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mariapanpan1833 · 4 years ago

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An OuiHaw Short

I thought of a small scene between the two on a rooftop and thought of some background for it, I can’t guarantee that my writing will be any good, so if anyone wants to rewrite it your totally free to do so. This is just a quick go at writing and I haven’t drafted it and I’m probably not go to reread it and as I’m writing this I have no actually full on idea of what exactly is going on an what I’m going to say.

Ashe rolled her eyes, she couldn’t believe she agreed to this, well that was until she turned to the money looking at how much they had ranked up, “Hell of run, ya know, I could use a good sniper like you around?”

Ashe struggled in the ropes as Widow tighten them behind her, “Ugh, I don’t see how this is necessary, you got enough money.” She grimaced. Widow walked to the right of her and sat on the edge of the roof with her ankles crossed and hands in her lap, “It’s better for me and you if it looks like I captured you.”

“I think it’ll be awhile since they’ll let me out like that.” Widow said, barely showing a crack at her emotions but Ashe could since a hint of distance from her. “I gotta admit, I am pretty grateful you’re giving me some of this, but I have to ask, why do you need the money?” Ashe relaxed in the ropes, sinking back realizing that she probably wouldn’t be able to outrun Widow anyway.

“I owe someone.” Widow quickly answered, still not paying Ashe a glance.

“You? Owing someone? How does someone like you need to owe someone?” Ashe raised an eyebrow.

Widow didn’t answer, after a while she simply stood and took some of the money and put in into one of the smaller bags.

“Where is your phone?” Widow asked, kneeling in front of Ashe.

“It’s in my back pocket.” Ashe answered. Widow was slightly annoyed at where she had to reach to retrieve her phone. She walked behind her and quickly pulled the phone out her back pocket, trying to not let her wonder for it any longer.

she sat the phone down on Ashe’s lap. “Call one of your men to pick up the money.” Ashe nodded as she opened the phone, once she got a hold of the line Widow placed the phone at her ear which Ashe kept up with her shoulder and tilted her head, pressing up to the phone.

Widow let Ashe talk as she took Ashe’s share of the money and went to the end of the rooftop and dropped the money at the side of the building for the Deadlocks to eventually pick up.

Ashe got off the phone and Widow came over and helped turned off the phone before she put it into Ashe’s suite pocket earning a slight grin from Ashe as she lifted her head to look into her eyes.

Widow turned around and laid down with her hands behind her head, exhausted of the long haul they had made today. Both of the women staying silent until Ashe finally broke the ice.

“So... what would you normally be doing if today was like any other day?” She asked, Ashe wasn’t really caring about the answer she just didn’t like sitting in silence.

Widow turned to her head and then back at the sky, “Some other mission perhaps.” she answered nonchalantly.

“I meant if you weren’t working, would do you do in your free time?” Ashe leaned in, paying more attention to what Widow had to say, which Widow made a note of.

“I-...” Widow thought over the question, she didn’t have much free time, a lot of her day was spent on some mission she had been tasked with that day. “Reading a book?” She answered, not sure if that was the answer Ashe was looking for.

“Oh come on, you can’t tell me you don’t like a little fun once in a while?” Ashe leaned forward, opening more into the conversation. Widow turned to the now intrigued Ashe.

“I... wouldn’t mind it.” Widow answered, this only made Ashe more excited, she had gotten Widowmaker to hesitate with her words, it didn’t mean much to Widow but it meant a lot to Ashe knowing that she wasn’t all that stone cold.

“Tell you what, one day me and you could just have a vacation day, one day away from all of this mess, it’ll take some planning but I could get the gang to cover you.” Ashe’s eyes gleamed at Widow, she didn’t really have a female to talk to as she was the female in the Deadlocks, something she’d later would regret not taking deeper consideration in.

Widow thought over Ashe’s proposal, she could take on day off for fun, she wouldn’t say it out loud but she didn’t too much mind having Ashe to talk to today, an easier change of pace compared to Sombra’s non-stop babbling, though she didn’t mind the company, it was time for a new scenery.

“I suppose, what did you have in mind?” Widow asked, sitting up.

Ashe smirk as she had newly found some confidence in the conversation. “You good with tea? There’s a nice tea shop in town, I wouldn’t mind showing you to.”

Widow let off a small smile, a smirk at best that was barley visible, “Why would you want to hang out with me anyway?” Widow questioned, she never was one to catch someone’s attention, not in the way she wanted, so she was a bit confused why someone like Ashe, a leader of a gang, would want to hang out with her.

“You could use some time to chill, besides, I think it’ll be fun haven’t someone else to than B.O.B and who other than to pick you?” Ashe teased gaining an sly smirk and eyebrow raised from Widow.

“You’re picking me over a robot, how flattering.” She commented sarcastically.

Ashe retracted, “No! I ain’t mean it like that, I just meant-” Widow cut her off by giving her a playing punch in the shoulder while light chuckling.

Ashe nearly went red-faced seeing Widow chuckling, something she didn’t know Widow could do, after all day not seeing her say more than one or two words for the most part.

Widow walked over and untied Ashe and helping her to her feet before nodding over to the ledge signaling for the two women to sit over there.

Widow sat down looking for Ashe to join her, “Wow, that’s, uh, one hell of a fall.” Ashe commented, Widow reached out a hand that Ashe gladly took before sitting down. “I thought you were a sniper?”

“I am, just never been this high before, how do you do it?” Ashe turned to Widow who had her eyes placed on the city in front of them.

“I don’t have much room for fear, you know? Things like this don’t effect me like it does you.” She answered. Ashe gave a slow uncomfortable nod, scared she brought up something she shouldn’t have.

“Right, no emotions... sorry for asking, I just thought maybe the emotion part was more of an act before I meant you.” Ashe admitted, though she was a little scared this might offend the Talon trooper.

“At the end of the day... I still wish this was an act that I could switch off and on when I wanted.” Widow looked downed, staring at the ground below as Ashe had gotten a more personal view of the spider.

“So, where are you from?” Widow oddly changed the subject. “Arizona.” Ashe quickly answered.

“You mean the hot state where people are always burning their asses off?” Widow playfully asked getting a chuckle in return from the cowgirl.

“Yeah, I remember Daddy wasn’t too keen on having me burn to death in the sun. Though he was terrible at showing it, so I always had B.O.B, someone looking out for me, when it matter most even when it was just from overheating.” Ashe somewhat joked, though Widow took to heart that last sentence.

“So why not stay? You could’ve been better off with the money you’re parents are now.”

“Coulda been boring too, look at me! I got an empire behind me, a personally butler, got enough money to not give a damn any more, and I’m pretty sure I’m sitting next to the beautiful person I’ve seen in a while.” Widow turned to Ashe’s sudden compliment.

“But then again, it has been awhile since I’ve looked in the mirror.” Ashe added. Widow couldn’t hide the smile passed her scoff before she stood up with Ashe following behind her.

Widow picked up the rope and began wrapping it up before she could see the Talon dropship in the corner of her eye. “Hey, isn’t it-”

Ashe struggled as Widow wrapped the rope around her neck before eventually tying her up again. “But I thought you said-” Widow cut her off again, handing a a nail file before coming up behind her ear and softly whispering.

“No hard feelings?” She asked, Ashe quickly caught on nodding before asking, “You still good for tea?” Ashe whispered back.

“Oui.” Widow quickly answered.

Once the dropship got close enough, Widow kicked Ashe in the back of the knees making her fall to the ground.

The dropship came to a halt, opening its doors to allow Widow inside.

“We had a deal, Lacroix!” Ashe shouted, playing along with Widow. Widow walked towards the dropship that Moira, Sombra, Doomfist, and Reaper and rode on.

