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#knowing that all three of them have now passed
sihtryggr · 2 days
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REST IN PEACE: DAME MAGGIE SMITH (1934 - 2024)
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lilacgaby · 2 days
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˗ˏˋ🧸 bows and bottles ౨ৎ
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pairing: girldad!megumi x wife!reader
summary: megumi had been shocked by you multiple times this year. finding out you were pregnant? a shocker. with a girl though? even more shocking. good thing he was a natural.
tags: pet names, pregnancy, afab!reader, domestic au, marriage, insecurities, fluff
(a/n: another lovely ask by @lexiene !! i think every jjk character is a girldad personally )
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those two lines you showed to him changed the course of his life.
he was nervous sure, but you being there always calmed him down. he examined the rest of the items you'd placed in the gift box one by one, noting the gender-neutral clothing.
"you don't know the gender yet?"
"no silly! i'm only like.. a month. i think i have to be eighteen weeks or something to know."
"oh, okay."
"are you hoping for a gender?" you asked, moving your legs to face him on the couch.
"no, as long as they're healthy." he answered honestly, though the thought of having a girl did make him feel a bit nervous.
"hm, okay."
the weeks working up to the appointment you'd made were nerve wracking for megumi. you'd only been suffering mild symptoms of nausea and fatigue, so he'd been at your hand and feet most days.
the months had passed and your bump had grew. he'd been an angel for you, never letting you complain for more than a couple seconds. he'd wake up in the middle of the night and cook for you if you needed, he just wanted you and his kid to be safe.
as he drove to the appointment, reality set into him. you were having his baby, and they were going to find out the gender right now.
but an idea struck you in the car. "hey, how about we have them keep it a secret? we can have a fun little gender reveal party."
he physically slumped at the idea, relaxing a bit. "yeah, sounds good. but a small party, gojo is way too much of a lightweight for a huge one like last time."
you laughed at the memory, looking out the window as you held megumi's hand close to your thigh.
the visit at the doctor's was quick, they put the results of the ultrasound into an envelope for you two, and let you take home dozens of copies of the scans.
you went home content, smiling brightly as you looked over the pictures.
"they have your nose." you said out of the blue.
"you can't even tell that, it's a scan."
"yes i can."
"whatever you say."
the next week you had a small get together with some of your friends and megumi's. you wore a plain white dress since you didn't mind if it was a boy or a girl, and megumi wore a white button-up.
gojo wore a pink shirt, and argued with yuuji who was wearing a blue shirt.
nobara was carrying bags and bags of baby supplies, but was also wearing a pink shirt.
nanami was there holding a small gift box, he wore a white button-up with a pink tie.
they, along with some of your family, all held up confetti poppers. at the count of three they blew them up, pink confetti flying everywhere.
as gojo and nobara high fived each other, cheering at how they were right, you and megumi hugged eachother.
you now were able to go crazy, making everything really cute and pink for your little daughter. bows and bunnies scattered her nursery, pink flowers painted all over the walls.
cute rugs and rocking chairs, even her crib got a princess canopy.
nobara had gotten you the cutest little dresses and shoes, in the tiny box nanami had gotten for your baby girl it was little earrings. pure gold with a gemstone of her assumed birthmonth.
the months passed by really quickly, megumi kept his missions to a minimum so he could stay clung to your side.
he was a saint like always, holding your bump up for you to give you a few moments of relief, massaging parts of your body, he'd always be there for you.
but your little girl was stubborn and refused to come out. when he thought you were sleeping he'd speak to her, ask her nicely to come out tomorrow, speak about how excited he was to see her.
after a couple nights of that and morning walks? your water broke. he grabbed the overnight bag and made it to the driveway, only to realize..
he forgot you. oops.
picking up an annoyed you, he made it to the car and drove as fast as he could safely.
you delivered your baby safely, megumi thinking his wrist was going to snap from how hard you had it in your grip. he rolled his eyes though, because you were right.
she did have his nose. and his hair color, and his eyes. but she had your skin color, your lips, your eyebrows.
she was adorable.
she slept the whole day, not waking up unless she was woke up by you or him. she was an angel. barely ever crying.
he was relieved to find that she had your demeanor, your expressiveness that was more than just a straight demeanor most of the time.
he was the happiest when he looked into her and saw you, features of you that worked so harmoniously with his.
she was perfect.
she definitely had a favorite. spoiler alert: it wasn't you.
she always giggled when megumi was around, her first word was papa, much to your dismay. she clung to him all day, he was a natural at everything after all.
whenever he'd go on missions she'd cry, him having to call you just so she could fall asleep.
when she became a toddler? she'd run to the door to greet him everytime he'd come back. staying up past her bedtime just to see him.
but always passing out in his arms, wanting to stay by his side as she slept.
he'd do her hair once it was long enough. she begged and begged for him to learn how to braid, and after much consultation he learned.
he was there with her when she got her ears pierced, holding her hand as the needle went through her ear. it didn't hurt, but the numbing sensation felt weird. she wore the golden earrings she was gifted 5 years ago with pride, almost convincing megumi to get his ears pierced too.
almost.
she had him wrapped around her finger, doing anything she wanted whenever. if she wanted a toy she had it the next day. she wanted to go somewhere? let's start planning a family trip.
he taught her how to read patiently, grabbing any number of baby books to help her piece together the words, clapping together when she read a page successfully.
they shared a sweet tooth, so most of time he'd 'sneak' her snacks. candy, lollipops, chocolate, cupcakes, they'd share them together and laugh because they thought you didn't notice.
they were like two peas in a pod, they acted exactly the same sometimes. shed repeat his sentences, the way he walked, and even his facial expressions.
she clung to you just as much though, don't get it confused. she loved your attention on her as much as he did, scrunching her face when you two kissed in front of her. her using her body to push you away and 'reprimand' megumi.
he loved his girls so much, he didn't think life could get any better than being sandwiched in between the two of you while you watched random movies in the living room.
but it magically did, when for his birthday he was gifted baby socks. "are you joking?" he said, hugging you both tightly.
"those are too small for him!"
"they aren't for him sweetheart."
with another baby girl on the way, and his two treasured ladies right beside him, he definitely thinks he was born for this.
to stand by all of your sides, forever.
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robo-writing · 1 day
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I saw your requests were open, so I have to ask for… pain 😔
Can I request a Logan x afab!reader HCs or full fic about how reader is getting older and he kinda isn’t yk? Like going from when they first met, to readers deathbed, and how he has to live without them for the rest of his life 🫶🫶
Also take care of yourself DRINK WATER 🥰
Oh yeah, it’s angst time.
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It's sooner than later that you'll be alone Synopsis: You live a long life, but not as long as Logan's. Warnings: 3.2k words of gut-wrenching angst, mentions of blood, grieving someone after they're gone Author's note: Hope you're happy anon, I cried five times writing this <3
He had first met you in your twenties—twenty-three, to be exact.
Young, bright eyed, naive. You were kind, where he was not. You were hopeful, where he was jaded and angry at the world. He loved your innocence, how you always saw the best in others—suppose that’s what made you such a good counselor to the children. You listened—really, truly listened—made anyone that walked through your office doors feel welcomed.
Maybe that’s why he found his way to you. When the nightmares wouldn’t let him sleep and the voices wouldn’t let him think, he shuffled to your bedroom door without a goal in sight, bare feet padding against the polished floors. His knuckles meet your door, seconds passing by before he asks himself why the hell he’s even here in the first place.
Before he could walk away he heard your feet shuffling, followed by the click of your doorknob.
He felt guilty for waking you up, eyes red and face puffy, but you didn’t even question why he was at your door, just rubbed your eyes and opened the door wider for him to walk in.
It was silent at first. You offered him some water, passed him a blanket, and just sat there. You never pressured him to speak, and he didn’t feel compelled to. Maybe five minutes later he said something and you just nodded in his direction, encouraging him to continue.
For the first time in a long time, he talked. And you listened.
It became a ritual between the two of you, staying up late at night just to chat. It wasn’t always about his past, sometimes he just needed to let it all out, and you were the perfect outlet. He felt like you didn’t judge him, and that’s all he ever needed.
Eventually he wanted to hear you too—he preferred it that way. Talking about lesson plans and movies, little things that seem mundane but made him feel less like a patient and more like a friend. You were a welcome distraction, and an added bonus was that you were really cute when you were talking.
He was the one who made the first move. He remembers every detail, from your pajama shorts to the over-worn tank top sliding off your shoulder, your eyes bright as you went on about a new baking recipe you wanted to try. Sat on your bed, looking so relaxed he couldn’t help but stare and marvel at your beauty.
“Logan?” You ask, waving your hand in his face. “Hello? Earth to Wolverine?”
The moment you called out his name he was already making his way to your bed. The mattress sinks beneath his weight, and you let out a soft noise of surprise before he plants his lips against yours.
Yours are soft compared to him—everything about you screams softness, innocence and purity, and he’s not sure if a man like him even has the right to be next to you, much less kiss you. He’s certain his soul is filthy, tainted—a layer of black that’s sure to muck up your own if he keeps this up. He knows this deep in his heart, but greedy man that he is, he keeps his lips locked to yours.
Once, and then never again. He can’t be with a girl like you, and he knows it.
You hold him by the neck and pull him back when he tries to leave your embrace. Maybe it’s pity, he thinks, the way your hands tug him by the shirt and cling onto the fabric. Maybe you’re only entertaining him, stringing him along just to laugh in his face, mock him into ever thinking he had a chance. If you are, he doesn't care, because at least now he’s got a taste of what he could never have.
The two of you finally separate, a silk-thread of spit connecting the both of you, looking at each other with a mixture of shock and confusion. What happens after this? How does he return to what you had before—how can he, when he now knows your chapstick tastes like cherries?
He makes a move to leave, but against all odds your hand is still clinging onto his shirt. In that moment he knew he was the luckiest man alive because you begged him to stay in that cute voice of yours, begged him not to leave when his hands made their way up the front of your shirt—begged him for more when his lips wandered lower.
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By your thirties you already had a shiny ring on your finger, one that he can say he proudly put on your finger. A gold band adorned by diamonds, it shines in the orange light of the sun, staring at you from its red-velvet housing. 
It’s the first time the X-Men see him cry, tears running down his face when you run into his arms screaming yes, yes, over and over as he holds you in his arms, sunset illuminating your features. He always thinks of you as beauty personified, but watching you admire the diamond-studded band with awe—the one thing that signifies you as his—he can’t help but look at you like icarus does to the sun.
The wedding was small—neither of you minded. Hank was the ringbearer, and Charles walked you down the aisle, and when your vows were said and done the priest could barely finish the ceremony before Logan lunged forward and kissed you, dipping you at the altar accompanied with a cheer from the people you consider your family.
Scott has the video saved on his phone. He pretends it pisses him off, but he had Jean send him a copy later. Sometimes he watches it when he thinks you’re asleep, but little does he know you are very much awake.
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In your fourties’ you have a house together, somewhere upstate where no one can bother you. A cozy wooden home where it’s just you and him, relaxing by the fireplace and watching tv every day. When he’s not helping the X-Men he works at a local lumber yard, the highlight of his day being when he comes to work, grabbing his equipment from the truck. 
His co-workers jeer at him every time, call him whipped like butter, but they wouldn’t understand what he feels. He certainly doesn’t seem to care, especially when it’s your kiss pressed to his cheek.
He can safely say his life is perfect. It’s domestic, it’s everything Logan ever dreamed of, everything he thought he could never have—and it’s all thanks to you. He wakes up every morning grateful to you for giving him the greatest gift he could ever receive: serenity. 
Between the fairytale ending and his rose-colored glasses, he doesn’t notice it, not until you’re in your fifties and he’s—he’s not.
You’re aging, and he’s staying the same.
You still love each other and he’d never, ever, think about leaving you, but the realization sticks with him. He thinks about it late at night while you sleep next to him, pressed against his side. Your scent, your touch, he memorizes it all because he doesn’t know when he won’t be able to feel it again.
In your heart you know it too, but you don’t say anything—you don’t want to scare him away. He’s only just begun to get used to normalcy, and you don’t want to take that away from him. You don’t want to watch him fall into the honeyed trap of isolation again, return to that shell of a man you only just helped him shed.
So when you’re watching tv together, he makes sure to cradle you to his chest extra tight. When you’re sitting by the fireplace, heat radiating off your skin, he makes sure to memorize the way the fire illuminates your face. When you’re whispering his name after a night of love-making he etches the sound deep into his synapses, memorizing each syllable.
No matter what, he’ll remember you.
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By your sixties you’re faced with an awful truth, one neither of you want to admit but your smile lines and crows feet stand contrast to his barely aging face. You get stares when you mention he’s your husband, some curious, some judging. You were called a cougar once by a shopper, finger pointed accusatory while Logan told her in no uncertain terms to go fuck herself.
He was there to reassure you then, but he can’t be there all the time. You don’t tell him that this wasn’t the first time you were accused of being a predator, and you don’t plan on doing so. 
