#know ‘okay they FULLY saw what happened after I killed Buddy and are onto us’ which would cause her to follow them to the temple

[clownjacket]

If Kipperlilly DOES end up betraying Porter/Jace as part of a secret other scheme she has (whether good or evil) and it has to do with saving Lucy, I just know she’s going to be a bitch about it and pull a ‘sorry, I only save High Five Heroes’ before leaving her other friends to die or some shit. And then she will take her final form: Magic Betty from Adventure Time, betraying her allies and saving her frost gf at the expense of the world. It would also parallel what Ankarna is going through (‘your girlfriend’s out of town, it sucks’, becoming a little imperialist rage machine under the influence of Porter/Sunstone but not being able to fully turn on Lucy despite going against her values and turning into a violent weirdo). This is my wish. My dream. I am manifesting it. Magic Betty Kipperlilly I believe in you.

[lover-of-mine]

After the promo feeling a very "Eddie trapped under the fridge in the van" tonight... Ana what would happen if it's trapped Eddie again, Anna?? No, but srsly what do you think? Any spec...👀

Okay, hi, this is gonna get long, I'm sorry in advance, but hey, you asked oaksoaksoaksoaksa

No, but seriously, I'm gonna go back to what the goal of my drown Buck 2024 spec was to explain my thought process right now.

I said that initial spec came from the voices in my head, but I did have a somewhat logical thought process. Here's the thing, buddie needs to talk about almost dying, and (shameless self-promo incoming) while writing the trauma fic, I was trying to find what could be a canon trigger because I wanted to get as close to canon with that conversation as possible, so much so I didn't even plan on that ending up getting together fic, it just happened (and given the reaction I got to the fic, I think I did stay close to canon), and I realized the only way to get them talking about dying is to almost kill them again. And while in that trying to stay in canon mindset while looking at traumatic events, I caught on to some patterns on the way they handle and frame the ndes as triggers that were never pulled to their full extent. Considering the similarities between the well and the lightning (set on that here for better visualization) I was convinced we needed to give Buck a shooting moment. Mostly because buddie are connected through death. The big changes in their relationship are triggered by ndes. The truck, the tsunami, the well, the shooting, the lightning.

And well, the shooting is as intense as it is because of a few factors: it happens by chance, the thing they were supposed to be doing was already done but they weren't supposed to be there to begin with, it brings up a previous trauma for both Buck and Eddie, Buck is forced to do the saving alone. It's why the second collapse on the bridge made so much sense for so many of us. Because the show could draw us into a false sense of security and pull the rug the same way the shooting comes out of nowhere. They were at a bridge so adding water elements would be easy, and that's real for both of them since tsunami/well, betting trapped in/under a vehicle, doing the saving alone because everyone else is out of commission somehow. I also added the idea of equipment malfunctioning, because I kept going back to that (I don't fully know why I'm so hung up on that, it just makes sense in my head), and you could have all that happening at the bridge while Buck tried to get Eddie out.

But transferring all this to what we know about the 808 call. The cool thing about Buck and Eddie is that they are really mirrored and most triggers for one of them would work for both. Obviously, since I was literally mirroring the shooting, I latched onto the idea of Buck doing the dying and Eddie doing the saving (also because I know Ryan would EAT a desperate cpr scene), but it works either way. So let's assume Eddie is the one in danger here just because I think Eddie nde can have more consequences (you can trigger Eddie, Buck, Eddie and Chris, and buddie all for the price of dropping Eddie off a cliff or trapping him in a flooding car lol) and he's been relatively safe for a while since the bridge was a collective accident and Buck got him out with no effort. Oliver mentioned rock climbing and Tim said something about one character hanging off a cliff and I'm thinking maybe this is literal. So something collapses. We have very obvious water elements with the hydrants and the amount of cars makes the trapped under/in a vehicle easy too, something going to hell by chance, the street collapsing or the equipment failing and trapping Eddie inside the car we saw him in could do that, and since we have Buck and Eddie paired, Buck being the closest makes it so that he would have to do the saving. But the thing is, 809 is already done. So legit, if this is happening, this is where the episode ends and we get our first real cliffhanger.

I sorta want Buck to be the one who ends up trapped in the flooding car because I want the bragging rights, but I think rn, Eddie would have more consequences, but if we are talking pattern Buck is the one who usually dies with an audience, so I'm seriously going back and forth, it's all gonna depend on what they want to trigger here. Because the ndes are the beginning of the change, leading to some big consequences later on, and since Chris is not back yet, I can see them forcing a possible parallel oh moment in the way the shooting is supposed to be and then Eddie going to get Chris because Buck needs to get to a point where he's ready for Eddie and Eddie is never gonna truly find joy without Chris and then something on 8b triggers the getting together. Shit can go to hell for either or both of them. The thing that scares me is the way that 809 is already done, so they needed them still in the state they are now, so there will be little to no initial jump on 8b so I keep thinking cliffhanger.

But I'm also trapped into the idea of Eddie saying he's going to go get Chris, the call happening with no real issue and something happening to Eddie as he drives to the airport and the "Nobody’s hanging off a cliff at the end of the episode except for possibly one character." is actually Eddie while the rest of the team is unaware. (Or maybe buddie gets into a car crash while going together and then yall can call me Cassandra)

[lord-of-gender]

A Small Problem - Part 1

My version of @deyageka’s Childinnit au. 3145 words

Dream revived Tommy, but there were unforeseen consequences

"Dweam! I hungy," Tommy complained, he had appeared in the cell after getting revived, with almost no memory of his life. And he looked to be only five or six years old.

"Look kid, all I have are potatoes," Dream snapped. He didn't know which was worse, teen Tommy that actively disregarded him and never listened, or toddler Tommy who was just annoying and never stopped complaining.

"No, no poo-tato," he grabbed the potato Dream had handed him and chucked it in the lava. Tommy had been talking with the same mocking tone all week.

"You have got to be kidding me," Dream glared at Tommy, resisting the urge to kill him again, knowing it would be better if he was alive, even in this state.

"La, la, la, I'm singing, I'm like Wilby," Tommy said, knowing perfectly well he was getting on Dream's nerves.

"Oh thank god," Dream said when he heard footsteps echoing over the lava. "Sam! Get this child out of here!"

"Hi Sam!" Tommy yelled, his high pitched voice hardly recognizable by Sam. "You have a funny name! I am looking for Wilbur!"

"T-Tommy?" Sam said, the disbelief clear in his voice. "Tommy go the the corner in the water!"

"Why?" Tommy asked, clearly not getting the urgency of the situation.

"Just do it you child," Dream demanded, pushing Tommy towards the corner of the cell.

"Okee," Tommy made his way over and stood in the water. Within seconds he was on the other side with Sam. "Hallo! Hehe, Techno always says that. Ooh! I'm big and scawy like Techno!"

"I'm so confused, how are you alive, and why are you, younger," Sam said, not expecting a response.

"I dunno," Tommy shrugged and with a huge smirk began running away from Sam. "Weeeee, freedom!"

"Tommy!" Sam ran after him, eventually cornering him as Tommy came up to the other lava. Noticing the kid's fearful and entranced expression as he started at the lava.

"No, lava bad," he muttered, backing away from it, he didn't know why, he just didn't like it. "Where's Wilbur?"

"I don't know, why don't you come with me and we'll find him," Sam reached his hand out for Tommy to take. Eventually he did. Looking between the lava and Tommy, Sam didn't feel right making him go through all the protocol, not like this. So he lead Tommy through the guards' secret passageways until they got to the main entrance of the prison.

"What is this place," Tommy asked, "why is Dweam in there?"

"This is a place where bad people go, and Dream is a very bad man," Sam said, leading him to the lockers. "Go into the chest and give me the card in there."

"Are you going to put Techno in there," Tommy asked, opening the ender chest and pulling out what Sam had told him.

"Not unless I have to," Sam said, the thought had crossed his mind, but if he did attempt to Phil would defend Techno. The two were powerful, but had stayed isolated in the mountains and didn't currently pose a threat.

"Is this all mine," Tommy looked at the contents in the regular chest in wonder.

"Yes, but we can leave it here or I can hold onto it until we figure this out," Sam said, talking about getting Tommy back to his normal age.

"But it's mine," Tommy said, he pulled out the axe and tried swinging it around, but the weight was made for someone bigger and stronger than him so he ended up falling to the ground. "Uh, you have it. Too heavy."

"I'll give it back as soon as you get back to normal," Sam said, ruffling Tommy's hair as he put the Axe of Peace back. "But first let's get out of here."

"Okay," Tommy said and Sam took him to the secondary exit he made just in case. They landed down in the water the prison had been built on and Sam helped Tommy swim to the shore.

"Tunnel!" Tommy said, pointing at the tunnel leading to Snowchester. "Let's go there!"

"Alright, I'll take you to Snowchester." Sam crafted a boat and got in, with Tommy getting in behind him, humming to himself as they headed towards the snowy biome.

"Who lives here," Tommy asked, taking in every bit of detail and rubbing his hands together to warm up.

"Tubbo does, I think Foolish and Ranboo do as well," Sam said, he knew he would have to go back to the prison to double check all the safety protocol and move Tommy's items.

"Tubbo," Tommy perked up, "let's see Tubbo!"

"I don't think he's here right now," Sam said, he would have to go back to the Dream SMP to see if Puffy or anyone else could watch Tommy, but then he'd have to explain what happened. "Come on Tommy."

"I'm cold," he said, trudging through the snow behind Sam to Tubbo's cabin.

"I know, but you need to stay here while I go do some things," Sam said, grabbing a cloak from a chest and wrapping it around Tommy. "I don't think Tubbo will mind if you look around."

"Who's up there," Tommy asked, hearing noises from the attic. He went over to the ladder and climbed up and opened the trapdoor to see Micheal entertaining himself. "Hallo! I'm Tommy."

"Oh, that's Micheal," Sam said, climbing up behind him. "Be careful. I have to go. Don't go outside, okay?"

"Okee," Tommy said, looking intently at Micheal as he snorted to himself. Tommy then made some piglike noises, making the young zombie piglin perk up and squeal in excitement.

"Wait, you know piglin," Sam asked, pausing as he started back down.

"Techno teached me, he's a pig-in," Tommy said, then made more noises and the two children continued to talk to each other. "Go away now."

"Well have fun, stay safe Tommy," Sam said, climbing down and closing the doors behind him.

Michael started to point at the photos of him, Ranboo, and Tubbo. Tommy looked at them and searched his memory, as far as he could remember Phil didn't have any pictures like that. Michael oinked as he offered Tommy a handful of cake. His stomach rumbled as he looked at the treat.

"Here I can give you a potato," Tommy said, offering one of the raw potatoes he had left over from the prison. "I don't like them." Michael lit up and took the potatoes, happily eating them.

"Hi Michael," Tubbo came up to see them, they hadn't even heard him open the door. "I'm back buddy."

"Michael wishes you and Ranboo were home more, and he's cold," Tommy said, pulling Tubbo's attention to him. "Hallo!"

"I- hello, who are you," Tubbo asked, he didn't think any other children were on the server, let alone human children.

"It's me, Tommy, remember me Tubbo," Tommy grinned, cake frosting covering his mouth. Tubbo froze. There was no way, it was impossible, he was seeing things. He had to be. Slowly Tubbo climbed back down the ladder.

"How is he," Ranboo asked, carrying a armful of red berry branches, he had slowly been working on clearing out all the berry bushes so Michael could safely walk around outside.

"I-I uh, he's cold," Tubbo stammered, still not fully processing what he found out.

"I can make him a coat, we do have the extra fabric," Ranboo said, he climbed up the ladder to see Tommy and Michael.

"You need this more than I do," Tommy pulled off the cloak and wrapped it around Michael. "I'll ask them to put a fireplace up here."

"Well hello there, who are you," Ranboo said, closing the trapdoor behind him. He sat down in front of the boys.

"Tommy," he said gleefully, "I was stuck with a bad man called Dweam, Sam took me here. He's looking for Wilbur."

"I- okay, do you remember anything before that," Ranboo asked, wondering if he knew everything that Tommy did. "Do you remember me?"

"Uh, no, but you're Ranboo right?" Tommy asked, "and why is Dweam in prison? What bad things did he do?"

"Well he killed multiple people, he blew up something that used to be Tubbo's, he stole some things of yours and did alot of bad things to you," Ranboo said, not mentioning how Dream had used him as well.

"Well I don't remember," Tommy said, he looked at Michael who had been jumping in the corner and snorted to him. "He wants to go outside."

"You understand him," Ranboo asked, he had been trying to find a book on piglin but now that he knew Tommy could speak it that would be a big help.

"Yeah, Techno taught me," Tommy said, making Ranboo feel stupid. Of course, he should have asked Techno to teach him, but then again he had no idea when he would wake up, and he might end up having to tell Techno about Michael.

"What do you remember," Ranboo asked, trying to get a better idea of what happened to Tommy, even if he wouldn't remember.

"Uh, Philza and Wilbur are my family, Techno is a friend of Dadza's, he was the ruler of some place," Tommy stifled a yawn, "the Antarctic Empire."

"Do you want to stay here until Sam comes back," Ranboo asked, Tommy nodded, leaning his head against him.

"Mhm," Tommy mumbled, the events of the past week finally catching up with him. Now that he was outside and could see the sun his lack of sleep started to take hold.

"I'll see if we have an extra blanket," Ranboo said as Michael looked at Tommy curiously. He went down the ladder to see Tubbo muttering to himself.

"Ranboo, please tell me I was just seeing things up there," Tubbo said, pacing around. "Cause I thought I saw Tommy, young Tommy."

"Oh he's there alright," Ranboo said, "I didn't believe it at first, but of course I've never seen young Tommy. So he couldn't have been an illusion."

"But how is he alive," Tubbo said, sitting down on one of the chests.

"Maybe Sam will know, cause Tommy doesn't remember why he was in there," Ranboo said, he grabbed their extra blanket. "But he is cute like this."

"Don't let him know that," Tubbo let out a small chuckle. When Ranboo went back up Tommy had fallen asleep in Michael's bed, Michael was lying down by him.

"Tubbo, get up here, you need to see this," Ranboo whisper yelled.

"What is it," Tubbo came up and 'aww'ed when he saw the two boys sleeping next to each other. "I forgot how peaceful he is when asleep."

"He sleeps like a baby," Ranboo said, "we're not letting this go when he gets back to normal, right?"

"Definitely not," Tubbo laughed, imagining the amount of teasing they could do with this.

"Ranboo, Tubbo, are you guys here," Sam called from downstairs.

"Shh, Tommy just fell asleep," Ranboo jumped down with Tubbo following behind. "So why is he like this?"

"Dream said he brought Tommy back," Sam said, "and he isn't happy this happened."

"Back, like back from the dead," Tubbo clarified.

"Yes, I'm going to try to look through my books and see if there's anyway to fix this," Sam said, "I just wanted to make sure Tommy was okay, are you guys good to watch him? If not I'm sure I could find Puffy or someone else."

"Well once he wakes up I could take Tommy with me, he's talked alot about Phil and Techno," Ranboo offered.

"I don't know, Phil hasn't been the best parent to Tommy in the past," Sam said, "I'd much rather have him stay here, where I know he's safe."

"Well we can't keep this a secret forever, the entire server knows he died," Tubbo said.

"But if the Eggpire knows he's alive they'll go after him," Sam said, "Sam Nook warned me that they were trying to kill him."

"I think alot more than just them were after him," Ranboo said, "If I remember correctly Niki said Jack had tried to kill him." He left out the part of Niki trying to as well, but she had changed, and she was part of the Syndicate.

"So we keep this between us right now, once we get Tommy aged back up he can decide what he wants to do," Sam said.

"I'll look through Phil's library for a solution," Ranboo pulled out his book to write down a reminder.

"We still have to tell someone, there's going to be times when we're all busy," Tubbo said, "and Tommy's not going to be as willing as Michael to stay here all day."

"I think we can trust Puffy, and possibly Quackity, that way he can be around different people," Sam said, he would have to check how close Tommy and Quackity were. Foolish was an option as well, and could protect Tommy if it came to it, but with the Eggpire attacking Foolish he wasn't so sure.

Later that day Ranboo had met up with Philza to help him work on his cabin. Phil was in the basement, trading with Techno's villagers.

"So Phil, can I ask you about something?" Ranboo said, coming down to help him.

"Of course mate, what's up," Phil said.

"What's the 'Antarctic Empire'," Ranboo asked, what Tommy said earlier stuck with him. And he knew it was safer to ask Phil before Techno.

"Do not ever bring that up with Techno," Phil said, his tone dark and warning. "Where the fuck did you hear that?"

"I- uh, Ghostbur mentioned something about it so I got curious," Ranboo lied, remembering that Sam had wanted to keep Tommy on the down-low for the time being.

"Alright, just don't tell Techno that I told you," Phil said, "the Antarctic Empire is a land far from here, it's where Techno lived before coming here. It's not quite an empire anymore and is the reason he hates government. He saw the state of everyone who lived there and hated himself for it. So he ended his reign and went into hiding, watching as the Empire tore themselves apart."

"That's crazy," Ranboo said, "but it does explain alot."

The next day Sam had run into Quackity while trying to find Puffy or Ranboo. He needed someone to watch Tommy, but Tuboo said he had other things to do.

"Oh thank god, Quackity can you do something for me," Sam said, stopping him.

"Uh, what is it," Quackity asked as Sam threw a book to him.

"Read that and go into the second floor suite of Tommy's hotel," Sam said, "you are to tell no one, if you have any questions find Tubbo or Ranboo."

"What the fuck, I have things I need to do myself," Quackity called as Sam ran off to finish repairing the prison, but with the mining fatigue he didn't know how long it would take him. Quackity sighed as he looked at the book, it wasn't titled and he decided to just pocket it. He walked to the hotel and when he confirmed Jack wasn't there, went up where Sam told him.

"Hallo!" Tommy waved, making Quackity jump. "Are you Big Q?"

"No, no, no," Quackity shook his head, it had to be some cruel joke.

"No?" Tommy said, "are you sad?"

"No! What's your name?" Quackity said, there was no way this was Tommy. He wasn't a kid, he was dead.

"Tommy, I'm five," he said, then walking back to what he was doing. He took a yellow paper he had cut out and put together, and put it on his head. It was a crown. "I'm like Techno!"

"Okay, but why are you a child," Quackity pulled out the book and began to read it. It explained to him the situation as far as they knew, that he was to keep Tommy hidden, and the added death threat if anything happened to Tommy.

"What's wrong with being a child," Tommy asked, everyone had been talking as if him being like this was wrong. This statement make Quackity burst out laughing, the older Tommy would have never said that.

"I don't know, I mean you're probably less of a handful at this age," Quackity said, ruffling Tommy's hair. He had to make the most of this, and he had the perfect idea of how. "How would you like to help me annoy an old grumpy ghost?"

"Sure," Tommy grabbed the moth toy he had spent all of last night begging Sam and Tubbo to make. "Ready."

"What's your moth's name," Quackity asked as he and Tommy left the hotel. Tommy waved by to Sam Nook as they passed him.

"His name is Clementine," Tommy said, Quackity tried not to laugh again as his British accent fully came out when he said the name. "And you have to say it just like me."

"Okay kid," Quackity spotted Jack in the distance, he was coming in their direction. "Listen to me, we're going to play superheroes right now. My name is Big Q, and yours, what's a name you like?"

"Bird man!" Tommy said, Quackity shook his head, there was no way Jack would buy that. "No, um, Sleepy Boi! It's what Wilbur would call us."

"That works. Now I need you to tell everyone you see that's your name, cause we're under cover and we can't let anyone know our real names," Quackity said, he just had to hope Jack would fall for it.

"Okee Big Q," Tommy said as they passed Jack. He originally walked right by, but did a double take when he saw Tommy.

"Wait is that- no that's impossible," Jack stopped, he said it to no one in particular, but Quackity had heard him.

"Who? This kid," Quackity asked, playing it off. "Why don't you tell Jack your name."

"I'm Sleepy Boi!" Tommy said, putting his fist in the air. There was a moment of confusion on Jack's face, but he seemed to buy it.

"Well if this little guy wants to have a room in my hotel, I might be willing to give it at a discount," Jack said, "well I have work to do, see you around Big Q."

"But that's my hotel," Tommy said as Jack went out of earshot, "Sam told me."

"Well right now you're not old enough to own the hotel," Quackity said, "and because Jack is the only employee he automatically got ownership when you were in the prison."

"I'm going to fire him as soon as I take it back," Tommy said, his head held high.

"Alright, you do that," Quackity chuckled, there was a small chance he would actually do that once they found a way to fix him.

[maxineswritingcenter]

You Saved Me - Derek Hale x fem!reader part 7

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

Derek was alive. I let out a shaky breath as I used a tree to get back onto my feet. 

“Derek…” I whispered. He stood on the hill, his shoulders rising and falling as he slowed down his breathing. Even though my legs were shaking from almost being mauled to death, I started walking towards him. And the walk turned into a run as I made my way to him. I stopped just short of him. Our eyes met and all my fear was washed away by overwhelming joy. 

“You’re okay.” I grinned, “You’re alive.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Derek slowly slid his arms around my waist, holding me close. He turned his head, his lips brushing my ear as he spoke. 

“We need to talk.”

-

After taking Scott home, Derek and him talked and agreed on something. They would work together and kill the alpha to cure Scott. I sent a quick text to Stiles to tell him I was alright and Scott was calm. 

Derek had offered to drive me home, the drive there was filled with his energy that I had never felt before, it was electrifying. I was just happy that he was alive. Once we were on the street the Stilinski’s lived on, I made him park a little bit back from the house in case Uncle Noah came home. 

“When did you start seeing it? The visions.” He asked, putting the car in park. 

“They started the night I last saw you. I am always looking through your eyes, feeling what you feel.” I leaned back against the headrest, looking at him. He seemed frustrated and upset. His lips were tight, but there was that look in his eyes that had made him look young and afraid. 

“What have you seen?” 

“I saw you talking to your uncle, you were agitated and felt lost. I saw you talking with this woman about your sister, you were angry and had so much guilt balled up in your chest. And I-… I felt the alpha attack you. I could not even describe the fear you felt then.” Derek’s hands were tightly gripping onto the steering wheel, it almost looked like he was blinking back tears. He felt weak, why I could feel that now I didn’t understand. 

“Derek, what’s happening? I don’t understand why I’m seeing parts of your life.” I turned fully in my seat. 

“It’s not uncommon among werewolves.” He said. 

“But I’m not a werewolf.” 

Derek shifted in his seat so he was facing me, “What it is… It’s a connection of two. Think of it like-”

“Soulmates?” I inserted the word.

He nodded, “But for werewolves it is supposed to happen after a mating ritual.” 

