go panicking. It don't mean happiness can't be found here. It's just when big bad weird shit happens around these parts, it's usually Hawkins. What happened here is just a speck of its weirdness. Now, I've done all I can to protect your home, Eddie, but you must be vigilant. Do not let strangers in here. Observe people, and make sure you know who you're befriending. After that spirit passed through here, the veil is thin. If someone comes in here and has evil in 'em or stuck on 'em, it will go off like a powder keg here, ya understand?"

Eddie's eyes go wide, and he recoils slightly, "How will I know if they're bad?"

"That's the thing. Not all those with evil in 'em or on 'em are bad or even look or act bad, Eddie. But if ya know 'em. You'd see a change. Usually, for the worse. Like darkness settling on them. So keep your eyes and ears open, always."

Eddie nods. "I promise."

"That's a good lad," She says proudly, "Now can you get my shows on here?" She points her stick at the TV, and Eddie rushes to turn it on for her.

Eddie cautiously enters his room to get changed. He sees the Motorhead and Deep Purple posters on the wall and the back of the door and that his room looks incredibly tidy. He lets out a sigh of relief as he doesn't feel that same weirdness in here anymore, that tension in the air. He puts on his pyjamas and grabs a blanket, heading back into the living room and curling up in Wayne's armchair.

His eyelids grow heavy, and thoughts swim through his head. Maybe it had been a rough start here, but that was the kind of place Hawkins was, tough to crack.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad now with the few kind people he'd encountered already. Perhaps he could make new friends, but he'd been looking for them in the wrong places. He could find more people like him who didn't fit the norm. Yeah, that would be cool, he thinks as he drifts into a peaceful sleep.

Eddie sits bolt upright, and nearly scares Ms Grant to death. Eddie relaxes a little as he looks around. The crunch of gravel under tyres must have woken him up again. As soon as he looks around and realises he is in Wayne's trailer, he forcefully exhales and relaxes back into the armchair. His heart still pounding in his chest as he moved from Wayne's armchair to the sofa next to Ms Grant.

The door to the trailer opens, and Wayne reverses in quietly.

"Wayne", Ms Grant greets him.

Wayne's head shoots around, "Ms Grant" he nods and takes off his hat, then his eyes adjust to the darkness, "Eddie? Everything ok?". Wayne's eyes move between the two of them in a panic.

"Oh sure, sure", Ms Grant reassures Wayne kindly, "He just got a bit scared, thought I'd stay til you got back. Beats sitting on my lonesome" she smiles at Eddie and then over at Wayne.

"Well, that's mighty kind of ya, Ms Grant. Anything I can get ya? For your trouble?" Wayne asks gently.

"No, not at all. I'll just be making my way back now," She says, getting up from her seat, and Eddie rushes to assist, pulling on his coat and shoes.

Wayne beams at Eddie and puts his hand on his shoulder, "I can take it from here, buddy, but you can wait here in the doorway for me. So you'll be able to see me the whole time, kay?"

Eddie smiles at Wayne and nods, watching him escort Ms Grant back home before jogging back and dragging in a tall box from the porch, which he lays down on the floor inside the trailer living room.

"Hey. Sorry I was a bit late today. It won't happen again. I got chatting to one of the guys at work, an...um...I just happened to mention you played guitar. He said his boy was learning but switched to bass and said he had this gatherin' dust, so I...er...was gonna surprise you in the mornin' but...er...you're awake now so...um..."

Wayne gestures at the box awkwardly.

Eddie approaches carefully, kneels down and opens the box lid.

Eddie can barely believe it, but it's an electric guitar. He must sit there staring over it wide-eyed and open-mouthed for at least a whole minute.

"Look, I know it doesn't have an amplifier, cables, an' stuff. But I figure you can still practice on it until we get some and-" Wayne is explaining, trying to fill the silence as he turns his cap in his hands before Eddie speaks.

"Thank you, Wayne, so very much. You didn't have to do this. I already have a guitar. It's beautiful...I...but...Won't it be loud?" he turns and looks up at Wayne, a little worried.

Wayne crouches down next to Eddie but leaves him a safe gap between them. Wayne gives him that big warm smile, "You're supposed to be loud, Eddie. You're a teenager."

"What about the neighbours?" Eddie's brow is still furrowed with worry.

"The way you play, they should count 'emselves lucky to hear it. Besides, most of 'em are either hard o' hearing, or they'll be blastin' their TVs anyway. It's not like you're gonna be playing it at 1am with a wall of Mashall amps, is it?" Wayne chuckles.

"You won't get mad?" Eddie asks, his brow relaxing a little.

"Now, I can't say never, on account of me bein' a mere human bein', but I promise, Eddie...I swear...You're safe here with me, ok?" Wayne goes to reach out to touch Eddie's shoulder but stops himself. "I got no interest in hurtin' you or makin' your life any harder than it already is, ok? I know you ain't had a good representation of family so far, other than your Mama, but Eddie...You're my family. You're my blood. I'm on your side, an' I love you."

Eddie gives Wayne a small, sombre smile.

"I know you're tryin' your best, and things take time, so I'm not rushin' ya. I just wanted to make sure you know, without a shadow of a doubt, how much I care about you and how welcome an' wanted you are here." Wayne adds, standing up, "Anyway, she's all yours."

Eddie reverently takes the Stratocaster copy from its box. He holds it by its neck and starts walking towards his room.

As he opens the door, he turns around and looks at Wayne, "Does this mean I should expect a gift every time you are late home or...." Eddie says as he looks around the trailer ceiling before a playful smile spreads across Eddie's face, creasing the corners of his eyes a little. Finally, his eyes land back on Wayne, and his smile broadens further, causing dimples to imprint in his cheeks.

Wayne runs his hand over his chin, trying to repress a huge grin of his own, nodding as he says, "Good night Eddie."

"Good night, Uncle Wayne," Eddie says softly as he closes the door to his room.

#eddie munson #eddiemunson #eddiemunsonfanfic #eddiemunsonfanfiction #eddie munson fan fic #eddie munson fan fiction #wayne munson #eddie munson wayne munson

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caribbean-ace · 3 years ago

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Hello folks! I tried to catch up with the episode as soon as i could bc spoilers. Finally we reached the season finale of Legends Of Tomorrow 7x13 i swear i’m so emotional, this crazy and wacky show has been so important to me but instead of getting sad about it we’ll get into it, spoilers ahead:

Starting off right were we ended last episode, Gary being ejected into the temporal zone and somehow surviving + my favorite wives aaaand girlfriends + i mean i wouldn’t mind if they were a throuple tho lol + how sweet family together + oh Gwyn stay safe please + our baby Gideon is killing it as captain + the outfit is hot tho + ohhhh Zari knew right way

Dibs on being the favorite aunt probably lol + why are they being so awkward lol + Astra is worried about her baby for sure + Gideon has adopted Sara’s drinking style + seriously it’s been that long + ohhh they are so cuteeee + Ava is so cute + wait Sara lost her powers!? + only Gary can get away with something like this

Lmao poor Spooner + aaaand we’re off to the mess + i know Astra and Behrad are a thing but esperastra is just there without even trying + nooooooo Gwyn! + this is about to get way too messy + lmao everyone’s reaction + WHAT!?

Of course Gary is the one to tell her + i mean if Mick was pregnant why Sara couldn’t lol + the way she lost it + “you guys don’t use protection for that?” Lmaoooo + i did not expect Sara to be pregnant but you know it seems fitting bc legends are never what you can expect + oh yikesss + Gideon come onnn + esperastra is rising idc

Poor Gideon :( she deserves to be happy you need your friends + of course their moms are going to save her + geeez the way he tackle her christ + oh that explains why she lost her powers + oh no this is going to backfire + excuse me, leave my child alone + little family reunion and i love this + esperastra will legally adopt Gideon

Crap evil Gideon has a body now + why do they have to be so extra lol + that was hot Astra + come onn get it Spoons! + i can’t wait to see the bloopers for that scene + Mike is like uh what + lmao their faces + go off Spoons! + oh my god what a mess + wait wait wait my little family can’t die wtf + Astra go effing off! Yessss

They can never get it right geez + they are literally in the middle of the war having a conversation + and Sara is losing it + Ava is like uh babe you okay? + how sweet of Sara hiding + BRO SHE TOLD HER + YES + that sounds so crazy but so sweet + poor Gwyn he’s probably so confused by all of it + time broooos forever + he stayed :( + steel!Nate + WHAT don’t kill nate :( + yayyy they made it! + he can’t steel up anymore :( + remember how Nate & Ava were also bros :( + i’ll miss him + they are not so subtle lol + chocolate sauce seems to be the thing

Crap + lmao Spooner has no chill + what!? They’re going to jail!? Lmaooo

It was so fitting to end season 7 like this + i’ll miss Nate ngl + gotta say it was surprising for me that Sara was the one who ended up pregnant but it makes sense since she’s an alien after all + in legends fashion things get screwed up before they get fixed so it’s good to know our favorite bunch of misfits will probably be back sooner than later + i laughed so much at the end, can only imagine Ava thinking i dedicated my life to the Time Bureau now i’m getting arrested by a Time Agency how nice😂

#dc legends of tomorrow #legends of tomorrow #ale watches legends of tomorrow #lot season 7 #lot spoilers #sara lance #ava sharpe #nate heywood #zari tarazi #behrad tarazi #gary green #spooner cruz #astra logue #gideon

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seelestia · 2 years ago

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my day was great!! it’s the weekendddddd~ hru lia?? have you eaten and drank your water??

to stand by the pillar of fortitude himself you must persevere and remain steadfast through the trials, little one- lmao it's ok we'll nurse them back to health!!! ( ayato fully knows he can heal himself with magic but since you're panicking and fussing over him he decides to not tell you ;) )

ikr prefect!ayato is such a good concept slkdjflskdjf

LMAO I TOTALLY AGREE HE WOULD BLACKMAIL ME THE MOMENT HE SAW ME SWOONING OVER ZHONGLI

o h ? hehehe i feel like ayato would totally go :0 when he sees your protective instinct flaring up. kinda backfires for you tho, cause he probably finds if even more endearing and he just falls for you even more <3

ye!!! he has the potential and background to become a villain but he’s not!! i think that’s even more impressive ✨ pff imagine him and professor yae’s “banter” in class…. all the chilling smiles and the tension in the air as they throw veiled passive-aggressive comments back and forth… all the students are like “o archons please get me out of here-“

i-it is…. gosh…. he’s so….. hhhhhhhh i love love love his jp voice. so much. ohhh i like that take!! slytherin al haitham <3

awee that’s a very cute imagination - us just picking up these smol little chibi characters by the scruff of their night and plopping them down to the appropriate miniature hogwarts houses' common rooms hehehe

giant rock frog bahahahhah omg- if you want a full shield bot i think you can probably have more? otherwise that should be enough?? if you want a 50:50 my brother said 30-40k should be good, and for the rest just focus on geo dmg + crits… but dps zhongli on the other hand... lemme see if i can get his build-

(jesus christ that crit dmg lmao)

GLADLY i mean you would be invited to the wedding either way so ikr??? he would look so good aldkjaksjdlajsdkakljd i’m frot hignlkjd

ohoho. hmmm. for fluff, definitely “childhood sweethearts”, “soulmates”, and “reincarnation au” <3 for angst, whatever trope my request was (is that even a trope lmao), and i totally agree - “right person, wrong time” is so </3 “terminal illness” probably? or stuff like “amnesia” or “accident/surgery/being in a coma” is also very very nice….. ooooooh this is giving me request ideas ✨✨✨✨

WAIT REALLY??? awh that’s too bad… ok have this then - if you ever try to see the chasm from sumeru, it looks like the great wall of china or something, it's amazing:

(ignore the charred grass klee was having a little too much fun there lmao)

^ additionally, zhongli, babysitting klee. run, hilichurl, run for your life-

oh, poor poor gimel. i created a teleport waypoint just for farming zhongli’s pillars. literally went there every day just to beat them up 🤕

awh dw about it!! you were on vacation and all!! <3 and i see you hehehe

rin jieeee, i'm super sorry for the late reply but i am here !! >:) NAURRRR, has your hubby's ancient fossil soul possessed your body??? snap out of it 🤨 (/j) seeing the word, persevere reminds me of the ayato angst drabble i wrote and now, i'm writing another angst fic about him for your collab <//3 aaaaa, i really wanna ramble about my vaporize wip to you but that might ruin the surprise, so maybe i should keep it hush-hush??? fjejkskdwk

IKR??? ayato is a character whose personality would flourish as a villain like if he weren't the son of a noble clan in inazuma, imagine his potential... as a fatui harbinger. albeit, i think both him and pantalone share those rich, classy vibes so they gotta fight for that spot in the ranks (/j) BUT AYATO AS A FATUI HARBINGER?? GOODBYE 🏃🏃🏃

i swear, he'd no longer need a bodyguard if he has me <//3 if i hear anyone say anything less than likable about him in the streets, it's on sight (/j) as a samoyed puppy in human form, i shall protect him !! tho, i can't help but think about what animal would suit him... i wanna say fox, but that'd somewhat make ayato a blue version of miko AND I LAUGH AT THAT 😭

your love for alhaitham really did grow immensely, it seems... has he dethroned kazuha??? *gasp* 👀 (/j) rip, @/meizuha, it is now time for @/meitham to shine <3 speaking of, have you finished the sumeru archon quest??? i just got around to finishing it a few days ago but it sure was memorable when alhaitham appeared fkekwdk ty for the tips~ my zhongli has about 46k HP now, and he's a shielder who gives occasional burst DMG (around 30k) since he has the catch r1 with accidentally 250% energy recharge 🫣 your crit DMG is smth else, you are spoiling him, helpppp. (/lh) i can understand because that shall be me when ayato rerun arrives <//3

awww, i can see the link between your fav fluff tropes here 👀 like the sense of being connected thru time and just an intuition of knowing that you're simply meant to be together :( this suddenly makes me think of a reincarnation au with zhongli, oml. there is something about you. something familiar but he can't place his hands on it like searching for a way out amidst a hazy fog. he has never met you before, or has he? your name is lost at the tip of his tongue — but as he looks into your eyes — memories surge forward and the disbelief in his voice echoes, "y/n?" weird, you've never told him your name.