Maybe this counts as acceptance, faced with the truth in the worst kind of way, but at least the both of you can say it out loud now—
You’re going to die, and he’s going to outlive you. It’s just a fact, but it still makes the both of you terrified.
Your seventies are rocky—you want to enjoy the time you have left, but Logan wants to make sure you’re safe. In his eyes you know he has only love for you, but you can see the fear in them too, how he coddles you every day. Your bones are starting to ache, you’re getting slower. Where you used to go on hikes with him you now choose to stay home, your stamina not like what it used to be. He thinks you don’t notice how he watches you carefully around the house, how he’s so eager to help you. You’re flattered, but also annoyed—it’s a short-lived train of thought when you look at him.
He still looks at you like he did when you first kissed. 
He still loves you, and you still love him. For now, that’s all you need.
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He finds you on the floor in your eighties—eighty-three, to be exact.
The moment he sees your resting form behind the counter he sprints into the kitchen. There’s broken glass, a trail of blood running from your temple, and you’re completely out of it, eyes closed shut. He calls your name, shakes you, but nothing. He knows you’re still alive, he can hear your heart beating but he can feel how weak it is under his clammy hands, the soft thump nowhere near as strong as it should be.
He doesn’t know what to do—he’s long since been familiar with blood but this time it’s you, and he’s panicking. He doesn’t know what to do.
The ambulance arrives, longer than usual because you live far away from the city. Maybe if they’d gotten there faster they would have been able to do an infusion. Maybe if the phone wasn’t so far you’d be able to call 9-1-1 before you passed out. Maybe if he was at home he would’ve been able to see the early signs—
“Sir? Are you alright?”
He looks at the clock on the bedside wall: 7:38 pm. 
It’s well into the night, five hours have passed since you were admitted, and an hour since you died.
He’s been staring at your body for who knows how long. The doctor pronounced you dead, said you had a heart attack and hit your head on the way down. An accident.
A fucking accident.
“Sir, was she related to you?” The young nurse asks, contemplating whether or not she should even speak. Wordlessly, he nods.
“I understand you’re grieving,” she continues, standing at his side. Her words are full of empathy, none of which he needs but lets her speak anyway. “I saw on your hospital logs you share the same name, I can’t imagine how it must feel to lose a loved one.”
He nods again.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how old was she?”
“…eighty-three.” He answers. “Her birthday was in a month.”
She shakes her head. “That’s a shame.”
“It sure is,” He says, reaching out to touch her hand. It’s cold to the touch, a cruel reminder. “It sure is.”
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You would’ve been eighty-four now.
He still lives in the same house but it’s not the same without you. It’s lifeless, empty—all the love you poured into the decor now just an awful reminder of what he lost. He thinks about tearing it all down sometimes but he knows you’d probably kick his ass if he so much as touched your crystal vases.
Your side of the bedroom is untouched, he moved all his stuff to the separate one the week after you died. It hurts to sleep there knowing you’re gone, but sometimes he’ll sit by the nightstand, a drink in hand and stare at the empty spot where you would be. Sometimes if he stares hard enough, he can see you through tear-rimmed eyes, hear your laughter through the dull buzz of the alcohol.
He misses you. He’s not sure if he’ll ever stop.
He doesn’t know what possesses him, but he opens your closet. It’s an indulgence, a moment of weakness—he promised he wouldn’t touch your stuff and here he is, rummaging about. 
Coats, dresses, shirts, all memories flooding back to him as he moves past them. The black dress you wore on your first date, the sundress you wore for your anniversary—
When his fingers brush against the lace, his heart lurches. He doesn’t need to see it to know, but he tugs anyway, revealing your wedding dress hidden deep inside. The most beautiful thing you’ve ever worn.
He takes the gown between reverent hands, as if the fabric would fall apart, disintegrate if he was anything but cautious with it. It still smells like you.
He finds the box labeled “wedding” next to it, and without hesitation pulls it from its corner. Wedding invites, flowers, old videos, everything that you could have taken as a memory, you had it. You even kept the cake toppers.
What surprises him though, is a notebook. It’s tiny, leather bound and slightly worn, every page a new entry. He flips to the first page and his heart nearly stops.
Dear Logan,
If you’re reading this, I’m probably dead.
His eyes widened. When did you write this? The small book suddenly feels like lead in his hands, it’s a struggle to pull his eyes back to the ink-stained pages, but he does so anyway.
I hope I managed to give this to you before I pass. I wish I could explain to you how much I love you, and how much I worry about you. You’re a stubborn asshole, could never see the good in yourself but I did—I still do. I’ve known you for thirty years now so I’m willing to bet you’re probably reading this drunk, blaming yourself for my death.
He doesn’t know when he started crying but your words make him laugh through the pain, wiping the palm of his hand against his cheek. He used to say you were secretly a telepath, always able to read his mind. Seems it’s a talent that extends beyond the grave.
Anyway, rambling aside, I wanted to give you something to remember me by. You’re going to live longer than I am, we both know that: but maybe my memory can live along with you.
His hands are shaking, fingers stumbling through the next page with bated breath.
Entry one, not sure how I should start…I’ll figure it out later. Your beard grew out a little so I offered to help you shave…
I think I did a shit job but you didn’t seem to mind, or maybe you were trying to save my feelings? I don't know which one. In any case remember to take care of yourself, I might be gone but like hell if I’m gonna let you let yourself go!
Attached with a paperclip is a photo of the two of you in the bathroom, you smushing his face while he stares at the camera annoyed, or at least it seems. There’s a hint of a smile on his face.
He remembers that day. You were cuddling him and complained his beard was scratchy. He let you sit on his lap while you gave him a trim, you said your lines were crooked but he didn’t give a shit—he had you all to himself, and that’s all he needed.
A small huff of laughter escapes him, even in the afterlife you’re still bossing him around. He flips to the next page—
Entry two, don’t isolate yourself! I know you Logan, that lone wolf shit doesn’t work and you know it too! When’s the last time you talked to the other X-Men, huh?
Your words rattle in his head, feelings of guilt blooming. They call occasionally, but he never picks up. Charles is the only one he ever gave the time of day and even then the mention of your passing is a sore subject. One time Scott showed up at his house, helped him clean up a bit before leaving; he never said thank you.
His eyes flick to the phone on his nightstand before continuing to read. 
Entry three, don’t starve yourself! I left a couple of my recipes in the last pages, just in case you missed my cooking…
Entry four, I have a secret album of us on my phone. The password is…
Entry five, stop being so hard on yourself…
Entry after entry, all stories with advice for when you’re gone. Clean up after himself, don’t try to find peace at the bottom of a bottle, remember to find a hobby…every single page, accompanied by a description of what you did that day. Went hiking, went on a dinner date, stayed at home and watched tv—almost an entire year's worth of reminiscing in the form of a tiny brown journal.
By the time he got to the last one the sun had begun to rise. His eyes burned with exhaustion, but the thought of stopping never crossed his mind.
The big three-six-five, happy anniversary! It’s been a year since I started this project and I think I should end it here, so I’ll end it with the best advice I can give you.
Logan, you need to move on.
I know it hurts, but I’m gone, and you can’t spend your life chasing after a woman who isn’t here anymore. You deserve more in life than to grieve. I love you more than anything in the world, which is why I’m telling you it’s okay to move on.
I’ll always be with you, so don’t think that you need to feel guilty. I know you love me, and I love you.
I’m giving you permission to forgive yourself, and let me go.
He re-reads your words. Once, twice, even three times before they really sink in. I’m giving you permission to forgive yourself, and let me go.
At that moment it all comes crashing down on him. Your death, the funeral, the pain and longing, the grief—all of it. Everything he’d ever tried to push aside by drinking, culminating into this single release of emotion.
He cries. A full-bodied, pathetic display, he sobbed while holding your last memory to his chest until he was red in the face, until his lungs burned. He sobbed until he had no more tears to give, then sobbed some more.
Even in death, you were still listening.
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vivwritesfics · 2 days
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Heyy, i would like to make an request. Could you write fic about lestappen x reader where they’re are soulmates. (You don’t have to) Charles and Max are already in an established relationship and they meet the reader but max doesn’t want her because he is happy with Charles and reader hears Max talk bad about her like i don’t want her, we don’t need her etc. So she distances hersef from them but they regret it and want her back? With happy ending pls 🫣 Sorry, I hope you understood what I meant.. English is not my first language ☺️
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Max Verstappen couldn't be happier. At twenty five, he found his soulmate (when I say found, Charles had been there all along. They just didn't realise they were soulmates until they turned twenty five).
Here they were, two years later. Everything for Max had been perfect. He thought it had been perfect for Charles, too.
He didn't realise Charles felt like there was something missing.
He couldn't explain it. When he realised Max was his soulmate, his heart had felt so damn full. He was overjoyed, and they didn't stop kissing for around a week.
But that empty feeling soon filled Charles. Something was missing. There was a fist sized hole in his heart that he didn't know how to fill.
Of course, she had to work for Red Bull. She walked in on the day of her twenty fifth birthday and immediately caught Max's eye. Like magnets, the two were drawn to each other. All through the day, and Max couldn't explain it. But then he found out it was her birthday.
He disappeared out of the Red Bull garage, and she dropped to the floor.
It was distressing, to have your soulmate ripped away from you for a critical few hours after you've found them. She gasped for air as tears ran down her cheeks, blurring her vision.
She couldn't help it, couldn't stop it if she wanted to.
And then, twenty minutes after Max ran off to the Ferrari garage, she passed out.
***
"I never wanted another soulmate, Charlie," came a hushed voice.
"Well, she's not just your soulmate." This one was closer, as if the person was sitting right beside her.
There was a pause, maybe the person was gesturing. "Do you know how rare three person soulmate groups are?" The first person pressed on. "Why did it have to be us."
"Get over it, Max," the second person snapped.
Max. Max Verstappen. Her soulmate.
"She's our girl, now. Besides, didn't it ever feel like something was missing? A missing piece of the puzzle?"
There was a moment, and then a sound. A door slamming as somebody left the room. "It's okay, Ma belle. He'll come around." Gentle fingers combed through her hair. Charles, it had to be. Max's original soulmate, and now hers, too.
She pretended to be asleep for just a moment longer, basking in the safety his touch provided
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2thestars-andbeyond · 23 hours
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Little Rabbit
Summary: Y/n is the youngest Archeron sister. While training with Rhysand, she winnows herself to the Autumn Court by mistake and finds someone she can't seem to get off her mind..
"Just close your eyes and try again." Rhysand told me, sternly. I'm sure he was getting pretty fed up with me and my training. Plus we'd been at this for a good three hours now. "Close your eyes and concentrate."
"That's what I've been doing Rhys! And its not working!" I took a deep breath trying not to lose my temper. "I just end up five feet from where i'm standing."
Winnowing was hard and learning how to use the power was draining. Taking a seat on a near by stump, I wiped away a stay tear that started to roll down my cheek.
"Winnowing is a power not all Fae have. It takes a good deal of concentration and strength. try again Y/N. Try to think of another spot in the woods."
All the woods looked the same. Every tree the same type of maple. Every blade of grass the same shade of green.
I rolled my eyes at Rhys. "I'm not sure why you have so much faith in me winnowing anyway. I'm obviously not that good at it so i'm not sure why it matters so much."
Rhys took a deep breath and ran his hand down his face. "Y/n, I know you can do this. Close your eyes and try again. Focus on the tree that Azriel is standing next to."
Az just nodded at me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I always loved being in the woods especially during autumn. All the colors and cool breezes. Soon, in my minds eye, the tree behind the Shadow Singer had vibrant orange leaves and a cool breeze blew my hair. I ripped my eyes open.
"You've got to be kidding me." I whispered in disbelief. I had done it. I had finally winnowed, right into the Autumn Court...
"I knew that asshole was up to something" Rhysand had been trying for the past week to get me to winnow. I hope he's happy now.
"I know you can do it" I mocked my brother in law as I walked through the unfamiliar forest of Autumn. I knew it was a matter of time before Beron's sentries found me. Rhysands "I know you can do it" is probably going to get beheaded or whatever they do to trespassers in this Court.
I heard shuffling in the nearby bushes. I stopped so abruptly I almost fell. "Please don't be a bear or a wolf."
I let out a sigh of relief as a squirrel jetted out of the bush.
"Are you lost little rabbit?"
I whirled around and bumped right into a red haired male.
"Shit." I murmured under my breath, finding it hard to find my voice.
He smirked. "You are far from home. Don't worry. I already informed Rhysand."
I had never met this male before. So how did he know who I was? He took a step around means continued down the path.
"I do have to say that it is pretty impressive that you winnowed this far away from Night. nearly four courts away. Come. We will meet your high lord somewhere safe. Beron has eyes and ears everywhere. Sometimes I fear the creatures are on his side as well."
I ran to catch up with him. "Wait so you aren't going to turn me in?"
He chuckled. "Why would I do that? Hmm?" His amber eyes met mine.
His gaze was intense and nearly took my breath away. "I-it's just that i'm trespassing, correct? I was sure that would be punishable in such a cutthroat Court?"