“I think I can imagine what that is.” I blew out a breath, “So… why me? Why us? If it’s not possible then how?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because high stress situations have been putting us together.” 

“Do you see visions of me?” I was really hoping he hadn’t been seeing me cry over him. 

“I have.” Crap. “The night the alpha attacked me and then tonight.” He paused and sighed, “I felt this intense pull in my chest to find you. You needed me to come to you.�� 

“I thought I was going to die tonight. I thought that Scott was going to kill me.” I shook my head, “My luck is pretty crap.” 

“I found you each time, didn’t I?” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 

“I guess you’re right.” I smiled and looked down at my lap, “Seems pretty inconvenient for you though. Saving me all the time.” 

“It’s not.” He reached over, tilting my face to look at him, “Whenever you need me, I will be there.” 

“I thought you needed to focus on finding the alpha, so that you couldn’t be selfish.” My breath hitched when he moved forward, pressing his forehead to mine. 

“It seems the universe had a different plan for us.” He paused, “I can’t promise you everything all at once. After we take down the alpha, after I have some time to come to peace with other things, then we could take the time to explore…whatever this is.” He leaned back in his seat. 

“That is, if those idiots don’t get me arrested first.” 

I chuckled a little, “They may be idiots. But they’re still just kids. No matter how many times Stiles tells me he’s a man, he is still a sucker for Spice Girls.” I unbuckled my seat belt, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek, “But you didn’t hear that from me.” 

Derek grinned and nodded, “Right of course.” His smile was so… it suited him to smile. After all the grim and stern looks, I wanted to be able to make him smile everyday. I closed the door, leaning into the window.

“Smiling suits you.” I stood up and patted the top of the car. He dropped the smile, and chewed on his cheek. 

“Just remember, if you need me, I’ll know and I’ll be on my way.” I nodded, turning away and walking home. 

-

Did I ever think that I would be in a car chase? Absolutely not. But was I in a car chase with Kate Argent with Scott and Stiles while Derek was on the run from Uncle Noah? Absolutely. I was in the back of Derek’s Camaro, headset on with a police radio scanner from the Stilinksi’s basement. It was an older model and out of use but it could still pick up radio. 

“They’re chasing him on foot, heading northwest.” I shouted to Scott, holding onto the radio as we raced through downtown. In pursuit was Kate Argent. 

“Faster?” Scott asked, gripping the steering wheel. 

“Much faster.” Stiles answered, watching out the back window. Scott seemed to go a little faster, but the other car was still catching up.

“Scott, I don’t think you’re grasping the concept of a car chase, here…” Stiles said nervously. 

If I go faster, I’ll kill us!” Scott shouted, clearly panicking. Stiles leaned forward.

“Well, if you don't go faster, they're gonna kill us!” Scott pressed down on the pedal, but Kate Argent and her team seemed to divert away and left them. 

“They’re gone.” A new message came over the radio: “All units, suspect is on foot heading into the Iron Works.”

“He’s in the Iron works.” I called, and suddenly my vision clouded.

Derek ran but was stopped by a flash bang, blinding him, shots rang out.

“And hurry, Chris Argent’s got him cornered.”

“How do you know that?” Stiles asked, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“I’ll explain later.” Scott turned sharply, stopping the car. Derek was behind a forklift, shots ringing out towards them. 

“Get in!” Stiles shouted. Derek hurriedly got in the car, Scott speeding off before he even finished closing the door. 

“What part of “laying low” don’t you understand?!” Scott said in an exasperated voice. 

“Damn it!” Derek growled, “I had him!”

“Who? The Alpha?” Stiles leaned forward, I pulled him back, pointing to his seat belt. He rolled his eyes but put it on. 

Yes!” He said impatiently, “He was right in front of me, and the friggin’ police showed up.”

“Whoa! Hey, they’re just doing their jobs-” Stiles defended his dad. 

“Yeah, thanks to someone who decided to make me the most wanted fugitive in the entire state!” He shouted to Scott. 

Can we seriously get past that? I made a dumbass mistake. I get it.” Scott said defensively. 

“All right. How did you find him?” Stiles asked Derek. 

Scott scoffed, “Can you try to trust us for at least half a second?”

“Yeah, both of us!” Derek glared back at him, making Stiles shrink back into his seat, “Or, just him. I’ll be back here.” Derek glanced back at me. I nodded for him to tell.

“Look, the last time I talked to my sister, she was close to figuring something out. She found two things. The first was a guy named Harris.”

“Our chemistry teacher?” Stiles was back leaning forward. 

“Why him?” Scott asked. 

“I don’t know yet.”

“What’s the second?”

“Some kind of symbol.” Derek pulled a piece of paper with a drawing on it. It looked like a family crest with a wolf and sun. Scott stared at it. 

“What? You know what this is?”

“I’ve seen it on a necklace. Allison’s necklace.” Scott looked back at the road. 

- 

I sat at my desk, getting some papers ready for tonight’s lacrosse game, when I heard knocking at my window. I turned quickly and sighed when it wasn’t, in fact, a murderer. Derek looked around and knocked again impatiently. I quickly opened the window and pulled him inside. 

“What the hell are you doing?” I whispered, “My uncle is here, you know, the one that wants you arrested.” He grunted as he got up, closing the window and the curtains, setting a pile of books on my desk. 

“This was Stiles’ idiot plan so blame him.” 

“He was right, you are kind of a sour wolf.” I laughed, he was very unamused. 

“Okay, I’m sorry. Stay here, I’ll go grab you water and something to eat. You’re starving.” I turned to the door but stopped, turning back to face him. 

“How do I know you’re starving?” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. 

“Probably the same way I can talk to you like this.” His voice echoed in my head, I jumped and pointed at him. 

“Warning! Some warning would be nice!” I gave him a scolding look and went out into the hallway, quietly shutting the door behind me. 

As I was making Derek a sandwich, Stiles bolted through the door and upstairs. I sighed and finished the food, heading upstairs. 

As I got to the top, Uncle Noah came out from around a corner, “Hey Stiles!” He called and then noticed me, “Hey (Y/N).” He looked down at the sandwich, “I didn’t know you liked ham and…thick cut beef jerky sandwiches.” I looked down at the sandwich. 

“Uh yeah, I just figured out I liked it.” I grabbed the sandwich and took a bite. I hummed and chewed it, even though I rather spit it back out. 

“I’ll have to pick some up next time I’m out. My buddy at the station makes it.” I nodded and continued to chew. That would explain why it was heavy on the pepper. That guy should really stick to his day job.

Stiles mumbled something from his room as he came out. 

“What’d you say?” Uncle Noah asked. 

Stiles leaned on the doorway, “What? I said “Yo, D-Dad.”

Uncle Noah sighed, “Listen, I’ve got something I’ve got to take care of, but I’m gonna be there tonight. I mean, your first game.” He smiled 

Stiles nodded, “My first game… Uh, it’s great! Awesome. Uh, good!”

 “I’m very happy for you. And I’m really proud of you.” He said sincerely. If I didn’t have this terrible jerky in my mouth, I would be more emotional. 

“Thanks. Me too. I’m happy and proud of myself.”

“So, they’re really gonna let you play, right?”

“Yeah, Dad, I’m first line! Believe that?” 

“I’m very proud.”

“Oh, me, too. Again, I’m-” Stiles came forward, forcing Uncle Noah into an incredibly awkward, “Huggie, huggie, huggie…” 

“See you there.” Uncle Noah pulled away, heading downstairs.  

“Take it easy.” He said as he left. I waited until I heard the front door close to spit the mush back onto my plate. The jerky looked just as intact as it had when it went in my mouth. 

“Oh my god, that’s the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.” I went back downstairs and threw out that abomination and the rest of it that was in the fridge. For as long as I live, Uncle Noah will be bringing home that jerky for me to eat. But that was a sacrifice I was willing to make to make him happy. I made a different sandwich with edible toppings this time and made it upstairs to see Derek grumbling and broody as usual. I handed him the plate. He took it then sniffed the air. 

“What smells like death?” He asked. I covered my mouth. 

“Don’t ask, just know that it will never hurt anyone ever again.” 

-

After many rounds of tooth brushing and mouthwash, the death smell was extinguished. When I came back in, Danny from the lacrosse team was sitting at the computer with Stiles and Derek was sitting in the corner, reading. 

“You want me to do what?” Danny asked, “Hey (Y/N).” He greeted me before looking back at Stiles. I nodded and waved. 

“Trace a text.”

“I came here to do lab work– that’s what lab partners do.”

“And we will!” He paused, “Once you trace the text.” 

And what makes you think I know how?”

“I-I looked up your arrest report, so-”

“I-I was thirteen. They dropped the charges.” He said defensively. 

“Whatever.”

“No, we’re doing lab work.”

“Oh, my…” Stiles sighed, looking at the computer. I sighed and grabbed a book from the pile that Derek had. It looked old, the pages were yellowed. I turned to a random page and browsed, listening in on Stiles and Danny. 

“Who’s that again?” Danny whispered. Stiles looked back at Derek, then back to Danny. 

“Um, my cousin…Miguel.” He lied. Derek glanced up at them, then back to the book. I bit my lip to keep my giggles back. Derek’s eyes shot me a warning glance. 

“Is that blood on his shirt?” Danny asked. My eyes widened. I hadn’t realized it but his grey long sleeve shirt had spots of blood. 

“Yeah. Yes. Well, he gets these horrible nosebleeds.” Stiles looked back at Derek, “Hey, Miguel. I thought I told you you could borrow one of my shirts.” He looked pointedly towards his dresser. Derek closed the book on his lap and set it aside. He stood up, went to Stiles’ dresser and took his shirt off, revealing the triskelion tattoo between his shoulder blades. And it seems like I wasn’t the only one appreciating that it was off either. Danny was taking quick glances towards Derek. 

“So, anyway, I mean, we both know you have the skills to trace that text, so we should probably-”

“Uh, Stiles��?” Derek said, holding a button down shirt in his hands. 

“Yes?” Stiles asked innocently.

“This… no fit!” He said irritably, tugging the shirt. I covered my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut. It was cruel to be in this situation and not laugh.

‘Then try something else on!” Stiles turned back to Danny, “Sorry.” Derek found a blue and orange striped collared shirt. 

“Hey, that one looks pretty good, huh? What do you think, Danny?” Derek looked incredibly beyond pissed, but that anger was directed at Stiles so this just kept getting better and better. I was nearly in tears.  Was Stiles using Danny’s sexuality to his advantage? Yes, and we would have a talk about that later, but right now it was too damn funny.

“Huh.” Danny avoided looking at Derek, trying not to get caught staring. 

“The shirt?”

Danny looked over, “It’s… it’s not really his color…” Derek removed the shirt.

“You swing for a different team, but you still play ball, don’t you, Danny-boy?” Stiles whispered to him when they were both turned towards the computer. 

Danny sighed, “You’re a horrible person.”

“I know. It keeps me awake at night. Anyway, about that text…”

“Stiles!” Derek said, frustrated, “None of these fit!”

“I’ll need the ISP, the phone number, and the exact time of the text.” Stiles gave him the information and after some typing and clicks, “There. The text came from a computer. This one.” Derek and I came up behind the two after he found a dark grey shirt that managed to fit. 

“Registered to that account name?” Derek asked. Danny nodded. 

“No, no, no, no. That can't be right.”

“Scott’s mom?” I asked. Right there, Melissa McCall. Danny left soon after, a pink blush to his cheeks. Stiles walked him out. 

I grabbed my lacrosse bag, getting ready to leave to get to the game. Hopefully I could give Stiles a few minutes before Coach kicked him back to second line for being late. Derek stood in my path. 

“Was that situation funny to you?” He glared, tilting his head to the side. 

“Uh, after the fact, no.” I giggled a little, “But at the time it was really funny.” He wasn’t laughing. I cleared my throat. 

“Alright, I’m sorry. It wasn’t right of me to laugh.” I patted his chest, “But he was right, blue and orange are not your colors.” He grabbed my wrist, keeping my hand on his chest. 

“And what exactly are my colors?” His expression had softened. I smiled and hummed, thinking for a moment. 

“Dark red, burgundy. Greys. Maybe blue, just not that shirt. Never again.” I looked down, “You know it’s not Scott’s mom, right?” 

He nodded, “I know.�� 

“And as much of a pain as he is, Stiles is like family to me. And I have this terrible feeling in my chest that something’s going to go wrong tonight.” I bunched up his shirt in my hand, “Please keep him safe. And you should be careful too.”

“It won’t take too long. We just need to get security footage.” 

“I’m serious, Derek.” I pulled my hand away, “I have a dark feeling. And I’m scared.” 

“And I believe you.” He reassured me, “I’ll make sure Stiles comes back in one piece. I promise.” 

I breathed in deeply, and let it out, “Okay.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss on my forehead. I really hoped that this feeling was wrong. 

-

I stood with Scott in the corner of the locker room. Or at least I think that’s where we were. Coach made me wear a blindfold to “protect my eyes from men”.

“Did you get the picture?” Scott asked, referring to the picture he had taken of Allison’s necklace that he stole.

“Yeah, I did, and it looks just like the drawing.” Stiles said. 

“Hey, is there something on the back of it? There’s gotta be something– an inscription, an opening, something…” Derek asked.

“No, no, the thing’s flat. And, no, it doesn’t open. There’s nothing in it, on it, around it, nothing. And where are you? You’re supposed to be here. You’re first line.”

“Where the hell is Bilinski?!” Coach shouted from his office. 

“Man, you’re not gonna play if you’re not here to start.”

“I can only buy you so much time, Stiles.” I said into the phone. 

“I know. Look, if you see my dad, can you tell him… tell him I’ll be there, I’ll just be a little bit late, okay?”

“Loud and clear.” I sighed. 

“Alright, thanks.” Stiles hung up the phone. 

I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head, “He’s not gonna make it. First game his dad shows up to and he’s not gonna make it.” I poked Scott in the chest, “You owe him big time for this.” I felt at the wall, making my way back in the ( I think) direction of Finstock’s office.

-

I sat in the office, fiddling with my thumbs when I felt it again. That painful fear in my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut. 

“Stiles, get out of there right now! It’s him! He’s the Alpha! Get out!” Derek shouted into the phone. He cursed and got out of the Jeep, running inside. His heart was beating fast and a terrible realization was going through his head. His own Uncle killed his sister. It had been him all along, how could he have missed it? Derek ran inside, punching the nurse that had been taking care of his Uncle and helping him in his crimes. She fell to the floor, out cold.

“That’s not nice. She’s my nurse.” I looked at the man who I had seen from the previous vision but now he was walking and talking and Derek was scared. 

“She’s a psychotic bitch helping you kill people.” I looked at Stiles, “Get out of the way.” 

“Oh, damn…” Stiles squeaked. Derek launched himself at his uncle only to be grabbed and slammed into one wall and then another. Peter picked him up by the throat and slid him across the room on his back. I saw Peter’s attention go back to Stiles. Derek pushed himself up, punching Peter in the nose. It didn’t seem to phase him. Peter headbutted Derek and kicked him in the stomach. Sending him back into another wall. Pain spread through my back. But Derek still stood up, spitting blood. He threw punches at Peter but they were dodged, he grabbed Derek’s wrist and bent it back, fracturing it. He went down to his knees. Peter then grabbed him and threw him through a pane of glass.

I gasped and sat back, holding my arm tightly. It felt like it was broken but it wasn’t my arm that had been broken. It was Derek’s 

Out of the field, Coach called for a huddle. 

“Scott.” I tried to grab his attention, but from the looks he was giving Jackson, it meant that he probably knew something. 

“Let’s go! Huddle up! Let’s go! Big night! Big night! get in here, (Y/L/N).” Coach pulled my arm into the huddle. 

“Ready? Say it so they can hear it! Hands in!” We all put our hands in the middle of the circle, “What are we?”

“WE ARE LACROSSE!” They shouted. 

“All right, take the field! Let’s go!” Coach sent them out. It was too late to tell Scott who the alpha was and there was no way I could slip away to help without Coach noticing. Derek was getting his ass kicked and there was nothing I could do to help him. 

“You gotta get out of there. Grab Stiles and run.” I thought hard, hoping that I could send my thoughts to him. I heard nothing back so my heart sank even deeper.

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

Read part 8 here!

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[mansions-maiden]

Hiiii I'm your new follower xD

I love your writing esp mc birthday and that pool scenario 😂😂😂

May i ask something hilarious or whatever you can write ? xD my hubby is arthur. Maybe some funny scenario like mc and arthur switch body or something xD but it up to you hehehe

Btw nice to meet you ❤️❤️❤️

 here you go! Thank you so much for requesting this! it’s so precious and I had to admit , it was both hard and rewarding at the same time!  Hope it fits you imagination! nice to meet you too! ❤✨

 Arthur switching bodies with MC

the day before:

Arthur was there , with his big grin on his face as he invited his frenemy Theo and mc to the bar. “ what is the big deal? Why are you inviting me with you? “ mc asked Arthur as she gazed suspiciously at Arthur. “ I just want to treat you for helping me solve the cases! is it too much to ask? “ he asked with a confident grin. Mc sighed and they went to the bar. They drank to their heart’s content that night and went back to mansion and retired in their rooms

the next day:

[note: “Arthur(she) ‘ means that Arthur is in MC’s body and MC( he) means MC is in Arthur’s body. But the pronouns he and she refer to their original gender only throughout the story.   IF their normal names i.e. Arthur and mc are present, they are in their own bodies. ]

MC(he) woke up as soon as the morning rays spilt into the bedroom.  She  went to the bathroom to freshen up when suddenly her heart stopped beating for a second as soon as she looked at the mirror. Her eyes widened up as she saw her reflection in the mirror ! “ h- how ? wait- what is this!? “ she ran out of the bathroom in bewildered state.  Voila!  she was in Arthur’s room! She dashed out of the room and opened the doors of her room violently, only to find her physical body  sleeping there.  she  began to wake  ‘herself’  up violently. “Arthur ! Arthur! wake up ! “  

“ mmm.. who is mimicking my voice? And why am I standing there?? “ the voice  mumbled half asleep. but the drowsiness was gone as soon as they realized that their voice  was a  female voice.. “ wait! Why am I speaking like a girl?! I AM ARTHUR ! this is a dream right? “ Arthur spoke in MC’s voice , jolting up.

“thank goodness ! my speculation is right! you are Arthur!  it seem as if  our bodies have been switched ! “ MC spoke in Arthur’s voice . Arthur(she) and mc(he) looked at each other for a second to wrap their heads around the situation.

Then Arthur(she) showed a mischievous grin. “ Oh! If that’s the condition, now I am in your body!  Oh well, it’s gonna be a fun day! “ Arthur(she)  spoke as he sprang out of the bed and rushed out of the room. MC(he) ran after him to stop him .  “wait! we need to find a solution to this! we can’t be like this forever! “ she exclaimed.

“ oh c’mon MC! Can’t we have fun while we still can? It’s a now or never chance! “ Arthur(she) exclaimed while giving a wide grin. “ And I also wanna have a little fun with the residents” he continued.  

“ no- no. DON’T DO ANYTHING MISCHIEVOUS!  “  mc (he) exclaimed loudly. But alas! It was too late  for he was already running in the hallways.

Arthur(she) barged into comte’s room where he was talking with Leonardo.

Comte and Leonardo were visibly bewildered as they saw Arthur(she) in comte’s room. “ hey comte and Leo! Do you know who I am?”   “ MC? “ both leo and comte asked. “ voila! I’m here to greet you ! “  Arthur(she) chirped as he showed his tongue  out to them and went out of his room.  Comte and Leonardo looked at each other feeling confused.

“ Is she okay? Do you think she collided with the table or something? “ Leonardo asked  as he looked at comte. Comte couldn’t do anything but shrug his shoulders as he looked at the door Arthur(she) barged in from.

MC(he)  was there watching the craziness unfold in the mansion and facepalmed knowing there’s nothing she can do to stop Arthur(she) today..

MC(he) began walking down the hallways and that’s when Sebastian called out for her.  “ Sir Arthur! “ she didn’t respond.. “Arthur! Wait! This time you can’t escape from le comte! “ ‘wait what? why is he coming towards me?’ MC(he) thought as she looked around and then a gasp of realization escaped from her mouth “ Ahh! I am Arthur..” she sighed in resignation in turned around. “ Why is he calling for me ? “ MC(he) asked in a curious tone.  “ Did you forget?. I saw the blood stain on your shirt yesterday. you were drinking from the town women again. Weren’t you? “ Sebastian asked as he tapped his shoes against the wooden floor. ‘ oh right.. Now I gotta deal with this..’ MC(he) sighed again as she started heading towards comte’s room.  

She rapped the door promptly before getting a quiet “come in” voice from behind the door.  Comte stood up and came towards MC(he) and asked “ I refrained you from drinking from the townspeople frequently , didn’t I ? “ he asked as he studied mc(he) .

She opened her mouth and say that she wasn’t the one who did it. But then comte wouldn’t believe it. Unable to come up with an answer and embarrassment that  surfaced due to ‘his ‘ actions, mc(he)’s cheeks flushed a bright red.

“ Why are your cheeks red? Do you fever or anything? “ comte asked and stretched out his hand to check MC(he)'s temperature.  Feeling flustered, MC(he) quickly turned her head to the side.  

“ oh- it it’s nothing. Well then, I’ll tell Arthur not to drink from women again. “ she said unconsciously. “ wait what? “ comte asked again.

“ oh nothing. I said I would refrain myself from drinking from town people again.. “ she laughed nervously and dashed out of the room.

‘oh damn.. he’s been nothing but trouble since morning.. ‘ she mumbled leaning against the wall when she saw Theodorus coming towards her. “ oh yeah! Arthur drew sketches on Theo’s face when Theo passed out from drinking yesterday.. “ she clicked her tongue when Theodorus saw her.  mc(he) was about to turn back and run away when Theo exclaimed .

“ Arthur wait! I gotta teach you a lesson for messing with me! “  ‘ oh shoot! here goes nothing!’ mc(he)  began dashing off at the speed of light as Theo began running towards mc(he). Arthur(she) saw what was happening in the hallway and began laughing so hard he fell onto the ground. MC(he) glared at Arthur(she) as she was running and motioned her hand across her throat, a sign intended directly to Arthur(she). (sign showing that she’s gonna kill him)  But MC(he) was saved thanks to Vincent. She thanked Vincent as if her life has been granted again to live.

Later, Arthur (she) was searching the mansion for Mozart and Isaac. He found them both together in the library.  “ Hey Wolfie! And Newty! fancy meeting you both here. “  Mozart and Isaac were visibly displeased on hearing those names. “ MC? did you get hit by something? Or did Arthur tell you to call us with those names? “ both of them asked from the couch they were sitting on. “ C’mon now ! I wanted to call you both with those names for quite a time now, but today seems to be that day ! “ Arthur(she) said as he sat himself onto the sofa. 