AND THE ANGST TROPES, SO TRUE. smth about external obstacles that hold back a character just hurts because it feels like they can't do anything about whatever that fate has thrown at them, aaaaa. <//3 amnesia trope, in particular, has sm potential imo because the sheer devastation when you realize that all those memories of you loving that person are now lost? just like that? and when your own beloved stares at you so blankly as if you're a mere stranger, your heart can't help but shatter.

oooo, it does look like the great wall of china from that angle! hoyoverse really said irl inspiration, huh 🤧 BUT THE WAY THE HILICHURL GAVE UP??? it saw babysitter zhongli and fled. (/j) and as someone who also has klee, the charred grass is a familiar sight~ at least, she's not fish blasting this time but idk if sumerians care that much about their grass... klee gets banned from sumeru city era??? 😭 also, i don't remember if i've asked this before but what five stars do you have in your acc rn, rin jie??? i know that you have zhongli, itto, kazuha, xiao, and jean — is there anyone else i'm missing??? 👀

#when you said it felt like a month last time you heard from me I LAUGHED BECAUSE I SWEAR IT'S ONLY BEEN LIKE A WEEK OR TWO 😭#or did you miss me that much 🫣 (/lh)#ngl i keep wanting to drink strawberry tea lately because of your tea adventures 😭 maybe i should go buy some online??? fruit tea <3 #ask box! 📬#visitor: dearest rin! 💠

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lancelotdeservedbetter · 4 years ago

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a lot of people in the notes of this post are saying Will and Gwaine would have been friends and those people are absolutely right here's my thoughts on that:

- we know Gwaine subscribes to havoc as a lifestyle but Will doesn't necessarily aim for chaos he just does what he likes. this makes them a hazard to society and Arthur's waking nightmare. They make a Leon wig so Will can pretend to be him and undo all of Arthur's orders that he doesn't like. Will goes with Gwaine on patrol so he can secretly free prisoners that want to kill Arthur. just to keep things interesting.

- one day Will finds out Gwaine is technically a noble and acts like its the betrayal of the century. fuck whatever Mordred and Arthur have going on, this is a million times worse. Will forgives him after a week when he realises he can get Gwaine to do pretty much anything and say it's a peasant rite of passage and this goes on for days with Merlin and Gwen's compliance until Percival takes pity on Gwaine after finding him buried in dirt up to his neck

Percival: whatcha doing there buddy?

Gwaine, who's been trodden on twice now: it's a farmer rite of passage, i grow out of the dirt like the crops they farm, will told me. its an honour.

- sometimes Will will be telling a Merlin story and forget that Gwaine doesn't know about his magic and panics to come up with an excuse

Gwaine: wow!! how did he do that?

Will: uhhh

Merlin, the next day storming up to Will and covered in mud and leaves: why the FUCK did you tell Gwaine i could fly???

- knowing his usual conflict resolution methods would most likely end in public execution, Will decides instead to make the most of how easy it is to stress Arthur out. Gwaine is on board of course and together they go out of their way to meet with every single visiting royal ten minutes before arthur greets them and convince them to pretend to declare war on Arthur. it has worked way more times than it should. Arthur catches on eventually but this backfires when someone actually declares war on him and Arthur starts yelling at Will and Gwaine.

King of somewherelseland: i'm here to announce that i think you and your council are shit. my army will be here tomorrow.

Arthur, at the top of his lungs: JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. THE TWO OF YOU ARE STILL DOING THIS? IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY!

Will: it's hilarious but i do feel like i should tell you that-

Arthur: NO! I DONT WANT TO HEAR IT! DO NOT SAY ANYTHING! I HAVE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOU!

Gwaine: ok but we didn't actually do anything this time

Arthur, going very pale: you what

the king is so confused that he just tells them to forget about it and runs away and tells his men not to go to Camelot because the people there are insane

- Gwaine desperately tries to convince Will to become a knight but Will maintains that he would rather eat a human foot. desperate, Gwaine appears in his house one day with a foot

Gwaine, frantically squirting ketchup on the foot: now will you be a knight?

Will: i have so many questions that i know i dont want to hear the answers to. also you have severely misunderstood. that is not how this works

Will eventually compromises and comes to a training session. much to Arthur's frustration, he beats several knights because his fighting style is less swords and honour and more move bitch get out the way shoving.

- they have an ongoing game called 'how many petty crimes can we commit in front of Arthur without getting caught'. Unfortunately, Arthur is stupid and doesn't seem to notice unless they steal people's clothes and wear them in front of him, so this becomes the main objective. Arthur is semi-aware of this but doesn't have enough evidence to punish either of them. the closest they've come to being rumbled is when Gwaine wears Morgana's green dress to a council meeting

Arthur: stealing! that is definitely stealing!

Gwaine: sounds like somebody's jealous i can pull this off and he cant

Arthur: Morgana please back me up

Morgana, thoroughly enjoying how much this annoys Arthur: on what? i've never seen this dress before in my life.

- Gwaine keeps trying to get Will to grow his hair out so that he can plait it then tries to plait it anyway when he says no. Will swats away him to begin with but after he doesn't stop he cuts off Gwaine's hair while he's asleep. Gwaine is much angrier than anticipated so Will panics and pulls an Uther

Gwaine: who did this i will kill them i swear to god somebody is going to die tonight

Will, realising there's a pretty good chance Gwaine will fling him out of a high window: it must be sorcery! evil and not requiring any explanation! well that's settled let's never speak of it again-

Gwaine, sword drawn and hissing at the door: the bastards who did this must pay

Will, sweating buckets and blood pressure through the roof goes to Merlin

Will: Merlin this is it. this is how i die

Merlin: it's cool i have like three guys you can pin this on that are all very annoying. wait no he would murder them brutally for this. have you heard of nimueh?

Will: didn't you kill her?

Merlin: yeah well Gwaine doesn't know much about ghosts and i'm fairly certain we can convince him she did this

in conclusion:

#yes i was forcibly removed from art class when i was 14 and banned from ever coming back why do you ask #sorry this went on forever and doesnt make any sense #merlin #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #gwaine #sir gwaine #will (merlin)

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rainydayhogwartsimagines · 4 years ago

Note

First of all, I want to tell you that you're absolutely amazing and that I love everything you write!! Okay about my request I was thinking about Harry's younger sister x Draco!! I had this idea in my head for days and I'm dying to read something like that! Maybe a no Voldy AU where H and D still have their 'rivalry' and then D falls for his sister ofc. They have a secret relationship and to add a little bit of ✨spice✨ Harry finds them in a ... compromising situation... AND WHEN JAMES FINDS OUT

First off: I absolutely LOVE THIS CONCEPT. I haven’t even begun this request yet and I’m already thinking of James dialogue. Second off: You guys are all so sweet omfg I might actually cry.

Note: This ended up A LOT LONGER than I anticipated. Hope you guys like it.

Harry. That was your damn brother alright. He was older than you by one YEAR. And my God did that point come up ALL THE GOD DAMN TIME. It definitely didn’t help when it came to the fact that Harry became a seeker in his first year, making him the golden child of Gryffindor. You were honestly kind of thankful you were a Hufflepuff because sharing a common room with your brother would’ve actually made you murder someone. You were a little bit of a loner though, only keeping close to your friend Cedric. Lily told you that she was a little bit of a loner too growing up and then she met your dad James. Here’s the thing though: At least she didn’t have to grow up being overshadowed by an older brother. You didn’t hate your brother. You just hated the environment around your brother. As in: You hated that everyone seemed to focus solely on your brother. To be honest, Harry hated it too. You were talented in so many things and Harry could recognize his achievements overshadowed yours. You kind of lucked out on the big brother front though: At least you weren’t related to an asshole. Harry did care about you and supported you. Sometimes (especially during Quidditch season, when he usually became a bigger spectacle) he’d hide out in the Hufflepuff common room. But he usually refrained from doing that. Because that increased the possibility in running into Draco Malfoy. Harry made this fun little nickname for him. “The Crown Prince of Douchebag, long may he reign” Harry would always say making you laugh. Your dad didn’t seem too keen on Lucius Malfoy either. Your mother though, wasn’t vocal on disliking anyone in the Malfoy family. Lily always did have a way of seeing the best in people. Even your strange professor Snape. Your Uncle Sirius seemed ready to kick Draco’s ass anytime Harry complained about him. The thing you always noticed when talking about Draco though is that no one ever called him “Draco.” it was always “Malfoy”

You never had any interactions with the boy until your third year. Hermione insisted you study for the upcoming exams. You almost didn’t but when you passed the library her voice kept sounding off in your head and you sighed before walking in. You sat at a table, noticing the place was beginning to fill up with students, all of them most likely prepping for the same exams you were. You were reading intently before you heard someone clear their throat. The silver blonde hair immediately made you recognize the boy. “Can I help you Draco?” You asked. He showed a small reaction to hearing his first name being used rather than his last. “Can I sit here? The other tables are full.” He asked. You nodded and he sat down. You didn’t say anything to him for a good long while, even though you could feel him staring. You finally looked up “Can I help you Draco?” You asked. There it was again. His name. “Aren’t you one of the Potters’?” He asked. You frowned. “My legacy is not determined by my brothers, if you’re going to refer to me you will do it by my name.” You said sternly making him surprised. Not only did you call him by his first name but you showed zero fear in speaking with him. Interesting indeed. “...No offense but... What is your name?” He asked. You started to understand why Harry had such a strong disliking for this guy. “Y/n. My name is Y/n.” You said sharply. He opened his mouth but someone sitting next to you made him go completely silent. “Hey Cedric.” You said. “Hey. Do you have your potions notes with you?” He asked. You pulled out your notes and you went back to reading. Draco didn’t get up for a while. Not until after you left.

From that point on he began to notice you more. Were you always in three of his classes? You definitely showed an aptitude for taking care of magical creatures after seeing you in Hagrid’s course and witnessing the way Fang was with you. You never seemed to pay anyone else any mind though. You always kept to yourself, very rarely interacting with other students. Sure, Draco would see Cedric near you. But you didn’t really interact with anyone else. Fred and George would make themselves present near you, usually to check on you and see how you were doing. That let Draco know that you did have people active in your life. He noticed your presence was very rare in quidditch though, usually only when Hufflepuff played. But if that was against Gryffindor then you’d be absent then too. Draco was smart. He knew exactly why you never showed up. Harry God damn Potter. You never went because of your brother. Sure, yes: You made it clear by being seen with Harry that you cared about your brother. But you actually didn’t participate in any activities around a lot of people when it came to your brother. Cedric? Sure. He noticed you present for Cedric winning a Quidditch match and celebrating. Harry? No. You weren’t there. Harry didn’t seemed bothered by this set up though. Draco was curious. He HAD to know why.

Another opportunity came when Draco’s dumbass walked right up to Buckbeak. Of course Buckbeak nearly attacked him but you intervened, forcing the creature to look at you. “BUCKBEAK.EYES ON ME NOW!” You shouted. The creature merely glanced at you before getting ready to attack. You snapped your fingers though and he finally cut his attention to you. You blocked any view of Draco from Buckbeak, calming it down. Draco was mesmerized by your ability. Course the dumbass did actually fall and scrape his arm. “Christ you’re an idiot.” You sighed helping him to his feet. Draco frowned. “Sorry. That thing almost attacks me and I’m the idiot?” Draco asked. “You’re the jackass that ran up to a creature you knew next to nothing about, that is also in a foreign environment might I add, and expected it to act the way you wanted. Yes Draco. I’d say by this point you’re the village idiot.” You said making Harry snort. James. That was ALL James and if your dad could see you right now he’d be pissing himself of laughter. “Come on.” You sighed walking. “Where the hell do you think you’re taking me?” Draco asked. “You scraped your arm you git. I’m walking you there. Come. on.” You said sternly. Draco grumbled the entire time walking. “I swear I’m beginning to really understand my brother when it comes to you.” You sighed. “Excuse me?” Draco asked. “Surprised my brother talks about you?” You asked. “No I’m surprised you actually mentioned your brother with how little you choose to interact with him.” Draco said. You stopped walking, glaring at Draco. “I don’t know what you think you know Draco, but that’s not true.” You snapped. “Really? Because from where I’m standing you barely interact with him and you got offended by association!” Draco pointed out. “Do you have any idea what it is like to have to live in your sibling’s shadow Draco!? I don’t interact with him here because everything I do here is compared to what he can do.” You snapped, clearly very pissed with Draco. “Actually I do know what that’s like, but it’s not a sibling” he admitted. “Who, pray tell, do you live in the shadow of?” You asked, clearly annoyed. “My father.” he said with a sigh. Oh. Oh shit that actually was a reliable answer. “Yeah. It doesn’t feel great does it asshole?” You asked sharply. “No. Which is why I can’t seem to hate you.” Draco said making you halt again. “...What?” You asked. “You always call me by my first name. Never the last. At first I figured you did it because you liked to annoy the shit out of me. Now I think you do it because you know what it’s like to live behind a strong name defined by someone else.” Draco explained. You hated that the explanation made sense. Why couldn’t he be an idiot? It’s so much easier to hate an idiot. You walked into the medical wing and bandaged him yourself. You were used to having to do this to Harry after quidditch games that backfired.

Draco watched you carefully. “I don’t hate you.” You muttered. “Hmm?” Draco asked. “I don’t hate you. And that pisses me off. Because I want to hate you.” You muttered. “I’d love to hate you too, but that doesn’t seem like it’s in the cards.” Draco shared your sentiment, making you crack a smile. That smile was so... pretty. “you’re good now.” You sighed, finishing the bandage. “You’re good at this.” He said looking at your handiwork. “Harry injures himself all the time. You should’ve seen mum when when he broke his arm playing quidditch. She looked ready to kill someone.” You chuckled. You and Draco exchanged a look. One of mutual understanding. You held out your hand. “I vote that we become friends.” You said. He rose a brow looking at you and then your hand. “...Call me paranoid because of Fred and George. But if this is a prank I will hex you.” he said. You snorted. “I’m not one for pranks.” You shrugged. Draco shook your hand and you smiled. “See you around.” You said walking away, saluting him as you did. You made him chuckle at that.

The Hogsmeade trip finally approached and you were excited. Sirius was meeting up with you and Harry along with Remus and Peter. You ran into the three broomsticks with a smile. “Uncle Moony!” You said excitedly, hugging him. He chuckled and hugged you back. “Hi Songbird, goodness you’re growing!” He said. Draco was sitting in a booth, reading when he noticed you. “No hugs for me. I’m hurt, saddened. Shocked.” Sirius said dramatically making you snort and hug him. You hugged Peter too and sat down with Harry. You and Remus were close, along with Peter. Don’t get me wrong. Sirius and you were close. But not as close as Remus. “How’s school going?” Remus asked. “Meh. Boring. I swear if Granger tells me to study one more time I might actually fight her.” You groaned making Peter laugh. “You have James’ spark I’ll give you that.” Peter said. “Make any new friends?” Remus asked making Draco listen. “Uhhh... Just one.” You said. “Well, come on now who is it?” Sirius asked. “I’m not saying anything in front of you or Harry.” You said with a laugh. Remus leaned in so you could whisper. You told him and Remus rose a brow. “Come on Moony who is it, I’m dyin’ here.” Sirius said. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy. Can’t say.” Remus said, doing the “Scout’s honor” salute. “Even I don’t know this one.. Oh God it’s not Moaning Myrtle is it?” Harry whined. “No! Harry I have standards.” You said making the table laugh. “Is it someone I know?” Harry asked. “Not saying.” You said simply. “Uncle Moony at least drop a hint.” Harry said. “Nope.” He said, taking a long sip of butterbeer. You and Remus exchanged knowing glances and smiled. He handed you a book and you chuckled. “Thanks Uncle Moony.” You said, him hugging you. “I should go, Cedric is waiting.” You said. “Have fun Songbird.” Peter said making you chuckle. “Thanks Uncle Wormtail.” You said walking towards the exit. You noticed Draco looking at you and you gave him a smile. He felt.. Warm seeing that. You walked outside seeing Cedric with Cho. “Best not interrupt them.” You mumbled. You weren’t bothered being on your own, you actually didn’t mind it. But someone caught up to you making you jump. “Gah! Jesus Draco, say something before just sprinting next to me.” You gasped. “Sorry.” He laughed. “Who were those men in there?” He asked. “My uncles.” You said walking. “Why’d they call you Songbird?” Draco asked. “Were you eavesdropping?” You asked. “No, I just happened to notice it on your way out.” He lied. “Hmm. According to Uncle Remus I can sing. So they just call me songbird because of that.” You shrugged. “Ah... Were you talking about me earlier?” He asked. You stopped. “You were totally eavesdropping, you little shit!” You said. “Little shi-- I’m older than you!” Draco said making you laugh. “How’s Captain Pain in the ass?” You suggested. “God no!” Draco said making you laugh harder. Draco noticed that smug little smirk and decided to throw a snowball at you. “Oh you little--” You threw one at him making him laugh before you threw another one. You two fought on for a while until you tired yourselves out. But that smile just... God Draco’s heart seemed to hammer against his chest when he saw it.