“Plans change, Ashe.” Widow blew a kiss over her shoulder which the Talon agents hadn’t notice as they began to drag Widowmaker’s earnings onto the ship. “Ay, Dios mio, you weren’t playing around Wid.” Sombra said, walking past her and picking up a bag of loot, which she quickly realized she wasn’t in a good position to be carring something so heavy and threw the bag onto Doomfist, who carried it to the ship.

Widow walked own the ship grabbing a hold of the handle bars on the ship giving Ashe a quick wink before the aircraft took off leaving Ashe alone on the roof top.

#overwatch #ouihaw #widowashe #widowmaker #ashe ow

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fortunaamajor · 4 years ago

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The Ultracheese (Fred Weasley)

Fred Weasley x Reader

This story is based on one of my favourite lyrics at the moment. It’s a mainly fluffy, cheesy but angsty in parts story of Fred and Reader reminiscing on their relationship.

Reader is vague - gender not specified, no specific house mentioned.

Song Link: The Ultracheese by Arctic Monkeys

Warnings: Mild bad language, mentions of Umbridge’s Black Quill (torture)

Word Count: 2k

Although I am using the Harry Potter universe as a basis for this story I do not support JK Rowling or her views.

“Fred Gideon Weasley!” a piercing shriek from Molly erupted through the bottom floor of the Burrow, as Fred skidded into the living room where you were sitting. You gave him a pointed look as she followed him through muttering about “...making my life so difficult, can you just give me one moment to RELAX, you’re old enough to know better at this age - both of you!” her voice rose at the end of her rant so that George could also get the gist from wherever he had run off to in the cramped house. Fred was chuckling as he plopped himself down beside you. He glanced at his long suffering mother as she took a couple of deep breaths, turned on her heel and left the room, but not before spitting out something about he and his twin being “...inconsiderate, childish...”.

Lifting up the crochet blanket you were sitting under, Fred attempted to weasel his way in beside you. He looked slightly hurt at Molly’s last comment, you captured his jaw in your hand carefully and turned it towards you

“Go and apologise to her. Bonus points if you can convince George to join you.”

“But it was only a-”

“Uh uh! I don’t wanna hear it, you know I’m right. It’ll make all three of you feel better. Go.”

He hung his head, knowing you were right yet wondering how he’d ever ended up falling so hopelessly in love with someone who had a tongue almost as sharp as his mother’s.

When he returned the crochet blanket was being held open for him and there was space for him to curl up beside you. He rested his head on top of yours, kissing your hair. “How come you always know how to get me out of trouble?” he mused as his hand crept round your shoulders to hold you closer to him.

“I’ve been practicing, one day I’ll share all I’ve learnt with you Freddie boy.” you replied dryly, but with a peck on his cheek afterwards.

And practicing you had been, for four years. You had always known it would be this way when you fell in love with Fred - your second ‘date’ was in detention for Godric’s sake. He and George had roped you into helping prank Filch, being as smitten as you were for the older twin you had accepted. Unfortunately, as the three of you hid behind a suit of armour Fred had tried to be smooth and brought the whole thing crashing down (literally).

“Good job darling, you can definitely join us again” he had whispered in your ear. Then as he reached a hand round your waist he knocked the armour, which as if it had an occupant, had jumped away from the three of you - still intact. The clatter of the armour alerted Mrs Norris, and when Filch came running there was no longer anything hiding you all from his beady stare.

That was how you came to be sitting in Professor Binns’ room on Thursday afternoon, with Fred attempting to flirt silently from a few desks away. The clock was counting down until dinner, which couldn’t come quick enough. Not only were you starving but you knew that Fred would no doubt bound up to you in the Great Hall later ready to talk your ear off about his newest invention to try and impress you. It was sweet really, to see him like such a lovesick puppy who never wanted to leave your side - you might even have made fun of him if it hadn’t made your heart rate increase and your face flush with heat.

For now, under the (not so) watchful eye of Professor Binns, he had to stick with writing notes and placing them on the desk between you as silently as he could.

The first note appeared blank until his handwriting scribbled out his message...

UH OH, SORRY ABOUT THIS! HOW CAN I EVER MAKE IT UP TO YOU?

Looking over you saw him pouting, bottom lip jutted out. Blushing, you just shrugged, trying to play it cool. He frowned and sent another note your way...

SATURDAY NIGHT HOT CHOCOLATE IN MY DORM? I’LL SNEAK YOU IN X

The words scrawled in front of you caused your cheeks to burn and your palms to sweat. All you could muster was turning to him and nodding. His retort of blowing you a kiss had you reeling, so much so you didn’t notice Professor Binns coughing quietly at the front of the room.

These shared detentions lost their appeal when Umbridge arrived at Hogwarts and started enacting her ‘stupid bloody toad rules’ as Fred called them. He worried about ever getting you in trouble with the nightmare clad in pink and forbade you from joining in on any pranks, or even helping out with Weasley Products. Umbridge had it in for you because of your link with the twins, even if you were perfectly polite and pleasant she would nitpick or accuse you of things you hadn’t done. This broke Fred’s heart, especially after the three of you first experienced that damn black quill. From then on, Fred was on high alert, the idea of that monster getting her hands on you again made him want to scream. Fifteen minutes into a dull Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson she had already pounced,“Weasley, see me after class.” she scolded, her tone clipped.

“But Professor I...” he had begun to exclaim, before she raised her arched brows

“Three of my second years this morning had to be excused due to illness... I know one of your ghastly concoctions was behind it.” she practically sang.

Fred knew the group of boys she was referring to, they had been saving up for Puking Pastilles in order to skive one of Umbridge’s lessons, and to be honest, he didn’t blame them. He said nothing, but a voice piped up from across the class. Horrified, he realised it was you.

“Professor, you can’t possibly blame Fred for that! What if there’s a bug going round? Or what if they bought the product from someone else?”

Umbridge tried to suppress a smile as she nodded along.

“I see, you can join Mr Weasley in detention, along with his brother. I’m assuming he is the ‘someone else’ you were referring to, Y/L/N?” she quipped, turning now to George. You groaned, looking over apologetically at George as that was definitely not the outcome you had hoped for. Fred had to clench his fist to stop from lashing out.

Back in the common room Fred was angry, the angriest you or George had ever seen him. “She’s a cow, a wretched cow. Y/N you shouldn’t have gotten involved, you know exactly what she’s going to do to you - do to all three of us. I can’t bear it.” This had you frowning, explaining you would rather go through that pain with him, and be there for him.

“NO! Don’t sacrifice yourself for me, if she hurts you Godric knows what I’ll do to her - and then what will happen? How can it possibly get any worse than bloody torture?”

All three of you were silenced by his outburst. He saw the stress in the lines in your forehead and the anguish in your eyes. Reaching out for you, he surrounded you in warmth. “Y/N, I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. I shouldn’t have acted like that. I just hate to see you hurting, but I appreciate you always wanting to be there for me. I really do, love.”

The twins’ final day was one you would never forget. You’d only known about their plan for a few days - they couldn’t risk anyone finding out and putting a stop to it. Fred would definitely be happier away from Hogwarts and, more vitally, Umbridge. She would hopefully ease up on all of your unjustified detentions as well if they were no longer there to provoke her. In only a few short months you and Fred would be back to spending your days together, and he had big plans to save for your future away from Hogwarts. To him, this was simply preparation and planning (two things he excelled at if he did say so himself) for the rest of your lives.

The day arrived, standing outside the Great Hall you saw the excitement running through the twins. The morning had been blissful, Fred had snuck you both to Hogsmeade and you had relived one of your first dates. Then by the fire of the common room you had spoken about the future, and the plans that were just about to begin. After a bittersweet kiss, he had mounted his broomstick with George and kicked off the ground. Your heart soared watching him do what he did best, the chaos and joy of the scene surrounding you was enough to make you well up with pride. As the sparks rained down he caught your eye and winked. Umbridge’s uncontrollable fury was the perfect ending to your day as she stood seething amid the cheering, happy students. You made sure to describe it all in glorious detail in the owl you sent to Fred that same evening.