 MC(he) was searching for Arthur(she) so that he doesn’t make things difficult for her further.  That’s when she found Leo and comte discussing something. she heard her name in the discussion. she got curious and asked what happened . comte said that mc was acting strange today and that mc was being mischievous. But they did love that side of her.  

MC, while listening to this, also decided to have some fun while she’s there in Arthur’s body.

Mc(he) began searching for Theodorus . When she found him, she went to him and said,  " Hey Theo, I wanna tell your brother how I drink from women tomorrow practically. He looked at the stain on my shirt curiously when I came back from my outing yesterday. What do you say? Should I teach him? " while winking at Theo.

Theo growled as he said, " don't you dare! " . " Aww c'mon buddy! Don't be so overprotective. I will tell him anytime tomorrow. " Mc(he) said as she patted Theo's shoulder and went away at the speed of light.

(Theo wanting to protect Vincent from world is cute and hilarious).

Meanwhile with Arthur(she):

Arthur never got a chance to tease Theo fully as he was always cautious around Arthur. So he decided to take advantage of the situation.

Arthur(she) took Leo's cat Lumiére along with him and went to find Theo.

" Theo! Look here! " Arthur (she) shouted as he found Theo in garden. As soon as Theo looked around, Arthur (she) released Lumiére onto Theo and Theo was on 'fight or flight mode' all of a sudden when Lumiére landed on him. He ended up crashing into the flower pots and got yeeted into the fountain. " Hondje! What the hell! Just wait there! " Theo exclaimed as he rose from the fountain, wet with the fountain water.

Arthur (she) was there on the grass rolling with laughter. But he started running off in mansion 's direction, still clutching his stomach and laughing hysterically when Theo started running towards him.

He stopped by comte’s room and told to comte, “ C- Comte. I wanted to tell you this for a long time..” he said as he fidgeted. “ What is it Cherie? “ comte asked with a curious gaze. “ I -I  have liked you since the day I saw you . But I didn’t know what to do with my feelings. I have tried so hard to deny, but I can’t deny it anymore. “ Arthur(she) said, trying to hide his laughter.

Comte was astounded by the confession.  “you’re kidding me right? “ comte asked as he stared at Arthur(she) .  “ No comte. I’m telling the truth. And now, I’m so embarrassed. I will go ! “ Arthur(she) came out of comte’s room and began laughing while mumbling, “ good luck dealing with comte tomorrow mc”.  still laughing, He went away.

The morning turned into afternoon as the weird atmosphere in the mansion can be felt by every resident. During lunch, every vampire was given rouge as usual. But today, everyone was looking at Arthur(she) as if he had grown horns on his head.

Arthur(she) , not giving a care, poured rouge into his glass up to the brim and began drinking it. Mc(he) was visibly cringing at the sight .

"Are you alright MC? Why are you drinking rouge despite being human? " Napoleon and Jean asked with concern. Arthur(she) then came to know what he had done and clicked his tongue.

"o-oh! I just wanted to taste it! Don't mind it at all. !" Arthur(she) exclaimed . Everyone shrugged and began eating. Vincent saw that MC(he) was looking a little uncomfortable. "Is everything alright Arthur? You look uncomfortable.." he asked.

" yeah I'm alright. It's just that I'm not feeling too good. " MC (he) told.

"something's definitely wrong with cherié and Arthur today. They're acting weird" Comte said.

“yeah, I can’t believe that she’s got guts to trick me” Theo scowled at Arthur(she) as he was eating.

"Today morning, MC came into Comte's room and showed tongue to us telling that it's her way of greeting us." Leonardo told and MC(he)'s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.  ( ‘I’m gonna make him pay’ ) MC (he) smiled to herself mischievously as she exactly knew what to do.

the day had passed by in a blink of an eye and all of them were retiring for sleep.

once back in Arthur’s room, MC(he) took out the rouge bottle that she had bought from the kitchen and smiled to herself  dangerously before falling into the bed and wandering off to dreamland.  (don’t worry. It’s not dangerous literally. But yeah, it is dangerous for  Arthur :P)

Next day:

Both of them woke up and found that they were back in their own bodies.

When Arthur came out, comte, while coming across him, saw Arthur and told, “ I see that you didn’t listen to me yet again. Now you don’t have permission to go out for the week. Only then you can stop drinking from people” Comte smiled a little and went away.

“ wait...What? But I didn’t go out yesterday at all! “ he said to himself and looked down. Then he found the blood stains on his shirt. “ Oh this little vixen! It seems as if she had spilt the rouge on purpose! “ he exclaimed with bewilderment.  Theo came to Arthur at that instant hearing his voice and shouted. “ hey Arthur! If  I found you were teaching such things to Vincent, I’m gonna throw you out  “ and went away. Arthur was still surprised by the things done by MC. 

MC was woken up by the gentle rapping of her room door. “ mm.. who is it? “ she asked in sleepy voice as she got the answer. “ It’s me comte. Can you open the door? “  she immediately straightened up her clothes and went to open the door. “  MC, I want to ask you something. “ comte asked with a hesitant voice.

MC: “what is it comte? “

comte:  “ Are you sure about the words you told yesterday? “

MC: “ what did I say? “

comte: “ what? you said that you had loved me right from the moment you me. didn’t you? “

Mc was astonished and she began blushing deep red.

MC: “ n-no comte. It wasn’t me.. It was Arthur. “   mc began explaining yesterday’s details to comte, from the moment they realized they had switched their bodies to  the night. Comte was relieved knowing nothing had happened.

comte: “ oh. That’s why you- I mean your apparent self was acting weird. Not that I dislike it though..” comte said as he laughed wholeheartedly and ruffled her  hair. 

And that’s how another mysterious day had passed at mansion.

[wiypt-writes]

Riding High

Ch14: True Perfection Has To Be Imperfect

Chapter Summary: Frank gets the keys to the new apartment and the renovations start. Everything seems to be going so well for them all, until Fliss gets some news that rocks the very foundations they’ve been building.

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings:  Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

 A/N: As always, if you like and enjoy please comment and Re-Blog. I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding High Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 13

 It’s your time, it’s your day, it’s never too late, to change lanes.

Frank could tell something was off the minute he pulled onto the yard. The usual chatter that rang out was absent and there just seemed a general air about the place that he couldn't identify. But it wasn't long before he found out why.

"Fliss is on the floor!" Mary’s voice loud with worry as she pointed into the paddock. Frank glanced over as he shut the door to his truck and felt himself grow cold. He broke into a jog, heading towards the fence and let out a sigh of relief when he saw she was moving.

“Wait here…” he instructed Mary before, with a flourish, he vaulted over the side of the paddock and jogged across the riding paddock.

 “What happened?” he asked.

 “Oh, hey Sailor!” Fliss grinned up at him, where she lay flat on her back, Thor led by her side, head on her thigh. “Just had a fall but everything’s working, just giving myself a minute to get my breath and what not.” “Nothing broken.” Joanne looked at Frank from where she knelt by Fliss, the reins to the big, black horse in her hands

Frank knelt down next to Fliss and looked at her as she reached out and gently ran her hand down his forearm. “How d’ya fall off?” “Oh Bronson got confused at the jump, was trying to dodge out to the right. I corrected him and he kind of took off, twisted mid-air and I got unseated.” she explained.

 “It was a pretty good show of acrobatics.” Joanne nodded in agreement.

 Thor gave a little whine and his head moved, his eyes looking up at Fliss who scratched his ear.

 “I’m ok, mate.” she said softly. “I’m good.”

 "This wouldn't happen on a boat ya know" Frank teased gently and she looked up at him, quirking an eyebrow as she propped herself up on her elbows.

 "Boats are boring...nothing like having a half tonne animal between your legs" she replied, causing him and Joanne to smirk.

“You’re terrible.” Joanne shook her head as Fliss simply grinned.

 “Okay, I’m good to go." Fliss sat up fully. Frank got up off his knees and held out his hand, gently pulling her to her feet. She dusted herself off and then turned to take Bronson's reins off Joanne.

 "Can you give me a leg up?" She asked and Frank felt his heart stop

 "You cannot be serious!" He spluttered back.

 "What?"

 “You’re getting back on?”

 “Yeah.” Fliss looked at Frank as if he was stupid “I’m not hurt, not really, just gonna ache like hell for a few days. It’s the same as riding a bike, you don’t stop if you fall off!” “It’s a little different to riding-“

“Besides,” she spoke over him, “he’ll be unsettled and if I don’t get on and end the session well it’s gonna be in his mind, and mine for that matter, for next time and it’ll just be a nightmare so…”

Frank knew there was no point in arguing with her. Instead he held his hands up and backed away as Joanne boosted her up.

“What happened?” Mary asked as he reached the paddock fence she was now perched sideways on, her legs hanging either side.

 “She fell off.” Frank answered simply. “She’s okay though. She’s back on.” They watched as Fliss gently walked the horse round before picking up trot, then canter and then turned him straight for the jump. Frank grimaced slightly but he needn’t have bothered, the horse cleared the fence and Fliss gently slowed him down, patting him.

 “Fucking crazy.” Frank mumbled to himself, shaking his head.

Whilst Fliss wasn’t seriously injured, she was certainly feeling the effects later on that night. Frank had called Verity, despite Fliss’ protests that she was fine, who had dropped round to Frank’s with some painkillers that were slightly stronger than your average ones. Fliss had taken two before dinner and as a result had started feeling a little bit woozy and light headed, commenting to Frank that it felt like she’d been smoking something funny. After diverting Mary’s questions on what that meant, they’d watched a bit of TV until Fliss announced she was thirsty.

 “I’ll get it.” Frank made to move but she stopped him.

 “I’m fine.” she sat up with a grimace, grabbing at her notoriously bad shoulder.

 “Baby, just-“ “Frank, stop it!” she said a little sternly. “I’ve fallen off more horses than you’ve had women.” “Wow.” he looked at her, and she snorted.

“I just mean it ain’t the first time and it sure as hell won’t be the last, kinda comes with the territory. I’m just gonna a bit bruised.”

 “Fine” he relented, and she pushed herself up off the sofa and walked slowly into the kitchen.

 A moment later he heard her groan “Fraaaaaaank.” “What?”

 “The soda’s on the top shelf. I can’t stretch my arm.” “What’s that? You do need my help?” “Stop being a dick.” she shot back, and with a wink at Mary who was laughing, he stood up and headed into the kitchen.

Not long after that they all ended up heading to bed. Frank knew that tomorrow was going to be a long day as he was getting the keys to the new apartment in the morning and they were starting the work straight away, Bill already scheduled to come and help. He’d booked as much time as he dared off work over the next week, given that he hadn’t been working there all that long but thankfully his Team Leader had been very understanding and Bill had said he’d take over on the days Frank had to be in.

Fliss stretched out, hissing at the bite of pain that coursed through her side and shoulder, the noise she made caused Thor to immediately spring up on the bed, nuzzling his face into Fliss' causing her to wince a little as he basically led over her like a huge teddy bear.

"Careful, buddy." Frank gently chastised the dog, reaching over to scratch his ears. He knew the animal was incredibly tuned into Fliss’ feelings, as were Cap and Heidi, the two horses she owned. It was something that genuinely amazed him and, if he was honest, made him smile a lot.

"Stupid soft git." Fliss muttered fondly, as Thor lay his head on her chest, teetering on the edge of the mattress, precariously, until a few seconds later he rolled and toppled off causing them both to giggle. The German shepherd shook himself off, shot them a scathing look, before he headed to his bed and flopped down with a loud huff.

"He didn't like it when you were on the floor before." Frank said softly, as she moved tenderly to lay her head on his chest. His hand reached round to card through her hair and down the side of her neck.

"No he never has." Fliss said gently "Ever since I got him he's been like that. He would always be the one that would lay by me, lick my face after...." she trailed off, the sentence didn’t need completing.  "He would growl something rotten at John when he started, but it was Loki that went for him in the end. That's why John killed him"

Frank stiffened, his hand stilling on the crown of her head, not quite sure he had heard right. "He killed your dog?" he repeated, questioningly.

"Yeah." Fliss swallowed. “He said he had bought him as a guard dog for the property not for me." She sniffed a little. "He poisoned him"

 "Oh, Lissy, I..." Frank sighed and she gently tangled her hand in the hair on his chest.

"I know."

 They lay still for a moment, her hand tracing shapes on his skin before she suddenly blurted out.

 "How do you do it? How do you make being with you so fucking easy?"

 "What?" Frank frowned.

 "This...I mean...you're kind, gentle, smart, funny, considerate. You know I’d half convinced myself you were gonna be crap in the sack to compensate it all but..." she shook her head. "I don’t get it."

"You don't get it because you spent almost four years living with a cunt who treat you like shit"  Frank said simply, anger flooding his system. “Lissy, I’m not perfect, far from it. I’m stubborn, opinionated, shit with words, I’m really untidy as you’ve noticed and, well, up until meeting you my longest relationship in the last ten years lasted for six months.” He shook his head. “All I do is treat you how you should be treated, with love and respect. Don’t put me on a fucking pedestal for being normal.”

She tilted her head and looked at him for a second, as Frank took a breath. That outburst had been a little uncalled for and harsher in tone than he’d meant, but he wanted her to understand that their relationship was normal. The way he treat her was normal. He was uncomfortable with this idea that she thought he was something special because he didn’t abuse her or hit her.

“I’m sorry I just…” he felt her stiffen besides him and he let out a soft sigh.

“No, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to sound so abrupt.” He gently pulled her closer and nuzzled his face into her hair, kissing her head “You’re worthy of everything I said as a bare minimum. It’s not me being some kind of saint.”

“Can I put you on a pedestal for being gorgeous?” she asked after a moment’s pause and Frank snorted, shaking his head. “Well you are.” She protested at his response. There was another pause, until she broke the silence once more. “I do get it you know. Maybe I do appreciate you more because you’re not like him but, is that so wrong?”

“I’m not saying that, we’re together, we should appreciate each other.” he pressed. “I’m just telling you I’m not flawless.” “I know that.” she shrugged “Neither of us are. But isn’t that what makes this so perfect? It is because it isn’t. Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without”

“Confucius.” Frank raised an eyebrow at her, a small smile on his face as she looked up at him once more. Her eyes flashed and she grinned at him “How very philosophical.”

 She laughed “We’ll you’d know all about that, Professor.”

“Okay, here’s another one of his.” Frank grinned back. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall…”

“See, I told you I was right to get back on Bronson.” she quipped and at that Frank laughed.

******

Fliss woke the next morning to Frank gently kissing her cheek, softly running his hand over her hair.

“Morning Sweetheart.” he placed a mug of coffee on the side as she blinked and looked at him “How you feeling?” “Fucking sore.” she groaned. “What time is it?” “Half eight. I just packed Mary off on the bus.” “Half eight?” she sat up suddenly, immediately regretting it and winced once more. “Fuck, my alarm”

“Yeah I turned it off. Think the last batch of painkillers you took at three am wiped you out.” he sat on the edge of the bed as she shuffled up. She made to reach for her drink and let out a little huff of pain so Frank stopped her and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” She smiled. “I’ll ease off when I start to move about.”

“Well, don’t rush about.” He instructed as she took a drink of her coffee, before he saw her face fall.

“Oh, shit. I have a lesson to give at ten in St Pete’s…” she frowned, and Frank could she she was starting to worry so he gently reached out, tucking her wild auburn locks behind her ear.

“Just chill.” He shushed her. “Joanne called before.” He nodded to her phone “I answered and told her I didn’t know if you were gonna be in but she said she’d open up and reschedule your morning appointments. Then you can see how you feel this afternoon.”

For a moment he thought she was going to flip out at him effectively making a decision like that for her but after a second or two pause she gave a grateful smile and sat back against the pillows.

“Thank you.”

“Take your time, your mom and dad will be here in a bit. Then we’re gonna get the keys and start on the apartment.” Fliss grinned as she took another drink of coffee.“You excited?” “Yeah, yeah I am.” He said, honestly. “Just wanna get it all started and then we can move in.” She smiled and he stood up. “Your mom’s bringing breakfast, said something about her boys not being able to work on an empty stomach.” He arched a brow. “Her boys?” Fliss smirked over her mug. “You really have got her wrapped around your finger.” He chuckled “Well what can I say, I’m a likeable guy…” “Hmmm you’re something I’ll give you that.” she quipped, and he laughed, placing a kiss on her cheek before heading back out of the room.

It wasn’t long before Fliss’ parents arrived and they ate breakfast, Verity fussing over Fliss who kept assuring her and her dad that they were fine. Once they’d eaten, Bill and Frank headed over to meet his new landlord and after he handed over the keys, they got to work. For their first task they shut the utilities off and ripped out the bathroom, which wasn’t too big a job seeing as half of the damned suite was smashed up anyway. Once that was done they moved into the living room and tossed out the tatty old furniture that had been left before doing their first run to the local dump. Then they moved onto ripping up the carpet in the living room.

“Shit!” Bill spluttered as a cloud of dust rose up from where they had wrenched the offending item free from the tacks. Frank blinked, backing up slightly, before he stood up, arm across his mouth. “Didn’t think it would be that bad.”

Bill rose to his feet and they both moved away, Frank picking up a bottle of water that was on the side and rinsing his face with it. He tossed it to Bill who did the same, the pair of them looking at one another before snorting a laugh each, and shaking their heads.

“And I thought this would be the easy bit.” Bill wiped his face. “Was less hassle ripping out the bathroom.”

 It took them an hour or so to cut the carpet into easily manageable pieces, rip it up, and toss it into the back of their trucks. By now it was scorching outside, and also inside as the air con wasn’t on seeing as they had no power. This meant both men were dripping with sweat and Frank couldn’t remember ever feeling so damned warm or grubby in his entire life.

 By lunch time they’d pretty much cleared the lot. Carpets, broken light fittings, broken kitchen doors and also the old washing machine. Grabbing another bottle of water, Frank stood outside the apartment, hand on his hips and smiled at Bill who gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“Good job, son.” he nodded. “It’s a blank canvas now. Dave will be here soon with the new bathroom, shouldn’t take us too long to plumb it all in, connections are already there. We can start the tiling tomorrow.”

Frank smiled and grabbed his T-shirt at the bottom, lifting it up to wipe at his face and as he did so he heard a sharp wolf whistle. When he emerged from his shirt he grinned and looked at Fliss who was slowly walking towards them with Verity, Thor following behind, both women carried familiar paper bags.

Frank made his way over and she stopped, where as Verity carried on, quite tactfully towards Bill and Fliss grinned.

“Hey.” she greeted him as he leaned down to give her a kiss and she wrinkled her face. “Gross, you’re all filthy and sweaty and…” She trailed off, her eyes glinting as her voice dropped slightly and she ran a hand up his arm to his shoulder “Actually…” “Behave.” he raised his eyebrow at her.

“Don’t wanna.” she pouted.

 He shook his head and nodded to the bag. “You bring me lunch, Honey?”

 “You need to keep your strength up.” She winked. “Mom drove us to Subway.” “I love you Verity!” Frank called as he fished out his Turkey sub and she grinned at him.

The four of them settled down where they could, Fliss sitting on the steps, Frank by her feet on the lawn and Bill and Verity perched on the tail of Bill’s truck. They ate together, Fliss telling Frank she’d postponed her teaching now until Monday to allow herself time to heal a little, which he was secretly pleased about. It wasn’t long after they had finished lunch that the new bathroom turned up the women left them to it.

Frank and Bill worked well together and between the two of them they had it fit in little under two hours and Bill connected the water back up to test it. When it worked properly Frank gave a nod of satisfaction and smiled. The suite was an off white colour, nice and with a modern large bath. It might have been second hand but you couldn’t tell, and Frank liked it.

“Not bad for a day’s work.” Bill smiled. “The tiling shouldn’t take too long tomorrow and then, well, it’s just a case of decorating and a new carpet.” At that point the two men heard footsteps and looked up to see Mary bounding in, followed by Fliss and Verity.

“Hey Stack.” Frank greeted her as she looked around. “Whaddya think so far?” Mary nodded appreciatively. “Least it has a toilet.” The adults laughed and Frank nodded “Yeah, I mean we can move in now.” “What?” she frowned “There’s no carpet in the living room!”

 “I was being sarcastic.” Frank replied and she narrowed her eyes at him.

 “Roberta says sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.”

“Well, she’d know.” he shrugged.

 “Am I staying there tonight?” She questioned Frank.

“It’s up to you.” he replied “We’re not going out are we, Honey?”

Fliss shook her head “No way, I ache too much, but I was thinking we could BBQ maybe? All of us?” “Ooooh, yeah!” Mary nodded, agreeably “Then Roberta can come too.” Frank shrugged “Yeah, I’m ok with that.” “Mum, Dad?” Fliss asked.

 Verity and Bill exchanged looks and Bill nodded. “I need to nip home and shower first but…” “No need.” Fliss shook her head. “We swung by and picked you a spare change up. You can shower at Frank’s.” “Oh can I?” Bill looked at her. She grinned back in response as Bill turned to Frank “That okay? You know, seeing as it’s your place, not hers.” Fliss stuck her tongue out at her father whilst Frank simply shrugged.

“She acts like she owns the damned place when she’s there anyway so it might as well be.” he teased and she glared at him, digging him in the ribs.

 “Shut up”

*****

The next ten days consisted much in the same vein. Frank had to work on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but Bill took over the painting for him, and then on the Friday, a week after they had started, they fit the new carpets. The Saturday they spent fixing on the new kitchen doors and plumbing in the washing machine and on Sunday morning Frank fit the final touches, screwing in the new light fittings and then it was done.

That afternoon, Frank and Fliss stood in the middle of the living room admiring the finished article. It smelt of new carpet and wet paint, a smell Frank had grown immune to having been breathing it in for god knows how long.

 “It looks great.” Fliss smiled, taking the fresh, light grey walls, darker grey carpet which was complemented by the brushed steel modern light fittings.

 “Yeah, not a bad job.” Frank grinned. “We can start moving the stuff over tomorrow.” At that point Mary barrelled in from the hallway and beamed “My room looks awesome, Fliss, come see!” She gushed. Fliss allowed Mary to pull her out of the living room and followed her down the hall to the room on the right. It was a good sized bedroom, and it was freshly painted in light blue, a colour Mary had chosen herself.

 “Frank says I’m getting a new cabin bed soon with a desk underneath and I’m gonna put it against that wall.” She rambled on. “And on that wall I’m gonna stick my shells and there I’m gonna have my shelves for my books and a TV…” Frank leaned in the doorway watching as Mary pointed everything out to Fliss, his face curling into a smile. He’d never thought something so simple as having her own room would make the girl so damned happy.