You and Draco were a little on the secretive side of your friendship. Not because he was ashamed to have you as a friend. God no. But your brother was now watching you like a fucking hawk to see who this “New friend” was. Thank God he took after James and was completely clueless to who you spent time with. Well. Until Cedric answered that burning question. “Who do you think she hangs out with?” Harry asked Ron. “I dunno. I don’t really see her much.” Ron shrugged. “Draco.” Cedric answered. “Hmm?” Harry asked turning to Cedric. “She’s been hanging around Draco, last I saw.” Cedric answered making Hermione drop her spoon, Ron nearly choke, Fred and George both exchanging looks of “OH. SHIT.” Harry’s eye seemed to twitch at hearing this and it soon became obvious why Harry didn’t know. Harry got up, walking to the Hufflepuff common room and finding you reading on the couch. “Malfoy!?” Harry asked. You looked up confused. “What now?” You asked expecting to hear about some argument the two boys had. “You’ve been making friends. With Malfoy!?” Harry asked. Shit. “Uhh... No?” You lied. Harry shot you a glare. “Okay fine! But in my defense, I want to hate him. But once you get to know the guy he’s not that bad!” You said. “Christ, Y/n.” Harry said. “You’re lucky I won’t tell mom!” He sighed. “She already knows Harry.” You said. “So you told everyone but me?” He asked. “Do you see the way you’re reacting right now!? Excuse me if I wanted to AVOID this!” You snapped. “Malfoy--” “His name is Draco! For God’s sake Harry just GET TO KNOW HIM!” You snapped. Harry had never seen you this aggravated with him. “Fine! Fine. If it means that much to you I’ll try.” Harry said.

Instead Harry avoided that kid like the plague. Draco laid off the snide comments and snarky remarks because he knew you’d yell at him later if he said anything unwarranted. Harry didn’t want to run into the guy because he didn’t want to have to be nice. Quite frankly, Harry didn’t want anything to do with him. When the summer approached you were not hearing the end of this “Malfoy? Really?” thing. Remus and Peter was your escape and you were grateful for that. Honestly it reminded them of Snape and Lily. Except less dramatic. Hopefully. “I just don’t get it. Harry doesn’t even try with Draco.” You sighed, throwing a ball and catching it as you laid on the couch. “He gets it from James.” Peter said. “This is all just... It sucks y’know?” You said, unaware that Harry was listening from the kitchen. “I finally make a friend and my brother hates him.” You sighed. “All that matters is your opinion of Draco Songbird. Harry might come around eventually.” Remus assured. You smiled at your uncle. “Mum teach you to be this insightful?” You asked. “Life taught me that... And yes Lily did too.” Remus chuckled.

Lily didn’t have a problem with the friendship. James was of course worried because his baby girl was making friends now with mainly guys. Oh God he was not ready for this year. You rode with Draco on the train. When he saw you he nearly died internally. Your hair was longer, you were taller... Oh God this was a crush wasn’t it!? NO. NO NO NO NO NO-- “Draco? Are you alright, you seemed spaced out.” You asked. “Hmm? Oh I’m fine.” he said. FUCK. FUCKING-- FUUUUUUUUU-- “I heard from dad there’s something weird going on this year.” You said pondering. “Oh. You mean the tournament.” He said. “How did you know?” you asked. “Father works with the ministry division that works with the school.” Draco answered. “Ohhh.” you nodded. Sure enough the boy was right. The cup was introduced. The rules were a little bit odd but you met all the requirements to participate. Sooooo... Why the fuck not? You signed a parchment, stuck it in the cup and it was accepted. Your mindset was “Well plenty of more qualified students are signing up, I’ll be fine.” Well... There was a problem. The Goblet of Fire goes off at random, not by who’s more qualified. So your name DID get chosen making Harry and Draco both FLIP THEIR SHIT. Both boys were well aware of how brutal this competition could be. News got back to Lily and James and they were equally panicked.

Cedric however had FULL confidence you could do this. He trained you, making sure you were physically and mentally prepared for everything. It felt weird being the only third year in the room but you didn’t have a problem with it. Harry was practically begging you to drop the competition. “Harry! For God’s sake, just SHUT UP!” You finally snapped. He blinked, as did a few students hearing this. “I watch you play quidditch and you get hurt all the time, you do not hear me throwing a bitch fit over this! The only thing I need right now is your support!” You snapped. Harry didn’t argue either. Draco was supportive over you being in this but he was definitely nervous. “And you’re sure... This is what you want?” Draco asked. “I’m sure.” You nodded as you geared up for the first trial. “Okay... I’ll be in the stands... If you need me just... say something.” He said. You nodded giving him a small smile.

You thought everyone was being a bit ridiculous... Until you found out the first trial. “Oh no.” You muttered watching Krum run for dear life across the field. You felt a hand on your shoulder and you turned. “Dad!” You breathed before hugging him. Lily, Remus, Peter and Sirius all stood there. “Alright. You’ve got this Darling don’t worry!” James said, eyes twitching as he was clearly worrying. Draco ran in. “Draco?” You asked. “Which dragon did you draw?” Draco asked. “Uhm. The Hungarian Ridgeback.” You said. “...Shit.” Draco muttered. “Guys. I’m fine. Really.” You assured. Why in the hell were you so confident. Draco looked into your eyes and you felt your heart pound. Lily noticed the look and rose a brow. “Promise me you’ll play this safe.” Draco said. “Draco--” “Promise me. Please.” He said, looking at you and putting a hand on your shoulder. His feelings towards you were quite obvious to everyone... Except James. “I promise.” You said softly. “Y/n. You’re up.” Viktor said. You held Draco’s hand for a second before cracking your knuckles. You walked out, the arena being loud as hell. How in the world did Viktor deal with this for a living. Harry ran into the tent, noticing his family watching as well... And Draco. You seemed to be completely calm, despite having seen Krum nearly roasted. The Dragon thrashed against it’s chains and Lily swallowed her anxiety. You did something strange. You... Sat down. “What the fuck is she doing!?” James screeched. “Hi.” You said to the dragon. It roared in your face, blowing your braid so it was off your shoulder. You maintained eye contact with it though. How in the hell were you calm-- You didn’t even flinch when this thing roared at you. You stood up, the dragon retreating back before you held out your hand. It snarled making Remus uneasy, but you kept the same calm expression. It sniffed you, before you lightly pressed your hand to it’s snout and smiled. “see. I’m not so bad.” You said softly. Everyone was wide eyed. “I need the egg.” You said looking at the golden egg. It let out a huff but you kept eye contact as you grabbed the egg. It tried to follow but you halted the creature with your hand. “Stay.” You said softly. It did. You walked back out of the arena leaving everyone shocked. Did a fourth year just... TAME A FUCKING DRAGON?

You walked back to the tent and Lily hugged you, “You did so well-- Oh honey!” She said. “Well done Y/n!” Sirius laughed, clapping his hand onto your back. “I’m proud of you.” Harry said as he roughed up your hair, making you laugh and swat his hand away. You looked at Draco and he said nothing, pulling you into a hug. You dropped the egg, hugging him back. James nearly went “PROTECTIVE DAD MODE” On this kid’s ass but Sirius halted him along with Lily halting Harry. “When were you going to tell me you could tame dragons?” Draco laughed making you smile. You pulled away and chuckled. “I just remembered Hagrid rambling on about dragons and I went with what he told me” You admitted. Draco shook his head with a laugh and cleared his throat after noticing all of your family staring at him. “Uh... Hi?” He waved. “Uncle Moony, this is the friend.” You said. Remus smiled and held out his hand, Draco shaking it. “Pleasure.” Remus said. James’ eye was still twitching as Draco sat with you through the rest of the trial. Harry was too. Like father, like son. “Can I punch a kid? Is that illegal?” James whispered to Lily. “Yes James it is. It’s called assaulting a minor. And he seems perfectly fine.” Lily hushed him. James pouted and Harry kept watching you two.

The next few days were spent trying to figure out what the fuck the egg actually was supposed to do. “What the hell is this even for?” Draco asked, looking at it as it sat on the coffee table in the Hufflepuff common room. “Have you opened it?” Harry asked. “Yes. It screams.” You said. “Charming.” Hermione said sarcastically. “It makes me want to drown the damn.... Wait a minute!” You gasped. “What?” Draco asked. “What if I put it underwater to quiet the noise?” you asked. “Why would you want to do that?” Ron asked. “It clearly makes noise for a reason dipshit.” Fred said, smacking Ron upside the head, understanding your logic. You sprinted off to the baths, doing just that. You listened to it’s riddle, coming back up for air and raising a brow. “Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground ,And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took. But past an hour - the prospect's black Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.” it sang. “What the absolute fuck does that mean?” you pondered aloud. You walked back to the common room, hair still wet. “Any ideas?” George asked. “Well I was right. It gave me a riddle.” You muttered pondering. “Where our voices... sound-- Are there any mermaids on campus?” You asked. “...What?” Fred asked. “In the lake, I think.” Hermione answered. “That’s where the next trial is.” You said, snapping your fingers. “Damn that was quick!” George laughed. “Sure you’re not a lost Ravenclaw?” Fred asked. You sat next to Draco and chuckled. Your eyes were gorgeous when the fire from the fireplace reflected off of them. “I should get some rest. Tell Dad about the competition.” You yawned, leaving. Draco got up. “Sit.” Harry said as everyone else cleared out. Draco frowned. “I’m not going to just--” “I need to talk to you, sit.” Harry said. He finally sighed, sitting down. “I know you like my sister.” Harry said. “...What--” “Don’t play dumb, even my dad can see that you do.” Harry said. Draco looked at Harry. “Let me guess: You don’t want me anywhere near her right?” Draco asked. “Preferably: Yes. But Y/n likes having you around so I will say this...” Harry leaned forward, his eyes piercing through Draco. “If you hurt my sister I will kill you. Am I understood?” Harry snapped. “....Okay.” Draco nodded. “You can go.” He sighed, turning back to the fire. Draco got up and stopped for a moment. “I would never hurt her Potter. She means too much to me to ever do that.” Draco said before leaving.

The next trial of course had to be on a day where it was FUCKING COLD. Your family all stood outside with everyone else. You looked around noticing Draco’s absence. “Where’s Draco?” you asked. “Mcgonagall asked him to come with her this morning. Haven’t seen him since.” Goyle answered. “Hermione isn’t here either.” Ron noticed. You frowned, remembering the riddle. “Oh no.” You said. “What?” Sirius asked. “I think I know what this trial is.” You said looking at the lake. You pulled your hair back and Cedric handed you something. “You’ve got this.” He said. You cracked a smile, looking at the item. It was going to help you breathe underwater. You took it, waiting for the sound off. It finally rang out and you dived in, swimming through the murky water. You had an hour. You used your wand to provide light, swimming through the lake before you finally found it. They seriously chained students to the bottom of a lake? What the fuck was this competition? You unlocked the chains, gripping Draco’s arm before swimming back. Viktor popped out of the water first, Hermione with him. You popped out, water dripping from you. Draco shivered from the cold water and chuckled. “When Mcgonagall said I was needed for your trial, this is not what I expected.” He said, making you laugh. Fleur came back empty handed. “I couldn’t... She- she’s still down there!” She wailed. You frowned looking at the clock and then the lake. You knew who was Fleur’s challenge was. And that was a child. You shoved off your towel and jumped back in, making everyone run back to the edge.

“What happened!?” Lily asked Draco. “I don’t know-- She just jumped back in!” He gaped. The clock’s loud ticks did not make the waiting any less anxiety wracking. Remus was staring intently, Sirius gearing up to jump in after you before you finally reemerged with Gabrielle. Draco helped you out and you pulled your hair tie off, your hair falling to your shoulders. Fleur hugged you, thanking you for saving her sister. “My kids are awesome.” James said hugging you and Harry both. You shivered and Draco lifted his arm as to say “Get under here” You did, panting out of breath. The last three minutes of you being in the water were you having to hold your breath because the item wore off. “I’m proud of you Y/n...” Draco said, making you look at him with a smile. His eyes wandered to your lips and you both seemed to be looking at each other. That’s finally when James grasped the situation. Oh no. OH HELL NO. “Lily. That boy likes Y/n doesn’t he?” James asked. “It took you this long?”

You were quickly becoming aware of that damn school dance, as many students were asking others to go with each other in front of you. You were a sappy romantic, sure. But if you saw one more kid with a fucking ukulele or guitar you were prepared to kick someone’s ass. You sat in the dance class, loathing every moment of being there. You definitely had James’ left feet, because you could NOT dance. “Choose your partners.” She instructed. You sighed and Draco extended his hand. “I can’t dance so if I step on you, this is your fault.” You said making Draco laugh. You stood with your hand on Draco’s shoulder and his around your waist. Your face was probably pink from the feel of things. “You can move closer Y/n, I don’t bite.” He teased. You blushed, moving slightly closer and he walked you through it. “How do you know how to do this?” You asked curiously. “My family throws parties where we have to dance. It’s terrible.” He explained. “Sounds like its something out of Pride and Prejudice.” you said. “Hmm?” he asked. “Muggle book that goes over old English customs.” You shrugged. “Ah.” He nodded. “So the Yule ball is coming up.” Draco said, clearing his throat. “Yep. I’m aware.” You muttered. “Not excited?” He asked. “No I am but I’m beginning to despise the ukulele and guitar after this week.” You admitted making him chuckle. “The younger students have... Gotten creative.” He nodded. “Alright Grandpa, calm down.” You teased making him roll his eyes. “I was wondering.” Draco started before twirling you. You did, your back against his chest. “Would you like to go with me?” He asked in your ear. Thank Merlin’s grey ass beard that your face was turned away from Draco. “Y-yeah... S-sure.” You stuttered out. He twirled you back around and you were so red that if you weren’t moving right now, he would’ve thought you were dying.