The worst ever trick pulled on you by Fred was the moment that you realised that sometimes fun and games weren’t always... well... fun and games. You two had spent the day together in the bedroom of the flat above the shop. In the morning he had a short meeting with George about work stuff. After that, he had returned to bed and the two of you had relaxed, sharing kisses, chatting nonsense and talking about life until you felt it was time to get up. Heading through to the kitchen you saw an unfamiliar potion bottle, “Freddie, what’s the new product?” you had shouted through before picking it up and sniffing it. Immediately your nose screwed up and you spluttered “eurgh, smells like Polyjuice potion!” turning to Fred, who was plating up breakfast using small flicks of his wand. “Are you allowed to sell this in the shop? Has someone tested it?” your brows pulled together. “Oh, love I must’ve forgotten to say - I’m testing it right now!”

“Freddie, what do you mean?” you looked over at him. That’s when you noticed, Fred’s small scar on his eyebrow was gone. In fact, upon closer inspection you weren’t looking at Fred, you were looking at George. As you frowned his eyes widened dramatically.

“Oh... its worn off.” whispered George as he stood infront of you, “We tried it out at the end of the meeting but it must have been an hour since then.”

“FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF BEFORE I BURN THE SHOP AND EVERYTHING IN IT TO THE GROUND!” you bellowed, rushing round the flat in an attempt to find the real Fred.

When you found him, he was doubled over laughing. “You can quit that! I’ve just spend the last hour cuddling your bloody brother you prick” you raged at him. He wiped tears of laughter from his eyes and tried, unsucessfully, to pull you into his arms.

“No Fred this is not funny, you can’t just use me as a test subject, you don’t get to mess with me like that. Have some respect!” you continued to shout.

“Darling, darling. The thing is... you weren’t cuddling my brother. We just planted the potion for you to find and swapped when we went into the kitchen, babe, It was me earlier!” Fred wheezed. He looked over at George who was standing in the doorway, caught between a terrified sort of trance at your reaction and a chuckle bubbling from his lips.

“Brother of mine, this was all very fun but please remind me never ever to try and trick Y/N ever again, that was really...scary.” he admitted.

“I know,” smiled Fred “wasn’t it brilliant!”

Back on the sofa in The Burrow, Fred couldn’t believe his ears “What do you mean by practicing?” he asked incredulously. You scoffed “You’ve been getting yourself, and sometimes me, in bother for four years now Fred. I had to adapt to survive!” he chuckled at this. “Ok fair play...” he whispered into your hair, leaning down to hover his lips over yours, “I’ve done some things that I shouldn’t have done... but I haven’t stopped loving you once.”

A/N: Please let me know if you enjoyed this story, my requests are currently open but please read the guidelines on my page first. Thanks for reading.

#fred weasley x reader #fred weasley imagine #fred weasley fic #fred weasley one shot #harry potter imagines #harry potter one shots #harry potter fic #fred weasley fluff #hp fic #hp imagine #hp one shot

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keelywolfe · 6 years ago

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FIC: Bonding Over Idiocy (baon)

Summary: Stretch really hated hospitals, so you'd think he would try harder to stay out of them.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Hints of Kustard, Mentions of Therapy

part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

Read it on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

It wasn’t just the poking and prodding, the nurses coming in at all hours and the doctors coming in to talk to him with serious eyes, trying to find delicate ways to tell him the newest way his low HP had betrayed him that made Stretch hate hospitals.

The sheer boredom was so much worse. No matter how interesting a book or how tempting a cooking show was, there was no escaping that he was doing it from a hospital bed. That in and of itself was too distracting for anything else to hold his attention. His cellphone was still in the lab, probably blowing up with messages that he couldn’t answer. That left Stretch with the option of sleeping, napping, and trying to keep his complaining to a minimum.

For once, this shit was entirely on him, so he was going to swallow back his irritation and take his medicine. Literally.

At least he’d managed to push Edge into going to work for a few hours. With Janice off, he was already behind and the last thing he needed was to make it worse because of Stretch’s dumbfuckery. It also meant he didn’t have to spend the day with Edge looking at him with that tired, pinched expression. He was still pissed off, that much was obvious, probably trying to keep himself from taking it out on Stretch since he was, you know, in the fucking hospital hooked up to his own personal fuel line.

He would have taken that look, taken whatever Edge had wanted to throw at him, if he were being brutally honest with himself. It had been hard enough to stifle the desperate urge to beg Edge to stay and fuck his job, stay with him until that aching, lingering panic faded enough for him to believe that they were…well, not okay, maybe, but that Edge wasn’t going to pack up his shit for him and leave it on the porch. That Stretch hadn’t finally managed to stumble across the line of unforgivable.

Not that Stretch didn’t believe Edge when he said he would never leave him, he did…mostly.

It wasn’t like he’d been rubbing the ring on his finger, fidgeting with it until the bone beneath it was chafed and sore, nope, not at all.

Blue had lingered a bit longer and he’d only left when Stretch had pleaded exhaustion, rolling over and feigning sleep until his bro quietly left. No telling where he’d gone, maybe back home for a shower and a nap, maybe he was only downstairs in the cafeteria, but Stretch was pretty sure he’d be back soon enough.

Yeah, that was tiring to think about, his brother that he loved so much hanging around, bullying him into eating a little more and tucking the blankets in too tightly, alternating between scolding and cajoling.

Fuck, he’d never wanted a cigarette so much in his life and he’d never been less inclined to whine for one.

From behind the curtain, he heard the door open, almost silent footsteps walking towards him. Familiar footsteps, not someone he was expecting, but not a surprise, either, not really.

Sans stopped at the edge of the curtain, peering around it. He managed a half-hearted smile when he saw Stretch was awake, tucking his hands in his pockets, offering a weary, “hey.”

“hey,” Stretch grabbed the remote and muted the television. “come in, will ya, stop looking like i’m gonna push you down and steal your lunch money.”

That got him a head shake, but Sans did take a couple steps closer. “you should’ve told him, you know. he might have laid off a little.”

Stretch shrugged. “why? then he’d be pissed off at you, too. besides, you didn’t make me keep working by myself.”

He’d come up with that bit of stupidity on his own. Everything had been set up for yet another test run by the time Sans texted him that he wasn’t going to make it to the lab. By now they’d gone through this a dozen times; the problem wasn’t with the distiller, it was the formulation that kept breaking down after only a few days. Preserving the solution was the issue they were having, not extracting the magic to make it. Or so Stretch had thought.

“nah, i just didn’t give you another option.” He hopped up on the foot of the bed, sitting with his legs dangling. “for what its worth, i’m sorry i ditched out on you.”

“working with me isn’t your only job, bud, i get it.”

“no, it’s not. and we’ve been busting double time down at the embassy,” Sans agreed, wearily, “but what sucks about this whole thing is i was right upstairs with your bro the whole time. i didn’t lie when i begged off, you know, i was tired, but i knew i wasn’t gonna be able to fall asleep. blue asked me if i wanted to stop by for a little television and…eh, i know he gets a little lonely sometimes since you moved out.” He slanted Stretch a knowing look. “that’s not a knock on you, by the way, blue’s gonna have to figure that out on his own. figured it wouldn’t kill me to sit with him, though, and fall asleep on his sofa for a change.”

Sans laughed sourly. “i almost ran downstairs when i first got there, to check in and maybe come up with another day to run the tests.”

“coulda, shoulda, woulda,” Stretch nudged Sans with his toes. “i’m not mad at you, if you’re not mad at me.”

“deal,” Sans agreed. “wanna tell me exactly what happened? pretty much all i had a chance to figure out was that the test was an epic fail, but i could use a few lab notes.”