"Oh, it is. Usually anyway, but I told Beron i'd check out the breech in the border."
We walked for what seemed like forever. Passing by tree after tree, all of them different it seemed, unlike the forest back home. Every tree different shades of Autumn colors. More vibrant than I had ever seen back in the night Court or the human lands for that matter. Before I knew it we had reached a clearing.
"Take my hand" The male told me. "Rhysand waits for you in the clearing."
I gave him a skeptical look, "Ahh. I don't see anything inside the clearing"
"Just trust me." He replied offering me his hand.
"How do I know I can trust you? I don't even know you."
"I would never let any harm come to you, Y/n." I gasped as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his chest. The smell of crackling fire and spice engulfed me as he winnowed us into the clearing.
Rhysand, Feyre and Az appeared before me. Azriel, noting how close the male held me, drew his knife.
"Calm down Shadow Singer, she is unharmed. Aren't you little rabbit?" He asked, bringing my chin up so that my eyes met his again.
Azriel growled. but the male let me go. Taking one more look at his face, I ran into my older sisters arms. "I'm okay. " I assured them.
"Thank you Eris for keeping her safe." Rhys stated.
"It is strange though. That she winnowed so far from home." Eris mused. "Makes one wonder what drew her to a court she had never stepper foot into." With that, he disappeared.
Shocked was an understatement. The male that had saved me was the Heir of Autumn. the male every one talks so much shit about. And all I could think about was how his warm hand felt wrapped around my wrist. How his finger had gently raised my chin, how his amber eyes seemed to darken as they bore into mine.
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moodymisty · 13 hours
Note
Jagh in leather has consumed my mind. Help. -Ms. L
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Author's note: ok. so it's not leather, but how about a super tight armoring suit? that's a similar ass hugging material, right?
Relationships: Jaghatai/Fem!Reader
Warnings: NSFW, Breeding kink, Creampie, Jaghatai’s nice ass in a tight armoring suit,
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You briefly hear the Chogoran word for lady called out as you pass by a few serfs, but you choose to completely ignore it in your rush.
Jaghatai is back, and you race to the armoring room like death is on your heels to see him. You know he'll be there taking off his wargear- it's usually the first stop he and any of his men make when they return to Chogoris, quite eager to rid themselves of weeks buildup of sweat and dirt-
You’re only stopped at the entrance rto thr room by a few White Scars who smile knowingly at you, before letting you by. You give them a discontent glare for holding you up, but only once you're past them and can't see.
In the room at center display you can see Jahahti just having the last pieces of his armor taken off; mechanical arms and serfs working in tandem to unarmor the primarch. He watches them with a bored curiosity, as the scurry around him with pieces of ceramite far heavier than most of them can comfortably carry.
You notice quite quicly that the dark grey of his armoring suit leaves little to the imagination, forming to his body with a near perfect seal. It forms around him as a second skin; If you look closely, you think you can just see the outline of his cock on his stomach.
Just as your eyes had begun to wander downward however, does he catch your attention with a small laugh.
“Ahh my little wife, you’re impatient. You ran all the way here?”
You nod, a bit out of breath still. Jaghatai chuckles at the flushed heat of your skin a few the way that all the sudden, eye contact seems quite difficult-
“I promise you I will be with you in a moment. Go back to our room and get ready.”
With your heart racing to an encore you turn around, the fabric of your colchisan robes billowing behind you as you race back to your shared quarters.
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“So Impatient,”
Your mouth is muffled by the rough pillow as the fabric presses against your lips, sliding forward just a bit with each thrust. He's pulled you back closer three different times now, but you lack any strength go fight against his own.
“I’m surprised you’re not with child yet.”
“P-Please…”
You’ve already come three times now, and you feel a forth rising in you like a near painful tide that trails from your lower gut downward. Jaghatai fucks you an untenable stamina, his cum leaking down your thighs and coating your outer lips in a sticky mess. Yet despite the pain of nearly overstimulation you still want more, begging and pleading with what little voice you can still muster.
You whine, drool pooling on the waterline of your bottom lip. Your back arches dramatically to rise to the height of his hips, as Jaghatai hovers over you and covers your body in his shadow. He traps you in a stuffy heat of his own sweat and musk, the humid air filling your sore lungs.
The base of his cock is the thickest, and he drives himself into you in quick thrusts that have his hips slapping against your ass and the base of his cock stretching you to your widest. His balls slap against your clit that throbs near painfully, and any touch might render you more of a mess from the sheer overstimulation.
Jaghatai groans as he feels you tighten around him, coming for the fourth time despite how it felt like it had to be torn and clawed from you. You’d want to think there would be no way you could come again, but he often had a way of making you. If the mood- and time- we're on his side, Jaghatai could make you suffer for hours.
You missed him so much, you thought you’d be able to keep a handle on yourself and wait till the late evening, but the sight of him in his armoring suit and done something to you. The outline of his cock, the way his upper thighs thickened, the shape of his ass when he briefly looked away.
His hips stutter rapidly thrusts uneven, and his hands on your hips are tighter. He groans, shoving himself deep enough inside that you feel his cockhead pressing against the swollen part just before your cervix. The heat of his cum fills your lower stomach- you can feel his cock twitch inside of you every few moments as he lets out a content groan.
“You’re not going to let me leave you, are you,”
He jokes about how you tighten around him like a vice- but you can hear the strain in his voice beyond his jests.
When he pulls out from you, laughing at the little squeal you give as his fat cockhead stretches your entrance out as he leaves, your legs fully give you and you fall into the bed. A fat bead of cum slips from you and slides down your folds, and you’re sure if you bore down at all plenty more would leak from you in a lewd display.
Jaghatai chuckles, and kisses your temple.
“Are you content now, little one?”
You nod, letting out a pleased, exhausted sigh. You might be settled for thr time being, but after months of missing him, you both know the satisfaction won't last for very long.
"Rest a bit- I'll return to you again once I check on my men."
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ghouldtime · 1 day
Text
Neighbor! König Part 3
Part One Part Two
It's only after THREE MONTHS in that you find out his name isn't Kevin
Why? You overheard a phone call. A phone call with his mom
Because, to put it in small terms: König is a mama's boy
Not in the gross way that boy moms do (everyone say EWWWW) or the manchildren who think their mom can do no wrong and will always side with her over on everything. We know those guys. He's not that. Not even close
No, in the 'he genuinely loves and cares about his mother because this is the person who raised him so his respect for her and love is absolutely profound'
That's the woman who raised him, that's the person who read him bedtime stories at night when he couldn't sleep, that's the lovely lady who would let him hide behind her skirts when she'd take him into the village and people would try to say hi, she's the one and only who taught him all about the many wonders of the world and how beautiful nature is
Yeah, he's going to respect her. He loves his mom and for good reason
He calls her every day if possible because she still lives quite far away in Austria :( and things haven't been the same since his dad passed away
He doesn't live near or with her, as much as it pains him, because quite frankly: he can't risk it. He still visits as much as he can, but living with her makes her a target because he's a man with blood covering his hands and there's people who will do anything to get to him
He can't risk her like that, wouldn't ever dream of it
She understands. He doesn't tell her the extent because he can't break her heart and he's afraid she might see him different, but he does tell her HOW dangerous it could be
He will always tell her about the good things he does, though! Like saving hostages! That's always great. She's so proud of him
He might be a grown ass man at 6'6" and weighing over 250 lbs that absolutely towers over her but he will always be her sweet baby boy before anything else
He is always writing her letters and sending her packages and pictures! Letters just are more heartfelt usually and she's old fashioned, she likes having something physical to hang onto especially now that her eyesight is fading
She is always sending them in return too. His favorite coffee mugs are all shaped like little forest animals and she made them! They're precious and he's so happy holding his little hedgehog mug (even if it is a bit spiky)
ANYWAYS how you found out his name wasn't Kevin was because you heard her use his name
His real name
That wasn't Kevin or even close.
And afterwards you had to go "... uh... Kevin? Who is she talking about?"
König has never been close to this flustered before, even when you fell asleep with your head on his broad shoulders when you were watching a movie together
Time to fess up.
He at first tries to go into denial, then dismissal, but it doesn't work at all
He admits defeat. You caught him, he ISN'T Kevin. Well, he's still the same person! That's just not his name
He was too embarrassed to correct you or himself so he went with it and it kept building and building
He wanted to tell you, but it's a hard topic :( he knows he would have stumbled and stuttered over his words until he fell flat on his face
You'd find it out eventually! It's not like he put 'Kevin' on his mail or anything like that
Now, most people would rightfully feel mad and lied to
But he's turning red enough to match the roses he grows and can't seem to meet your eyes. He's sweating bullets, he's genuinely embarrassed here and feels awful about it
Maybe it's against better judgement to accept such a thing so easily but he hasn't been anything but nice to you ever since you broke down his icy walls.
(Aka he's so painfully socially awkward and flustered you feel bad for him and take pity)
And just maybe you heard the "Ich bin in dich verliebt" slip out as you took his hands in yours and assured that you liked him as him, whether he's named Kevin or not, and nothing would change that
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angel-kyo · 21 hours
Text
Almost the one [I]
When a too prone to fall in love Satoru decides he is tired of always chasing the wrong person, his eyes finally turn to the one that should be his perfect match, and to your dismay, this is no other than one of your closest friends.
This is sort of inspired by/aligned with this thing I wrote.
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“No. Absolutely not.”
Satoru’s smiling face turned to what could pass for a pleading pout, if you had ever seen one, but you could not give in this time.
“Why not, [name]?” he asked, but he already knew the answer.
You sighed. “Utahime is my friend. You know my friends are off-limits.”
If anyone overheard your conversation with Gojo, they would probably think the reason why you did not want him to ask your friend out was that you had feelings for him, however, that was not it.
Actually, it was far from the truth.
You loved him, sure. He was pain sometimes, but in a way, you did. You wanted him to find happiness and love, of course, but…
“I know, but…” He turned to look behind, maybe hoping to catch a last glimpse of Utahime, who had just left the two of you sitting at the coffee shop where you and she had been studying before he arrived.
The thing about Satoru was…
He turned back to you with that lovesick grin you knew too well. “What if she is the one?”
...That he always fell too easily.
You finished the last bite of your pastry and started gathering your things, ignoring the man smiling in front of you.
That smile is like a fire alarm.
Satoru had been like that ever since you knew him, and since he discovered romance.
His charms always made it easy to catch the glances of the prettiest faces of girls and boys wherever he went, and a few sweet words later, he and whoever had caught his attention were in for a romantic failure.
Yes, a failure.
Unfortunately, for some reason, Satoru was great at initially engaging people but not so much at keeping them. No, he was not a womanizer of any sorts, not consciously at least. In fact, most times, it was always the girls he dated the ones that left him first. Nevertheless, the reason why he seemed to fail at every relationship attempt had remained a mystery to you since junior high up until now that you were in university.
You zipped your backpack and gave him a skeptical look. “A month ago, you were saying Hana could be the one.”
Satoru rolled his eyes and stood up, mirroring your movements. “Okay, well, I was wrong. Obviously,” he mumbled. “But that does not mean I will be wrong this time!”
Just a couple weeks ago, he had called you nearing midnight because Hana had told him she was not ready for a relationship after dating him for three weeks.
In your opinion, she had not even passed the probation period.
“Gojo, I admire your optimism, but I value my friendship with Utahime, and...”
If… No. When it does not work out, I don’t want to be in the middle.
Now, how could you say that without hurting him?
You bit your lip. “And you’re not her type anyway.” You walked outside and he followed.
“Not her type?” he asked eyeing your form. “And what kind of guys is she into?”
Satoru knew people could have personal preferences when it came to looks, but he trusted that 1) he was not ugly, and 2) even if his looks were an issue, -again, not that they had ever been- he could convince Utahime to see past his physical appearance. After all, love was blind, right?
From your point of view, the issue was not the type she liked. Physically, Satoru could fit into the description of your friend’s perfect guy, but personality-wise, you were not sure they were compatible. It was hard to picture your serene, put-together Utahime with a guy who was so daring when it came to romantic matters and who already had earned a certain reputation around campus.
“I mean… Please don’t take it the wrong way, but I don’t think you’re the kind of guy she is looking for.”
You stopped walking when you heard Satoru’s steps halt behind you.
Okay. That had not been the right way to put it.
Your turned to face him and were going to try and rephrase it when he spoke first.
“Then help me become him”, he said.
“Huh?”
He stepped closer. “You see what’s wrong with me, right? You can help me fix it, help me be the kind of man who doesn’t get dumped.”
He must be joking…
“Satoru, there is nothing wrong…”
“’Nothing wrong with me’. I know, you always say that, but it would not hurt to make sure.”
Although Satoru could sometimes be dramatic when a girl left him, deep down, you always believed he was not that affected by it. At the end, he always reverted to his hopeful self, willing to show the next person his best winning smile.
But if he was not affected, why was he looking at you like that now?
Maybe you were wrong. Maybe he was tired of getting his heart returned as an unwanted gift each time.