You went back to the common room, pacing. Do you talk to your mom? No. She’d tell dad and then you’d have to deal with a potential murder. Who could you trust? Then an idea hit you. Next week was Hogsmeade. Remus! Well and Sirius. You loved Remus to death but he did not have that much experience in this area like Sirius did. So you wrote to them and of course they agreed to meet up with you. You went to the Three Broomsticks, sitting at the table as the two men sat down. “What’s wrong Songbird?” Remus asked. “W-well.” You sighed. “Oh... Do you need a pad?” Sirius asked. “What!? No!” You said. “Thank God. I am not ready for that conversation.” Sirius said. Remus smacked Sirius with a book, turning back to you. “What’s going on?” Remus asked. “I... I’ve been asked to go to the Yule ball.” You admitted. Sirius gaped with a smile. “who’s the lucky guuyyyy-- Or girl, I don’t judge.” Sirius asked. “Draco.” You answered. “Ohhhh.” Sirius nodded. “I don’t know what I’m doing guys. I’m freaking out here.” you whined. “Calm down. So he asked you?” Remus asked. “Yeah.” you nodded. “Well then what’s the problem?” Sirius asked. “What do I even say!? OR DO!?” You asked, panic clearly in your eyes. “Shit. Uhhhhhh. Well, the best advice I can give is don’t use too much tongue--” Remus, again slammed his book against Sirius’ head. “Keep doing what you’re doing now and go with the flow. You don’t want interactions with him to seem forced.” Remus said. “Thanks... And.. I hate that I’m asking this but what if he does kiss me?” You asked. Remus sighed and looked at Sirius. “I’m scared of that damn book.” Sirius said looking at Remus’ hand which was resting on top of the book. “Look. The best thing I can tell you is this: If he does kiss you, just go with the flow like Remus says. Unless you don’t want him to kiss you. Then you kick him in the dick and run.” Sirius said. “No hit for that last comment?” You asked Remus. “He’s right.” Remus nodded.

So there you were. The night of the Yule. Christ could you stop shaking!? You asked Cedric to walk you down the stairs because you had like, zero confidence walking by yourself in heels. “I am going to kill you Draco.” Harry muttered. “I am just taking your sister to a dance Potter, I’m not Fred here and being a playboy.” Draco said. “Hey-- wait no. No that’s fair.” Fred nodded before you walked down. Draco’s eyes went huge, lips parting as he saw you. “Thanks Cedric.” You said. “Anytime. Have fun!” Cedric said walking off with Cho. Harry’s eye twitched and George dragged him off, leaving you with Draco. “Shall we?” You asked nervously. Draco nodded and you took his arm, walking and standing ready with the other champions. “You look beautiful Y/n.” Draco said making you smile. “You’re not so bad yourself Draco.” You chuckled. You’ve been hanging out with Sirius for WAY too long. The doors opened and your grip tightened. “You’ve got this Y/n.” He said in your ear. “Not if you keep whispering in my ear I don’t.” You muttered. “Hmm?” “Nothing!” You lied. You two did that ridiculous dance, you dreading every second of it. But the music finally slowed down and you sighed with relief. You and Draco swayed to the music and you smiled. “Hectic year.” You said. “I bet it has been for you. Though, being held hostage by mermaids didn’t exactly make my year normal.” He replied making you chuckle. “I think it’s been a good year for us though.” He added. “What do you mean?” You asked. “We’ve gotten a lot closer, haven’t we?” He said. “Y-yeah.” You nodded. Form proper words Y/n, Christ. “And... I’d like us to be.. Closer if that’s alright with you?” He said. Fuck. Words can’t even form now. “Y/n?” He asked. “Like.. Dating?” You asked. “Only if you want to.” He nodded. Where was the holy spirit of Sirius’ dating life now!? “I’d like that.” You said with a small smile. His lips seemed to hover over yours, you now being able to feel his breath. You could feel Harry drilling holes into Draco with his eyes. “Uhm... Should I be concerned that Fred is holding back Harry?” Draco noticed. “Very.” You nodded. “Uhm... Wanna get out of here?” He asked. “Yep.” You nodded.

The two of you walked around campus, the winter air hitting you hard. You shivered and Draco took off his jacket wrapping it around you. You smiled and he slid his hand into yours. “So your parents seem nice.” Draco said as you walked. “Wellll... To be honest dad is more of a jackass. Harry takes after him.” You said, earning a laugh from Draco. “And your mother?” He asked. “Calm. But definitely murders people in her mind.” You answered. He laughed again. “What about you?” You asked. “Hmm.” He pondered. “My mother is very... Patient. She’s nice.” He said. “And your father?” You asked. “Stern. But I know he loves me. If that makes sense.” He answered. “It does.” You nodded. Draco smiled at you and brushed a hair from the side of your face. You smiled at him and he slipped his fingers under your chin, kissing you. Soft. His lips were soft...

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” You heard. “Fuck.” You sighed followed by rapid footsteps. “I AM GOING TO KILL--” you clothesline Harry as he sprinted towards Draco. “Wow.” Draco gaped. “I have uncles.” you shrugged. “Give this a rest Harry. This is just sad.” You sighed, helping him up. Harry’s nose started bleeding and Draco sighed. “I’ll take him to the medical wing.” Draco said. “Your jacket--” “Keep it. I’ll get it from you later.” he said with a smile. “I am so kicking your ass.” Harry grumbled, holding his nose. Draco walked the idiot down the hall and you turned to go back to the Hufflepuff common room before feeling someone tap you. You turned and Draco kissed you again smiling against your lips before finally dragging your dumbass brother away.

“You did not just kiss my sister in front of me, you fucking prick.” Harry said holding his nose. “Hey, I’m not the one who got clotheslined by her.” Draco reminded. “I didn’t expect her to do that.” Harry winced. “Yeah trust me, neither did I.” Draco snorted. “I wasn’t lying Draco. You hurt her--” “I’m not going to Harry, I swear.” Draco said. Madame Pomfrey rose a brow. “Did you two fight again?” She asked. “No, this was my sister.” Harry said, removing his hand. She winced at the sight. “Tell your sister she did a good job.” She said before Draco walked away. “Promise me that you’re not going to break her heart.” Harry said making him stop. “What?” Draco asked. “Promise me you’re not going to break her heart.” Harry repeated. “Harry. I swear it. Do you want me to make a blood pact or something?” Draco asked. “...Is that an option?” Harry asked making Draco roll his eyes and walk away.

The last trial finally approached. You were kind of anxious about it too. Draco however was confident you had the damn thing in the bag. “You tamed a Dragon Y/n. Whatever this next trial is, you’ve got it in the bag.” Draco said. James finally came with the rest of the family. “You ready?” Sirius asked. “Hell no.” You breathed. Viktor walked over, along with Fleur. You let out a shaking breath.. “We just wanted to say... What ever happens... Good luck.” Viktor said. “T-thanks.” You said. “Champions, approach the start!” The announcer yelled. You sucked in a breath and walked forward. You halted and turned back around, kissed Draco before leaving the Viktor and Fleur. Remus, Sirius and Peter hid smiles but Lily, again was having to hold back her idiot husband and son from killing the poor kid. “JUST ONE PUNCH--” “I’M WITH YOU HARRY!” James screeched.

The challenge began and you booked it, sprinting as fast as humanly possible through the maze. Find that damn cup. You took so many twists and turns, stopping for a brief moment to try to figure out where you were. Then you noticed that the maze was pulling you to the wall. “OH FUCK NO” was the only thing Viktor heard before rapid footsteps and you booking it as the maze walls were closing. You sprinted, Viktor right next to you as you ran. He went left you went right. Ironically, right was the right way considering you found the cup. You sprinted and gripped its handle before you seemed to float.

Your body hit the ground hard and you coughed. “God I’m so feeling that in the morning.” You groaned before getting up. You brushed yourself off unaware to the crowd that was about to scream in celebration of your victory. Well, until you heard “THAT’S MY NIECE MOTHERFUCKERS!” Followed by “SIRIUS!” and a loud smack. You gaped and looked at the cup and then the crowd as they all screamed in victory, Dumbledore holding your hand high before your family sprinted out. “I knew you could do it!” Draco said with a smile you hugging him as the crowd cheered. You panted, looking at Draco as your arms were around him and he kissed you. James didn’t even care by this point because damn it: You did it! Holy shit! You let go of Draco and he smiled before Sirius lifted you onto his shoulders. “THAT’S MY GIRL! WOOOOOOOOHHH” Sirius screamed making you laugh.

You all celebrated that night, sitting in the Great Hall with the cup. “So what are you doing with the victory money?” Sirius asked. You pondered. “Hmm... Hey, Fred, George?” You called. “Hmm?” Fred asked. “How’s business?” you asked, confusing the group more as you spoke. Did... you not hear the question orrr- “It’s going good, we’re beginning to need more room for the equipment though.” George answered. “Great.” You smacked the check down. “Buy a building.” Was all you said before getting up. The two boys looked at each other and then you. “Are you serious right now?!” Fred asked. “I don’t need it. Take it.” You said walking away. Lily snorted and James nearly pissed himself laughing. “She’s definitely James’ kid.” Peter laughed. Remus noticed one thing no one else did. Draco left with you. He smiled to himself and laughed at a joke one of the kids made.

You stood in the library looking at the genres. Of course your way of celebrating would be to read. You read a few passages before feeling arms wrap around your waist. You smiled, turning in Draco’s arms to face the boy. “Hi.” You said with a smile. “Hi.” He said. You smiled as he kissed you, sinking into his arms. “I really am proud of you, by the way.” He said after pulling away for air. You chuckled. You kissed his nose and he chuckled, kissing your forehead. “AAaanndd Got ya.” Sirius said making you sigh. “Padfoot. Five more minutes.” You whined. “I believe that is how long it took to conceive your brother.” Sirius said making you gag. “Okay! Moment ruined, I’m leaving.” You said walking away. “Works every time.” Sirius said. Draco smiled, watching you jump on Remus’ back. “She really is something isn’t she?” Sirius said, a hand on Draco’s shoulder. He smiled to himself as you laughed at your dad nearly screaming at the bloody baron popping out of the wall.

“She really is”

#draco fuckingmalfoy #draco imagine #draco malfoy #draco x reader #draco x y/n

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atsukashii · 4 years ago

Text

❝snow day❞ // k. bakugou

SYNOPSIS: ➛ You and your boyfriend make the most of the first snowfall of winter - but both of your competitive sides makes it a disaster.

» CHARACTER PAIRING: katsuki bakugou x fem!reader

» WORD COUNT: 2.3K

» GENRE: @bnhabookclub bingo slot snowball fight

» WARNINGS: swearing, mentions of broken bones & fluff to the max

« masterlist || ao3 »

“Oh my god!” You cry out, excitedly springing from your bed as soon as your eyes lock onto the white flakes fluttering down from the clouds outside.

Its finally snowing!

You run out of your dorm room, still clothed in your pyjamas and sprint towards Bakugou’s room, only stopping when you pass a window and you notice the world outside. The snow-covered world outside. It hadn’t just started snowing it had been coming down all night. Because outside of the building, the grounds of U.A had become a winter wonderland.

You don’t hold in your squeals of excitement as you charge down the hall, your fluffy socks skidding you to a stop outside your boyfriend’s room.

“Katsu, Katsu, Katsu!” You sing as you barge into his room. You don’t even give him a chance to reply or wake up, before you throw yourself on his bed, next to his sleeping figure.

“What the hell?!” He snaps startled, his hair matted to his forehead, and his ruby eyes still slightly glazed with sleep. Once his brain catches up with the sudden awakening, and he realises it’s you, Katsuki lets out a groan and flops back down onto his pillow.

“What do you want?”

“It’s snowing Katsu!” You squeal unable to hold in the excitement any more, pointing to the curtain covered window above his bed. Rolling over onto his forearms, the blonde practically hisses as you yank back the curtain, letting the light in. Squinting at the outside world, he has the audacity to turn back to you with a raised eyebrow.

“So? It’s winter dumbass. Of course it’s snowing.” He says, laying back down and placing an arm under his head and closing his eyes. You pout at your boyfriend and look back out to the snow.

Winter has been your favourite season since you were a child. It could be partially due to your quirk being the ability to manipulate ice and snow, but it also stems from the memories you and your parents created when you were a child. Building snowmen, making snow angels, having snowball fights and then there’s hot cocoa, warm mittens and beanies… What wasn’t there to love about winter?!

Glancing back at Bakugou again, your eyes can’t help but be drawn to his bicep that’s just right there for you to appreciate due to his love of singlets, even in winter. Okay so maybe there is one bad side about winter - the fact that he can’t wear that outside. Summer was also right up there with your favorite season, but that favoritism probably had more to do with your boyfriend’s infinite amount of tanks and his drool-worthy muscles. Thank god for summer.

No y/n, focus! Winter, and snow... Snow!!!

Looking back outside, childish giddiness floods your bones at the view. You need to get out there. Now. Suddenly an idea pops into your head and you lean down over your boyfriend who is currently faking to be asleep.

“Hey, Katsu?” He groans in response, but opens one ruby eye, just enough to show you an expression of pure annoyance, but you also see the warmth that is there when you’re with him. “Do you want to build a snowman?” The question earns you a pillow to the face before his warm arms wrap around you, pulling you to lay on his chest. Okay, this isn’t too bad either.

“No.” Is all he says, closing his eyes and letting out a relaxed breath. It is a Saturday after all, and is the one day of the week that he lets himself sleep in late - not that 7 am is late by any means.

“What about a snowball fight?” You say, trying again. You really really want to go outside, and to have Katsuki there too would just make the memory so much sweeter.

“I’m not having a fucking snowball fight with you y/n.” Placing your hands on his chest, you push up from him, pouting and giving him the harshest glare you can muster. The amusement flickering to life in his eyes suggests that it’s not intimidating at all, but he’s also Katsuki and hence can be an asshole so his opinion on the matter is bias.

“Fine.” Standing up from his bed, you head towards the door. “If you won’t, then I suppose Kirishima and Kaminari will be more than happy to join in.” You call out over your shoulder. The two boys in question having become your very close friends since even before you started to date Katsuki not even a year ago. And that friendship was a tool you used frequently to make things go your way when it came to your boyfriend. That was not to say you were manipulative, not at all - for he did the same thing to you, but he could just lift you over his shoulder and carry you wherever he wanted to. Seeing as you weren’t close to your boyfriend’s height, or anywhere near as strong, picking you up and leaving was his best tactic to get you to do what he wanted. And this was yours, along with using his competitiveness against him, but seeing as you were both very competitive, this often backfired.

You hadn’t even made it to the door when you heard him grumble.

“Fuck those too shitty haired bastards. I’ll meet you downstairs in five. If you’re not there I’m leaving.” He says, rising from his bed, already walking to his ensuite. You are grinning and he points a finger at you accusingly, his still sleep crusted eyes narrowing.

“No squealing, it’s too fucking early.” So instead, you hop up and down before interrupting his walk to the bathroom and placing a kiss on his cheek. He grumbles in response, but the smile on his lips says otherwise about his “displeasure” of the surprise kiss. You don’t wait another second before running out of his room and back towards your own, knowing full well that if you’re late, the opportunity will pass.