“yeah, well. after you texted me to let me know you weren’t coming, i thought i’d run a basic distillation. we’ve done that a few times, haven’t had a problem before.” Stretch looked away from Sans’s keen gaze, picking lint off the blanket. “i’m not really sure what happened, power surge, maybe? the process is supposed to shut down after a certain time frame, we put in a failsafe for that. what we didn’t figure on was it getting caught in a feedback loop. for whatever reason, every time it hit the time frame, it reset and started over.”

He shivered a little, not really wanting to remember it. It had been painless, mostly, but the terror of realizing he couldn’t shut it down, the feeling of his magic draining away, dwindling to nothing. The pain hadn’t hit until it started on his HP and before he’d lost consciousness, all he’d been able to think about was Edge. If Edge thought Stretch didn’t care if he hurt him, well, Stretch wasn’t about to prove him wrong by telling him his last thoughts were of Edge finding his dust. He still wasn’t sure why he hadn’t dusted, but he sure as fuck wasn’t about to complain about it.

Stretch smiled, bitterly. “we’re supposed to be so smart, but the one thing we didn’t put on the thing was a fucking off switch and i couldn’t reach the plug. Stupid.”

“welp, if nothing else we know how to do the redesign. maybe next time we can figure that out with a little less drama. riding in a car with your bro and edge while you were trying to croak in the back seat?” Sans shuddered visibly. “let’s keep that as a once in a lifetime experience for the scrapbook.”

“yeah, kinda glad i was unconscious for that,” Stretch considered what he was about to say next, then shrugged mentally. Sans wasn’t going to like this, but he had to ask. “hey, i need you to do something for me. the distiller pulled all my magic, which ain’t no small thing. that means it’s still sitting in the machine, waiting.”

San’s expression was wary. “yeah?”

“it won’t last forever, it’ll start degrading in a couple days. i need you to try the infusion.”

He looked a little horrified, his normal easy calm shaken. “stretch, dude…”

“after all this, i’m not about to let it go to waste,” he snapped. “ask andy to come hang with you while you set it up if we’re going to tighten up protocol. he offered before and that way you won’t be alone. i didn’t almost die for nothing.”

As disturbing as Sans seemed to find experimenting with the magic he’d almost died losing, the scientist in him didn’t seem to be able to come up with an argument against it. “yeah, okay. i’ll call him. this is my fault, too. i’ve been bailing on you in the lab an awful lot lately.”

“stop that, will ya?” Stretch gave him a harder shove with his foot, “you begged off, you didn’t tell me to go on without you, it’s not on you.”

“hey, let me say my piece, okay?” He lay down on the bed next to Stretch's legs, looking up at the ceiling. The top of his head was level with the bottom of Stretch’s rib cage, his sneakered feet hanging off the end of the mattress. “i’m still seeing that therapist, you know.”

“me too. got it down to once a week, at least.”

“yeah. it gets better but shit doesn’t disappear because you want it to. probably do red some good to go, too. he’s pretty pretty fucked up,” Sans said, softly. He flinched a little when Stretch reached down and rested his fingertips on the top of his skull, but he didn’t pull away. “don’t think he’s about to make an appointment anytime soon.”

“no, i bet he wouldn’t,” Stretch said, “not exactly his style, is it.”

“no,” Sans agreed, sighing. “so, i ask you. how do i get past that? i’m not sure. i’m really not interested in your version of happily ever after. doesn’t mean i don’t want a version, though.”

That wasn’t anything Stretch had expected to hear. “sans…”

Sans shifted so that he was pressed tighter against Stretch’s legs. Taking a little comfort in his presence without asking for it, Stretch knew, because he tended to do it himself. “i mean, i’m pretty head over heels for that bastard.”

“that bad?”

“yeah. hey, you’re the lucky one,” Sans said with a bitter chuckle, “you got version 2.0, he’s pretty much housebroken. on a bad day, i think red would shiv someone who accidentally shorted him a curly fry at the local arby’s.”

“pretty sure you’re right. does knowing that change how you feel?”

“not even a little.” Sans tipped his head back, looking up at Stretch, upside down. “whatcha think?”

“i think you’re fucked.”

His grinned widened, sour and amused. “sounds about right.

A soft knock on the door made them both startled, and Sans leaned up on his elbows as the door opened, boots too loud on the tile floor as footsteps approached. Speak of the devil and he’ll show up for a chat of his own, it seemed.

“well, hey, a honey bun and a ketchup packet,” Red’s grin was sharp, and Stretch didn’t think he imagined the veil of careful disinterest that fell across Sans’s face. “how’s things, sweethearts?” His eye lights settled on Stretch, his grin widening. “nice to see you with both feet out of a dust pan. do my bro a favor, and try to stay like that for a day or two, yeah?”

“i’ll do my best. what are you doing here?” Stretch asked warily. Manners were usually wasted on Red, anyway.

“now, that ain’t nice,” Red shook his head sadly. “i’m here to do you a favor and everything.”

Yeah, that didn’t make him feel any better. “what favor?”

“brought you this.” Red reached into his inside jacket pocket and brought out what looked almost like a pen, only it was flat and there was a brightly colored cap on one end. He held it up triumphantly before offering it to Stretch.

Like he was going to take anything from Red without knowing what it was. “what is it?”

Red took his wariness in stride, coolly amused, “this is a juul, precious.”

Stretch made a face at both the nickname and the offering. “you brought me a vape?”

“yep, full of nicotiney goodness, only it won’t set off the smoke alarm.” When he still hesitated, Red waggled it in his fingers teasingly. “this one is honey-flavored.”

“okay, you’ve got my interest,” Stretch muttered. Edge would be more than a little annoyed if Red poisoned him. That meant it was probably safe enough. Probably.

Still, he couldn’t help but hesitate at Red’s encouraging look. Welp, he’d already been stupid once this week, may as well go for broke. He held it up to his mouth and took an uncertain puff. The flavor wasn’t overpowering, only a mild sweetness. Not at all like a cigarette, but he could already feel the nicotine settling into his magic and the cloud of vapor vanished quickly as he exhaled.

Stretch closed his sockets and took another puff. “okay, yeah, i owe you one. that ain’t bad.”

“pay me back by not letting either of our bros catch you with it,” Red licked his teeth and Stretch knew he didn’t imagine the way his eye lights flicked to Sans, brief as it was. “and take it easy, the battery only lasts so long. welp, i’ve got shit to do and you’re fucking boring. need a ride home, sansy?”

“not if you’re calling me that.”

“i can probably think of something else to call you,” Red said agreeably.

“maybe i’ll take my chances,” Sans said. His tone was bored laziness. His eye lights were definitely telling another story. “an uber driver would probably call me sir. don’t think i can expect that from you.”

From the way Red’s eye lights flared, Stretch wasn’t sure that offer was off the table.

Ugh, was this how everyone felt around him and Edge? No wonder the others were always rolling their eyes and groaning in disgust. Even Papyrus, whose patience for displays of affection was legendary, would occasionally let out an exasperated sigh when they were particularly revolting. Hell, that was part of the fun, in Stretch’s opinion, and Edge tolerated it with dry amusement. Must be killing Red to be so subtle, or at least his version of it.

Why the hell did he not want Edge to know?

“nice as it was to have you guys stop by for tea and crumpets, i don’t give it a shit if you call him daddy. i’m tired, so you can hit bricks now,” Stretch said. His yawn wasn’t entirely forced.

“no need to bring up your kinks with the edgelord,” Sans grinned slyly, hopping down before Stretch could give him a real kick. “get some sleep, kiddo, i’ll stop by again tomorrow if they haven’t cut you loose.”

“i’m the same age as you, asshole,” Stretch grumbled.

