#its definitely a little bit of this and that but the exact mixture is real vague

[sometimes-sara]

How much of it is authentic insofar as it's behavior that I don't repress anymore now that I don't feel obligated to maintain any affectations of masculinity beyond those I actually want to maintain

vs.

How much of it is itself an affectation of observed behavior to both socially and mentally try to integrate myself into this community that I've not only been hesitant to allow myself to identify with but have also been actively hostile toward in the past

vs

How much do I really care be gay do crime :3

[indelibleme]

I had a panic attack today.

Don't worry, this post isn't about that. (maybe a little bit, but not really). So, if I ghosted any of my IRL friends today, and you're reading this here, you proabably know why now.

This post is me trying to make light of the whole thing. Not panic attacks in general, but mine specifically, because it turns out I cope by writing -- and tumblr is a great way to be truly anonymous about it. The number of times tumblr buries my emotions whenever something like this happens is.... innumerable lol

So! New thing I learned today, is that all that hysterical laughter we see in shows/movies/anime? Specifically when something devastating has happened that they can't cope with? true lmao. I kept thinking it was exagerated, at least a tiny bit! Like, surely no one *actually* burts into manic laughter like a B-rated villain? Seems utterly preposterous.

Alas, no. Sorry for doubting all those writers/actors/animators lmao. It also happened in the exact same way? line of events? process? idk what to call it. I spent a long time numb, not processing (longer than most, probably. like, nearly the entire night, then all of the next day), until i talked about it. And well, talking made the whole numb thing go away quick, real quick. Then I was emotional, then I was sobbing, and then -- honest to god laughing. Loudly, madly, with definite hsyteria. And then i was calm. or maybe apathetic? A mixture probably.

So, maybe this post was about the panic attack after all.

The whole blow up of emotions helped, if I have to be honest. I did feel better afterwards (now), enough to actually eat well, talk to my parents without giving one-word non-answers, and feeling cut-off from anything that gave me pleasure. (I didn't even work on my fic - really sorry about the lack of a chapter update! I promise I'll do so soon -- it's a big bang fic, so it is complete, don't worry!)

And now I'm here. There's no moral to be gained from my story here (except don't bottle up emotions too long? but honestly, its a case to case basis). I just wanted to get this off my chest, that's all.

x

[after-witch]

Take Flight [Yandere Nikolai Gogol x Reader]

Title: Take Flight [Yandere Nikolai Gogol x Reader]

Synopsis: You’re a fantastic actress when you’re on the stage. But your captor isn’t fooled when there’s no stage magic to hide your real feelings.

For request: request for anything with BSD!Gogol please!

Word Count: 1772

notes: Yandere, kidnapped, noncon implications, implied torture/physical abuse

You look so beautiful when you’re immobile. Especially when you don’t know what you’ve done to deserve it, when your eyes are widened in fear, your mouth whimpering behind the tight cloth gag; your mind no doubt racing, searching for what you’ve done and why this is happening.

You look especially beautiful when he opens his coat and pulls out a few tools. He deliberately lays the hammer on the far end of the table, next to your feet. Now that makes you beautiful, as you cry out as much as possible behind the gag, some drool making its way past the increasingly soaked cloth your chin. Your muffled “no” is music.

He hates to clip your wings like this. But it’s only temporary. And, really, you’ve brought it upon yourself. Not by acting up--oh, no, definitely not that. He smiles to himself as he thinks about what a good birdie you’ve been lately. How obedient. How submissive. How sweet.

It took a lot of effort. A lot of punishment. A lot of pain. But on the surface, you’ve transformed into the sweet swan that he’s dreamed about keeping in a gilded cage. Literally and otherwise. Of course, he’s not that easily fooled--he knows you still hate him, fear him, on the inside. No matter how much you embrace him or let him have his way with you, no matter how much you try to please him with words and kisses, you’re still fighting him in your heart. Beating against your cage with your wings when his back is turned, as it were.

And you know something? It’s just not good enough. His life is already a game of duality. And he wants only a singularity with you, a single reality where you are broken and his for however long he wants to keep you. What would be the point of throwing you away when you’re still fighting him?

And thus, it’s only fitting that you’re currently bound to the table where you’ve received your other punishments. He’s not much of a cleaner, and there’s still the odd blood stain lodged in the wood grains. A handy table with straps on each end that keep your wrists and ankle immobile. He’s even given you a pillow, because why not, why not?

It’s easier when you’re tied up to see the real you underneath, the desperate, terrified person that only wants to stay alive. That only wants to avoid pain. The remnants of blood stains underneath you are a testament to that.

You do put on a good show, otherwise. But not quite up to par, he admits, hence his critical review. If he was a theater critic, he might call your efforts “valiant, but not worthy of the highest acclaim.” Or perhaps “They clearly need a little more time to develop, but it’s a good effort.”

You can kiss him. You can perform for him. You can let him touch you and hurt you, when he wants, without complaint. But you can’t hide all of the little things that give you real state of mind away. The way your jaw trembles ever so slightly when you stand up on your toes (so precious) to give him a kiss. The quarter-second that your eyes drift away before you tell him you love him, you adore him, you never want to leave him. The slight hint of revulsion, always covered with a smile in an instant, when he enters your cage at night. 

Did you think you’re fooling him? He hopes you did. He loves the idea of snatching the rug from underneath your feet, nimble as they may be. You’re good at acting on the stage--he could wax poetry about how ethereal, how in-the-moment you look when you’re dancing; when you’re practically flying across the stage, your tulle skirts swishing and the thin soles of your shoes slapping against the hard floor.

But when you’re off the stage? The magic is lessened. There are no stage lights to cover up your occasional tired expression, no swelling music to add emphasis to your movements if they become too strained. No stage tricks to hide your face from the audience for a moment of reprieve. It is no good, after all, for Odile to seduce the prince with her arms, her legs, the fierceness of her fouettes--if her face gives away that she finds him repellent.

Without the trickery of the stage, you give yourself away. Which is one reason why he’s decided to be oh-so-cruel to you today. The other? He’ll never tell you. Maybe you’ll guess it someday, if you happen to glimpse the expression he holds as you pirouette across the stage, no limits, no boundaries, only the music and the motion and the buzz of the audience to lift you up high.

But, he muses, picking up the hammer--the noises you’re making, oh, how fun!--it’s time to get back to the task at hand.

“Or at foot,” he says, giggling. But you don’t get the joke. He approaches the head of the table and your muffled pleas grow louder. They’re so soft, so confused. What did you do? What did you do? Please, please, please. He’s heard it all before, but it’s still enjoyable to take in. Like a comforting book.

He trails a gloved finger along your cheek, spreading your tears around like a child tracing lines on a foggy car window.

“I know you want to fly away from me.” He keeps his tone light and teasing. You immediately shake your head in denial, and Christ in heaven is that fantastic, the way you want him to believe you no longer desire escape, no longer desire true freedom.

He tuts at you, wagging the tip of his gloved finger in front of your face before leaning in closer. “If I let you fly away, would you still be my pet? If you fly away on your own, would you be free?” It’s rhetorical, and your expression betrays your lack of understanding behind his words.

He does want to hear your voice behind the gag, so he swiftly undoes the tight knot and tosses the soaked fabric aside.

“Please, I love you,” you say immediately, voice weak and pleading. “Nik--Nikolai, I don’t understand. What did I do wrong?” You hesitate for a moment, but then you continue. “I’m so sorry, whatever it is. I must have… disappointed you.” You lower your eyes and the downcast expression, the defeat in your gaze, makes him wish he had a camera on hand.

You’re so submissive. It really is beautiful. But you’re submissive because you want to avoid being hurt. You’re submissive because he’s got a hammer resting next to your precious feet and you don’t want him to lift up that hammer and bash your bones until they break.

Where’s the fun in that?

He hums to himself as he begins a deliberately slow walk back to the end of the table. He trails his fingers down your body and enjoys the sight of little goosebumps rising on your flesh, enjoys the way you squirm, just a bit, when he pokes at your sensitive side.

When he picks up the hammer, you begin to babble. The words aren’t important--he’s listening to the tone, the way your voice is thick with sadness and fear. Please, no, don’t, I’ll do anything; all words that run from your mouth like water through a stream. He ignores them and instead holds one of your feet still with his hand. There’s a power in your feet, thanks to the years of dancing and even more years of training. He thinks about taking that power away. About what that would mean. About what it would do to you.

When he rubs the end of the hammer against the top of your foot, you groan, a guttural sound of pure horror. The sound of someone whose entire reason for living, whose heartbeat, rests on the ability to dance. 

Your breath is sharp and scratchy when he suddenly lifts the hammer up and brings it crashing down on your ankle--where it immediately compresses and squeaks, high and childish.

It’s rubber. It’s a rubber toy. Nothing more.

Your breath comes out in short, harsh puffs. He takes in your expression, which is at once horrified and confused and relieved and even a bit angry.

“What--”

His sharp, pleased laughter interrupts you. And when he laughs, you laugh, just a little. He’s surprised that he can’t tell if it’s a genuine laugh of pure relief, an attempt to mimic him to stay in his good graces, or a sign that you’re losing your mind. Maybe it’s a mixture of all three.

He wastes no time in undoing your straps, and he pulls you into a sitting position. Your entire body is trembling, an adrenaline crash turning your legs to rubber as he helps you to your feet and loops your arm around his shoulders for added support. 

You don’t even have time to process the fact that he didn’t hurt you before he starts leading you out of the room and back to your pretty little cage and your pretty little bed. He drops you on the bed with a flourish, and you bounce slightly on the mattress--face still in shock, still processing.

“That was fun, right?” he says, voice once again teasing. “Now let’s play a little more.” He begins undoing his belt buckle, and what would have been the normal flash of revulsion on your face is replaced by something new: relief. Relief that you can dance? Relief that you didn’t earn any new scars, any new injuries, any new pain? He’s not sure that the exact reason matters. It’s something new, and it’s a step closer.

He grins and begins making quick work of his clothes. You’re already on your knees in front of him.

Relief, after all, comes in many forms.

[writing-in-april]

Mismatched

Spencer Reid x Female Reader

Than you to @imagining-in-the-margins for this perfect gif!

Summary: Reader is Spencer’s roommate has been pining after Spencer for a while now. One morning they finally get to act on their shared desires.

Warnings: NSFW (Non specific dom), Goofy smut, Unprotected sex, Oral (Female Receiving)

A/N: So anxiety has been a real bitch to me as of late but I finally finished this so sorry its 3 weeks late. This is also a little shorter then I intended but I still like the way it turned out. Hope y’all enjoy and my requests are open!

Masterlist  Word count: 2.3k

Spencer’s penchant for wearing mismatched socks was one of the things I found most endearing about him. I often peaked down to look at what socks he was wearing each day, they almost always gave clues about his mood. I knew that if they were plain colored socks with no pattern he was usually feeling down and on the opposite end if they had little characters on them I knew he was probably in a great mood.

Today on our off day from the BAU he was sitting on the couch of our apartment with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other reading some obscure novel in French that I could never understand. Ever since we became roommates I often stared at his visage soaking in the beautiful image of him every morning.

“Good morning Jelly Bean.” A soft whisper speaking my nickname that I loathed spoke drawing my eyes away from his form, getting distracted before I could look and see what colors adorned his feet today. His eyes bore into me as he glanced up and down my figure that was only barely covered in one of his shirts that I had stolen. I smirked to myself at the sight of his wantonness. Ever since I had heard him and Derek talking about his crush on me I had been trying to coax him into acting on it. I knew that my pale pink lace boy shorts were definitely in view as that was my intention the whole time, he always got this almost feral look about him when he saw me in some clothes I had nicked from him.

“Hey Spence.” I said with a coy smile meant to deceive as to not give away my intentions. His eyes narrowed at my words unsure if I was doing this on purpose or not. Before I could even comprehend what was going on Spencer had tossed his book aside and made his way over to me. He trapped me against the counter so I couldn’t escape him with our breath intermingling from how close we were, though I was quite happy with the position I had found myself in.

“Do you know what you’re doing to me Jelly Bean?” God, I really hated that nickname. He had come up with it soon after we had become roommates and I had insisted on a spot in the kitchen to put my stash of jelly beans that he could not touch. I normally loathed the nickname however, the way his breath was caressing my face as he spoke the words softly almost turned me into jelly.

“What do you mean Spence?” My innocent tone of voice looked like it pained him. Giggling at the sight I bumped his nose with mine in jest bringing us ever closer. My actions caused a gasp to escape from him as if I was crushing his lungs, though that was the only sound between us for a minute besides heavy panting.

“Do you want this?” He said to break the silence, he didn’t need to clarify, I knew what he meant and was giddy at the implications.

“Yes”

As soon as the words left my mouth we were both on each other in an instant, our mouths moving in sync as if we had done it a thousand times before. We stumbled and rushed to the closest bedroom which happened to be Spencer’s. With fumbling hands he opened the door to his room just as I started to work on tugging his sleep shirt up over his head. He stopped by movements by swiftly picking me up and walked over to his bed before tossing me down like a rag doll. I giggled as he tossed me down but quickly to strip his shirt off so I was only in my panties,

I then placed myself back down on the bed right back to where Spencer threw me before patiently waiting for him.

My lustful gaze fell onto him as I watched him strip down, shamelessly staring at him wondering how someone could look more perfect. He was also staring at me as he undressed his eyes filled with awe as if he was looking at a goddess. I had never felt more beautiful.

Giggles then suddenly started to fall from my mouth uncontrollably, I caught a glimpse of the socks that still sat on Spencer’s feet which pulled me out from my illicit thoughts. They were red and purple in color, with the red one having large orange polka dots and the purple had blue vertical stripes running up the sides. A mixture of hurt and confusion flashed across his face, his body suddenly curling in on itself trying to shade himself from my laughs. He started to retreat out of the bedroom in shame and I then realized how my laughs must’ve been perceived by Spencer.

“Spen-Spencer wait- I’m not laughing at you” I spoke out between my dying giggles, his brows angle deeper, his confusion increasing further. “I’m laughing at your socks”

He glanced down to look at the mismatched socks that were pulled halfway up to his calves, he wiggled his toes inside them then joined me in giggles of realization that he looked like a goof.

“Oh!” He squeaked out while scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “Sorry for misunderstanding.”

“No it’s my fault- I’m sorry for making you feel self conscious, I feel really bad.” The laughter had completely dissipated from me, guilt replacing the elation. Averting my eyes in shame, the pillow sitting next to me suddenly became the most interesting thing in the room as I started to pull the threads on the soft plush. Spencer padded over to me, he carefully straddled my thighs while boring his eyes into my skin trying to get me to initiate eye contact.

“You don’t have to be sorry Jelly Bean.” My cheeks blushed at the nickname which now sounded suddenly cute but I still refused to face him. When I didn’t move to look at him he dropped his face down to my stomach while skimming over the dips of my hips. Delicately he started placing feather light kisses to my middle barely grazing the soft flesh, when I started to squirm a bit at the slightly ticklish touches he pursed his lips and started to blow raspberries against my stomach. My giggles returned in full force as pressed goofy kisses onto my skin, it then turned into uncontrollable laughter when he started tickling every part of my body he could reach.

He pulled up to engulf me in a wet kiss, slipping his tongue inside to caress my own which muffled my snickers. He cradled my cheek as he pushed our kiss deeper, stealing all of the breath from my lungs. While biting the soft flesh of my lips his fingers trailed down from my hips slipping underneath the lace of my boy shorts.

His light teasing touches against my folds continued to push giggles from my throat, but they were soon turned into a loud moan as his fingertips made contact with my bundle of nerves. Slowly he started to circle my clit as he moved away from my mouth to give my jaw and neck the attention they deserved. Hickies were slowly accumulating as his teasing touches made me more and more impatient causing an impatient whine to fall from my lips. He smirked against the column of my throat in response to my inarticulate plea, he still must’ve understood my wants and slipped two fingers inside, crooking them to try and locate the ever elusive g spot. He was better at finding it compared to most men as after a few pumps of his fingers he pinpointed the exact spot, causing a ripple of pleasure to flow through me. Gasps, moans, and whines were freely escaping me, the pleasure coming in intense waves. He then pulled his fingers away from me causing a full pout to form on my lips. When he looked at the pathetic look on my face he was the one snickering this time.

“Why’d you stop.” I whimpered out pitifully and added puppy dog eyes to my face to convince him to resume his ministrations.

“I wanted to taste you.” He answered cheekily while dipping down to hook his fingers in the waistband of my panties. Pulling them down my legs slowly he followed them with a trail of teasing kisses ghosting around where I wanted him the most,“I bet you taste like pineapple.”

“Spencer, don’t lie to try to be sexy, that's not what any woman tastes like. I am not a literal jelly bean.” My legs kicked out in impatience to get the offending fabric off of me while trying to suppress any more giggles and focus at the task at hand.

Finally the fabric was removed from my center but Spencer had not ceased his teasing. I squirmed as he slowly kissed up my legs leaving kisses and love bites wherever he could.

“Be patient.” He tried to say with conviction but was unsuccessful at concealing how funny he found my impatience.

“Stop it’s not funny”

He silenced my whines by diving into my core. He wasted no time, slipping his tongue between my folds. Immediately waves of pleasure were already rolling off of me, I had been with plenty of guys beforehand but being with Spencer already felt otherworldly. The kitten licks alternated between teasing my entrance and sucking my clit making my vision go white. But, that feeling was nothing compared to when he added two of his fingers pushing them into my entrance. I probably sounded like I was in a porno from the cries that were coming from me and all it took was a few crooks of his fingers before I fell over the edge. My hips tried to rotate to ride out my high, though they were quickly stopped by his other hand over my stomach forcing me to be still as pleasure ripped through me.

When my release finished he made his way back up my body and enveloped me into a heated kiss. It was messy, sloppy, and I was gasping into his mouth as I caught my breath from my high.

Once I came back down to earth he flipped me over quickly so I was now on top, I was shocked at the sudden movement but I quickly recovered and wrapped my hands around his length slowly starting to pump. I guided his length to grind against my core to tease him and get back at him for the way he teased me.

The pleas that fell from his lips were unintelligible, the fact that he was already this deasperate from just a little bit of teasing made me smirk devilishly.

“Please.” He was finally able to form at least one word so I relented and lined him up with my entrance. As I sunk down I tried to relish in the feeling of him stretching me, that was quickly ruined by Spencer roughly grabbing my hips and pushing me all the way down. Underneath me Spencer was fighting to thrust up into me as I adjusted to his thick length and once I started to roll my hips an uncharacteristic high pitched whine came from his lips. The pleasure that started to well up inside me was too much to ignore and we both devolved into thrashing pleasure grabbing any part of each other we could reach to get to our respective release.

There were no words spoken as we both hit our highs, just loud pornographic cries that reverberated around the apartment and would surely get us a complaint from the neighbors. I kept my movements going as long as possible until the last dregs of stimulation were pulled from us and everything became oversensitive. I rolled my body off of him laying down in the bed roughly with exhaustion and I barely noticed Spencer cleaning us both up with a wet washcloth.

Just as he laid down next to me the rising morning sun that we had both woken up to started to peek through the curtains obnoxiously as it was close to noon by now, falling right on my eyes. A groan fell from my lips at the light that glared into my eyes so I got up groggily to shut the curtains.

“Stay.” Spencer whispered, breaking the silence in the room. I glanced back to look at him through my sleepy eyes, his curls wild from the previous activities we partook in but they still framed his face perfectly while he nestled himself further into the fluffy blanket.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily Socks.”  I simply remarked while closing the curtains with a huff. Glad that the sun was now out of my eyes I made my way back over to Spencer meandering playfully over to tease him.

“Socks?”

“Well you have a stupid nickname for my jelly bean habit so I’m giving you one for yours.”  I picked up the socks he had carelessly chucked across the room and threw them at him. Then a stack of his freshly cleaned clothes caught my eyes, specifically the colorful socks that sat on top. Padding over to the stack I quickly put on the first two different ones I see. I presented my choice of socks to Spencer by standing on the bed while giggling, my choice of an orange Halloween sock and one with teddy bears seemed to greatly amuse him, “Now we’re matching.”

He snorted and pulled me back down to cuddle our limbs intertwining as we fell asleep now both wearing mismatched socks.

[t-lostinworlds]

All Too Real (Tom Holland)

A/N: Well, this was longer than expected. I’ve had this idea in a while, and it feels great to finally do something about it aha. Also, I’m not going to tag my permanent taglist here since most of the people who are in there are for Shawn. BUT with that being said, tell me if you want to be added to a permanent taglist for Tom fics only or both Tom and Shawn. Am I making sense? Prolly not lmao but yeah. hope you guys enjoy this one!

Pairing: Tom Holland x Actress!Reader

Summary: You were meant to be acting, but the scene just hits too close to home that you've managed to say the wrong name, then everything just felt all too real.

Warnings: A bit of Angst and my usual typos

Word Count: 9.7k+

Masterlist in Bio

-:-:-:-:-

You didn't know who your leading man was until the very last minute, making it impossible to back out now.

Not only that, but you'd be risking a big opportunity if you decided not to take the part, the lead role to be exact. This was a big movie with big, well-known directors and it will guarantee to boost your career to the next level being that you're just starting off as an actress. This was your moment and you weren't going to jeopardize that just because of a personal reason. Plus, contractually, there was no turning back.

The movie was a mixture of crime, action, drama and romance, and it was already a given in the script that you'd be playing across a leading man.

You just had no idea it was going to be him.

Production starts tomorrow and you just found out that you're in a movie with non-other than Mr. Tom Holland himself.

Spider-Man to the world, ex-boyfriend in yours.

It was not public knowledge that you two used to be together. A very impressive thing being that your relationship lasted for about two years, yet not a single word got out. Nobody knew about you two except your closest friends and family, and both of you were happy to keep it that way for as long as you can until you both were ready to share your relationship with the world. But things happened and you didn't get a chance to do so.

You met Tom on the set of Captain America: Civil War. You were just a mere extra at that time as you were still trying to find your footing in the industry. He, on the other hand, had just finished his screen test with Chris Evans as he solely told you.

It was lunch time when this cute boy wearing this, almost a crossover between the Spider-Man costume and pajamas, went up behind you to grab some food.

You two talked for a little bit, asking about what you're doing here and all that jazz, until he charmed his way into asking for your number. And everything just kicked off from there really.

It was blissful while it lasted, the both of you, young and so in love. Nothing but pure happiness and adoration as your relationship took its course and blossomed into this wonderful thing. It was almost like a fairytale how lovely it was. So beautiful to see the joy in the two of you, even with those sweet little moments that you shared. That until the success of his first solo film as Spider-Man.

Him shooting the movie brought no problems at all as you were there to support him through and through. Hell, not even during the press junket where he's always traveling, that didn't cause any strain between your relationship as you've managed to make it work. But once the numbers started rolling in and the attention got bigger, that's where you got left behind.

You were still finding your way as an actress but you didn't seem to get the same amount of support from him as he did from you as time went by. He did at the start of course, he was your number one fan, but once he found his big break, you just got pushed to the side.

Somehow, in some odd way, a switch was flipped. He became distant, almost cold all of the sudden.

It was almost like he became too good for you in a way. Other people made you feel like you were nothing to him, that you weren't on his level and that took its toll on you. But the most hurtful part was that he didn't even bother to reassure you that, that wasn't the case at all.

There was this constant battle in your brain as you tried to reassure your own self with your relationship with him. That this was just nothing, that he was just busy, and that he loves you still. But clubbing out with friends most of the time doesn't really qualify as being busy now does it?

The logical part of you just keeps nagging that it was over. That there was nothing to hold on to, even if you hopefully wished there was something still there, that you can still save this relationship.

But no, it was all gone.

He broke up with you some time later. He said he wanted to enjoy life without worrying about anything, without worrying about you. He wants to enjoy his new found life while being single, in other words.

He was basically saying that you were holding him back, and to be honest? He was probably right. He made you feel that he was right.

The break up wasn't sunshine and butterflies at all. Voices were raised, words were thrown, and everything just burst into flames. When he shut the door and left, everything just turned to ashes, the remains of your heart along with your relationship. It was dark, cold and just painful to the point that you've lost yourself after that.

You took all the blame. All of it.

For months on end you kept telling yourself that if you were just good enough, if you were successful enough, then maybe he wouldn't have left you. You kept beating yourself up for something he has done and that never is healthy, telling yourself that it's your fault when in fact, it wasn't.

It took a lot of will-power to snap out of it, being that you are the most critical about yourself. But you've managed to push through, worked harder than ever before to get yourself out there and to make a name for yourself.

And here you are, about to star as the lead role of a big film.

You are far better than you were a year ago, definitely. But have you fully healed? No.

Distracting is not healing.

You kept yourself busy with your career and it has help you to not ever confront your pain. It was always shoved aside as you paid it no mind. You even avoided anything about him for that matter, in hopes that you wouldn't be reminded of that certain hurt that only he has caused. You've just been running away from it, running away from the demons of your past.

But now, there was nowhere to run.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier Y/N. I just got scared that you might turn the role down if you found out he was going to be in it too and it's just a big opportunity and I can't live with myself if I had let it slipped away from you." Your manager rushed her words on the other side of the call, the concern in her voice clear because she knows. She knows what you went through with Tom.

"No it's okay Jeanne. I understand why you did it and I really thank you for that. Another thing I owe to you." You stated truthfully. If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't have had that extra push that you needed to get you where you are today. And you were glad you've found someone who only has her best intentions when it came to you and your career.

"I–uhm, am I shooting scenes with him tomorrow too?" You added as a whisper, despite the fact that you were alone in your hotel room at the moment. Scared that if you'd say it any louder, the pain in your chest would only grow deeper and sharper.

"Yes, he is going to be there tomorrow." She answered, empathy laced in her tone and you can just picture the frown she has on her face.

You bit your bottom lip as you stared up at the ceiling. This is going to be a hard movie to shoot that's for sure. But you're a professional; you can just brush it off like it's nothing. "Okay, yeah, okay. I'll see you tomorrow Jeanne." You breathed out.

"Get some rest hun. You've got this." And with that you ended the call, your whole body flopping down on your bed as you let out a frustrated groan.

The universe truly does have its ways in making you face the person who you have been avoiding—so successfully so far—in order to spare yourself the heartache.

With one last sigh, you pulled the covers over your body, waiting for sleep to take over so that you can have a much needed rest.

It was going to be a long day tomorrow after all.

* * *

Two hours was all you got.

Two hours of sleep as you lay restless in your bed just thinking about all the millions of possibilities on what could happen once you see him again for the first time after a year.

No matter how hard you tried to shut him out of your thoughts, he still managed to invade it even after all this time. The past was haunting you, he was haunting you and it was like you were back to that night again.

You feel so disappointed in yourself as you found your way back to old ways, crying about a boy who doesn't even give a single damn about you.

It took all the courage and strength in your body to leave the bed in the morning. A struggle to say the least until you slapped some sense into yourself and finally made your way to set.

You just arrived in the nick of time. It wouldn't be ideal to arrive late on the first day of shooting as you wanted to let them see that you are a respectful and respectable actress, so managing to be just on time, it was a great start of your day.

Even more so when you felt the hot cup of coffee warming up your fingers as you held it in your hands. The smell of freshly roasted coffee beans enough to boost your energy, especially with so minimal sleep.

There was no sign of him so far, and you were thankful to at least have time to breathe and just relax. No matter how little that time may be, you will definitely take it.

You've already met the Russo brothers who were both sweet and kind, both expressing their excitement to start the project that they've been so amped up to do.

After the casual chats, introductions and greetings, a young lady then guided you to where the trailers are going to be parked. Opting out of her offer to take you right at the door as you solely can manage yourself. But you also wanted some time to take in everything that you've seen so far because it was a big and amazing set, and just to take a moment to ground yourself in a way. Somewhat grasp every bit of alone time as you wouldn't have one until the end of the shoot, which was going to be later in the night.

You were on your way there when you suddenly heard something running after you, the sound of the pebbles rustling about growing nearer and nearer which was then followed by a loud bark. Surely enough when you turned around, you saw the prettiest dog, hurdling towards you with a wide smile on her face. That cute face that you'll always recognize from a mile away.

"Tessa?" You grinned wide as you squatted down to greet her, expecting a subtle encounter but no, she full on jumped on you making you fall flat on your bum. Genuine laughter erupted out of you as you tried to keep yourself sitting upright, all while making sure not to spill your coffee. You were sat cross-legged on rocks now but you didn't care, too preoccupied with the love Tessa was smothering you.

"Hi angel! How are you my love? You good? Healthy? Happy?" You gushed in a small voice, giggling when she covered your face in kisses, you not minding by one bit as you rubbed her belly in return.

You were too engrossed with Tessa that you didn't even notice that someone was already standing there, just watching, not until you heard your name.

"Y/N..."

You didn't have to look up to know who it was.

Having heard your name slip out of those lips countless of times, all on so many different occasions, there was no need for you to see who that voice belonged to.

It wasn't even above a whisper, but you heard it, the sound of longing etched in his voice, that certain tone that you've heard endlessly but only... only whenever he misses you.

And you wanted nothing more than to curse him out because how dare he? How dare he act like he cares when he didn't show any of that—not even in the slightest—that night he left you?

You were already filled with so many emotions and that's only from hearing his voice, you haven't even looked up to fully see him yet.

"Tom." You sighed, giving the back of Tessa's ear one last scratch before standing up fully, patting your jeans clean before gathering up the strength to finally look up at him in the eyes.

The way your heart stopped for a full second and then beat again but with twice the pace, never have you felt that in your life.

You stood frozen as you stared right into them, those brown orbs that once felt like home, but now only brings nothing but pain. And the way he was looking at you so longingly, it only added anger in the mix.

"Hi."

Tom knew he fucked up.

He knows how bad he screwed things up. He was fully aware of how much he's lost and how much of an idiot he is for being the reason of that in the first place.

You were finally standing right in front of him, in the flesh, in all your gorgeous glory, and Tom was at a loss for words.

He was talking to the Russos when Tessa suddenly bolted full speed. Not having familiar with the set yet, Tom was quick to run after her in fear that she might get lost, but he ended up finding her with a sight that was heartwarming yet heartbreaking at the same time.

He heard your laugh first. That familiar and beautiful sound enabling his heart to beat rapidly against his chest, even more so when he saw you sat on the ground with Tessa, nothing but pure joy and love radiating off of his princess, and the love that he once had.

The sight was beautiful, so endearing and it warmed him up inside, but it also reminded him of what it once was.

God he was a fucking idiot.

"Long time no see." Your voice snapped him back to senses, a soft blush coating his cheeks because he doesn't know how long he's been staring at you, but by the gods above you look absolutely breathtaking. Even in just casual jeans and a sweater.

"Yeah, it's great to finally see you again. You look beautiful." Tom breathed out, the last sentence escaping his mouth before he could even stop himself.

Tom might have been acting like such a creep but he just feels so happy to see you again. You probably wouldn't even believe him if he told you, not after what he's done, and he can't blame you. But he does, he truly does feel so happy.

"Thanks." You mumbled as you flashed him a smile. Whether it was genuine, Tom wasn't sure, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"How are you?" He asked just as he took a step towards you, but you were quick to take one step back and this made a frown form on his lips. The way you looked away and avoided his gaze, it stung, but Tom also can't say he didn't deserve it.

"I'm good, but uh, I need to get ready so uh—"

"Yes! Yes, of course, don't let me hold you off." Tom chuckled coyly, hand coming up to rub his shoulder, and just like that, the awkwardness in the air only heightened from there. Because after everything that has happened, Tom wasn't sure where he stands in your life anymore. Whether it be a civil friend or just a cast mate at this point.

When the Russos pitched him the idea, it was a no-brainer, Tom wanted to do the project right off the bat. But when he found out who the star of the movie was going to be? Nothing but pure excitement and much pride filled him up to the bones.

He has seen most, if not, all of the movies you've been in. Visiting your social media every now and then to see what you've been up to. It may sound stalker-ish in a sense but it's the only way for him to keep up with how you've been doing. And to see you grow and be the star that you were always meant to be? It was a beautiful thing for sure.

It might not have been as beautiful as experiencing it with you first hand, since he ruined that chance by a long shot, it was still heartwarming to witness—even if it was only via screen.