 “…and Fred can have his own basket, although he never sleeps in them anyway…” Mary was continuing and Fliss looked up and caught Frank’s eye. He smiled at her gently and she beamed back.  “…and I can put my photos here…”  Mary finished “What do you think?” “I think it sounds amazing, Stack.” Fliss said, smiling at her “I can’t wait to see it all finished.” “Okay.” Frank pushed himself up straight from the door frame “Let’s go grab your stuff Stack and head over to find out what V’s made for dinner.” “I hope it’s beef.” Mary said, skipping out “Her Sunday beef is the best.” “It’s chicken.” Fliss whispered as Frank laughed, dropping an arm round her shoulders as they made their way outside. He locked the door and they headed back to the apartment, Mary collecting her stuff. Once Frank had checked she had everything she needed he tossed it into the truck and turned to Fliss.

“I’ve been thinking.” he said, as Mary climbed into the seat.

“Sounds dangerous.” Frank rolled his eyes “I know we said we weren’t gonna move in together yet, but, well, how about you bring some stuff over once I’ve got all the bedroom furniture and then that way you don’t need to pack a bag when you come stay.” Fliss smiled at him. “A sensible suggestion.” she agreed, her arms sliding around his neck.

“It has been known.” He grinned, his hands dropping to her hips as he leaned down to kiss her. They both jumped as the horn on the truck sounded and Mary leaned across the seats.

“Come on, stop kissing, I’m hungry.” “How about we ditch her on the side of the road?” Frank spoke loudly to Fliss and Mary scoffed.

“Stop making empty threats, Frank.” she sing songed.

Frank looked at Fliss who burst out laughing “You have no idea how damned similar the pair of you are.” She smiled with a shake of her head. *******

 It was almost a fortnight later when Mary casually told Frank she had reached her decision about Evelyn. It was a Friday and she had been at University for two classes that morning, and was heading to normal school for the rest of the afternoon. Part of the reason that Frank worked late on a Tuesday was so that he could be flexible when it came to things like this and could pop out for an hour or so to go and pick her up when he needed to.

He greeted her in the hallway as always and she slipped her little hand into his as they walked back outside and over to his truck. She glanced in the paper bag which contained her lunch he had bought her from the deli near the boat store, a treat he liked to get her every Friday now he could happily afford it without worrying and she grinned.

 “Save it for when you get to School. Otherwise everyone else will be eating and you won’t.” She folded the top of the paper bag over and grinned at him as he eased his way up the freeway.

“You drive like an old lady.” she grinned and Frank took a deep breath, a smirk on his face. That was a comment Fliss had made to him on numerous occasions, one which he normally retorted back with some reference to her driving like a maniac.

“It's Florida. I'm blending in.” He said simply to Mary, smile still playing on his lips. She side-eyed him for a moment, in a way that made her look ridiculously like Diane, even though he knew, again, that was a habit she’d picked up from Fliss. Or Roberta for that matter. Frank had a feeling that as Mary grew up she was going to be a perfect candidate for the whole nature v nurture debate…

“I talked to Fliss last night.” Mary said.

“I know, you stole the phone off me when she called and ran off to your room.”

“Yeah, why didn’t she stay with us last night?” “It’s Thursday, she never stays on a Thursday. You know this. She had paper work to do.” Mary fell silent.

“What were you going to say?” Frank gently pressed her.

“Huh?” “You said you talked to Fliss. Was that all you wanted to tell me or…” “Oh, no.” Mary replied “I asked her about whether I should see Evelyn.”

Frank took a deep breath, his face remaining passive “Right, so what did she say?” “The same as you. That it was my decision and whatever I wanted everyone would understand and be okay with it and that no one would be mad…”

“Of course no one will be mad.” Frank looked at her. “Evelyn is your grandmother, and it’s your decision if you wanna see her. Not mine, not the courts, not anybody’s but yours. And no one, not even me, is gonna be upset about what you decide, you got that?” “I know. And I’ve made up my mind.” “Yeah?” She nodded “I want to see her.” “Okay.” Frank licked his lips. Truth be told he wasn’t sure how he felt about this but he meant what he said. It was up to Mary and at least now he would have some control over the access. “If you’re sure then I’ll call her on Monday and we’ll make some arrangements.” “Maybe she can come here, see our new place.” “Maybe.” Frank nodded, although he had a feeling that hell freezing over would be more likely.

There was a moment’s silence as both of them were lost in their own thoughts. Frank stole a glance at his niece as she sat looking out of the window, chewing her lip and he decided to move her away from the subject as he turned off the main road.

“How was school?”

“Fun.” Mary nodded. “Not like regular school fun. But interesting.”

Fun. Regular. Two words Frank had craved for Mary all her damned life, and it made him smile to hear her so full of life, so happy, so settled.

Mary’s attention flickered from him to the seat next to her and she moved her lunch bag to look at it.

“What is this book?” she asked, picking it up and flicking it open.

“Discourse on Method.” Frank said, giving her the title of his latest read “Rene Descartes.”

“What's it about?” she pressed.

“Existence.”

“Existence?”

“Yup. I think, therefore I am” he said, a small smile on his face.

“Well, of course you are. That's obvious.” Marry rolled her eyes and Frank supressed a snort. Everything was so logical in her little brain, there was an innocence to it all that he loved.

“I think about Fred, therefore, I am Fred.” she continued.

“Cogito ergo Fred?” Frank teased looking at her.

“He's a dude and he's a guy,” Mary grinned, “and he only has one eye.”

Frank let out a chuckle as Mary tipped her head back and continued in a loud, ridiculous voice.

“Fred! Fred! Fred! Freeeeddddyyyy, Fred, Fred!”

Frank laughed began to slow down, pulling up by the school.

“All right, here we are.” He glanced over and saw Mary was fiddling with her belt and opening the door. “Hey, wait till I come to a stop…” he started to protest.

“Then come to a stop already!” Without so much as a glance back she grabbed her lunch and shot over to the playground which was brimming with other kids. He watched, a small smile playing on his face as she made her way over, dropping her lunch to the floor and throwing herself into a game. Something that he would never have believed possible back in September when she’d first started. But here she was, almost seven months later, like she’d been there all her life. His attention flicked to Bonnie as the woman shot him a friendly wave and a nod, which he returned before he set off back to work before someone called the cops on him for sitting outside a school staring at a yard full of kids.

****

As he was winding up at work for the day, Jake called him, an impromptu guys night out was being organised for that night as Jake had a ‘pass out’, his words not Frank’s. Frank hesitated for a moment, he hadn’t planned anything with Fliss as such, but it was Friday, their night…

“Oh come on!” Jake snorted as Frank rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me Frank Adler is hesitating over a night out!”

“No, it’s not that…” Frank protested “We’ve just had a really busy fortnight and…” “Man you’re whipped. Already. What is this? Like month five and you’re already in the-”

“I’m not whipped, I just like spending time with my girl, what’s wrong with that?”

“Dude come on!”

“Okay, okay.” Frank sighed. “What time?” “Eight at Fergs, and if you don’t show I’m gonna come round your gaff and drag you out myself.”

Frank shook his head and cut the call before he dialled Fliss.

“Hey, Sailor.” She greeted. “I was just thinking about you.”

“About me or that thing I did to you on Wednesday night?” he grinned and she snorted.

“No, about you. Although now I’m thinking about that thing.”

Frank chuckled. “So what were you thinking about?”

“Oh, erm, tonight. Thought we could grab a pizza and head up to the marina for a walk, maybe grab a beer.”

“Erm, yeah.” He sighed. Shit.

“We don’t have to.” She responded, clearly reading his voice tone. “It was just an idea.”

“No, I do, I just….” He took a deep breath. “Well, Jake called, said the guys are going for beers and it’s been a while since we all got together so I was…” “Frank…” Fliss laughed softly “You don’t need to justify yourself. If you wanna go out, go out.” “You don’t mind?”

“Why would I mind?”

“Well, Fridays are kinda our night.”

“I know but, well it’s not as much of a big thing now Mary has her own room, we kinda get our own nights a bit more often.” “Ok, fair point.” he smiled and she laughed.

“Maybe I can wait for you at yours? I can go to Roberta’s for a little while with Mary.” “You don’t have to ask.” Frank smiled softly “You can stay whenever you want, you know that.”

“Well, that’s settled then.” she replied, before someone shouted to her and she retorted before coming back to Frank “Sorry baby, I gotta go but I’ll see you later.” “Ok, love you.” “You too…”

***** After Frank headed out, Fliss wandered down to Roberta’s with a bottle of wine and after more loud hairbrush-karaoke, Roberta had cracked open the Bourbon and the two women had sat on the stoop until just gone eleven when Fliss had headed back. Throwing on one of Frank’s T-shirts she crawled into the king sized bed (an excellent purchase decision that she had talked him into) and snuggled down into the new blankets (another excellent purchase decision), Thor jumping up and taking his position by her feet.

She can’t have been asleep long when she woke as Thor gave a low whine and jumped off the bed, nudging the door open and heading out into the hallway.

Then she heard a thud, followed by cursing.

“Shit. Who put that there?” She heard Frank groan, then he started laughing “Thor! Get down!”

There was more laughing, and protests which Fliss listened to for a moment, before she swung her legs out of bed and headed down the short hallway. She quickly checked the front door as she walked past to make sure he’d locked it behind him, and then headed into the living room to find Frank led on the floor as Thor basically jumped all over him, licking his face and wagging his tail.

“Some guard dog you are.” Frank laughed again as he attempted to push the dog off him.

“Good job you’re not a burglar then.” Fliss spoke, causing Frank to look up, grinning stupidly at her “Mind you, the amount of noise you’re making you’d be a pretty shit one…”

“Heeey…” he grinned, as Thor finally moved off him and he pushed himself to his feet. “There you are!”

“Here I am.” Fliss nodded, and she couldn’t help but smile at the look on his face. He was beaming at her, a stark contrast to how John was when he used to come home drunk, but then that was Frank all over, a completely different person, and she knew that.

“There you are, my girl.” He stopped in front of her, his hands falling to her hips. “C’mere…”

“Ok, someone had a good night.” She grinned as he placed a sloppy kiss on her lips.

“Yeah, it was.” He nodded and then he suddenly looked around “So the bedroom moved.” he turned back to her and whispered conspiratorially. “It’s not where it usually is...”

“No, you moved.” She laughed. “You moved apartments, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” He nodded, before he looked down at her, taking in her bare legs “Is that my T-shirt?”

“Yes.” “Take it off, thief.” “Okay, let’s get you to bed.” Fliss patted his chest.

“Yeah?” He arched his eyebrow grinning.

“To sleep.”

“No sleep.” He pouted, dropping his head to gently nuzzle at her neck. “Wanna give you some lovin’...”

“Yeah and how are you gonna do that when you’re too drunk to take your pants off?” Fliss laughed as she led him down the hallway.

“You can take em off…” He said as he stopped in the bedroom, looking round.

“Oh I can, can I?” She asked as he kicked off his sneakers.

“Yes…” he nodded as he sat on the bed. “I’ll allow it.”

“You'll allow it?” Fliss deadpanned as he started to undo the buttons on his shirt. Eventually he gave up and reached back, grabbing it behind his neck and with a tug pulled it over his head, tossing it to the side. He reached out to Fliss, pulling her close to him, his arms wrapping around her back as he looked up at her.

“I will allow it, but only because I love you.”

“Ok so let me get this straight.” Fliss chuckled as she ran her hand through his hair. “You're gonna let me take your pants off because you love me?”

 “Yeah.” He nodded.

 “I'm so lucky…” She snorted

 “Hey, I’m a catch…” Frank let go of her and flopped back on the bed.

 “I never said otherwise.” she grinned, moving to take his belt off.

“Ah ha ha see, you do wanna get in my pants.” “I want to get you in bed, so help me out here hot-shot.” With a grin Frank raised his hips and she tugged down his jeans, dropping them by the side of the bed.

“Come on…” she patted the pillows and Frank shifted, moving the right way onto the bed and after a bit of a battle with the covers he’d settled himself down, one arm thrown over his head as he watched Fliss who gently turned off the lamp and settled down next to him. Shifting onto his side, his hand gently ran up her thigh, resting on her hip underneath his T-shirt.

 “I love you.” He said softly, and she smiled and kissed the tip of his nose.

“I love you too.” she smiled “Even when you’re being a drunken idiot.” “I’m not drunk.” “Course not.” “Okay, maybe just a little bit.” he conceded after a moment. “But I do love you.” “I believe you.”

“So much, you know what? One day, I’m gonna marry you.”

 “Oh, are you?” Fliss asked, running her hand through his hair.

 “Yup, and then we’re gonna make little Franks and Flisses and…” he stopped as Fliss’ laughter filled the room. “Why are you laughing?” he asked her, his tone indignant “You don’t wanna marry me and make babies?”

 “Not after us being together for like less than 6 months.” she laughed.

 “Well that’s just rude…” he mumbled, dropping his head forward so it fell to her chest.

He stayed still for a moment, mumbling something else as Fliss continued to run her hands through her hair, and it wasn’t long before his soft snores told her he was asleep. With a fond smile she dropped a kiss to his head and closed her eyes.

*****

Fliss took great delight the next morning in telling Frank exactly how much shit he’d been talking when he came home, including telling her that he wanted to marry her and make babies. He’d groaned and banged his head on the table as he sat nursing a coffee, instantly regretting that as his head was pounding as it was. Thankfully, Mary had gone with Fliss to the yard and spent most of the day there leaving him to suffer in peace, firing abuse to the Circle Of Trust What’s-app group, his only slight consolation being they all seemed to be suffering just as much as he was.

He collapsed into bed on the Saturday at just gone ten pm and slept straight through to eight the next morning when he was woken by Fliss softly kissing him awake. He knew what she wanted, and happily obliged and once they were both spent and slightly sweaty from a particularly energetic sex session, they both showered and after a breakfast of Waffles and fruit, spent the rest of the morning browsing the IKEA website for a bed for Mary. They then headed over to Bill and Verity’s for the usual dinner before they’d all collapsed in bed at Fliss’ after watching a film together.

 Monday morning brought the usual routine, shower, breakfast, kiss Fliss goodbye, drop Mary at school, head to work, check the list of active jobs for the week, start one of said active jobs, pause for a mid-morning snack from the coffee shop, resume work. All standard stuff, so it was a little surprising when the routine of the day was broken.

“Frank?”

Frank popped his head up from the deck of the boat where he’d been working on the steering column and looked at Fliss who was stood in the open entrance to the workshop.

“Hey…” he smiled, “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you but…”

Because he was, he was always happy to see her, he was simply surprised as they hadn’t arranged to meet for lunch like they sometimes did if she was teaching over this way. He stood up and reached for a cloth to wipe his hands on before he climbed down from the boat and as he noticed the look on her face he frowned.

“Baby, what’s the matter?”

 “I err…I got a call and I’m sorry, I didn’t know what to do and I just needed to see you and…”

 “Hey, hey.” he soothed, his hands on her arms “Calm down.”

She took a deep breath as Frank glanced over to Paul, his co-worker and nodded his head to signal he was heading outside. Paul waved him away and Frank dropped an arm round Fliss’ shoulder and steered her outside into the sun and out of the view of everyone.

 “What’s wrong?” he asked her and she nodded, taking a deep breath. He could see she’d been crying and he searched her eyes with his own as she looked at him.

 “I got a phone call…from the Victim Assistance Services.” Her eyes were wide “John’s been granted the right to a Parole hearing. They’ve set the date for 23rd May, six weeks.” Frank took a deep breath, concentrating on keeping calm despite the fact he could quite happily have kicked something there and then.

 “I don’t know why I’m so shocked.” Fliss continued “I mean I always knew this would happen, but hearing that he’s finally got a date...” she looked at Frank “If he’s successful, then he could be out by the end of June and…”

“Honey, just because he’s been given the right to a hearing, doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to get out.” “The woman on the phone said that there’s a better chance that it will be refused if I appeal. But if I want to do that then I’ll have to either go in person or do a written or recorded statement and I don’t know if I can…” A tear fell from her eye and Frank gently wrapped her arms around her, pulling her to him. “I stood in a courtroom last time, telling them exactly what he did to me, about how he beat me and degraded me, only to be told I that I was a liar, and that I liked it rough, that I egged him on and… I can’t….I can’t do that again Frank…”

 She was rambling into his chest and he could do nothing but pull her close and drop a kiss to her head.

“No one’s gonna make you do anything you don’t wanna.” he pulled away slightly, cupping her face in her hands.

“They’re sending me a letter.” she said “Explaining my rights and stuff in more detail.” “Want me to call Greg?” He asked, a sudden inspiration coming to him. “I know he’s a Family lawyer now but he did do some time with this type of thing a while back, if you’re happy to speak to him I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to help…”

 “I don’t know if I can.” she sniffed. “I don’t know if want him knowing every detail, I mean even you don’t know it all…” “I know.” he agreed. “And you don’t have to tell him anything to start off with, just ask his advice.” 

She sniffed gently, and looked at him. “I have to tell you don’t I?” She said softly, “All of it?”

Frank hesitated. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but if this was going the way it looked like it was going to go, he would find out sooner or later, and, as he looked at Fliss, he knew that no matter how hard it was, how shitty it was going to be to open up fully, she would need to do that herself to keep some control over the situation.

“You don’t have to do anything. But if you decide you want to, then I’ll listen.” 

He dropped a kiss to her head and pulled her back to him, gently rocking her to-and-fro as he squinted out over the harbour. 

**** Chapter 15

[antoni-anxiety]

Tommy is babey, literally tho

3RD PERSON POV- WITH TOMMY

Run. Run. Run was all that could go through his mind right now. Dream was chasing Tommy. Tommy just wanted to get away from there. Dream blew up Logstedshire; Tommy had nothing to lose, apart from his life apparently, which was what he was running for right now. After about 15 minutes of a very close chase between Tommy and Dream, Tommy seemed to outrun the elder, which he was ever so thankful for.

After running so far, Tommy was exhausted and rightfully so; he almost just died. He was so, so cold, he was stuck, surrounded by snow. The boy decided to walk north for a bit further, in hopes that he would find rescue, and just as he hoped, he did. In the distance, he saw a small spruce cottage, with smoke erupting from the chimney, signaling that someone lived there; whoever it was, Tommy prayed that it wasn’t Dream. Uh oh. His vision became dotted and he could barely see, that probably wasn’t good. Right as he reached the front door and was about to knock, his legs collapsed and his mind went blank. He had passed out.

3RD PERSON POV- WITH TECHNO

Technoblade finally had some time to himself. He’s been busy breeding the hounds and organising all day and he hadn’t had much time to relax in a while, and therefore he was now all cozy next to his fireplace, reading some books on greek mythology. He was pretty relaxed, well, until he heard a thud at his front door that is. He contemplated leaving it however his curiosity got the better of him. As he opened his door, he saw someone laying on the front step, ‘There’s no way that they’re older than 16.’ he thought to himself. Now, Techno is a ‘lone wolf’ as some might call it but he wasn’t gonna let some malnourished kid freeze to death on his front step. The man maneuvered the boy from outside onto his small couch; now that he got a better look at the boy, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

This frail, skinny boy was his younger brother. Worry filled Techno’s eyes, even though he pretended that the younger annoyed him ever so much, he had a soft spot for him, the kid could brighten anyone’s day by just saying hello. He had no idea what happened but that kid who was a ray of sunshine suddenly looked as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks and if anyone were to merely touch him, he’d crumble right then and there on the spot. Techno didn’t really know what to do except make Tommy comfortable until he woke up, and once he did, he’d ask him about everything. Techno couldn’t help but wonder what Tommy had gone through before he was there, ofcourse, he knew about Tommy’s exile but if it was like when he was exiled for the first time, Tommy wouldn’t be like this. Techno scoured his mind for what he knew of Tommy’s latest exile; Dream was to look after him, well clearly he wasn’t doing a good job. Oh fuck. Dream must have been abusing his little brother. With that thought, Techno stood up in rage. He was gonna kill that green bastard. That was until he heard stirring and a small whine from the couch. Whipping his head around, he saw Tommy try to sit up and ran over to him. The second that Tommy saw him he immediately started panicking. Techno being the awkward man he is, hugged Tommy in attempt to calm him down. This was gonna be a long night.

3RD PERSON POV- WITH TOMMY

Tommy opened his eyes to be in an unfamiliar place, so of course, his first instinct was to panic. He sat up as quickly as he could and looked around, he saw his older brother approach him. Still in his tired state, his mind was all over the place and all that was going through his mind was ‘POSSIBLE DANGER. RUN’. Before he could process what to do and where to go, Techno had seemingly sensed his anxiety and hugged him tightly. The physical affection seemed to do its job and calm the younger down but it also made him feel loved, something he hadn’t felt in such a long time. The overwhelming emotions made the boy burst into tears, something in his mind seemed to shift, it made him feel younger. However, that was utterly absurd, it must’ve been the stress getting to him. Oh no. Tommy realised what was happening, he almost forgot that he used to do this to cope during all the wars. Of course, nobody knew about it, he’d be caught dead before he let anyone know he regresses; however, his mind was too foggy right now to tell what was happening and therefore reciprocated the hug. Techno was surprisingly a good hugger, and when he finally let go after 5 minutes of a silent hug, only filled with Tommy’s little sniffles, the younger slightly whined at the loss of the calming touch. When Techno looked at Tommy’s eyes, something about them was.. different. They were filled with a somewhat childish innocence which made Techno suddenly feel so protective of him. Tommy seemed to come to his senses and tried to get out of headspace, which he somewhat succeeded at, and immediately apologised to his big brother. ‘I’m s-so sorry Techno- fuck- Imma go, imma go now,’’, Techno was now worried for his baby brother so he couldn’t let him get off the hook so easily. ‘Hey, Toms you’re not going anywhere, you’re clearly ill and I’m worried, tell me what’s going on, hm? You usually wouldn’t burst into tears just like that..’ Techno stated with clear worry in his voice. Tommy was contemplating just lying to Techno but he knew that it wouldn’t work. For someone who barely socialises, Techno is really good at reading people just like open books, so Tommy decided to, reluctantly, tell him about his regression above all of his other issues, seeing as he was already on the verge of regressing again. ‘Uh so about the crying thing.. have you ever heard of fuckin.. Age regression or little space of some sort?’ Tommy just hoped that this wouldn’t go badly. Techno of course, read a lot, so he had the general grasp of what Tommy was talking about, he guessed that his little brother regressed, and he couldn’t lie, just the thought of it was utterly adorable. The piglin hybrid noticed that he hadn’t actually answered Tommy’s question and nodded, ‘So.. you regress? I know a little bit about this stuff, do you wanna be little?’. If he was being completely honest, Tommy had no idea that Techno would be acting this accepting and.. caring? He subconsciously made the choice that Techno was friendly and it was okay to regress around him, and he gave a small nod, on the edge of completely slipping.