❄ ❄ ❄

Both you and Katsuki were very competitive people, which was a reason that you two got along so well. You were constantly pushing yourself to be better, not just than the other, but you were nurturing in your ways that helped the other be better. So really, when it came down to things like a normal snowball fight, they didn’t exist.

It was a match to the death.

“No quirks,” Bakugou says, calling out across the front yard of your dorm building. You gape at your rugged up boyfriend and his crappy rules, as he is currently using his quirk to warm his hands.

“That’s a crap rule Katsuki!” You argue, bending down and finish an extra layer of padding to your ice wall that you will most likely have to hide behind at one point. These matches were going to be full-on, there would be no prisoners and no giving up.

“Deal with it, princess.” Your face flushes at the nickname, and in your moment of weakness from the surprise pet name, you almost are unable to dodge the snowball aimed perfectly at your face. Pivoting just in time, you glare at your boyfriend who stands there, tossing another snowball carelessly in his hand - a feral grin on his face.

“I wasn’t aware that I was dating a cheater.” You growl, grabbing a snowball from your small already made pile, pretending to aim it at him.

“Didn’t know I was dating a coward. You going to just hold it there, or throw it, princess?” Katsuki teases. The smug smirk on his face has your blood boiling in the best way, and the urge to make his snowball hit him in the face is almost too much. Maybe later.

“Oh, you’re on cheating bastard!” You shout before sending a snowball his way.

You two are ruthless, and your battle almost lasts an entire hour. At one point, Kirishima comes out of the dorms, asking to join in, and only gets a snowball to the face from Katsuki in response. The redhead retaliates by ‘accidentally’ stepping on part of Bakugou’s snow wall, earning a squawk of outrage from the blonde, and then a snowball to the face from you.

To be honest, at this rate, you’re not even sure who’s winning, all you know is that that you’ve been cornered by Katsuki’s relentless fire for a few minutes. How the hell does he make snowballs so fast? You know you need to make more and fast before he walks over here and forces your surrender.

No. I will not surrender, it is victory or death!

You scramble to make a small pile of snowballs when a villainous chuckle comes from behind you.

“Any last words princess?” Bakugou whispers into your ear, and your heart is thundering so loud you barely hear him.

“Kiss my ass!” You say the adrenaline making your mouth move before you can think, but your response only earns another smug laugh from the looming figure behind you.

“Very well. Now die!” Spinning towards him you watch almost in slow motion as he raises his arm, ready to peg the ice-ball at your face, but the second it leaves his hands, you throw your hands up instinctively in front of your face to protect you from the incoming slaughter. However, the impact never comes, or at least to you.

“Fuck!” Looking through your fingers, you see Katsuki wiping snow from his face and you realise almost too late that you accidentally...may have used your quirk... Katsuki looks at you with a deadly glare, and if you weren’t already sitting down, your legs would have probably turned to jelly. What is normally a look that you find very attractive on your boyfriend, now successfully has you fearing for your life.

“Did you just use your damn quirk on me y/n?” He used your full name. Yeah, you’re screwed. You don’t even respond before using your hand to flick snow up at him as a distraction, before sprinting away from the grumbling blonde like your ass is on fire. “You’re dead princess!” You are running as if your life depends on it. Because with Katsuki, right now it does. Your arms pumping, heart-pounding in your ears, but you know it’s all for nothing when you hear the familiar pops of Katsuki’s quirk.

Jesus Christ you’re going to die!

You make the typical horror movie mistake and look over your shoulder, to see Bakugou approaching quickly, using his quirk to fly him through the air towards you. It’s not the fact that you look over your shoulder that makes you trip, or maybe it is. But you’re going to blame it on the grin that covers Bakugou’s face, that is full of so much happiness, it has your brain short-circuiting for a second long enough for you to forget how to run and for you to hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“Y/n!” Is all you hear before a resounding crack echoes through your ears.

Oh crap.

❄ ❄ ❄

You sit on the bed in the infirmary, Katsuki next to you, who glares at the bandage on your arm as if it has physically harmed him. You want to laugh, but the second the door opens and your homeroom teacher walks in, any source of amusement leaves the room so fast.

Mr Aizawa looks between the two of you before letting out an exhausted sigh. This wasn’t the first time that you and Bakugou’s competitive natures resulted in one of you ending up with a visit to recovery girl. But normally it was just a scratch or a cut - so a compound fracture was a new escalation.

“To say I’m surprised would be a lie.” Your teacher says before frowning at you two. “Rest that up, and next time you decide to have warfare on the dorm lawn, please refrain from injuring each other. Recovery Girl is not here to heal wounds created from stupidity.” Mr Aizawa finishes before sending you on your way.

Side by side, you and Katsuki walk back towards the dorms, the dull throb of your now recovered arm forgotten when he slips his hand into your uninjured one. “You’re a real dumbass you know that? What idiot trips over their own feet and breaks their arm?” Katsuki huffs at you. “I was blinded.” You shrug, the adrenaline from earlier is still pumping in your blood, as well as your pure happiness from the day so far. Suddenly your arm is pulled until it almost pops out of its pocket as Katsuki draws you towards him.

“What the fuck you talking about?” He questions, thoroughly confused. The giddy smile and bubbling excitement of the day’s events emerges back on your face as you look up at the blonde.

“I was blinded by your smile.” It’s corny and cringe and you know he’ll act as if he despises it.

“I’m breaking up with you.” But the smile that covers his face, one that he shows when he knows that no one can see his reaction, tells you otherwise - he loves it.

“Who would put up with your homicidal tendencies then?” You reply, placing your injured hand on his cheek, the small movement not causing it any pain. Katsuki watches you for a moment as if assessing whether that hurt you, before he tilts his head and places a gentle kiss to your wrapped palm, then cups your jaw and places a soft kiss to your lips. Sparks flush down your spine at the contact, and you can’t help but place an extra chaste kiss against his pink lips when he pulls back ever so slightly. “Thank you for today,” your voice is a whisper against his lips.

“You’re lucky I love you, princess.” Katsuki sighs, tucking you under his arm as you finally reach the front doors of the building, trying to protect you from the cold outside.

“I love you too Katsu.”

The broken arm was worth it.

Best snow day ever.

#katsuki bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader #mha bakugou x reader #bnha bakugou x reader #mha katsuki x reader #bnha katsuki x reader #katsuki bakugou #bakugou katsuki #bakugou #katsuki #mha bakugou #bnha bakugou #katsuki bakugou fluff #bakugou katsuki fluff #bakugou fluff #mha bakugou fluff #bnha bakugou fluff #lolsplaysbingo

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salamencerobot · 3 years ago

Text

All deltarune reactions and spoilers for chapter 2 under the cut! After I post this if I have any extra reactions they will be tagged deltarune and deltarune spoilers, so feel free to block those tags!

Ok so 1 fuck toby fox where the FUCK IS THE HEART also I swear someone called that the knife was gonna be used for pie eating. Also how did I not sleep in MORE from that, I should have gone into a food coma

Hiiii susieeee nice to see you!! Wanna go exploring again?!

JDHHDHSD JESUS CHRIST DONT JUMP SCARE ME LIKE THAT I'm glad I can see your eyes still, that's a good thing to keep.

FUCKIN WAIT UP AHHH

it's gonna open to nothing isn't it. We wait what, a year? For just a cliffhanger? That'd be hilarious

HOLY SHIT LYNXGRIFFIN CALLED NOELLE JOINING US THE FUCKING READ OF A LIFETIME

.. ok both of these answers suck. Do I go with be gay do crime or do I go with the love triangle answer. Also damnit no noelle joining us.

SHE LOVES YOU YOU STUPID BUTCH DINOSAUR

Goddamnit.

Ok VERY COOL TRANSITION SCENE.

RALSEI!!

God the pixel art is very well done. Good animations.

"enemies you spare will be recruited to our town" god could you imagine if deltarune ended up being a town building game? Funniest shit.

GOD WHAT IF IT TURNED INTO LIKE POKEMON MYSTERY DUNGEONS?? ID FLIP SHIT DBDGGD

Very cute rooms

Aw we gotta leave? Sadge

Fiiine school project time.

OH SHIT LYNXGRIFFIN CALLED THE DARKROOMS BEING ALL OVER TOWN!! GODDAMN!!

WAIT DID NOELLE GO DOWN THERE?! OH NO

Oooh gween!!

NOELLE!!

Ohhh what the FUCK is that bullshit Nuh uh I'm not being no puppet what the fuucck

Oh thank god you're here ralsei

...are all of the dances based off of charlie brown? Cause I recognize ralsei's, but can't figure out the rest

Mk so in the second part of the story we fight across a long area where we are taunted by our enemy only for the platform we're on to run out of room and dump us in the trash. Again, Undertale parallels here. Wheres mad dummy

Oh Susie is REAL touch starved huh

Oh ffs I wanted Susie time.

Oh fuck yeah Noelle team time- ah. You're really gay huh.

I'm at the meetup scene and GOD I'm glad that alphys and Undyne got most of the pining done off-screen fhdhhdhdh JUST KISS ALREADY DAMNCCHN

Oh good job not getting caught ralsei

Oh dear he's not liking the digital dark world huh.

SUSIE DONT EGG THE FUCKER ON WE'RE GONNA BE HERE FOREVER IF HE DOES THE PUZZLES

YOOO FUR BOY WITH THE FULL SUIT LETS GOO we're ignoring birdboy YOOOO RALSEI POP OFFFF

Mmmh I hate birdboy. Also rip lancer.

Hm... Yeah aight Noelle I get your crush, Susie has the buff rescuer aesthetic.

Oooh shit the dream lie backfired hdhdhdh

AWW NOELLE NO SHE WUVS YOU

Oh that's fucking soft. You gave her a fucking pencil and she just said "aight yeah she's safe"

JDHDGDH THE BACKFIRE OF A FUCKING LIFETIME. God imagine if the screen had been bigger, and Susie looked over, saw the ferris wheel, and just knocked Noelle out so she didn't have to deal with that.

Jdhdh

Awkward fucking teens

AWW NOELLE!!! THAT'S SO SWEEEET!!!

Aight imma need a poster of these two to go next to my alphyne one.

AWW WAGGING TAIL? FUCK THATS CUTE

...

Aight I'm killing bird bitch. Gonna have fucking turducken.

'oh the good part of the dream is over' AYYYY

Oh please don't try to confess bird bitch... Please..

Oh thats even funnier. Jdhdhdhd THEYRE LESBIANS HAROLD

YEAH CHOKE HIS BITCH ASS OUT HOLY SHIT!!!!!!! DELETE HIM!!

Rip ralsei.

Aight I think this is the final fight so I stocked up on cd bytes.

..oh what the fuck did she do to Noelle.

GET HER ASS SUSIE!!!

...?

Ah. Yeah that... That would be an issue huh.

Hey I noticed the robot but you are a narcissistic bitch I assumed it was a giant statue

I've learned from Steven universe that non-human lesbians can always save the world. Let's do this.

Oh god what are these dumbasses doing. This better be fucking sick.

Oh that is just a clusterfuck huh. I'm glad they didn't try to make it look cohesive it's just a fucking mess I love it.

Wait holy shit she's mettaton mixed with white diamond what the shit?m

WAIT SHES REALLY WHITE DIAMOND WITH THE MIND CONTROL AND EVERYTHING

Ok I'm loving the old super punch out style of fighting it's really fun but I also suck at it.

8-bits fuck off

oh please dont--THANK YOU RALSEI

Ooh it's so important it gets a Capital Letter

HOLY SHIT THE EYE PATTERNS FROM CHAP 1. also I get the moral lesson you gotta balance fiction and reality

I swear to god if Susie kisses her cause Noelle will think it's fake when she wakes up I'm gonna throw hands.

Thank GOD.

Mk fountain time.

HEY SUSIE WHAT THE FUCK DONT SLAP ME

Hm. I like how it encourages you to go to your town, it give it a nice calm wind-down from the adventure.

JFHSHDHD SUSIE YOU EAT CHALK WHAT DO YOU THINK SHES TALKING ABOUT YOU HOOLIGAN??

..why is Susie looking up?

...that is just unessecary. Ow. Out the window, really!

JFHSHDHD MOM SWORE

... why did nobody check on kris for that time? That's just sad

I can't really enjoy chilling with Susie, I just feel sad that nobody checked up on kris.

Aaand she's out.

And then I had that thought, that only blackout drunks and Kris can have. "did... Did I do that?"

OH AGAIN? REALLY??

Oh that's really not good. Uh. Uh oh. That's a Problem. I'm sudden-NO!! FUCK OFF FLOWEY YOU BETTER STAY BACK IN UNDERTALE YOU FUCKER!!!!

ABSOLUTELY THE FUCK NOT.

..was that speech I heard at the end of the credits song?

WAIT SEVEN CHAPTERS I THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE ONLY 5?? ooh we getting dlc after the 3-5 pack drops

#deltarune

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imagine-that-one-thing · 4 years ago

Text

Her Majesty. || Chapter 13

The Life of Saint Barbara

Anastasia’s pov

The room is silent while everyone stares at Harry and me, waiting for answers, answers that I do not want to give. I don’t want any of this. My heart continues to beat rapidly with every silent moment that passes and I swear for a moment, I stop breathing.

One, Two, Three, Four… I’m still breathing… Barely.

Now is the time I require Harry to say something, anything. I need him to break the silence and tell me that this is all some misunderstanding.

I don’t think Harry is going to want to stay married to me after this. I might win the world's shortest marriage, all because he has now been thrown into being a King, literally.

“It can’t be your bodyguard, that’s ludicrous. It’s the man you’re dating and soon to marry, Henry. Although I did read somewhere you’re dating Louis.”

“Oh, fuck,” Harry mutters under his breath. Finally speaking. “Christ, Anna.”

Of all the things to say, he could have come up with something better, but I’m not sure what I expected him to say. Harry cannot fix this or change things.

“I’m already married,” I shake my head, “I married Harry, so all your previous scheming didn’t work. Harry is legally the King, not Henry.” I notify everybody who’s gawking at me, my hand reaching for my necklace that has my rings attached to it, “If you need the wedding certificate, it was signed just a few hours ago. Ink hasn’t even dried.”

I glance towards my mother who has tears in her eyes, “I’m sorry, I had no choice… we had no choice but to hide it. Dad wouldn’t listen and kept pushing Henry.”

My mother shakes her head, “He was right.”

“What?”

“Your father… He said you two were in love but I thought it was just a fling.” My mother begins to chuckle, “You two got married behind our backs? I’m proud. You chose love over the monarchy, and it all backfired on them.” She proceeds to laugh, “You and your father played the monarchy and it’s about fucking time.”

“Mum… are you okay?” I question, unsure of whether this is a defence mechanism or not. How can she be laughing? Her husband just died and she just found out her only daughter got married behind her back. This is not a laughing matter. I find none of this entertaining.

“How are you married? You’re meant to be with Henry.” The man interrupts.

“Oh, take a hike Georgie. Face it, they’re married, Harry is King and Henry is still nothing but a Prince at the bottom of the food chain whose family killed my husband.”