“don’t take it personal, honey bun, sansy here is only pissed he didn’t age as well as you.” Red barely flinched as Sans stepped rudely on his foot as he walked past. “don’t get caught with that and i’ll bring you a new cartridge tomorrow.”

The door closed behind them and Stretch turned the volume back up on the television. At least it was useful for a little background noise to help him sleep. A nap sounded pretty damn good and if he took one, maybe he wouldn’t fall asleep when Edge came back tonight.

He really wanted Edge to come back tonight.

Carefully, he tucked the e-cigarette into the pillow, then pulled the blankets up as best he could around the tubes of his IV’s before closing his sockets. Before he drifted off, he sent a brief, silent prayer to an angel he didn’t really believe in that he wouldn’t dream of dying, again.

His nightmares Greatest Hits album really didn’t need another track.

-finis-

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underswap papyrus #underfell papyrus #by any other name

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baelllamyblake · 7 years ago

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Princess of the Ground ( Bellamy Blake x reader/Modern AU )

Summary : In Trikru, you're one of the best bikers on the motocross track. Every local knows who you are and no one dares to challenge you personally on the dirt. Bellamy Blake, an up and coming biker, has come to to your town to compete in the motocross championship. Will the princess fall from her tower or prevail and rise to the throne ?

Pairing : Bellamy Blake x reader

Warnings : a couple swear words like 6 idk lol

Word Count : 2,025 words. wow i have never wrote something this long before yikes

A/N : So! This is my first fanfic like ever and I’m really just winging it at this point. I personally think it’s a little long but I don’t think it’s all that bad. I kind of want to split it into parts. My inspo was that I just thought it would be really hot to see Bellamy ride a dirt bike and be hella good at it. sorry not sorry ahhh FEEDBACK WOULD BE SO NICE PLEASE FUCK ME UP WID IT <3 lowkey really scared of how this will turn out

You breathed in the familiar smell of dirt mixed in with gasoline. The sound of distant, buzzing dirt bikes and loud revs made the adrenaline rush through your veins. It was motocross season and it was your time to dominate the track once again.

Arriving to the circuit with your motorbike in tow, locals waved and asked if you were ready to win the championship in passing. You simply laughed at the question and waved back to them politely.

" Are you ready to win, Y/N? " Kane asked, pushing your bike by the handlebars to the designated pit spot. You thought for a moment before turning to your father and shrugging.

" Definitely, hopefully there'll be actual competition this year. " you said, a smug smirk curving your lips. You looked up to the sky, not one cloud in the vast sky. Conditions were perfect. You were going to be the one to take the competition by storm.

" Possibly, Y/N. I heard there's a new competitor coming from Arkadia. I think he might've been in the championship out there. You know, the one you crashed out of. " Kane said, exerting a deep grunt as he lift your dirt bike onto a bike stool. He swiped some stray dirt off the seat before looking to you. You rolled your eyes in annoyance and glanced to the other riders, preparing themselves for what's to come.

" Ugh, don't even remind me about that race. I'm winning this one for sure, dad. Anyway, it's about time, I was getting bored of beating Murphy all the time. " you said, earning a chuckle out of your dad. Murphy moved to your town two years ago and the first time you met him was in the pits, since he was a neighbor to you and your father. You can recall the first conversation you both had.

" Ready to eat my dust, dirt princess? " Murphy spoke up from the side, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were ablaze with a passionate fire. He seemed so sure of himself. Yet, you had no clue who this guy was and all you were doing was casually waiting for the next race to begin.

" Dirt princess, huh? Well, peasant, get ready to kiss my fine, royal ass on the track. " you sassed back, making eye contact that could spark a fire out of thin air. You were determined to win and show this loser who was boss of the ground.

Thirty minutes later, you're in your lineup on the track, every racer anxious to pull the throttle. As soon as that light turned green, you were in your element. Pure instinct took control. It was just you, your bike, and the dirt sailing underneath. You blew the competition out by a landslide.

" You just got lucky, dirt princess! I'll get you next time. " Murphy shouted, holding onto the helmet tightly in his right hand, and quickly rubbing his nose with the other.

" Yeah, yeah, peasant. You had a good time lookin' at my ass from third, don't deny it, " you said, giving Murphy a sultry wink before extending your hand out to shake his. Murphy didn't hesitate to shake your hand firmly, a smirk forming on his face. " I'm Y/N. Nice to meet you. " you stated, maintaining the handshake.

" John Murphy. " he stated, keeping a strong grip on your small hand. You gave him a small smile before stripping your jumpsuit and leaving for home.

" You ready? " your father asked, waving a hand in front of your face, breaking you out of your daze. It was finally time to line up for the first race of the season.

" Born ready. " you said with a determined smirk on your face. You slipped on your F/C jumpsuit, splattered with logo designs and layered with body armor. You slipped on your boots and gloves tightly, making sure they couldn't come off. You fashioned your hair into a low ponytail and slipped on your custom F/C helmet. The hard plastic was decorated in colorful designs and logos. Large, reflective goggles were fit over to keep the dirt out of your eyes. You looked pretty fucking badass.

Ten minutes later, you were in the lineup, standing out amongst the male racers. You were much shorter than the others but you carried your weight just as good as they did, if not, better. You gazed to the left of you and scanned down the line of racers. There was no one out of the ordinary that you noticed. You swiveled your head to the right and caught sight of someone you've never seen before.

" Is he the new guy in town? " you wondered to yourself, briefly examining what the biker was wearing. A black jumpsuit and helmet, both speckled with white accents and brightly colored logos. The number 10 was placed on the side of his helmet and plastered on the back of his suit. He had to be sweating his ass off. His bike was just same, black with white designs. It was kind of hot, seeing someone go against the norm of obnoxiously colored clothes and motorbike. It was a weirdly refreshing sight to see.

" Like what you see, sweetheart? Take a picture. It'll last longer. " Bellamy spoke up with a clear, deep voice. You could hear the obvious smirk on his face but you wouldn't deny the fact that you found him attractive.

" Yeah, I sorta do. It's too bad though; I won't be able to stare at you if I'm in first place. " you said, wishing he saw the wink you gave him behind your goggles. Bellamy gave you a smile under his helmet, coming up with ideas of what you looked like under all the gear.

" You're on. " he said, with a small chuckle. You weren't going to let this new guy phase you from winning. The alarm blared, the light turned green, and bikes immediately took off with a powerful, ear-deafening roar. It was a close race between you and Bellamy stuck on your trail. You pulled through and prevailed in first place, kicking the season off to a good start.

The announcer yelled your name for first place and Bellamy Blake for a close second. The audience erupted in cheers, screams, and yells. Quickly braking and splaying loose clumps of dirt away from you in your drift, you threw your arms in the air and screamed joyfully. You ripped off your goggles and helmet to take in a refreshing breath of the dusty air.

Braking slowly to a complete stop, Bellamy watched you celebrate and turned away to smack his helmet in frustration. Head hung low, Bellamy was taking deep breathes in total disbelief. He never lost to anyone and yet, he just lost to you. You looked to Bellamy with the biggest smile, stretching from ear to ear on your face.

" Hey! You're really something, stranger! I hope I see more of you around! " You yelled to Bellamy who didn't even try to look up at you. You shrugged it off, put your helmet back on and drifted out of dirt. Bellamy watched your figure ride away through his goggles, groaning in defeat.

" Y/N Kane, you sure are something too. " Bellamy grumbled out through his helmet grill, forcing himself to drive back to the pit tent. He forcefully put his bike up and skulked in a chair, hoping you weren't nearby or anything.

" Did you meet dirt princess? " Murphy spoke up, taking a sip of a water bottle while watching Bellamy contemplate his whole existence.

" Is that what you call her? " Bellamy asked, giving a smirk to Murphy. He nodded, and took a seat next to Bellamy. Bellamy furrowed his eyebrows at how close Murphy was sitting next to him.