You looked around for a second. You two standing there would have been an obstacle on the sidewalk if the streets were more crowded, but they weren’t despite the lovely weather of the last days of winter melting into spring.
“I wouldn’t know why the girls who dated you dumped you.” You shrugged. “I’ve never dated you.”
His eyes shone at your words. That was a look you had not seen often but had, somehow, learned to understand.
If his lovesick smile is a fire alarm, that look announces an earthquake.
Indeed, his next words would shake your world.
“Then do it, [name]. Date me.”
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Note: I was putting off writing this because I thought it would be bad, but bad writing is still fun, so just don't mind me.
Anyway, if you read it, thank you!
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storiesfromafan · 1 day
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What's Mine Is Mine - Mattheo x Reader
A/N: woke up to the news of Dame Maggie Smith's passing. So I did a little something in memory.
Prompt: “I'm not the jealous type, but what's mine is mine. End of story"
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“What do you think you were doing!?” Boomed the loud voice of Professor McGonagall. “Fighting another student! And breaking his nose! Mr Riddle, it will be detention for a month for you!”
You looked to your boyfriend, a hard look on your face. As you were also mad at the Slytherin boy. Yet he didn't looked faze, maybe a little proud of himself more so. You didn't know why he had to attack the Gryffindor boy.
“And you" McGonagall swings around to you look at you, still mad but a little softer. “You will get detention for two weeks!”
“W-what?” You sputtered. “I-I did nothing, other then try to break them up!?”
“When I came upon the scene, it didn't look like you were breaking it up Miss (Y/L/N). Two weeks detention, another word from you and it will be more, understood?”
You bit your tongue and nodded your head, casting a glare to Mattheo. Who looked quite pleased with himself.
The Professor sighed. “Alright, back to your house you go".
You both got up from your seats in McGonagall's class room, and began to walk to the room's door. Before you even took two step's, the Professor asked for you to stop and wait a moment. She sent off Mattheo, who didn't like leaving you, but he reluctantly left the room. You turned back and moved to stand before McGonagall at her desk.
“Yes Professor?” You asked calmly.
She looked at you with a soft, pointed look. “I am not one to meddle in the lives of students, but are you sure Mr Riddle is the right suitor for you? He is hot headed and easy to anger, that to me is not a good thing".
You understood her concerns and felt touched the women cared, but she did not know Mattheo like you did. No one did. They only saw what he showed them; cocky, tough, smartass and anger issues. But what you have seen of your boyfriend was loyalty, kindness, sweet and passionate sides. Slytherin boy's protected and coveted what was theirs.
“All due respect Professor, you don't know Mattheo like I do" you replied with a confident voice. “He might be what you have said, but you don't know him like I do. There is more to him then just that. Am I free to leave now?”
Professor McGonagall gave you a surprised look before dismissing you. You weren’t one to necessarily speak up like you did, and be rather rude to those in authority. But part of her admired your loyalty to Mattheo Riddle. And she hoped you were right about knowing him well.
You walked from the classroom with a sigh. This is not how you wanted your afternoon to go. You didn't want to have to step between your boyfriend, who had came across a Gryffindor classmate asking you for your notes from Snape's class, and another student. Alright, Slytherin and Gryffindor might not get along, but with Henry, you had a mutual respect for each other and your studies.
But Mattheo came upon you both, having a laugh, and looks to have thought Henry was flirting with you. One minute you're laughing, the next Mattheo had grabbed Henry and pulled him away. They exchanged words before Mattheo punched him. And began their fist fight. You moved to break them up, which was hopeless. Soon Professor McGonagall came across you three, as well as the crowd of on lookers. And, well you know what happened next.
“What did she want?” Asked Mattheo, as you came upon him leaning on a wall.
You kept your mouth shut, choosing to ignore your boyfriend and continue walking to the dungeons. A few more times did Mattheo try to talk to you, but you still kept your lips shut tight. Your anger slowly boiling below the surface. When you both descended the stairs to the dungeon did he try again.
“Come on love" he half sighed, half whined. “Talk to me!”
You stopped suddenly – which halted Mattheo – and turned around to shoot him a sharp look. “What can I say to take back the last hour, Theo? Nothing. So what's the point!?”
He flinched at your raised voice. “Come on love" – he stepped up and grabbed your hand, which you withdrew from him a few seconds later – “don't be like this".
“Like what?” You questioned while crossing your arms over your chest.
“L-like this" he moved his hands up and down, gesturing to your stern presence. “This stern figure, when you're not".
You scoffed. “I wouldn’t have to be stern if you hadn't attacked Henry".
Mattheo rolled his eyes, “Henry. God his name is worse then his shit fighting skills".
You studied your boyfriend. And after taking in his annoyed tone, agitated roll of his eyes and the fact he'd beaten up your friend but not friend. You concluded one thing about your boyfriend.
“You were jealous" you proclaimed in amusement, having to hold back a chuckle.
Mattheo shot you a glare. “I'm not the jealous type, but what's mine is mine. End of story”.
You smirked. “You answered that a little too quick, love” you laughed. And began to head for Slytherin house.
Mattheo sputtered out words, trying to defend himself before finally letting out a frustrated sound. “I was not jealous!” He called before storming after you and your cackling frame.
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Text
A Night in the Devil's Den - Part I
“I still think we should hit up somewhere else, Jamie. There are tons of bars that would look the other way and let us grab a few drinks.” One of the three young men passing through New York during college break said as they made their way to the old building housing the Devil’s Den, apparently the most hyped club in the city, which had a strict policy of keeping anyone under 21 out.
“Stop being such a fag, Fred! We’re gonna get in, trust me, man of little faith.” Jamie, the group leader with light brown hair, same color as Mark, shot back. Fred, on the other hand, was blond, and more sensitive, which didn’t mean he couldn’t hold his own when it came to arguing; on the contrary, the debate skills of the former debate team captain were legendary.
“Chill, Fred. The worst that can happen is the bouncer looks at the IDs that Jamie’s buddy hooked us up with and realizes we don’t have the right age and kicks us out. But I doubt that’ll happen; in a few months, we’ll all be 21.” Mark commented, always the peacemaker.
“Another reason to wait until we’re actually of age. I don’t want any trouble, guys.” Fred tried to argue again.
“I can’t believe you came all the way here to chicken out, man. If you wanna bail, I’m cool, but think about all the work I put into getting these IDs. And I didn’t even charge you guys!” Jamie grumbled.
“That’s just because your buddy did it for free, asshole. Who the hell is he, anyway?” Mark jumped in before things got heated between the two.
“Some dude I met at the hostel; he’s the one who told me about this place. Apparently, this is the spot for anyone looking for a good time.”
“You mean you trusted someone you barely know? Doesn’t that seem kinda sketchy to you?” Fred asked, outraged, totally shooting down Mark’s efforts.
“I’m sick of your attitude, man! If you’re so unhappy, why don’t you just head back to the hostel?”
“Hey, hey, chill out, you two! We’re here to have a good time! Fred, let’s check out the place, and if we don’t like it or they kick us out, we’ll head back to the hostel, and I promise I’ll be your wingman with those hot Italian chicks who showed up yesterday, alright? And Jamie, you dumbass, he’s not entirely wrong; it was pretty stupid to trust a stranger, but it’s done now, so let’s just try to have fun, please?” Mark chimed in again.
“Fine, but you know that your parents would kill us if anything goes south, Mark.” Warne Fred, whose parents had already passed away, and, in Jamie’s opinion, was the last one who should be worried instead of acting like a little pussy. Not that he’d say that, at least not now that his buddy finally decided to man up.
“Finally acting like a man, Fred, and not like a little bitch!”
“Hey, man, that’s enough!”
“Chill out, Mark; you’re starting to sound like your dad. Sorry, Fredster, I just want an unforgettable night with my best buds.” Jamie said, hugging Fred on one side to encourage him while Mark did the same on the other.
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As they approached the ridiculously long entrance line, Jamie commented.
“Since we’re talking about those hot Italian girls, it’s funny that if we were in most other countries, we wouldn’t even need to convince Fred here; we’d all be of age to drink until we drop without a care in the world.”
“I don’t think your dad would be too happy about hauling his kid from the gutter.” Mark remarked.
“He’s not as strict as your dad, man, but yeah… maybe it’s best not to push it. Damn, look at this line! No way I’m waiting all this crap! Oh, wait, I just remembered something; follow me!” Jamie said, signaling for his friends to follow him to the front of the line, where a huge black guy, looking like a muscle mountain, was running the door, checking IDs and occasionally greeting a buddy with a half-smile in his otherwise stern face. He saw the guys approaching and crossed his arms, giving them a menacing smirking look.
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“Hey, fellas, what do you want here?”
“Good evening, sir! Jerome told us to go straight to the bouncer at the main door and, said… said that he hopes you have a… a hell of a night.” Jamie said, sounding unsure for the first time.
“Jerome, huh? IDs?”
“Here you go, sir.” Mark replied, handing over the fake IDs, which the guy scrutinized for a few seconds.
“Any problem, sir?”
“Nope, on the contrary, looks like you guys got VIP passes. Jerome must’ve liked you a lot.” He said while fiddling with a walkie-talkie before speaking again. “Jerome’s group is on the way.” He radioed someone before handing the IDs back to the guys and cracking a smile. “Boys, looks like we’re all in for a hell of a night!”
As they stepped into the spacious lobby, the guys were hit with the sounds of music and excited screams, along with flashing lights. And the most impressive thing of all was a guy with olive skin, well-groomed beard and black hair, and a distinctive aquiline nose that hinted at some mediterranean ir middle eastern heritage. But what really stood out about the guy was his stunning build, partially covered by a sharp suit and shiny black pants, with his muscular torso on display for anyone who wanted to see, staring at them with disconcerting eyes and a mischievous grin that made the three feel like they were really inside the Devil’s Den.
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“Dude, they really know how to set a mood.” Jamie remarked, eyeing the imposing figure. “Alright, first drinks, then we hit the dance floor for the hot chicks!”
“Actually, I think I’m gonna hit the bathroom; my bladder’s about to explode!” Fred said.
“Then it’s a wonder you didn’t piss yourself from fear before we even got in.”
“Go fuck yourself, Jamie!” he shot back, irritated, as he blended into the crowd on the dance floor.
“You really can’t pass up a chance to be an idiot, can you?” Mark commented, following his other friend through the crowd. “Let me talk to him; you do something useful and grab the drinks. You know a few shots will loosen him up.”
“It’s not my fault he needs booze to stop being a little bitch.” Jamie yelled to be heard over the noise, turning heads with expressions of disbelief toward him, but he was too hyped about the night’s promises to notice, heading for the nearest bar, closely followed by the sinister figure from the entrance. It wasn’t until he reached the bar that he noticed the company.
“Hello, James.” The man said over the cacophony, though his voice didn’t need to rise for Jamie to hear him.
“How do you know my name?” Jamie shouted back.
“Jerome gave me a heads-up about your arrival; I’m Mr. Shay the manager of this place. And I know you shouldn’t be here tonight, kid.”
“Damn… then why didn’t you stop us at the door?”
“Because I understand the need for a young man to rebel. Especially when his dad is such a major buzzkill.” The man said with bright eyes.
“I… he just wants what’s best for me… a decent job for a real man and… and sometimes it’s a drag.” Jamie replied in a whisper, not realizing the man knew way more about him than he should.
“Oh, I get it, kid, and just when you finally have a chance to chill, your friends leave you hanging.”
“Pussies!” The kid grumbled, not seeing the man’s eyes flash dangerously.
“You seem to have a problem with gay people. What’s that about?”
“I don’t have a problem with gays; I have issues with little faggots, those sissy boys who take it up the ass like they’re chicks. My dad raised me to be a real man.”
“But it’s tough living under the weight of other people’s expectations, under the rigid standards taught by someone, isn’t it? Sometimes all you wanna do is chill out, let loose, and be happy, right? And have your friends be able to enjoy that with you.”
“Yeah…”
“Well, it’s settled! Poncho, a shot of tequila for my buddy here.” The man said as the spell seemed to break while he glided through the crowd with ease, almost floating, and for an instant if one looked closely one would catch a glimpse of his true form.
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Still a bit dazed, Jamie turned to the bar and bumped into a Latino guy in his late thirties, with a chiseled, muscular chest completely exposed except for a bow tie around his neck, sipping a drink while the shot of tequila the other guy ordered was held in his hand.
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“On the house.” The guy said with a smile. Without thinking twice, Jamie downed the shot.
“Nice one, hermano.” The man commented, grinning.
“Gracias, tio.” Jamie replied, smiling as he left the bar with a dreamy look.
There was definitely something extra in that tequila, Jamie’s rational side thought, a side that seemed to shrink more every minute. He wandered aimlessly through the crowd, seeing colors and smelling scents he’d never experienced before, while that rational side tried in vain to shout inside his head, drowned out by an overwhelming numbness.
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“Mierda, que guapo…” he murmured in Spanish, watching a muscular guy dancing shirtless. Without even stopping to think how out of character that was for him.