"Yeah, see you on set." You mumbled, giving him a curt nod before turning your attention back on the dog who was just sitting there, observing, tail on an all-time wag once she's seen that you've finally given her your attention again.

"I'm so happy to see you again angel." You whispered as you crouched back down to give Tessa a sweet kiss on the head, and Tom's heart completely melted at that.

You were there when Tom got Tessa.

He hasn't said it out loud nor broadcasted it in any way, but you became Tessa's mommy in the duration of your relationship. You took care of her while he was away on press or shoots, and he will forever be grateful for that.

Tessa was your baby as much as she is Tom's, and it now just dawned on him that he took her away from you. And Tom felt even more of an asshole than he already was.

You shot him one last look before you turned on your heel, not ever once looking back as you walked towards what Tom would only assume was your trailer.

Tessa was about to follow you but Tom was quick to grab her collar, squatting down to hold her fully to keep her in place because she was for sure putting up a fight. "No Tessa, you stay with me."

The poor pup whined once you were out of sight, looking up at Tom with those eyes emitting a soft sigh out of him. He nodded his head solemnly, giving Tessa's head a soft pat as his eyes slowly landed back on the closed door of your trailer.

"I know love, I missed her so much too."

* * *

Tom was watching from afar, he just couldn't help himself, but he doesn't exactly know which of you is which yet.

All he sees is there are two girls dressed in identical, all black and leather outfits, both have their hoods up with backs turned on him. He knows one of them was you and the other was your stunt double, he just can't seem to differentiate who is who as of the moment.

"Okay now Tom, you already know how the scene goes. The first time Detective Allan Spade, your character, meets Luna. They've known each other before so you are basically going to be surprised that the sweet innocent girl, who's your childhood best friend and then dated up until college was now a well-trained and elite assassin." Joe was the one to interrupt Tom's ogling since Anthony was at your side giving notes too. One of the perks of having two directors on set is that you can speed things up a bit. The set was built quite large so it definitely was a plus.

It was the first scene of the day and they were starting it off with an action sequence, one with cars, explosions, gun shots and the likes. It wasn't the first take for the rest but it was for Tom, being that they perfected some of stunts first, which was mostly done at the end of the set far across from him.

He didn't get to see who was doing which stunt because your character's costume has you covered in almost head to toe, making it impossible to know without having a closer look.

He was very excited though, maybe even too much that his mind sometimes flies off to somewhere—or rather, someone—instead of focusing more with the task at hand.

"Okay, yeah, gotcha." Tom nodded frantically as he cleared his throat. His arms were crossed over his chest as the heat rose up his cheeks once Joe looked at him curiously. "You okay? You seem a bit preoccupied?"

"Just a lil tired but I'm alright." Tom chuckled shyly as he looked down, the director only nodding as he added. "We're going to try and have one fluid shot with this scene so once you see her jump over the hood of your car, you quickly get out to your marker and aim your gun."

Tom hummed with a smile to let Joe know that he's listening attentively. The director gave him one last pat on the shoulder before turning back to the crew.

"Okay places everyone!" And with that, Tom got inside of a car that was hooked up to a wire rigging. It was only going one way but in top speed, so safety first is a must, hence why he isn't allowed to really drive it.

Tom already had his hands on the wheel, his head turning just enough to see a girl or Luna as he would refer—to which he assumed was your stunt double—hooked up to a trust and wires. She stood on top of a car that was situated in the middle of a chaotic road.

The sight was hectic enough with a number of cars littered everywhere—some overturned, some on fire—and a few bodies of supposed police offers sprawled on the pavement. Luna threw her hand up with thumb upturned to signal that she was ready to do the scene.

"Set and action!" And everything then just sprung to life.

Gun shots echoed throughout the space as explosions went off here and there. The car Luna was standing on drove full speed and came to a screeching halt in an attempt to shake her off. But the sudden movement only enabled her to jump off and flip right on time, so smoothly and with much grace. She landed on the ground with a roll, pausing for a second in a crouching position to let the camera capture the moment before she was full on sprinting again.

Tom's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he watched her approach, incredibly fast and nimble, dodging the cars and bullets coming after her with so much ease as if they were whizzing past her in slow motion, all while maintaining such poise in doing so.

With the signal, Tom stepped on the gas pedal hard, perfectly in sync as his car lurched forward in an attempt to catch her off guard, but just as it came right in front of her, she jumped and slid herself over the hood, landing down on the ground crouching.

Before she could even make another move, Tom had already gotten out of his car, the sound of the gun clicking stopping her in her tracks.

"Hands up where I can see them!" Tom growled, gun firm in hand as he slowly approached her, eyebrows furrowed as he glared at the figure right in front of him.

She stood up carefully with both hands held up in surrender, the silence in the air suddenly ringing as she turned around with her head hanging low, covering her face completely. That until she slowly lifted her hood off.

"Woah." Tom sucked in a breath, completely caught off guard as he stared at none other than star of the movie herself, you.

Sure, half of your face was covered with a mask, but he just knows it's you and it really took him utterly by surprise.

Tom genuinely did think your stunt double was doing this scene as the action sequence wasn't in anywhere near easy, but he'd recognize those eyes anywhere.

To say he was thoroughly impressed would be an understatement.

But knowing you for the time that he has, Tom knows how much of a hardworking woman you are. So seeing that you will likely do all of your stunts, it wasn't at all surprising to come and really think about it.

Still, Tom was speechless as he kept staring at you, and it was like there was no acting required as he slowly lowered the gun to see you more. His eyes not seeming to believe that it was you standing in front of him. Perfectly on script.

It felt so new to him seeing you in a different element, seeing you look even more beautiful and extremely sexy with that much tattered, faded leather and straps hugging your body.

You were wearing those long boots that stopped mid-thigh paired with shorts that were ripped on the edges, an almost gothic type of a hooded cloak swaying with the air, making it look even more promising that you can definitely kill. You look like you just came out of an Assassin's Creed video game, but more on the modern side. And instead of swords and knives, you've got guns.

Your eyes on the other hand were on a different level.

They were threatening to say the least. The glare was so intense that Tom actually felt like you were about to hand his ass over to him. Those sweet eyes he's grown to adore was masked by this menacing and dark look and he just keeps getting more impressed as he goes on. He wouldn't want to meet you in this state in an alleyway—or anywhere for that matter—that's for sure.

He definitely hasn't seen you like this before and boy was it making his head spin, and dare he say it, it was making him feel all hot.

You were fully in your badass mode and Tom wasn't sure if he was scared or extremely attracted, or maybe even both at the same time.

"And cut!"

And then you giggled.

Tom has let go of a girl who can definitely do both. As if he wasn't a big enough idiot already.

"Was that good?" Your voice was muffled by the face mask you were wearing, but Tom can just hear that wide smile on your face. You really just had to make him soft by being all cute and sweet again.

Oh you were giving him a whiplash that will surely be the death of him.

"Nailed it! Both of you!"

"Really? And, uh, can I have some water please?" You giggled shyly, only sparing Tom a second of a glance before your eyes was back on a girl who brought you a bottle of water.

This made him frown involuntarily, curios eyes looking at you as a certain pang hits his chest.

She's still mad at you and rightfully so.

Tom ran a hand through his hair with a sigh as his eyes casted itself on the ground. He was starting to go deep in thought as to what he should do to make things clearer for the both of you, but he got interrupted when Anthony approached him to give a few notes and directions for the next part of this scene.

So Tom just shoved his thoughts to the side and decided that when the time is right, you two will get to talk eventually.

* * *

It was the last scene of the day to which you're a little bit relief by. You were pretty much drained to the bone and you can't wait for the day to be over. But with one downside: it's also the scene that you've been dreading the most.

It was a flashback scene of your character and Tom character's falling out. It was sort of the last straw to break her completely that would then be one of the reasons that pushes her to become an assassin right after everything in her life has gone to hell.

It wouldn't have been too much of a big deal if it wasn't near what happened with you and Tom. But the case was, it was almost as identical as the night you and Tom broke up.

What a way of the universe to joke.

There were a couple of different scenarios sure, but the whole idea and vibe of the scene? It was like it was taken from the books of your very own life.

The set was whittled down now, the setting a residential area with an empty street in a cold night. You were out of your costume and in a simple knee-length dress and a denim jacket along with a pair of sneakers. A beanie sat atop your head as your hair fell down your shoulders freely.

It was tough trying to get into the headspace, as this was a heavy scene with so much crying involved, but it doesn't even take too long when all your mind could think of was that night.

"You okay?" Anthony asked as he furrowed his brows at you, concern written on his face as you've managed to look extremely crestfallen.

"Yeah, just getting into the zone." You laughed awkwardly, your heart getting heavier by the minute especially when you caught a glimpse of Tom approaching and then stopping just beside you.

"You've been incredible so far with all the action Y/N. But this scene in particular, I want you to channel all your deep emotions. You character has been through so much, loss of a father, an addict mother, the society looking down at you and then the only person who you trust and love starts to change and turn his back on you." You only nodded at Anthony's direction since your mind was already there. You've already experienced a few of the things your character has, so it wasn't hard to tap into those emotions.

You can feel Tom's stare just burning a hole through the side of your head, but never did you spare him a glance. You aren't sure if you're strong enough to keep your tears at bay. Probably best to just save it for the scene.

"You Tom, you've just gotten popular with the crowd, new friends, and people seem to love you and you only see her as like a hindrance to your joy because she starts asking for your attention. You kinda see her anger at you as her not wanting to see you happy or her being jealous of your success. You've been blinded by a lot of stuff so you become a jerk to her basically." It would be funny to think that Anthony was basically telling Tom to act the way he acted that particular night, but none of you were in the state of mind to find even the smallest humor in the situation at hand.

"Yeah okay, yeah." Tom cleared his throat, the tension in the air getting thicker by the minute that even Joe had to butt in. "Are you two okay? You both look like you've seen a ghost." The older brother asked as he stood beside Anthony.

"Yeah!" Both you and Tom almost squeaked in unison. You can feel the heat rush to your cheeks as you forced a smile. "Never better." You breathed out.

Tom was still staring at you; you can just feel it, and you so wished he would just stop. It wasn't helping your case at all, especially when he's got those messy brows furrowed by the looks of it in the corner of your eye, indicating that he was deep in thought.

"You guys have the freedom to improvise your lines, don't be afraid to stray away from the actual lines on the paper but make sure that you don't necessarily change the scene."

Without further more questions, you were finally ushered to your places. You kept your eyes on the ground while you stood in front of a screen door, hands in the pockets of your jacket as you shifted your weight from one foot to the other.

"Ready and action!"

You grabbed the screen door open as you slowly made your way inside. Different colored lights were flickering around as few people gave you looks because everyone knows you weren't invited to this party. You acted unbothered but your eyes were telling a different story.

Reaching the living room, the couch was where you saw him. He sat comfortably with arms outstretched on the back of the sofa, a girl right closely beside him as they whispered to each other's ear, rather too flirtatiously.

You stood there and watched as she got all too friendly with her hands, trailing up and down his chest as he didn't bother to do anything about it. Tears were welling up your eyes, but you willed yourself to stay focused, even if it wasn't necessarily full on acting as it was quite a familiar sight to see.

And with the cue, Tom looked up to meet your gaze and you held it, just long enough for the camera to pick up. The expression on his face was quick to change as he stood up abruptly. That was your indication to leave, so you turned around and rushed out of the house, the camera following closely behind you.

You were now on an empty street as he ran behind you, the set eerily quiet letting his footsteps echo loudly against the wet pavement. You wrapped your arms around yourself as you kept your head low, holding the tears in since it wasn't time for that yet.

"Wait, just wait a second. It's not what it looks like." Tom rushed as he grabbed your arm, but you shrugged it off and kept on walking, making sure not to take too long of the strides for you not to miss the marker.

"Of course it isn't." You scoffed with a roll of your eyes.

"Just listen to me will you?" He called out in exasperation, but you didn't even bother to turn around and give him a look. "I don't want to listen to you anymore. Just go back and have fun with your so called lady friend." You said dismissively, seeing your mark to be one step more and once you reached it, and he reached his, his voice boomed.

"Why are you being such a bitch?" You stopped in your tracks and slowly turned around to finally face him, a look of absolute hurt written on your face as his only showed nothing but pure frustration.

"I can't do this anymore." You whispered with a shake of your head, blinking away the tears as you looked up at the dark sky.

"Can't do what?" Tom scoffed as he took a step forward but he kept a good distance, eyebrows furrowed in anger with his arms crossed over his chest to seem intimidating, and it was working. You knew it was all acting, but it just looked so believable that it took a sharp swing at your heart.

"This, us, you. I can't deal with you and your stuck up attitude anymore." You gestured between the both of you and then all of him, voice cracking as you willed yourself to keep eye contact. It was so hard to stay in character and balance your emotions at the same time, because the way he was looking at you, was the same way as he did that night he left.

Tom looked away with a sarcastic laugh. "Oh so now I'm stuck up? What did I do wrong this time?" You shook your head in disbelief at his words. "So many things, you're just too blind to see it."

"Then lay them the fuck out!" He snarled with one step forward, eyes boring furiously into yours that it almost made you take a step back. But you kept your ground, glaring at him with the same intensity as you threw your hands up in the air.

"Fine! You want me to lay it out for you? You've changed! Now that you've found your way in life and found a new group of friends suddenly you're too good for me. Suddenly you're mister successful while I'm the trash who follows you around." You barked back, his resolve wavering for a little bit as he grumbled. "You know that's not true."

"But it fucking is! You make me feel like I'm nothing compared to you! I'm your girlfriend but you can't seem to spend even a minute with me since you're out with your new friends a lot. And if you do give me a spare of your time you get mad for no goddamn reason! It's like you don't even want to be near me! Like I'm a disease to you and your new life! You think so highly of yourself now that you act like I'm some low class person as if we didn't grow up together!" The accusation in your voice was clear as day, and the way Tom's jaw clenched to show that you've hit a nerve, it scared you.

"Then maybe you should take the hint to do something better with your boring life so you can stop messing with mine!"

That was when you lost it. Any sense of what's real and what's just an act, you lost it.

"Start doing something with your own goddamn career and life and stop meddling with mine Y/N! I'm so sick of your shit!"

Your brain started to spiral out of control and suddenly you weren't on set anymore, you were back at the apartment, head in your hands as you cried your eyes out, the loud bang of the door slamming shut ringing in your ears.

A single tear ran down your cheek as you stared at him in shock, breath caught in your throat as you felt your whole body tremble. You struggled to form your words, your eyes shutting tight enabling more tears to run down your face as you breathed out. "I have always been there for you. All I ask is for you to be there for me too." It sounded like a plea, soft, desperate but very painful that Tom almost broke character. Almost.

"It's not my obligation to carry your failures for you." He stated with so much venom and ice that you could only nod defeatedly, lips quivering as you held his gaze for one more second before your eyes casted itself on the ground.

"That's not what I meant but fine. I will not be a burden to you anymore." Your voice sounded so small and frail, and it was taking everything in your power not to snap, to just walk away for it to be done. But he just had to have the last word now didn't he?

"So now what you're just going to leave and give up on us?"

You don't know what it was but something in his tone or words triggered you. After a year of bottling it in, months on end of it slowly reaching its boiling point, you finally blew up. You took a step towards him as you gave him a hard shove, the sudden action catching Tom totally off-guard making him stumbled back.

"Yes! Because I'm so fucking done! I'm so done with thinking every single day if I will ever be good enough for you!" You sobbed, the tears free falling down your face but you didn't care as you continued to yell at him.

"I gave you everything that I had! I was there for you day in day out! But you still treated me like shit! You made me feel like I didn't matter to you even in the smallest of ways and that fucking hurt so bad because you mean the whole world to me! You pushed me aside like we didn't went through anything! As if all our memories together was wiped off your brain and that hurts! It hurts to see you look at me like I'm some stranger, like I'm someone you hate so much even if I didn't do anything wrong to you! I've done nothing but love you. I—I loved you so much and all you did was hurt me in return. No matter how hard I tried, it still wasn't enough because you left me! You broke my heart when you said you'd take care of it. After all of your promises you broke all of me Tom!"

Tom froze at the mention of his name.

The anger on his face was quick to dissipate, replaced by a look of nothing but pure guilt. Tom's heart broke completely as he watched you break down in front of him, so vulnerable, so hurt, all because of him. "I–"

"No! You're not getting the last word this time. I've had enough. I am done." Your voice broke at the end of your sentence, turning around hurriedly and ran off shot, leaving Tom standing there frozen and stunned.

You covered your mouth to try and muffle your sobs, attempting to run back to your trailer to escape the prying eyes but Anthony stopped you, hands resting gently on your shoulders as he held you in arms-length. "Y/N, are you okay?" You shook your head no, your tears pouring even more at his question.

"Can I have a minute for some air please?" You stammered, vision blurry with all the tears but you still saw Anthony only nodding, eyebrows knitted in concern. "Go, take all the time that you need."

You breathed out a soft thank you and ran, back to your trailer, slamming your door closed and flipping the lock as you collapsed on the floor.

* * *

It took Tom a minute for everything that has happened to wrap around his head. Your words repeating itself over and over and he wanted nothing more than to beat himself up, black and blue.

He knew he hurt you but he could only just imagine how much, up until he saw your eyes as you looked at him with nothing but pure betrayal.

The pain in them were so real and Tom knew at that moment that you weren't even pretending anymore. You weren't acting but reliving that night again, he can just see it in your eyes. You weren't addressing him as his character, no; you were addressing him as himself, Tom Holland, the guy who broke you to pieces.

Tom should've just scrapped everything and held you. He should've said fuck it to the scene and just pulled you in his arms. But the thought crossed his mind a moment too late.

He stayed in his place completely still before he was snapped out of his state when Joe approached him, the director's face painted with confusion and concern. "Tom what was that? Is there something going on between you two that you're not telling us?"

Tom didn't bother to answer his question as he looked around set, the worry in him increasing when he saw no sign of you. "Where is she?"

"I think she went back to her trailer. Wait where are yo—"

"I'll explain later." Tom called out as he ran out of set. He needed to find you and set things straight. Tom needs to tell you the full truth, tell you what's he's been feeling the past year. He wasn't going to let himself make the same mistake twice.

* * *

Sobs raked your body as you rest your back against the door, knees held to your chest in a curling position. Your eyes burning with your lungs as you cried and cried, because even if you tried to stop, you just couldn't. You couldn't find the will to erase the thought of him leaving you. That image has burned itself in your mind and it hurts, so fucking bad and you just want it to go away.

A whine from the opposite side made you lift your head up from your knees, eyebrows furrowing together once you heard it again, but louder this time. "Tessa?" You sniffled, and she barked in confirmation, scratching at the door in an attempt to get to you. Your frown deepened at the sound of her crying on the other side. She knows fully well when you're upset, and she will do anything to be beside you no matter what. It was such a sweet thing she does. Tessa's been there beside you whenever she finds you crying, she was your comfort buddy, and today, that still hasn't changed.

You stood back up to undo the lock to let her in, ready to have her hugs and kisses because they always make you feel better, but when you pulled it open, you weren't only greeted by her, he was standing right there too.

Before you could even slam the door shut he had already pushed the door wider and made his way inside, shutting it just behind him, and you made sure to step back, putting some much needed distance between you two. Of course he did. Tessa was in his trailer, there was no other way she could've gotten out without his help.

"You are a fucking dickhead for you using Tessa as bait Tom." You growled in pure annoyance, wiping away your tears aggressively as you wrapped your arms around yourself, avoiding his eyes at all costs as you stood right beside the couch where Tessa was laying down, just watching you with attentive eyes. You gave her a soft pat, distracting yourself from the man who stood there.

"I just need to talk to you, and I know you won't open the door if it was me." He was making his way towards you, but you were quick to hold your palm up, stopping him in his tracks and only making it halfway. You couldn't bear to be near him, at least not yet. Tom nodded, staying in his place as a soft sigh left his lips, "Please–"

"There's nothing left to talk about Tom." Your voice was hoarse, tears still falling down your face but not as much as before. "Yes there fucking is." He argued, desperation running through him as he tried his luck, taking another step forward. Tom just wants to be near you, to hold you and he almost shouted in glee when you didn't stop him.

"What do you want from me Tom?" You whispered, willing yourself to look at him, but only for a split second, because you couldn't bear to see his face without bursting into full on sobs again. But still, you saw it, the sadness in his features, and your walls were slowly cracking.

Tom kept inching closer and closer, and he was both relief and scared because it seemed like you weren't putting up a fight anymore, like you've somehow given up.

You were tired, both emotionally and physically, so you didn't bother to take a step back once he grew nearer. You were tired of running, maybe it was time for you to finally face him.

"I just want you to hear me out, please." Tom whispered, shaking hands slowly reaching out to hold your arms, and you let him. You let him touch you, the heat of his palms comforting you in some odd way. He was so close now and you know if you did as much as look up, you'd see nothing but his eyes, so you didn't, you can't yet. You glued your gaze on the ground, just seeing the tips of his shoes almost touching with yours, it was that close.

"You had time before to reach out Tom. Why now?" Your voice was low but broken, a question that's been in the back of your head the moment he set foot inside your trailer. "Because you looked happier and I didn't want to ruin it. I thought that you were better off without me."

You let out a sarcastic laugh, probably making you look like a complete lunatic with the tears covering your cheeks but you didn't care. Of course you look happy on screen. You had to. To fool the world and yourself, but it was always a lie, what you've shown online was just a glimpse of your life, not the full truth. "Well, clearly, I wasn't. Aren't you?"

"Fuck no. I wasn't happy without you. I know you probably won't believe me but I wasn't Y/N. I will never be better off without you." You only sniffled, still shaking your head, still not believing his words and Tom can't blame you. But he needs you to hear what he has to say, so when you stayed quiet, Tom took this opportunity to just let out what he's been holding in for how many months now.

"Darling I'm sorry, for everything that I've ever done and said to you. Fuck I know sorry doesn't even cut it but I am, I truly am sorry for hurting you my love." You let out a soft whimper at the nickname, eyes shutting tight as you shook your head at him. "Tom please don't–"

"No, no, I need you to hear this Y/N." Tom's hand went up to brush a hair behind your ear, then coming down to hold your chin up for you to look at him. It already hurts him so much just seeing you cry, and it stabbed his heart repeatedly just staring back at your pain filled eyes, the glow in them snuffed out and replaced by this broken soul.

Tom took one shaky breath before continuing. "What I did was horrible, and I know that it won't be easy for you to forgive me, and I understand if you won't ever. Hell I can't even forgive myself for what I did. I was stupid, fucking stupid for hurting you like that. I was a completely idiot for leaving you. You didn't deserve the way I treated you. You didn't deserve to get hurt like that at all. If could go back in time and take everything I said back, I would. The things that I've said, I didn't mean them, truly. I was so blinded, I was angry and got carried away, but still that's not an excuse. What I said was not okay, and it will never be. And I truly am sorry darling, I truly am."

Tom's voice broke at the end of his sentence, his heart clenching as he tried his best not to cry. He couldn't bear the thought of hurting you like that, it pains him just thinking about what he's put you through. The sheer amount of guilt and heartbreak was swallowing him whole and fast. Then there was also anger. He was so angry at himself for doing that to you, but what's done is done. The only thing he could do now was think about what lies ahead, hopefully, with you back in his arms.

"Y/N, I want you to know that... no, I need you to know that I still love you, I've never stopped loving you." Tom couldn't stop the tears from escaping his eyes, his bottom lip quivering as he spoke the words. The sob that you let out only broke his heart even more, your firm hands pressing against his chest as you tried to push him back. "No no no, you're just saying that. You don't mean that. Please don't lie to me Tom, please don't."

Tom shook his head as he bit his bottom lip to suppress a whimper. Both of his hands finding its way up to cup your face, wiping your tears away with his thumb as he pressed his forehead against yours. You kept your eyes shut tight, not finding even the smallest of strength to open them to see his face, looking at you so longingly.

"Look at me, baby, look at me." He pleaded, wanting you to see right through him, to look into his eyes and see the truth.

You took a few deep breaths as you wrapped your trembling fingers around his wrists, forcing yourself to open your eyes and gaze into his tear-filled brown orbs.

"I'm not lying to you. I love you, gosh I'm still madly in love with you Y/N." He breathed out with so much emotion, his words coming out as a soft whisper, but the truth was there, strong and firm for you not to miss it.

And who on earth were you kidding? Of course you still love him, you always have. And for the first time in a year, you let your heart take control over your brain; allowing you to push yourself up and let your lips capture his in a kiss filled with need and so much passion.

Tom was quick to kiss back, strong arms wrapping around your form as he pulled you closer to his body, his head spinning at the feeling of your warms lips back on his own after so long. Your fingers were lost in the mesh of his curls, the kiss wet due to a few more tears but neither of you cared because it felt like it belonged, like you two were finally home.

"I missed you so much." Tom groaned against your lips, walking you back slowly until you've reach the bedroom of your trailer, a slight confusion washing over you because the couch was right there, not that you're in a hurry or anything but... "Why–"

"Tessa." And with that he kicked the door shut, his action an enough answer because as much as you love the dog, she does have a habit of disturbing. A sweet giggle came out of you and Tom felt his heart melt at the beautiful sound, especially when it was filled with nothing but genuine amusement.

But that giggle was soon replaced by a soft gasp as Tom dipped his head to bring his kisses down to your neck, his hands pushing your jacket off your shoulders and letting it fall down the floor. That was when everything in your head got clouded, his lips on your skin a good enough distraction for both of you not to think straight.

Your hands found its way under his shirt, a shiver running down Tom's whole body because they were cold, but not for long. He shrugged his own jacket off and pushed you further back, the back of your knees hitting the edge of the bed allowing you to fall down the mattress with a soft thump. Tom pulled his shirt over his head and didn't waste a second more as he crawled on top of you right after, lips back on yours hungrily as he situated himself in-between your legs, your dress hiking up when you wrapped them around his waist.

Your fingers were tracing up and down his bare torso, Tom smirking between the kiss as he felt you run it over his toned abs. You bit his bottom lip as a warning to not be cocky, earning a deep groan from him, his hand coming down your thighs to give them a firm squeeze, the temperature in the room only getting higher as the clock ticked by.

But before any of you could take it a step further, a loud knock echoed itself on the whole trailer. Both of you wanted to ignore it but a voice soon then followed. "Tom, are you in there?"

The boy groaned as he buried his face on the crook of your neck, the two of you completely forgetting where you are as of the moment. Tom took deep breaths to calm himself down, your fingers running through the back of his head, playing with his hair as you did the same.

Once Tom caught his breath, he spoke, a hint of annoyance coating his voice. "What is it Harry?"

"They're looking for the both of you."

Tom sighed, propping himself up to look at you fully, beautiful face all flushed and he couldn't have seen a more gorgeous sight. "Be out in a minute." He called out, never letting his eyes off of you as if you'll disappear if he does, even for a split second. You didn't dare to move nor let out a single word. You just stared right into his eyes, so many emotions swimming in them but one that made your heart grow is the clear look of love, and for once, you felt safe under his gaze, safe and home.

"Come home with me tonight?" Tom asked shyly, fingers tracing your jaw in a loving manner. You thought about it for a second, all the doubt suddenly rushing back to you along with your brain just yelling at you to be extra careful, and you knew you just had to clear your head first before jumping right in the deep end. "Tom, I think I need to thin–"

"I know darling, I know. But please, just give me tonight. After that, I'll give you all the time and space that you need." You sighed knowing fully well you can't ever resist him, closing your eyes for a moment before nodding. A breath of relief escaped Tom's lips just as he presses it back on yours, but this time it was soft and sweet, kind of like a reassurance that he will be right here until you fully take him back, no matter how long that would take.

Tom unwillingly pulled away before things get heated again, standing up fully as he grabbed his shirt off the floor along with his jacket and slipping it on. He turned back to you with a sweet smile, offering both hands for you to take, interlacing your fingers in his once you did.

"Come on, we've got some explaining to do."

-:-:-:-:-

Like & Reblog if you enjoyed and let me know what you think! <3

[carols-review-box]

My Thoughts on Ginny & Georgia: Season 1 

These are my thoughts.

Right off the bat, I want to address that this is, by no means, a comprehensive review. I’m not even sure if it can be called a review. These are just my thoughts on the show, and it may or may not cover everything (in fact, it most certainly won’t cover everything), and I’ll try my best to write it out in an organized manner, but I can’t make promises. (Though, in all fairness, this is just a blog for my own entertainment, and I don’t expect anyone to actually read it.) 

Now, moving on. Ginny & Georgia, season 1. Where do I begin? 

First Impressions 

I first encountered Ginny & Georgia on Netflix when the website decided to auto play its trailer while I was scrolling through it. I watched--almost begrudgingly-- a short, 1 minute clip of Ginny complaining to her teacher about how all the books on the curriculum were written by white men. While I understand where Ginny was coming from, and while I understand that a lot of high school literature is written by authors who sometimes are not representative of their audience, Ginny’s introduction just came off as obnoxious and annoying. I thought, “Imagine moving to a new school, and that’s the first thing you say to the teacher.” I rolled my eyes, wrote the show off as another try-hard feminist woke piece (or something like that), and didn’t think I’d watch it. 

Well, at some point, I obviously decided to give the show a try. And by the middle of the first episode, I was actually really surprised when Ginny didn’t turn out to be insufferable in the beginning. I say in the beginning-- because her character really slides downhill past a certain point.

Plot 

Throughout the entire show, I was probably a thousand times more interested in Georgia’s plot than Ginny’s. 

It makes sense-- Ginny’s plot is... well, pretty much a generic teen soap opera that I’ve seen hundreds of times before. There are some unique themes to her story that I’ve rarely seen portrayed in other shows, like her experience as a biracial person, but other than that, it seems to be your run-of-the-mill drama. 

On the other hand, Georgia’s plot is fresher. I haven’t personally seen any black-widow narratives (if Georgia could be called that), so I was intrigued and curious by how her story would play out. Not to mention, I liked Georgia’s love interests far better than Ginny’s, but maybe that’s just my personal taste.

In comparing these two plots, I do feel like the writers did Ginny wrong. Georgia is given an interesting storyline with a relevant backstory and plot points that actually make sense, whereas Ginny’s story is mediocre, we rarely get to see her side of the past, and half the stuff that goes down in her life is either unrealistic and overdramatized or it just makes no damn sense. 

Characters 

I could probably talk a great deal about the characters in this show. I have the most to say about Ginny (75% of it is criticism, honestly), so I’ll dedicate an entire section to her later. For now, I’ll start with these characters:

Georgia: Georgia, oh Georgia. To put it simply, Georgia is a psychopath hidden behind a large smile and a buzzing Southern accent. For the first 5 episodes, I was so fooled by her act (and her beauty) that I forgot she’s a literal murderer and most likely not a good human being. But I guess that’s, in part, what makes her very interesting to watch. 

Hunter: I literally felt nothing but a mixture of boredom and pity whenever Hunter was on screen. For the first 8 episodes, he is just an extraordinarily boring character-- and his boringness is used as a justification by Ginny to cheat on him (that’s where the pity part comes in). I enjoyed how how he got more character in the ending episodes, and I could understand his struggles when he fought with Ginny (in that scene). But if he wasn’t dating Ginny, then he would’ve been a completely forgettable character.

Marcus: Marcus ALWAYS looks like he’s high. I don’t think there’s a single scene in the show where he doesn’t look like he just smoked something. He also has little personality, other than being the “bad boy.” I guess his hotness makes up for it, or something?

Maxine: While I enjoy Max overall, I think she can be really annoying, talkative and insensitive at times. Emphasis on the last part, because she does this irritating thing where she says something racist, and then asks if she just said something racist. 

Abby: Out of the friend group, I feel like Abby is the most dramatic without being overdramatic. She experiences things that a regular teenager would. However, she can be a bad friend at times, and I don’t like how the characters gives her a pass on some questionable choices she makes. 

Paul: I like Paul. It is a little bit hypocritical of me to say Paul is a good character when he basically has the same exact personality as Hunter, but I’m going to say it: He’s a good character.

Zion: Zion is smooth, and I enjoy his little wisdom bits with Ginny. But he was introduced too late into the show, and I can’t see him being a good fit for Georgia. 