" Yeah, she's a real cutie and real killer on the ground. " Murphy explained, taking another swig of his water. Bellamy rubbed his face, reliving the race in his mind. He couldn't maneuver around you for some unknown reason. Bellamy couldn't wrap his brain around it. Your father told you that Bellamy Blake was the name of the black suited stranger and he even showed you a couple videos of him racing. Bellamy was good but you were better. You refused to let him beat you, fueling your passion and desire to win.

The hours of the day went by swiftly and the floodlights soon flashed on, illuminating the rising dust off the track. Your father left you to pack the truck as he left to go drinking with his friends for the night. You groaned in pain as your sore body lifted tool box upon tool box. Murphy took notice of you about to leave so he headed in your direction.

" Hey, princess! Taking first place again as always, why don't you give your subjects a chance? " Murphy shouted out to grab your attention. You lifted an empty gas canister, back turned to Murphy and unaware that Bellamy tagged along.

" Oh, Murphy, my favorite peasant. You know I can't allow that. The princess always gets what she wants. " You replied, lifting another canister into the bed of your truck. You turned around to look at Murphy but your eyes immediately darted to Bellamy who was intensely staring you down. At first, you couldn't tell who he was before your eyes wandered down to the black helmet in his hand. You looked back up to scan his face. Bellamy Blake was very easy on the eyes. His features were so captivating. You couldn't help but furrow your eyebrows and smile at him.

" Like what you see, sweetheart? " you asked Bellamy, giving him a playful smile. Bellamy rolled his eyes, a hint of a smirk on his handsome face. Murphy squinted his eyes in confusion of the interaction between the two of you.

" I see you two have already met. Well, nice job anyway, Y/N. See you both at the next race. " Murphy said, patting you on the shoulder and leaving before the tension between you and Bellamy got any worse. You returned to packing the last of the canisters and slamming the door shut. Bellamy watched your every move closely. He didn't imagine you to be so beautiful and so graceful.

" I don't mind the staring but you don't have to be quiet while doing it. Do you need a ride home? " You said in a playful tone, shooting him a flirty wink. Bellamy blinked a couple times, snapping back to reality. He cleared his throat and looked to the ground, face growing warm and pink. You laughed at him quietly as you could tell he was obviously nervous.

" Is it wrong to admire art, Y/N? And No, I don't. My car is just over there. " He asked, smoothly, giving you a flirty smile with a tinge of lust in his eyes. You were taken aback at how smooth he was.

" It's totally obvious that you're in love with me so tell you what, Bellamy Blake. I'll give you my number and go out on a date with you if you beat me in the next race. " you proposed, raising your hand up for him to shake. Bellamy gasped a little in offense before narrowing his eyes and taking your hand into his.

" You're so on, dirt princess. " Bellamy said, squeezing your small hand slightly. You smiled and pulled his hand toward you while leaning in to give him a light peck on the cheek. His cheeks transitioned from warm and pink to hot and red.

" I won't make it easy. " you said in his ear, warm breath running down his neck. You let go and winked at Bellamy one last time. Leaving him wordless in the middle of the parking lot, you hopped in your truck and drove off.

Bellamy held a hand to the cheek you kissed as he watched you drive off. He couldn't wait for the next race.

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jolienjoyswriting · 6 years ago

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Curtain Call, Ch. I

Chapter 1 of "Curtain Call," an Essence of Ragnarok story.

This is the beginning of the end…

Word count: 3,613 – Character count: 20,140 Originally written: February 11th, 2019

After a painfully-long wait, Joseph finds the right moment to visit an "old friend…"

[ ↶ Prev. Story | ← Prev. Chapter | Next Chapter → | Next Story ↷ ]

On a brightly-lit, sunny day, a girl in overalls and a green T-shirt stood outside of a large house, hanging wet clothing on a drying line. She hummed a tune to herself, smiling all-the-while. She had just finished hanging what appeared to be a bright-white lab coat on the line and bent down to retrieve a short-sleeved T-shirt with a colorful design on the front. When she leaned up, however, she was greeted by an unexpected interruption in the form of a furry face.

“O-oh, h-hello…” she stammered before clearing her throat. “Are you here to deliver the mechanisms to the doctor?” The furry face curled into a frown and its owner reached over to her, causing her to take a cautious step back. “P-please, place the boxes near that folding door,” she emphatically requested, “then be on your way, if that’s not too much trouble!” “Hope…” they said in a soft, masculine voice. The girl’s brow furled downward and the scowled. “That is my hope, yes.” “You’re… my Hope…” “I beg your pardon…?”

The blue-haired girl took another step back as the fur-bearing figure in the long trenchcoat grabbed at her, narrowly missing one strap of her blue, denim overalls. Her expression changed to one of anger as the stranger stepped forward, then she drew something from within the chest flap of her outfit which stopped him cold. “Do not take another step!” she warned, pointing an old-style, six-chamber firearm at him. “I have been authorized – and, instructed – by my creator to, in the event of a hostile trespasser, use this! I really… really don’t want to, though, so please… don’t make me!”

The figure slowly put his hands in the air and took two steps away from the girl holding him at gunpoint. When the stranger’s golden eyes followed the path from the barrel of the gun back to the girl’s face, they noticed something… “You… really don’t want to shoot me, do you…?” “No, I don’t!” she said as her angry eyes began to water. “I hate the idea of hurting anyone who hasn’t done anything wrong! S-so, please! Don’t do anything wrong… and– and, just leave! Okay…?”

There was a long pause as the stranger stared into the girl’s eyes… She was shaking and seemed unsure of her actions. It would have been easy for the stranger to knock the gun out of her hand and overpower her. However… “You’re in there… You remember me…!” “What?” “You remember me… don’t you…? Hope?” She gave a blink, clearing her eyes. The stranger was smiling… but, for whatever reason… he’d started crying, as well!

“I’ve been counting the days until Dr. Lewis got out of jail and reactivated you,” he said as he turned around with a sigh. “I’ve been anxiously waiting for the right time to get you by yourself… so I can convince you to come home. I’ve been miserable without you, Hope… Knowing that bastard had you in his clutches… it was eating me, alive! But, that’s all in the past. I’m here for you… in the present. So, what do you say?” He turned back toward the girl with a smile and extended a hand her way. “Let’s go home. Okay?”

A warm breeze blew through the area, rustling the girl’s long, blue hair and the short, amber-colored fur of the stranger’s vulpine tail. His chocolate-tipped ears flicked while her green eyes twitched. All-the-while, she maintained a vigilant stance, keeping the firearm pointed at her target who no longer seemed concerned about being threatened. Neither one of them seemed to have anything more to say. That is, until… “What…?” The girl pulled the hammer back on the gun, closing one eye and taking a sturdier stance, her aim leveled at the fox’s head. All-at-once, he realized… she was reacting to what he’d said.

“My name isn’t ‘Hope,’ you stalker!” the girl shouted. “But–” he started, only to be interrupted. “I can’t believe you’ve been watching the doctor… watching me! What sort of sick– forget it, I don’t want to know! All I want is for you to get out of my sight!” “But–!” The fox yelped and winced as the girl fired a shot which grazed his ear, then he looked up just in time to see her pull the hammer back a second time and re-establish her aim. “Last. Warning.”

The stranger couldn’t believe what had just happened. The girl… whom he was absolutely certain would be convinced to go with him… had actually attacked him! He was tempted to ask whatever happened to “not wanting to hurt him…” but, he found himself too distraught by what he saw as her betrayal to say anything more than… “But… I love you…!” “If you ‘love me’ so much,” the girl said with growing irritation, “then, leave us… leave me… alone!” “But–!” Again, the fox winced and yelped. As he reached out for a second time, she quickly shifted her aim and grazed him along the forearm. And, as he held his arm and whimpered, he noticed her level the gun at him a third time.