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Like a moth drawn to a flame, with an unspeakable desire taking hold of him, making him vibrate and tremble inside he made his way toward the guy, and just like that, in the blink of an eye, Javier, the latino 21 years old man, approached the older man.
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“Hey, papi, want some company?” He asked with a vacant look and dreamy voice that the other guy didn’t seem to notice, and in a few seconds, they were both dancing to the rhythm of the music.
“So, kid, where you from?”
“Right here, raised in El Barrio.” Javier answered.
“But where did your family come from?”
“My grandparents came with my dad and my uncles from Colombia in the early 90s. Maybe you know my uncle. He works as a bartender here; they call him Poncho, even though he’s not Mexican, but he says he doesn’t care.”
“Oh, so that’s why a kid like you is in here.” The man commented.
“I’ll show you who’s the kid.” Javier replied, kissing the man, who returned the kiss with passion.
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Neither of them seemed to notice that the kid’s shirt seemed to evaporate in the air or the inches he gained in height or the facial hair sprouting on his face. After a long moment of pleasure, the two pulled away.
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“So, papi, am I man enough for you?” Javi asked with a grin, while the other guy stared at him, breathless.
“Now I gotta bounce; my shift’s about to start!” Javi said, walking with a smile toward the bar. His muscles growing and expanding into an athletic, well-proportioned physique, with just the bow tie of his uniform to cover up.
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“Hey, you didn’t even tell me your name, boy!”
“If you want to find me, just head to the bar. And don’t call me boy; do I look like a kid to you?” He replied, flexing his muscles. Only a man could call him that, and that certainly wasn’t this one.
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When he got to the bar, his uncle greeted him with a smile but also with a warning.
“If your dad finds out about this…”
“What my dad doesn’t know won’t hurt him, tio. Plus, next year I’ll be graduating, and the boss is gonna put me to work in accounting, although I think I’ll still take a few shifts with you just for fun.”
“Javi, you really don’t get it, do you? If not your dad, then because of that musclehead you’re seeing.”
“It’s his fault for not showing up yet. And right when the main attraction’s about to start.” He said, looking at the club’s stage lighting up. “Though to him no attraction compares to my ass.” He concluded with a grin.
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etesians · 24 hours
Text
“I’ve just had a thought.”
Kei looks up from his phone, eyes drooping, the hour you’ve spent lounging on the couch rendering him immune to the fact that his neck is bent at a disastrous angle against the armrest. It has you pulling him forward, taking the pillow from under your neck to stuff under his, but it’s a fine trade. Now you can lay against the warmth of his chest and settle into what Kei calls the pre-nap—or, what he used to call it, back when he was still too embarrassed to simply say that he wanted cuddles.
“Woah, careful there," he can't pass up the opportunity to start with. Then, "Good kind or bad kind?”
You hum. “Sickeningly domestic kind.”
“So… good,” he decides after a beat, setting his phone down on the coffee table.
Those long, gentle fingers you love slide into your hair, and it’s a wonder how they always sate an itch that only manifests itself mere seconds before the touch, just so they can be rubbed away by him and him alone; suspiciously wizard-like. “It’s not like I’m opposed to any of that. Since it’s you.”
Aww.
“Honeycakes—” you coo obnoxiously, disguising his name in the endearment, which gets you exactly what you'd expect—the full moon's circumference of his palm eclipsing your vision, his grip light as he smushes your face around for a while, unable to rid himself of the urge. When he lets go a minute later, you share a look of mirrored contentment, all stupid smiles and rolling eyes, before you settle your ear over his heart and he resumes massaging your scalp.
Whatever video he was watching drones on in the meantime. Something about a supermoon coming up and dropping temperatures… Partly rainy with a high of seventy-three degrees and a low of sixty-eight degrees and—wow, he really got sucked into watching the weather channel... But it’s quiet enough to tune out against the steady drum in his ribs, so you both leave it be.
“Your idea, baby.”
“Oh, right. So I was thinking—y’know, when we start buying stuff for the house…”
“Mmhm?”
“For utensils, what if we found the same forks you grew up using, and the same spoons I had, so that our future kid'll have pieces of both of our childhoods already built into theirs? Our own little mismatched set.” "You're right..." It's quiet for a moment. Then Kei blows out a breath, his mind positively sunnier with the image. “That is sickeningly domestic.”
You open your mouth to defend the idea—because it is a good idea, notes-app worthy, even—when he tacks on, “I’m not saying no. God, you’re just so cute sometimes...” the words followed up by him pulling on your cheek. “Is that why you kept hovering by the drawer when we visited my mom? ‘What if’ my ass. You already found them on google, didn't you?”
Your laugh gives you away. He’s right—they’re in your amazon shopping cart as you speak, just waiting on his two cents.
“What about chopsticks, then? And knives. And spatulas.”
Spatulas?
Kei only shrugs in response.
“The rest can be new. I don’t want all of it to be us holding onto old things,” you pause. “But my star curtains are non-negotiable.”
“They have holes.”
“Those are the cutouts! And you even said they were pretty when the light’s seeping through them.”
“Okay, yes, they are pretty," he relents, setting his glasses down by his phone. Silencing the weather report with a slide of his thumb. “But furnishings aside, we’d still be missing one thing…”
“Tsukishima Kei, I know exactly what you’re gonna say…” You find yourself being rolled onto your back, his pupils pushing the golden-brown of his irises to the outer rims as they dilate. “And the answer is no.”
“What?” Kei smirks, almost sing-songy as he trails kisses down your collar. He’s not actually gunning for that part of your life together yet. Key word—yet. You’d both agreed to preserve the first year of your marriage for just the two of you. Figuring out the ins and outs of buying a house together and all the legalities that came with it had been hard enough on its own.
Everything after your one-year anniversary, though, is completely fair game.
“You’re the one who brought up a little Tsukishima…”
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fandomxo00 · 2 days
Note
imagine if…reader is Logans daughter in a different universe but he dies when she’s very young and becomes the next wolverine at like 14 or something. And Wade being Wade brings her the “worst” wolverine and they have like a emotional reunion together 🥹🥹 (maybe dogpool can have a little cameo lol)
note: Writing about Laura cause I love her sm all she wanted was to be with logan just wanna protect her and not really writing in the pov of Laura but the reader but hope you enjoy 💕
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Laura had been devastated at Logan's passing. She hadn't even know the man long but there this sense of understanding that she had with him. They were made as monsters. You were a much younger version of her mother, when they met in the void when she was only 14, she looked up to you and you protected her the best you could. You tried to give her the life she deserved but it was rough when you were both exiled from your timelines.
But when Laura looked at you she saw her eyes reflected back in your own and she felt safe. You raised her the best you could, you knew that missed her father and everything that their relationship could have been. Little did you know that a random guy in a red suit and an annoying voice would Logan back into her life.
Though Laura explained that this version of Logan was grumpier than hers. He drank a lot more and complained a lot for someone who was living for free on your couch. Laura was now 19, she worked at the diner with you. If Logan didn't find a job in the next week, he could find somewhere else to stay. Though you don't think Laura will allow that. You have a rather weird relationship with Logan.
You had gotten pregnant and had Laura in your world, endured the torture of being there and having your daughter taken away with you. You never met Logan but you had his child. Sadly, you also had to feel the loss of your Laura when Piece killed her right in front of you with adamantium bullet before shooting you. Luckily, they hadnt shot you with an adamantium bullet, because Laura's blood had been in your DNA since you first got pregnant with hers. You were able to heal but she wasn't.
You had wished every day for years that it was you instead but you were fortunate enough. But then you found her again and you swore with your life that you would do anything for her. Even let her deadbeat dad lay on the couch, no matter how many times he walked around shirtless or smiled over at you didn't mean anything. You watched Logan's walls crumble as his daughter slowly tore the through the rumble and started bonding with the man. Even getting him to bake with her, you had smiled getting a picture of the two.
Then one night she had a date, he was surprised when he saw a young mutant who was nonbinary. Laura glowed as she looked at them, Logan tried to do the whole scary dad thing, but wound up just nodding and letting them go. The two of you sat at the couch, a joint passed between you as you spoke lightly into the night. Opening up about your past as your inhibitions lowered and the two moved closer to each other.
At some point his lips wound up yours his hands on your waist while he cradled your head in his hand. Your lips slotted with his, as your hands gripped his shirt. The two of you pulled away breathless before taking it back to your room.
A week later, Logan got a job, he also started sleeping in your bed. The three of you grew close as a family and you've never felt more full in your life. But eventually Laura wanted to spread her wings and wound up moving into the X-Mansion. She came to visit the two of you frequently and always came to hang out with her younger siblings.
tags:@ohtobemare @jessjessmarvelandhp @chronicallybubbly @delicateholland @bubblegumholland @mega-kittyglitter-1
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Text
icdiwabh ~ joseph quinn
word count: 3688
request?: no
description: after finding out that her recently broken up with ex is already in a new relationship, she puts on a happy face for the public. but she can't do the same with him
pairing: joseph quinn x female!reader
warnings: swearing, angsty angst, rpf, use of y/n
based on this song
masterlist (one, two, three)
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To give her credit, my best friend and guitarist, Chloe, tried her best to keep me from looking at my phone before our show. And it was working. I didn't even think anything of it, just that we were goofing off before a show as usual.
And then my phone chimed with a text from my mom. She always sent me a good luck text before a show. I unlocked my phone to respond, then saw that my social media notifications were blowing up more than usual.
I shouldn't have looked, but you know what they say about curiosity and the cat.
I opened Twitter to see I was being mentioned a lot. Mainly in replies to other tweets, and most of the tweets were along the lines of, "What happened to @(Y/U/N)?" I clicked on one to see what that context was, and was brought to a tweet from Pop Crave.
"Joseph Quinn photographed on a date with Doja Cat," followed by various photos of my ex-boyfriend getting cozy with another woman.
I felt my heart drop and break into millions of pieces.
I know what you're thinking: why would seeing my ex moving on hurt so much? It's not like we were together. We were both free to see whoever we wanted now. But there were a few reasons this news was upsetting; for one, we had only broken up three months ago, which apparently is around the time when these pictures were taken. Second, Joseph had broken up with me due to the fact that I was a singer, which meant we didn't get to spend as much time together as either of us would've wanted. I understood at the time. I mean, of course the break up still hurt, but I kind of knew it was coming when things between us had felt different the last month or so of our relationship.
Then there was the biggest reason: Doja was the woman he told me not to worry about.
I am not joking.
Joseph and I were together when the whole Doja versus Noah stuff happened online. We both laughed about it at the time, and i had jokingly asked Joseph, "Should I worry about you getting stolen away by Doja Cat?" He had wrapped me in his arms, kissed me, and said of course not.
Obviously, that had changed.
Chloe found me just as the tears started to fall. She was quick to hug me and whisper comforting words.
"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry," she said. "But we have to get to the stage."
Performing was the last thing on my mind, but I had thousands of fans waiting for me. I couldn't let them down just because I was heartbroken.
I followed Chloe to take my place. I wiped the tears from my eyes, hoping my face wasn't too red or puffy. Our backstage crew passed me my microphone as the countdown for the show to start started in my earpiece. I took a deep, calming breath, pushing everything out of my mind. As the blinding stage lights hit me, I put on my best show smile.
~~~~~~
The next few weeks were tough. I had to go on a full social media hiatus, meaning I deleted all social media apps from my phone to keep myself from seeing any more updates on Joseph and Doja. Chloe took up posting on my accounts so no one suspected anything. We had already decided the best course of action was to ignore the questions and comments, and to pretend like the news didn't even hurt me.
But it did. It hurt me more than any words could ever describe. Having to go on stage two to three nights a week and sing the love songs I wrote about him made it even harder. I struggled to keep it together on stage sometimes. I saved the emotions for when I'd get back to the hotel or the tour bus. Then I'd be able to cry until my eyes hurt and were too heavy to stay awake.
Some nights were sleepless, though. On those nights, I'd usually just lay awake or try to use one of the streaming services on my phone to distract myself. One night, I found myself too hungry to be distracted. My stomach was rumbling enough that I could hardly hear the show I was watching. After some quick Googling, I found a 24 hour diner that seemed like it would be slow enough for me to go without being recgonized.
I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a baggy hoodie with the hood up to cover my face. I put my phone and my hotel room key in my pocket, and left to make my way to the diner.
As I expected, there weren't many people there. Maybe one table with two young ladies sat there, plus the workers. I kept my hood up anyways as I ordered, just in case. The host who took my order did look at me like he may have known who I was, but he didn't say anything.
My plan was to get my food and take it back to the hotel to eat it. But that plan was quickly changed when a familiar British voice said, "(Y/N)?"
I froze. There was no way he was actually here. It had to be a figment of my imagination. A hallucination made up by my misery over the breakup and his quick moving on.
But when I looked up, there he was. He was also in a hoodie and sweatpants, but was doing less to hide his identity. Actually, nothing to hide his identity. I couldn't help but glance around to make sure no one was looking at us or there was no paparazzi that had followed him and started snapping photos.