Joe: I love Joe. Just like some of the other characters, he is kind of plain. Kind of vanilla, daresay boring, but for some reason, I love him. Maybe it’s because of his adorable connection with Georgia. Maybe it’s because he offers some much-needed comedic relief in this overdramatized show. Maybe it’s because he has attractive qualities, like running a “successful” business, or maybe he’s just my type. For many, many episodes, I wanted Georgia to get together with Joe the most. 

Austin: I forgot Austin existed for half the time. Like, I know the kid stabbed someone, but in the grand scheme of things, he’s just so forgettable.

Character: Ginny

Ginny. Ah, where do I even begin with Ginny? 

First, I’m just going to say this: I know the writers intended to depict a biracial person’s experience in America through Ginny. I’m not biracial myself, and I don’t fully understand the issues that biracial people go through, so I’m not going to comment too much on how the authors managed to fuck up. I say “how” and not “if,” because a lot of biracial people have said that Ginny & Georgia is kind of a bad example of their life, and also because even I can see the problems with the show from a mile away. 

Getting that out of the way, I’ll start with Ginny’s overall character. 

One would think that a character who is depicted as-- for a lack of better words-- as “woke,”... as in, a character who is supposed to have better moral values than others (the definition comes from the word’s general connotative interpretation from leftist media), would be a good human being. But time and time again, we see that Ginny is everything but. 

These are my biggest issues with Ginny’s character:

1) She acts like she’s better than everyone else, but also like she’s super oppressed. I know these two personality traits aren’t mutually exclusive, but they’re not a good combination either. 

2) She thinks she’s the only person in the entire town who has real issues. Other characters confront her about this, and she eventually mellows down, but it’s astounding to me the amount of people she had to offend before she got the point.

3) She can be really ungrateful and rude towards her mom. I know Georgia is not a perfect mother-- not even close-- and she can be genuinely crazy at times, but Ginny is very rarely appreciative of her mom’s efforts. 

4) Despite Ginny’s intelligence, she is not smart. She commits a bunch of dumb mistakes. Now, some of these can be attributed to her just being a teenager-- like having unprotected sex, sending nudes, being peer pressured into stealing, etc. Whereas other choices-- most notably cheating on her boyfriend-- are just a product of her shitty personality.

5) There is a really bad implication concerning Ginny’s views on race. I can probably talk a lot about race in this show, but true to my word, I’ll keep this short and talk about the one thing that really bothered me: Ginny ignores the black kids. There’s a line in the show where Ginny says she’s too white for the black folks and too black for the white folks... and she uses this to justify never having any friends or not fitting in. But when she gets to Wellsbury, she’s accepted by everyone, including black people, yet she chooses to ignore them. She only sits with them near the end of the show when her friend group kicks her out. And she looks miserable. 

Ginny likes to complain a lot about her white side, but all things considered, I think she has an issue with her black side instead. I don’t know if this is representative of the biracial experience, but I imagine this can’t be a good thing to portray on screen. 

I know it’s crazy of me to say this right after I just ripped Ginny apart. However, despite everything, I actually like Ginny as a character. Do I like her as much as I like Georgia or Joe? No, but she swings more good than bad. What can I say? She’s entertaining (in the same way that Cheryl from Riverdale is entertaining). She’s at least somewhat relatable, and I wouldn’t have watched the entire season if I truly found her to be unbearable. 

That being said, Ginny does have a lot of potential to grow, and I sincerely hope the writers do her better in the next season. 

Themes 

*At some point in the future, I may add more to this section.  

Family: Despite a significant portion of this show being terribly unrealistic, I appreciate the show’s overall depiction of family and separation. For one, the show represents families who aren’t stereotypically nuclear. Our main protagonists are a single mother-daughter combo. The Bakers next door have a deaf father and a mother who doesn’t fit into a perfect mold. There’s a biracial family (Hunter) who connects far more with their American side than their Taiwanese-- so much that Hunter and his sister don’t even speak a lick of Mandarin. The small details and nuances which are added into the show makes them far more representative of the general American population. 

Conversations: This show gives conversations that are far overdue in media. While Hunter and Ginny’s fight scene is 98% pure cringe, the remaining 2% of it is an important reminder on being biracial (or a person of color) in America. Many of us struggle with our racial identity, and it’s unproductive to compare who has it worse. 

Overall + Rating 

To me, the first season of Ginny & Georgia is a 6.5/10. (Five being the average; so this would be a little better than average). While it showed a lot of potential at the beginning, the show eventually devolved to nothing more than a standard melodrama-- even on Georgia’s part. It tried hard to be another Gilmore Girls but ended up falling quite short. I am looking forward to its second season though; and hopefully, it’s much better than the first. 

[gottlem]

one out of a thousand others. (lemyanka)

summary: lemon meets her soulmate on the same day she starts at a brand new school - the only problem is she has no way of knowing , out of all the people she meets, who it actually is. (4.9k)

a/n: well, this took so long to write, so i hope u like it !! i was gonna write this for crygi but i decided to write it for these two instead even though its a lil less popular lol. this is purely self indulgent bc i LOVE soulmate aus so. here we are. also title taken from a line in falsettos lol

-

“So, Pri, you meet your soulmate tomorrow right?” Boa was right, according to the date marked on Priyanka’s upper thigh, tomorrow was the day. It still didn’t quite feel real yet, that she would meet the person she was meant to be with forever. Part of her was terrified that they wouldn’t get along, that somehow, something had gone wrong at some point. Part of her couldn’t wait to meet someone she should be able to just click with so easily. People wait their entire lives to meet The One, and right now, she only has to wait one more day.

“Yeah tomorrow’s the day! I wonder what they’re like” Priyanka hadn’t planned to do or go anywhere out of the ordinary, she would go to school, go home, and see wherever else the day might take her. But for now, she just had to get back home after school. They spent the walk home bumping into each other's shoulder and theorizing about what her soulmate might be like, though there was only one problem.

Boa, Priyanka’s best friend and self-proclaimed-platonic-soulmate, had no idea that Priyanka was expecting her actual soulmate to be a girl. There wasn’t necessarily a reason she hadn’t yet told Boa, it just never came up. And now it was too late to bring it up, too awkward. Except she’s meeting her tomorrow and Boa will either be completely oblivious, or will figure it out far too quickly.

Avoiding pronouns got old fast, but luckily it was still relatively easy to stick with using they/them, seeing as though she was talking about someone she didn’t know. She could keep this from Boa for just one more day, and then she’d just have to figure out how to break the news. Or maybe she wouldn’t even have to, maybe Boa would just be able to sense it from how they interacted. The uncertainty of it all was quite concerning, but she was sure she would push through it anyway.

Priyanka did not sleep well that night. She was going to meet her soulmate. The girl that would complete her, make her a better version of herself. It was scary, but exciting. She couldn’t wait, really. No matter how nerve-wrecking it became the more she thought about it, she also felt comforted. It was meant to be. She was about to find someone who will love her so strongly, and someone she can love right back. She was lucky, really, to find her soulmate so young. They’d be able to grow together, face the world and adulthood together when the time came. She had the rest of her life ahead of her and she couldn’t wait to spend it falling in love with her other half.

-

Lemon couldn’t wait to meet her soulmate. The only problem was she would have absolutely no idea who is. She thought long and hard about the ways she could whittle it down, but the only distinctive factor was that she knew her soulmate would be a girl, and they would meet tomorrow. Maybe she would just know? Maybe they’d catch eyes in the hallway and something would just click. That’s what she hoped would happen anyway, but knowing her luck, there would be no such thing.

She was starting a brand new school tomorrow, slap-bang in the middle of a school year. She was about to be the new kid. It was just unlucky that the very day she would start a new school, consequently meeting hundreds of kids, she was also supposed to meet her soulmate. Of course, whoever it may be should know straight away that their soulmate is Lemon. She’d be the only new girl, and therefore the only person they meet that day. So, at least they’re not both completely clueless, right?

Lemon fell asleep almost the exact moment her head hit her pillow. She had spent the last hour or two taking extra care in the shower, brushing her teeth, and going through her usually skipped over skincare routine. She even read her book for an extra half hour in an attempt to calm her butterflies, it worked well enough for her to fall asleep. Her dreams were fuelled by a mixture of anxiety and excitement (though some would argue they’re exactly the same) but she didn’t remember any by the time she woke up.

When the sun rose that morning, Lemon could feel herself getting giddier by the minute. It was a beautiful day - sunny, but not too warm. The perfect day to meet your soulmate. Walking into the doors for the first time, Lemon watched as unfamiliar faces passed by her with questioning looks, wondering who she was. Some of them had already begun to introduce themselves, unbeknownst to the date of her mark.

Lemon was sure she’d be fine. She was outgoing, and always willing to make new friends, so being the new girl wasn’t as scary as it should be. However, when every single person you meet is a potential soulmate, things start to get overwhelming. Her morning consisted of getting slightly lost on the way to her English class, introducing herself to 60+ people before lunch, and constantly being on the lookout for the look in someone's eye that tells her she’s the one. She never found that look.

-

Priyanka was having an awful morning. She had heard whispers of a new girl in school, and her heart managed to sink and soar at the same time. She promised herself she wouldn’t look for her, they would find each other when the time was right. And apparently the time was right just as Priyanka was speed walking, and definitely not paying attention, towards the dining hall for lunch after promising Boa she wouldn’t be late. She was fishing for her phone in her bag as she bumped into a wide eyed girl that she didn’t recognise.

In a flash, the girl was on the floor, picking up the books that Priyanka had managed to whack out of her grip.

‘Good going Pri, you just had the most cliche fucking meeting with your soumate and she probably doesn’t even know it, happy?’

Priyanka was quick to bend down to help the girl, apologising for being so careless. The girl looked up and smiled, Priyanka thought her heart might have stopped in that moment.

“It’s okay girl! Let’s just blame it on the fact that I’m the new girl so by the laws of the universe, something at least a little embarrassing has to happen to me. I mean, it wouldn't be a complete first day if it didn’t. I’m Lemon.”

“I thought I didn’t recognise you, I’m Priyanka… Wait, did you just say Lemon? Like the citrus fruit?”

“Well, my real name is Lena, Lemon’s just a nickname. Literally everyone just calls me Lemon though, especially pretty girls who don’t look at where they’re going. Besides, yellow does suit me, don’t you think?”

Priyanka did think. She thought this girl, Lemon, was stunning. And she was right, yellow was her colour. Her hair was a light blonde, but the ends were a pastel yellow and her shirt an even brighter yellow; Priyanka thought it must take some guts to wear such a bold colour on your first day, but you’ve got to make an impression somehow right? Besides, she was well aware that Lemon would have the same date she did on her thigh - which meant Lemon knew she was meeting her soulmate today. Chances are, she didn’t have any idea who it would be though, Priyanka couldn’t even imagine how many new people Lemon would have met today. But that would mean Lemon didn’t know that she and Priyanka were soulmates, only Priyanka did. So she would have to be the one to make some kind of move. She can’t watch her soulmate just walk away.

“Hey, do you have anyone to sit with at lunch?”

“I was planning on walking around aimlessly trying to find a clique that looks like they wouldn’t wanna bite my head off, so no, but I’m assuming I do now?”

Priyanka just took her soulmate’s hand in response, taking her to the dining hall to meet Boa. She hoped she could keep it together for the next 60 minutes. It shouldn’t be that hard. All she had to do was avoid the topic of romance and soulmates and she would be fine. Boa knew that bringing it up with a stranger was a bit too intimate for the first hour of knowing someone, so hopefully she wouldn't have to worry about her.

Luckily for Priyanka, her friend didn’t think twice about her invitation for Lemon to join them at lunch, assuming that her soulmate would be a boy, which Lemon was not. On the other hand, it meant that Priyanka spent an hour with her soulmate who probably had no idea they were meant to be, but who also kept flirting with her anyway. It was torture. She couldn't even tell her, not with Boa there. So when Priyanka wrote down Lemon’s instagram handle, she decided she would come clean to her tonight. 

-

Lemon had long abandoned the idea of finding her soulmate through glances in the hallway. She figured her soulmate would have the sense to know that she’d be meeting too many people to be able to single out the one, and she would make the first move, or at least say something to clue Lemon in. But that didn’t seem to happen all day.

Eating lunch with Priyanka and her friend was nice, but she had no reason to believe they were soulmates. As far as Lemon knew, Priyanka could just be trying to make up for the incident in the halls. Eventually her soulmate would show herself, but that didn’t stop Lemon from letting herself think that maybe her soulmate was sitting right in front of her.

Walking home that day, Lemon felt defeated. She wasn’t any closer to knowing who her soulmate was than when the day first started, except now she knew she had most definitely met them by now, unless she bumped into someone on the way home. She didn’t. She unlocked her front door and went straight to her bedroom. Her body felt heavy, she just had to lie down for a minute.

A notification from her phone was what woke her up a couple hours later. She barely even realised she had fallen asleep until she checked the time and it was already 7pm. There were two notifications, both from Instagram. She had one new follower, and a private message. It wasn’t too surprising to Lemon that both were Priyanka, remembering she had given her handle to the girl earlier that day. 

itsmepri: Hey, Lemon! How was your first day? 

lemongivesyoulife: well i accidentally slept for almost four hours the second i got home, so i would say it went exactly the way i expected

itsmepri: It only gets worse from here girl

lemongivesyoulife: yeah i’m rlly looking forward to my breakdown scheduled in about two months time :)) 

lemongivesyoulife: but honestly i’m just glad nobodys been shitty to me yet, i’m just waiting until someone decides to ~prey on the new girl~

itsmepri: Don’t worry too much! Most groups just kind of stick to themselves, so if you just stay with me and Boa, you shouldn’t get into too much trouble

itsmepri: Only if you want, you don’t HAVE to be my friend just because I accidentally ran into you on your first say (sorry again for that, Boa’s a bitch when you keep her waiting)

lemongivesyoulife: i’d love that, actually ;)

lemongivesyoulife: and again don’t even worry about it! something tells me it happened for a reason

-

Priyanka had planned to tell Lemon that they were soulmates, she really had, but there was something stopping her that she couldn't quite place. Maybe it was fear that Lemon would be disappointed, maybe she liked the way Lemon flirted with her without even knowing. Whatever it was, it was clear she wasn’t quite ready to come clean yet. At 11:59pm, Priyanka’s phone started to ring, showing Boa’s display name, because who else would call her at midnight on a school night.

“This better be good if you’re ringing me at midnight to talk about it”

“I don’t know if it’s good, you’ll have to tell me.”

“Tell you what, exactly?”

“Who’s your soulmate? What are they like?”

Fuck. She really should have thought of something to say. The problem was, if Priyanka told Boa what was happening, that Lemon was her soulmate and only she knew, she would end up trying to take things into her own hands. That would be… disastrous. She just wanted to have everything go at her own pace. She could come clean to Lemon once they were good enough friends, and then they avoid the awkward ‘we don’t know each other well enough to officially date but also we’re soulmates so automatically we’re kind of dating anyways’ phase. Everything would fall into place. She just had to lie to her best friend for a bit. No biggie.

“Helloooo? Pri? You there?”

“Yeah I’m here. Just zoned out”

“God, did you even meet your soulmate?” Here goes nothing.

“Yeah. We’re uh, taking it slow for now. We bumped into each other when I was walking home. We’re just keeping things on the dl so we can really get to know each other first.”

That didn’t fully satisfy Boa. She wanted to know far too much far too quickly, but Priyanka managed to dodge the giveaway questions. It wasn’t easy, but she survived that phone call without giving anything away, feeling a sense of dread for when she’d eventually have to tell the truth.

The next day, Priyanka and Boa are joined by Lemon at lunch again. She sat herself down with blushing cheeks and a toothy smile, and without even greeting her new friends first, she asked “Can you tell me everything about Gothy?” Priyanka tried her best not to show her distaste towards the girl, and instantly asked why, trying not to sound defensive already. Maybe it was nothing.

“She asked me on a date. I think I’m gonna go.”

Priyanka wanted so badly to tell her not to. But she still just wasn’t ready. What stung the most was Boa, whispering into her ear, telling her that at least Lemon’s not being shy about her soulmate. Priyanka left lunch early that day, not without warning Lemon to be careful.

-

Gothy was in a few of Lemon’s classes, but she found out on the girls second day that they had gym together too. She didn’t mean to see her mark, honest. But she did. And she was the new girl. So why shouldn’t she have some fun? It’s not like she had a soulmate she was betraying, her whole body being void of a date.It was easy to flirt with her, easy to ask her out, and easy to get her to say yes. Lemon probably assumed that Gothy was her soulmate, and was finally trying to make a move. She couldn’t be more wrong. 

-

“Hey Boa?” She couldn’t believe it took Gothy trying to play some stupid fucking mind game for her to finally tell her best friend that she was gay. But hey, at least she was doing it.

“Whats up Pri, you ok?” Her voice sounded crackly over the phone, but talking about this in person was just too nerve-wracking.

“I uh, lied, about my soulmate… It’s actually Lemon”

Silence. 

“No, Lemon’s soulmate is Gothy, why else would they be going on a date?”

Well, at least she didn’t question the part where her soulmate’s a girl, right? Always look on the bright side.

“Well. You and me both know that Gothy would do anything to fuck me over, ever since we fell out last year she’s been waiting for the right opportunity. She knew my date. I don’t know how she saw Lemon’s but she must have at some point, or maybe she told her? Either way, Gothy’s mean, but she’s smart. She’d have figured out it was me and Lemon in no time”

“They have Gym together”

“Oh.”

“Okay but what about Gothy’s soulmate?”

“Gothy doesn’t have one. She told me when we were friends and I just kept it a secret because, well I guess it's not really anyone’s business. But now she’s just causing trouble”

“I had a feeling it was Lemon. They way you look at her, it makes me want to meet mine. You do realise you’re going to have to tell her at one point though, right?”

Telling Boa was one thing. Coming clean to Lemon? Yeah she wasn’t ready for that, at all. Especially not with Gothy involved. It pained her to hear Lemon gush about the girl every other day over lunch, she knew Gothy could be charming, and when Lemon had flirted with her she felt desired. They would be a perfect pair. Except they’re not. Because Priyanka is her soulmate, not Gothy. And there is only one way Lemon could find out.

-

About two weeks had passed of Priyanka trying her best to ignore Lemon and Gothy’s relationship when she got a text from the yellow haired girl at 1am on a Wednesday night (technically Thursday morning).

lemmy<3: u were right about gothy :(

Her heart sank. Sure, if she and Gothy ended things, it made everything so much easier for Priyanka, but it still didn’t feel nice to see her soulmate upset.

pri: Oh no what happened??

lemmy<3: ik its super late

lemmy<3: and u don’t have to say yes like at all. pls feel free to tell me to shut up n go to sleep

lemmy<3: but could i maybe come over and sleep at yours tonight? i need some company

lemmy<3: i need ur company

pri: Ofc, come through the back, it’s quieter. I’ll be waiting there for u 

Lemon was there in no time. When the back door opened, tired eyes met teary ones as Lemon ran forward to hug her friend. She would feel bad about crying in front of someone she hadn’t even known for that long, but something about her presence made her feel like she was at home.

Priyanka lead Lemon up to her bedroom, and they lay side by side on her queen sized bed, faces staring up at the ceiling, and sour tears slowly hitting the pillow. It was silent for a while. 

“Hey Lem, we have school tomorrow, you should try and get some sleep hun, you’re going to be exhausted.”

There was no reply, Lemon just turned onto her side, facing away from Priyanka, her shoulders shaking slightly, she was trying to keep them still. All Priyanka could do was turn around and wrap her arms around the girl. She played with her hair until she heard the sniffles turn into light snores. She couldn’t help but think they sounded cute. 

Gothy wasn’t mentioned again until the Saturday night after the incident, when Lemon had stayed over for the night, at Priyanka’s suggestion. The soft yellow glow of a lamp was the only thing that lit the girls faces as they talked into the hours of the night. Just as Priyanka was changing into an oversized long shirt for bed, Lemon spoke up about Wednesday night.

“I met my soulmate the day I started at school. There was no way of telling who it was, not with the amount of people I met that day. So when Gothy asked me out, I just assumed that she knew we were soulmates. I found out the hard way that that was so fucking far from the truth” Her voice was barely above a whisper, and it sounded so fragile, as if she could barely keep it together. She almost laughed at the end, though it was empty and void of any humour.

“How did you find out?” Priyanka began to make her way back to the bed, Lemon just stared at her.

“How do you think? I looked, there was no mark, not anywhere. She didn’t even acknowledge it when I pointed out that it was just, nowhere. I left. I’m just happy I realised before we did anything, you know?”

Priyanka shivered at the thought of Gothy taking advantage of Lemon like that, she felt guilty. She could have avoided this if she had just told Lemon. But it was too late now, even if she told her tonight, it would be like salt on an open wound. She’d give it another week, for Lemon’s sake.

They didn’t talk about Gothy after that. They were both quick to move the conversation as far away from romance and soulmates as possible, and once the touchy subject had finally been forgotten about, the hours passed like minutes and soon enough Priyanka’s eyes felt heavy.

“My head hurts” 

“It’ll be because you’ve had your hair up all day, Pri, just take it out”

“But it’ll still hurt once it's loose!” Lemon chuckled affectionately at her friend’s whining. 

“C’mere” 

Priyanka didn't even fight it. She sat opposite Lemon on her bed, so their knees were touching. Lemon turned her to face the other way, and took her ponytail out. 

“Lie down” She patted her lap for Priyanka to lay her head there, and the girl happily complied, giving out a content sigh when she felt gentle hands massage her scalp. It didn’t take her long to drift off to sleep, never feeling Lemon take her hands away from her hair.

It was once Priyanka had been asleep for maybe five minutes max when her leg moved, causing her shirt to ride up just enough to see the date marked on her thigh.

-

When Priyanka woke up, Lemon was nowhere to be seen. She was going to check downstairs to see if she had decided to grab herself breakfast, but she noticed a small handwritten note on her bedside table.

“i started to feel sick so i went home just after you fell asleep. didn’t wanna wake you up. -lemon”

Priyanka sat on the edge of her bed with a huff. She seemed fine last night, so how could Lemon have fallen ill so quickly? That was when Priyanka caught her mark just out of the corner of her eye. If she could see it when she was sat down, then…

Shit. Fuck. She needed to talk to Lemon. She couldn't just show up at the girls house, she didn’t even know where she lived, so she settled for the next best thing - ringing her until she picked up or turned her phone off. She lost track of how many times she had pressed the call button by the time she got a text back.

lemmy<3: what is it?

priyanka: you didn’t leave bc you were sick, did you?

lemmy<3: why didn’t you just tell me? Instead of letting me wonder and wonder and end up getting hurt?

priyanka: please come back and let me explain! I promise i won’t keep you long

lemmy<3: no, not today. sorry.

Her messages stopped getting delivered after that.

-

Priyanka and Lemon didn’t see eachother again until lunch on Monday, when Lemon hesitantly sat down at the table, already occupied by Priyanka and Boa. Priyanka just looked up at her, smiling sadly, and hoped that she’d at least stay for lunch. 

Lemon wanted so badly to find somewhere else to sit. She didn’t hate Priyanka, she could never, and she wasn’t mad either, she didn’t think. She just needed some time to digest. Priyanka had weeks to come to terms with the fact that they were soulmates, and Lemon found out after she discovered she had been lied to about hers by someone else. 

They both looked like shit. Priyanka couldn’t find it in herself to smile as much as she normally does, and Lemon’s shoulders lost their usually perfect posture. Plus, she had resorted to wearing her glasses to school, even though she hated them. Crying in contacts was never good for her, and right now she couldn't quite hold herself back for a whole day.

Boa noticed something was off between them not even a minute after Lemon sat down, she had wondered why Priyanka had been so withdrawn over the weekend. Guess she had her answer.

“Okay, so I’m just gonna go… you two need to sort out whatever is going on between y’all, kay? Kay.”

Neither of them said anything for a minute. Priyanka just played with her food, while Lemon played with the idea of taking off her glasses so she didn’t need to see Priyanka have this conversation with her. 

“I uh, couldn’t really sit anywhere else. I don’t have many other friends after what happened with Gothy. Now I’m the new girl who fell for a girl without a soulmate. I didn’t even like her that much. I don’t feel connected to her.” Priyanka hummed in response.

“Do you feel connected to me?” She hoped Lemon would say yes.

“I don’t need to answer that; we’re soulmates, Pri. I wish I knew that sooner though”

“I know. I know and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was just scared. I was scared because I knew that I’d meet you, I knew you were coming, and I was still taken aback. I didn’t expect this stunning, flirty, yellow haired girl who is funny and caring and-”

“Stop it. I know I’m great” Lemon flipped her hair behind her as she slipped into a mock valley girl voice. 

“See! That’s what I mean. You must be hurting, so much, and you’re sitting in front of the girl who was so shitty to you, cracking jokes?” Lemon laughed softly, a pity laugh if anything.

“ Yeah, you’re right. I am hurting,” her tone lacked any humour from before, “ And I get that you were scared and didn’t know what to do, and I’m not mad or anything. I promise. I just- can we maybe not speak for a bit? Get some space? I just need time. God, I hate it when people say that, but I think that’s what I need. And I promise, when I’m over whatever I’m feeling, I will more than gladly start this adventure with you. I’m glad you’re my soulmate. I promise”

And with that, Lemon stood up and left.

-

It was only Wednesday afternoon when Priyanka next heard from Lemon. Though she couldn’t complain, she had started to miss her before she even left the dining hall two days ago.

lemmy<3: i miss u

pri: not that i’m not happy to hear from u bc i am, but what happened to space?

lemmy<3: fuck space

pri: ok yeah

pri: fuck space

lemmy<3: what are u doing rn? 

pri: nothing, why?

lemmy<3: we’re going to the beach

pri: right now? it’s a school night? and it’s like 6, there’s not much time

lemmy<3: we’re watching the sunset. pick u up in ten. see u soon x

Priyanka didn’t know Lemon could drive until she pulled up outside her house, windows down, looking as beautiful as ever. She was quick to hop in the passenger seat and let Lemon drive to the sound of the radio and the wind. She tried, really tried, to keep her eyes ahead of her, but she couldn't stop stealing glances at Lemon. Her eyes were focused on the road, and the ends of her lips were upturned slightly. She looked happy. It suited her.

The beach was colder than they had anticipated, but it gave them an excuse to sit closer to each other as the sky turned pink and purple and orange. They talked in soft voices, just loud enough for the other girl to hear clearly, but that made their words seem more intimate. There was one point, where the sun had just begun to disappear behind the sea, when Lemon reached for Priyanka's hand, who took it back and squeezed it lightly. Lemon’s head rested on her shoulder until the sun was completely replaced by a black sky and a myriad of stars looking down on them.

The drive home was quiet, they were both tired, and both hyper-aware of the fact they’d have to wake up early for school tomorrow. But tomorrow didn’t really matter much, not when they had their whole lives to spend together. Lemon dropped Priyanka off at her house with a hug, a beaming smile, and a promise to text her when she got home.

Priyanka received a text from Lemon much sooner than she expected, after only five minutes of Lemon being gone.

lemmy<3: come outside

lemmy<3: i think i forgot something

She opened her door to see Lemon looking at her with stars in her eyes.

“Lem I really don’t know how I can help if you’ve forgotten something, we went in your car.” Priyanka sighed, “okay, what did you forget?”

“This”

And just like that, Lemon took a step forward and pressed their lips together softly. They stayed like that for a minute, Lemons arms around her neck, their lips slowly moving against eachother. It was surprising how easily they just fit together. They felt like they could stay like this forever, but eventually Priyanka pulled back, knowing they’d have to stop eventually.

“Hm. I’m glad you remembered that. Can’t believe you almost forgot.”

[songfell-ut]

Chapter 9 is done, urgh

This one was quite the exercise in rewriting All The Phrasing. Stoopid fortunes. I ended up splitting it off again. Here it is! Hi, @lostmypotatoes! Next one very soon!

Sans and Frisk did not have a slumber party that night.

No, once they returned from the festival and she finished telling Sans exactly what she thought of his behavior, Frisk sent him to his room, then went to the office and stayed there. Not on the couch: she sat down at her desk to make a few notes while the fortunes were still fresh in her mind. By the time she was done, it was after dawn, her hand was one solid cramp, she'd lost all feeling in her rear, and she had filled up five sheets of paper.

Regarding the child – the one from her nightmares – there wasn't much to write, just key phrases that she suspected would be more intelligible when she'd tracked down the man who spoke in hands. Would Sans have mentioned it if he knew some way in which he didn't belong here? It could simply be his stay in the castle, but it felt bigger than that. She'd had nightmares about that horrible child throughout her entire life, and it had never wanted her to do anything before; had it known she'd meet him, and would its "business" be finished if she killed him?

For now, it was all morbid conjecture. She'd put it aside until she could talk to Sans without wanting to pull his arm off and slap him with it.

So. If she didn't open the box, her life would be adequate. There was a lot to be said for adequacy. Her children would have wealthy, loving parents, and never suffer from hunger, loneliness, beatings—the kind of pain that was all behind her now, the same way a loaded wagon is behind the horse pulling it. Staying busy with her lessons in the strict, orderly convent and then her duties as High Priestess had kept Frisk going, preventing her from having to look over her shoulder. Would marrying Luke keep it that way?

She had gone years without really thinking of her life before St. Brigid's, except for fleeting apprehensions about having to explain the scars to her future husband. Why in God's name would she want to dig that up in the course of remembering something even worse?

By definition, she didn't know the exact contents of the rosewood box. She just knew that when she was about thirteen, one of her teachers had finally explained to Frisk why she couldn't recall anything between her tenth birthday and her second month at the convent: "We could do nothing with you when you first arrived. No food, no rest, just tears and 'Take me back, please' for weeks on end," Sister Clair had told her, almost accusingly. "Your father came to see you for himself, and he was so distraught that he gave the Mother Superior his blessing to do whatever she thought needful."

Frisk had always accepted that the sisters knew best; her father's influence had probably been a factor, but it wouldn't have pushed them to take such a drastic step if it hadn't been absolutely necessary. She herself had done her fair share of comforting frightened or homesick new arrivals, and no matter how distressed they were, none of them had had their memories removed.

She also had come to terms with her father returning home from his visit without her. Her first solid recollection at the convent was of the Mother Superior taking her aside to tell her exactly who her father was, ensuring she understood why he hadn't been a more direct part of her life and why she would be staying here from now on. Accustomed to receiving girls born out of wedlock, the Mother had emphasized how lucky Frisk was that her father had come forward – discreetly – to acknowledge her and pay for her education, and that he would ensure she had everything she needed from then on. Even as a child, Frisk had appreciated how superior the convent was to her prior circumstances, and agreed that she was fine at St. Brigid's.

The only mystery to Frisk was why she had initially been so desperate to leave. She couldn't have been crying for her father; she'd always been told that he was dead, and never thought to question it. Frisk had seen over and over again that mistreated children never wanted to leave their parents, no matter how awful they were, but her mother had only visited her every few months throughout her early life, and once Frisk realized that Mama was never going to keep her promise to take her with her, Frisk had grown to hate seeing her. She hadn't been attached to anyone at the group home where she'd stayed as a very little girl, and when she was old enough to work in the castle kitchens, her only goal had been to avoid being noticed. What had she wanted so badly?

Since Sans had arrived, she had been more and more tempted to try something stupid and just crack the orb or chip off a few figuratively bite-sized pieces. But that wasn't how the magic worked, was it? The sisters had been very specific on how to take the memories back if she so chose, and her fortune had also made it clear that this was an all-or-nothing proposition. She would fully open the box and reclaim the contents, or throw them away for good, no peeking allowed.

At that point, Frisk almost stopped writing and tossed her notes into the fireplace. What was she doing? Why wouldn't she choose a long life with a respectable husband and four children? True, her efforts to free monsters from slavery wouldn't work, but that didn't mean she'd be totally useless. Besides helping humans – always a full-time job – there was still plenty she could do for monsters in captivity, and she'd lay the groundwork for others to finish what she'd started. After centuries of hatred and mistrust, it made sense that humanity wasn't ready yet to accept monsters as equals; she couldn't change the entire world on her own, so—

Except that she could. She could change the world for the better if she worked hard enough to achieve her goal, which she knew in her bones to be humans and monsters living in peace. But how could her lost memories possibly be the one thing that made the difference? And if they were, how was she supposed to deal with that much pain, knowing it would also affect at least one other person?

...But what about the joy, the love, the power, also to be shared? What about the child she'd bear in time for next year's All Souls festival?