“It’s George,” Georgie corrects my mother, “I don’t understand…”

“Let me make it clear, my husband is Harry, not Henry. Now please, can you all leave? My father just died and I’d like some peace.” … “Harry, sign the papers so Georgie can leave and you can escort Henry out.” I hand Harry the envelope with papers that need signing.

“Uhm,” Harry hums, “Darling, I’m not signing the papers to be King.” Harry shakes his head, declining to take the papers from my hands.

I do not blame him, the role of King is not something to take lightly and to have it thrown at you is a whole other level of crazy.

“Sign the damn things, Harold.” My mother commands persistently and harshly, taking us all by surprise with her voice like booming thunder.

“Yes, ma’am,” Harry immediately responds, “But, it’s Harry.” He politely corrects her.

“Don’t sign those papers and it’ll be Harold. Believe me, I can make sure everybody calls you Harold.” my mother threatens and Harry glances around as he clears his throat.

Harry takes the pen from George and scribbles his signature across the dotted line, “Does this mean Henry has to bow down to me?” Harry questions with a smirk, somewhat amused, suddenly.

“Technically, we all do,” I respond, shoving the papers towards George and smiling at Henry as he stands speechless. “Now… I’d like to go home, please, Harry.”

When I say ‘home’ I’m not quite sure where it is I want to go, the Palace isn’t home, and as I think of things, I don’t have a foundation for where home truly is. It’s not the Palaces or the extravagant estates that the royals own, it’s unknown. I don’t know where home is, I don’t know where I want to truly go, all I know is I want to go anywhere with Harry.

“We can find a hotel,” Harry nods, taking a quick glance at his watch.

“No, I want to go home, like fly home, take me anywhere but here.”

“You two can’t fly together,” Louis comments, interrupting my request.

I raise a brow and side-eye him, unsure of what he’s talking about.

“If something happens to Harry, you become Queen. Two heirs cannot fly together.”

“Louis, all due respect, but I’m not flying alone. I don’t care if he’s King or not, I want to go home with Harry.” My response is bitter and harsh, and to be honest, I don’t give a damn.

I want to go home, I am not sure where home truly is, but I want to go where the sheets are soft and have a familiar scent of clean linens, I want to go where things are calm and collected, I want to go where I can breathe. I want to go anywhere but here.

♛ ♛ ♛

I draw the covers away from Harry’s warm body and I begin to shake him awake, “What? What’s wrong?” He hastily mumbles, his eyes opening, his hand reaching to the side table as he sits up.

“Don’t,” I stop his hand from grabbing his pistol, “It’s time to get up,” I instruct.

Harry rubs the sleep from his eyes before glancing over at the clock that blinks with the time, “It’s four in the morning, baby, what’s wrong? We just fell asleep”

“We have things to do. I have to communicate the news to the governments of the fifteen other countries of which the King was the head of state and to the governments of the other countries of the,” I inform Harry of the task that I have on my mind.

There’s no time nor need to sleep when so much needs to be done. “I have to tell A footman to pin a dark-edged notice to the gates of Buckingham Palace and—”

“Anna, darling,” Harry cuts me off swiftly, “You don’t have to do all that, there are people who do it.”

I shake my head, ignoring his comment, “The day after the King’s death, the meet at to proclaim the new monarch. We have to prep you for it. Parliament meets tomorrow evening and they to the new monarch, which is you.”

“Go back to sleep, Anastasia,” Harry instructs, stretching the sheets and the blankets back over his body.

I gaze at him and shake my head, my hand reaching for the covers and hauling them back off of him. Harry wearily sighs, “Anastasia, I am not the King, I am not meeting parliament, and you don’t need to be taking care of all these things, you need some rest.”

“Don’t tell me what I need,” I bluntly respond, “Are you going to help me or are you going to go back to bed?”

Harry shakes his head and encompasses his fingers through his hair, “I have no choice,” he tiredly responds, “Let me put some clothes on… I don’t know what you plan to do at four in the morning but I’ll support you,” Harry responds, slowly forcing himself off and out of the bed.

“My Dad will be here at six.”

“Excuse me?” Harry questions, reaching for a long sleeve shirt to match with his sweatpants.

“He is being bought by to and then by car to Buckingham Palace.”

“I’m not trying to sound intensive but… He’s staying here?” Harry questions, seeming at a loss for what I am talking about.

I nod my head. I’m not sure where else Harry thought my Dad would be staying.

��Oh,” Harry trails off as he shakes his head, a clear indication he has thoughts but he is not going to speak them out loud.

“You need to stop reaching for the pistol every time I wake you up,” I comment, turning a small lamp on so I can make my way around the room.

Harry just shakes his head and mutters under his breath as he adjusts his sweater with a grunt, clearly displeased and far from settled.

♛

The palace is relatively tranquil at this hour, most of the staff are in the kitchen or laundry beginning the preparations for the day, and everyone else is more than likely asleep. The Palace at this hour is always a calming time, there isn’t much of a hurry and bustle, things are at a slower pace for the most part, and the Palace is nice and quiet besides the small chatter of the Palace staff.

Harry trudges beside me, his arm around my waist as we wander the hallways of the Palace. I’m not quite sure what my first task is that I need to do, but I’ll figure that out when I get downstairs to the main floor. “I don’t want any tours held, can you make sure there are no public tours?”

Harry nods his head, “Whatever you need me to do.”

“I don’t want you on security.”

“Mmm, I’m going to be on security,” Harry responds without missing a beat, “That’s not changing. Security is heightened, I’m not stepping down or taking any sort of leave of absence, sorry.” Harry responds with everything but a sincere apology.

“But—“

“No, Anna,” Harry interrupts me firmly, his tone of voice a strong indication he doesn’t want to discuss the subject any further.

“I don’t want what happened to my Dad to happen to you.”

“Anastasia, darling, I will be fine, Matthew and I have set in motion what will happen for the next few weeks.”

“What is that?”

Harry sighs and stops walking. He turns to face me, “We all wear vests for public outings or announcements, there’s a strict code, there will be more security on the grounds. You will always be watched.”

“Oh, great,” I roll my eyes, “I’ll have no privacy.” I huff.

“You will be on my service for the most part.”

“Is that meant to make me feel better?” I bitterly question, unsure of his purpose with his comment.

“Are you looking for an argument at this hour?” Harry questions and raises a brow towards me. Before I can respond, he sighs and leans closer to me, kissing my lips lightly, “I love you, but I need coffee so I’m not a dick.”

“Coffee doesn’t always change that, ya know?” I half-smile at him in a joking manner, “I love you, too. My comment was mean, I know being on your service is better than nothing.”

Harry nods his head, “If you don’t want to be on my service—“ Harry begins.

I instantly cut him off, “I want to be with you. I don’t want anyone else this week.” I inform him.

I don’t want anybody else on my service mainly because I know deep down this week is going to be one of the hardest. The next twelve days will be rough and I want to have the comfort of knowing Harry is there at all hours for me. I don’t anticipate a breakdown or to entirely lose myself, I plan to keep myself occupied and get everything done, but it gives me peace of mind to know he’s there as both my husband and security guard.

Harry doesn’t say a word, he simply nods and we continue to walk the palace, making our way towards the kitchen. Harry opens the door for me and I step inside, the smell of fresh bread and fresh coffee instantly filling my senses. “Mornin’ Harry,” the head of the kitchen grins, “Good morning, princess, Eleanor,” She beams.

“Morning, Grace. What are you making this morning?” Harry challenges as he shuffles closer towards the counters, taking a look at the foods Grace has prepared, “Smells lovely as always, please tell me these are scones,” Harry excitedly breathes out, lifting a white sheet.

Grace slaps his hand away and Harry steps back from the baked goods, “You know not to sticky-nose,” Grace laughs, “They’re not ready yet, I’ll have one of the ladies bring you a few… Princess, would you like anything?”

I shake my head, “No, thank you.”

“Just here to steal some coffee if you don’t mind?” Harry questions, already making his way to the steaming coffee that has already been made on the stove.

“You know where everything is,” Grace gestures kindly.

I can only assume Harry comes down here fairly often and has the sort of a relationship with the staff where they have no clue about his private life but they find him charming enough to let him do as he pleases in the kitchen and helps himself. “Grace,” Harry begins while he grabs two cups from a shelf. “You said the private door through the kitchen wasn’t opening?”

“Yeah. It’s getting harder to pull on the handle, it’s almost impossible and in an emergency, dangerous. I keep telling the staff not to slam the damn thing.”

“I’ll come down and fix it later, you still keeping an eye on the cameras for me?”

“As always,” Grace nods, “I’m going to start charging you for my work.”

“Add it to my tab,” Harry chuckles, “I’ll be waiting for the scones.”

Grace rolls her eyes and shoos Harry towards me, “on ya go, outta my kitchen, smartass.”

“Have a good day, Grace,” Harry laughs, stepping towards me and handing me my coffee before the two of us leave the kitchen staff.

I wonder about how much Harry interacts with the other members of the staff, I know the Lady’s Maids always gush over him but they always express how he is quiet and doesn’t talk much nor does anyone know about his private life. Grace is the only one I have heard him hold a conversation with, and it makes me wonder why he doesn’t seem to have many friends or why he doesn’t talk often to those who work in the Palace.

♛ ♛ ♛

I sip on my coffee on the front steps of the palace; I inhale the crisp morning air and the quietness of the grounds. I don’t remember the last time I was permitted to stand in front of the palace in utter silence without anyone taking pictures or crowds applauding my family. In a few hours, these very steps that I stand on will be covered with various flowers in remembrance of the king, some sent from other royals, some sent from other countries and some will be placed by our people. The stairs of the palace will be open to the public to allow them to show their appreciation with candles and flowers while monitored closely by the security team.

“We never got to cut the cake.”

“What?”

“We never got to cut the wedding cake or have our first dance.”

There’s a few things we didn’t get to do before my world came crashing down on me. Our wedding day was meant to be perfect, and it was, up until I was given the news. Most girls’ dream of their wedding day, from the dress to the venue, to the colour schemes, everything is planned intricately. No matter how well my day was planned, my wedding day will always hold bitter memories. I am not sure what I expected considering nothing has ever gone to plan before, but I had hoped for one day, just one.

Harry nods his head, his free hand reaching into his pocket and drawing out a set of keys, “Here,” Harry places the keys in my hand.

“Am I meant to lock my sorrows and sadness away with these?” I chuckle jokingly, unsure of why he’s handing me a set of keys.

“Ha, hilarious,” Harry rolls his eyes, “My car is right there, you’re driving.” Harry gestures towards the car that is parked towards the side.

“How is your car here?” I ask, well aware that he left it in Cheshire when he got the call about the King. As soon as Mathew knew, he had a car ready and waiting while Harry told me the news that destroyed me.

“My sister was kind enough to drive it down for me, left the keys with Grace,” Harry responds, stepping down the cold stone steps and walking towards his car. Harry glances over his shoulder and stops for a moment, “You coming or not?” Harry asks and I nod, quickly following and hopping down the steps.

I reach his car and Harry kindly opens the driver’s side door for me, allowing me to get in. I place my coffee cup in the side holder and I turn the key into the ignition. I play with the heat settings while Harry gets in on the passenger side. “I’m not allowed to leave, Harry.”

Harry leans back as he reaches for his seat belt and buckles himself in, “Since when have you enjoyed listening to the protocol?” Harry remarks.

He has a point, I have never been one to listen, but right now, I don’t have it in me to be rebellious.

“Since the King was brutally murdered and I am sure that I am next.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Harry instantly insists, “I already messaged Matthew that you were with me, it is fine. Now, drive.”

“Why? You never let me drive.”

“Drive, Anna, go anywhere,” Harry presses, “Just don’t wreck my car,” Harry chuckles, adjusting his shoulder with a small grimace before I begin to drive with an unknown destination.

I am never allowed to drive, and it has been one thing I have never really questioned, I don’t mind having other people drive me around, mainly because I get anxious when there are a lot of people on the road. It always seemed more beneficial to have a driver, one of the only royal benefits I relished.

As the car engine eradicates the silence between us, my deep thoughts slip through the cracks and eat me alive, continuously circling me and drawing me under, forcing me into a state of mind I don’t want to be in. I observe the tugging of my heartstrings and the lump in my throat that is trying to hold back the emotions my thoughts are pushing through.

I don’t want to think, I don’t want to listen to my thoughts or feelings. I want it to end.

“Harry, speak,” I instruct heavily, almost demanding him to speak.

“What?” Harry challenges, breaking the moment of silence.

“Talk, I need you to talk.”

“What would you like to talk about?” Harry offers.

I shake my head and grip the steering wheel tighter, “I don’t care, I can’t handle the silence and my thoughts, I need you to speak.”

“Let it out, Anna.”

“Let what out?” I snap. I do not know what he wants me to let out, it isn’t as though I can allow everything to spill out and miraculously have things changed and back to normal.

“What is it you want me to let out? Are you wanting me to suffer from the silence and break down? Is that what you want? Do you want me to tell you that even though my father had his flaws, I wish I had called him that morning when I woke up?” … “Do you want me to tell you how I can’t do this? This isn’t how it was meant to be? There, I’ve said it. Okay? This is killing me and there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t fix any of it—“ I let out between heavy breaths and crystal tears that have been threatening to fall since I got on the flight here. “This wasn’t what was meant to happen.”

“Pull over,” Harry instructs, reminding me that I’m still driving and have both of our lives in my hands as I cry and let my anger out.

I pull the car to the side of the road and lean back on the chair, my hands releasing the steering wheel and shaking as I place them in my lap. Harry’s prompt to put the car in park and I just gaze into the abyss of nothingness that stares at me through the windshield. For a moment, the abyss is calming and tranquil, nothing but tears streaming down my warm cheeks while I attempt to steady my breathing and push my heavy thoughts away.

Harry opens my door and unbuckles my seat belt before gently grabbing my arm and tugging me out of the car, “Come here.”

“No, I don’t need the sympathy! I don’t need the hugs. Nothing changes what happened.” I attempt to push him away as I stand to my feet, “He’s gone, he can’t come back, they got what they wanted and I’m left with nothing. They took him and the monarch helped! They fucking helped, Harry!”

“I know, Anna, I know.”

I shake my head, “There’s no coming back, that’s it… my last words are my last words, I can’t change it. I didn’t call that morning, I should have—“ my voice breaks before I can finish my sentence.

Harry wraps his arms around me and for a few moments, I push and shove, fighting him off for no reason besides I don’t know what else to do, I don’t know how to control or handle the grief. I can’t constrain how I feel, I don’t even understand how I feel right now. He doesn’t let me go, instead, he holds me tighter and I weep into him, finally retreating and letting my guard down.

His hand holds the back of my head and his arm stays securely around me as I fall entirely into him, “Okay, okay, it’s okay,” Harry whispers, lowering us both to the ground gradually, “I have you, it’s okay,” he continues, letting me cry it out on the side of the road in darkness.

Harry calms me down and I lift my head from his shirt, finally gazing up at him. Harry’s lips curve into a small smile while his eyes shine from the reflection of the headlights of the car. He moves his hand up to my face and with the pad of his thumb, he wipes away the tear stains, “It’s okay to let it out, it’s okay to lose control, Anastasia.”