“Are you stupid?!” she shouted with angry, tearful eyes. “Why do you keep pushing me?! Do you want me to kill you?!” “Y… yes…” The stranger gave another yelp. The girl had shot him, again… and, just like the last two shots, she’d missed anything vital. However, the hole she’d left in his right shoulder was a clear indication that she was running out of patience…

“Get… out of here!!” she shouted as loudly as she could. “Please…!” “Why are you… haa… acting like this…?” was his response as he held his bleeding wound. “Don’t you remember me…? It’s me… Joseph!” “I don’t know any ‘Joseph!’” was her sharp response as she shook her head. “The doctor was right! You beast-men are vile, selfish, horrible creatures! But, I can’t… I can’t do this…” She slowly lowered the gun, gingerly letting the hammer come to rest in its cradle. “Joseph…” the girl said in a compassionate, somewhat sad tone. “I’m not ‘Hope.’ I’ve never been Hope. By Ash, I’ll probably never be Hope. You’re mistaken. I’m… I’m sorry that I shot you, but you just won’t listen…” The girl sighed and shook her head before looking his way, again. “If you love me… if you love her… then, just… go. Okay? I can’t and won’t be your ‘Hope.’ That’s all there is to it…” “But…” “‘But,’ what?” Joseph winced. The girl sounded irritated, again. “But… but…” He hesitated… then, he sighed before finally telling her… “But, you’re right. You’re not Hope.” She sighed, again, before offering a faint smile. “Thank you.” “Hope would never hurt me like you have… ‘Marie.’” “How do you–” The girl paused, then growled. “You know what? I don’t care.” With that, Marie put the gun back into her overalls and crossed her arms. “Go with Ash’s grace. May He ensure that the doctor never sees you on his property.”

Joseph narrowed his eyes… and, so did she. A moment later, he gave a grunt, then he turned around and quietly shuffled away from the area. Once he was well out-of-sight, Marie trembled… then, she collapsed on-the-spot, crashing to her knees and leaning back on her arms. The girl was shaking… heavily panting… and seemed altogether terrified! But, after a moment or two of sitting there… she fell over backward and gave a deep, heavy sigh. “I can’t believe that man…” she told herself. “Thank Ash that Doctor Lewis was in-town, today… He wouldn’t have hesitated to put a bullet right through that fox’s brain! What was that guy’s problem, anyway? Why would he call me ‘Hope?’ He knew my name was ‘Marie…’ somehow… But, I wonder… I wonder if that ‘Hope’ of his was– no-no, I’m over-thinking it. It won’t do me any good to speculate. I’ll probably never see him, again, anyway! Still…” She slowly got to her feet and brushed some dead grass from her body, her eyes looking in the direction the fox had walked toward. “Maybe… I should ask the doctor about this ‘Hope’ business… Worst-case-scenario, he can’t tell me anything I don’t already know! Which… isn’t much.” She softly giggled… then, she gave another sigh. “Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes!”

Marie reached down, retrieving a T-shirt and two pins from the basket at her feet. And, before long… she went back to hanging clothes, just like nothing had happened. –––––

“Stop whinin’, dammit!”

The gold-furred fox hissed and huffed as his companion, a black-furred bat, attempted to apply some sort of red liquid to the hole in his shoulder. It was pretty clear that, between the pain of the wound and the added irritation of the ice-cold liquid, he was not having fun.

“I tol’ja goin’ ‘n seein’ ‘er’d end up wi’cha gettin’ hurt!” the bat firmly told him. “Eat me, Jess,” was his reply… followed by another hiss. “Careful!” “Yer an idiot, ya know that, Joe?” “E-excuse me…?” Joseph looked up at his friend. He was quickly met with an angry, almost hostile frown. “Ya heard me! Yer an idiot! ‘n, I don’t mean that inna good way!” “Once again: eat me,” he spat. “Ya know…” Jessica leaned back, crossing her arms. “I don’t have t’ fix yer wounds.” “Fine.” The fox looked away. “I don’t deserve healing, anyway…” “Oh, here we go…” He looked up, then. “What?” “‘Poor me, poor me,’” the redhead mocked, “‘my android doesn’t love me anymore!’’ Well, here’s some news for ya: she don’t exist, no more! Nimrod!” “She… she didn’t kill me, though. Jessie, she’s in there. Somewhere…” “No. She ain’t.” “How would you know?!” he suddenly shouted. “Have you talked to her?!” “Lyra said she turbo-nuked all that was Hope, hun…” Jessica gave a concerned frown. “Hope’s gone… Hope’s been gone fer over three years. Whatever personality’s in there now ain’t Hope ‘n it’ll never be Hope! Why can’cha understand that…?” The bat-girl leaned inward, her red-and-green eyes staring right into Joseph’s. “Hope. Was. An. Artificial intelligence program. One wid no backup, apparently. Not… that it’d matter. Those would’a been wiped, too! Soon as they was found, I mean. Heh.

“Josey, it’s been three-years-plus. Ya don’t have t’ forget. I know I sure won’t! But, I mean… ya been sick ’n gettin’ sicker, over th’ months. You could use a haircut ’n maybe a visit from a maid. This place is a mess! Anyway… this obsession ain’ good fer ya. Ain’ it ‘bout time t’ let go? Maybe, look towards th’ future instead’a dwellin’ on th’ past?” “There is no future without my Hope…”

Shortly after saying those words, Joseph found himself on the floor. He also noticed that the right side of his face hurt almost as much as his right shoulder. A glance up toward Jessica showed him that she had her left hand balled into a fist. She also looked absolutely furious…

“You stupid… selfish… asshole!!” Jessica shouted. “Even after Marie tells you, ‘erself, that she ain’t Hope… yer still gonna obsess over ‘er like ya ‘ave been fer th’ last three years?!” Joseph spit a tooth out, looking at it before his eyes returned to his companion. “Congratulations,” he muttered. “You finally knocked one loose.” “I– d-don’t change th’ subject, jackass! Ya got an unhealthy obsession wid th’ past… wid Hope… She. Is. Gone! What part’a that ain’ ya gettin’?!”

“I. Love her,” Joseph countered as he got to his feet. “What part of that aren’t you getting?” “I love you, stupid!!” The bat-girl paused before adding, “We all do! That’s why we been so worried! Wha’cher doin’ ain’t healthy, hun…” “What I’m doing is nobody’s business but my own.” The fox narrowed his eyes. “If I want to wallow in misery, then get lost and leave me to it.” Jessica smirked. “Nothin’ doin’, kiddo! We worked too hard on ya t’ let’cha go t’ pot.” “Nobody asked you to ‘work on me.’ I certainly didn’t.” “Yeah, well… funny thing ‘bout friends…” The bat-girl stepped forward, throwing an arm around Joseph’s shoulders with a grin. “Sometimes, we like t’ meddle ‘n our friends lives! If we can do anythin’ t’ make ‘em smile… we’re gonna do it! So, there!” Jessica stuck her tongue out. A moment later, Joseph murmured, “Ow. My shoulder.” “Sit back down, ya big baby,” was his friend’s response as she pushed him back into his seat. “Let Nurse Jess fix ya up…”

Sometime after Jessica applied the healing salve and bandaged the wound, the two found themselves in a familiar situation. Joseph had settled into a laying position, his head elevated as he rested on his couch. Meanwhile, Jessica sat nearby, idly petting the head that rested on her legs while the two watched a movie. It was certainly a cozy way to end a hectic day… but, Joseph found that he couldn’t focus on the movie. His head was too full of thoughts…

“What if she’s just pretending?” he asked during the film. “What if she’s still in there, but she has to pretend she isn’t?” “Shh, here comes th’ good part,” was his friend’s dismissive answer. “What if Dr. Lewis programmed her to forget me? What if she’s telling the truth?” “Look, look! ‘e’s about t’ go in!” “What if Hope secretly hates me for letting her get caught up in that mess… and, that’s why she’s acting like this… why she shot me…?” “What ‘f she did ‘n what ‘f she didn’? What ‘f th’ world was made’a puddin’?” Joseph gave a sharp blink. “What?” “All I’m sayin’… is yer overthinkin’ it, Joe.” “But–” Jessica put a hand over his mouth, then. When he looked up, he noticed that she was giving him a soft smile.