That was another worry: the ferryman had said "your husband" for the first future, but "your child's father" in the second. That didn't seem accidental. Frisk knew herself, and she had no idea what would induce her to conceive a child with someone she wouldn't or couldn't marry, no matter how attractive he was or how lonely she might be. With her own morals and her mother's example to go on, she'd sooner die than let a married man near her, and she'd kill him if she found out after the fact!

Surely the fortune-teller would've mentioned the child resulting from violence or coercion? Its wry tone had implied that the father would be unable to talk her out of going to the festival, not that she'd escape from his clutches, which also eliminated the possibility of one night with someone she'd never see again or a man who would die before the baby was born.

So, in summary, she would have little triumphs, large regrets, old age, a decent husband, money, kids, in-laws, and grandkids. Very simple.

...Granted, it...didn't sound quite like the life she'd always craved, with joy and love, real parents, a huge family, and monsters freed in her lifetime, not to mention a man she loved enough to have his illegitimate child...and maybe Frisk could see Luke assuring her with a straight face that he'd "take an interest in her happiness," and maybe it was already making her cringe. Maybe she was already wealthy enough to marry anyone she wanted. Maybe she intended to keep working hard enough that, when she thought it over, she found she would much rather have one child than divide her attention between four who could very well end up being raised by servants. Maybe all these things were true.

...What was she trying to say again?

Right. Maybe all these things were true. There was still no avoiding the fact that she'd be exchanging a life of peace and stability for every bit of the heartbreak that had nearly killed her as a child, and somehow also share it with someone else. Was she stupid enough to open the box anyway out of curiosity, like the woman in the fable?

A treacherous little voice whispered in reply: Are you selfish enough to keep monsters enslaved because you're afraid of being hurt?

Frisk shoved the papers into a drawer and eased out of her chair, shaking her hand vigorously as the sun peeped in through the high window. It'd be time for breakfast soon. She wouldn't take Sans to pieces; she'd let him sleep in, then have him experiment with the alfalfa mixtures while she napped, though they'd need fresh seedlings before he could really get started. The supplies she had already ordered should be arriving this afternoon, which would enable them to try even more—

Sans was not sleeping. Sans was sitting in the middle of the workroom floor with no clothes on. He was holding a book up over his head and squinting at the words as though he'd never seen letters before, and gave a very elongated "Heyyyy" when he heard the door open.

Frisk stopped dead. "Hey," she responded. "What are you doing, Sans?"

"Wheeee," the skeleton said, and demonstrated by falling onto his back. The book stayed up, and his legs fell every which way, one bumping into a chair pulled away from the worktable and the other almost hitting the bedroom door. "'s hot in here," he explained, pointing at the ceiling.

Frisk looked at the ceiling, then at the windows. They were all wide open, and the workroom was freezing. She had the completely irrational urge to cover her eyes, and compromised by turning her back and heading to the windows. "We're going to pretend that it's not hot in here," she said carefully. What on earth was wrong with him?

In the time it took for her to shut one window and place her hand on the latch, Sans had appeared inches away. One enormous phalange wobbled its way up to push her hand aside. "No, 's hot," he explained.

The priestess was equal parts annoyed and concerned now, especially when he teetered against the wall. "Sans, if I did not know better, I would say you were drunk. Have you been mixing things without telling me?" She eased away from him, just in case.

The skeleton seemed to take umbrage: his eyes lit up. "Ya don' know better. I am absolutely drunk!" Just as quickly, his sockets were blank. He peered at the tiny-looking book in his hand and turned it to her, tapping a random word. "How d'ya say this? It's human. How do you human. Please."

Frisk eased back a little more, trying not to look at his pelvis, which was far too close to her eye level. "That's the word 'the,' Sans. If that's not the one you mean, I will have to ask you to be more specific." Should she make a break for the bedroom, or just put up a barrier while she had the chance?

Sans laughed. "Damn, yer cute! Lessee." He dropped the book and continued trying to flip pages in midair. A moment later, he realized his mistake, scowled, and lifted the book on a wisp of red. "Hold on. 's tryin' ta get away." Even the magic had trouble staying steady, she noted uneasily.

Someone knocked on the double doors, and Frisk heaved a sigh of relief. "You can find the word while I answer that, all right?" She lifted a foot to step around him.

Unbelievably quick, Sans sat down, extended a hand, and caught her around the middle in a loose, ironclad grip. Across the workroom, the bar on the doors glowed red and lifted; the doors swung open. "There," said the boss monster, tugging her closer and frowning at the book. "Who's what y'want?"

It was Dr. Serif, who stopped on the threshold, raised an eyebrow as high as it would go, and closed the doors behind him. "Good morning?" he inquired.

"Hands," the skeleton replied, still searching the pages for that errant word.

The priestess was still trying to comprehend what was happening. Was this some kind of bizarre prank, or a distraction from talking about last night? The longer he held on, the less likely either possibility seemed—he was too calm and too comfortable, as if this was something he was doing simply because he wanted to do it.

Here they were, then. With Sans seated and her standing, the giant skeleton could fold his arm and hold Frisk against him like a child cuddling a teddy bear, fingers spread across her upper legs and torso, her shoulders resting on his clavicle. This wasn't quite as scary as the last time he'd grabbed her, but...

Frisk tested his grip and was unsurprised to find that, though his phalanges were angled not to dig into her, they were about as movable as solid rock. "We're having a very interesting morning," she said to Dr. Serif, and mouthed Help!

"I can see that," said the doctor, who gestured for her not to move, then came forward a few steps. Sans' head swiveled, eyes fully lit, and the royal sorcerer turned his next step into a half bow. "I am glad to hear that you had a good time at the festival last night, my lady. Rumors are brewing about a woman with a highly interesting fortune who was called 'Your Eminence,' but no one is willing to swear that it was you."

That sounded like one problem too many. "Good" was all she could think to say.

"I can't find it," complained Sans. He tossed the book out the window. "Gimme another one, pl's."

"You can have it later," Frisk said acidly. That was her old science textbook from the convent, with her notes and doodles in the margins!

"Sans," said the doctor, "where are your clothes?"

The skeleton blinked at him, sockets still wide orange. "Off," he said, as though the sorcerer was being stupid.

"Of course. How silly of me." Dr. Serif bowed vigorously, letting the motion carry him forward. "Tell me, what did you have to drink at the festival?"

"This asshole was comin' onta her." The skeleton's now-free hand patted Frisk very lightly on the head. Despite her irritation, the priestess couldn't help smiling. "I hit 'im with cider," said Sans. "Damn good cider. 'sat why those people were goin' at it, Frisk?" he asked curiously.

The priestess was no longer smiling. "Sans intervened on my behalf when a man wouldn't leave me alone," she explained to the straight-faced doctor. "We tried some apple cider—why can I still smell it on you, Sans? And yes, we saw a couple who couldn't wait until they found somewhere private. I have no idea what they'd been drinking, but it wasn't what we were having."

"Hmmm." Dr. Serif watched Sans, who was examining the back of Frisk's head, then produced a scroll from his robe pocket. "The monster Snowdrake has been confiscated from his owners, effective immediately. I've brought the paperwork for you to take official custody, my lady. He will be here once the captain of the guards has finished questioning him."

Sans started. Frisk tugged at the skeleton's enormous metacarpals. "Let me go, Sans, please."

Very reluctantly, his hand uncurled to let her wriggle free. Trust the doctor to be a step ahead of everyone, she thought as she accepted the scroll, unaware that Sans was staring fixedly at him. The priestess smoothed out the papers on the worktable and began skimming through it.

Sans turned around so that he stretch out on the floor lengthwise. The doctor wrinkled his nose at the colossal skeleton, then peered over Frisk's shoulder as she came to several blank lines for an address. "Where is that, my lady?" he asked as she began writing.

"It's a house I own on the edge of the city. I've been renting it out, but the current tenants have already moved for the winter, so I'm putting it down as Snowdrake's official residence."

"Well done." Dr. Serif glanced at Sans, then suddenly flicked his fingers across Frisk's back. "Forgive me, Your Eminence," he said as she jumped, "there was a spider. We'll have to have your rooms cleaned soon."

The High Priestess scratched her back, gave him a terse nod, and went back to the scroll, moving away from him.

Sans was on his feet. He said to Frisk, "'Scuse us, kitten," then grabbed the doctor and vanished.

She wondered why he was so upset, and why he'd teleported Dr. Serif just a few feet away into the office. Well, at least he'd let go of her without a fight. Should she check on him to be sure he wouldn't hurt the doctor?

After a moment, she shook her head. She'd have to let them hash it out. What was the worst that could happen?

 ~

 The moment they reached the office, Gaster dropped his disguise, summoned six extra hands, and gripped the boss monster's arms before Sans could dismember him. "Easy, now," the older skeleton cautioned him. "Don't disrupt Her Eminence any more than you already have."

"Oh yeah? 'll disrupt yer fuckin'—"

Smack. "Hold still," the doctor rasped, and Sans jerked convulsively as a hand gripped the back of his skull. A moment later, the hand disappeared and left Sans with his eyes shut tight. "Can you think now, insofar as you are capable of it?" snapped Gaster.

Sans blinked at the hands grasping his arms. They disappeared, too, and Sans looked down at himself. "What." He twisted around to look at his backside. "The hell are my clothes? What'd ya do?"

"I sped up the metabolism of the ethanol molecules that were causing you to lose track of your clothing and treat the High Priestess like a toddler with his favorite toy. In short, you were drunk, and you no longer are. Would you care to tell me how much alcohol it took to inebriate someone your size so many hours after the fact, and how you did so without the lady knowing?"

Sans had gone red. "All I had last night was turkey an' cider!" he protested. "She wouldn't let me try anythin' else! She had the exact same stuff, 'n she didn't get plastered!"

The older skeleton regarded him with narrowed eyes, which was extremely creepy. It made Sans think of Frisk's first question, the one about the child from her nightmares—had Frisk been talking about him? If so, then how did he not belong here? Did the kid's unfinished business with him involve murder? Why?

Why should they beware the man who spoke in hands?

Gaster started to speak, and Sans cut him off: "Were you tryin' ta piss me off back there? Are ya after Frisk, or d'you just wanna screw with me? Whaddya want?"

"To help," the doctor said calmly.

Sans sat down with a mighty thmp. "Ta help. Of course. Why didn't I realize that already?" He tapped his phalanges on the carpet. "Who are you helpin', besides yerself?"

"That is a very large question." Gaster also sat down, on the edge of the desk. "My most immediate goal since Frisk became High Priestess has been to aid her in restoring peace between monsters and humans. The longer I have worked with her, the more I find that, frankly, I like her, and I would like her to be happy if possible." No sooner had the words left him than a hand sprang up in front of Sans, who was already fully aglow. The hand held up a finger long enough for Gaster to add, "Which is to say, I admire her caring heart, her singing voice, her magical prowess...her determination. Would you agree?"

Sans' eyes felt ready to burn clean through his skull. Frisk would get even more upset with him if her office was destroyed, so he tried to say something civil, or at least something okay, or something that wouldn't get him smacked again. But he couldn't.

The hand waggled again, then vanished. "Everything I say and do is for one ultimate purpose, my boy: to gather data. I can help no one if I have insufficient information. Take you, for example." The older skeleton folded an extra set of hands in the air over his lap, like a lecturer settling in at the start of class. "Since the High Priestess made you her apprentice, I have considered your intractability to be an impediment to her plan. I ensured that she had a means of preventing your escape, and I have been monitoring your relationship to see if you were developing any kind of rapport. Now that you have, though, you have become a very different sort of problem."

The boss monster was still at a loss. Gaster was quiet, but it didn't feel as if he was trying to antagonize him again; this seemed more careful, almost sad, thought Sans. "In that respect, I have all the data I need," the doctor said. "I assure you that I have no personal designs on Her Eminence, and I will not imply anything further to that effect." He was looking through Sans now, almost talking to himself. "The more I resolve to be of use, the more difficult it becomes to discern where usefulness ends and interference begins. I am more inclined to let matters go where they will from here on, especially after the advice Her Eminence received last night. But..." The slashes on Gaster's face deepened. "It cannot hurt to exchange information. For example, did you notice that the 'ferryman' is a monster?"

"I..." Sans got his thoughts back in order, contemplated the fortune-teller and his cat-shaped table, and found himself nodding slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, I kinda did. He didn't seem very human."

Gaster chuckled. "It's strange how these things work. Where I come from, he is the ferryman in the Underground."

"Where you come from?" A chill crept down Sans' spine. He tried to force a laugh. "We just have a coupla Royal Guards runnin' our ferry. Wha, is there more'n one Underground 'round here?"

"No. There is not." The smile faded. "Now, my turn. None of the people who heard Frisk's fortunes told were listening closely to her first question, or the answer. What exactly were they?"

Sans still had that prickly feeling, like someone had held a door open too long and he'd glimpsed something he couldn't unsee. He probably shouldn't tell the man who speaks in hands that they were supposed to beware of him, should he? "Yeah, she asked about something from her nightmares that wanted her to hurt somebody. He said it's a child who wants Frisk to kill someone who doesn't belong here, something about it having 'unfinished business,' and that Frisk was its connection."

The doctor waited patiently as Sans hesitated. "I'm pretty much positive she meant me," the boss monster continued. "I saw the kid once, and I could tell it hates my guts." The boss monster took a moment to indicate that he didn't have guts, ha ha, but Gaster was unamused. "So that means I don't belong here, and some freaky little ghost wants Frisk t'finish me off? I guess? Any chance ya know what any of that means?" He scratched his patella, wondering if it was his imagination or if his body was feeling a little more touch-sensitive than usual, like his human self.

Come to think of it, he could sort of smell the air in here, though it wasn't as strong as any of the ones he'd encountered at the festival. And now he could vaguely remember Frisk being right up against him a minute ago, and that her hair had smelled like...a smell. All he knew was that he had liked it, and letting her go had sucked.

...Crap. What were they talking about again?

"I see," murmured Gaster. He looked down at his extra hands. "Forgive me if this sounds dramatic, or if it's very personal, but have you ever felt especially out of place, or dreamed vividly of things that you are sure never happened to you?"

It was more than a chill this time. "Yeah, but I figured everybody feels like that sometimes. I've had the same nightmares my whole damn life, over and over. They stopped when I came here and started sleepin' inside her barrier. So..." He scowled, trying to cover his fear. "Somethin' is makin' us both see things? Is that it?" He suddenly sprang to his feet. "Is that why I used ta dream about ya? Are you behind all this shit?!"

Two skeletal hands flew at him and stopped just short of his eye sockets. Sans froze, feeling sick and cold inside as he stared through the holes in the palms. Those hands, coming at him—

Gaster gave a long, tired, defeated sigh. "Data. I am sorry, Sans. This will be very unpleasant, but I need to know if it is familiar to you. Hold still, please."

Before the boss monster could react, a third hand dropped onto the top of his skull and—

 ~

 It was cold. Dark, darker, yet darker.

Papyrus wasn't moving. Sans struggled out of the restraints, threw himself onto the tiles and screamed at his brother, trying to shake the little skeleton awake, but pieces were already flaking off. Helpless tears streamed from Sans' sockets, soaking the dust into pink mud.

"Messy."

Sans whirled around, choking with grief and rage. He'd always promised himself he would kill the bastard before he let him hurt Pap! Why hadn't he—

Hands smashed into his spine, his ribs, and one square over his face, the palm large enough for both his sockets to see out through the hole. "I never could fix that design flaw," their creator said in distaste, poking at the red streaking Sans' cheekbones. "Strange...I always thought you'd break first. Ah, well." A philosophical sigh. "Now, the question of whether to finish with you and create a better set, or try a fresh copy of that one first. What do you think, Sans?"

There was a deep sound from behind Dr. Gaster, almost a snarl. It was Gaster's turn to whip around, his face contorted in surprise and every one of his hands flung up to defend himself. A flash of light, searing pain—

Footsteps. A dark figure bent over him. Sans whimpered as Gaster loomed back into his field of view. He should have known better than to hope he was dead!

But...Gaster seemed different, almost another person—paler, the cracks in his face more shallow and less splintered than the ones Sans had stared down his whole life. The hand that rested on Sans' forehead was...gentle? "I am so sorry, child," the scientist said quietly. "Forgive me."

Sans couldn't answer. He felt as if his bones were getting softer, his body lighter. When Gaster sighed, Sans watched tiny bits of himself blow away in the puff of breath. It was almost a relief to feel his SOUL flicker out like a candle and finally die.

 ~

 Sans clawed his way back to consciousness, sitting up so hard that he nearly banged his head on the desk. He looked around, but there was no laboratory equipment, no tile floors or piles of murky dust, just the desk in her office.

Frisk's office. He was here. He wasn't dead, Pap wasn't dead, Gaster wasn't—

"Please do not move."

The boss monster froze in place. "Now, tell me," the doctor said, shutting the door. "Have you had that nightmare before?"

Sans nodded imperceptibly. "Yeah. Long...a long time ago." He couldn't stop shaking.

He flinched as Gaster patted his shoulder blade. "Please don't be frightened, Sans. It was only a dream. I have never hurt you or your brother, and I have no intention of ever doing so." A black coat drifted past Sans' peripheral vision as the royal sorcerer went behind the desk. "To answer your last question, no, I have not sent any of your nightmares, or hers. As I said, I am here to acquire information. I try to avoid collateral damage in the pursuit thereof, but it is not always possible. For that, I sincerely apologize. I've asked Frisk for her help in calming you down."

Sure enough, a sound was coming through the door behind him. It was faint, but as Sans listened, he recognized her humming a slow, sweet little song. Out of her entire repertoire, that one was probably his favorite; he hadn't heard it in so long that he'd been on the verge of swallowing his pride and asking her to do it again. Had Gaster requested that one specifically, or did she know?

Gaster watched the tension fade from the boss monster's massive frame, and the smallest movements of his skull as he bobbed his head along. The doctor examined the center of Sans' chest, his eyes going very wide. Sans was too mellow to ask what he was looking at...probably his SOUL. Eh, whatever.

Presently, the royal sorcerer said, "Snowdrake should be en route now. Her Eminence is still checking that the papers are in order, as well as the deposit she will have to put down until the Church finds another buyer for him." A dry chuckle. "If I know Frisk, Snowdrake will not be sold again. In the unlikely event that someone discovers she's lost track of him, she will be rebuked and lose her deposit, and that will be all."

Sans moved his shoulder back. "She's not gonna get fired or locked up?"

"They wouldn't dare. Not for her first offense, and not for neglecting a single low-ranked monster. Our High Priestess is protected by very powerful connections."

That word took Sans right back to the child from her nightmares. "Why'd you show me that horrible thing with me 'n Pap, and how? I didn't see the ghost kid anywhere. Is the little psycho mad about that dream 'cause it wanted ta kill me first? What the hell is it, anyway?"

"One thing at a time, please. Overall, you may be on the right track, but that's a matter I would rather discuss with Frisk. I—"

"Quit callin' 'er by name. I thought you weren't gonna pull that crap anymore."

Gaster merely smiled. "If you'll bear with me for a moment, the best answer I can give you is that the mind is a terrifyingly powerful thing." Sans bit back his impatience as the doctor settled himself again. "When someone has suffered greatly, especially early in life, it is natural to try to move past those experiences as quickly as possible. But if the mind is active, intelligent, and magically gifted, failure to properly acknowledge these experiences can backfire very badly. Inner demons may become reality, or outside forces with malevolent intent take notice, or both."

"Geez." Sans rubbed the corners of his eyes, wondering where the hanky was. "Yeah, that'd explain why I never got any sleep before I shacked up with someone who could block 'em for me."

A beat of cold silence. "I am not talking about you."

The giant skeleton paused mid-rub. "Ya mean—"

"Most people in a great deal of pain will express it as destructive behavior toward themselves or others. It takes remarkable determination to turn that negativity into the drive to protect other people, rather than lashing out." The doctor shook his head. "I am impressed that she has not seen anything worse than the specter of an evil child. The fact that it can be stopped with a barrier suggests it is primarily external in nature, and her recognizing its intent without acting upon it is also a good sign."

Sans winced. "So, is she seeing it 'cause she's mad at me? Am I in any actual danger?"

Gaster laced his fingers together. "Its power and its ability to work through her will depend both on her intrinsic strength and the energy she has left after dealing with other problems—say, a protege who interrupts an expensive fortune-teller with crude questions in front of dozens of people, and then says 'See you next year' as she tries to get him away."

At this point, Sans would have been surprised if word of that incident hadn't gotten around. "Ya think she's still mad at me?" he asked sheepishly.

"I am not her, so I cannot say for certain, but I can ask you whether you've apologized yet."

"I didn't get a chance! She reamed me out 'n made me go straight t'bed!"

"After which you were drunk this morning, which I still do not understand, and during which you took sizable liberties." A hand popped up to rap Sans on the skull. "At the risk of interfering further, I strongly advise you to ask yourself whether you want to be a friend or a problem."

Sans digested this in silence. The royal sorcerer glanced at the door. "We have a few more minutes. I'd like to ask you a few more questions—nothing terrible, just some odds and ends I've wanted to discuss for some time now. You may do the same."

The boss monster thought it over for a moment. "What's everyone sayin' about her second fortune, the one with the box?"

"Your turn is already over." Two more hands appeared over Gaster's head, one holding a pen and the other a small notepad. "Now, you were a normal skeleton for most of your life, correct? And Papyrus remains as he was?" The hand with the pen swooped down and tapped on Sans' upper leftmost fang, then the top of his skull. "Hm. Intact. How interesting."

Sans swatted at the hand, which evaded him as nimbly as a bug and swooped back up to scratch something on the notepad. "Yeah, Pap's still Pap, and I wasn't born a big ol' freak. Don't ask how that happened, 'cause I don't wanna talk about it."

"Fair enough. Tell me, Sans, do you or have you ever smoked?"

"Smoked? From where?"

The doctor laughed. "I'll take that as a no." Scritch, scritch went the pen. "Do you have a predilection for violence? If so, is it against other monsters, humans, or both?"

"Uh...yes? Humans?"

"I see." Scriscritch. "What is your favorite food? Do you prefer any condiments in particular?"

"My favorite food's whatever I can eat! Haven't you heard what's happenin' in the Underground? Where the hell are you from, exactly?"

Gaster tsked. "In that vein, have any monsters besides yourself become more violent than usual?"

"Not...really. Undyne's more psycho than ever, but I think that's just her."

"Is the situation such that anyone has contemplated resorting to cannibalism?"

"Hell no! Don't even joke about that!"

"I am not joking, Sans. Has the Underground seen a marked increase in sexual activity?"

Great, now he was baffled and embarrassed. "Weren't you listening? There's no damn food! Why would anybody want to have kids right now?"

"A valid point, but to your knowledge, have any of the monsters been engaging in indiscriminate, non-procreative sexual activities?"

"Wha—why the fuck would I know that?!"

That earned him another smack on the head, though not very hard. "Language." Scriscritch. "Now, please be honest. Have you ever contemplated keeping a human as a pet? If so, do you believe you would treat her well, or would you—"

"That does it!" Sans lurched to his feet, eyes and face blazing. "I dunno what kinda sick fantasies ya got goin', buddy, but I'm not gonna play along!"

The royal sorcerer held up his hands, and the extras holding the pen and notepad vanished. "Let's move on, then. Tell me whether this is correct: the second fortune explained the consequences of Her Eminence either opening or disposing of a box. One result is a very dull and safe future, while the other would be shorter and more painful, but ultimately much more fulfilling. Yes?"

Sans sat back down, poking at a scuff mark on the carpet. "Yeah, that's pretty much it."

"Unsurprisingly, many people are fixated on the latter possibility, because it would result in the High Priestess – if it is her, of course, which no one will say for certain, though they're certainly saying it – having a child by this time next year." One side of Gaster's mouth lifted. "It is a very popular misconception that human gestation lasts nine months, but in reality, medical experts consider a full-term pregnancy to be roughly forty weeks, or ten months. I will not contribute any sordid conjectures to the narrative, but if this aspect of her fortune is accurate, the necessary timing of certain events is self-evident."

"If?" Sans sat forward eagerly. "Ya mean it might not happen? No boring husband sometime soonish, no havin' a kid right away?"

Gaster stared at him for a little too long. "Where do you see yourself in this, Sans? Where would you like to be?"

Sans blinked. "Wha?"

"You escorted her to the festival, and mutual convenience led you to present yourselves as a couple, but you are not her husband. You are her apprentice and personal guard for the next twenty or so days, after which she will return to the usual course of her duties, and you will return to the Underground to report to King Asgore that the humans are interested in reopening diplomatic relations."

"Actually," Sans said, trying not to sound smug, "once my time's up, she's probably gonna come back Underground with me. She's got this big plan ta have monsters work with humans instead of bein' slaves, and it's too much fer me t'decide on, so—"

"So you would risk her life by bringing her directly to Asgore?" The doctor stood slowly, and the room seemed to grow darker as he glared down at Sans. "You idiot! Do you have any idea what will happen if the High Priestess is delivered to your King as he is now?"

"You mean, if he doesn't like her idea? Then I'll...uh..."

"You'll what?" Gaster's voice dripped with such scorn that Sans couldn't muster a response. "King Asgore is not interested in making peace! He would only meet with her in order to take her SOUL!"

The boss monster's mouth opened and closed. "But...if I didn't—"

"Asgore's sole aim is to become powerful enough to take vengeance on humanity. The King knows very well that only women with strong inborn magic may become High Priestess, and the moment he saw Frisk's SOUL for himself, he would be willing to fight her, you, and perhaps even Toriel to acquire it. Do you understand?"

Sans had never felt so small and stupid. Why hadn't it occurred to him that Asgore would notice how powerful Frisk was without being told? All he had thought of was the excuse to take her with him, not even bothering to remember how he had immediately noticed her SOUL and tried to kill her for it. He was smarter than this!

There was no time to beat himself up. He had to think. Her first fortune had said her efforts wouldn't bear fruit, and Gaster had mentioned Asgore "as he is now"; for the second future to come to pass, with Frisk changing the world and achieving her goal, the King would have to be more like his old, sweet-natured self, who would never have killed someone without at least hearing her out. "Whaddya think is in the box?" Sans asked abruptly.

Gaster frowned. "That's an excellent question. I couldn't even venture a guess without seeing the box myself, but I doubt Her Eminence would be willing to show me. After what you said last night, I don't think she would be receptive to you asking, either."

Sans let himself fall onto his back, staring at the wallpapered ceiling. Who the hell put wallpaper on the ceiling? "Nope. She'd kick my ass from here to the Underground and back."

"Crude, but accurate." Gaster sighed, twiddling his thumbs in elaborate swirls. "How very frustrating. We have so much information, but the most crucial component may be forever beyond our gr—"

The door banged open. "Excuse me," Frisk said to Sans, who got up and watched her shove the couch aside.

Gaster quickly resumed his disguise; luckily, the priestess was so fixated on the couch that she hadn't noticed. "May we help you, my lady?" asked Dr. Serif.

"No." The young woman yanked at a floorboard, and both monsters watched in astonishment as she pulled it up to reveal a makeshift safe. She removed the barrier and rummaged through the safe, extracting a thickly folded paper. "Here we are." Frisk scowled as she tried to remove the packet: the safe was so small that the paper was stuck lengthwise against something. The priestess dug downward and shoved the offending object up and onto the floor. "Here is the deed to my house in Riverview, and here's the key. You and Snowdrake will be able to stop there on your way, and no one will...Sans? Hello?"

The men weren't listening to her. They were looking at what had tumbled out of the safe: a rosewood box.

Frisk slapped at it, sending it tumbling back into the safe, which she resealed and covered with the floorboard and couch in rapid succession. "Don't even think about it," she said to them, dangerously calm, and marched out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

The royal sorcerer scratched his cheek. "Memories."

"Hm?" Sans glanced at him. "What about 'em?"

"That type of wood is useful for preserving magical objects, but that shape and size are not common. Given the context of her second fortune and the emotional pain therein, it must contain at least one memory." Dr. Serif drummed his fingers on the desk. "How curious. Memory excision has historically been so abused that it was outlawed by King Stephin's great-grandfather. Nowadays, the procedure can only be authorized on a case-by-case basis by a Church official higher than an archdeacon, or the very highest ranks of the nobility or royalty."

Sans suddenly remembered a night not long after he'd arrived where Frisk had mentioned her father, and how loyal her mother had been to the duke she worked for. Just for grins, he'd looked up the hierarchy of nobility in one of Frisk's books, and a duke was the next best thing to being a royal. It all fit, except for the fact that what the hell was in the box? How did you keep memories sitting around like that? Why would you need to carve something like that out of someone's head, and how would getting it back make the difference between a future of "stupid perfect husband she didn't even like" and "monsters going free" plus "having sex sometime soon"?

One more thing came to mind, and before he could stop himself, Sans said, "Hey, Gaster. Doctor. Whatever you are right now. You say you're from another Underground or something?"

The doctor narrowed his eyes at him again. Even with a human face, it gave Sans the creeps. "Why do you ask?"

Sans almost said "Never mind," but the air still faintly smelled of Frisk – he'd have to ask her what it was, exactly – and he wouldn't get a chance to ask anyone else who might know, so, fuck it. "D'ya know if it's possible for a monster and a human to have a kid together? Biologically?"

The royal scientist raised his eyebrows. "Well," he said after a painfully long moment. "It is quite rare, but I am aware of several instances where a human woman married and had at least one child with a monster." He coughed. "With a skeleton."

But before Sans could even start feeling things about that, much less sort through them, the doctor half-smiled. "None of them, however, involved a boss monster." He stood, and walked to the door. "I'm sorry." He slipped out, leaving Sans to stare up at the wallpaper ceiling.

[wolvesofinnistrad]

Travis and emmett share a shower at the firehouse (prompt)

And also @wholockian-221b  said:The team find out they are together

Read it on AO3

“Travis?” Emmett's voice calls from the hallway and Travis knew he should have closed the shower room door.  The cool tile feels good against his overheated skin as Travis rests his forehead on it; equal parts weary and cautious.

When Emmett had come out to the station, and subsequently broke that poor girl’s heart right before their engagement dinner Travis didn’t really know how to feel.  As any gay man, he was happy to see Emmett taking steps to live his truth and not be afraid anymore, even if Chief Dixon still didn’t know the exact reason for his son’s sudden breakup or even that he’d come out to most of the people in his life besides him.  

And Travis couldn’t deny that he was happy for Alicia to be rid of the lie she had been brought into unfairly.  He still regretted hooking up with Emmett when he was still with her, because sure the first time he didn't know, but the second time he had.  The only thing he could do was blame it on some undeniable connection he had with Emmett, where no matter what emotion he felt for him it seemed to heightened to the extreme.  Desire that first night, rage and disgust later after finding out his litany of secrets, and compassion and pride once he finally came out.

Now, well now it seemed he’d somehow circled back to desire and it was really messing with his head.  Emmett was a newly out guy, a baby gay if ever the term had applied to anyone, and Travis knew the first thing the guy needed wasn’t immediately falling into a relationship. Travis himself didn’t need to be a rebound either, he deserved better than that after the string of relationships he’d had.

Then again, as much as his mind wanted to remind him that dating a firefighter hadn’t turned out well in the end last time, that it did seem to be his type.

Besides, the little rabbit was kind of adorable, when he wasn’t being terrible at his job at least.

“Travis, you in here?” Emmett says again, and this time he pushes open the shower room door and catches sight of Travis.  The younger man wastes no time heading over and pulling back the curtain.  It’s so reminiscent of that first morning they’d spent together that Travis tries to mentally ward himself for whatever it is Emmett is about to say.

Except, Emmett doesn’t say anything, he just stands there, staring at Travis in some strange mixture of shock and arousal.

“Probie?” Travis finally asks, sneaking a peak out of the corner of his eye, watching Emmett gulp and try to drag his eyes away from Travis wet and naked body and back to his face.

They’d been dancing around one another since Emmett’s coming out, not giving in to the gravitational pull they clearly both felt.  

“Fuck it,” Emmett breathes, and Travis only has a moment to raise an eyebrow in question before Emmett is tearing his uniform off.  They’re alone in the station, the rest out on a call, but this is still at terrible idea.  They both know it.

It doesn’t stop them.