“I don’t like losing control and feeling this.”

“Nobody does,” Harry continues to wipe away tears, “I’m so sorry for what you have to deal with, I wish I could change things for you. I’m here for you, Anna. You don’t have to fill your schedule and do everything by yourself. It’s okay to grieve and let it out, it’s okay to not be okay.”

“It hurts,” I inform him.

The feelings hurt, the memories hurt, the unknown hurts. Everything aches and I don’t want to feel the despondency. I don’t want to hear the thoughts or the memories. In my mind, if I keep myself occupied, I don’t have to listen to my thoughts and feelings, I simply won’t have the time for it. If I put my energy to helping with the arrangements, I won’t cry as much, I won’t be as hostile and I won’t feel all these emotions that I can’t wholly explain.

Harry lets out a small breath, “I know, baby, I know.” Harry carefully stands to his feet and helps me up, “I love you, I hope you don’t forget that.”

“I don��t plan to,” I sniffle, using my sleeve to wipe away a few more tears, “I love you, too. But you stole my crown,” I half-heartedly joke, feeling the need to shed some light on things instead of shedding tears.

“Do you want it back?” Harry grins.

I shake my head, “No, not right now,” I respond, “You can keep it. Give it back once the hard work is done.

“I’ll make a mental note,” Harry chuckles, leading me towards the passenger side of his car.

“Guess I’m not driving?”

Harry shakes his head, “Not a chance.”

“Did you plan this?” I softly ask as he opens the door for me.

Harry doesn’t respond, he simply gestures for me to slide into his car, “You did… didn’t you?”

“I know you well enough to know that if you’re waking me up at four in the morning, you’re definitely not okay. I knew you’d break and tell me what was running through your head, I just wasn’t expecting a full break down.”

“You could have just asked me to tell you.”

“Would you have told me?”

I shake my head with a small smirk, “Probably not.”

“Exactly, watch your feet,” Harry gestures as he closes the door and walks around the front of his car to reach the driver’s side.

Harry’s POV.

A pounding knock at my door wakes me from my slumber and I instantly shoot up in the bed, the covers falling to my waist while Matthew barges into the bedroom, flicking the lights off and blinding me. “Christ,” I mutter, shielding my eyes from the intense light, “What’s the matter?” I groan, unsure of why Matthew is in the bedroom, barging in and flicking on the lights at such an ungodly hour.

“Where’s your wife?”

“What? In bed?” I respond, tiredly reaching my arm over to pet her side of the bed, “Anna?” Her name leaves my lips as I feel the space beside me. I am swift to shift my attention to her side of the bed that is cold and vacant. I shift the covers off my body and swing my legs over the edge of the bed, glancing at Matthew with nothing but uncertainty written across my face. “Anastasia?” I knock on the bathroom door and open it, my hand pushing against the wall to find the light switch. The light illuminates the room and I see nothing but an unoccupied bathroom.

I turn around and face Matthew, “Where is Anna? What’s going on?”

“That is why I am here, she’s meant to be with you.”

“She fell asleep with me. Did she go to her mother’s room?”

Matthew shakes his head, “No, the Queen is asleep and Oliver has been guarding her door.”

I spread my fingers through my hair before grabbing my phone from the side table, wasting no time calling her phone.

One, two, three...

The phone call goes straight to voicemail. Fuck.

“Have them check the camera’s, every room needs to be monitored,” I firmly instruct, reaching for a jacket and a pair of shoes. I rest on the edge of the bed and throw Matthew my phone, “Check the app that tracks our locations, it’ll show her last location, might be easier to find her in the damn Palace.” I mutter, hurrying to tie my shoes and gather my thoughts, various things racing through my head, all of the thoughts leading towards the possibility of something critical happening to her. Which, I am not sure how considering security is so damn high right now.

“Harry, she left the palace.”

“What?” My eyes grow wide, as Matthew’s words roll off his lips.

When I came to bed an hour ago she was in bed and asleep, she didn’t even stir when I crawled into the bed. I remember she was curled up on her side of the bed, her hand under her pillow with the comforter and a blanket over her. I turned off the bedside light that was still flickering at the ungodly hour and when I rested my head down on my pillow, I felt her place the tips of her fingers to touch my arm.

What I did not expect was for her to abruptly sneak out of the room and palace.

“She left, her phone has her location at a club.”

“Excuse me?” I stare at Matthew, unsure if I heard him correctly or if my tiredness is taking over and deceiving me. I shake my head disapprovingly.

“What do we do?” Matthew challenges me.

“You’re the head of security… why are you asking me?”

“You’re the King, I have to have your permission—“ Matthew begins and I roll my eyes.

“All due respect, since I have the opportunity to handle this, I want the castle on lockdown, nobody leaves and nobody enters unless we approve, you can decide protocol from there; I’m going to go find her,” I mutter, reaching for my keys, wallet and pistol by my bed. “Don’t alarm the press but we need half the security team with us to help look for her and secure areas.”

“Should we keep calling her?”

I shake my head, “She’s not going to answer. This isn’t like her.”

“Do you think she is spiralling?”

I nod my head, “No doubt.”

Anastasia does not sneak off to this extent, she does not just use the tunnels to get what she wants… It amazes me she managed to get out of the tunnels without being seen, then again, she is smart, she knows these tunnels well enough to get her way in and out without me.

** ** **

The club is hot and sweaty, the music is loud and pounding against my head. I’m not old or a party pooper, but after being woken up at four this morning to Anna insisting on us doing royal duties and then having to work, I’m tired… I have been up for just under twenty-four hours and the pounding music is doing nothing besides causing a headache and making me wish I was still in bed, wrapped up in my blankets without a care in the world.

My phone vibrates and I instantly check it in the hopes it’s Anastasia, but it’s Matthew.

“Go to the bartender and tell him you’re looking for Lavender.”

I raise a brow but I don’t question the text message, instead, I march to the bar and graciously yet vigorously make my way to the front. The bartender glances at me and gestures for my order, “I’m looking for Lavender.” I notify him, unsure of what Lavender is meant to get me in terms of locating Anastasia.

The man nods his head and gestures for me to follow his lead, he steps to the far left of the bar and pulls the half-door open, allowing me behind the bar with him, “She’s under the bar, I tried to keep her out of the public eye, a few people saw her but I simply told them it was my sister from Manchester.”

“Thank you for not publicising her.”

“No problem, but I’d make sure she doesn’t do this again. Everyone has phones these days to document this.”

I nod my head and I crouch down under the bar where Anastasia sits with her back against the wooden panels, a pair of heels by her side and her stockings ripped up her left leg. I want to scold her, I want to be angry and explain how ridiculously stupid and irresponsible this is on so many levels. I want to tell her how much danger she could have put herself in, but I can’t bring myself to let the harsh words fall from my lips. “Hey, baby,” I whisper, pushing a few strands of fallen hair behind her ear, “You ready to go home?”

Anastasia shakes her head, “Where’s home? The palace isn’t home. Home is where Dad welcomes me.”

“Sweetheart…” I begin, my heartbreaking as she looks down at the hands in her lap, sadness and disappointment evident with every moment that passes, “Home is wherever you make it, sweetheart. Home isn’t just four walls. Home is where you are. Your Dad is always with you no matter where you go. C’mon, let’s get you back to the palace and in bed.”

“Home is with you,” Anastasia whispers tiredly.

I softly smirk to myself and I nod, “Can you stand up and walk?” I request, unsure of how intoxicated she is. Her eyes tell me she has been drinking and mourning, but I’m not sure how much she has managed to drink before the bartender cut her off and hid her.

I place my arm around Anna and I help her stand up, her feet stumbling under her legs while she holds onto me like a child holding on for dear life, “Fuckin’ hell,” I mutter, “How much have you drank?” I question, holding her close to me so she doesn’t fall.

“Until the card stopped.”

“What card?” I curiously ask.

“Yours,” Anastasia responds honestly, “Can’t use mine, it’ll track me.”

“I gave you my card in case of emergencies,” I sigh, shaking my head as I guide her away from behind the bar and we use a back exit to avoid the public.

I get Anastasia out the door and we stumble across the stone pavements of a back alley and I let out a heavy breath as we have a moment to stop. I shrug my jacket off my shoulders and and I slide it up her arms, the windchill dancing between us. If she managed to conduct a way to sneak out and go to a bar, I would have thought she had enough sense to at least grab a jacket of some sort.

I use my phone to call Matthew and my other hand holds onto Anastasia by my jacket as she stumbles around, unable to stand still. “She’s fucking wasted, can’t walk a straight line to save her life, where’s the nearest car?” I mutter.

“I am not wasted,” Anastasia interrupts.

I hear Matthew chuckle on the other end of the phone before he clears his throat and informs me the car is three minutes away and to stay where we are and away from anyone who could report to the news outlets that the Princess is drunk off her ass.

*** ***

The security chambers have taken most of my attention, in a way, it has been a way to escape and take a minute to breathe and compose my thoughts and feelings towards what has happened. Although I don’t like Anastasia bluntly expressing the fact that whoever killed her father is more than likely going to come to her, I am scared she is correct. I want to avenge her father’s murderer, no doubt, but there is more than one. I am sure they’re all in on things. I need to continue to keep an eye on Henry, although I don’t think he is too much of a threat, I don’t think he can be forgotten about, he is still one of them, he still wants money and the crown as his mother did, however; I don’t think Henry will go to the extreme lengths Victoria did. Considering he doesn’t appear shocked about his mother’s unexpected disappearance and death, I don’t think he was much of a fan of his mother. Part of me believes that he is only apart of the schemes because of his mother. She was a powerful and manipulative lady, I believe she had a tight grip on her son and didn’t let him stray too far from her evil plans.

I glance over towards the camera’s, making sure nothing strange is happening. The workers are doing their duties and bustling around the palace and from what I can see, Anastasia is still in her room. As much as I wish she would come out of her room and act more lively, I would rather she stays in her room than to catch her sneaking out again. I don’t think she will be trying to leave the palace unattended, she is well aware that we have the palace on a strict lockdown, nobody enters or leaves without permission, cameras are on in ALL areas, including her room and the tunnels, and there is security detail roaming the tunnels. She can’t sneak out, she can’t escape. Her room has always been private and only watched when highly necessary, and I think now it is highly necessary, the last thing we need is for her to be out in public and unattended. I tap my fingers against the desk and cock my head to the side, the sudden realisation of things jostling me. Geroge and Henry managed to get to the hospital promptly considering they were meant to be in London while the King was brutally murdered in Germany. It’s almost as though they knew before anyone else.

The door to the chambers open and I glare towards the door but I instantly adjust my stare as Matthew walks in with a well-dressed woman who walks with power and authority.

“You’re busy, I see,” the woman smiles and I close my laptop before standing to my feet to greet her.

“I am, Prime Minister, and what do I owe this visit?” I offer her my hand to shake.

“We need to talk, it is the protocol, considering the events of things.” She trails off, referencing the fact the King died and I am now in power.

Matthew clears his throat and looks at me, “Harry, I will be heading to Anna’s room if you need me,” Matthew informs me, his eyes glancing down to his left wrist at his watch, a small indication for me to make this a prompt visit and conversation.

I nod my head, “Please, get her to eat something, it is noon and she hasn’t gotten out of bed.”

“I will do my best,” Matthew responds before exiting the chambers, leaving me with the Prime Minister who I have only met on a few occasions while being on the former King’s service.

“Before I have to talk to you about your protocol, I have a question, if I may?” I softly ask, doing my best not to sound like a dick or too much like a bodyguard; I am not trying to intimidate her by any means. Not that I think I would intimidate her, she seems highly powerful, but I tend to have an unrelenting stare and tone of voice.

She nods her head, permitting me to continue, “When did you find out about the King’s death?” I question, well aware that she would have been the first person to find out, but I assumed nobody would have made the call until the early hours, not right as Anna and I received the call.

“It was about nine, the Queen called.”

“But he wasn’t pronounced dead at that time,” I inform her, mentally tracing back my own steps of what occurred the night the King passed away.

“I was told he was in critical condition. Where are you going with this?”

“Who told George and at what time? He was determined to have Henry sign the papers, who told Henry?”

“Once I got the call, I had to announce it to the members of parliament to prepare for the worst. You have your protocols, I have mine.” She is stern with her power, asserting her dominance. I know she has her ways of operating things and I have my own, but her means of protocol don’t make sense with some of the events that took place soon after I received the call.

I bend my head, deciding now isn’t the time to ask more questions, I need to get back to working and figuring things out. “What are you here for?” I challenge.

“We need to discuss your reigning as King.”

I immediately shake my head, not desiring to discuss the fact I am the King by default. “All due respect, but no.” My words are straight to the point and blunt.

“Prime minister, let her be Queen so I can continue to my real job,” I view towards the prime minister who insisted on meeting me despite the fact I am busy working.

The prime minister stares at me and shakes her head, “You have to stay King, Harry.”

“No, the fuck I don’t, Philippa. The crown is rightfully Anna’s. I can’t pretend to play King. I know nothing about any of this besides the fact it has ruined her family.” I point out the obvious. Am not ready to run a country, I am not ready to even run the palace.

“If you refuse to be King, it goes to the next in line. Please, call me Pippa.”

“And who’s that, Pippa? It ought to be Anna, she’s next in line.”

Anastasia is the person who should accept the crown, it shouldn’t be me. I have no clue what I’m doing, she has been raised for this, she knows about the entire system and what should occur. I don’t know the first thing about commonwealth attires or how to control a country. All I know how to do is operate a security team for the royals. My job entails keeping everyone safe, not ruling a monarch that is gradually destroying my wife.

Anastasia has possessed the privilege of learning from her mother and father in what to do. Yes, her father wasn’t the most prominent ruler towards the end, but before the Ace’s caused havoc on the family, he was a damn good leader. He governed with an iron fist but was fair. It was rare for any one of the public to complain about the monarch or how it was run, the people were, are, content. The people don’t want me, a simple commoner, to manage the monarch, they don’t desire to observe me execute changes and discuss things with parliament, they require to see Anastasia, the woman they have observed over the years. I cannot govern the United kingdom and the fifteen other Commonwealth realms, I can’t even name all fifteen of the Commonwealth realms. I don’t know about the coming legislation that needs signing and voting on, I am not good with public speaking and addressing the matters of the country.

Any legislation enacted by Parliament must receive the Royal Assent before becoming law. No monarch has withdrawn to give Royal Assent since 1707 when that would have recreated the Scottish militia after England and Scotland were formally unified.

But what if I make the wrong decision and allow a bill to pass while I am in charge and it cripples the country?

What if I make the wrong decisions and ruin everything?

I may despise the monarchy right now but I don’t think Anna or her parents’ would ever forgive me if I was to ravage everything they have worked so strenuously for.

Pippa wearily sighs, almost as if I am inconveniencing her. “And do you think she’s fit to be Queen? Have you seen the papers?” Pippa reveals to me her phone that has the headlines of Anastasia’s drunken night out at the bar.