3RD PERSON POV- WITH TECHNO

Techno sat himself comfortably next to the younger boy, looking at him in awe; the boy was only 16 and he’d gone through multiple wars and several betrayals, he was so very strong, Techno couldn’t even begin to describe how proud he was. ‘Hey buddy how old are you feeling?’, Techno got a reply of Tommy shying away into his hands and raising 3 fingers. ‘Very small then hm? We should get you into something into a bit more warm, you look quite chilly buddy.’, Tommy made grabby hands at Techno and how could he deny such an adorable request? Techno lifted the skinny boy and brought him to his bedroom, placing him on his bed. Techno once again couldn’t help but get upset once again that his former friend hurt his baby brother; Tommy could have gotten frostbite or hypothermia with the tattered, thin clothes he had been wearing in such a cold biome. Techno finally fished out some joggers and a red hoodie he hadn’t worn in a long time. When he turned back from his closet to his bed, the sight he was met with nearly gave him a heart attack with how pure and adorable it was. Tommy was sat on the bed, knees tucked to his chest and played with his fingers softly, a tiny smile painted on his face. Sadly, this is the happiest Techno had seen Tommy in months, or years even. Techno sat on the bed, next to his younger brother, and helped him get dressed, slowly and carefully, making sure that he didn’t startle the baby. Techno picked Tommy back up and placed him back on the sofa; the two were just cuddling, that is until they heard the front door open. Tommy curled himself into a ball, while Techno protectively placed himself in front of him. The older was slightly relieved to see Phil in the doorframe, however he didn’t know how their father would react to Tommy’s regression, or whether Tommy would even want him to know: Techno could tell that Tommy was very shy and secretive about it. ‘Hey Techno, mate, who’s that?’ Phil asked, clueless about the stress that his sons were in because of his presence. Techno was almost physically sweating with the pressure being put on him, he awkwardly replied ‘Oh uh, hey Phil,’ Techno looked to Tommy who looked terrified. ‘Hey Toms? It’s just Phil, you’re okay..’ Techno whispered to the boy in attempt to calm him down; it seemed to work quite a bit. Unfortunately for the boys, Phil heard what Techno said and jumped at the opportunity to talk to his youngest son, ‘Did you say Tommy? Hello Toms, what’s up?’. Tommy froze and slowly looked up at his dad, tears gathering up in his eyes, Techno noticed and went to comfort his little brother. Phil was beyond confused, and did what anyone would do, ask what was going on. Techno looked to Tommy for approval before telling their dad, to which the boy nodded. With the knowledge Techno had gathered, he tried his best to answer Phil’s question; Phil is a nice guy, he helps anyone who needs it, and so he knew of quite a few coping mechanisms, and this was one of them. The eldest seemed to grasp onto the idea surprisingly quickly, and was immediately helping Techno coddle the younger. Neither of them could deny, the baby was adorable, babbling to himself and chewing on his fingers, which wasn’t exactly sanitary but adorable nonetheless. With the three being fully aware that Ghostbur wouldn’t mind this version of Tommy, and would have fun taking care of Tommy, Techno and Phil couldn’t help but hope that their family could grow close once again. Philza was sure to never let his baby boys go again, they would all rekindle their relationship with each other day by day, and soon were a fully functioning family once again.

[mollymauk-teafleak]

just as much as all those years ago

Please consider reblogging and leaving a comment over on Ao3!

This is for my ever wonderful girlfriend @spiky-lesbian who is just the Best and will always be the absolute Best and I love her very much. Returning to my favourite comfort AU and of course it’s angst I write.

Trigger warnings: descriptions of an injury, specifically a burn

--------

Memories were funny things for Juno Steel.

They came when he didn’t call them and hadn’t asked for them. When he needed them, he couldn’t find them, only the ragged edged gaps where they’d once been. And they were never whole either. They came as sounds, one random lyric from a song his brother used to warm up to or the sound of his mother’s footsteps in the hall or the way the coffee maker in the HCPD had always sputtered close to the end of its cycle. They came as smells, Buddy’s hairspray or the way the hallways had reeked in his old high school, the milky smell of when his babies had been brand new or Rita’s goddamn salmon things. They were fractured and jumbled and awkward to hold.

And they were so hard to tell from reality. One moment Juno was up to his elbows in soapy water, taking advantage of the boys actually going to bed at a reasonable time to get the dinner dishes done. He was whistling a song that had been on the radio as he’d driven back from the office, tapping the hell of his bare foot against the tiles in time with the beat that existed only in his head. He was tired, he had a few new aches to catalogue and he was perfectly happy.

And the next moment his nose was full of burning ozone, scorched fabric, heat and blood.

Juno froze, hands stilling and letting the plate he’d been soaping drop back into the water. Suddenly he was pulled into a handful of times and places at once. He was at the practise range at the academy, he was trying not to be sick the first time a perp had shot at him, he was pounding on his brother’s bedroom door and begging him to answer, he was lying on the floor of the Carte Blanche and seeing Sasha shake, he was a cop, he was a kid, he was a pirate, he was a twin without a brother. All because of a smell in the air.

And he might have shook himself, pushed it all away and told himself not to be an idiot if he hadn’t heard the voice and realised it wasn’t a memory.

“Mama? I...I’m sorry…”

It wasn’t a memory. Juno whirled, eye wide, heart no closer to restarting in his chest. His oldest daughter stood just behind him, holding her arm tightly with a hand that trembled, with skin that was ashen and a face wet with tears. His old coat was black from elbow to shoulder, one stripe of it completely gone and giving a glimpse of raw, red skin. A laser burn from a distance, it had just glanced off her but it was enough.

She looked so scared.

“Bianca?” he breathed, not really wanting to believe this was actually happening. His daughter was off on a job, of course she could never tell them much about it but she was meant to be off being young and reckless and having fun and swinging on starlight, just like her daddy did.

“I...I thought I got away but I missed one of the guards,” Bianca’s voice was tight, adrenaline clearly the only thing holding back the pain, “Mama…”

Juno swallowed hard, putting a firm, hard foot on his panic and shoving down hard. His baby girl needed him and when it was over he could go and find a quiet corner to scream and cry and rage about it. But for now he needed to get a goddamn grip.

“Bathroom,” he moved forward, sliding an arm to take her weight, just in time as her knees buckled.

Suddenly her free hand was bunched in his shirt tight enough to pinch his skin, his arms holding her as easily as if she was two instead of twenty two. As if she was as small and delicate as she had been then, when he’d first met her and realised just how much he’d be willing to give to keep her safe…

No. Not now.

He went to call for Nureyev, he was doing yoga in their bedroom, but Bianca’s hand tightened and she gave a strained, pained whine through her teeth.

“No,” she begged, breathing coming hard and shallow, the pain of her wound coming in through the cracks as she realised she was safe and didn’t need to run on sheer adrenaline, “Please don’t, not until...not until it’s covered up, I don’t want him to see…”

Juno went to protest but stopped himself, they didn’t have time and he couldn’t say she was wrong. Nureyev didn’t need to see this part, his husband’s field medicine skills weren’t as practised and when he saw the state their daughter was in, it wouldn’t even have mattered. He would freeze and he would break. Juno didn’t blame him in the slightest, he’d nearly gone himself, but he couldn’t hold both of them together.

So he kept quiet and carried his daughter to the poky bathroom of their apartment, moving quickly and quietly as he could past the twin’s bedroom.

“You need to keep talking for me, kiddo,” he said through gritted teeth, as soon as the door was shut behind them, “Tell me how you got in without any of us hearing you. Give me all the details.”

Bee Bee managed a weak chuckle as he sat her down against the edge of the bath, “I’m not giving you all my secrets, mama…”

Juno could dredge a smile for her, if she was going to make the effort, throwing it over his shoulder as he wrenched open the medicine cabinet and pulled out one of the many emergency first aid kits stowed around the apartment.

“Then give me all the moons of Jupiter in size order, biggest to smallest. I know your daddy made you memorise them.”

Bee Bee swallowed hard, shifting as she started to slump, “Um...Ganymede. Callisto…”

“Good, good girl,” Juno was more focused on pulling out the scissors and cutting away the ruins of the coat sleeve so he could start cleaning and dressing it, but as long as he could hear her talking he knew she was conscious.

“Io…oh mama, no, your coat…” Bianca tried to lean away from the blades.

“Bee Bee, I don’t know if you noticed but I care about you a little more than I care about some ratty old coat,” Juno sighed, ignoring her weak protests.

He couldn’t help but wince as he saw her arm, fully exposed. The bolt had only grazed her but clearly it had been set to kill, it had scorched a clean edged, diagonal path along the top of her arm. If she hadn’t been running away, if the person had fired a second before…

Juno shook himself and focused, it was clean and wouldn’t need more than a gentle dousing with cold water which he quickly set to. Don’t think about what could have happened, focus on what’s in front of you.

It broke his heart when she hissed in pain, the second where she clearly wanted to pull away from him, however much he could rationalise it. But he’d been doing some version of this for a long time, from the first time Bee had caught her tiny fingers in the door on the Carte Blanche.

“Hey,” he gently reached over and turned her face to him, “Just look at me, okay? You’re doing so well.”

His brave Bianca took a shaky breath and nodded, ‘Himalia is next. In the size order.”

Juno smiled with a soft, tired pride, motioning for her to go on as he applied a thin layer of salve and started to bind it with the smart tech bandages that wrapped tightly around her arm with no effort from him. They’d hold it fast and safe, healing the torn and blistering skin underneath until barely a trace remained.

But Bianca wouldn’t forget this. This would be another one of her memories, the ones that would come up when least welcome and stop her in her tracks when she thought she was safe.

Juno contented himself with doing what he could for her now. He helped her up, though her legs were still shaky, helping her take shuffling steps to her bedroom, the one they still kept exactly as she’d left it the last time she visited. Neither he nor his husband could ever bring themselves to move anything around, happy to admit to themselves that they were just waiting until their daughter came home again. So the old stuffed animals were still lining the bottom of the bed, the books were still piled on the nightstand, there were still soft blankets ready for her to sink down onto.

“Right,” Juno brushed a hand over her curls, “Now water, painkillers and lots of rest. Got it, kiddo?”

“Yes mama,” she sighed, leaning into his touch, “Um...I think I want to see daddy now.”

He saw the guilt flicker through her dark eyes and he softened it with a kiss to her forehead. He understood the instinct to protect people you cared about, feeling like you couldn’t let them see you cry or fall or hurt because you’d see just how much they cared about you and it could be so scary. Knowing so much of someone else’s happiness rested with you.

He left her to get settled, needing to take a few deep breaths as soon as the door closed. Just a little longer.

Nureyev was just stepping out of their room, his long hair pushed back from his face with a band that had probably once been Bianca’s. He looked calm, content, and his whole face lit up when he saw his wife walking towards him. Having to watch all that unravel, that would hurt Juno as much as any of it.

He tried to speak clearly, concisely, only repeating again and again that she was fine, that there would be no lasting damage or even a mark. But he wasn’t sure any of it actually got through after he finally said the words ‘Bianca’s been shot’. Because that was when he pushed past him and started running down the hall. Cursing under his breath, Juno took off but couldn’t hope to catch his husband on those legs, only getting there when the bedroom door was already open.

He was braced for tears, he was braced for the anger that sometimes came when Nureyev was feeling too much to hold within himself and had to lash out to try and grasp some control. He was braced to have to pull his husband out of there.

What he found was his husband and his daughter embracing as tightly as her wound would allow.

“I’m sorry, daddy,” Bianca was sniffling, har face pressed to his shoulder, where it had always fit so perfectly ever since she was small, “I know you said to check, you said and I thought I did but…”

Nureyev shook his head, his own voice thick but steady, “No, no, it’s okay. You did nothing wrong, as long as you’re okay.”

“Promise?” Bianca mumbled, still sounding a little like a child wondering what her punishment would be.

“Oh my treasure,” Nureyev drew back to hold her face in his hands, “I promise. All I care about is that you’re whole and well and...and next time, you will see it. You’ll get better and better every time, just like I did. I just couldn’t be more thankful it was no worse but...next time will be better.”

Bianca’s face flooded with obvious relief, she’d clearly been worried her daddy’s first response would have been to ground her. Juno had to admit, he’d expected it too.

Nureyev only touched her bandages lightly, checking everything was in place, “But...if you wanted to stay here for just a few days just while you healed? We could make room for you?”

Bianca gave a tired smile, rolling her eyes, “Only if you could make the room, of course.”

Juno leaned against the doorframe, giving them a few more moments together before joining them, giving Bianca some time before having to endure both of her parents fussing over her. As he watched Nureyev draw Bee Bee back in to hug her tightly and let her rest against him, he felt other times overlapping it, other times he’d seen that light in Nureyev’s eyes, the smile he saved only for their babies, the way they clung to him and looked to him for safety. He felt the years they’d spent together as parents, the memories sending warmth running through his chest, soothing the anxiety still gnawing there, giving him a few more hours before he’d need to release it. Hopefully Nureyev would be in his arms by then.

Memories were funny things for Juno Steel. But some were everything.

[lostinaseaoffictionalbliss]

RPTL-Court Date

Summary: Danielle finally gets her day in court

Pairing: eventually Elliot x fem!OC

Word count: 1305

Warnings: mentions of sexual abuse, abuse, PTSD

Danielle nervously ran her hands down her dress, smoothing out imagined wrinkles. Her palms were slightly sweaty, her chest ached from the repetitive hard thumping of her heart, and her stomach churned. She felt like she was going to vomit any moment. She was also having trouble getting her breathing under control. She was starting to hyperventilate. 

Elliot looked Danielle over as he stepped into the living room. He saw how tense her shoulders were, the way her nails were digging into her palms to keep them from shaking. Her ragged breaths could be heard from his spot at the entrance to the hallway. With a few long strides he was next to her. Gently he led her to the couch and sat her down. "Dani, I need you to open your eyes and look at me."

She whimpered, but did as he asked her to. She looked into his eyes, tears pooling into the corners of her own. 

He held her hands. "Good. Now tell me five things that you can see."

She looked around the room and back to him. "You, the...the TV, the coffee table...the couch, the picture….on the wall," she said softly, a slight quiver to her voice. 

He nodded. "Good. Four things you can touch." He rubbed her knuckles.

"My...my dress," she mumbled, clear disdain shown by her tone. "The couch, you, and the table." Her breathing was starting to slow down and regulate. 

"Three things you can hear." He kept his eyes locked with hers, their blue depths showing kindness and understanding.

"Traffic, the fan, your voice." The more she spoke the calmer she was feeling. Her heart no longer felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. 

He smiled a little. "Two things you can smell." As she relaxed it made it easier for him to relax. Not that he would fully until this whole thing was over and her attackers in jail.

She gazed at him. "Your cologne." Which smells really good, she thought. "My perfume."

"Alright and one thing you can taste."

"The peppermint chewing gum I was hoping would calm my stomach." She could breathe, talk, and her heartbeat was back to normal, but she was still shaky and nauseous. The last two always lasted for a while after an anxiety attack. 

He gently squeezed her hand. "I get it. You have every right to be anxious. To be on edge. Anyone in your position would be. But I promise everything is going to work out and they will get what they deserve." He smiled a bit. "Also I know you don't feel comfortable in what you're wearing. We have fifteen minutes before we have to go. Go change into dress slacks and a blouse. I know you'll feel better."

"Yeah you're right." She stood and went to move down the hall, but stopped. She hesitantly leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered before heading to her room. 

Elliot watched her go, a wide smile gracing his lips. 

Danielle sat at the table in front of the pews she knew were filled with people. Elliot was right behind her and holding her hand. She allowed him to ground her as she ignored the comments being whispered by her former platoon. It seemed most of her Army buddies decided to desert her for going forward with her case. 

She knew there was a good chance they wouldn't back her, but the comments they spewed wasn't at all what she had been expecting. She sighed softly and looked forward. It was easier to focus on Casey Novak cross examining Garret and the feel of Elliot's hand in hers than it was to hear people she once knew on a very deep level call her all sorts of things. 

She took a breath and with how close Elliot was she could smell his cologne. The rugged musky scent washed over her, calming her nerves and making a slight warmth blossom in her belly. She squeezed his hand and smiled a little. 

Casey gazed at Garret with cold eyes. "You claim she came onto you and asked you boys to take her like she did?"

Garret nodded. "That's right. She wanted us. All this is, is a big case of morning after regrets. Doesn't want her uncle to know what a whore she is.'

Casey looked toward Danielle then back at Garret. She had questioned Malcom already and planned to question the other two next unless the defense called Danielle first. However if she got Garret to slip up she had a play up her sleeve. "Now why would a girl who just got back stateside want to be with multiple men before she's had a chance to shower and even find a place to stay?"

"Cause she's a slut." He shrugged. "I mean it would have went further, but well things happened. Bet she was disappointed."

Casey grinned. "And what things happened?" She knew she had him right where she wanted him. That was the one thing she needed him to say. 

"Dante got a text. His old lady wanted him to grab something on the way home from the base." 

She nodded. "Prosecution would like to call Jordan Hicks to the stand."

The defense attorney frowned. "Who is this person?" He crossed his arms.

"He's on the list. If you failed to look it over, that's on you." She smirked. 

Jordan was a slightly older black man. His beard was salt and pepper, but he stood tall and proud. He didn't bother looking at the defense table as he went to the stand. He put his hand to the Bible and gave his oath to be truthful. 

Casey smiled at him. "Jordan, what can you tell me about the night in question?"

Jordan glanced at Danielle, offering a kind smile. "I was heading home after a long shift at the butchery. It was the job I took once I retired from the Army. Couldn't stay home and do nothing." He sighed. "I heard what sounded like crying and a scuffle. I went to check it out. I came upon three men attacking a young woman. She was pleading with them to stop. When I called out as I was still too far to do anything physically they took off. I guess they thought I didn't see anything as they never bothered coming for me. I found Danielle on the ground. Helped her home."

"Did she say anything to you as you helped her?"

He nodded. "She did." He frowned. "She said they forced her. She thanked me for saving her. I suppose she felt they were going to kill her cause I didn't save her from what they were doing. I helped her inside, got her some water. She eventually changed, but I could tell she hadn't showered. She said she was going to the station the next morning. I gave her my name and number before leaving."

Casey nodded. "Thank you. That's all."

Danielle sat in the hallway as the jury deliberated on her case. Her leg bounced and she chewed her lip. 

Elliot pulled her into his arms and kissed the crown of her head. "It will be okay," he whispered. 

A few minutes later Casey came to get them. The jury had reached a verdict. 

She went inside and sat down.

"How does the jury find on the charge of attempted rape in the second degree?" The judge asked. 

"We find the defendants guilty."

"How do you find on the charge of aggravated sexual assault?"

"We find the defendants guilty."

The judge tapped her hammer and nodded. "This case is adjourned. Sentencing will be in two weeks."

Danille teared up in relief and turned. She hugged Elliot. The first one she had ever initiated.

****

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[a-la-la-llama]

The One Where Marinette Gets Attacked #4

Part 1       Part 2      Part 3     Part 5

  Cloud nine was where Marinette was currently residing after leaving the flower shop. The owner, Pamela, with the most vibrant red hair she had ever seen had wanted Marinette to work with her. Even though she now had a million problems on her hands with the school situation, she couldn’t fight the smile on her face. Maybe this wasn’t the most professional way to get a job but she went along with how Pamela was acting so it couldn’t be that bad. Tikki seemed to be on the same page as her because she could feel a hum of excitement on her thigh.

  “How about we eat out for lunch instead of going home? I haven’t actually been out in the city since we have gotten here?”, she said out loud. Even though surrounded by people, no one gave a second glance at her antics. Having only traveled the city by rooftops and eating take-out made Marinette foreign still, even having stayed there for more than a year. Turning a corner to a cafe she had passed, Marinette waited in a short line. Walking up to the counter, the worker feigned a fake smile.

  “Welcome to Caffeine Café, what could I get you today?”, the woman asked.

Marinette was given a strange look with the amount of caffeine she ordered but brushed it off. Settling into a corner booth with her tuna sandwich, she patiently waited for her name to be called by looking out the window.

  Usually when she would look out her apartment window Gotham always appeared grey and gloomy. Right now, Marinette felt the warmth of the sun partially covered by a cloud on her skin. It must be Tikki’s doing. Sneaking a glance at the Kwami while grabbing her phone, Marinette was able to see Tikki happily snacking on the cookie she had packed.

“It’s a nice day, how does a trip to the park sound?”, Marinette asked.

Tikki silently nodded in agreement before returning to her meal as did Marinette.

  Gotham had reminded Marinette much like they had depicted New York City in movies. It had a large park that included the famous Poison Ivy Botanical Gardens and that was open to the public like Central Park. Marinette decided going somewhere secluded was the best option due to Tikki wanting to be out. Even though she was tiny did not mean the god didn’t get cramped being in her purse.

“We could climb that hill, Tikki. It has a tree on top that we could sit under too!”, she suggested.

“Brilliant spot, my chosen. We’ll be able to have a great view and you could put the new sketchbook to use!”, Tikki cheered.

  Marinette really should have been on guard out in the open all alone but something about the peacefulness of nature put her off guard. Any other time and she would have seen the attacker from behind coming. Any other time Marinette would have been able to swiftly dodge and apprehend them. Any other time but not this time. This time something tackled her to the ground just eight feet away from the top of the hill. Now, just because she was blindsided didn’t mean Marinette couldn’t swiftly recover. Tucking into a roll, she was able to end the fall squatted low on her feet instead of face planting on the floor. She was facing where her attacker should have been standing fully ready for a fight.

There was no one there.

Well, no one until she felt something wet brush the left side of her face. Turning towards the source she was met with the sight of a black Great Dane towering over her. She realized it was the one she had seen when working with Catwoman. Eye-contact with the animal was not her best choice because Marinette soon found herself rolling down the hill. Marinette couldn’t tell if it wanted to play or just recognized her since it continued to lick her face when they stopped at the bottom of the hill.

“Hello there, buddy. It’s nice to see you too!”, she said, sitting up gently scratching its head.

“Marinette! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Should I get Kaalki? We can-“, Tikki worrily pestered Marinette.

“I’m fine, Tikki. Titus just got a little excited!”, she soothed the god while reading the dog's name tag.

“You need to be more alert, Marinette! It could have been someone really dangerous. Plagg will certainly come with you next time once he hears about this!”, Tikki scolded.

“Calm down, Tikki. No one is even here besides me and this good boy. Aren’t you a good boy!”, Marinette cooed.