Travis forgets about all the reasons he’d given himself to stay away, to give Emmett time to find himself on his own, to ignore the sexual tension, to consider all the problems them being together had already caused and would cause in the future.  It all slips away like the droplets of water running down Emmett’s alabaster skin as he steps beneath the shower and reaches for Travis.

A hand on Travis neck, on his hip, one reaching for Emmett’s body in kind to complete the connection like a live wire searching for grounding. Their lips meet and for all that Emmett seems to be afraid of fire, neither of them shy away from the roaring conflagration that embrace creates.

One hand slides down to cup Emmett’s ass, warm skin a caress against his palm.  His other glides into that short blond hair, tugging just so, the way his mind recalls made Emmett moan so prettily.  It doesn’t fail to this time, Emmett groaning, pressing his shower slick body closer until there’s nothing between them but the rivulets of water cascading down their bodies.

For his part Emmett has one hand sliding up and down Travis’ flank, as if he can’t decide if he wants his chest, his abs, his hips or something lower beneath his fingertips.  His other hand reaches around to find Travis back, the muscles taut and strong, Emmett’s own fingernails dragging against skin and leaving marks.

“This is a really… Really bad idea,” Travis bites out between kisses, his own advice doing nothing to curb the fervor growing within him.  His teeth nip at Emmett’s lip, tugging on it as his hand skims across the man’s backside, sliding between those mounds of flesh and eliciting a sharp pang of pleasure from his partner.

“I don’t care anymore…  I just, I want this, I want you Travis.”  Emmett pulls back a moment after his words, staring into Travis eyes so eh can see the certainty in them.  “What I said the last time I was in this room with you…  It was premature, and stupid and me grasping at the first real connection I’d ever felt but I...”  Emmett bites his own lip, the skin already red from where Travis had worked it over. “But that emotion beneath it, that feeling it is there…  And in time, I think, maybe, that I could mean it.  About you, with you.  If you’ll give me a chance. I-”

Travis cuts his apology, or confession, whatever it is off with a kiss.  His hands travel up, cupping Emmett’s face in his palms and holding him still as he kisses him slow and deep.  The passion rolls off him in waves, and its not just his body that feels inflamed now.

“I’m done fighting what I want, you’ve been showing me you can grow, that you can change, and I see it.  I see that desire, not just to do better, but to be better.  I want to be there to help you on that journey, for however long I get to be.”  Travis smiles, kissing Emmett again, taking his time to really let it sink in and settle in the other man’s bones, that certainty about it that only comes in the moment, the clarity of the adrenaline whether its on the job or a stolen moment like this.

Their hands roam and explore, finding the places desperate for touch, for more than a caress or a parting glance.  Emmett almost sobs when Travis takes him in hand, forgetting for a moment to return the favor but getting a throaty moan from Travis when he does.  Travis twists his wrist just so, drawing a broken sound out of his partner, watching with glee as Emmett drops his head to the crook of Travis neck and shoulder.  The man tries to suck and bite there to regain his composure, to give as good as he’s getting, but Travis has far more experience and knows just how to wreck poor Emmett.

A sly smile splits Travis lips as his hand winds it way up that delicious back towards Emmett’s blond locks.  “Why don’t you show me just how much better you can be?” he asks, licking his lips as he remembers how awkward Emmett had been their first time together.  The second time he was less wildfire and more controlled burn, it was time to see if the man had gotten the hang of things after Travis expert teaching. Gently, as if a suggestion more than a demand, his pressed against Emmett’s head and shoulders, watching the mans ink to his knees with a grace he seems to only have in the bedroom and the art studio.

Emmett’s lips kiss and suck, teeth nipping and grazing skin as he works his way down. His fingers wrap around Travis length, stroking once, twice, eyes cast upwards to watch the way Travis eyes flutter close and mouth slides open.  In imitation of it Emmett follows the motion, reaching out with his tongue, flicking over his lover intimately.  The taste is all salt and skin, water and something uniquely Travis.

His hands work in tandem, one on Travis teasing and caressing in time with his mouth, the other dragging down his own body until he can help himself.  It’s a sight Travis can barely stand to look away from, all thoughts lost to the feel of Emmett’s mouth, Emmett’s hand, the breathy moans. His body feels aflame, so hot he wonders why the water isn’t turning to steam the moment it crashes against his skin like rainfall after a forest fire.

“Emmett…  Fuck, Emmett I’m...”  Travis’ body begins to coil in on itself, building and building.  His hands are in Emmett’s hair tugging, pulling, haphazard motions meant more to burn restless energy than to instruct or lead.  Emmett’s efforts seem to redouble and he doesn’t want this to ever end, despite knowing he’s on the precipice of falling, in more ways than one.

Of course, so lost in their passion, neither man hears the firetrucks pulling back in, the clamor of bodies undressing and bee-lining for the showers, full of soot and smoke.  So when Jack and Dean stroll into the shower room their eyes travel immediately to the sight of Travis crying out in ecstasy just as Emmett, on his knees before Travis, finds his own release.

“Oh shit!” Jack laughs, Dean’s jaw going slack behind him in shock.

Travis only has a split second to feel the intense pleasure of his orgasm before he hears Jack and his entire body jerks, nearly tripping as he presses back against the tile of the shower wall.  He nearly slams his knee into poor Emmett’s face in his haste.

Emmett on the other hand seems to be in total shock, mouth still hanging open, a trail of spit and something that definitely isn’t shower water hanging from his lip as he stares at his fellow firefighters.  It’s only when the commotion draws a half dressed and weary Maya and Vic to the door that he grabs for his own clothes on the floor, trying to cover himself a bit and blushing from head to toe.

“Really?” Maya says, sighing as she turns and walks out of the room.

“Aww yeah, get it boys!” Vic says, shrieking with laughter as Dean pushes her out of the door in his own haste to leave.

Jack just gives them a supremely awkward thumbs up before giggling like a maniac as he walks out.  “We’ll give you two a minute.  This is the best day ever now.”

“Well…  I guess there’s a second time for everything...” Travis says before starting to laugh as he leans against the wall.

Emmett looks up, his embarrassment turning to confusion.

“Me and my, uh, late husband also got caught in the fire house showers once.” Travis wonders if that isn’t going to be a mood killer but is pleasantly surprised when Emmett just chuckles.

“Well, at least I’m in good company.”  The smile he flashes Travis is so adorable and soft that he can’t help but kiss the idiot again.

“Come on rabbit, let’s get out there and get this over with.”

“Rabbit?” Emmett asks as he’s trying to dry off.

Travis laughs, shaking his head as he towels himself dry.  “Long story, I’ll tell you after our shift is over.  Maybe…  Over dinner at my place?”

Emmett’s smile looks wider than ever as he nods enthusiastically.  “I’d like that.”

“Good.  Now, prepare for the ever so wonderful world of being grilled about firehouse fraternization rules and being the hot new gossip.”

Almost the moment they walk out past Jack and Dean heading for the showers they’re stopped by Vic and Maya who pull Travis and Emmett away respectively to talk in private.

Later, sitting in the kitchen eating while everyone else showers Travis and Emmett try to just put their heads down and get through the rest of the shift.

Of course, the station is never that kind.

“I cannot believe you two got caught hooking up in the showers.  I’m not even sure who I should be more surprised about, Travis the vet or Probie who only just recently came out” Jack says, pointing between them.

“Considering how often Travis last boyfriend was here, I’m going to say probie on this one.”  Dean goes to grab some food, shaking his head as the rest of the team files in.

“Listen, as your Captain I have to say don’t fool around in the showers, but I can’t really scold you because, well, if my office could talk.”  Maya winks before sitting down by Emmett.

“Oh, are we talking about the hot new firefighter couple?” Vic asks as she comes swaggering in, no longer full of dirt and grime.  “Because I’m all about this, it’s kind of adorable.”

“He is,” Travis says before he can help himself and then rests his head on the table in shame.

“Oh, he’s got it bad!”  Jack busts out laughing again as he grabs a whole carrot and starts eating it.

“Who’s got it bad?” Andy asks as her, Sullivan and Ben, the only ones that didn’t see Travis and Emmett in the shower, walk in.

“We caught Travis and Emmett getting it on in the showers.”  Vic cackles as she relays this to them.

Sullivan gives them a stern look.  “Do I need to have a discussion about workplace rules?”

“Oh, save it Mr. me and Herrera got married in secret,” Maya says which shuts Sullivan up.

Ben just laughs, congratulating them before heading over to help with food.

“So, is this like, a one time thing or…?” Dean asks, to which Vic, Maya, Emmett and Travis all reply at once ‘no.’

Travis and Emmett smile at one another, a shy little thing that everyone teases them about.  It’s good.  Beneath the table Travis grabs Emmett’s hand, and it doesn’t take an expert to see the joy, the admiration and the sense of freedom written in every line of Emmett’s face to be living life the way he wants.

Next on Travis list, making sure to train Emmett out of his panic, fears and into being the best firefighter he can be.  If the kid is gonna do the job Travis is going to make sure he does it right, he’s already lost one firefighter, he’s not going to lose another if he can help it.

[fanguuuhhhrl]

Im kinda obsessed with I-Land right now. I love 23 boys and if possible i would like them all to debut but the elimination is in 30 minutes so im going to post my top 12 picks before it airs (kind of in order, kind of not, im biased, this is based on an unsure mixture of skill and personality, could change but most likely not):

1. Sunoo- BITCH!!! WTH!!! I JUST LOOK AT HIM AND MY SEROTONIN LEVELS BURST THROUGH THE ROOF!! He is a puppy!! He is amazing. If you didnt know anyone yet and you put all 23 boys in a line up. He will draw your attention with his sunshine smile :)))) he is so heartwarming. Most people be like "i have no filter" but they just be mean, but this guy is different, he literally has no ability to hide what he thinks but it never comes off as anything negative. He says "Me! I can do it!" but it's just endearing and never comes across as trying to show off. He says "there was a little bit of friction" and when the members look at himshocked, he looks at them shocked too.... theres no dull moment when he's in frame. It's so amazing how pure a person can be. But know that i am not just rooting for personality but for talent. his voice... His Voice!!! Vocally geonu and heeseung really slayed the butterfly performance but if you ask me, "save me" had a more emotional attack. His facial expression is just brimming of feelings. His voice is so raw. Also You know that part in save me where he transitions from head voice into chest voice really smooth??? You'll know what im saying if you see it. thats so fucking satisfying that i had to replay it so much. I definitely replayed the save me performance more times honeslty. And the way he dances!!! It might not be That refined yet but that's the charm... it's so raw and full of emotions... so like him. I can see myself stanning this group long term if he debuts with them.

2. Jungwon- tf i love this boy so much. his visuals already stood out to me when they were entering i-land, then his voice stood out to me in the first challenge... he did that hard ass choreography without any audible changes to his voice that i had to rewind that multiple times (more than the editor already did) then the moment i saw him dance the center in episode 4??? BOY???? BOY!!!! that was my breaking point... i can't believe im saying this about men but i already knew i would die for him... plus he is so sweet :((( his eyes are just so naturally cute but i was so shocked in the last challenge when he was able to pull off that fierce ass look.... i am devastated... im about the same age but my parental instincts are at work here. plus SPOILER ALERT to those who plan to watch he won first place in both the first and last challenge can everybody say jungwon ace

3. Geonu- my feelings for him are much like jungwon :((( except theres more parental instincts... and i say this despite being younger than him but whatever age is just a vibe... HE IS SO LIDDOL :((( i want to be his mom :(( at first, personality wise, it's hard to notice him bc he's a little calm and laidback... but its the little things that draw you to him :((( his glasses and hoodies just seem a little bit big on him and that just makes me smile for some reason... he cries silently when people are sent to the ground and he gets along well with the people... i noticed him first together with jungwon in the first i land challenge because they had the most stable performance. but i've never been more attached to him than when he sang butterfly (favorite bts song anyone??)... i honestly thought they could debut then and there and i wouldnt bat an eye... also it's so funny that the one thing i identified him with during the early episodes was the fact that whenever the camera pans to him, he just has the dead eye stare and parted lips (think: pokerface but confused) especially with the huge ass glasses but in the end the poker face thing that stuck to me became the thing that worked against him i cri

4. Jay- hold on folks this is going to be a long one. Jay has such a powerful personality that at first made me hesitant about liking him... idk he just seemed like the guy i would not vibe with in real life, but the longer time passed, the more he became one of my favorites and i root for him now like crazy. at first it was funny when they kept rejecting him for the vocal parts, but the more it went on, i was so sure that if it was me, i would have cried and dropped then and there, but it was so amazing watching him push through that and he didnt even lie about how he felt. his unique determination is such a breath of fresh air, a little heartwarming and oh so inspiring. i honestly learned a lot from just watching him. the time he went to the ground was so crucial to his development as a person, leader and performer. it was so mindblowing when he became the leader at the ground and even adapted heeseung's teaching methods. you know that meme "improvise, adapt, overcome?" he is the exact personification of that. what i loved about him the most is that even with his steely determination, he didnt enforce or project that on the other grounders, he just shared it with them. he understands when they need rest, encouragement or massages. he was such a caring leader. Skill wise- i can't say anything. He already proved himself so many times. Great dancer and potential vocalist. The mnet specials also show how much sweeter he is than the show shows him to be. He takes care of everyone, and has more of mother duck than street gang vibes (and he knows how to cook!!). And at the end, while he seems to be mostly self- oriented about debuting, he ends up spending most of his time teaching others and helping them improve. I just love him. Debut Jay 2k20!!!

5. Sunghoon- tf this guy is so cool and laidback that i didnt even pay much attention to him during the early parts but he just keeps crawling into my heart because so many members love him so damn much??? and he just goes along with them?? they want me to do triple axel while average people can't even do a single axel on a trampoline?? ok imma give them a double axel tho. jake is challenging me to arm flexing? yeah why not? k wants me to dance?? yeah lemme just spin 50 times. jay wants to shower together?? weird but im not strongly against the idea. ej wants to scare people? count me in. someone needs a hand to hold?? ok here's my warm hand to the rescue... everyone just wants to be his friend that he birthed my favorite sunoo scene "im cuter than him [jake]" and he was just like "yeah ok i guess so" sksjsk sunoo is that how you ask someone to be your friend jshdk??? and can i just say? as a figure skating fan, he has automatic +52536 points... and when the judges said he's the most natural performer out of them??? i vibed with that hard.. he dances well so naturally and he takes your attention without even seeming like he's trying to. that dance performance with k and jungwon?? i thought at first that his energy wouldnt catch up but damn boy my eyes were just trackingnhim the entire time unintentionallu that i had to rewind and he was just as great as all of them... with the additional benefit of being a stunt boy!! and though it might seem effortless, we saw that he practiced so hard for it. overall a 100/100 boy with a naturally charismatic personality that bleeds into his performance... as a fellow 02 liner i would also like to apply as his bestfriend thank you

6. Heesung- what can i say except he's a perfect boy ok thats it why are you still reading... jk... ok lets talk about him... skill wise?? I cried during the butterfly performance. i marvel at his vocal stability. his voice is so crystal clear. his dancing is so clean. his skills are superb but most of all, theyre already so refined. there's nothing more i could ask for. personaloty wise... i also have a lot to say... despite his celebrity status, it's awesome how he can make the other trainees comfortable with him. he's kind and soft and lovely.

but because i am me, i have to overanalyze people so idk skip this if you dont like that. for someone who's experienced being an academic achiever... i sure do vibe with his personality a lot... you know when there's a group activity and you're so sure you can lead it well but you don't want to? half because you dont want to come off as a show off and half bc you genuinely still have self-doubts, and you're scared of falling short of expectations. Also, you feel that if it all fails, you'll be responsible so you have to feel that everyone approves you before you can take leadership and show your entire thing. And the moment you feel validated and take the reins, you start unconsciously projecting your perfectionist attitude on people??? yeah... i love that despite being an almost perfect person he still has issues most people can find relatable and that, in addition to the talent makes me want to root from him. (im also going to take a stab and guess that his mbti is probs ixxp) i'll be honest tho, because its like 100 percent sure now that he'll debut, im not super attached to him??? i love him tho but he's just not in any danger so i can just let my support for him chill. i think amidst this, bc most of the trainees depend a lot on him, i mostly hope for him to take care of his mental health

7. Daniel- awww danielll... i went into i-land not knowing anyone's ages so i had a brief whiplash feeling when someone said daniel is 15... it's because he's so emotionally mature?? like he's such a supportive and caring person that it barely struck me the that he might be the youngest?? he already caught my attention when they performed "any song" bc they just seemed like they were having fun and doing their best without the pressure of whether they would win ir not, and for me that attitude is something you'd see from more experienced performers. and during the second ep when he just felt the need to comfort everyone bc he's got such a high score?? i loved that an i was so bummed out when they eliminated him. the save me performance was definitely a cherry on top that i just had to love him more than i already do... he may be young but he's as ready to debut as everyone else.

8. Jake- jake is just one of the people who showcased so much growth between ep 1 and ep 2. he already had the right attitude when they performed crown and he just had to improve skills and stage presence, and improved he did. despite being one of the trainees with the shortest training time, he was the one teaching the others by the end it just supports my theory that he might have been an ace as well if he just had the same amount of training as everyone else. im also truly in love with his mischievous antics. he seemed like an introvert to me at first but he came out of his shell and i love that. also i just crave more moments of him and sunghoon's friendship (they both seemed like introverts who found someone they could be extroverts with in each other) i am 👌this close to storming i land and demand that they let me join their merry little band of 2002 children

9. Niki- dance skills= 100 he's just so good it's unreal... it's insane... everytime he's on screen i hear boss musicand i cant even imagine him being younger than anyone, let alone taki. i get why some people dislike him but honestly i think it's just because they don't see him as a child... but he is. i was honestly a bit mad for him when they kept guilt tripping him into leading all of them, and i understood his tjought process when he thought he just kept failing everyone and when he thought things just kept backfiring on him. he is held on such a high pedestal and i dont think he deserves that kind of burden. as for me, it would just be a waste of talent to let him go. his attitude could still improve, as we'd seen when he eventually volunteered to help everyone. i also felt bad when he said that he's scared he might not be voted bc some people dont base on skills and i love him and i just want him to kmow that he's loved

10. Taki- what the hell can i even say?? he's the kindest softest boy ever. he tries to see the good in people and is very hardworking... he listens to people well and actually follow them, so he improves a lot... he knows people think he's cute and he tries and tries and tries to look fierce if the song calls for it... he is amazing

11. K- i really can't say anything, he really stands out during performances. also very pro at dancing. his choreography??? *chef's kiss* and i think the younger trainees depend a lot on him, besides heesung and so he's good at keeping the team together.

12. EJ- im really hesitant about the last person to be the twelfth i lander because it could almost be anyone and i wouldnt be too bummed out bc theyre almost all equally talented... the thing with ej tho is he already gets along well with the i landers and has harmony with other members. (plus see above: im a sucker for the 2002 line) i think its a tiny bit unfair to base it on this bc the others didnt even get a chance to show what they can bring to the group so im torn.

bonus: i wouldnt feel too bad if it were jaebeom (he has great voice, the producers think he's not too stand out bc he's weak at dance, but the i land is already so full of people whose expertise is dancing, so i think there should be someone who's specialty is singing), kyungmin (i really appreciated how hard he worked during the last test and it actually paid off, i honestly noticed him there even if he was always at the back. i also loved his determination and i was so touched when he and jaebeom were talking and he said "there's really nothing to do but believe in the impossible right?" it's just that the i landers were already ahead of him in terms of skills so he failed the votings) and hanbin (i've watched his cover videos and he's really good at dancing and stage projection. like i was honestly wondering why it wasnt showing in the performances :((( and he hadnt even had too much screentime to actually See what he's capable of.

[gothsic]

        i sentence you to be exposed before your peers...

                                                        -- TEAR DOWN THE WALL!

so... once again, i’m floored. i mean, seriously floored.

i could probably say my usual nonsense, which is that i’m amazed, i’m flattered, and i’m even speechless at the amount of love, patience, and just downright kindness i have received since day one. tomorrow marks a month since this blog was opened, and i have to say that it has been one of the best months i have ever had in the tumblr rpc in all my years of rping.

that’s saying quite a lot!

i have to reiterate that i was incredibly worried about how jonathan was going to be received here. but the exact opposite has been true - if anything, you have all welcomed him with open arms, and been incredibly amazing rp partners in every sense of the word. i hope i return the attention you’ve given me thricefold. it’s true that i’m incredibly slow, keep piling on those ask memes and starters, but the real reason is because i just want to interact with you all in some capacity. i highly encourage those of you that have yet to do anything with me to send me something, and i can promise you i will get to it! 

but what does any of that have to do with an appreciation post? well, it really is just me rambling about how incredibly honored i am that you all have stayed here through thick and thin despite my slowness. you are all the real mvps! in fact, i wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for all of you wanting to do things with me. really. you have no idea how much of an honor this is, especially considering that this is for an original character rather than a canon one. i just... wow! there i go again, failing to be eloquent!

the graphic above was thrown together tonight because i wanted to get this out this past weekend, but i figured the closer to my one month anniversary the better. that would have been october 1st, so sadly it’s a bit late. however, screw it! let’s throw two special occasions into one! i figured i would call it something different this time, as this is a bigger milestone than before.

so now that part one of this post is finished... let’s get to the good stuff. the follow forever list ( which i personally prefer calling it! ). read under the cut!

THE STARS WHO LIGHT THE PATH FORWARD:

the first up on this list are personal thank-yous to very special people who have made this experience so incredible. all of you have, but these are people i have known for several years, people i have grown close to quickly, or just people i have a lot of things to say to. i’ll probably even say these things to you in private in more expansive detail.

here are my appreciative ( albeit abridged ) comments to the following people:

@pistolbitten: tycho, you’re one of my bestest friends on this entire hellsite and even offline. the fact we haven’t met yet irl is fucking criminal - i hope that in the near future we can, though that might be kind of bad because i think the entire universe would just cease to exist if that happened. but we gotta try, right?? ANYWAY more importantly i want to emphasize that you are doing such a tremendous job with nack. i’m seriously impressed, and i want you to know that the work you’re putting into him is seriously amazing. keep it up because it’s clear to me you’re having a lot of fun. you really deserve it after everything that you’ve gone through in the past few years. you’re my little brother and it’s gonna stay that way! you know how i feel about you, but if you ever feel down, i will remind you again and again. you’re destined for great things, and you’re incredibly strong. but sometimes, it’s okay to feel a little weak. it’s human. you’re human.

@destructiveglitch: farida, i can’t emphasize how glad i am that we reconnected. i want you to know that i really admire the work you’ve put into making cadillac the amazing character that he is. you are seriously an inspiration to this community not only with the positivity you exude, but with the humor you bring to the table and the way you accept people with open arms. i strive to be more like you, and i am so proud to see how far you’ve come since we met a few years ago on this hellsite. you are seriously amazing, and so is cadillac - i cannot wait to see you chase your dreams even further; you’re an inspiration!

@daiteitako + all your other blogs: don i’m really glad we reconnected after i vanished kind of suddenly - again, i apologize for that. however, i really cannot wait to do stuff properly with you, but the most important thing i really want to say here is that a.) you’re incredibly kind, b.) you’re HILARIOUS and c.) your graphics are beautiful. also, i should mention that the dedication you’ve put into making all your muses your own is just stellar. i love it and i cannot wait to see more. i always appreciate our ooc chats and i’m so glad that i get to see your antics on the dash whenever your url pops up!

@dadadaemons: che... che. what can i say. when i came back to the rpc after a couple years of being gone, one of the things i really missed was having someone i could really connect with. honestly? it’s rare that it happens. but with you, it felt pretty instantaneous. i feel really glad to have met you - i feel that we can just shoot the shit whenever, and our muses have quite the relationship. i adore it, and i really feel comfortable talking with you - i hope that its the same for you. basically what i really want to say is that i feel incredibly lucky to have come across your blog and gotten the chance to talk to you, and eventually talk more ooc, i just... honestly? your writing is incredible, a mixture between tragic and comic, and i really adore it. it stands out. it’s you, and it’s unique. this is a little rambly, but i am really amazed at what you’ve been doing with your muses ( especially cherry ) and i cannot wait to see your work in a visual novel-type game someday. with your art skills? it’s bound to happen. you’ve got me to cheer you on!

@czhng: ángel... sends you the cat meme for the 10292373747th time ( you know the one ). just kidding! i feel like in the past week or two, we’ve grown pretty close. our ship has really blossomed into something fascinating and it’s really funny because the lovely people here on tumblr have absolutely no idea what they’re in store for. but better yet, i’m really glad i got a chance to meet you - i couldn’t have imagined how much fun we would be having together! i love sending memes back and forth, and also just talking about our characters, or hearing what you were up to or how you’re doing. while these may be simple things, they mean the absolute world to me. in short, i’m so grateful that i got to meet you, and i hope we can keep being even better friends into the future!

@cardinalrot: burns! you were one of the first people i think i formally interacted with on this blog, and while we briefly knew each other on my ramona flowers blog, i recently started talking to you more in depth ooc and honestly? you’ve made my time here so much better - you’re funny, you’re getting me into a band i barely knew about until i found your blog, and i just adore what’s going on in our group chat. i can’t wait to get to know you better, and better yet, see what ridiculous things our muses get up to as things keep rolling. you’re a lot of fun to be around and listen to, and i love hearing your ideas. honestly? you’re just a bright light on the hell that is tumblr!

@citialiin: basil! what a shock to find out we actually knew each other back in 2015! that was definitely a surprise. but above all, what can i say other than i’m truly amazed by a lot of things that have happened - that ziggy and jo have the relationship they do, that there’s some real stakes involved, and above all things, that your art is truly wonderful! plus, your writing is so wonderful to read - i feel that you really capture whomever it is that you’re writing, and what i love most about you really is that you’re incredibly honest about who you are, and your art manages to reflect that incredibly well. i wish you the best in your future endeavors, and i cannot wait to roleplay with you more! also, of course, chat ooc with you and get to know you better. plus? you, burns and i are truly a cursed trio - it’s great frankly.

@themoralpuppington: the fact that i keep finding you on every blog i make after all these years ( since 2015, can you believe it?? ) is a testament to how much i adore your writing, and just you in general, hayley. i need you on my dash to feel complete, as bizarre as that might sound. your passion for your muses, most of whom are pretty niche, is really a sight to behold. i admire how much time and attention you put into crafting them to be the best they can be, and your enthusiasm and positivity is also a sight to behold. i still remember the thread we had on my old him blog between him and dot, and that was probably one of the best threads i ever had with someone to this day - can you believe that? the point i’m trying to make here is that you basically make tumblr a better experience for me, and i’m sure many others - you are an amazing person through and through!

@luckblues: kat what could i possibly say about you that i haven’t already? you were there from the beginning, and on all your blogs we had some form of interaction - usually of the comedic kind. our conversations ooc have also been immensely hilarious to read, and the thing i really enjoy is hearing your thoughts on how your muses would react - not to mention whatever posts you make on your blogs, ooc or ic. i’m very glad i got to meet you, and also interact with you because your writing is just so much fun! you always put so much work into your muses and it is seriously an inspiration. keep up the amazing work, and i hope we can get even closer over time!

@toooldforgermany: hannah! i’m really surprised we found each other again - i remember just recently how we were trying to remember which of your many blogs we interacted on, and when we finally did, things slid into place. it’s true that i don’t really talk as much as i should, but what i do have to say about you is definitely truthful: you’ve really dug into what makes arthur such an interesting character, and i mean it when i say you made me more interested than i already was in we happy few. one of these days, i’d like to watch you play it - the clips you’ve shown me have been really something special - and i can see why you’ve put so much time and effort into getting him as close to the source material as possible. that in it of itself is admirable. what you’re doing is really special, and i can’t wait to see more, both with what you do next, and what our muses do next!

THE STARS I NOTICE IN THE DISTANCE, WHO TOO HAVE LIT THE WAY:

these are people whom i have known for several years, and want to continue to know better. we may have fallen out of touch a few times, but the important thing is that we are reconnected now. all of you listed here are special to me in different ways, and i hope that i can express this properly as i continue to do things on this blog. 

@guiltycharge + your other blogs / @heedingcalls / @puckish-rogue

THE GASLAMPS MADE FROM STARDUST:

now these are individuals with whom i have spoken to a great deal ooc, have had a lot of laughs with, or just in general have made me feel at home on this blog. chances are, we’ve interacted too. you have all made this blog special in a way that nowhere else on this site has made me feel before. i am having the time of my life thanks to you all.

@anammxlech / @dcfctivc + your other blogs / @loverslanetm + @aphroditetms / @psychexch / @tricksterfinale / @soughtcryptid + @horrormaestro / @hismanners / @shotbled / @richatire / @demonshe / @rubinsteind + your other blogs / @crimescupid / @crimsxnidol / @sociialpath / @pennepenned / @lovelypillar / @arizonadirtbag / @jihoney / @macabreatlas + @deathwitness / @innosen / @barbiemov / @charismastatic / @voieur + your other blogs / @flutterid / @maljefe / @spacymuses / @ryusci / @bledthrice / @bellecosebabe / @bestvictim / @bentme / @spectrisbound / @starlyht / @griefkept / @vortship / @necroticlimb + your other blogs / @gothicbite + your other blogs / @thegothfiles / @wretchedgoth / @hisnote / @dethrocuted / @justverdict + your other blogs / @stagekiller / @scarwritten / @plasticlioness / @ecentrici / @prdghtr / @drstmbrg + your other blogs / @espercr / @juvenileterror / @putrifyre / @9livin / @saturnincs / @batzie / @deceitfame / @princeternal / @autoptes / @empaethies / @vodkaraised / @censer / @maestrodarte / @ensular / @elleomet / @smallmoss + @heylincorporated / @eoleolhan / @pseudogaiety / @byerszombie / @toendwar / @rivalrus / @giftblessd / @girlrued / @godmeld / @russianllterature / @consultingsister / @desxderium / @aemiliiu / @infiltier / @yoursmary / @svperposition / @friendsfought / @reapinghook / @blossomingbeelzebug / @levyosn / @slashhers / @promdevil / @fvvckcff / @fuckingvictus / @killfame / @dnbrough / @nailfanged / @hellionrot / @hyacinthsgirl / @panamastayed / @shelcved / @spllcat / @battleridge + many many more ! 

THE HOMES ALONG THE STREET WITH THEIR LIGHTS ON:

the following individuals are those i watch from a distance, have yet to interact with, or admire their writing in some fashion. all of you are a joy to have on the dash ( and be mutuals with ), and i hope that we can one day do something together.