"How did you know it was me?" I asked, then realized it was a stupid question and winced at myself.
"That's...um...my hoodie."
I looked down and realized that he was right. I hadn't even noticed that I had it, even when I packed it for the tour.
"I was wondering where it went," he said with a little smile.
"Here it is," I said, lamely flourishing my hands. "I'd offer to give it back, but I'm not wearing anything underneath."
I saw him swallow at my comment. I thought I saw a tinge of pink creeping onto his cheeks, but I figured it must've been the lighting or something. There was no way I could still make him blush when he obviously had no feelings for me anymore.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I'm in town shooting the Fantastic Four movie," he explained. "I just finished a late shoot, so I stopped in for something to eat. What are you doing here?"
"I had a show tonight. I couldn't sleep, and I'm hungry. So..." I did my lame flourish again.
"Oh yes. The post-show adrenaline."
I ground my teeth to keep from saying anything. The weeks of sadness and misery suddenly vanished and became anger. I was angry at him for reminding me that he knew me so well. That we had shared memories on sleepless nights like this. I was also angry that he didn't think our breakup and his quick moving on would be the cause of my sleeplessness. Did he think I didn't know? Or just that I'd be okay with him and his new girlfriend mere weeks after our two year long relationship ended?
I just shrugged in response.
My order was called and I quickly grabbed it. I turned to give Joseph a wave as a goodbye. I needed to get out of there and get back to my hotel room to wallow in my dispair.
But it seemed Joseph had other plans, as he stopped me before I could leave. "Do you want to sit? Maybe...catch up?"
"Is that a good idea?" I asked.
"I don't see why it wouldn't be."
"You don't want your new girlfriend to see paparazzi photos of you with your ex."
There, it was finally out. No more tiptoeing around the topic.
It seemed to have its desired effect as Joseph was now awkwardly shuffling. He rubbed the back of his neck, which was now undoubtably turning pink. "So, you've heard."
"Of course I heard!" I snapped. I glanced around again, realizing I was raising my voice. "Your pictures are everywhere, and I'm being tagged in them cause we never told everyone we had broken up."
"I'm sorry you had to find out that way."
I scoffed. "How else was I going to find out? Were you going to call me and tell me you were dating the girl you said wasn't a threat to our relationship?"
He sighed. Before he could say anything else, they called that another order was ready, and evidently it was his. It was also packed in a to go bag, so he clearly had no intentions of staying either. With any luck, he'd drop this stupid idea of sitting down for a "catch up" and let me leave to deal with all the emptions I was feeling.
But of course, luck was not on my side.
Joseph grabbed his food and turned back to me. "Just...sit with me for 15 minutes at least. Let me explain."
Even though I very much wanted an explanation, I said, "You don't have to explain anything."
"Just...please, (Y/N)."
And that's how I found myself sat in a booth that was tucked away, in the middle of the night with my ex-boyfriend.
It was a bad idea, and I knew that. Besides the fact that I definitely should not be sitting down with the ex that I had been in shambles over for weeks, it was also a bad idea publicity wise. Joseph wasn't trying to hide himself. Anyone could see us and snap a picture, or call paparazzi to make a quick buck. Even with me trying to hide myself, someone would eventually put the pieces together to realize it was me. Then we'd have a whole new shit show on our hands.
I opened my food and started to eat. There was no point in letting it go cold and completely ruin my night. Joseph wasn't as quick to do the same. He was watching me. When I realized he wasn't eating, I made a gesture for him to start talking.
"Is there anything specific you want to know?" he asked.
Well, that was a stupid question. There was a lot I wanted to know. So much so that I knew we'd be here way longer than 15 minutes if I asked it all.
I decided to ask him the most prominent question on my mind: "Did you leave me for her?"
He seemed stunned by my question. "No! No, of course I didn't. Why would you think that?"
I gave him a look. "Come on, Joseph. We both know why I'd think that."
He shuffled in his seat. "It's not like that."
"Then explain it. That's the whole reason I'm sat here."
So he did. He told me he met Doja (he used her real name, which made my stomach churn) at her concert. He had gone with a few friends, and when she found out he was there she brought them backstage to meet her. He swore it was all casual at first, that they were just friendly and were making light of the situation between her and Noah. When things started changing, he swore it was just a rebound thing.
"I never meant for it to become anything more," he insisted. "I was still so hurt. I just wanted something that would take my mind off of the pain."
I couldn't hold back the scoff that escaped my lips. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," I said. "I'm just so sorry to hear that you were hurting."
"What, you don't think our breakup was hard for me?"
"Weirdly enough, no, I didn't think you took things hard when you dumped me."
Joseph sighed. "It wasn't - "
"And you know what else?" I cut him off. "You told me you found it hard for us to be together because of our professions. And, honestly, I understood! If you weren't away filming, I was away touring. If you weren't doing press for a movie or show, I was doing press for an album. It wasn't easy, and while I was willing to go through those strifes for us, I did understand how it could be too difficult for you. But then you turned around, not even a month after you dumped me, and started dating another singer."
He was quiet. He couldn't even meet my eye.
I felt a lump forming in my throat, and my voice cracked as I said, "If you didn't love me anymore, you could've just said that."
He looked up at me quickly. "That's not - "
He was cut off again. Not by me this time, but by his phone. Someone was calling him. When I looked at the screen, I saw her name. It felt like a knife directly through my heart.
I packed my food and stood. Joseph looked like he was going to say something, but I put a hand up to stop him. "Answer your girlfriend, Joseph."
He didn't try to stop me when I left this time.
~~~~~~
As I expected, photos of Joseph and I got out. I didn't know to what extent as I still wasn't back on social media. My manager confronted me about it and I explained what had happened. She wasn't upset as I wasn't the one who hadn't been concealing my identity, and she agreed that the best course of action was just to ignore everything until it blew over.
Another two months passed and the tour finally ended. It became easier to perform as the time went on. Not completely easy, and I did have a night or two where I slipped up and got emotional on stage, but eventually I was able to put the meanings of my songs aside and just performed them for my fans. I knew some nights weren't as great as others, but I got through it, and finally I was going to have a break.
Chloe reluctantly agreed to let me have my social media back. I was still hurting a little, but I told her I couldn't isolate myself forever. It just wasn't healthy. Besides, I would need something to keep me occupied while I was home, besides just watching mind numbing reality TV. She finally relented when I told her she could watch me block the words "Joseph Quinn" and "Doja Cat" on all social media so that I wouldn't have to see any posts about them.
I was honestly surprised to find that I didn't want to look up anything to do with them. For a long time, the desire to know about their relationship was eating away at me. There were so many specifics I felt like I needed to know, but I eventually realized that I was just going to hurt myself further if I looked into them. Of course, I didn't completely stop thinking about Joseph. I didn't expect to. We had been together for two years, almost moved in with one another. I thought we were going to get married. You don't just let that go easily. But at least it was getting a little easier to live in a world where he was no longer mine.
On one particularly nice day, I decided to go out on the balcony to read. It was one of those fall days where the sun was out and there was a little heat coming from it, but not enough that it was unbearable. A slight breeze would blow through every so often, just cool enough to keep it tolerable outside. I was laid back in one of my deck chairs, engrossed in my book to a point that I hadn't heard someone approaching.
"Must be an interesting novel."
I jumped at the sound of a voice coming from my driveway below. I bookmarked my page and sat up to see the last person I wanted to be around. "What are you doing here, Joseph?"
"I just got back from filming."
"Good for you."
"I...I was hoping you were home."
"Well, you see that I am. Don't let the gate hit you on the way out."
"(Y/N), can we just talk?"
I stood from my seat and leaned over the balcony railing to look at him. "We said all there was to say in that diner months ago. There's nothing else to be talked about. Besides, do you want more pictures of us to come out? I'm sure Doja wouldn't be happy to see her man making a personal visit to his ex's place."
"We broke up!"
I stopped. "What?"
"Last month. It was all over social media, or so Lupita tells me." He tilted his head. "You didn't hear?"
"I-I blocked yours and Doja's names on social media so I wouldn't have to see any tweets or posts about you."
Joseph looked at me for a moment before barking out a laugh. I couldn't help but put a hand over my face as I laughed as well. Of course, by trying to block him out completely, I had totally missed the one thing I would've wanted to see.
I was a bit reluctant, but eventually I invited Joseph to come up. He knew his way through my place, he had been there enough times. I sat back down on my deck chair and pulled another one closer to me, as he appeared in the glass doorway. He sat down next to me and memories of all the times we had been out here flooded back to me.
"I wasn't done talking that night in the diner," he said. "I still had so much to say, and I have even more to say now."
"I didn't want to hear it," I admitted. "In my mind, after hearing how you and Doja got together, it just made more sense if you had broken up with me because you didn't love me anymore."
He shook his head. "It wasn't that at all. I never stopped loving you."
I was itching to ask him if that meant he still loved me now, but instead I said, "Then why?"
"I broke up with you because I loved you so much," he said. "Because loving you but not getting to spend time with you hurt so much, and I knew there was no way around that. When I started getting more job offers I knew things were just going to get so much busier for me, and that our already very short time together was going to dwindle down more and more, and I hated the thought of that."
"I would've taken a break," I told him.
"I couldn't ask you to do that. You love making music and performing. I could never ask you to stop doing that, or to change that. I thought the best thing for you would be if you could find someone who wasn't as busy, and who'd be able to go on tour with you and be at all your shows. Someone who wouldn't be in a different time zone basically 11 months out of a year and only be able to call you for an hour max every night."
"But what if that's not what I want?" I asked. "Yes, it was hard not to get to see you all the time, but I never would've traded that for anything else. I was so proud of you for all those roles you were getting, and even if I only got to talk to you for a few minutes, I loved getting to hear what you were doing. Because you were achieving your dream, and I got to be there to experience it. I don't want someone who can be with me all the time, I want you."
I hadn't noticed that we were both sat on the edge of our chairs. We were so close we were almost touching. I could smell the familiar scent of his cologne and it was making my heart skip a few beats.
"I should've talked to you instead of deciding just to end things," he said, his voice soft and quiet.
"You should've," I agreed. "And then if you were going to rebound, you shouldn't have done it with the girl you told me not to worry about."
He awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, not my finest moment."
I sat back in my chair, although I didn't want to. I wanted to keep being this close to him, or maybe to get closer. "So why did you two breakup anyways?"
"She was nice and all, but she wasn't you."
We sat in silence, letting his words sink in. He was looking at me, almost like he was waiting. Maybe I was waiting, too, to see where that confession was supposed to go. After a few moments, my body moved before my mind could comprehend what was happening. I quickly leaned forward, nearly putting myself on Joseph's lap, and started kissing him. He kissed me back immediately, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me the rest of the way onto his lap.
"I missed you," he mumbled against my lips.
"I missed you too," I admitted. I pulled away to add, "But don't think you're completely off the hook. You did still hurt me, you know."
"I know I did. I'll spend the rest of my life making up for it if I have to."
I smiled. "I think I like the sound of that."
He smiled back at me and pulled me back in for another kiss. Eventually, my book was abandoned on the balcony, and the large blinds were closed to keep from anyone being able to see the reunion happening inside.
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koji-haru · 1 day
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Time Travel AU Part: 15
[Thank you @inubaki for the idea for this chapter!
Also, feel free to listen to the video below to know the kind of music Michael and Adam were playing.]
youtube
“Say Michael, do you play any instruments at all?,” asked Adam as he laid on his stomach watching the angel panic as the garlic got burnt in his apparently new invention, the pan. Michael scrapped the blackened garlic off of the pan with Adam’s other new invention, the spatula, but ended up using magic to clear the pan of the burnt seasoning. 
“Oh that’s because your fire’s too hot and you put the garlic too early,” pointed out Adam casually.
The angel expressed interest in Adam’s daily routine, and had initially thought that the first man mainly ate fruits and nuts. And so, Adam had reminded Michael when he first taught him how to cook some sort of soup when he was unwell. 
‘Oh, so you ‘cook’ everyday?,” asked Michael curiously. 
“Yup. Fruits and nuts are nice, but some variety is also nice, you know?,” Adam replied as he picked vegetables and mushrooms to have for breakfast. He was planning on some nice fried eggs, but then the angel suddenly visited him so early in the morning, and that would be something he didn’t want to explain to the angel. So it was a veggie breakfast for today.  Why was Michael even visiting him this early? He liked having someone to talk to, but he swore the angel was acting more and more odd.
Michael hovered behind Adam, wings fluttering lightly as he watched him do his morning tasks. “Can I help?”
Adam remembered the disaster that was the vegetable soup and how long it took Michael to make one that was edible and mentally snorted to himself. “Sure, if you want.” Adam thought it would be funny to watch such a respected angel fail miserably at such simple tasks. 
And it was funny, at least for the first 20 minutes but the sun was almost at its highest point in the sky and Michael had restarted over four times already, and yet here was Adam with no breakfast. He didn’t realise how much of a perfectionist Michael was and was now reaping the consequences of his actions. 