“His owner doesn’t seem to be here. What do you plan to do?”, the Kwami questioned.

“The dog is from that house we visited with Catwoman, Tikki. I think that’s why it ran up to me. Or it could be your magic since we do have pigeons circling above us?”, Marinette said.

“Then it would be best if you return him home without coming in contact with his owners.”, suggested Tikki.

“Right! We’ll have to cut this outing short and go get Kaalki. How does that sound Titus?”, Marinette asked the dog.

It let out a bark in agreement. Well to everyone else it sounded like a bark. She would never get used to the whole animals and plants talking to her thing. Standing up Marinette, Titus, and Tikki made their way back to her apartment. Titus even followed her up the stairs. It wouldn’t be surprising the dog was able to maneuver up the small steps with the mansion it lived in. Titus would have to have experience!

  “Miri’s, we’re home!”, Marinette called the Kwami’s by their nickname. Since they lived in the miraculous’ she had decided a name played of the word would be fitting. Creating the nickname ‘Miri’s’. The kwami that had permission out flew up to greet her and her guest. She briefly saw Tikki pull Plagg to the side most likely to tell him about their day.

“Kaalki, you remember Titus right?”, Marinette grinned at the Kwami.

“Yes, it’s that mutt that lunged at me when I came to retrieve you!”, the small horse spat out.

“That is no way to speak about him and you know it. Baark would be disappointed to hear this!”, she scolded.

“Sorry, Mari.”, he quietly apologized.

“It’s okay! Now, I need to return him home ASAP and I need your help.”, she explained.

“Of course, guardian! I’ll be glad for an adventure.”, Kaalki exclaimed.

“Great! Kaalki, full Gallop!”, Marinette called.

  A turquoise portal was opened up in front of her that led to a well taken care of yard. Marinette saw how Titus was wary of it and comforted him with a bright smile.

“Don’t worry Titus, your home is just on the other side. I’ll keep my hand right here while we go through!”, she said resting a hand on the top of his head.

Coaxing the dog through was much easier than dealing with a civilian. She’s had her fair share of people refusing to flee to safety just because it was magic. Seriously people, your heroes or vigilantes can’t save everyone! It’s not like you can’t peek your head through first before crossing, she would never understand Gothamites. Titus seemed to be trusting of her and calming followed her in and stepped out onto the grass.

“See, nothing bad happened. It was nice to see you again Titus but I have to go now! Be safe and try not to run off again. I’m sure your owner would deeply miss you.”, Marinette whispered while giving his head a final scratch. Titus barked a goodbye as she stepped back into her apartment and closed the portal.

  Calling off the transformation, Marinette flopped onto her couch and nestled into the blanket there. She hadn’t been back home for a full minute before she was bombarded.

“What’s this about you getting attacked!”

  Damian would kill whichever one of his brothers left not only the front door but the gate open when they left. He hoped it had been Drake since he despised him the most. Titus had run off when he saw his opportunity for freedom out of the well-known manor grounds. Damian had spent the whole day running around Gotham trying to locate him. The dog even had the gall to disable the GPS location chip on his collar by running into a pool of water. He knew this because of the notification of water damage when he first started his chase. Now Damian was home and in a sour mood.

  “Chill out Demon Spawn! Titus is hella smart and will come back eventually. Just let him roam around and live a little.”, Jason stated.

“You do not know that, Todd. For all we know he could be in a terrible pound or worse.”, Damian retorted.

“Baby Bird, he has a collar with our number. I’m sure when someone finds him they’ll give us a call.”, Dick said trying to reassure the youngest Wayne.

“Wait, we were looking for Titus? Isn’t that him in the yard?”, Tim questioned from his seat by the window.

There the missing dog was in all his glory barking a poor squirrel up a tree.

Tag list

@legallyspawned @chocolate1721 @spartanxhunterx @dreamykitty25 @toodaloo-kangaroo @vixen-uchiha @loveswifi @amayakans @jeptwin @thewonderlandartist @buticaaba @books-and-left-behind-journals @gigibnl @aegyobutpsycho2 @crazylittlemunchkin @maribat-is-lifeblood @myazael @abrx2002 @pawsitivelymiraculous @silvergold-swirl @chaos-inperson 

[tojiverse]

toji with a special grade sorcerer!reader (implied exes) and instead of encountering w satosugu he fights reader

so i feel like anon wants this more in an angst direction (?) so i will be writing angst today!

warning: spoilers (if ur anime only? also spoilers for this arc as well the star vessel arc) violence angst

word count | 1.8k

When you saw him it was as if time had stopped, how ironic as your cursed technique allowed you to do such within your own control.

“Toji...” You whispered out before being snapped back to reality, you had the vessel and along with the boys you needed to make sure they got where they needed safely. 

“Yo, long time no see (l/n), unfortunate we had to meet like this isn’t it?” He asked and you glared.

By no means was your relationship with Toji smooth sailing, things were difficult, you came from a high clan and you had a reputation to uphold. As soon as your elders found out they threatened to strip you from not only status but being heiress to your clan. You relayed what they had said to Toji before leaving him broken-hearted. Now he stood before you, you could tell he had grown.

“Sensei, we have to deliver the vessel,” Gojo reminded you and you nodded.

“You two go on ahead I’ll handle things here,” You said unsheathing your katana, with a heavy heart. 

“Not so fast,” Toji had said from somewhere behind Gojo, impaling him with his weapon while Getou made off with the vessel. 

You quickly blocked him from attacking you, and he set off after the vessel you were hot on his tail. You had to leave Gojo quickly calling for medical assistance for him, while chasing after your ex before he could kill the vessel. You didn’t catch up in time as you yelled out for Getou to leave so you could do damage control, but it had been too late, Toji had killed the girl but at least Getou was out.

“Toji… I have to kill you now,” You whispered, you were seething. 

There was no way you nor the boys, minus Gojo would be forgiven for this disaster easily. 

“I’d love to see you try,” He said and you smirked. 

You set off blade ready and clashed with him, a smirk on your face. The two of you clashed around for a bit. You didn’t even notice you were outside once again until you heard a bird chirping.

“Why aren’t you using your technique, you could easily beat me with it,” Toji said he was amused.

“Shouldn’t use it on scum like you,” You said, you couldn’t believe this was happening right now honestly it felt like a nightmare. 

“You dated this scum, so I couldn’t be that bad,” He said with a smirk and you felt like you could scream.

Your body was on fire and you quickly slashed at him but he dodged it quickly. You put your hands looping your thumb behind your middle finger with the rest of your hand draped over it, Toji’s eyes widened.

“Domain Expansion: Time Stops All,” You whispered and there was a warping noise before you were both thrown into your domain. 

Within your domain time would be slowed for your opponent, not for you. You quickly grabbed your sword and walked over to Toji, taking your sword and impaling him in a fatal place, you undid your domain and began to walk away only to hear him weakly call out for you. 

“What is it Toji, I don’t have all day,” You said quickly and you turned around seeing what state you left him in. 

“I have a son, Megumi, take care of him, please make sure that he doesn’t return to the Zenin Clan,” Toji whispered and you looked up.

“You never made leaving easy, you’re a bastard but I once loved you. I’ll do it, so rest in peace Toji, I’ll take care of him,” You said and saw what seemed a smile appear onto his face while his eyes slowly closed. 

You groaned while wiping your tears, and quickly met back up with Gojo and Getou who seemed to be in better conditions.

“Sensei, we’re-” Getou began but you cut them off.

“No apologies, I have to quickly take care of some business, can I leave the reports to the both of you?” You asked and they nodded.

You headed home quickly changing before heading off to the direction Toji had whispered, slipping on glasses. You walked up to the home sitting on the porch with your legs crossed, and the boy came up to you with a confused look.

“Yo, your dad sent me,” You said with a small smirk and the boy looked at you. 

“Are you one of his friends?” He asked and you nodded.

“Listen, you’re going to come to live with me, you’re a sorcerer and there’s a clan looking for you, but I’ll protect you Megumi,” You said and he nodded, still looking confused. 

You extended your hand with a soft smile and he took it. You quickly hoisted him up with a smile and carried him off into your car helping with his seatbelt. It took everything within you to not cry, as he looked exactly like Toji, a carbon copy. You both rode in silence as you had to think over an excuse as to how to tell the boy his father wouldn’t be coming back. You also had to go to the Zenin Clan and had to talk over how Megumi would now be under your care. You sighed and the boy looked over at you.

“Is my dad coming back?” He asked and your eyes widened.

“Not for a long time, you’re stuck with me kiddo,” You said and he nodded. 

When you got to your estate with the child in hand your elders looked like they could die on the spot. 

“(y/n)-sama, what is the meaning of this?” One of them asked and you picked up Megumi walking past them.

You introduced him to the household maid asking her to watch over him while you spoke to the elders. After a long meeting the elders caved in to your pleas of keeping him. They told you that you would have to go alone to meet with the Zenin to which you nodded. You went back over to see Megumi doing homework and you crouched down.

“Hey buddy, we have to go somewhere okay? You can bring your work with you,” You said and he nodded.

You heard his stomach growl, to which he blushed, and you only frowned slightly. 

“We’ll get something to eat on the way too,” You said and he nodded. 

“Can we have sushi?” He asked and you smiled.

“Of course, we just have to stop by someone’s residency first, yeah?” You asked and he quickly nodded.

You both set out to Gojo’s place and you sighed, this had to be a headache. You stopped, parking outside the estate and taking Megumi with you. You knocked stating your name and that you had to see Gojo, to which you were let in and made your way to the meeting room. You quickly put Megumi down holding his hand and you both made your way to see him. Gojo’s eyes widened to see you with a child, you quickly explained the situation. He nodded agreeing to back you up and you let out a sigh of relief, smiling down at Megumi.

“Are you going now?” Gojo asked and you nodded.

“Yeah as soon as I take him to get sushi, it’s off to tell them,” You said and he nodded.

You said your goodbyes and you looked down at Megumi.

“Who is that man?” He asked and you smiled.

“That’s a friend and a student, Gojo Satoru, very strong boy,” You said and he nodded.

“I want to be as strong as him then,” He said and you smiled. 

You both got into the car and you drove to a nearby sushi place reassuring Megumi he could order whatever he pleased, multiple times as he wasn’t sure. After you both ordered and got your meals, you set out to the Zenin Estate, taking a deep breath. You got out with him, hoisting him up on your waist as he had passed out and stepped in, all eyes following you in deep silence. You walked into Naobito’s office with a scowl, as you had a rough encounter with Naoya beforehand, and you knew he’d be in there. Both men looked at you in utter shock when you came in unannounced with Megumi in your arms. Naobito, went to open his mouth but you gave him a piercing look and quickly put your hand up. 

“The (l/n) clan will be looking after Megumi Fushiguro as long as I live, I have already spoken with the Gojo Clan, and they plan to back me up, there is no buts, ifs, nor objection. The child will fully go under my custody,” You said while glaring and turned your head to Naoya. “Get out of my sight now, your father and I have lots to discuss.”

Naoya looked at his father who only nodded and he left glaring at you. You rubbed Megumi’s back in a soothing manner as the door slamming startled him.

“Hey buddy, back to sleep okay?” You whispered and he nodded.

He fell back asleep and you looked at Naobito, still glaring.

“You ought to teach your son manners, how will he get a woman if he’s so… brutish?” You said and Naobito only glared. 

“What is all this about your clan taking Megumi in, it was said that he would become a Zenin,” He said clearly confused. 

“I'll make it brief, I killed Toji, so I guess since I did you a favor, ridding you of him, permanently, you could do this for me and stay out. It was Toji’s final wish for the boy to stay with me permanently. I plan to honor it,” You said and Naobito proceeded to stare.

“Well, I’ll allow it under one condition, if you were to become dead or mentally incapacitated, Megumi is handed over to me, and then made sole heir to our clan,” He said and you thought it over. “I can assure you’re not walking out here cleanly with the boy, if we don’t come to an agreement.”

“Alright but I also have a set of terms, if you were to die or become mentally incapacitated, Megumi goes over to Gojo Satoru,” You said and Naobito nodded. 

You stood up slowly extending a hand, to which he took and you gripped it hardly.

“And may hell rain down upon you if you do anything to sabotage this, also he is never to find out I killed his father,” You said and let go, walking out. 

You made your way out the manor not before Naoya cornered you. You looked up at him, displeased to say the least. 

“Get out my way,” You said and he shook his head.

“Not until you apologize for disrespecting me,” He said and you laughed.

“Didn’t know you had a pair now, out of my way,” You said, shoving him and continued to walk. 

Watching over Megumi wasn’t an easy task, you had no idea how children worked, but he was such a good kid you couldn’t help but spoil him. Megumi would often have bad nightmares as a child where he would think you had abandoned him, which broke your heart because as long as you lived you’d stay by his side. 

[softlilacmoonlight]

Everybody x Reader - Part Two (Angst Warning)

In group chat (with everybody)

(Y/N): Hey guys!

Everybody: (Commence mass and swift greetings.)

Beel Baby: How are you doing in the human world!?

Luci: I truly hope that you have readjusted well.

Asmo: We miss you! SO! VERY! MUCH!

In private chat with Lord Diavolo

(Y/N): Can I ask you a gigantic favor?

Diavolo: Anything! What do you need?

(Y/N): Can I come back to the Devildom permanently? I know it's a big favor to ask, and I know that it will cause issues with my safety. It's just... I'm all alone here in the human world. I promise I can work! I can continue schooling! I'll do anything!

Diavolo: (Y/N)... of course you can come back! We've all missed you terribly! When can we summon you?!

(Y/N): Gimme an hour! I can pack a quick bag to go and grab the rest later! Could I re-move into the House of Lamentations by any chance?

Diavolo: Of course! Also, from now on it's just Diavolo. When you get here, I need to speak with you for a moment.

(Y/N): Okay! Thank you so much, Dia!

Cue Diavolo processing nickname, and subsequently blacking out for a couple of minutes. Poor demon prince's pounding heart.

(Y/N) pov:

While Lord Diavolo summons everybody to RAD, I quickly pack a go-bag, grab the essentials, and make sure that everything is in order in my apartment. Rushing, I quickly check that the door is locked tight. Lastly, I sit on the couch and patiently wait for Dia to come and get me.

Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass sounds from my bedroom. Before I can even register what happened, a pair of hands force me back onto the couch. They cover and muffle anything coming from my mouth, while the attacker uses his body to force me against the couch making me immobile. No matter how hard I try, I cannot get myself free.

He takes out a cloth from his pocket, and I can't help but panic further. My assailant covers my mouth and nose with the cloth. In a matter of seconds, my brain feels fuzzy and my eyes close. Shutting me in a world of black.

~ With everybody ~

(The angels and Solomon joined them since Lord Diavolo summoned them all)

Third Person pov:

"Lord Diavolo, what is the meaning of this?" questions Lucifer.

To set the mood, Lord Diavolo is bouncing around like a giddy child that just got an early Christmas gift. Everybody is looking at him like he either a) lost his marbles or b) is the funniest thing on the face of the planet. Barbatos and Lucifer are barely containing their displeasure (except Barbatos is a master of hiding it), while Mammon and Levi are trying their hardest not to laugh. Satan and Belphie just watch in pure amusement... no Satan isn't taking a video. What do you mean? As for Beel, Asmo, and the other exchange students, they couldn't care less. They mainly just find it slightly entertaining.

"Lucifer!" exclaims Lord Diavolo in excitement. "I have wonderful news! You guys will never believe it!"

"Then spit it out already. I want to sleep," says Belphie with a heavy groan.

After getting Lord Diavolo to settle down, they re-ask him the question. "(Y/N)! It's about (Y/N)!"

"WHATD'YA MEAN! IS MY HUMAN IN TROUBLE OR SOMETHIN'!" half screams Mammon.

For once, in a blue moon, Asmo goes over to calm down Mammon. You can tell that Mammon is genuinely terrified that something happened. After all, this poor tsundere clings to you like the greedy demon he is. For now, Asmo set aside the normal quips and barbs, trying to take care of his brother. He knows that you'd want him to do so.

Lord Diavolo lets out a grand laugh. "No! She asked to come and stay permanently in the Devildom! I, of course, said yes! She asked to reinhabit her old room at the House of Lamentations permanently! Hence why I called the other exchange students to ask if they wished to rejoin the program or if they simply wanted to visit from time to time."

"SHE'S COMING BACK!" practically everybody screamed.

Mammon's eyes widen in excitement. "I'll have to take care of her again! N-Not that I-I w-want to. YA HEAR!"

"My snacking buddy will be back!" Beel's face looks like a happy little puppy.

Belphie lets out a tired smile. "Snuggles..."

"HUSH! We won't overwhelm her when she first gets here. We'll make her dinner and talk the night away. We still have school tomorrow, after all." responds Lucifer with a cool glint in his eye. Only people who truly knew him saw the fires of excitement in his orbs.

"Don't act like you aren't all excited either Lucifer." jabs Satan.

"Nonsense. The school will be getting a week off for 'important royal business'." states Lord Diavolo in all certainty.

Abruptly, Luke walks over to Lord Diavolo and gently tugs his pant leg, face bright red from having to do so so that the demon prince will recognize that he's there. Lord Diavolo kneels down, which obviously causes Luke's blush to intensify. He glances to Simeon, who gives him a smile and a nod of his head, before continuing.

"Simeon and I have decided that we would l-like to r-rejoin the program." stutters out Luke.

Lord Diavolo shines a gentle smile, all the while Simeon works to cover up his chuckles. "Of course Luke. How about I set up scheduled baking lessons for you and Barbatos?"

"REALLY! I-I mean sure, n-not that I w-want to..." stutters the flushed little angel.

"I am very pleased that I will get to bake with you once more Luke," states Barbatos gently to the flustered angel. Luke just responds with a small smile.

For the first time in this whole conversation, Levi pipes up. "When is (Y/N) coming?"

"Any minute now. I set the portal to grab her an hour after our conversation." he pauses and glances at his DDD. "And... now."

Everybody looks all over the room, eyes wide in excitement. All of their faces holding loving eyes and kind smiles. They just wait. They all know that strong spells like this take a while to be fully completed and properly completed.

Nevertheless, five minutes pass by. Then ten minutes pass, and then fifteen. By the time the twenty-minute mark passes, everybody is officially worried. They can't think of what could have possibly gone wrong.

"Are you sure you set up the time for an hour?" inquires Barbatos to the concerned lord.

Lord Diavolo just shakes his head. "I'm quite certain. I know for a fact we did since we sent texts, and both of us did agree on an hour's time. Here, I'll just try texting her. Who knows? Maybe she just lost track of time. She had to be on her couch when it activated."

In private chat with Lord Diavolo

Diavolo: (Y/N), did something happen? Did you have to leave the couch? Could you please answer? We're all terribly worried.

(Y/N): (Y/N)'s not here anymore. If you ever wish to see her again, then you better follow my orders.

Diavolo: What have you done to her?

(Y/N) Intruder: Nothing yet, but if you wish to get her returned to you, then you better come and follow the clues. Otherwise, I'll kill her. You have one hour to start the puzzle. I'd wish you luck, but quite frankly I don't want you to win.

Third-person pov:

That was the day that the whole Devildom trembled in terror. That was the first time they truly saw the fury of their future king and the full outrage of his closest companions. That was the day that made it clear to everybody. Touch the demon prince's, his butler's, and the seven deadly sins' closest loved one... you will suffer a fate worse than death. The other exchange students agreed with their... passion.

"Time."

"To."

"Save."

"(Y/N)."

And they all went together, as one joined force. The kidnapper will regret this, they swear that on their lives.

[lord-of-gender]

A Small Problem - Part 3

The Red Banquet

2761 words

As the 25th came Phil and Niki were having alot of trouble getting Tommy into something nice. He refused to wear the suit that was his years ago claiming it was 'too itchy'. So they resorted, with much protest from Techno, to making him a version of Techno's cape from some of his extra fabric and the old L'Manburg suit that once was Fundy's to be wore underneath.

"Oh my god, finally," Phil said as Techno grabbed Tommy from running out of the cabin.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Tommy chanted, giggling as he latched onto Techno's arm, he picked the boy off and handed him to Phil.

"Are you sure you're not coming," Niki asked.

"No, I don't trust that Eggpire, besides I have other things to do." Techno said.

During the trip through the Nether Niki and Phil politely chatted, but Tommy remained silent and huddled against them, as if they were the only things keeping him there. He never liked the Nether, he didn't know why, it was just scary and didn't sit right with him. When they neared the community portal Tommy sprinted to it, wanting, almost needing to get out.

"Niki!" Hannah said when they came out of the portal, "you look beautiful. Who's this little guy?"

Tommy looked to Sam who was behind her, he'd learned that there were certain people who couldn't know his name. "I'm Tommy," he said when Sam nodded.

"Ooh! Are you now," Hannah said, surprised.

"Yeah!" He said excitedly.

"We should probably get going so we're not late," Sam said as Tommy ran up to him and walked next to him.

"Sam, Sam," Tommy pulled on his suit, trying to get Sam's attention, "look what I can do."

"What is it," Sam said, looking down at him as Tommy furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.

"Oh you're going to be freaked out by this," Phil laughed and Niki giggled.

Slowly Tommy's features changed, he started sprouting fur and whiskers on his face. Tommy grinned up at Sam as his face looked like a raccoon.

"Okay, that's weird, how long has he been able to do that," Sam asked Phil.

"A few days, but Techno's discovered he can only do animals. We were in quite some shock when we found him fully transformed into a raccoon," Phil explained. "And of course Techno's first instinct was to exploit it."

"Ranboo didn't let him," Niki inputted when Sam started to look worried.

Soon they came up to the entrance of the banquet, everyone wore nice suits and dresses. They all stuck with the red theme of the banquet. Tommy morphed back to look normal as everyone fawned over him. Everyone had complied with the Eggpire's request of no weapons or armor, well except for Phil. Techno had insisted that he bring at least his bow and sword which could easily be hidden, a totem, and a few potions.

"Wow, you all look amazing," Antfrost greeted them. Not mentioning Tommy, who as soon as he saw Ant didn't budge from Sam's side.

"Thank you, you look very dapper yourself Ant," Puffy said, laughing.

"You okay buddy," Sam took Tommy to the side as they entered the basement where the Egg had taken over.

Tommy shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. "I don't like it. Something's wrong."

"Do you want to stay with Phil," Sam asked, thinking maybe Tommy would feel safer with someone he was more familiar with. Tommy thought about it then nodded, trying to stay as far away from the Egg as he could.

"You alright Tommy," Niki asked the boy as he came up to Phil and grabbed his pant's leg.

"I-I fink something is going to happen, I don't know if we should be here," Tommy said.

"I'm sure everything is going to be fine Tommy, you have so many people here who care about you." Phil said, "I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you. Okay?"