@animalcontrol / @atlantisking / @herbounty / @hxgure / @scaeld / @snowinabottle / @soleiltm / @strxnzo / @cultkiid / @clownin / @clownwork / @corpsemade / @demonwield / @orhabit / @demonicarchitect / @etrefurieuse / @unstabletm / @bulletmailed / @wordseen / @deadlcrd / @dojiryu / @garrotejima / @gothamcartel / @devilsitter / @imparist / @voicehost / @voidvoyeur / @evilwiithin / @thatcertainnight / @azircphcle / @biblicael / @ribmcde / @warwronged / @actorkills / @fourrarri / @fosterskeeper / @vicemirrored / @vmprwtch / @peacefulapostle / @honorborn / @wargod / @wonwars / @waywardsignns / @inorationis / @deathscorned / @ncisepcllution / @lycanlead / @hauntediris / @tommyhtm + your other blogs / @phantomally + your other blogs / @abisnorida / @frstpearson / @nytchld / @agentbeyond / @scouscr / @vplameni / @monikalone / @sheslayyys / @sheflirts / @skllington / @skeptus / @ultraviolentis / @greyheroes / @outlawiism / @doefied / @conseille / @seeksghosts + your other blogs / @forsesti / @blacklistcr / @betterhealing / @bowitched / @bonewitchery / @theednygma / @conseille / @soliswrote / @rebelstwo / @divisus / @diversifiedpersonas / @hisband / @grcndel / @dnawield / @soypeor / @talewoven / @yblchth / @halloweeenies / @coldslayers / @iilvecchio / @discandi / @beelzbvb / @snipare / @brenheir / @johtei / @pastfound / @necrogal / @necrophagic / @neonglowed / @halvtblod / @maskedform / @enkaioni / @deddomun / @knifewields / @kerflooey / @likespooky / @happymediium / @happykcd / @vladdad / @endheir / @curdledmiilk / @firstdraper / @thcfreak / @revengah / @lcstrega / @strlcss / @strigct / @hanahakioni / @mortuiflores / @bozojesus / @madeherchoices / @madburnishdetroit / @apostleled / @wiltpetals / @scmperviren / @rainbowsongs / @powertook / @mortiiicia / @mortuam / @macebre / @pestilencepriest / @huntsaliens / @huntpyre / @dptysns / @theppgs / @thicktville / @citylives / @cadaever / @jcinthedance / @jesteriina / @jehstr / @jenasil / @occultspecialists / @exorsista / @aislinqs / @gwaed / @obsessicn / @confcssed / @enravaged / @morbosi / @alwayscutoff / @personsuited / @edgecutting / @heaimed / @clownlike / @warjournal / @selfbest / @shekore / @senoyer / @nuiweion / @slayscryptids / @footagecaught / @toshapeshift / @eyeswaps / @eyedented / @crysbeckett / @4-6-4-1-9 / @gothsrot / @witchbonds / @vctivus / @realityrot / @realcomedian / @wulventyr / @montanaerobics / @sexwins / @coucheravec / @snapsbeast / @ordinryman / @deathtaught / @edhelgund / @herheal / @heavensdecay / @gumihc / @pestired / @byersmom / @skateshe / @wantlonger / @veiledpeak / @wasben / @apostaet / @girlquaked / @betterthanmorty / @ascotwearing / @witcheking / @yourbloodbelongstome / @omatics / @rcdteeth / @nomither / @prodigil / @prouddov / @obscenesupreme / @roguepiece / @isempath / @babaayaaga / @burglarie / @enruined / @visionsent / @spellfear / @spelltricks / @deadgirldani / @dctorsleep / @dcputyrook / @dcllparted / @huntsighted / @prceteritus / @wildardor / @vigilink / @cupidvvitch / @liftedrelics / @mediocremorals / @heamatic / @heartmiles / @omegles / @motivelacking / @mistoffelous / @bberkman / @blondieat / @starszakrew / @fraudcoded / @thequarrelsome / @deathatyourdoorstep / @egopath / @hariolor / @tolerhate / @useknives / @starleft / @jeanjacketed / @tiimedtm / @wanderlustmuses / @musewritten / @houseofwindows / @magicalshe / @ozwolff / @jigento / @cthlicdevil / @hailiing / @31daughter / @epitideios / @metareview / @fiercemarked / @iceized / @phantomwhisp / @abomichor / @luemiere / @blckaiser / @inqustve / @toheavyn / @atnoctum / @vicemirrored / @thirtnth / @pyoniumyankee / @onlycertainty / @putryd + many many others whom i’m currently following!

i wish i could have included everyone who’s currently following me, but just know that if we’re mutuals, you’re included. these are as many as i could remember, but i want everyone to know that you are all appreciated by me, especially considering how you are all really the ones to thank for making my time here so wonderful! you are all amazing, truly amazing. in the coming weeks, i will do my best to interact with mutuals new and old.

keep your chins held high. each portrayal is special, each roleplayer brings something new to the table, and if you ever need a friend, i am always here for you.

once again, THANK YOU ALL for your support!

                                                               SINCERELY,                                                                                         ALEX

[chubbyheroesworthyheroes]

Can we ask for two characters? Because if we can, can I ask for Robin and Gaius + 🐷?

Yes, you can ask for two characters! But, that’ll probably be my limit, as any more than that can get dicey and hard to keep the characterization from diluting too much. Hope this was what you were looking for! Ended up giving this one a sort of Hansel & Gretel vibe, since I’m sure Gaius’ dream would be to find a candy house lmao.

Robin didn’t mind getting his hands dirty when it came to doing things with the Shepherds; though strategy was most certainly his wheelhouse, even he could get bored when stuck in a room for too long. Fresh air and physical activity could also do wonders for the mind, especially if he was feeling stuck on any particular plan or issue. Besides, Robin wanted to pull his weight just like the others, and getting out in the field was part of that.

He just hadn’t thought he’d be paired up with Gaius for this.

Robin didn’t really mind Gaius; they had a bit of an awkward and slightly irritating start, but the tactician had long since come to equal and friendly footing with the thief. Still, it could be a bit of a struggle to communicate with Gaius – the other man tended to jump to assumptions where Robin was concerned, and it took way too long for him to get through to the ginger what he really meant. When out on a mission, especially when it was just the two of them, this communication issue could end up causing some really big problems if it wasn’t figured out early on.

At least this time, they were only supposed to be checking out an area and asking the locals some questions. Apparently, near this small village in the woods, there had been a number of disappearances. It had only been a handful of months, if Robin understood right, but quite a few people had simply gone into the woods and never returned. It was their job to scope out the area, and try to figure out what the situation was before the Shepherds committed to any sort of action.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be as simple as it sounded. There was something strange about these woods, and the village itself…

“Well, Bubbles, I don’t think we’re going to get anything good out of these people,” Gaius groaned, stretching his arms up and over his head as the two of them left another little house in the small village.

They’d spoken to most everyone that was left, but they weren’t incredibly helpful in answering questions. Most of them seemed…weirdly standoffish, and others were uncomfortably welcoming. It was an odd mixture, and it set Robin on edge. There was concern for the villagers who had gone missing, but it wasn’t to such a degree that anyone had actually gone further into the woods to look for any clues or to even try finding the missing people.

Robin couldn’t really argue with Gaius here. They’d gotten nothing helpful beyond the unanimous suggestion from the villagers to go into the woods.

It wasn’t something Robin was comfortable with, but they were here to try and figure this mystery out. If they couldn’t get any information from the village itself, their only logical next step would be to scope out the forest and try to locate any sign of the missing villagers.

Sighing, Robin rubbed at the back of his neck, turning to face the all encompassing darkness that seemed to lurk heavily where the dirt road led into the trees. “You’re right…We don’t have much choice, we’ll have to head in and see what we can find on our own.”

Armed with torches and their weapons of choice, the two wasted no more time heading into the mysterious woods. It was bizarre how quickly it felt they went deep into the woods, the village disappearing from sight in what felt like only a few minutes of walking. The trees were thick and old looking, their branches heavy with leaves that looked a gray-green at the edges of torchlight as they walked. It was eerily quiet in this forest, the sound of their footsteps crunching through dead leaves on the pathway the only noise between them as they continued on. The lack of any animal sounds made it feel like they were being watched or followed, but it was impossible to tell when they had such limited light and vision.

Time seemed to seep by as slowly as molasses. Every tree looked the same, every turn and twist in the path serving to further disorient. No wonder people had gone missing after wandering through these woods, it was horrendous to try and navigate through it.

After what must have been several hours of following the dirt path, Gaius came to a sudden stop, nearly causing Robin to bump into him.

“No way…Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” the thief murmured in a sort of awed voice, moving forward once more and giving Robin a better look at what he was talking about as the now low light of the torch illuminated what was ahead of them.

It looked like a house – colorfully decorated to look like it was made out of candy. There were graceful swoops of frosting along the roof and window sills, almost like it was imitating mounds of snow that might settle on the house. The house itself looked like it as supposed to be gingerbread, supported by strategically placed columns of striped candy canes. There were swirls of chocolate and caramel along the walls, large gumdrops glittering with sugar interspersed all over the quaint building.

It looked utterly ridiculous to Robin, but it made complete sense that something made to look like candy would grab Gaius’ attention like this.

“We should keep looking…,” the tactician tried to remind his partner of their job, but Gaius was already too absorbed in getting an up close look at the house.

“Yeah, yeah – we can take a little break, right? I mean, we’ve been walking out here for a while now, and I could do with a snack to get my energy back,” Gaius weaseled, pacing around the house from the front to the side, inspecting the colorful decorations adorning it.

Robin made a face, but trailed along nonetheless. He didn’t like lingering around these woods and not staying close together. “I hope you mean that you brought something to eat by that, and not that you want to break your teeth on someone’s house,” he commented, raising an eyebrow when Gaius turned to him with a look that said that had been his exact plan. “No. No! It’s a house, Gaius, you can’t and, frankly, shouldn’t eat it!”

“Bubbles, this isn’t an ordinary cabin in the woods here! Can’t you smell it? This stuff’s the real deal!” the ginger exclaimed, proving his point by popping off one of the large gumdrops and taking a bite out of it. The candy was large enough to heft in both hands, and it left crumbles of sugar along his mouth when Gaius bit into it. It tasted like cherries, wonderfully sweet and impossible to not have another taste of.

Robin narrowed his eyes at this, taking a careful sniff at the air as he got closer to the house. To his utter bafflement, it did smell of sweets – like a bakery, or a confectionery. That couldn’t be right, though. You couldn’t build a house out of sweets, and if you did, it would be destroyed by the weather and wild animals. Yet, here it stood, completely spitting in the face of his logic. Walking around the house of sweets, he tried to figure it out, absently running gloved fingers over its surface to test its integrity as he did so. Chocolate smeared across his hand, and with a slight noise of annoyance, Robin licked the sticky substance off the fingers and palm of his glove instead of wiping it off on his pants or coat.

The second it touched his tongue, Robin recognized his mistake. It was absolutely perfect in its taste and texture, and something in his brain told him that all of this had to be on account of some sort of magic, but his body wasn’t listening to his mind as his hand reached back out to scoop more of the chocolate off the wall.

“G…Gaius, I think we need to go–” Robin attempted to say, to get the other’s attention, but his hand moved of its own accord, shoving an overflowing handful of fudgy delight into his mouth, forcing him to swallow unless he wanted to choke. The chocolate seemed to settle heavily in his stomach, making his head feel fuzzy the more he ate. He needed to stop, he needed to…get to Gaius at least. Maybe they could stop this better together rather than on their own.

It was a struggle to get his legs to listen to him, but Robin started off woozily back to where Gaius was near the front of the house, his hands continuing to take off sweet mouthfuls for him to eat as he shuffled on.

He heard Gaius before he saw him, the sound of loud, messy eating reaching his ears as he returned back the way he’d come. Brown eyes widened when he finally got a good look at his friend, his appearance having drastically changed in the short amount of time Robin had left him – or, well, it had only felt like a short amount of time, but things didn’t seem to flow quite right in these woods…

Where Gaius had once been rather trim, his frame had started to balloon out as he greedily shoveled sweets and chunks of the house into his waiting mouth. Tight clothes had ripped at the seams at the sudden growth, doughy flesh oozing out of the rips and further enlarging them the more Gaius grew; belts had popped open and ties had given up, clothes barely doing their job of covering him. Chubby hips gave way to a perky bubble butt that had busted the ass of Gaius’ pants with very little trouble, blubbery thighs ripping through the most strained seams along the legs of his pants as well. His formerly form fitting shirt most definitely hadn’t stood a chance against the swell of fat that his once trim midsection now was; there was a massive tear down the middle of his shirt, fat belly billowing out and hanging down over his similarly busted belt, the only thing keeping it from tearing open completely being a small section still struggling to hold together against the plush swell of Gaius’ moobs. Fat arms were squeezed like sausages in the cut off sleeves encasing his arms, little diamonds of fat bulging out where the laces intersected in the material.

“Wha…That’s…That’s not possible!” Robin stammered, his fuzzy brain struggling to process everything that was happening. Of course, as he stood, transfixed, his hands and mouth kept up their steady work of eating whatever he could grab off the house. Despite its structural soundness, anything he took off the house seemed to come away freely, and yet didn’t seem to damage the place at all. Everything felt so slowed down, his eyes dragging away from Gaius’ gorging to look down at himself, dazed to see his own body blowing up with fat just the same as his comrade. He could feel the belt at his waist stretch and then strain as his stomach pushed against it, bulges forming around the leather before the mass behind it became too much to handle. Plush flesh quickly filled out Robin’s rather baggy clothes, his expanding gut easily untucking his shirt from where it had been secured by his now destroyed belt and trousers – which, not to be left out, were just as quickly becoming unbearably tight.

Groaning in discomfort at the way his clothes now poorly fit him, Robin found that he still couldn’t pull himself away from the candy house. Though he wasn’t going at it as ravenously as Gaius was, the tactician soon found himself on his knees in front of the gingerbread house, shoving handfuls of cookie, candy and other sweet things into his mouth almost faster than he could chew. His clothes soon reached their limits as well, and a chorus of rips sounded from his pants and shirt, even his cloak wasn’t able to contain him as their feasting ramped up.

Time spiraled away into near nonexistence, and when Robin blinked himself to some clearer form of awareness again, it seemed quite a lot had changed once again. His breathing was heavy, tightly packed gut weighing him down in such an unfamiliar way that he grunted as he tried to move away from the foreignness of it. He didn’t get very far at all, sluggishly realizing that his belly had grown so fat that it had practically pinned him where he was on the ground – a heavy blush rising in his cheeks when he realized that he felt the tickle of grass against the underside of his swollen gut. His limbs were similarly bloated, his legs tingling with numbness from remaining kneeling for so long, the majority of his weight resting solely on his flabby stomach now. He couldn’t possibly get up now, even if he wanted to – his center of gravity was too different, and his legs would be too unsteady to even try.

So, he stayed right where he was, shoving more sweet goodies into his sticky mouth. Everything was still blessedly within reach, crumbs and smears of chocolate littering down the width of his pale gut. Burying his face into some of the creamy frosting by the windows, Robin barely noticed the way his face elongated, coming to a wide, blunt ended snout that eagerly snuffled into the sweet fluff in front of it.

Not too far away from Robin, Gaius was much further along in his own transformation, having started eating earlier and certainly managing to get more of the enchanted candy into his belly than the other man. There was barely a scrap of cloth on the thief anymore, his clothes completely torn asunder as he grew rounder and larger. Eventually, his weight had become too much to take, and he’d simply flopped down on the ground, shoving his face into whatever sweet bite he could get his mouth around, chubby hands tearing off more from the house to eat at a feverish pace. Lounging on his side, chins smooshed down into pendulous breasts as he gorged, his fattening belly’s weight sagged heavily to one side as he leaned over to grab his next handful of treats. It bloated out over the ground like a glacially moving avalanche, rolls upon rolls forming at his sides.

Gaius grunted and snorted as a curly pig’s tail sprouted just above the swell of his globular ass, ears turning a pale pink and folding out into partially folded pig ears not too long after.

The two continued to eat themselves into a stupor, never depleting the sweets of the house no matter that they ate more and more as the hours trickled by. They only grew fatter and softer, their features acquiring more hog-like attributes as the door to the candy cottage eventually opened, and a voice laughed lightly as its owner turned the corner to see the two men-turned-pigs glutting themselves on their home.

“Well, well, well…It seems the villagers have sent me two new prize piggies! Don’t worry, boys, I know how to treat swine like yourselves. The others will be so happy to have some new faces in the pig pen.”

[blkmxrvel]

Match Made in (Chocolate) Heaven

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Female!Reader

Words: 5k

Request: Can I request a Nat/Reader smut for your Valentines Day drabble requests? Perhaps involving chocolate?

Summary: It's Valentine's day, a day of love and adventures for you and your wife.

Warnings: 18+; SMUT (oral, fingering, teasing, orgasm denial, overstimulation, dirty talk)

A/N: This is literally the filthiest thing I have ever wrote. I wasn't able to recover the Valentine's day imagines so I'm just rewriting them, slowly but surely. I didn't edit this, my senses couldn't handle it i- enjoy.

You were sitting on the balcony, clad in a silver dress that hugged you and all the right places, and a pleasant smile on your face. Your wife was right across from you, red hair lightly tumbling in the wind. Soft jazz played in the background, while you two just sat there, taking in everything. It was Valentine’s day, and while neither of you went all out on the day of love, you never missed a chance to appreciate each other a little bit more. You basked in the warm, cuddly, air that rarely surrounded you.

You felt a warm hand cover your own, causing you to snap back into reality, eyes facing your love.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours, baby?” Natasha’s thumb soothed over the back of your hand, sending a warm tingle straight down your spine. You smiled, turning your hand in hers so that you were holding it.

You shrugged. “Nothing, I’m just so happy. Who would have ever thought that we made it this far? We made it past every single possible thing that could ever happen. So many world-ending events, but yet here you are. You look the exact same as when I first saw you, if not even more breathtaking.”

Natasha blushed. She let her hair fall right into her face, leg swinging over to tap yours lightly. “I thought you weren’t gonna go soft on me.” She lifted her head up, smiling while she scanned your delicate features.

“I can’t help it,” you confessed, standing up to bring your plat back into the kitchen. “There’s something about this day that just makes me realize how much I love you, and how much I never want to lose you.” You turned around and leaned your back against the counter, facing the balcony door. There was a smile on your face, a love that weighed your heart heavy.

Natasha made her way towards you, and you couldn’t help but rake your eyes over her figure: tall and lean, covered with a skin tight black dress. Her hips and legs were on full display, her amber red hair bouncing as she stepped. You loved this woman, with your entire being.

“Excuses, excuses.” She mocked. She placed her plate in the sink before coming up towards you, her tall figure looming over your short one. “I saw the way you were looking at me. You only want me because of my body.” She wrapped her arms around your middle, causing your hands to be placed on her taut stomach.

“Don’t get me wrong, your body is the best thing I have ever seen. Like Jesus Christ,” you chuckled with wide eyes, another tingle running down your back. “But you really are the love of my life, Nat. I love every single things about you. There isn’t anything about you that I don’t want to be apart of.”

Your eyes bored into hers, head tilted and heart racing. You allowed Nat to search you, just as you were doing to her. “I don’t deserve you, baby.” Her arms tightened around you, pulling you flush against her. You’ve stuck with me all these years, through the good and bads, the ups and the downs, the wins and the losses; you were always here for me. I love you so, so much.”

At that, you felt her lips crash against yours. You let out a moan of surprise, only causing her to hold you even tighter (not that you were complaining).

You saw this coming, you’d hoped it would come. You wrapped your arms around her neck, allowing her to lift you up onto the counter. She pushed herself into you, her tongue dominantly roaming inside your mouth, her hands softly caressing your thighs.

The kiss was like nothing you had ever experienced before. Usually, when high emotional moments presented themselves, it was followed by a few rounds of intense sex. You wouldn’t call it bad thing, but if Natasha could always kiss you like this, you definitely didn’t want to go back.

This kiss wasn’t filled with the sole purpose of using an orgams to hide the pain, no; the kiss was slow, loving, gentle, like she wanted to take her time exploring you and making you fall apart. Natasha wasn’t the best with words. She could say a few things without having an emotional breakdown, but for the most part, she was all about actions.

And boy, do actions speak louder than words

You could tell by the way she pressed heavy, wet kisses along your neck that she wanted to make sure you knew how much she loved you. You knew that from the light moans falling from her lips, and the curve of a smile against your skin, that she wanted to love all of you, every single part.

Your wife trailed her hands up your back, her lips never leaving your heaving chest, and unzipped your bra. Her cold hands smoothing down your back, swiftly unclipping your bra before continuing it’s trail made you shiver in all the best ways. She pushed both articles of clothing down to your waist, carefully coming to rest one hand  on your stomach, the other on your hip.

You had a love hate relationship with how Natasha needed to do near to nothing to make you a whining mess under her. You felt her lips kiss in-between your breasts, a swift intake of air form you making her stop.

“Are you okay?” She asked, her eyes looked up at your for once. She had a concerned look on her face, moving her hands away from your body. You quickly placed yours on top of them, clearly liking the touch.

Your eyes were glazed with love, though wide and shocked. It amazed you that after being together for 10 years, married for 5, that Natasha had the decency to make sure you were comfortable.

“We can stop if you’re not.” She rushed, standing up fully. “We can change, cuddle and just watch TV, it’s not a big de-.”

“Baby.” You said curtly (and soft). Your hands held her cheeks, giving her no option but to look into your eyes. “I’m okay.” Natasha stared into your eyes, still not convinced.

“Are you sure? Is it the setting? I know we’ve never had sex in the kitchen so we can go into the bed-”

“Nat!” You laughed, bringing her face towards yours, kissing her nose. “I promise you I’m fine. We can stay here, I like new, okay?” She nodded her head, her hands coming up to cover yours, smiling.”

“Okay.”

You nodded and smiled. “Good.” You swallowed harshly, the familiar jolt running through you. “Just love me, baby. You always do it so well.”

You saw Natasha’s eyes darken, before lightly gripping your hips and kissing you again. You moaned a little louder, still in shock of how soft she could be with you.

You held onto her cheeks, using them as leverage to push yourself into her. You didn’t register her hands moving upward, until her icy fingers came up make themselves home against your breasts. A pleasurable sigh came from your mouth, going right into your wife's’.

She didn’t stop kissing you as she massaged them, groaning into your mouth at how well they fit her hands. Her thumbs swiped over your nipples, alternating up and down, give your core a real run for its’ money. You squealed in surprise as she took hold on your nipples, twisting them slowly between her fingers. You let your head fall back; Natasha didn’t miss a beat, her lips trailing down to replace her hands, softly running her tongue over your hardened nipples.

“That feel good?” She asked, noticing the way that your body stiffened. She knew your heart was beating harder than ever, feeling it pulse through her mouth.

You did your best to let out a weak nod, fingers tangling in her red hair. “So, so good. Don’t stop.” You allowed your eyes to flutter shut.

You had a love-hate relationship with the way Natasha made you feel. She could easily turn you into putty under her without doing much work. It was clear as day now, the way wordless mumbles of pleasure kept falling from your mouth with every swipe of her tongue against your chest. It was inevitable, the way your hips pushed into your wife without any say from you, the pleasure building up within you.

Natasha bit harshly on your chest, causing you to cry out in pain, but moan in pleasure. She sucked on that same spot, bringing her hands up cup your ass before soothing her tongue over it. Her hands brought you more into her, you arching your back at the warmth and comfort that surrounded you.

She did this a few more times, before trailing her way down your stomach. You gasped at the cold marble that touched your back when she guided you to lay down, her eyes staring up at you.

“Please, baby.” You panted, your voice dripping with a mixture of desperation and frustration. The throbbing at your core was relentless, your panties constantly shifting with how wet you are. “I need you.”

Natasha hummed lightly before nodding, wet kisses finally reaching your belly button. She reached down, tugging your bra, dress and underwear down in one fell swoop, tossing them haphazardly across the kitchen.

You let out a sigh of relief, the cool air against your hot core. Natasha stood in-between your spread legs and hands running up and down the tops of your thighs. She took all of you in, her eyes never staying on one spot of your body.

Moments like this were rare, where she got to just admiring you, the love of her life. So she definitely took her time with you. She let her eyes trail from your soft, creamy stomach, her hands guiding her eyes. She rubbed her thumbs over your sides before coming up and taking light hold of your breasts. Stiff peaks stared up at her, rising and falling with every lustful breath you took. She let her gaze run over your neck, then your chest, smirking at the bruises that had already formed. Your face that the last thing her eyes took in, and she had never smiled so wide. There was something about the way your swollen lips were slightly parted and the way your eyes were wide and attentive, staring back at her, that made her heart clench. She smiled her widest.

“What?” Another breath forcefully leaving your mouth. She looked at you before shaking her head, her lips going back to work on your abdomen.

“Nothing.” Her words were mumbled by your skin, her lips leaving a wet trail from your belly button, back through the valley of your chest, up to your soft lips, where they molded perfectly. “You’re just so beautiful, and I’m so happy to call you my wife. I love you.”

“I love you, more.” You both smiled into the kiss, your hands on her cheeks. You stayed like that for a moment, serene and content, with the soft music playing and the comfort of each other surrounding you. “Mrs and Mrs Romanoff has a nice ring to it.” She laughed against your lips

You broke the kiss. “I wanna try something.” Her eyebrows contorted in confusion.

“What?”

You bit your lip, nerves and anticipation running through you.

“Well, since we’re trying new things today.” You motioned to your setting. “I figured.. we could introduce something new.”

Natasha tilted her head. “And that is..?”

“Chocolate sauce.” Her eyes widened in surprise but you kept talking. “And before you say anything you told me you wanted to try a food. You always said you wanted to lick something off of me and whipped cream is definitely a no, so why not chocolate.” You shrugged, your eyes nowhere near your love’s.

“Let’s do it.” Natasha stood up, walking over to the cabinet, grabbing a heavy bottle of Hershey’s chocolate sauce. Your eyebrows rose at her.

“It’s that easy?” Natasha chuckled, flipping open the cap and pouring some on her finger.

“When has it ever not been that easy? A lifetime of adventures is what I promised at the altar, princess. I’m not gonna give it up now.” She stuck her chocolate covered finger into her mouth, nodding her head in approval of the taste. “Plus this stuff tastes great, you taste great, you really can’t go wrong with this combination.”

You giggled, loving how dorky she could be at a time like this. “Well I’m glad you think that. You can put that where ever you want it.”

“Anywhere?” Her eyes lit up.

“Okay, maybe not anywhere, I don’t want a yeast infection. So not inside of me or anywhere near that...area.” Natasha smiled amusingly.

“It’s okay to say pussy, babe. We’ve been together long enough.” You kicked her leg and rolled your eyes, resulting in a laugh from and a smile from you.

“Shut up. Are you gonna pour it on me or not?” You didn’t have to tell her twice. She gave you a warning before squeezing the chocolate in a straight light up your stomach. You gasped at the coldness, she gasped at how hot you looked.

Very few words were exchanged before her hot tongue licked a burning path up your stomach.  She moaned at the sweet and salty taste of your skin and the chocolate mixing together. It was her new favorite flavor.

“Fuck.” She said while gripping your hips. “That was hot.” She grabbed the bottle again, squeezing more chocolate on your breasts. You breathed in anticipation, but nothing could prepare you for the urgency of how Natasha wrapped her lips around you. Your head flew back at the way she sucked and licked the chocolate off of you, fully getting lost in the way her never wanted to feel your nipples get soft again. She did it against with your other one, moaning loudly and she trailed kisses around your chest.

“I’m never going to get enough of you.” She said as she squeezed more onto your neck, her lips already going to work on your neck. Your hands came up to tangle themselves in Nat’s hair once again, pushing your head closer to you.

“Never.” You moaned out as she made her way north. “Ever.” She pressed her lips into yours and you gasped at the roughness. You hands pulled tighter in her hair as she swirled her tongue around yours, letting you get a full taste of you mixed with chocolate.

“That’s great, Nat. But I am five seconds away from combusting in horniness so please fuck me already.”  You whined out. Natasha only smirked at you while spreading your legs apart. She came down face to face with your center, resting her head on your thigh.

“I will, don’t worry baby.” Her hand reached for the bottle again and you rolled your eyes inwardly. You were starting to regret ever introducing this idea.

Your regrets started to pass however, when you felt chocolate being pour along your thighs. You moaned, you knew what she about about to do. Your assumptions were proven right when her tongue darted out to lick along the expanse of your thigh, not leaving a drop of chocolate in its’ wake.

She licked slowly, tantalizingly up your thigh, making your breath in when she had gotten closer to where you wanted her the most. You groaned when her tongue stopped right at the apex of your thighs. You were so close.

“Good things come to those who wait, Y/N.” She lifted up her head, dark eyes staring into yours. “And you’ve been very patience for me.” Your pussy throbbed at her words, head falling back when you felt her thumbs spread your folds open.

With her eyes now fixated on your center, she felt herself getting wet. You were dripping, arousal practically gushing out when her lips came to press to your center. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

“Fuck.” Your hips went on their own accord, chasing Natasha's face as she pulled away. Her fingers continued their probing, spreading your folds, massaging you in all the best ways. It was like Natasha was searching for something and made sure you felt good while she was doing it.

“There it is.” Her fingers were more up north, moving your skin around to fully expose your clit. She ran her thumb across your clit, involuntarily making your hips jerk up, a languid moan falling from your mouth.

“Look at how swollen for me you are, baby.” Her voice dropped a few octaves, nothing but rasp and lust. To say you were wet was an understatement.

She started placing kissing around your center, starting at your mound, before working her way to where your thighs and core meet. She moaned as she went, loving the way your need moans drowned out the music.

She licked a path from your entrance to your clit, making sure to put extra pressure on the latter. Your hands found themselves home in Natasha's hair again, tugging her into you again.

“Do it again. Please, please do it again.” Natasha gave into your wishes, her tongue doing the same thing, but this time, moving sideways before her lips came and wrapped around your clit. She sucked fiercely for a few seconds, her tongue never stopping their movements.

Your hands gripped tighter, if it was even possible. You tensed up and arched your body, a sudden reaction of the white heat that flooded your body.

“Oh… Keep doing that.” Natasha let her lips linger around your clit for a bit longer, eventually letting go. She ran your tongue up and down your slit. She traced everything she could think of: her name, the alphabet, anything that would keep your body jerking under her.

When you felt the warm heat of your wife's mouth, you swear you wanted to commit murder. “Why. Did you. Stop?” You panted, sitting up on your elbows and staring down at her. “How could you do this to me on Valentine's day?”

Natasha let your words go through one ear and out the other. She focused on your physical features, all of them.

“You're so beautiful, baby. You know that right?” Her fingers went back to playing in your slit, causing your middle to contract involuntarily.

You let out a deep sigh. “Not really, but hearing you say it helps.” Natasha smiled up at you.

“You really are so breathtaking, my love. All of

you: your eyes that I could look into for days, your nose that scrunches up so perfectly, your plump and kissable lips, your breasts that I can never stop touching, your stomach that I love hugging whenever I've had a bad day, your thighs that wrap around when you've had a bad day.” Natasha switched back to pressing kisses to your pussy. They weren't enough to jerk your body, only enough to keep your temporarily sated.

“Everything about you is absolutely ravishing, baby. But you wanna know what one of my favorite things about you are, especially on days like this?” The vibration of her mouth almost made you tilt your head back, almost.

“What?” Your voice was light, raspy, desperate; all things that made Natasha groan in delight.

“This little beauty right here, it's like my second home.” Her thumb rubbed slow, tight circles around your slit, inviting the buck and roll of your hips. “How wet you get for me, the way you smell, the way you taste, and my favorite of all,”

Your eyes widened and a silent scream tore through your throat at the feeling of Natasha's finger sheathing into you.

“how tight and warm you always are. Even after hours of me stretching you out and fucking you senseless, making you lose your breath, pounding you until you can't walk making sure the neighbors know who's making you feel so good,” Her fingers massaged your walls, twisting and turning inside or you. “i can come back the next day, and your pussy is just as good as new. It's just as tight and as wet, if not even more.”

You moaned at her words, a ghost of a smile on your lips. “It's all for you, my baby. You do this to me, only you.”

“Rightfully so.” She smirked and you groaned as she came up your body, kissing you softly and noticing how… bland your lips tasted.

“Nat, what the fuck, babe?”

She smirked before grabbing the Hershey's bottle  yet again. She squirted a considerable amount on two of her fingers. She held them to your lips.

You thought you knew what she was doing, but you weren't too sure. It wasn't until she gripped your  grin and tugged slightly, that your assumptions were confirmed.

Her fingers pushed passed your lips, immediately finding comfortable in your warm mouth. She stared at your lips, her tongue coming out to lick at her own. Your tongue moved against her fingers slowly as she took in a sharp breath, trying her hardest not to moan.

She retracted her fingers— this time she didn't hold back the groan that left her mouth— watching as trail of saliva followed. She ran her thumb up and around your thick and parted lips, revelling in how soft they were.

She murmured to no one in particular. “Your lips always look so pretty wrapped around my fingers. So fucking sexy.” She didn't even let you get a word in, before she kissed you again. You recognized this Natasha: intense, passionate and unfiltered.

Your hips met hers, you pushing up into her repeatedly. You didn't even bother caring about how needy you looked, you needed her, and you didn't care how you looked trying to get her to.

“Nat… Baby, please.” You whimpered. “I can't take it anymore, I need you to fuck me.”

Natasha poured more chocolate on her finger, smearing it across your lips, before kissing down your neck.

“You want me to make you come hard?” You could've smacked yourself at how pathetic you looked, vigorously nodding your head.

“Yes, so, so hard. Please.” Your eyes closed once again as she kissed down your stomach. “Please.”

Finally making her way down to your center, she pushed her finger back into your mouth.

“Show me what you want me to do baby. Be a good girl and show me how you want me to make you cum.”