I stare at the screen and mentally roll my eyes. Once Pippa leaves, I’ll be making sure to communicate with Anastasia’s publicity team before calculating a means to shine things in a better light. Perhaps I’ll release to the journalists that Anastasia has a doppelgänger, I don’t know, I will have to get creative to hide Anna’s drunken antics.

I have seen the headlines and the papers, but that doesn’t define Anastasia. Anastasia is not what the media writes about her, Anastasia isn’t defined by what the people think or say.

“She’s grieving. She is the best one for the throne. You know this.”

“Do you think she can handle it?” Pippa questions.

“Do you think I can?” I scoff, exasperated that this responsibility is projected on me.

I can’t handle the throne. I wouldn’t even trust me to look after a puppy right now, mentally I cannot do this.

“I’m not sure, for some reason the King left you in charge. Either you continue as King or it gets handed to a distant relative. Not quite sure who that is right now, but that will not be a good idea. This is in your hands.” Pippa responds, once again making it known that the monarch and the people are currently resting in my hands.

“So, what? We tell the public there’s a plot twist and I’m king? The media will have a field day, we will be the laughing stock of all countries.”

“No,” she shakes her head, “Anastasia does the public events but you handle the monarch and the decisions. She’d be merely...” Pippa trails off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

“She’d be a puppet on strings, someone used for the limelight,” I mutter, not too pleased that Anastasia is being spoken about in this way, but I know Pippa doesn’t mean it in the way it sounds. “Pippa, my wife is upstairs, her world shattered over everything and you expect me to tell her that I have to stay as the King?”

“Harry, she doesn’t want to be Queen. She never has wanted this. She wants to abolish the monarchy, she isn’t fit to be Queen at the moment.”

“Neither do I. This is her fathers legacy, she needs to continue this. If I stay King she’ll want me to abolish the monarch. I can’t draw a line, she is my wife.”

“You’re not going to Abolish,” Pippa informs me, “When she is fit to rule, you can hand the crown over, until then, you need to keep it safe in your hands and run things. You’ll have the help of Anna’s mother and parliament.”

“Some of the men in parliament want my wife dead, I’m sure I’ll be next; I won’t be asking them for help,” I mutter, making it known I’m aware that some of the parliament officials are immoral and are on the Ace’s side.

“As King, you can handle that.”

“I can handle that as security, too,” I respond with a grin, “But you are going to handle the members of parliament,” I instruct firmly, “I am the Head of State and have legal powers, I want them out for the safety of Anastasia and the people. They’re corrupt. I do not work with corruption.”

Pippa shakes her head, “Harry, once elected, Members of Parliament cannot directly resign their seat. The only way that a seat can be vacated is through death, disqualification, dissolution, expulsion, or elevation to the Peerage.” Pippa informs me of what I already know, I am well aware of this due to the fact I have had the privilege to overhear conversations of the previous King. He wanted to kick certain members off from their position but he couldn’t, he was trying to find ways around the rules without changing too many.

“Well, if you can’t uncover a way to disqualify them and do what needs to be done, I will continue having them watched until I have a plan for how they’ll go missing. So, I suggest you handle this because I’ll make sure Anastasia isn’t touched and neither is her mother. This war against her family will end. Do we have an understanding, Pippa?” I’m firm with my words and what I’m alluding to.

I have reached my limits with the utter bullshit that has happened and continues to occur.

Pippa nods her head and grants me a small smile, “You’re already sounding like a King, ruthless and fierce.”

“I have to be, I want Anastasia safe. If we have an understanding, I’m going to get back to my job,” I gesture towards the monitors that I have been watching all morning.

“You do realise you’re working and just paying yourself now? You have to sign your paychecks now.”

“I uh—“ I begin, unsure of what to say, I haven’t quite thought about how I get paid now that I have moved to King. I’m not sure how the King even pays the employees. “I think it’s best the Queen handles the pay.”

“I will be in touch soon, will you be escorting me out?” Pippa asks and I shake my head.

“I cannot, Oliver will escort you out, he is at the door, I will let you out,” I inform her, walking towards the steel door and swiping my card through the system to open it, “Oliver,” I seize his attention and he walks closer to me, “Please escort the Prime Minister safely to the car in waiting, when you are done, you will be in the security chamber with me for more training, be quick,” I command Oliver intently before descending back into the security room and closing the door, more than delighted to have a few more minutes to myself to recompose the thoughts that are racing through me.

Later That Night.

I unlock the door to Anastasia’s bedroom and I’m surprised when I observe her sitting up in the bed, her back against the headboard and her eyes glued to a book in her hands.

I close the door behind me and unobtrusively walk in, my hands working to taking off my watch and emptying my pockets. Anastasia doesn’t bother to give me the slightest recognition, her eyes staying adhered to her book.

If I had a knife, I could cut the tension in the room. Sadly, all I have are unspoken words that I don’t want to say out loud.

“Anna,” I promptly begin softly, my shoulders shrugging off my suit jacket, “I think we should talk.”

I glance at Anastasia and watch as her brows furrowed into a frown and her lips purse onto a fine line, but she doesn’t bother to look at me.

She’s blatantly ignoring me.

None of this is my fault, yet somehow I feel like I am to blame.

“Okay…” I trail off, unsure of how far I can push without her snapping on me, I don’t want an argument but the silence isn’t healthy. “I guess I’ll do the talking.” … “I’m not sure why you’re angry with me, but whatever the reason is, I do hope that when you’re ready, you’ll talk to me about it so that we can work through it together. I don’t want to force you to speak if you don’t want to, but it’s not healthy.”

“You want me to speak, your majesty? I’m sorry, I was waiting for my permission to speak.”

“What?” I question. I’m unsure whether she’s being serious or being a smartass.

It’s a fifty-fifty chance either way.

“What do you want me to say, Harry?”

“We can start with why you’re ignoring me.”

“Because my life is beginning to feel like The Life of Saint Barbara.” Anastasia gestures around the bedroom, finally throwing her book to the side.

I stare at Anna for a moment, unsure of what point she’s trying to make, better still, unsure of who the fuck Barbara is.

Anastasia rolls her eyes, “You have no clue, huh?”

I shake my head.

“Her father had a tower built for her so she couldn’t leave or find a man, and was forced to stay in it until she found Christianity and ended up beheaded because of her faith.”

“Oh,” I sigh, “So you feel like you’re Repunzel locked in a tower?” I try not to chuckle, this analogy is far fetched.

Anastasia shrugs her shoulders, “Sure, we can put it that way, too.”

I chuckle, unable to control my sense of humour. “Good thing you can’t let down your hair and allow men to come up here at your demand.”

“This isn’t funny, Harry. You locked me in here.”

I heavily sigh and hold back my remarks about how she’s being a little bit overly dramatic. “Anna, I didn’t lock you in here, the entire palace is on lockdown.”

“I’m not allowed to leave my fucking room.”

“Because you escaped through the tunnels.”

“I needed out, Harry. This is suffocating me, Dad is gone, Mum is trying to act as nothing happened, I’ve had to help pick out fucking flowers and funeral arrangements, I have my assistant handing me different announcements I have to address in public… Harry, they’re scripting everything and my every move, they handed me a speech I have to give the day of the funeral. And to top it off, you have the crown, you’re the King, I’m just here and I don’t want to be here.”

I stand in silence, taking in every word Anastasia says, unsure of how to approach things. I nod my head and lean against the dresser drawers, “I’m sorry. The only reason you can’t leave is because—“

“Is because I fucked up and went out, I know, I get it. I shouldn’t have gotten drunk, god forbid the future Queen ever acts out of character.”

“Darling,” I swiftly cut her off, “I’ll have security stand down, you won’t be watched as closely, the room will be monitored just for the safety in case someone enters the palace, there’s still a threat, but at any time you want privacy, they will be turned off at your request again. Don’t bottle all this in, talk to me, Anna.” I inform Anastasia of what I’ll make sure happens when it comes to security. The measures were never meant to make her feel like a prisoner in her own home, they were to genuinely keep her safe, but I understand it’s suffocating her and it isn’t fair.

Anastasia shouldn’t have to pay the price and be a prisoner because of the corrupt people out there. Anna didn’t ask for any of this. I run my hands over the dresser and frown for a moment, noticing it is cleared off of the items it held yesterday morning.

My eyes flick to the tea cart that usually has coffee and tea and right beside the cart there’s usually a silver plate with a glass, frozen cubes and a bottle of alcohol.

“Where’s the tea and the alcohol?”

“They were taken just in case I use them to escape. Apparently, I’m not allowed to have alcohol in the room. The lady’s maids took everything.”

I raise a brow and take my phone out of my pants pocket, my fingers swift to unlock my phone but I look towards Anna, “How do I signal for your lady’s maid at this hour?” I question, unsure of how to contact them without physically walking to find one.

Anastasia points to the button on the wall by her bed and I frown for a moment, “I thought that was just for emergencies?” I question.

“No, it calls for the staff, the red one is for emergencies.”

“I know what the red one is,” I respond, “Please press the button for your staff to come up here,” I instruct before my eyes settle back to my phone and I begin to text Matthew. I can only assume he has heard part of the conversation on the outside of the door, but just in case, I think he needs to know the security measures will be toned down in regards to her room.

Anastasia presses the button and stares quietly at me, “I spoke to Pippa.”

“I know,” Anastasia nods, “She told me what would be happening, you don’t need to explain.”

“I’m not listening to what they want, what do you want? Do you want the crown?”

“No, I can’t handle it, Harry. Pippa is right… but there is something I do want.”

“What’s that?” I ask, slipping off my shoes before sitting on the edge of the bed to face her.

“I’m tired of this tiny room, I’d like to move to one of the apartments.”

I nod my head in agreement, “If that is what you wish.”

“It is, and I want a television in our apartment.”

“I’ll make sure to put a TV in the apartment, but can we politely ask that the creepy portraits of monarchs are not in our apartment? They creep me out.”

Anastasia cracks and smile and for the first time, she giggles, “You’re the king, it’s your world, I’m just in it.”

“No, baby, it’s your world and I’m just in it. Speaking of housing… I was thinking we could talk about buying our own place together when things settle down so that we have a place that’s not apart of the royal family?” I offer, somewhat walking on eggshells. I’m not sure how Anastasia will react to the idea of buying a house or any sort of property away from the family.

She already has access to many homes but I’ve been made aware that they don’t feel like home. I want her to have a place that she can go to and feel secure without having royal protocol measures all around her, or a place that’s private and not constantly surrounded by people like the palaces are.

“I’m not sure how I’d afford it… I haven’t worked out my finances and how this all works.”

“Don’t worry about the finances.”

“Are you some rich multimillionaire I don’t know about?” Anastasia chuckles, “Have you been the one stealing the jewels?” Anastasia jokes and I playfully roll me eyes.

“You caught me,” I smile, “But no, I just work my ass off and make the right investments. Keep a lookout for places for sale you’d be interested in.”

“But… if you’re paying, it’ll be yours… can we wait until I can contribute, please?”

I nod my head, “Yes, but just to let you know, since we are married, what’s mine is yours, if I buy a house in cash tomorrow, it’s ours, not just mine. I’m not the kind of prick to dominantly buy something to hold it over your head later in an argument,” I inform her, assuming she has some sort of fear that in years to come, I’ll express the fact she didn’t pay for the home and that it’s mine, not hers. I’ve seen it happen in many marriages and relationships, I refuse to be like that. I’m genuine.

Before Anastasia can say anything, there are two knocks at the door before a lady-in-waiting is opening the door with a small smile, “Your majesty,” she places her hands in front of her, waiting for instructions.

“Hello,” Anna greets, “He called you, not me.” Anastasia gestures towards me.

“I was wondering if you could bring back the tea and whiskey that used to sit in the room and the other items that seem to have gone missing, please,” I smile towards the lady.

“Sir, I’m not allowed to serve alcohol to the Princess.”

“Oh, it isn’t for her,” I begin, “It’s for me, I’ve had a very long day and I need a stiff drink before I head into the tunnels to my room.”

“I’ll bring it up, just a moment,” the lady immediately nods, leaving the room promptly, “We need to tell the staff, I’m tired of making up stories.”

“My mother and her team will decide that, they’re scripting everything so I assume they’ll script when the staff are told…. Are you uhhh… are you working the funeral or?”

“I’ll be wherever you need me to be. Do you want me as your husband or bodyguard? It's your decision.”

Anastasia shrugs her shoulders and looks down, “I don’t know, I don’t know if we’re allowed in the public yet as a couple or if we have to keep it a secret still…. But … will you be near me if you have to be the bodyguard?”

I nod my head, “I’ll be right beside you or behind you, depends what Matthew sets up.”

“Everything’s going to be okay, right?”

Anastasia glances towards me for comfort, comfort that I can’t guarantee but I nod my head and crawl closer to her, wasting no time with opening my arm and letting her curl up into me, “Anna… everything might not be perfect, shit might happen, we might argue here and there, your mother might end up going nuts and smashing all the vases in the palace, I don’t know, but I do know that no matter what happens, I’ll be right here. I’m going to be here to hold you, wipe away tears, to laugh and cry with you. Everything will be okay, it might not be today, next week or next year, but it will be okay. We will be okay. You will be okay. I promise I’ll always be right here,” I kiss the top of her head, doing my best to assure her that no matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere.

Life is hard as it is, but it’s even harder when you're a royal with uncertainty and a life that isn’t technically normal. Contrary to popular belief, her life isn’t as easy as the fairy tails make it out or how the media portrays her life.

“I love you, Harry.”

“I love you, Anna. But I need you to promise me something,” I gently clasp her hand with mine, bringing it to my lips and caressing a soft kiss to the back of her hand. Anastasia hums, awaiting my request, “No more shutting me out, talk things out with me. If you want to have a drink, have a drink but do it safely, if you want to go out, talk to me, we can make it happen. No need to sneak around and put yourself in danger.”

I want her to understand that no matter what, I’m always here. I may be an asshole at times and I may act like too much of a bodyguard but I don’t want her to feel as though she has to sneak around me. This world she lives in is hard enough without me making it any harder for her.

“You’re talking to me like a kid.”

“That is not my intention,” I sigh, “I just want you to be safe and I want you to talk to me and not shut down.” … “I’m here for you, no matter what. If I could take your pain and make it mine, I would. If I could change what has happened, I would, but I can’t. All I can do is make sure you understand that I’m here for you, I thought we had an unspoken language where you knew this but the events of the other night proved me wrong.”

“I know. I know you’re here for me, it’s hard sometimes. I’m suffocated by this life and I didn’t know how to say it.” Anastasia responds, “Get out of bed before the lady-in-waiting sees as she brings your alcohol,” Anna instructs, nudging me out of bed.

I get off the bed and position myself towards her dresser where I was standing when the lady-in-waiting last saw me. Anastasia goes back to reading her book while I stand and ponder over the woman I’m in love with. Such a beautiful soul who deserves the world sits in front of me completely broken. And the worst part about it is there’s nothing I can do to fix it. I can’t just glue her broken pieces back together and pretend all is okay, I can’t just hug her and hold her, no. This goes deeper than a simple hug and condolences.

I am scared that Anastasia is on a downhill spiral that I can’t control. She’s tough, but I think she has finally been broken.

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