“Every angel knows how to play an instrument,” answered Michael. “It’s a skill we’re all born with,” he continued as he grabbed three more cloves of garlic and minced them with such speed and finesse one would think he was a great cook.
“And what do you play?” Adam got up from his spot and walked over to Michael. It was nice to have someone cook for him, but he was starving at this point and if he were to watch and let Michael fail one more time he was definitely going to die of starvation.
Michael hesitated for a moment before answering, “Well, I can play many instruments, but the violin is my favourite...” The words died in Michael’s throat as Adam pushed close beside him and grabbed the minced garlic from the angel and tossed them into the pan. “W-what are you doing?,” he stammered, his heart gradually beating faster. Such close proximity was sending his mind into a spiral. Were Adam’s eyes always that shimmery? Such deep golden hue, it reminded him of when the Sun was first brought into existence. A sudden bright spark in never ending darkness, glowing hot gases swirling all around it, and he couldn’t help but want to keep staring. Then there was his beautifully sun-kissed skin that seemed to glow whenever light hit it. Unmarred and untainted, it emitted such youthful warmth that pervaded every place Adam was in. And then there was also his soft brown hair; he bet it would feel so silky and smooth between his fingers–
“Can you pass me mushrooms?” Adam reached out and pointed towards the chopped mushrooms on Michael’s side, moving even closer into the angel’s space. 
“Ah, yes,” Michael coughed into his fist. “Here you go.” He quickly handed the requested item, a yellow blush quickly spread on his face as he looked down and away from Adam, though he could still distinctly feel the first man’s warmth so close to him. 
“Okay, so.” Adam grabbed Michael’s hand that was holding the wooden spatula and directed it towards the hot pan. “After you toss it in there you…” 
Adam’s careful instructions were reduced to unintelligible background noise to Michael, his mind distracted by the feel of Adam’s hand on his and his body pressed flush against his. His body went into autopilot, letting Adam guide his hands on what to do as his mind took a break from reality lest he risk overheating.
“Aaand just like that, breakfast is served!,” announced Adam. “Pretty easy, right?”
Before Michael even knew it, two wooden plates of sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, stir fried vegetables and sliced avocados were in front of him. Apparently, he had assembled them together with Adam, though he vaguely remembered doing so. “Um, sure…,” mumbled Michael as he stood there seemingly lost. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he wouldn’t mind receiving more cooking lessons from Adam. 
On the other hand, Adam was just so happy and relieved to finally have something nice to eat. He hoped that what he just taught Michael now would stick, but he guessed from the angel’s dumbfounded expression that it would probably take a while and many more attempts for that to happen. 
“So, you play the violin?,” asked Adam between chewing, his fork pointing towards Michael, who was sitting across from him, also eating their hard earned breakfast.
The question lowered Michael’s mood a tiny bit, not too obvious of a change, but perceptible to those who were keen. “I…don’t play it as much anymore.”
“Why not?”
Michael hesitated, but in the end didn’t mind sharing a piece of himself to Adam. “Reminds me too much of my brother,” he finally answered. “Though he preferred to call them his fiddle,” he chuckled as a fond memory of him and Lucifer playfully debating which music style was better to play the violin (or the fiddle) with. Michael preferred the more classical approach, a bit slower where notes were sustained and with more vibratos. Lucifer, on the other hand, liked playful dancing rhythms, fast paced with swift changes in notes.
Now, he had no one to competitively play music with, no one to chase around and reproach for pulling silly pranks on everyone even though he knew he would do it again. Despite everything, Lucifer was still his brother, born from the same stardust as he was. 
“I just wish things could’ve ended differently,” Michael sighed as put down his plate of food, having already lost his appetite. 
“Well…do you want to play music with me instead?,” blurted out Adam. He didn’t what the fuck he was trying to do. Comfort him? Make him feel better? Preach about the beauty of music and all that shit? Really, he didn’t know, all he knew was that he didn’t like the idea of someone giving up music because it brought up bitter memories. Music was there to soothe the soul, dance and sing with it, not tear it to shreds. “I mean, you made me a guitar so…”
Michael looked up from his plate to Adam, a little wide eyed from the man’s suggestion. He tossed the idea back and forth in his mind, and the more thought he gave it, the more he realised he liked it. Adam himself was gifted with amazing musical talent, and to create music together with him…it would be breathtaking, Michael imagined. 
“I would love to, Adam.”
“Great! Let me just quickly grab my guitar.” Adam placed his plate down to jump over Amora, who was napping, and grab his guitar from behind her. 
“Oh, you mean right now?,” asked Michael, surprised at the suddenness, but conjured a violin regardless.
“What better time than now?” Adam jumped over the sleeping jaguar again and sat beside Michael. He slowly strummed the strings of his guitar, leading for the angel to join him. 
And Michael did, he positioned the violin between his chin and shoulder and slowly ran the bow up and down over the strings. Together, the two filled the air with a melody of serene beauty and elegance reminiscent of silken clouds at dawn, gold touching blue in the beginning of time. The life around them paused to watch in awe the concert between Heaven and Earth, a painting of the relationship between the two, loving yet formal, its complexity hidden by apparent simplicity. Its divine charm captured all as its enchanted audience.
Michael closed his eyes, fully immersing himself in the sweet sentimental tones, almost heart piercing to him. The notes clash like waves of love and loneliness, lost distant echoes and happiness in your grasp. Memories of the past resurfacing on the shores only to be washed away by slow sublime notes, leaving the shores smooth and bare ready to be meaningfully decorated again. 
The notes lessened, the music eased down, the melody softened to a whisper as the curtains closed and the concert between Heaven and Earth reached its conclusion. Michael and Adam met each other’s gazes, a new understanding between them.
—-
Adam lied on the grass as he watched the stars decorate the dark canvas of the night sky. Each one shining as brightly as they could in order to brighten the darkness that surrounded it. The song he had created with Michael earlier in the morning still playing in his mind. It was normally what he preferred to play or listen to, but specifically that one, he truly loved. 
“You’re still humming that song?,” asked Michael, who was lying beside him to watch the stars as well. It was odd, to see such enormous spheres of burning gas look so small and glistening like those shiny stones Adam had shown him before.
“I can’t help it,” Adam replied, eyes still glued to the night sky. “It was such a beautiful song,” he smiled, contentment filling his heart.
Michael shifted his gaze towards the human beside him. “It was,” he agreed. 
If he wasn’t sure of it before, Michael was definitely sure now. It was something he could happily admit at this point. There weren't any grand plans he’d end up ruining anything or someone’s trust he’d end up breaking. There was nothing in the way, nothing to stop and hold him back. He had waited long enough, hadn’t he? He looked back up towards the night sky. “Would you take offence if I brought action to my desires, Father?,” he wondered. Michael was answered with the tranquillity of the night, the loving kiss of the breeze, the soft lullabies of swaying trees, the quiet snores of sleeping animals, bedtime stories from running streams, and the cool embrace of the glowing moon as she looked down at the earnest angel who sought for permission. 
Michael had expressed his wishes upon Heaven and Earth, both God’s most beautiful works, and still they remained beautiful in their serenity. And so, Michael turned to his side and plucked a single blue feather near the base of his wings, and tied a silken gold thread around one end of the feather.
“Thank you Adam, for creating music with me,” said Michael softly, his tone filled with genuine appreciation and tender care. “It was wonderful. You were wonderful.”
Adam carelessly waved him off. “Psh, you did most of the playing. I was just there to back you up.”
“And I’m grateful for that,” Michael took a deep breath, here goes. He turned his body to fully face the first man beside him. “So, if you would allow me, I’d like to back you up too.” 
Michael slowly offered the blue feather to Adam, his heart on a platter, exposed and vulnerable just for him. 
Adam took his gaze off the night sky to see what Michael was talking about and was greeted by a feather on a golden thread. He knew what that meant. It was an oath. His heart and entire being offered to him unconditionally. An oath of everlasting love, to remain at one’s side until the end of time. 
For angels, it was a happy, beautiful thing. Something to cause celebration over. 
For Adam, it was a nightmare. A disaster in disguise.
Part 14
Part 16
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gregorygerwitz · 23 hours
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AITA for sending my best friend into a swarm of killer bees?
Short version of context: my best friend, E (33M), and I (33M) have been working together for about seven years, and we're firefighters. This happened when we were dealing with the 15 million killer bees that got out when the truck overturned? I'm sure a lot of people have heard about it, since it made national news.
We got called to a garden party where a couple thousand of the bees had gathered for this perfume release party. It was really pretty, actually, lots of flowers, it looked like? It was kind of destroyed by the time we got there. By the bees.
One of the women at the party had jumped into the pool to escape the swarm of bees, but they were waiting for her above the surface. She's fine, we got her out of there, and she's going to make a full recovery, before anyone worries too much. But we had to get the bees away from the pool before we could safely get her out without them immediately swarming her again. We just had to figure out how to do that, and I wasn't allowed to use smoke again. (we have a new boss, he sucks, but that's a different post entirely)
I was inside passing out water and doing basic first aid some of the other party guests when I found out what the party was for. I looked at all the scent notes and talked to the woman who developed the scent itself and it had floral notes and bananas! Which are bees' favorite things! So, we just needed to find a way to get their attention on the perfume again instead of the pool!
Anyway, I suggested dousing E in perfume because he's a faster runner than me.
We sprayed at least three or four bottles on him, like his turnouts were probably sticky, but we were trying to save a woman's life. And, besides, he really is a fast runner! He ran around the garden and pool for long enough to distract the bees while we saved someone's life! And then a local beekeeper safely collected the bees that were crawling all over E so that they wouldn't be harmed. That part was extra cool, I think. I'm glad none of the bees got hurt.
But now E keeps making comments about how I should take his dinner duty because I didn't have to run through a swarm of bees, and I think he's joking, but it's hard to tell. I know he's going through a lot lately, because of some stuff not worth getting into for this post, so maybe this was just too much for him to take on top of that. He was totally safe because of the gear we wear and everything, but I know I can never really know what's going on in someone else's head.
Am I the asshole for potentially putting him through more stress than he was prepared to take on?
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badkitty3000 · 1 day
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You Can't Go Home Again
Chapters 1 and 2
All Five wants to do is rest. But when yet another apocalypse threatens to doom them all, he doesn't have that luxury. This time, the only solution for the Hargreeves to try and save the world is to unite Five with another, alternate version of himself.
Five starts to spiral when he is faced with the alternate life that he could have had, if only he hadn't gone and ruined everything. But maybe, just maybe, there's still time for him to obtain the happy ending he deserves.
An alternate season three rewrite for a request I received.
Warnings: None
More chapters will be posted as I continue writing this multi-chapter fic. Enjoy!
Chapter One: The Other You
So much for being their ringer, Five thought bitterly as he stewed about the day’s earlier events. Lying there in his shitty bottom bunk bed like he was actually 13 years old, and waiting for Klaus to get back with his scotch, he tried to think of what to do next. Everyone was waiting on him, like he knew the answer to everything. It was damned if you do, damned if you don’t with this family, because no matter what Five said someone wasn’t happy with him. He sighed and flopped a pillow over his face, trying to drown out Diego and Luther’s arguing. At this point, he wished that Cobra Girl, or whatever the fuck her name was, would make him hallucinate he was on a tropical island with a fruity drink in one hand and Dolores in his other.
God damn it, he was tired.
Maybe this was for the best, though. Maybe they could just live here and be normal for once. After all, it didn’t seem all that bad. They just needed to avoid Dad’s merry band of Mega Assholes, but that should be easy enough. They could even keep the briefcase. He didn’t really need the reminder of that part of his life, anyway. The more he thought about it, the better it sounded. This was just what they all needed to start over.
Wait, where are all the lobsters? Fuck.
************************************************************************
“I swear there was a great vintage clothing store around here somewhere,” Klaus muttered to himself as he walked down the busy street, a few blocks from the hotel. He stopped and looked around, shading his eyes from the sun. He let out a frustrated groan. “The one time I could actually benefit from Ben being up my ass all the time. That jerk was like freaking Magellan.” He chuckled. “No wonder I’ve always been bad at directions. I usually just followed him.” Klaus caught the side-eye of a woman hurrying past him. “Aaaaand…now I’m talking to myself. Wonderful.”
As he stepped off the curb to try the other side of the street, he stopped dead in his tracks. Coming out of the café across the road, was an absolute dead ringer for Five. Well, an older version of him. But not like his real, 60 year-old version. More like the correct version, if the correct version had been allowed to age normally with the rest of his siblings.
It had to be him. Same dark hair swept to the side. Same lean build and sharp facial features. Same aggravated look on his face.
The one thing that was clearly wrong, besides the fact that he was roughly 30, was that he had two small children in tow, with one of them holding his hand. Then Klaus almost passed out when he saw a very pretty woman follow him out, putting her arm around his waist and kissing his cheek.
And Five just… smiled at her. Like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“What the…” Klaus started to wonder, before almost being run over by a delivery truck that came zooming down the street. “Shit!”