You moaned around her fingers, your hand gripping hers as your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

“Can you do that for me, princess?” Natasha allowed you to answer with just a nod, taking pity on your current state. Your pussy was clenching around nothing, clit drumming hard against Natasha's tongue. And she had never seen you wetter, a literal pool around your ass.

“Good.” Natasha ran her tongue up and the expanse of your folds. As soon as her tongue reached the underside of your clit, you sucked on her fingers with a fervor Natasha has never seen before. No longer teasing you to death, she mirrored your actions, her lips surrounding her clit.

She felt it swell a little bit more inside her mouth, and she couldn't help but let the moan out. The vibrations sent you back into the perfect bow. Your hand tightened around Natasha's as your swirled your tongue around her fingers in random patterns.

Natasha did the same on your clit, just faster. Her speed began increasing, you let her hand fall from your mouth, your own grabbing your own breasts for leverage.

“Fuck, fuck, I'm so close.” You let out the loudest moans in all of your lifetime. You could feel your wetness steadying running out of you, having no choice but to grind your face up into your wife's mouth. “I swear to God, Natasha. If you stop…”

“Don't worry, I'm just getting started. Her lips released your clit, resorting to letting her tongue draw the dirtiest of mumbles out of your mouth.

“Don't even think about covering your mouth.” Natasha demanded. She knew how loud you usually were, and this was a sharp contrast. “I wanna hear you scream for me.”

You were speechless, you only knew how to moan and bring Natasha's face closer to you.

She chuckled around your clit, biting lightly. You pulled away on instinct, but found Natasha's hands firmly wrapped around your thighs, not letting you go anywhere.

“Where do you think you're going, princess? You said you wanted to come hard right? Don't run from it.”  want to feel you come in my mouth. I want to see your body thrash around, helpless under my tongue as I make you come again and again.”

“I can't. It's too much.” Natasha shook her head against you, her nose rubbing over your clit.

“You can do it, baby. I know you can, I know you want to. Do it for me.” She pulled you into her more, feeling your tighten around her tongue.

She curled it, shaking her head even faster before moving her tongue back to your clit. You could barely handle the stimulation, your body trying–and failing thanks to Nat– to move your hips. You weren't complaining, though.

Her lips sucked on your clit like never before, almost like she was trying to suck the soul out of you. Her tongue played with your clit with no restraint, assault heavy.

“I- I can't do it, Nat. It's soooo much.” Your hands gripped at the edges of the counter, your body slightly convulsing.

“Look at me, baby.” You managed to hoist yourself up on your elbows, half lidded eyes staring at her. The feeling was starting to grow a light heat washing over you. Natasha never lifted her head from against you.

“I love you, and I'm right here. Just keep looking at me. You can do it, my love. Please come for me, good girl.” She managed to suck harder if that was even possible.

The heat attacked your entire body, starting in your core and making its way to your limbs, your toes curling. Your eyes stayed locked on Natasha's, despite how bad you wanted to look away. She never stopped moving her tongue against you.

“Oh fuck, I-” You didn't know what was happening. This never happened, your breath got heavier and your senses were overloaded.

The heat continued to spread, and then it just stopped. Out of nowhere, your body tightened like a fork, your eyes squeezing shut and your body retching forward before arching back again. You weren't in control, the spasming happened when you least expected.

Natasha didn't let up her assault. She only stared up at you, moaning against, loving the taste of you flooding into her mouth.

“Nat, what are you-” You nearly screamed out, your hips jerked uncontrollably. Your hands now gripped your own hair staring down at your girlfriend like she was mad woman. You were incredibly sensitive.

“I said over and over again. I want at least three out of you.” She said shortly, not wasting any time getting back to eating you out.

“No, Nat I-” You didn't have time to respond before you felt her fingers enter you once and again, the three of them unrelenting against your already sensitive hole. Your head flew back again, too consumed in pleasure to argue. Your brain was cloudy again and you couldn't form words, at least not once that indicated anything other than how good your wife was fucking you.

You didn't get a warning this time, your second orgasm hit you again, a scream tearing through your. Natasha let go of your clit, kissing up your body. She wrapped a hand around your back, lightly sitting you up. Her fingers sped up, curling and pounding into you harder.

You took a hold of her face, took much pleasure flooding your senses to kiss her. You just stared at her, tears of pleasure falling from your eyes, cries and moans from her mouth.

“I can't do another. I'm going to die.” Natasha smiled lightly at your melodramatics, still not stopping her fingers. It felt like a dam of pleasure was building at your core, and Natasha was doing everything in her power to let it overflow.

“This is the last one, I promise. I just wanna see your pretty face this time.” She felt you clenching against her walls.

"Look at me, Y/N." Your eyes snapped to hers.

Tears were falling steadily now, the over-stimulation really starting to mess with you. The dam was at its breaking point, and with just a mere swipe of her thumb over your clit, Natasha let it snap.

You aren't really sure what happened, you make have blacked out. You were sure, however, that a orgasm provoking scream tore through your throat, you gripping onto Natasha's shoulder. It quite literally felt like a dam had been broken inside of you.

Natasha slower her fingers, waiting until your eyes were opened again to stick her glistening fingers in her mouth moaning at your taste.

You stared at Natasha, willing yourself not to get turned on again (thankfully, you did not). You pulled her fingers out her mouth and placed them inside of yours. Natasha groaned again, reaching behind you to grab the bottle for the last time.

She squeezed some into her mouth, before connecting her lips with you more soft than necessary. She swirled her tongue around yours, the two of you moaning. When you pulled away, you instantly let yourself fall into her arms. There was no way you were going to be able to walk to your room, and sleeping on the kitchen counter didn't seem too comfortable.

"Good girl. You did so good, love." Natasha's hands swept your hair out of your face, placing kisses softly around it. You smiled into her neck, feeling her lift you up and carry you into your room.

Your head rested on her chest when she laid you down. Your eyes were half way open, arms wrapped around your love as you uttered the first comprehensible thing in a while.

“You were right. The taste and chocolate are a great combination. Happy Valentine's Day, baby. I love you.”

You didn't hear Natasha tell you that she loved you back, you could only feel her hands stroking your hair and the warmth radiated from the two of you.

[sd1970x]

Someone suggested I try posting my fics to tumbler

So... here goes! Summary: Marinette is certain she finally has things mostly figured out: Whether it's having a secret life as a miraculous-holding superheroine, saving Paris together with her trusty partner or standing up to Chloe. Whether it's by herself, as a part of a pair or even a team, she knows it through and through. Then one day, Gecko appears, and nothing is ever going to be the same again. She might need to cast aside everything she thought about teamwork, relationships and what it means to be a miraculous holder. What's going to happen between her and her partner now? What's that strange new superheroine hiding behind her mask? Chapter 1: Yamori. It was just a regular workday. That’s exactly what it was. He was a normal boy with a normal life, even if other people have their kind of a normal life. His simply involved working in construction at high height. Hamad still went with that pointless, mock helmet-placing gesture. It helped him feel better for some reason, despite having no real helmet to go with it. The strapping point part, that he couldn’t even play-pretend. At least he knew one was supposed to exist, just like the railings that were meant to prevent him from falling. While these actually did exist occasionally, their reliability has left him wondering more than once. Would they stop him if a moment of truth came? He’d rather not think about that one at all. The other thing he would have rather not thought about, but couldn’t get out of his head, was that he finally knew why all of that was happening. That day when he saw the money change hands, out in the clear… and they didn’t even care he saw it!

No one would have believed him or any of his co-workers. That much felt almost like a universal truth. He was in a foul mood just thinking about it, and thus escapism drew its lure again. His favorite choice of escapism? Taking a sneak peek at the view of Paris from the 20th floor he’s working at. The clear sky and the look of the Eiffel tower brought about some comfort. He imagined the smell of a home-cooked meal on the stove, the warmth of a family that would definitely dwell here in two or three years, with someone living a perfectly happy normal life here. “Hey, get back to work!” He heard the voice of his superintendent, as the smell of soup made way in favor of the acrid smell of cement that needed mixing, of dust particles filling the air, of planks lying about and steel rebar being welded. The view was not his to enjoy, he remembered now. He quickly tucked the smell of soup into a deep corner of his heart before returning to mixing the cement again in numbing, repetitive motions, a blank look on his face. --- Light shone on Hawk Moth’s lair as its window expanded, triggering a fluttering of the numerous butterflies waiting for their turn. An almost inaudible flap, like bristling of leaves, mixed with the pacing of shoe soles against a concrete floor. He stopped and relished that negative feeling he was picking up. At first, it tasted like apathy of the bland and boring kind. But upon further inspection, a lacing of venom appeared. At first a trace, and then a mouthful. Like popping a caviar egg to salty goodness. And he, Hawk Moth, would be the one to help that spread its wings in the most spectacular fashion. A piece of art, indeed. “Those who are numb of fearing for their lives may yet hold the most emotions of all, simply waiting to be unleashed.” His voice intoned it as if an onlooker was there. Occasionally Nathalie would be there to listen to him. Not this time, though. He kept the habit nonetheless as it greatly entertained him. “Go forth, my Akuma, and help him realize his burning desire for justice.” He called his power as he infused the butterfly with dark energy and sent it off towards its target, A look of appreciation following its trail. He turned around and rubbed his hands together, anxious for the butterfly to make rapport again, small shivers of delight passing through his body in anticipation of the conversation he was about to hold. --- Hamad noted his superintendent was missing again. He always felt short-changed for his hard work, so stealing yet another glimpse of the view made him feel no remorse. He couldn’t see the Akuma butterfly casually making the slow ascent towards him, as his foot hit the smallest of bumps on the concrete floor. Losing balance, he quickly grabbed at the railing, only for the thing to crack. Looks like it couldn't hold him after all. He felt the acceleration, the rush of wind as he spun downwards, the resistance of air building up against his momentum. He dreamed this would happen one day, and that day now came. He closed his eyes and braced for the impact. But then, a firm grip caught him and he heard the ‘twang’ sound of a yo-yo string. That wasn’t a part of his dream, but from that day onward he’d embrace that and never let go. He felt his descent slowing down gently as he opened his eyes to find himself in the hands of a certain red-clad superheroine. But then, he felt another thing. A pair of greyish-blue eyes prying into his very soul. A warm male voice soothed into his mind.“ Mixalot, I am Hawk Moth. Isn’t it time someone mixed the cruel reality of construction safety with the serene reality of otherwise blissful Parisians?” He uttered a soft, barely audible “yes” before he felt a rush of power, and then nothing. --- Ladybug watched in horror as the person she was holding quickly got engulfed in black-purple mist and sent an indiscernible appendage towards her earrings, before even completing the transformation. She cocked her head to evade his grab and tried to push herself away. Her yo-yo got tangled and she barely made it, a few meters above ground, only to fall a second later. Only lightly beaten, Ladybug found herself facing an unharmed Akumatized victim at a disadvantaged reclined position. Her mind tried to assess the situation as quickly as feasible. The thing in front of her was similar to Stoneheart to an extent but made more of concrete plates and protruding steel rebar. His shoulder was composed of a steel beam and his second hand was now a jet hole spouting cement mixture. The ground shook a little with every step he took, combined with earth-shattering noise and the smell of wet cement. The iron scaffolding around her looked like that creature’s preferred home turf to pick a fight on. She felt two quick bursts of viscous cement hitting both of her arms, pinning her to the ground. Given enough time she would have been able to move her joints and recover, but this was time she simply didn’t have, as Mixalot charged for a much larger shot of cement, one aimed straight at her face. He’s going to choke me and knock me out. Ladybug braced herself for the impact as much as she could given her situation. “Ladybug, watch out!” A female voice called at her. The source of the voice suddenly appeared between her and Mixalot. Not slowly or gradually, but as if she had always been there. As if she materialized or decloaked at this exact point in space, by a feat of magic or miracle. She was rapidly rotating what looked to be some sorts of a hoop, with four spokes completing a cross form inside. Ladybug could only see her back, clad in a bright cyan bodysuit, a long and wavy honey-colored hair running up until the waist. Is she… a new superheroine? The cement shot sprayed in all directions as it encountered the rapidly spinning hoop. The smell of cement intensified considerably as she felt the touch of a few errant mixture drops collecting at her suit. “Quick, run away!” that same voice quickly returned her to the reality on ground. An Akuma battle was not a good time to properly reconcile such news. Instinctively responding to the cry she took advantage of the opening to dart to safety, and only then allowed herself a moment of composed thought. How can there be a new superheroine? Any more than that would probably take a lot more focus out of the problem at hand. Ladybug watched the cyan-clad superheroine engaging Mixalot, trying an attack by rotating her hoop angled above her head and extending it. So her hoop extends and contracts, similar to Chat’s baton. That’s an odd weapon to wield. Being experienced, she could foresee the inefficiency of that move and indeed, all it took Mixalot was a plain crouch to evade the attack. She could also guess what would come next, Mixalot firing a shot of cement towards her leg. While a short hop backward saved that girl from being hit by the first one, the second one hit her other leg. Now it was Ladybug’s turn to return the favor from a moment ago. She grabbed her by the yo-yo and pulled as hard as she could to get her out of harm’s way. She now had a quick frontal view, noting green eyes which mismatched her bright cyan mask and garb. The miniature hexagon pattern on both her mask and bodysuit confirmed her to be a superheroine. Otherwise, her figure was pretty much similar to Ladybug’s own, somewhat short and relatively thin. She watched with concern as the new superheroine ran tried to redo her hoop extending maneuver again, charging forward then jumping backward. Quickly noting her own safety was at risk, she tried to evade the move, but eventually, the only thing stopping her from being hit was the hoop being contracted. This isn’t going well. At all. The sound of her partner’s voice gave her hope that this tide would now turn, having little confidence in her ability to work in sync with the newcomer without getting hurt. “Chat Noir! Thanks for dropping!” “Hey, blockhead, why don’t you set for a bit? I wouldn’t want to cement our relationship just yet.” She heard the taunt aimed at Mixalot and for once, the puns were significantly appreciated. It was easy for her to see just how displeased Mixalot was at being taunted like that, charging towards Chat with careless fury. This should make him easy prey for her competent partner. A nimble flip and a baton strike later, her prediction became true. The concrete spade was pinged out of the akumatized victim’s belt, right towards the new superheroine. Come on… break it! The confused look on the newcomer’s face wasn’t boding well, evoking in Ladybug memories of her own early career. “Break it!” She cried, only to see Mixalot grab it from the newcomer’s hands. The girl’s face twitched as she crouched and lunged forward while spinning her hoop, aiming for the center of mass. Again this resulted in little more than forcing Mixalot to jump and evade it with ease. She’s letting her emotions get the better of her… is this her first real fight? That hoop is also one heck of a weird weapon. I wonder if there are better ways to use it. She watched Mixalot respond by sending two shots in opposite directions, one towards Chat Noir and the other towards the cyan superheroine. Chat evaded the one aimed at him with ease, while the other shot crashed against the rapidly spinning hoop. At that moment, the realization that she wasn’t being targeted dawned upon Ladybug. Such a rare event did not occur much when fighting as a duo, but having three targets did make for this difference. Not being under any pressure, there was ample opportunity for her to summon an item. “LUCKY CHARM” She called, presented with an oversized four-way rotating water sprinkler. A water sprinkler? What am I going to do with that? As she surveyed her surroundings, she saw her own yo-yo, the construction scaffolding, the extendable hoop, the cement mixture jet hole and the sprinkler. Maybe I can construct something here... “Keep him busy! Cyan-girl, On my mark, make sure he can’t touch the ground!” Now that would be good use of the hoop, creating a dead-zone which he has to avoid. She began running around the area, practically weaving a net with her yo-yo’s string amongst the scaffolding, as she tossed the sprinkler towards Chat. “Now!” She cried. Chat lunged towards Mixalot, fitting the sprinkler on the mixture jet hole. At the same time, the cyan superheroine crouched and began to spin her hoop, forcing everyone else above the ground. Mixalot jumped to avoid it and attempted to shoot another cement ball. The sprinkler rotated very quickly, spraying his eyes and the entire surrounding with cement but more importantly, giving him rotational acceleration which entirely threw off his balance. As she planned, Mixalot now had to choose between landing into the fast-rotating hoop on the ground and clearing the yo-yo string trap, with barely any maneuverability or eyesight available. Such a feat was beyond his ability and soon enough he found the sprinkler tangling with the yo-yo string, slamming him to the ground and dislodging the concrete spade. This time, it was Chat that grabbed and broke it, releasing the Akuma for Ladybug to capture. Ladybug whipped her yo-yo and swiftly captured the black butterfly before it could get too far.  --- "Bye bye little butterfly!” Ladybug and Chat Noir fist-bumped each other while the new superheroine panted for air. Relieved, she finally turned to address the newcomer. “Hey… thanks for the save. That was very brave of you. But you really took a great risk appearing out of nowhere like this.” Her gratitude was inherently mixed with the difficulties the unexpected fight posed. This certainly wasn’t the preferred way to make an acquaintanceship. “Th-thanks.”She noted the girl was still panting for air, placing her hoop on her back and having it just fit there, as if by magic. She asked Chat to tend to the poor overwhelmed construction worker so she could exchange a few words with the newcomer. “I have to tell you that we are used to fighting in tandem and we change our tactics when there’s a third superhero.״ She paused to observe how the newcomer would react. However, that girl appeared to be still busy reorienting herself. “You’d have to get some training and match the tactics. Um. How should we call you?” She wanted to have a name, at least. “Call me… Yamori. or Gecko, if you prefer that name.” “Okay, Gecko, so… um…” Yeah, now what exactly? She stood there thinking where all this was leading. Then Gecko spoke. “Well, since that happened… shouldn’t I be joining you?” She stared at Gecko and suddenly she felt disoriented by the upheaval these simple words caused. It’s simple, isn’t it? And yet it’s anything but simple! I mean, we don’t work with Rena or Carapace or Queen Bee on a regular basis. We don’t need to! And if we did have such a need… I’d like to have Alya as my partner, wouldn’t I? And then again… she is here. How could we not make use of a new superheroine offering her help? But… don’t the people of Paris deserve the most efficient combination to safeguard them? And who’s to say what that would be? Or that my own personal preferences aren’t interfering with my thoughts regarding it? Her head spun, she opted to consult with her partner. “Ok, Gecko. before we rush into this, or anything of kind… I’d like to have a moment with Chat in private. There are decisions us two need to make.” She and chat stepped aside to discuss as Gecko nodded her approval. “So, what do you think, Chat?” she whispered to her partner, hoping to get him involved and perhaps mitigate what seemed to be a growing burden on her. “I say, We already have a yo-yo and a baton. Do we really need a third wheel -” No no no. keep your humor to other times! He deserved a good stepping on his leg for that one, and he yelped as she did. His face twisted in pain. “Chat, That was terrible! Akumatize-her-terrible! She didn’t appear here just to have us mock her like that, she clearly looks up to us!” She chided him, then paused and sighed, deflated. “You’re right though, Chat. We don’t actually have a need for someone else, much less a rookie. Then again, if we don’t train her, she will forever be a rookie. We also can’t call her on demand as we do with Rena and Carapace.” A quick glance at Chat showed him having a more serious and contemplative look. She finally got him where she needed him to be at this moment. “Sorry about the pun. for what it’s worth, I felt almost as bad making it. With regards to Gecko, you call it. I’m actually happy to be second in command right now.” So, payback for that comment at the puppeteer incident, huh? But he did apologize for the pun. And he does trust me. She noted his smile and loosened up a bit. The thought he trusted her judgment on this very big question with important ramifications, made her feel a bit more at ease. “I guess honesty would be the right thing with… wait, what did you just say? That I’m her commander?” She balked at the suggestion, but the Cat went on. “Looks like you got yourself a trainee. I’m sure you can handle it.” She felt a pat on her back and couldn’t tell if it’s out of support, out of gloating at her predicament or a bit of both. Either way, her sense of responsibility made the distinction moot as she focused on making progress towards a decision. Sincerity is key. I will not lie to her. For it to have any chance of working out, I must trust her and she must trust me. She and Chat turned back to her, looking at Gecko who caught up her breath by now and seemed to be anticipating what they had to say. Ladybug broke the silence. “Here’s the situation, Gecko. Me and Chat Noir are a team. Other miraculous holders serve as backup. That’s how it has been so far and I just don’t see it changing.” She paused for a moment to check how Gecko responded to that, but she couldn’t quite discern it yet, so she went on. “But… we would really appreciate a reduction of the workload. You will patrol alone while one of us will be on standby. once a week your patrol will be with me and once with Chat Noir, as we can’t have you stay a rookie forever. I’ll also supervise your training. Let’s meet here in two hours to check out your skills, as I need to recharge. We have a lot more talking to do, too.” There was an awkward silence. She eyed Gecko, trying to guess her thoughts from her expression yet again. How is she going to take it? Will she be disappointed? She then noted a small smile slowly crept to Gecko’s face as she heard her answer. “I would expect nothing less than such wise words from you.” Gecko bowed her head and followed it with a hand motion. “I’m happy to serve under your guidance.” Wait… Serve under my guidance? Oh my god, what exactly have I gotten myself into?

[marionetteblues]

dungeons dark and deep

literally forgot to post this one. happy christmas. thank you, as always, to the amazing people who read my work for me - @gryffindormischief​, @araniaexumae​, @ginnyweeaslxy​ and @linabelina, i don’t even remember when you guys read this for me but here it is. I love you all. 

In the dead of night, it wasn’t hard to be heard, but the two boys took no extreme measures to be quiet. They had spent too many nights roaming the emptied halls of Hogwarts to fear discovery. The Invisibility Cloak that they were huddled under was not much more than tradition by now, though even they knew that it was a necessary precaution for their journey back. They couldn’t risk someone finding them. Not this time.

Once they were clear of the Entrance Hall and standing in the dark, narrow stone passage that led deep down into the dungeons, Sirius Black shrugged the Cloak off of himself and shook out his shaggy black hair.

James Potter folded the Cloak carefully over his arm. “Lumos,” he muttered, and held his wand far out in front of him, the staircase flooding with light until it took a sharp turn to the left. The light illuminated their faces and the glint in Sirius’ eye.

“I still say we’d have a better shot if we went to the greenhouses,” he said lightly. Sirius walked with his hands in his pockets. No one would have believed that these boys had any goal other than traipsing downstairs for another potions lesson.

“Are you mad?” replied James, one eyebrow quirked. His chin turned in the direction of his best friend, but he kept his eyes forward and listened intently. It wouldn’t have been the first time they’d been ambushed by a group of Slytherins doing their best to get as close as possible to being real Death Eaters. “Risking your life and your Quaffle-catching fingers is only worthwhile when there’s someone else around to impress. Trust me.”

“Well, I told you, there may not be any left at this stage,” Sirius said. “Mandrake leaves are popular ingredients, we use them at least once a week.”

“Which is why Slughorn is bound to always keep enough of them around,” James countered with an easy shrug. “They’ll be there.”

“Alright, alright,” grumbled Sirius, rolling his eyes with one hand thrown up in surrender. “Not that we took a vote or anything. Remus definitely would have agreed with me,” he added on a grumble.

“We don’t need to tell him every detail,” said James sharply. “And he’d just tell us we weren’t allowed to steal mandrake leaves from anyone. That wouldn’t help us much.” The corner of his mouth tugged up in a satisfied smile. “Besides, I’m not even sure Sprout has Mandrakes this year.”

“Of course she does, the second years take care of them every year,” Sirius said. “Seems like caretaking of Mandrakes is absolutely essential knowledge for a bunch of twelve year olds.”

“Well, I don’t think anyone anticipated that two fourth years would steal a bunch of mandrake leaves when they were contemplating their inclusion in the curriculum. Besides,” James went on, just as they stopped at one of the doors that led to the different chambers of the labyrinthine dungeons, “I don’t fancy trying to chop off Mandrake leaves from the real thing.”

“Why not?” Sirius barked a laugh. “It sounds like fun.”

“Because I don’t look good in earmuffs,” James said simply. “And apart from that, you remember what Sprout said? If you’re not trained, they’ll cry for hours and hours. And as amusing as it was to see Colin Dinsmore pass out when we were in second year –” Sirius snorted at that again at that, much louder and much more obnoxiously, “We’re not murderers.”

“But who knows how long these leaves have just been lying there?” Sirius pointed out. “I’m not looking forward to walking around with that in my mouth for a month. Remus had better appreciate this.”

“He will,” James said confidently. “It’ll be wicked if we can finally manage it.”

“Yeah. How many other fourth years can turn into animals?”

Sirius moved to unlock the door of the classroom, muttering, “Alohamora,” before throwing James a grin. They waited for a click, but none came. Their brows furrowed, an exact mirror of the other, before Sirius shrugged, and wrenched the door open with ease.

“Well, we can’t tell anyone,” James muttered.

Sirius threw him a glance, a mixture of doubt and amusement. “I know that,” he said slowly, his tone defensive. “I wasn’t going to.”

“You know we could actually be expelled for this, right?” James said cheerfully.

Sirius didn’t get a chance to answer - there came a smash from the middle of the room, and the two boys stopped dead, raised their wands in identical movements, shoulders squared.

“Oh, bollocks.”

Two separate crashes came next, a heartbeat apart, and tiny shards of smashed glass rained down on the boys’ feet. James raised his wand a little higher, letting its light reach every corner of the room.

“Evans?” Sirius eyed her suspiciously.

Lily Evans was not a girl that they’d had much to do with, apart from when she was with the other girls in her dorm. She was mates with Snape, and she never really joined in when a fight got started, but she seemed to be there, hovering in the background, drifting in and out of the scene like a ghost.

She was a Gryffindor, and fiercely proud of it - she screamed louder than anyone at their Quidditch matches and was always eager to win them a few house points. James supposed that was why she never bothered with him or his friends about Snape. Things were bad enough without making enemies in your own house, especially for a Muggleborn.

And that was really all James knew about her.

“Oh, it’s just you,” she muttered when her eyes finally focused on them, adjusting to the beam of light from James’ wand.

Her expression was just a flash of surprise and indignation before settling on a scowl, but there was no real heat behind it. She seemed content to assume - accurately - there wasn’t much chance of these boys turning her in for sneaking around, after all.

James took her in, strands of her dark red hair falling loosely from the bun tied at the back of her head and curling on her neck, making her features softer. He realized belatedly that she was in her dressing gown - not exactly proper attire for skulking around the castle in the wee hours of the mid-morning, but not everyone could have perfected it the way they had.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, jutting her chin out with a challenge in her tone. Looking like she belonged there, in a nightgown and slippers, and they had no right to interrupt.

“We could ask you the same thing,” James retorted, his hand jumping to ruffle his hair a little, skin at the back of his neck prickling with heat. He didn’t like the suspicious glint in her eyes; she may have been a Gryffindor at heart, but her best friend was a nasty piece of slime, and if he heard anything about what James and his friends were up to … He needed to look normal.

“I asked you first,” she said coolly, her eyebrows raised and a delicate flush rising up her neck. In her hands, she balanced a few vials and jars against her chest. James thought he saw something move in one of them. He squinted in an effort to identify the ingredients she held - you didn’t grow up in the house of a famous potions mogul without getting something out of it.

But it was too dark, and she kept moving, shifting her arm to balance everything without dropping anything else, and he couldn’t get a good look.

“Yeah, but there’s more of us than you,” Sirius countered. The three were silent for a moment as that sunk in, Lily and James both staring at Sirius with a look of bewilderment, James with a hint of embarrassment.

“Well, it’s none of your business, so I’ll stay out of yours if you stay out of mine,” she told them with a coy smile, her movements exaggerated as she gathered up her things like she was telling them, just let me be on my way.

James scrunched his nose up, eyeing her suspiciously. Sirius snorted. “You’re up to something, Evans.”

A smile played about Lily’s mouth as she surveyed them, blinking rapidly. They just stood, sizing each other up.

“Well, I’m not doing anything that will get me expelled,” she remarked. Her eyes glinted with triumph and intelligence, and when they landed on James, it made his face burn. He darted his gaze elsewhere, clearing his throat and shifting his weight between his feet. “You’re not going to hurt anyone, are you?”

“Of course not,” Sirius snapped, which made James frown. When his patience was wearing thin, there was no hiding it, and usually there was nothing James could do but watch, the way he would watch a rope fraying more and more before it snapped. “What are you talking about?” Sirius added.

Lily quirked one eyebrow, distinctly unimpressed. “You said you might get expelled when you walked in, genius.”

There was a pregnant pause of utter silence before Sirius broke it, his shoulders hunched and voice clipped, but striving to sound normal. “That was a joke. If McGonagall didn’t do it for the thing with the frogs, she’s never going to kick us out of here.”

James bit back a laugh, shaking his head.  

He wasn’t quite sure what he’d expected from Lily, maybe an insult or a threat, but she almost looked amused, perhaps intrigued, and oceans away from looking like any kind of threat.  He turned the matter over in his mind, and found it really wasn’t that different from his previous experience with Lily, however minimal it was. In fact, it was sort of the way James had seen her look when he’d dramatically weave wild tales between classes and dare the gathered crowd to guess the truthfulness.  None of them had much success - even Maddie, who had spent enough time with him on the Quidditch pitch for James to consider her a friend.

Or the times Lily would congratulate him after a particularly hard won match and thank him for winning her a few galleons.  He’d even noticed it in class, when they fell into competition and fought to hide their smiles but not the desperation in their eyes to beat the other. There were no identified stakes and no enumerated rules - it was a rare occurrence, and neither of them had an understanding of what losing meant, or even who they were up against beyond just another of their classmates, just the knowledge that one had to win.

Always a plain smile, but with something so strong in her gaze it seemed like sparks should have been flying off her, something that warned of an electric shock if his skin touched hers. It seemed to brighten up even the darkest corners of the room, but even as James watched it dimmed.

He didn’t know if that look always slipped away, but this time, it didn’t last. Before long, Lily’s face turned to a scowl, and in a moment, the boys had schooled theirs from cautious expressions to that carefully practiced aloofness that they carried with them so often it was like a mask to be slipped on at a moment’s notice.

“Unless she caught wind that we apparently tried to jam a broom up Bryan Macmillan’s arse,” James said lightly, punctuating his words with a roll of his eyes, hands jammed in his pockets.

“Threatened to,” Sirius corrected him immediately. “We didn’t actually do it.” His face turned dark when he spoke - it was easier to be accused of things when you actually did them. “Not that anyone could tell the difference,” Sirius went on, waving a hand dismissively. His smirk was back in an instant. “Someone stuck a massive stick up there.”

James just smiled, indulging his best friend - but Lily coughed out a surprised laugh before she dissolved into peals of delighted giggles.

“She agrees,” James remarked flatly.

Sirius grinned appreciatively, nodding before taking a step forward. “Evans! Shh! You’re going to wake up the entire dungeon!” James was quite sure that no one in the room considered most of the people in the dungeons to be spectacular life-forms, but the dungeons were still inhabited, technically.  

“Sorry,” she hissed, sobering up to the best of her ability, though she still smiled.

“Some people,” Sirius remarked, shaking his head.

“Amateurs,” James chimed in, not even a heartbeat later, his mouth quirking up at the corner.

Lily folded her arms, watching them with an eyebrow raised and the tiniest wisp of a smile playing about her mouth.  

“I know what you’re doing, you know.”

She took a step towards them so they were no more than a foot away - her voice lowered when she did, and she started to place her supplies on the nearest table one by one. One of the vials slipped out of her hands, and James caught it on instinct, fingers curling around the jar carefully.

“Oh, you do?” Sirius was saying cheerfully, carrying on like nothing had changed. “Maybe you could fill us in.”

“You think if you keep talking enough shit that I’ll just get annoyed and drop it,” Lily said, her mouth quirking up at the corners.

James blinked as he turned the tiny container over in his hand, staring at the words scrawled on the label. Something felt heavy on his chest and his breath came shallower and shallower as his eyes traced the spiky scrawl.

“Well, you’ve certainly been paying attention,” Sirius remarked, making Lily scoff. “What?” Sirius laughed. “You know all our moves, and you don’t seem to be fed up quite yet, no matter how much we do it.”

“That’s because I go straight past fed up to blind rage.”

Sirius just clicked his tongue. James wasn’t looking at him, he couldn’t see his expression, but he did register when Sirius leaned in and delightfully replied, “At least we provoke a strong reaction.”

They continued to snipe, even though it was very clear there was no real heat behind the words. Just a little irritation, maybe at being inconvenienced on a night time errand on Lily’s part. Maybe at not being adored on Sirius’.