“I know ya dun wanna b’lieve it’s true…” she said as she turned the television off and focused entirely on him, “but… Hope was a program, Joe. That don’t mean she had fake thoughts ‘r mean th’ way she felt was fake. It just means that once she’s gone… she’s gone. It ain’t so diff’rent from you ‘n me, actually. I mean, ‘f Marie had shot ya dead, there’d be no more Joe t’ pick on, either!” He looked away and sighed, “I wish she had killed me…” “Yea’, well, she didn’, so yer still stuck ‘ere wid friends what love you! Sooo saaad!” When his eyes turned back toward Jessica, he could see the big grin on her face. But, even that couldn’t bring him out of his dark place…

“Aren’t… aren’t you sad, too?” he quietly asked. “Don’t you miss her…?” “She ‘n sure had somethin’ special… We made quite th’ sexy pair!” she added with a giggle. “Those three years we was all t’gether… it was a damn good time. Hope was so sweet ‘n sassy. ‘n, gods damn, could she kiss!” Joseph sat up and positioned himself at the other end of the couch. He gestured with one hand as he asked, “If you miss her… why aren’t you sad? Why aren’t you trying to get her back? Why aren’t you doing anything…?” Jessica shrugged. “I a’ready did my grievin’, kiddo. I broke Lyra’s leg ‘n popped ‘er eye, then I said a few words at Hope’s funeral. Oh, an’ I got freakin’ tanked, later that night.” He perked. “What?” “Oh, yea’!” The girl laughed before telling her friend, “After th’ funeral, I went home ‘n absolutely ruined my liquor cab! When I woke up th’ nex’ night, I took a monster dump, then I went th’ work ‘n, uh… kind’a… smashed some guy’s face in? I… took th’ week off ‘n did some thinkin’. Actually, was more like Mindy forced me t’ use my vay-cay days t’ get my head on straight. Th’ gym only ‘as so much med cov’rage fer Silver Members! Apparen’ly!” Jessica gave another long laugh which slowed, quieted, and faded. Her expression changed, then, and she removed her glasses before rubbing her eyes.

“Hope’s gone, sweets,” she repeated from earlier as she put her glasses back. “It took me a while t’ cope. I got it, eventually, though… ‘n, I’m stronger for it.” “But, what if she’s not?” Joseph interjected. “What if–” “Look!” the bat-girl snapped, making him wince. “That blue-haired cutie what works fer Doc Lewis? She may look like Hope, but that ain’t Hope! Not no more. She got a hard reset – worse than a fact’ry reset, even – ‘n she’s back t’ bein’ Lewis’ lackey, ‘r whatever. And!” The fox winced, again. He was going to say something, but Jessica intercepted him. “Even if we could convince ‘er that she was Hope, it wouldn’t change a thing. One: she’s legally Lewis’ property! Two: she ain’t got any’a Hope’s mem’ries ‘r personality. ‘n three: we ain’t got a backup’a anything Hope-related, so even if we found-or-made a new body for ‘er… we still wouldn’t ‘ave th’ Hope we knew-‘n-loved. Got it?” “But, what if–” “Joseph! There ain’ no ‘buts’ t’ be had! Hope’s dead! Hope. Is. Dead! D-E-A-D. D’ceased! D’parted! D’stroyed!! Lyra killed her!” “N-no, no, I refuse to believe that Miss Lyra–” “She didn’ do it fer fun ‘r outta malice…” Jessica interrupted with a frown. “She was jus’ doin’ ‘er job. ‘n, from what ya tol’ me… she hated doin’ it.” Joseph fell silent, leaving Jessica to go on.

“Lyra had a job t’ do ‘n did it right. I hated ‘er for it… but, it wasn’ ‘til ya tol’ me what she tol’ja at th’ church, three years ago, that I realized that she hated ‘erself fer what she done. Hope may’ve been 1s ‘n 0s, even t’ her… but, even someone like Lyra knew that people cared ‘bout those 1s ‘n 0s on a deeply-pers’nal level! I’d like th’ think that overgrown wuff knew that Hope cared, too. I mean, it was stupid of ‘er not t’ tell ya that was ‘er last day on Ragnarok… but, she did it t’ make sure ya wouldn’ spend ‘er last day tryin’ t’ find a fix to a countdown what couldn’t be stopped… She wanted ‘er last day t’ be th’ best it could possibly be… even ‘f it meant not tellin’ ya th’ whole truth. Heh, selfish brat…”

Jessica gave another sigh… then, she offered Joseph a smile. The fox looked up, his ears folded and a small frown on his face. He’d stopped crying, but it was pretty obvious that he was still really upset… maybe even a little confused. “Wanna hug…?” the girl offered. “I…” He hesitated… then, he shook his head and got to his feet. “I’m gonna… go walk this off.” “Okay! I’ll join ya!” Jessica stood up… only to be pushed back down. She tilted her head, then, giving the fox a slightly concerned look. “I… would rather you didn’t.” “Wuh– why not?” She resisted the urge to crack a joke, deciding to instead ask, “D’I do somethin’ wrong?” “I’m not upset with you, no,” was his response. “I just… want to be alone, right now.” “Well, uh… okay, I guess.” Jessica smirked as she told him, “You be back here by th’ time I need’a go t’ work, though! If yer not, I’ll come find ya! That’s a promise!” “Mm.” The girl gave a slight chuckle as Joseph walked out of the living room. As he headed out the front door, he heard Jessica tell him, “Be safe, kiddo.” Then, he hopped in his car and left.

After a short drive, Joseph parked his vehicle in Masamune Central Park and got out. The weather had turned a little chillier than it had been, earlier tha day, so he was glad he’d grabbed his long coat. It wasn’t long before he set out in a random direction, aimlessly wandering as he went nowhere, just taking in the sights and sounds of the nearby happenings.

School had released for the day not two hours prior, and though the daylight was dwindling, there were still plenty of children and teenagers scooting around, laughing, playing, and enjoying the chilly day. Much of the youngest generation had taken to playing on the hanging bars and metal playground equipment. Some of them were defending the forts from invaders, using squirt guns to repel them, while those not involved played chasing games. Watching that reminded him of his own youth… such as it was; being trapped in the orphanage, then trapped in that lab… But, as he saw a wounded child being tended to by their mother, it reminded him of his own “mother figure,” from the lab… and, it reminded him to call his own adoptive mom. When I’m feeling better… he promised himself.

His eyes moved to the teens who were scattered about, then. Some were simply loitering in the four gazebos of the park while others took to the area dedicated to skateboarding and roller-skating. There were even a few teens at the park’s pool, too… swimming, despite the cooling temperatures, and having a blast. He also noticed a couple of teens simply relaxing in the nearby heated pool. The two seemed close… It reminded him of his later teen years and of his own first love… which made him wonder how she was doing, wherever she’d ended up…

Eventually, Joseph got bored of simply walking around and he found a seat at his favorite park attraction of them all: the swing set! There was just something relaxing about the rhythmic motions of pushing forward and leaning back… But, before he could set himself down, he noticed that there was someone already seated in his usual, far-right swing…

#fiction #Essence of Ragnarok #Year 2056 #Curtain Call #original characters #Joseph Lithius #Marie #Jessica Ingmann #???#drama

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