"Okay," Tommy nodded and the trio walked over to where the others had gone over to dance.

"Care to dance," Bad said, offering his hand to Puffy. She accepted, this could be a statement between the two leaders. One against the Egg, the other for. A symbol of unity and peace.

As Hbomb continued to play music Niki and Eret danced as well, Foolish swept up Tommy and started to dance with the kid, sending Tommy into a fit of giggles as he was spun around. The boy forgot about his uneasy feelings and started to enjoy the party.

"So who's ready for a feast," Ant announced and they were led to a large table. Tommy sat by Phil as he sat near the edge of the table.

"So toasts, speeches, does anyone have any," Bad said.

"I do actually," Foolish said, as he spoke Tommy's ears started ringing and he zoned out. Something was wrong, he didn't know what put something was happening. "But I'm willing to give you a 3rd- 4th chance."

"Phil, I want to go home," Tommy whispered, but Phil dismissed him. He wasn't going to be rude, the Eggpire seemed to have changed.

"I'd like to say something as well," Eret said and started speaking how he was glad the SMP was turning back into how it was.

"You know what I've learned over my time," Ponk said, "as a wise man once said, people do change." They expected him to elaborate but he just stopped there.

"You look beautiful tonight," Sam muttered.

"I would like to speak as well," Puffy said, breaking the silence and standing up. "Bad, I'm glad you hosted this party. We've been through alot together and this egg has separated us quite a bit. And I'm happy that I won't have to sacrifice anymore friendships. Thank you for today, and I hope this brings us all together. I also hope that after today we never have to hear the words 'a new neaf' or 'second chances' or 'bygones be bygones' because you will start doing what's right. And I'm glad that the fighting's finally over."

"I can agree with that," Eret said, raising his glass. Everyone copied saying cheers and raising their drinks.

"Would anyone else like to say some words," Bad asked, looking around.

"Well do you have anything to say, Bad," Puffy asked as she sat down.

"Why yes, I do actually," Bad said. "I would like to say I appreciate you all coming. This was a perfect opportunity for us as a community to come together and honestly, to let bygones be bygones. To set any past issues aside and to set things right, so we can grow and advance in the future."

"Phil," Tommy tugged on his jacket, starting to panic as lava poured from walls, trapping them in the room. "Phil, we need to go."

"Not now Tommy," Phil hissed, why was he so insistent on leaving? Realizing he wasn't going to get Phil's attention he got up and was going to Niki who wasn't sitting too far from them.

"And now," Bad said as the lava encased them, "prepare to die."

"What," Puffy exclaimed and the others started to panic as well. "What about turning over this leaf?!"

"No, the leaf is staying the way it is," Bad said.

"Tommy," Phil grabbed him, and gave him a potion as Puffy uncovered the armor she had hidden, but was gone. "Listen to me you take this fire resistance and get out of here. The entrance is just over there, you run, and you go find help. Okay?"

Tommy nodded, he looked at the lava nervously but Phil and everyone was counting on him, he had to do it. He gulped down the potion and sprinted where they had come in.

"Stop him," Hannah yelled, running after Tommy. "Tommy get back here!"

Phil pulled out his bow and shot the few arrows he had at Hannah. She whirled around to look where the arrows had come from. Unsheathing his sword he ran after Hannah, buying the time Tommy needed to escape. She had armor and Phil didn't so he was forced to throw his sword to the side in order to not be killed.

"There, I have nothing else," Phil said, putting his hands in the air. He'd done what he needed. He'd got Tommy out and soon he'll be back with help.

"Now Sam!" Puffy said, Sam flipped a hidden lever and tnt came pouring down onto the Egg. But as it blew up obsidian covered the Egg and vines surrounding it, protecting the Egg from the explosion.

"Did you really think that would work," Bad laughed with the others as Phil was forced back to the crowd. "After Quackity tried that, we took extra precautions. Now who should we execute first?"

"Execute?!" Eret exclaimed with the others freaking out as well. "You're a monster."

"You're one to speak," Ponk said, he was apart of the server when Eret had betrayed L'Manburg.

"I've changed, I have learned not to betray others trust in me," Eret said.

"Well maybe you could be our first sacrifice," Bad said, "we'll take care of Phil and Sam next."

"No, no, no," Eret said as he was forced up to the area in front of the Egg.

"Stop!" Foolish said, he couldn't let Eret be killed, not while he could still do something. "Enough. You know protecting itself from tnt, that was impressive. But can it survive a barrage of lightning?" He raised his hands and started to channel his power as a god, but nothing. Nothing happened. "I-I don't understand."

"You really think you can come into the Egg's domain and be able to defeat it," Bad said, "I have an even better idea. How about we sacrifice the totem first."

"No!" Puffy screamed as Eret was let go and Foolish forced up to the podium and forced down to his knees.

"You could have prevented this Puffy," Antfrost said, "you could have stayed with the Eggpire and none of this would be happening."

"We don't know that," Sam said.

"I left the Eggpire cause I realized we were hurting people," Puffy said.

"But look at where that got you, we're going to kill your son," Ant said.

"Puffy, it's okay," Foolish said, and Ant swung his sword down, a bright green light filling the room as the totem lost his first life.

"No!" Puffy cried, tears started to spill from her eyes, and there was nothing she could do.

"One down and so many more to go," Bad laughed, looking at all of them. "Now who do we kill next? Perhaps Sam for trying to blow up the Egg, or Philza for hiding Tommy from us or even-"

"You're not going to be killing anyone!" Quackity leaped down from a small opening in the basement. "Bad, this isn't you. This isn't you Bad, we both know this."

"Where did you come from," Bad demanded, pointing a crossbow in Quackity's direction. He had nothing and didn't seem to have any weapons.

"I know what you're doing here but you're going to stop right now," Quackity said, pulling out a sword. "Look at what you've done. This is impressive. But you have to stop. This whole Egg thing has gotten out of hand. You just killed a man. Was that your plan all along? To kill innocent people? This has gotten completely out of control and I'm not going to have it. You're going to stop, right now."

"Now why would we do that," Bad walked towards him as Quackity equipped armor. "You think putting on armor will help you? Why do you think we did all this, we did this for the Egg. You can't give us what the Egg can give us. Don't get in our way. Don't try and stop us."

"Bad, look what you've done," Quackity walked around the room. "You've trapped all these people here, all these innocent people. In what you've disguised as a party. What have they done to you?

"You are a pawn to power, something that doesn't care about you. I mean look at the Egg, it doesn't mean anything Bad." Quackity slipped a golden apple and axe to Puffy, "So how about he stop playing games. How 'bout that?"

"I can't, I can't stop and you know why," Bad said. "And you know what Quackity if you wanted to stop us, you should have brought an army."

"I did, in fact I brought the next best thing," Quackity laughed, "I brought my biggest enemy."

"Alright Quackity, where's this Egg you were talking about," Technoblade emerged from the same opening. Phil started laughing as dogs came in behind him, teeth bared and ready to attack at Techno's command.

"It's right here, Techno," Quackity grinned, putting his sword against his shoulder.

"Let's go!" Phil said as Niki whispered it, he wasn't afraid to show his support to his friend.

"And not only that, I went looking across the entire lands for the best mercenary I could find. Cause you're right, I can't take you alone. So I got two of the best fighters on the server, welcome him Bad," Quackity said and Purpled emerged as well.

"Purpled," Bad exclaimed, "we hired you to kill Puffy and you join the enemy's side!"

"Bad, to be frank with you," Purpled said, "Quackity just had the better price."

"And Techno," Bad said, thinking he could negotiate with him. "You and Quackity are enemies! Why would you side with him?"

"Did you really think Bad, that you could execute my closest friends." Techno said, "No, your biggest mistake here was inviting Phil and thinking you could attempt to kill him without me finding out. And that's just the tip of the iceburg. This Egg, it's warping peoples' minds, it's controlling them and has no plans of stopping. And this Egg is the epitome of everything I stand against as an anarchist. So yeah, you've given me enough reason to work with Quackity."

"We're not going to let you stop us," Bad said, his voice wavered though, could they taking on The Blade himself? Most of them had seen the destruction he brought upon L'Manburg. "We still out number you, four against three."

"Not for long," Puffy said, splashing a potion of strength on herself and ran at them with the axe she now had. "You're dead Antfrost!"

"Wait! When did Puffy get a weapon?!" Bad yelled as Puffy attacked Ant.

"You've taken my kindness for weakness," Puffy said, swinging the axe down and killing Ant before he was able to defend himself. She turned around, tears streaming down her face, ready to attack the others as well.

"Dogs attack!" Techno yelled, attacking Ponk. Quackity and Purpled followed, attacking Bad and Hannah.

The three did their best to fight off the dogs, able to kill and injure some of them. But is wasn't enough they would soon be overwhelmed.

"Retreat," Bad yelled, they were no match for them. He broke into a wall near the Egg that opened up into a maze of tunnels.

"Purpled, you follow them, we'll take care of things here," Quackity said, Purpled nodded and ran into the tunnels.

"Phil, are you alright," Techno went up to him and Niki. "Where's the kid?"

"I gave him a fire res and sent him out, I thought he would have ran into you," Phil said.

"And the Eggpire knows who he is," Niki added, "we have to find him."

"Got it, we should take care of this Egg though," Techno said.

"I-I'll build a prison for it if I have to,” Sam said.

“Okay, but will that contain this?” Quackity asked, “are we sure that’s going to be enough?”

“We need to leave,” Techno said, the only way out was the opening they had made in the wall. “Tommy’s out there, we have to make sure he’s okay.”

“I should come,” Sam said, he needed to prioritize Tommy, even if it ment pushing back trapping the Egg.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do here,” Quackity said, “Techno, you know the way out.”

Techno built a path up to the opening and handed Phil a weapon to defend himself with. When they got out of the basement Phil spotted someone wandering around, thinking it might be Tommy he ran in their direction, Niki following.

“Phil!” He exclaimed when he saw them, “boy am I glad to see you.”

“Wil-Wilbur,” Niki said, she couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t Ghostbur, but Wilbur himself, in the flesh.

Alive.

[deans-haunted-baby]

The Last Rites

*So, many fans including myself were unhappy with Adam Milligan and Michael’s exits out of Supernatural. This is my fix-it or at least my interpretation of what happened after 15x19 and 15x20. Enjoy!*

Summery: Chuck now human is a bitter bin collector and part-time serial killer stalking his latest victim. Little does he know that the dynamic human vessel/archangel duo Michael and Adam have been stalking him.  

"Damn that Sam and Dean and that little brat for making me human! But I'll get the last laugh," he says as he makes his rounds and choosing his latest victim. Plotting all the terrible things he plans on doing to the Winchesters. “I’ll get them all for this!”

As Chuck follows this person out to their car in the middle of the night, knife in hand. All off a sudden he hears wings flapping and turns around in horror. His eyes bug out when he sees a figure standing before him in the shadows.

"W-who's there?"  

Michael/Adam step out of the darkness wearing a "surprise-bitch" look on their face: "Hello...father" by the darkness of his ton Chuck knows his son hadn't forgotten the last time they saw each other. By that lakeside where he'd killed him for helping the Winchesters.

"No i-its impossible... You're dead I killed you. You should be in the Empty."

Michael hesitantly shakes his head. "Not anymore."

"How?"

"Let's just say I made bail thanks to my nephew and Castiel as they needed my assistance in Heaven's rehabilitation. And I humbly obliged."

"Castiel? He's alive too?! And you're working for them?! Why? That little brat took my power!" Chuck screams in anguish. "NO you both should be suffering in the Empty for all eternity!"

Michael/Adam looks at his hands flexing them into fists. Recalling the last second he drew breath being smited by his father. Regretting his decision to ever forsake his duty for humanity for his father. And his anger burns like acid.

"After what you did to me the last time we spoke...all I've cherished was this moment," the archangel Prince darkly replies. Adam's soul quietly astral-projected is in the background roots on his buddy. "Jack and Castiel offered me a chance to atone myself for wrongly choosing you over that which I’ve swore an oath to protect. That I could leave the Empty and reclaim my throne in Heaven if I stayed on Earth and helped the Winchesters clean up your mess."  

Chuck glares "So you're their bitchboy now? Ha, pathetic." He chortled in his throat. "I always knew you were weak, Michael. Being in that cage all those years with Sam and Dean's forgotten little bro has made you soft."

Michael's cheeks throb angrily. But he maintains his restraint. "Oh I'm not doing this for them," he reveals; stepping a little closer to his father. Shoulders squared. "Being stuck on Earth is also my punishment. But I've accepted it...I deserve my fate...just as you deserve yours right now."

Chuck then scrutinizes his son suspiciously. Looking from the archangel's fists to the face of his vessel Adam.

"What so you're like an archangel superhero now?" He can't contain a laugh. "Wow those Winchesters must be really desperate to resort to sending you here instead of facing me themselves."

Michael shook his head. "As I've already stated...I'm not here for them, he says. "The one called Dean, my original sword, has already fallen in battle and has inherited his place in my nephew's paradise. And his brother Sam sought out his other brother Adam, my chosen vessel. They've been working together ever since."

"And that's when Jack sent you."

“Yes."

"Dammit!,” Chuck swears this wasn't suppose to happen. If he killed a Winchester in his story the other brother left alive was suppose to take his own life in grief. No this couldn't be happening. They changed his ending AGAIN. "THIS WASN'T THE ENDING I PLANNED! I DIDN'T WRITE THIS!"

Michael cocks his head sideways; basking in his father's frustration. It was music to his ears. Then he's serious; raising his hand and forwarding his palm in a power-up.

"Your reign if tyranny is over father. You will not be scribing another's fate ever again. Not while I'm around."

At that Chuck's face is ghostly white. "Wait, what are you doing?" He puts up his hands submissively. "I'm human now, you can't just smite me. I'm part of the humanity that I created for you to protect!"

"Oh you don't have any rights here," growls the archangel sternly. "You gave up those privileges when you chose to use your newfound humanity to blindly murder others. Your arrogance and hatred for mankind was your own undoing. And now your death shall be your punishment, father."

Chuck trembling now resorts to begging for his son's mercy. "Michael, wait son we can talk about this." He showcases a nervous smile. "We can still make this right."

"No we can't." Michael scoffs. "The centuries of my allegiance to you have also perished. And I've wanted nothing more than to watch you beg forgiveness as you draw your last breath."

"Wait please show your father mercy, my son! Please!"

"Like the mercy you demonstrated to me that day by the lake shore?"

Chuck nodded still keeping his hands up. Okay so Michael was still pissed about that. "Fine you're right that was a mistake. I should've never hurt you like that. I was wrong and I see that now."

Michael's expression is smug, giving a mild throat chuckle. Then his cold expression shifts into anguish. "I hate myself for ever believing in you and turning my back on humanity. I will never be able to forgive myself for making that choice. For allowing you, Lucifer and my devotion to you to manipulate me from doing what was right."

"This doesn't have to get ugly Michael, we can still talk this out." Chuck begs. “Come on, what do ya say?”

"No we're done talking father." Michael's eyes glow like silvery blue light.

Chuck back peddles "Wait j-just give me another chance. I can prove to you I'll change I will."

Michael chuckles darkly, "Like the chance you were about to give that civilian you were following just now? Or the others you’ve murdered since?"

He eyes the knife in his father's hand. Suddenly Chuck realizes this and impulsively drops it onto the pavement.

"No, this isn’t what it looks like. I-I wasn't going to hurt anyone else. I swear!"

"You'll never learn will you father," Michael shrugs apathetically. "It's a shame. You were given a gift by your own flesh and blood and you've squandered it."  

"WAIT MICHAEL, PLEASE LET'S JUST TALK ABOUT THIS!"

No, no the archangel Prince was done talking. He'd said all he needed to say and with that throws Chuck's own last words to him right back in the short man's face.

"SAVE IT!" smiting him instantly on the spot. Blasting his father in a blinding light, erasing him from existence. When the dust settles Michael eases his tense shoulders releasing a sharp intake of breath.

Adam's projected soul then takes it upon himself to console his friend. Who is clearly bitter about destroying his own father even if he was an evil bastard.

"You did the right thing you know," the pre-med student/hunter in training reassures him. "Your dad would've killed that person if you hadn't intervened."

But Michael doesn't want to hear it. "I didn't do this for that person. I did it out of my own volition. I wanted my father to pay for what he'd done to me and my broken vow."

"It still doesn't change the fact that you saved someone tonight, Michael,” Adam insists. “And you proved that you can be better than Chuck ever was."

Michael frowns lowering his gaze to the ground melancholically.

"Or maybe I've just demonstrated that I am no better than him. I betrayed my sworn oath," the archangel squeezes his fist tightly. Putting all his anger into that hand. "And for that transgression alone I shall never be redeemed."

Adam recognizing the sadness in Michael's expression, throws his celestial pal a genuine smile, kneading his shoulder. "There's always redemption for all of us," he says gently. "I believe my brothers were capable of that, even if they never cared about me. Knowing you and even getting to know Sam has taught me so much more about myself, my family and what I'm meant to do with my life."

"What like being a hero?"

"Yah and it's kinda cool I get to kick some ass with an archangel."

"So, you want to honor your family. Despite what fate they'd left you to."

Adam shook his head. "Sam and Dean were far from perfect. I don't think I'll ever fully forgive them for what happened," he reveals. "BUT I think it changed me for the better. I got to become friends with Heavens MVP and I care about their cause now. They wanted to protect the world from evil and that's what I want to do. It's not about honoring the Winchester's legacy I want to do some good in this world. And you know what...I think you do too."

The archangel smiled to himself. "Well I did get some amusement out of watching my father squirm," He says lightly then adds. "Alright kid, you win. We shall continue our eternal quest for justice."

"Good, but we can continue that quest another night," the pre-med checks his wristwatch. "I gotta get some rest I have classes in the morning."

Michael scrutinized Adam. "You do know that you no longer require rest now that I've possessed this vessel or has that notion escaped you?"

“Oh yah I forgot," Adam laughs. "I guess I won't be needing sleep anytime soon then. Let's go home anyway I want to check out the bunker some more. Find any hidden passages or something."

"As you wish. I imagine your canine companion is also getting famished without us around to feed it."

A light bulb went off in his head. Right Sam and Dean's dog Miracle was in his care now. He loved that scruffy mutt even if he did drool a lot. Time to get home.  

"Miracle, okay we gotta get home stat!"

And with that Michael flew back to the bunker.

[troop-scoop]

Mistakes & Regrets XXII

Summary: When a trip to your Dad’s hometown of Hawkins goes wrong, you end up in the year 1983, and have to learn how to cope with being stuck in the past.

Pairing: Steve Harrington / Future!Reader (like, a really slow burn)

Warnings: Swearing, violence

• • • 

It was pretty much known by everybody who you were friends with that Steve hated your driving. And by hate, you meant it. 

He was genuinely shocked when the DMV gave you your license. You were always going over the speed limit, and taking sharp turns. His least favorite thing you did? Not slowing down at bumps or potholes.

So, you were hoping he wouldn’t wake up while you were driving. Dustin, Max, Mike and Steve were all crowded in the back seat of the car, but Lucas was next to you with the map, even though you knew your way to this farm because you went there to get a pumpkin for Will a few days before Halloween. 

“Y/n?” 

You looked in the rearview mirror, seeing Steve turned and looking at Mike. You redirected your attention to the road, choosing not to let him know that you were the one driving. 

“No don’t touch it” Dustin told him. Though you couldn’t see what he was telling Steve not to touch. “Hey, buddy. . .” Dustin shushed a bit. 

You continued driving, occasionally glancing at the map even if it was so dark you couldn’t really see anything. 

“It’s okay, you put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a good fight. You’re okay.”

“Okay, you’re gonna keep straight for a half a mile, then make a left on Mount Sinai.” You nodded in response to Lucas’ instructions. 

“What’s going on?”

You didn’t want to look at Steve but you did anyway. Quickly sparing a look over your shoulder before turning back to the front. 

“Oh, my God.” 

“Hey, relax, she has her license.” Dustin tried to soothe as if Steve was an infant. 

“Yeah, and she barely passed the driving test.” Mike pointed out. You were gonna kill Nancy for coming with you to the DMV. 

“That still counts.” Max and Lucas both pointed out. 

“Steve, dude, need you to chill-”

“Oh, my God!”  He repeated, now fully awake and realizing the situation he was in, crowded around a bunch of middle schoolers with you driving. 

“They were gonna leave you behind.”

You could feel the stress rising in the back seat as Steve continued to repeat himself as he sat up, with Dustin trying to calm him down. 

“Fuck it.” You muttered, speeding up. Your nerves were getting the best of you. You wanted Eleven to be okay, you wanted Will to be okay. 

“Oh, my God! No! Whoa! Stop the car. Slow down!”

You tried to tune them out, with Mike, Dustin and Steve all yelling in the back seat, and Max looking more annoyed by the second.

“Shut up!” She yelled at them “She needs to focus!” 

You were sure it wasn’t a very pleasant way to wake up after getting your ass kicked by a racist. You saw the road coming up and took a sharp turn, which resulted in the squeaking of Billy’s tires and Steve screaming even louder. 

You came to a sudden spot when Mike yelled that you were there at the hole. You remained quiet, sniffling a little bit and turning the engine off. 

Getting out of the car you went to the drunk, unlocking it and letting the kids get what they needed to set up. 

You grabbed the gun, tucking it into your jeans. Taking the red bandana and swimming goggles, you looked over to the side of the car where Steve fell onto the dirt, loosing his balance 

The kids got their goggles and bandanas, having fully understood you when you said that the atmosphere down there was toxic. Because it was just an expansion of the Upside Down. 

Walking over to Steve you handed him the bandana and goggles, knowing you didn’t really need them. If you were immune to the atmosphere a year ago, it wouldn’t really change now. 

He tried to get your attention as you walked away but you couldn’t look at him. The tears felt like they were coming back every time you did.

You’d never let him know that you cried the entire time you were gathering things to get in the car. You were practically sobbing while going about your business, barely making it out of the driveway because your vision was blurry from your tears. 

You stood at the hood of the car while Mike came over with a canister of gasoline and the rope, bending down to tie it to the front bumper. 

“You got it?” You asked, wiping away a bit of snot. You hated crying, and the after effects. 

You could hear Steve yelling about how he said no to this plan, that he wasn’t going to allow it. But if you had to go down there alone, you would. 

“Yeah.” He said quietly. “You okay?” 

“Peachy.” You responded with little enthusiasm, which Mike picked up on, but refused to say anything. 

Walking back to the trunk you grabbed Steve’s arm, catching his attention as he took your backpack from Dustin.

“If you’re not with me, you are my enemy.” You said in a gentle and joking manner, only getting a confused grin from him. “You won’t understand that. . . for a long time.” He looked even more confused as you walked over to the hole as Mike dropped the rope down into it. 