“It’s not my fault that the rest of the school is stupid enough to think you’re both so terribly amusing. But I’d hate for you to think that I was that dense as well.”

“Well, I did. But I didn’t realize you were one for letting people put words in your mouth. Sounds like you’ve been listening to your Slytherin pal a little too much.”

Lily clicked her tongue, clearly put out. Her smile had turned sour, clearly rattled by the turn in conversation. “You think I need him to tell me what to think of you?”

“No, but you let him do it anyway.”

“Did you follow me down here to interrogate me on my friendships? Is this the part where you tell me none of it’s true, and you’re just innocent victims in his campaign to smear your good names?”

“What do you need mandrake leaves for?” James demanded suddenly, finally tearing his gaze away from the jar in his hand and cutting short the straying conversation.

The more that they dwelled on Snape, the more the warmth in the air would seep out of the room. He had that effect; James could see her freeze them out when Snape was around. She stepped away from the easy-going, friendly atmosphere they all enjoyed when she was with the girls in her dorm, from the warmth of it. She ignored that it was good a lot of the time. And James would wonder what it was Snivellus had told her about them. It was probably true in technicality, but he wished she didn’t know so much. Not the way Snivellus told it, at least.

Sirius had started to say something else, but he went quiet when James spoke, snapping his head in the direction of his friend. “What?” he hissed.

Lily’s cheeks flamed, noticeable even in the dim light, which gave James a fierce sense of triumph that he really couldn’t trace.

“What’s it to you?” she said, with a tiny little smile and a dangerous gleam in her eyes. She had only pointed her wand in his direction once or twice in four years, but it wasn’t exactly a secret that Lily Evans was so good with her wand it was downright dangerous to be on the other end of it.

She reached for the jar, and without thinking, James jerked back, holding it out of her reach. She was just about as tall at him, her narrowed eyes level with his. He could hear his heartbeat starting to hammer in his ears, and his grip tightened on the mandrake leaves.

He threw her a smile, tempted to take a step back as her expression grew stormy. But he stood his ground. His nonchalance was starting to fray at the edges, and that simply would not do.

“Is there any left?” he asked her casually.

She paused, long enough so that James knew the answer before she even opened her mouth.

“Why?” she asked instead of answering his question.

“Because we need it,” said Sirius with a little huff of impatience. They needed it badly. They were running out of time, and with each full moon, Remus came back a little paler, with a little less fight in him.

Lily said nothing, her gaze falling on the tiny glass vial that James still held in his hand, his arm stretched out behind him to hold it away from her. “That’s the last of it. And I had it first,” she said, lunging forward to grab it.

James jerked backwards like she’d clawed him, her shoulders squared opposite his as she tried to get around him, his reflexes too quick for her. He wrestled with her arms for a few seconds, batting her away and laughing in surprise. “Calm down, Evans!!”

“Don’t make me hex you, James.”

“You wouldn’t,” he muttered, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. The hair stood up on the back of his neck. It was easy to smile if it kept Evans from growing suspicious, but inside, he felt panic rising up his chest and to his throat.

Sirius was looking at them grapple with his eyebrows raised - he was a little taller than the other two, so he held out his hand for the jar, which James willingly gave up and took a step away from her.

“Come on, Evans,” Sirius said then, in his best tone for negotiation. “We’re not Slytherins, we don’t go around hexing people who don’t deserve it.”

Lily snorted derisively. “I’m not sure you can say that about yours-”

“I said people who don’t deserve it,” he repeated with emphasis, but her expression still rankled.

“Anything we’ve done, they’ve done ten times worse,” James said with a firm nod.  

“At least we haven’t attempted to string someone by their ankles in one of these dungeons,” Sirius continued, his tone purely conversational. “But that’s not even important. I’m sure whatever it is you’re cooking up is important, but not more important than this.”

Lily folded her arms, leaning back on her heels with her hip popped to the side and her head tilted the other way, watching them. “Tell me what it is, and I’ll decide.”

The two boys shared a nervous glance and said nothing.

Lily shifted her weight. “It must be really wrong if you’re not even going to brag.” She grinned a triumphant grin at the silence that met her words, and she held out her hand. “I will hex you, Black.”

She drew her wand, and Sirius drew his, and in the light from the tip of James’ they stood, forming a triangle with their wands held in front of them.

James huffed after a second, his lips pursed forwards with annoyance. “Right. I have a better idea. There’s a fair way to do this.”

She raised her eyebrows, but tilted her chin and relented, holding up her hands in surrender. “By all means.”  

Slughorn’s store was disorganized and unruly, his handwriting barely legible, but eventually James’ hand closed around what he was looking for. Leeches.

Sirius placed the vial of mandrake leaves on the highest shelf of the bookcase beside the door, and casually stood between Lily and the exit.

Leeches were kept in a separate vial each - James had three in his hands, juggling them as he turned back to look at her. “Right.”

She blinked at him for a second and then rolled her eyes, failing to fight an amused smile. “Come on, Potter. I want to get to bed.”

He caught them all with ease, carefully extracting the first leech from its prison and placing it on the desk. “Just across the desk.”

Lily caught on quick, and she laughed, so suddenly and loudly, like it was drawn from her without her knowing it. “Alright, Potter. You’re on.”

She walked over to where he stood, leaned in close - James went very still, watching her as she surveyed the two leeches in his hands, skin tingling a little, from the attention he supposed - and eventually she selected one of the leeches, before she paused, pointing to the other.

“What’s that for?”

“For Sirius.”

She scowled at him, but there were bright red patches of excitement on her cheeks and a gleam in her eyes that was unfamiliar. “No. It’s you two against me. I’m not going two on one. You said this was fair.”

She stared back at him resolutely and the two of them squared off in a silent argument for several seconds before James relented, ducking his head and dragging his fingers through his hair. “Fine.”

It would have been a first, if a teacher had walked into the potions classroom at that moment. Two boys fully dressed and a girl in her nightclothes, all yelling at the top of their lungs as they watched two leeches slowly crawl across the desk, meandering and zig-zagging as they want.

“Stay on target!” Lily yelled at her own leech, before she swore and turned away, hitting James’ chest as a result.

“Ow! Watch it, Evans!” he yelped, rubbing the spot she’d punched him.

She tried to scowl, but she was smiling. “I’ll watch it when you control your leech,” she replied, flaming red patches on her cheeks. “He’s playing dirty.”

James blinked between her and the leeches, a strange, unfamiliar warmth seeping through him from his chest as he shot back, “It’s not like I can control him. What makes you think he’s a ‘he’?”

“I have ways,” she told him with an air of mystery.

He blinked at her silently for a moment with his lips curving into a smile that he found strangely forceful, and she just stared right back, her own mouth in a wry smile of her own, her chin jutting out defiantly.

And then Sirius cleared his throat. “Your leeches are shagging.”

The moment broke, and Lily and James tore their eyes away from each other sharply, attention darting back to the desk.

James cleared his throat. “Little Fleamont wouldn’t dare -”

“Fleamont?” Lily repeated, spluttering as she pulled out her wand, poking at her own leech with the end. “Get a move on, Mildred!” Mildred didn’t move. Sirius may have still had his wand in his pocket, but James had heard him whisper a stunning spell aimed at the poor leech.

It may have wounded James’ sense of honour, but this was one game he couldn’t fight fair. They couldn’t wait any longer, which meant they couldn’t afford to lose.

James started to laugh, a gentle but uncontrollable bubbling from deep inside him. “Yes, Fleamont. Named after my father.”

“I wish you’d stop trying to make everyone believe that’s actually your father’s name,” said Lily with a snort.

James’ eyes just flickered to Sirius’ for just a moment and they both smiled, but they said nothing.

“And Fleamont takes the day! He takes after his father, we never lose a match,” James roared with triumph, holding out his hand for Lily to shake.

“Fair play, Evans, good game.”

She pouted dramatically, but he could see the mirth in her eyes. He liked it. It made him go quiet for a moment longer, until she was poking her finger into his chest.

“You -” she said pointedly, “are responsible for finding me some more. Deal?”

James blinked, swallowed hard against a sudden tightness in his throat, and extended his hand further. She took it and shook.

“Deal,” he told her, winking, and was rewarded with a tiny pink glow in Lily’s face.

Relief washed over him as the three of them made their way back up to the dormitory, walking in companionable silence. Lily wasn’t bad at sneaking around, and James and Sirius were more than happy to keep quiet.

With the mandrake leaves safely tucked away in James’ trunk from the time they got back to the dorm, the three of them arrived at breakfast the next morning with crinkled eyes and dark circles under them that betrayed a lack of sleep. But they were smiling, all of three of them, the boys from triumph, especially when they caught another’s eye.

News travelled fast in Hogwarts, and all anyone could talk about was the leeches - curled up and spitting all over Slughorn’s desk - and what that meant. Sirius and James shared a glance at breakfast and raised an eyebrow each in one identical motion, before James looked over at Lily, looking utterly innocent as they walked down to the dungeons.

He frowned a little to himself as he fell into step beside her - he meant to speak, but he was quiet for a few seconds, surprising even himself. How did he ask someone if he could expect to be in trouble for the leeches - what Slughorn had dubbed “a deep personal attack” - without it just sounding petty?

Lily seemed to be one step ahead of him. “Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”

He nodded quietly, a little awkward as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his robes. Her friends were walking directly in front of him, so he kept his voice low. “What were you trying to do, anyway?”

“You first,” she said teasingly, looking at him expectantly.

He felt his face flush and kept his gaze away from hers. “Something for a friend,” he told her, cryptic and mysterious, but with none of the usual bravado that would have accompanied such a line.

To her credit, she seemed to accept that with a small sigh. “I was trying to make my own Sleekeazy’s,” she told him with a reluctant expression. “I ran out, and I can’t get more until I get to Hogsmeade.”

They came to a stop outside the potions classroom, waiting to be called in, and James started laughing, a gentle and warm laugh, but one he couldn’t control, bursting out of him and filling up the entire corridor.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, with a nervous little laugh of her own, like she didn’t know if she should be laughing too, or if his amusement was at her expense.

He just shrugged his shoulders. From the end of the corridor, he could see her best friend enter through a door that came from the dungeons, so he took a step back to his own friends but he threw her a small smile.

“There’s no mandrake leaves in Sleekeazy’s, Evans.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You know that, do you?” she grinned, though her eyes went a little rounder when he nodded. “How would you know?”

He just blinked at her, his lips barely curved into a smile.

“What’s in it, then, Potter?” she said.

“Maybe one day I’ll tell you,” he said lightly, taking a step back towards his friends. She spluttered wordlessly in indignation, making him laugh again. He returned to his friends, his own side, even if he hated to think of it like that, and she only shook her head, letting out a breath like she couldn’t believe what had just happened, her lips pulled into a smile.

He met her eyes once more, just before they entered the classroom. She shot him a playful scowl, shaking her head as she passed him. She held his gaze for just a moment, a heartbeat longer than normal, making him grin.

And then Sirius had his attention again as they sat down, grumbling, “What did they even have these dungeons for when they built the place? The students?”

[artificialqueens]

just the two of us (hogwarts au) part fourteen - shalaska - pureCAMP

A/N - ladies and gents and others its been a hot minute but i had a little bit of time and a ton of inspiration so here it is!! bearing in mind that this year is Final Exam Year - i am trying my best to provide some treats for u!! hope u enjoy <3

Theseus landed her safely on the other side, bowing his head to allow her to slip off of his back. Exhilarated, Alaska tried to calm her racing heart with slow, steady breaths. She wished she had something to give the hippogriff, as thanks for carrying her, but all she had was her wand. Instead, she stroked along his head, feeling the smooth feathers beneath her fingers. Sharon had inadvertently saved her in befriending such a magnificent creature. It was just another thing to add to the list about her incredible girlfriend.

As soon as she walked away, not wanting to leave her majestic companion behind, he took off and soared into the distance, back the way they had came. Alaska had a feeling that her route wasn’t the only route to the trophy, however, and that it was unlikely another champion would be coming the same way. She just had to hope that her way was the fastest, and that she could reach Sharon before anyone else could get near her.

A horrible feeling told her that Phi Phi wasn’t only after the tournament winnings.

Though her legs ached, and her lungs were begging for a rest, Alaska continued to run. Time had no bearing in the nightmarish labyrinth. It could have been minutes or hours, and neither made any difference. For all she knew, the other champions could have been and gone, leaving Alaska as the fool in last.

Possibly the worst part was the silence. Alaska’s running was all that she could hear, her own footsteps pounding on the changing terrain as she swerved and dodged and turned around to try different branches of the maze; the blood pumping in her ears; her heavy breathing. Nothing else made a sound.

She had expected that maybe the sound of Pandora’s commentating, or the cheering of the crowds, would be audible from inside, but the entire system was silent. Every sound counted. Every notch in the wall was a hint Alaska didn’t have time to decipher.

Sharon needed her. Alaska would be damned if she didn’t get there.

Her wand held aloft in front of her, she began to speed up. It was frustrating to have to keep changing directions, hitting dead ends more often than actually progressing, but she tried not to let it get to her. The negative feelings started to creep in anyway.

This is useless, her mind was telling her. You’re just going round in circles. You’re wasting time, and Sharon could be dying right now. Hell, she could already be dead, just because you’re floundering around here, not knowing what you’re doing.

That only spurred her on faster. The only upside to her mental tantrum was that her frustration could be channeled out physically for once; she poured all of her energy into running, trying to ignore how hot and irritated she felt. Every misstep and wrong turn eliminated a course that wouldn’t lead her to Sharon, and she would make as many mistakes as necessary to find and rescue her. Money and glory meant nothing now. Alaska knew that this was a matter of life and death.

-

The fork confronted her just as she was beginning to get suspicious. It had been too smooth sailing for too long - she had been running around various twists and turns with no obstacles and no differing paths to take. One route, no dangers. It had to be leading to something.

In front of her, she had three choices. Alaska was sure the maze was filled with these forks, with various dangers ahead. Each of the paths was as dark as the other. There was no indication as to which one would lead her to Sharon.

Making an executive decision, she headed towards the third path. There was no time to waste in deliberation. She proceeded with little caution, running as quickly as she could into the darkness. The light of her wand helped to brighten things a little, but she could still see no more than a foot in front of her. Anything could be waiting for her to stumble upon it.

It came out of nowhere; a thunderous rumbling, as though the ground was splitting apart. Alaska skidded to a halt, throwing her wand’s light to the walls and floor around her. On the ground, a chasm had seemingly opened out of nowhere. None of her light even touched it. Alaska’s foot was teetering right on the very edge.

She drew back sharply, holding her breath. Clearly this was the wrong path. The slightest movement forwards would’ve had her tumbling into nothingness, to not only lose but potentially die surrounded by nothing. Alaska had never thought about the circumstances of her own death, but as she retraced her footsteps to the original fork, the labyrinth seemed to force her to.

Ideally, she would be old. Sharon at her side, friends, family, perhaps a couple of crazy creatures she knew Sharon would grow fond of. They would be safe, and happy, and her passing would be quick and painless. One thing she was sure of was that her passing was not going to be here, hopelessly lost in a wizard-designed puzzle to try and win fame and money.

The middle fork was much wider than the right, so Alaska kept to the centre. All manner of things could be lurking in the walls - Acromantula were her first thought, which she immediately regretted - so it was safest to touch nothing. After a few turns, it became apparent that this was the correct path.

A locked door blocked the way. Surely the puzzle wouldn’t be that easy?

“Alohamora.” Alaska whispered.

A definitive click told her the spell had succeeded. However, she held back any thoughts of celebrating. Whatever lay ahead clearly wanted to be found, if it could be revealed with such a simple spell. Logically, that meant whatever was inside was meant to be found… and that meant bad news.

Slowly, silently, Alaska opened the door.

They advanced at once, snapping and snarling and pulsing. Alaska closed her eyes for a moment and prayed to whatever was above that this was a dream. When her eyes opened, they were a foot closer than before.

It was real. Twelve blast-ended skrewts, each of them aggressive and easily six-foot-long, filled the room before her.

“Fuck.” She sighed, a mixture of terrified and exhausted all at once. This would require quick thinking and clever spellwork if she was to survive.

Looking around, she noted the room for anything she might be able to use as an advantage. The area was covered in a strange orange sand, and shaped like a bowl. That could be advantageous, depending on if Alaska could round up the creatures into the bottom of it and deal with them all at once, but it was also an opportunity for her to fall and become immersed in them. The edges of the bowl were steeply slanted, making it difficult to move quickly. She would need to be tactical about her every move, too.

Meanwhile, they were getting closer and closer.

Alaska panicked and threw out the first spell she could think of. “Depulso!”

One of the skrewts in the middle of the cluster was blown backwards, taking a few others with it. The victims started blasting flames from their tails, scorching the one that had been hit with the spell. There seemed to be no loyalty among them, but the fire didn’t affect them at all.

Maybe Alaska could play on their alliances. In the meantime, she needed to stop their advancing. They were nearly upon her.

“Immobulus!” She shouted, pointing her wand at the closest skrewt. It froze instantly, but it was a small victory. There was no way Alaska would have time to freeze each of them before they got to her.

Thinking quick, she used Depulso again to blow the frozen skrewt backwards, knocking it into the rest of them. As expected, they all began to ignite with anger and begin charging towards her again, but she had bought herself a little bit of time. They needed to climb the slope again.

Alaska took her chances and began to run, sticking to the edge of the bowl. It was steepest there, and difficult to run, but any progress was better than none. Blast-ended skrewts were nasty business, and the sooner she could get away, the sooner she could forget them. Even Sharon disliked them - she remembered how her entire Care of Magical Creatures class had been unable to entirely tame them in their youth.

“The spells just deflect right off their shells. You have to hit their flesh, and it’s like impossible.” Sharon had told her.

Perhaps… Alaska thought, sifting through her rolodex of spells in her head as quickly as she could… throwing them back could potentially flip one onto its stomach. Provided it was close enough to her, the force of the spell could flip it, giving her access to its only weak spot. If she could do that, and avoid the stings, suckers and flames, then she would escape unscathed.

It seemed unlikely, but it was all she had. So now, she had to let them get close.

An idea struck as she stood still, shaking with terror. Willam had once joked about using a spell to make the Gryffindor Quidditch team’s broomsticks slow down in mid-air. If only she could remember the exact spell she had been joking about…

“Fuck it,” Alaska hissed. If the spell wasn’t right, it didn’t matter. It was worth a shot. She aimed her wand at the skrewts near the back of the cluster and yelled “Arresto momentum!”

To her relief, they visibly slowed. She repeated it on as many skrewts as she could whilst the ones in front drew closer, desperate to buy herself a few valuable seconds. Already, one had been immobilised. That left eleven to go, six having slowed considerably.

When the front skrewt came inches from her leg, Alaska yelped and cast the spell as quickly as she could. To her dismay, the skrewt shot backwards and took two others with it, leaving two more angry ones to keep coming.

“Oh, shit.” Alaska cursed. “Fuck, fuck. Arresto momentum, arresto momentum! Slow the fuck down!”

Too little, too late. At once, one skrewt pierced her foot with the sting and the other, well… blasted.

“FUCK!” Alaska yelled again, stumbling backwards. “Immobulus! Immobulus!”

As they froze, Alaska took no chances. She clutched her wand and ran, her eyes streaming, fully aware of the rest of the beasts on her tail. She just needed to get out, slam the door, and pray they didn’t do any more damage.

Her lungs ached as she pushed herself further, climbing the edge of the bowl towards the awaiting door. Thankfully, this one was unlocked, and slightly ajar. Just as the rest of the skrewts were about to singe the rest of her, she yanked the door open, threw out a final “Bombarda maxima!” and slammed it shut behind her.

Adrenaline melting away, Alaska collapsed against the solid wood of the door, the pain hitting her in waves of white-hot stabbing. Neither her mind nor her body could focus on which sensation was worse. Chest heaving, she cradled her burnt hand, examining the damage that the skrewts had caused. All across her thumb and stretching over the back of her hand and the edge of her palm, blisters were beginning to form. Some of her skin was charred white, and attempting to flex her fingers only caused her to scream out in pain. Her entire hand was - almost literally - on fire.

At the same time, though she couldn’t look at it, the skrewt’s sting had looked to be at least ten inches long, and sharp enough that it had skewered straight through her shoe to her foot. The area around it radiated with pain, and sent shivers running up Alaska’s back when she tried to put weight on it.

In spite of her injuries, there was no time to waste. Alaska, regrettably, had never learnt any healing spells from the infirmary, so she was left to struggle alone. Each step send spasms of agony shooting through her leg, but she did her best to power through. Her pain was nothing compared to the pain she feared Sharon would be exposed to if she didn’t hurry. The sting could wait.

Alaska limped as fast as she could bear to. She seemed to be heading in the right direction, once again faced with no crossroads to force her fragmented mind to make a decision. All she could focus on was moving forwards and gritting her teeth to cope with the pain. She was so frazzled that it took her a few minutes to even remember she could use Lumos to summon some light. As she did, she saw a strange inscription along one of the walls, glowing slightly when she shone her wand towards it.

‘Some will fight and others flee,

Which one of those applies to thee?

Approach, hero, for what you desire,

Lies sleeping fast beyond the fire.

Come this way and you’ll grow near,

But first, ensure you face your fear.’

In the back of her mind, Alaska could hear Sharon rolling her eyes, declaring, “Are you kidding, poetry?” The thought made her laugh, but the rhyme still ignited a ball of anxiety in the pit of her stomach, to mingle with the rest of the fear and pain her body was wrestling with. The clue was blatantly obvious, but that didn’t make things any easier.

“A Boggart.” She murmured to herself. Alaska thanked her lucky stars that at the very least, she knew the spell needed to deter the Boggart. Her only problem, a glaringly difficult problem the more she thought about it, was that she had been absent when they had experienced hands-on practise with a Boggart in the classroom. This would be her first time dealing with one.

Then again, she thought briefly, it was my first time dealing with fucking Blast-Ended Skrewts, and I’m not dead. She immediately countered herself with yeah, just severely burnt and stung.

Nevertheless, the poem seemed clear enough. In order to get to Sharon, she would first have to face the Boggart. She turned and picked up speed again, running further into the labyrinth.

“Riddikulus… ridikkulus…” She repeated under her breath, determined not to be caught out this time. “I can do this.”

The passageway opened out into a large room, starkly white and clean. It smelt like disinfectant, and seemed more like a hospital than any room that could be found in the strange labyrinth Alaska had been running through. Bits of sand from her clothes had dropped onto the ground by her feet, marking the perfectly smooth floor.

Alaska’s eyes, however, went straight to the centre of the room, and she let out a broken sob. Her throat closed up, her eyes welling with tears.

“NO!” She screamed, falling to her knees. “Not her!”

Sharon stood in the centre of the room, cowering at some unseen terror. She was completely defenceless; her wand was lying far in the corner, and she was trembling from head to toe. A poisonous green light flashed before her and she collapsed instantly, stone dead. Her eyes - her beautiful blue eyes - were still open, but glassy and distant. They would never look lovingly at her again, or crease with laughter.

“I-It’s not real,” Alaska told herself, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Sh-She’s okay. It’s n-not real.”

For a brief moment, Sharon’s form flickered. Alaska caught a glimpse of Willam and Courtney before it transformed back to Sharon, this time with her skin lacerated and her body pouring with blood. It was jarringly red against the pure white floor, pooling around her lifeless form. Alaska’s hands were stained with it. Again, she tried to tell herself that it wasn’t real, but it was difficult to be convinced.

“R-Riddikulus…” She tried feebly, and again. “Riddikulus…”

Her bloodstained hands trembled impossibly as she aimed her wand at Sharon’s form, knowing the spell wouldn’t work. Laughter got rid of Boggarts, and Alaska felt as though she would never laugh again. The image of Sharon’s painful, untimely death was enough for her to momentarily forget her own pain, and she stamped her foot in frustration, before yelping at the sting.

“Fuck!” She cradled her aching foot, wiping the tears from her eyes in spite of the blood that was covering her. Sharon was still dead, and she had to find a way to laugh.

In her mind, she could hear Sharon urging her to think. “Come on, Lasky!” She’d be saying. “You can’t lose now! I’m fucking hilarious, think of me!”

She giggled weakly. The Boggart flickered, Sharon’s body jolting strangely. It was all the movement she needed to think of an idea.

Focus, Alaska. You can do it.

Breathing deeply, Alaska pulled herself up and stood straight, doing her best to block out the pain from her blistered hand and newly throbbing foot. She held her wand arm firm, determined to succeed.

“Riddikulus!”She incanted.

Nothing.

“Riddikulus!” She tried again.

The pool of blood spread further. Sharon’s skin was grey.

Alaska shook her head and forced herself to focus more. She flooded her mind with images to distract from the horror she knew was lying in front of her. Sharon’s laugh. Her distinctive, gap-toothed grin. That evil cackle when she deliberately wound up Raven, and that signature huff and eye-roll when she received detention for it. Sneaky kiss attacks in the hallway. Sharon’s hand slipped into her own. That warm feeling that had blossomed in her chest and pooled in her stomach when, for the first time, Sharon pressed her against the wall and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. The complete and utter dork that Alaska had the privilege to call her girlfriend.

Invigorated, Alaska steeled herself. “Riddikulus!”

There was a loud snap, but Alaska closed her eyes. She couldn’t face the horror of seeing Sharon dead again, not yet. She prayed with all of her strength that the spell had worked, and she was no longer sprawled on the floor at the scene of her gruesome murder.

Holding her breath, Alaska slowly opened her eyes and then grinned. Stood before her, alive and laughing, was Sharon, dancing to some inaudible music, swaying her hips and wriggling. She had two left feet and Alaska knew it, and she was making it abundantly clear that her choreography skills were limited to zero.

Alaska burst out laughing, and her form finally disappeared with a strangely satisfying pop.

“I’m coming, Sharon. Hang in there.”

With that, she bypassed the now-empty room and headed out the other side. Her wand lit the way and she took off running for what seemed like the thousandth time, the words of the poem swirling through her head.

Approach, hero, for what you desire,

Lies sleeping fast beyond the fire.

-

Alaska could feel the walls around her growing hotter. Sweat seemed to emanate from all of her pores, dripping down her forehead as she continued through the unending tunnels. She knew, for certain, that she was drawing closer and closer to Sharon, and possibly a win, but all she could focus on was the scorching heat.

The poem mentioned fire, she told herself. Fire is hot. I have to be getting close.

Time seemed to pass differently in the labyrinth. Alaska had no idea how long she had been backtracking and running and navigating through its dangers; it could’ve been hours or it could’ve been a day. All she knew was that she was ready to fall into Sharon’s arms and let it be over. They would finish school, get out, and live somewhere safe and faraway. That was the dream Alaska was clinging to, hoping it would pull her through to the end of the maze and into a victory. It was all she had to keep her going.

She was so desperate for a reprieve from the merciless heat that she thought nothing of throwing herself towards the path that seemed to have a light at the end of it. At this point in the maze, there seemed to be less false clues. Alaska suspected that they just wanted somebody to succeed.

The tunnel widened until Alaska was stood at the very source of the inescapable heat. Surrounding her on all three sides was a wall of vivid purple fire, producing no smoke but crackling loudly as the flames flickered. However, the fire did nothing to distort the figures who were beyond it, just out of reach.

Directly in front of Alaska stood three tables, each one marked with the competitor’s school. Each table held the three same bottles - one long and thin, one curved, and one crystal vial. Inside the crystal vial, the liquid was thick, viscous, and black. The curved glass held a swirling golden mixture. The long, thin bottle was filled with a strange, glowing blue liquid and stoppered with a cork.

Alaska picked up the card reading ‘Hogwarts’ and flipped it.

Your quest is finally almost complete,

What lies ahead is your final feat,

Choose wisely; for you must step through,

The wall of flames that barriers you,

Then, in order to leave this cave,

It is your loved one you must save,

But hark! Beware, don’t drink them all,

For one of these is deadly gall,

So pick a potion, and now begin,

This leads you to your final win.

Three potions. One to pass through the flames. One to waken Sharon, who lay sleeping just beyond the flames. One deadly poison.

The Beauxbaton table was already in disarray - the long, thin glass was empty, still rolling across the table as though it had been emptied only moments ago. The golden potion lay untouched, but the small black vial was gone. Alaska’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach. All of her efforts had been for nothing. She stepped forwards and peered through the flames, knowing that any minute, she would see Phi Phi cavorting with the Triwizard Cup, gloating about her superiority.

It was as if everything was happening in slow motion. Phi Phi was just the other side of the flames, the black vial clutched tightly between her fingers. Every step she took seemed deliberate, calculated; like a villain executing a perfectly-orchestrated scheme. Now and again, her eyes darted back and forth, as though she was checking that nobody was watching her. Her every movement seemed furtive and suspicious, and Alaska watched with bated breath.

The three loved ones for each champion to rescue were placed in the same order as the tables - Detox from Beauxbatons at the left, Sharon in the middle, and Kim’s friend Trixie, from Durmstrang, on the right. But Phi Phi… Phi Phi’s path was straight. It became all too clear that she intended to deliver her potion to Sharon, not Detox.

Alaska gasped, horrified. There was only one reason she could think of that Phi Phi would give Sharon the potion, and it filled her with icy dread. Phi Phi was holding the poison.

Heart thrashing in her chest, Alaska all but ran back to the table and drank all of the blue potion from the tall, thin glass as fast as she possibly could. There was no time to waste; she had a precious few seconds to act, or Sharon would be dead. She just had to hope that her deductions were correct, and pass through the fire safely.

With the golden potion in one hand, Alaska bolted across the flaming threshold.

Part of her expected to feel a little of the heat licking at her skin, but the sensation was ticklish at best. The potion had worked. Meanwhile, Phi Phi had noted Alaska’s arrival and picked up the pace, hurriedly trying to unstop the crystal vial so she could access the poison. Alaska needed to act fast.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” She screamed, barrelling towards her and knocking the potion out of her hands, where it smashed against the floor. Phi Phi had been inches from pouring the poison into Sharon’s mouth, and her girlfriend was none the wiser. Alaska would’ve never forgiven herself.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?!” Alaska demanded, aiming her wand at Phi Phi. She scrambled to her feet, pulling out her own wand and pointing it at her.

“You don’t understand anything.” Phi Phi sneered. “She has to die!”

A wordless spell shot from the end of Phi Phi’s wand. Alaska had less than a second to hiss “Protego!” and defend herself.

“You might play dirty but you’ll never hurt her.” Alaska promised. “And I mean it. Stupefy!”

Phi Phi dodged. “She has to die!” She snarled, pushing back against Alaska’s magic. “I’m going to kill her!”

“NEVER!” Alaska intoned, racking her brain. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because she has to die!” Phi Phi repeated, a glint in her eye. “Confringo!”

Caught off guard, Alaska found herself thrown backwards, her body hitting the concrete with a dull thud. She wheezed, all of the breath seemingly knocked out of her body on the impact. Her wand lay a few feet away from her, dropped as she tried to steady herself. Her already-burnt hand broke out into fresh waves of agony, but she refused to let that stop her. Grabbing her wand, she struggled to her feet as fast as she could manage. Phi Phi had turned her attention - and her wand - to the sleeping Sharon.

“Ava-”

“EXPELLIARMUS!”

Time stopped. Alaska didn’t know whether her spell had worked, whether Phi Phi had finished her dreadful incantation. She didn’t see the red flash of light, or the green one. Everything was still, and silent.

Phi Phi’s wand clattered to the floor.

“Accio!” Alaska yelled, without thinking. The wand flew into her hands, leaving Phi Phi defenceless.

Without wasting a further second, Alaska raced over to Sharon, panting. It took nearly all of her sapped strength to unstop the golden potion and tip it, but as the first drop touched Sharon’s lips, her eyelids began to flutter open.

“Wh-” She began, frowning sleepily.

“No time,” Alaska gasped, tugging at her hand. “We- We gotta go!”

“Huh?”

Alaska pulled Sharon behind her as she ran, desperate to get out. The glint of the Triwizard Cup, merely fifty foot in front of her, was all she could see, and she knew neither of them would be safe until she grazed her fingers across it. Her brain refused to process anything that had just happened - all that mattered was that Sharon was awake and alive, and she had to get to the Cup before Phi Phi found a way to get her wand back.