Steve and Dustin quickly followed after you. It smelled familiar. And you could feel how cold it was already. Taking a deep breath you looked at the boys, who gave you an uncertain look through their goggles. 

Stepping closer to the hole. Steve grabbed your wrist, stopping you from moving. “What are you doing?” 

“Going down there? To commit interdimensional arson?” 

“Why don’t you have any of this?” Steve gestured to his bandana and pair of goggles he’d gotten on within seconds. 

“I don’t really need it.” You said softly, pulling your wrist away and jumping down into the hole. You landed with your knees bent and in total darkness.

You froze up. It felt like it was all rushing back, and you lowered yourself onto your knees, the gooey feeling on your jeans also familiar and not uncomfortable. You could remember the sound of rain, and yelling out for your dad, having regretted running as soon as the storm started. And you tried to find your way back, but you stepped over one rock, and all of a sudden you fell into what felt exactly like this.

You remembered having your hoodie on, and your hair up. Your shoes had been soaked from the rain. You still had them somewhere in your apartment. A pair of damaged black vans. 

You could suddenly remember taking your first shower at the motel, watching as the dirt, blood and sweat went down the drain. You hadn’t been able to remember your first night at the motel since you’d been there. 

You remembered taking the shower after buying a completely new outfit, from a store, just so you could feel comfortable. You remembered the odd looks you got from everyone, and staying quiet after you saw the date in a newspaper. You’d put it together far quicker than you’d imagined. You’d enrolled yourself into the highschool quickly, got a wardrobe together, and tried to act normal. You remembered all of it now. 

“Y/n? Hey, c’mon, look at me, are you okay?” Steve grabbed your face, making you look at him. But all you could see was his bruised forehead and his eyes through the tinted goggles. 

“Yeah.” You answered simply. You could suddenly remember the last time your dad hugged you, and how tight it had been. Like he’d known that something was going to happen, or that it’d be the last time. But you hadn’t. 

“I’m fine.” 

Steve helped you onto your feet, and you reached for whoever’s hand was closest, and that just so happened to be Steve’s. 

You started your trek down the tunnels, every step reminding you of what happened. You pretty much zoned out on everything. Ignoring everything that was said and remembering how quiet it had been except for those things that you always hid from. You were good at hiding as a little kid, and even now. Lockdown drills didn’t help.

But you did snap out of it when you heard screaming. Turning back you saw Mike and Lucas run back, and you went after them. Mike was yelling for Dustin and when you came to a large opening, you saw Dustin on the ground, coughing.

Kneeling down you had a grip on his shoulders as he coughed. He had a grip on you too, using you as a bit of balance. 

He stopped and looked up at you, seeing how worried you were. “I’m okay.” 

It was anticlimatic. 

You nodded a bit. “Okay.” You agreed, grabbing the end edge of his bandana and pulling it over the nose of his scuba mask and helping him back up. You walked with Dustin most of the way after that, a hand on his shoulder and the other on Mike’s as they followed Steve’s lead. 

“Alright, Wheeler. I think we found your hub.” 

Steve was right, the other tunnels all leading to this one spot. That everyone shined their flashlight on. 

And instead of a constant feeling of reliving that short month in the Upside Down, you took the gas canister that Mike had been carrying for you. “Let’s drench it.” He spoke as you uncapped it. Everyone did the same, With Lucas spraying the higher walls of the hub while the rest of you got the lower parts, and the floor. The smell was overwhelming, like a gas station but a thousand times worse. And usually you liked the smell.

“Alright, c’mon. Everybody get back.” 

You looked up at Steve, seeing that he was gesturing back to the way you’d come. You dropped your canister, and went to the tunnel.

You were all gathered together, and Steve looked at you. “You still have my lighter?” Nodding, you reached into the pocket of his jacket and handed it to him. 

“Alright, you guys ready?”

“Yeah.” You answered. With everyone else answering as well. 

He opened the lighter and ignited it, the small flame lighting up a small area, before he tossed it into the puddle of gasoline. What you’d all poured into it lit up 

The vines on the floor began to make sounds and flail in the air, almost as if it was in pain. But you couldn’t bring yourself to care if it was in pain. 

“Go, go, go!” Steve shouted. You grabbed Lucas, Dustina and Mike who all took longer than Max, who took off running.

You pushed them all ahead of you and began to run yourself, with Steve behind you. You all ran, not really caring if you were cautious at this point. 

Steve grabbed onto your arm and started to pull you along with him when he almost passed you.

He let go of you when he made sure you weren’t completley behind him or the kids, but right along side Mike. 

You grabbed onto Mike’s hand, trying to make sure you didn’t lose him or he didn’t get lost.

Mike tripped on one of the vines and fell onto the ground. “Steve!” You shouted. While Mike screamed ‘help’ 

They came running back, with Lucas going to the other side of Mike as Steve brought the bat down onto the vine. You pulled Mike away and grabbed his face. “Are you okay?” 

He gave an urgent nod as you helped him stand back up. 

Before any of you could make a run for it again, you heard the familiar growling from a demodog as Dustin liked to call it. 

You still held onto Mike, an arm around his shoulders, holding him close like you would if he were your own brother. You also had an arm out, acting as a shield for Lucas, as Dustin stepped forward. 

You didn’t feel scared, just anxious, with your heart beating a million miles a second, having had both Dustin and Mike fall on the way at some point. Mike had his flashlight pointed at Dart, but his other hand had a death grip on the back of your shirt. 

“Dart.” Dustin spoke, taking a small step forward. 

In unison all of you started speaking, telling him to get back or that it was a bad idea. “Sh! Trust me, please.” He continued to walk over to the thing. Both you and Steve shared a look as your grip on Mike stayed the same. 

The four kids were family to you your entire life, they would have done anything to protect you just like your dad would have done for their kids. So you’d do anything to protect them now. 

“It’s me, It’s Dustin, You remember me?” He asked, kneeling down in front of him, his goggles and mask off. “Will you let us pass?”

  Dart opened his mouth and growled, showing off the tiny teeth decorating the petal like flaps. You pulled Mike closer and grabbed Lucas’ hand who stepped behind you. 

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I”m sorry about the storm cellar.”

“I’m not.” You murmured to yourself. 

“That was a pretty douchey thing to do. You hungry? Yeah?” Dustin took his backpack off, reaching into it and pulled out a three musketeers. 

“He’s insane.” Lucas mumbled. You only nodded in agreement. While Steve told him to shut up. 

“I’ve got our favorite. See? Nougat.” Dustin began to unwrap the candy bar. “Look at that. Yummy. Here, all right? Eat up, buddy.”

Dustin gestured for you all to go past Dart without looking at at any of you. Steve went first, then Max, and then you, Mike and Lucas. Mike and you still having a tight grip on each other and Lucas using you as a bit of a shield, and you didn’t blame him. 

You all stopped once past Dart and Dustin, and saw as Dart looked back at Dustin. “Goodbye, buddy.” Dustin told him, puling his mask and goggles back on, before turning to the rest of you and following. 

Things just kept popping up however, as when you’d barely gotten far from Dart, the tunnel shook, and you could hear distant growling from multiple demodogs. 

“They’re coming.” Mike realized, having taken your hand after you’d let him go. “Run!” He yelled with everyone instantly following what he said and running towards the rope. 

Once there, Steve helped Max up onto the ground, then Lucas, as well as Mike and Dustin. 

“Shit.” You mumbled, hearing the demodogs get closer. You pulled the gun from your Jeans as Steve stepped in front of you, bending his knees enough so you could aim over his shoulder. 

And much to your surprise, instead of attacking, they went around the two of you, acting as if you were just rocks in their way. 

Steve turned and grabbed you with his free hand, keeping you close and out of their way as the two of you watched them run. 

“Okay. . .” Steve mumbled, looking down at you. “Your turn.” He told you dropping the bat and leaning down to grab you from around the knees, and lifting you up to the rope. 

You had a firm grip on it and climbed the couple of inches you needed before Mike and Max grabbed you, helping to pull you out, and then you did the same for Steve, pulling him out as he tossed the bat to the side. 

The headlights of Billy’s car grew brighter for a few seconds, forcing you to shield your eyes. But it was gone as soon as it had come. 

• • • 

Stepping out of the car you were met with Billy sitting on the porch, and the door opening as Joyce came out. The worry on her face was unmistakable. 

“Oh, my God.” He muttered, coming over to you and hugging you. You were both sweaty and gross, but you understood the reaction. She’d expected for you all to be in house when she came back with Will. “You’re okay?” She asked, pulling away and holding your face in her hands. 

You nodded, forcing a tired smile. “I’m alive.” You couldn’t say you were okay, because you knew you weren't. But you were alive, and that was enough for you. 

“Y/n!” Looking over Joyce’s shoulder you saw Will, Jonathan and Nancy coming out as well. Smiling you walked over to Will who came over and hugged you. 

“Hey,” You greeted, hugging him back. 

“It wanted me to kill you.” 

“I know, kid. But you didn’t.” You reminded him, pulling away and smiling down at him. You could see your brother in him. The smile and the tired look in his eyes. “It’s an okay night.” 

“Hey, guys.” You looked at Nancy and Jonathan who smiled back. Eleven and Hopper got back at the same time as you, So Mike and her had gone to each other, and everyone stood around, exhausted and ready to crash. 

“Nancy, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas can stay here for the night, to get some rest.” Joyce told them. “Y/n, Steve, you’re welcome to stay too.” 

Looking over at Steve you could see how exhausted he was, and looking over to Joyce you looked down at Will, who you still had an arm around. “We. . . can get a ride to my apartment. We both need showers.” You told her. 

She nodded and reached over to you, a hand on your cheek that you subconsciously leaned a bit into. 

“I’ll drive them.” Hopper offered to Joyce. 

You nodded a bit, looking over to Steve. “We’ll get the BMW tomorrow morning, yeah?” He nodded in response. 

“We should go now, before he passes out here.” You told Hopper, but really, you could see how Steve was looking at Billy. 

“Let’s go.” 

• • • 

@disneyprincessbuffyannesummers​ @nxncywheeler​ @yllwtaxi​ @songofcosplay​ @potatopooper05​ @cheesecakeisapie @robinsdolan​ @yall-wildin-like-siriusly​  @bisexualpears​ @ilovebucketbarnes​ @random-thoughts-003​ @mochminnie  @abbyg217​​ @stevexscoops​​ @cashmereandtears​​ @iris-suoh​​ @supred12 @ohmyitsfaith​ @beyond-the-gone​

[zenithlux]

Tendrils of Regret - Part 5

Read the story on AO3 here!

The next week and a half went by awkwardly. You and Vergil still went on missions together, mostly because Dante was ecstatic that you’d managed it and you really didn’t want to let him down. But you barely talked to each other more than the occasional quip or piece of needed information. Vergil seemed less willing to compete with you, killing everything quickly and leaving the bodies for you to choose between. You barely got to use your powers when he was around, something that even the vine seemed to be upset about. The pinpricks against your heart had gotten worse, and the only way to deal with it so far had been heading back out to the greenhouses. The owners called you a miracle worker, but you made sure they were never around when you worked your magic. 

You’d also slowly removed yourself from the denial phase, and now fully believed that the V you knew was never coming back. It was a tough thing to accept, especially when you continued to dream about him almost every night. But after Lady and Trish finally came clean as to what actually happened around the Qliphoth Tree, you believed them. Vergil was V. A much harsher, less compassionate V. And you had to accept that. 

It didn’t stop the grief though, as much as you thought it might. 

So when you woke up feeling particularly down on a dreary Saturday, you weren’t surprised. 

Early on, you decided just to stay in your room. You figured Vergil wouldn’t care. In fact, you assumed he’d be relieved when you didn’t show up at your usual leaving time and just head out on his own. You did try to do something with your time, whether it be reading or writing or just… anything else. But you kept finding yourself right back in bed, staring either at the ceiling or the back of your eyelids for hours on end. And you supposed it was about time for something like this. You’d been in denial for so long that it was inevitable, really. And now that the nightmares had returned, you wondered if you’d ever get another good night of sleep again. 

At one point, you glanced at the bracelets still adorning your wrists. You hadn’t had the heart to remove them, nor did you know what to do with them. You promised to hold onto them until he returned. Technically, he had. But you had a feeling Vergil wouldn’t want one. He’d never want it. Of that you were certain.

When 2pm hit, you were surprised by another quiet knock at the door. 

You stared at the wilting blue roses in front of you. The rest of the plants were in an equal state of disarray, fueled by your terrible mood. You’d be able to fix them once you felt better, but there was nothing you could do about it now. You had yet to take a shower, nor had you changed out of the pajamas you’d been wearing for the last day and a half. You really didn’t even want to answer the door, but you didn’t think you’d be able to pretend you weren’t there either. The brothers alone could probably sense you, even if Trish wasn’t home. And the only person you’d heard leave this morning was Dante. There was a chance it was Trish or Lady, but you just had a feeling. You’d been around Vergil long enough that you could practically sense him now. You didn’t know if it had something to do with him being your vine’s “master” or not. It really didn’t matter. 

Finally, you sighed and forced yourself up right. You flicked your hand and one of the vines wrapped around the knob and jerked it open. In stepped Vergil, dressed as immaculate as ever. Not a hair was out of place, and you wondered what he’d been doing all morning. Probably reading. You were convinced that was all he ever did when not killing demons or arguing with his brother. “Are you going to lie around all day?” He said. 

You glared at him as you reached for a pillow. “If you have nothing good to say I suggest you leave.” 

You heard him sigh as you rolled away, wrapping yourself up stubbornly in the blankets. “Your plants are dying.” 

You felt like crying, but held it back. “Thanks. I hadn’t noticed.”

“Which means you aren’t feeling well, yes?”

“Why do you care?” You said, refusing to look at him. “I thought you’d be happy without someone to pester you.”

You heard another sigh, followed by the door closing. What was his plan? Drag you out of bed and force you on a mission? Sit in the room until he intimidated you out of bed? What was the point in all of this? You wished he would just leave and so you could wallow the day away and hope you felt better tomorrow. But then, just as the silence was about to get unbearable, you felt something drop on top of the blankets. “Get dressed,” Vergil said. “We leave in 15 minutes.”

You flinched at the command, swallowing in an attempt to ignore it. “I’m not interested, Vergil.”

“I’m not asking.”

“Just go on your own,” You muttered. “You’ve proven time and time again you don’t need my help.”

“There aren’t any tasks today,” he said. 

“I’m not scouting either.”

“Get dressed,” he repeated. 

The vine twisted tighter in your chest, begging you to respond. You stubbornly ignored the pain. Instead, you lurched upright, awkwardly unwrapping yourself from the blankets enough to glare at him. “You don’t get it do you?”

“If I don’t intervene then you will waste the rest of the day away.”

“And maybe that’s what I need to do.” 

“But is it what you want to do?”

“Of course not,” you snap. “But sometimes life doesn’t give you much of a choice.”

“I’m giving you a choice,” He said as calm as ever. 

“Last time I checked,” You said. “You weren’t life.”

“I’m not asking again,” Vergil said, clicking Yamato. “You can either get dressed and come with me or sit there and waste the rest of your day away.” He left before you could respond, quite nearly slamming the door behind him. You glared at it for far too long but groaned when some of your plants bloomed back to life. Of course they would respond to anger. At least you knew you had the energy to fuel them. Maybe you could find the strength to get out of bed today. Or you could just ignore him and go back to sleep. 

But you found yourself… conflicted. Where could Vergil possibly take you that would make your day better that didn’t involve demons? Now you were curious, and you had a feeling he knew it. 

Curse that nosy, infuriating blue-devil. 

Finally, you got yourself out of bed. You were surprised to find that Vergil had tossed you a matching pair of clothes and your favorite jacket. Had he really been paying that much attention to you? Impossible. Even on jobs he rarely looked at you. Maybe he’d just gotten lucky with his choices. Regardless, you begrudgingly put them on, lacking the energy to find anything else, threw your hair up into a messy pony-tail and found one of your perfumes to mask the lack of a shower. At the end of it, you stared at yourself in the mirror, wondering if this was the right decision. You could still feel your bed pulling at you, but you were able to ignore it as you wandered down the stairs where Vergil was waiting. 

“So where are we going?” You said. 

He cut open a portal and stepped aside. “Go.”

You scowled as your feet twitched, aching to follow the command. “You’re terrible at this “avoiding accidental commands” thing today.”

“They’re not accidental,” He said. “Now go.” 

“Asshole,” You muttered as you found yourself unable to ignore his summons any longer. You stepped through the portal as miserable-looking as possible, but your mood perked when you saw where he’d taken you. “An animal shelter?” You said as he stepped out beside you and the portal snapped shut. “What are we doing here?”

“Dante has agreed that the shop could be a bit more lively for days that you might be home alone.” He glanced at you. “Something that isn’t fully dependent on your moods.”

For some reason, you found yourself excited. “We’re getting a pet?”

“You are, yes,” Vergil said. “Morrison has taken care of all the paperwork. You just need to pick the one that suits you.” He crossed his arms. “A quiet one, preferably.”

“Is that a command?”

Vergil sighed. “No. It’s entirely yours to pick and take care of.”

You rolled your eyes. “You got it, dad.”

Vergil scowled, but you just laughed as you made your way across the street. “Are you coming with me?”

Vergil’s eyebrow shot up. “You want me to join you?”

You paused. “It’s probably best that you do, right? Not every animal will feel comfortable around a demon, so we should probably find one that is.”

Slowly, Vergil nodded. “I suppose that makes sense.”

“Is that a compliment?”

He huffed as he walked by you, but you were quick to catch up. As the doors opened, dozens of smells almost overwhelmed you. A dozen sunflowers nearby started to grow, but you caught yourself and shrunk them again before anyone noticed. A short brunette grinned at both of you from behind the counter. “Welcome!” She said. “Here for an adoption?”

“Yes,” Vergil said, slipping past you as he reached into his coat and put a stack of papers on the table. 

The woman looked them over quickly and nodded. “Anybody in particular you’re looking for?”

“Cats,” You said. Vergil glanced at you in what might have been surprise, but you were too excited to care. “Something that loves to cuddle and play, but can also spend some time alone while we’re at work.” 

The woman nodded again. “I always love helping couples pick out their first little buddy.”

You blinked. Vergil stiffened beside you. “Oh no, it's not like that.” You said.

The woman chuckled. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.” She winked as she turned away, leaving you flustered. Vergil just rolled his eyes and followed after the woman. You rushed to catch up to them. “No really, it’s…”

“Stop,” Vergil said. You froze in place, glaring at him. “Not like that.”

“How else is one supposed to stop?”

He sighed in annoyance. “Stop… stopping.”

You let go of a breath as your body released. “Stop doing that.”

“It’s harder than it looks.”

“Clearly,” You walked past him, but your irritation faded the second you stepped into the kitten corral. Various pitches of meows greeted you as numerous kittens moved toward the front of their cages and peered at you. Some ignored you completely. Others were playing with each other. You followed along the sides, peering at as many kittens as you could. “They’re so cute!” You breathed. 

“You’ll probably want an older cat,” The woman said. “You’ll find those over here.” 

On the way, you stopped at a certain cage, your heart swelling the second you saw the black cat inside. It was alone, curled up in a ball and purring as it slept the day away. But all you could see was a smaller Shadow, waiting for you to take him away. “Hey little guy,” You whispered, reaching your fingers through the cage to gently pet its ears. The cat’s eyes opened, but he just eyed you curiously, his tail flicking back and forth. 

“That’s one of our new arrivals,” The woman said. “We’ve been calling him Shadow.”

“Can I hold him?”

“Of course!” She said as she opened the cage. “He’s incredibly calm and quiet. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t been adopted before now.” She gently pulled Shadow from his cage, handing him to you. The cat purred as you held him like a baby, scratching behind his ears.

“Vergil!” You said, turning toward him. You were surprised to find that he was waiting in the doorway, eyes locked on you. After a moment, you moved toward him, holding Shadow out. “What do you think?”

“He’s your pet,” Vergil said. “I don’t…” He trailed off as you shoved the cat into his arms. Vergil’s eyes widened before moving back to the cat himself. The creature sat up in Vergil’s arms, eyes meeting his. You swore you saw Vergil melt just a bit. His shoulders relaxed. His gaze softened. For the briefest of moments, you could imagine V standing there, smiling as he cradled the cat with the same fondness he’d given his familiars. You shook your head, dispelling the image. Vergil wasn’t smiling, but his mouth was surprisingly agape, and you wondered what he was thinking. Did he even remember Shadow? Surely something so important to his human self would have remained in his head. But he hadn’t remembered you, so nobody but Vergil knew how all of that worked. 

But you’d never seen him like this. Relaxed. Slightly surprised. Guard down. He’d always been so uptight around you, especially after the greenhouse incident. But this was more… V like. A man that didn’t care what people thought of him and wasn’t afraid of his own emotions. 

“Vergil?”

He snapped his mouth closed and his muscles returned to their original rigidity. He handed Shadow back before crossing his arms and leaning against the door. “It's your choice,” he said, but you heard a strange sense of longing in his tone. 

You looked down at the cat, only to see it staring back at you. “I think we’ve found our companion,” You said. This time, Vergil didn’t react to your wording. In fact, he almost seemed to relax. 

The woman smiled. “I’ll get the paperwork.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Dante said when he returned home to find you playing with your new cat in the lobby. Vergil was reading on the couch behind you, but you hadn’t missed how his eyes had occasionally drifted to you and Shadow throughout the evening. Of course, he never asked to hold the cat again, and you knew he would never admit to wanting to play with him, but you knew he approved. “And let me guess. His name is Shadow. ”

“The adoption center named him,” You said. 

“But that is his name, yeah?”

You smiled as Shadow curled up into your lap, purring. “Maybe.”

Dante laughed as he plopped down at his desk. “And Vergil approved?”

“It wasn’t my choice,” Vergil said.

You rolled your eyes. “He’s said that a lot today.” You scratched behind Shadow’s ears. “But he didn’t complain when we went shopping for the toys, the food, or the crate. We got Shadow a bed too! So, I’d call that a victory.”

“Verge loves him,” Dante said as he kicked his feet up. “I can tell by the look on his face.” 

Vergil didn’t say anything, but you were more than used to that by now. “Well it’s a good time for us to get to bed,” You said, rising from your seat on the floor with Shadow in hand. The cat meowed as it yawned, approving of your decision. “When are we leaving tomorrow?”

Vergil’s eyes shot up in surprise. “What?”

“Well you have a plan, don’t you?” You said, nuzzling your cat. 

“... I’ll tell you in the morning.”

As you climbed the stairs, you heard Dante laugh. “I knew this was a good idea.”