He stepped back onto the curb just in time, as the driver honked his horn and yelled obscenities at him as he drove past. But Klaus barely registered all of that. He couldn’t stop staring at his brother’s doppelganger, trying to figure out what to do about it. Would he even know Klaus? This was probably a completely different version that grew up here, in the Sparrow’s timeline and would have no idea that the Umbrella Academy even existed.
“Five!” Klaus yelled out, not even thinking.
The older version of his brother stopped and turned, looking for who might have called him.
“Fuck, it really is him,” Klaus muttered. “Five! Over here!” He waved his arms in the air, catching Five’s attention.
He watched as Five squinted across the street, then looked at the woman next to him, shrugging. The small girl holding his hand gave a sharp tug to get his attention, and Five let her pull him along down the sidewalk, taking one last confused look at Klaus over his shoulder.
“Fuck…now what?” Klaus said, one hand on his hip. “What would Ben say? He’d tell me I should not follow him and just go back to the hotel and tell Five. So…yeah, I’m going to follow him.”
Klaus stayed on the opposite side of the street, and hung back a little, but he followed Five and his family for a few blocks. As he paused behind a telephone pole, trying to hide for a few seconds to widen the gap between them, he was engulfed in a flash of blue light before being thrown against the side of a building, the front of his shirt clutched in someone’s hands, and a snarling voice speaking to him.
“Who are you and why are you following me?”
Klaus looked into the familiar green eyes of his brother, whose other version he had just recently been reunited with. There was no doubt it was Five now. Even without the spatial jump and the physical assault. When Klaus’s eyes dropped down to the fist that was clenching his shirt, he saw the tattoo that matched his own.
“Holy shit! Five, it’s really you!”
“How the fuck do you know my name? Who are you?” Five demanded again, pushing Klaus further into the brick wall.
“It’s me…Klaus! You know, your brother?”
Five paused, but didn’t loosen his grip at all. “What are you talking about?”
Klaus held his hands up in surrender, while also showing Five the inside of his left wrist. “See? It’s me! Numero Quatro. Remember?”
Five took a small step back, his eyes wide, but he still held tight. “Klaus?”
Klaus laughed. “Yeah! Hey buddy, how the hell are you?”
After a few more seconds of staring blankly at his brother, Five let him go and Klaus smoothed his shirt down. “I don’t understand. How are you here? This isn’t your timeline.”
“I know!” Klaus giggled. “It’s a LONG fucking story, one which my brother…well, you, actually, can explain much better than I can. But after a couple failed time travel attempts, here we are! And Dad was NOT thrilled to see us, let me tell you. Do you know he has a whole ass other family now? And Ben! He’s alive…or a version of him is alive. He seems like a real dick. But then there’s you, and look at you! All grown up and with a family? That’s so great! But how did you get here? How are you not a Sparrow?”
Five pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger and sighed before smiling at his long-lost brother. “Klaus, it is really good to see you, but please, give me a minute here. I need to think.”
“Right. Sorry.”
“So, how did you time travel here? With what resource?”
“To this particular timeline? A magical briefcase. Before that, it was just you.”
“Ignoring whatever the hell a magical briefcase is, do you mean you used my powers to time travel?”
“Yes, but with varying success.”
“Ok. So, there’s a version of me with you now?”
Klaus nodded. “Yes. And you are ADORABLE.” He saw Five’s frown of confusion. “You’re thirteen. Well, not really. You’re actually 58, since you got stuck in an apocalypse for 45 years and then messed up your own time math on your return to 2019. So, yeah, you’re super cute but, wow, are you ornery.”
Five thought for a moment before quietly mumbling, “So you must be from an alternate Umbrella Academy timeline where I still time traveled at thirteen, but with a different outcome.”
Klaus nodded. “Sure, that sounds about right.” Then he tilted his head in confusion. “Hang on, if you’re here and the same age as me, and you still have the Umbrella tattoo, then how did you get here and how are there two of you?”
Five frowned. “Again, I’m going to speculate, because I can’t be entirely sure. But from what you’re saying, it sounds like there were at least two original timelines where the Umbrella Academy and us and the rest of our siblings existed. I decided to defy Reggie and jump to the future in both of those timelines, except that’s where things went differently. It sounds like in your timeline, that version of me got stuck in the future with no way back. In my particular case, I jumped and instead of going forward in time, I went sideways and got stuck.”
“Sideways?”
“Meaning, I jumped to a different, alternate universe with the Sparrows, but the time remained the same. So, I grew up here, in this timeline but without good old Dad to raise me.”
“Oh right…” Klaus said, nodding as if he completely understood. “So, you’re not the same Five that rubbed hot chili oil in my underwear in retaliation for stealing your sandwich when we were twelve?”
Five looked taken aback, but then he gave a short laugh. “No, but I did dare MY Klaus to touch his junk after cutting up a habanero pepper, then proceeded to take his picture when he started screaming and pouring milk down his underpants.”
“Man, you really are an asshole in every timeline!” Klaus laughed. “Poor me.”
With a grin, Five shook his head. “It really is good to see you, Klaus. The last time I saw any of my siblings I was thirteen. I’m glad to see you made it out and are doing well.”
“Well…I wouldn’t go that far, but I made it out anyway. And what about you? So, you landed here and then what? I didn’t see you with the other assholes who were beating the shit out of us in our own home.”
“Oh, the Sparrows? Yeah, they are a special brand of dickheads, that’s for sure. Even as teenagers, they sucked. Which is why—”
Just then, a pulsing wave of…something…washed over them and the entire city block, only for it to reverse itself and disappear the way it came. As Klaus and Five stood there in shock, a lady that had been walking on the other side of the street screamed loudly. When they looked over, they saw her holding up a dog leash attached to an empty collar. She pivoted in place, scanning all around her while she called out “Winston!” in a panic.
“Well, that’s probably not good,” Klaus observed; head tilted to the side.
“Yeah, no shit,” Five snapped. He glanced down the street, where his family was waiting for him on a bench. They appeared to be intact and he let out a sigh of relief. “Listen, I have to get back to my family. I don’t know what the hell that was, but if I had to bet, I’d say it had something to do with Reginald. So, as much as I’d love to sit here and catch up, I have to go.”
“Oh,” Klaus said sadly. “Yeah, ok. But don’t you want to come meet the rest of the gang? We’re all staying over the Hotel Obsidian, if you know where that is –”
“You’re staying there?” Five asked incredulously.
“Yeah, why?”
“That’s Dad’s place. He owns it. Didn’t you know that?”
Klaus shook his head. “No, I had no idea. Are you sure?”
Five rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ve been tracking Reggie since I was a kid. That place is basically his evil lair, and even if I haven’t been able to figure out what is going on in there, it’s a safe bet it’s in nobody’s best interest except his own.”
“Sounds about right, actually,” Klaus mused. “But, hey! He’s not there now, and our siblings would love to meet you, I’m sure. And OUR Five…he’s such a little shit gremlin, you should see him…you…well, you know what I mean. Don’t you want to meet your other self?”
“I’m sure there are terrible consequences to that, actually.”
“Oh, come on…just for a minute…”
“Klaus! A mysterious, dog-eating, energy wave from hell just passed over the city and you want to start planning a family reunion? They aren’t even my real family, anyway! So…while this has been fun, I have to go. Good luck with everything.”
In another flash of blue, Five was gone; reappearing at the other end of the street where his wife and kids were still waiting. Klaus watched in fascination as Five hugged them, and then continued down the street in a hurry, keeping them close to him for protection.
“Well, this is some weird-ass shit, even for us, right Benerino?” Klaus closed his eyes and sighed when he realized he was alone again. “Damn it. I keep forgetting.”
************************************************************************
Five was helping himself to the large selection of booze the hotel bar had to offer, trying to find just the right single malt to drown his sorrows and help him forget the happenings of the day. He decided that things couldn’t really get worse, so he might as well get plastered. He rattled off the earlier events in his head as he tipped back a bottle of Japanese whiskey and swallowed down a large gulp.
Lila tried to kill me. BOTH fucking briefcases won’t work. Lila tried to kill me AGAIN. The Commission is dead and the world is soon to follow. My old, one-armed ass died in front of me without giving me one single piece of useful information except “don’t save the world.” Jesus, what an asshole. And now this kugelblitz shit. He took another swig, grimacing as it slipped down his throat and burned his stomach. Oh yeah, let’s not forget that I’m still stuck in this prepubescent body, which is all sorts of fun. Although I think I spied one single hair on my nuts this morning, so things are really starting to look up.
“Fuck,” he muttered before laughing sardonically at himself and taking another pull at the bottle. “I should have listened to you, Dolores. I should have waited until I was one-hundred-percent sure of the math, just like you said. But you know me, always impulsive. I’m glad you’re not here to witness this, my dear, because I really stepped in it this time.”
“Five! Holy shit, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!
Klaus came running up to the bar, out of breath and smiling. Five frowned before taking another sip of whiskey. “Well, I’m not sure where you’ve been looking because I’ve been right here for the last hour.”
“Well, yeah…I mean I just got here. But, still, I have big news!”
“I’m on the edge of my seat,” Five said dryly.
“I met you!”
“Excuse me?”
“You! Well, another you, but it was still you! But like, older, you know? But with the same Umbrella Academy tattoo and surly attitude. And let me tell you…I was right because you did grow up to be hot. So, never fear little bro, you are one smoking piece of ass once you get past this awkward phase.”
“Klaus,” Five said, running a tired hand down his face. “What in the fuck are you talking about?”
Klaus took a deep breath. “I was walking around, trying to find this store I used to like, when I saw you. Another version of you.”
Five set the whiskey bottle down with a hard “thunk.” He crossed his arms on the bar top and leaned in toward Klaus, his eyebrows drawing together. “Come again?”
“You, Fivey!” Klaus repeated, gesturing wildly to his confused, smaller brother. “And get this…you have a family! An adorable wife and two precious little children. You should have seen yourself in absolute domestic bliss.” Klaus put a hand to his chest. “Oh, it was precious.”
Five slow blinked a few times, trying to understand what his moronic brother was babbling about. The whiskey was slowing his processing speed and he needed to catch up. “Hang on,” he squinted, trying to keep things in focus. “You saw another version of me? And you talked to him?”
Klaus nodded. “Yes!”
“This is…” Five muttered, picking up the bottle, but then setting it back down again with a frown. “This is not good.”
“That’s what he said! Well, not those exact words, but pretty close. I tried to get him to come here and meet everyone but—”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Five barked.
“What? I thought he’d like to see the other versions of us, since he comes from a different timeline, apparently. This you didn’t get stuck in an apocalypse, he just landed here instead. I don’t really understand everything and we didn’t have time to get into specifics before the scary energy tsunami killed the vibe.”
“Energy…what? Damn it, Klaus, I’m too drunk for this.” Five sighed heavily, dropping his head onto his arms before raising it again. He passed a hand through his hair, sweeping it out of his eyes. “Ok, listen carefully. Do NOT, under any circumstances, interact with my other self again. Understand?”
Klaus pouted. “Why? Aren’t you curious about this you?”
With a sorrowful look in his eyes, he shook his head slowly. “It doesn’t matter if I am or not. What matters is keeping us safe. You and our siblings. We can’t worry about anyone else right now, and that includes any other versions of ourselves that may be walking around. We just don’t have that luxury.”
“But…your kids…”
“They are not MY kids, Klaus! They’re HIS!” Five snapped, much more harshly than he had intended. He backed down a little. “I’m sorry. There’s too much at stake. Not to mention I can’t be trusted if I’m around another version of myself.”
“Oh, right…the psychosis thing. Yeah, Luther mentioned you went a little..” Klaus made a cuckoo bird noise and circled a finger next to his head. “I forgot about that.”
“Yeah, well I haven’t. It’s not exactly a great feeling to want to scratch your ball sack off while your doppelganger tries to murder you. You tend not to forget those things.”
“Point taken, mon frere.” Klaus grabbed a shot glass from behind the bar and poured himself some of Five’s whiskey. After throwing it back in one go, he looked around. “Alright, I have to go find everyone else and tell them the news. They aren’t going to believe this.”
As Klaus walked away, Five knew he should stop him. He needed to tell him about the kugelblitz, especially since it sounded like maybe he had already experienced a wave of it. But he had just been thrown some very heavy news and he needed time to think. It didn’t help that his brain was foggy with booze and he had already been in a maudlin mood even before Klaus had dumped this on him.
There was another version of himself walking around that city right now, not that far away. Another version that grew up in a normal world. That didn’t spend decades in a lifeless hellscape, scrounging to stay alive and slowly going insane. One that hadn’t fucked up his life, not once, but twice, with shaky math and a too-cocky attitude. And one that had a real family.
That was what Five kept circling back to. Klaus had seen him with a wife and two kids. Just the thought that there was an alternative life for him out there that included a real family nearly sucked the air right out of his lungs. A wife. A real wife that he presumably loved and that loved him in return. Children of his own.
It was too much. He couldn’t breathe and he furiously pulled at his necktie as if it were a noose tightening around his thin neck. Five pulled in loud gasps of air, but it still wasn’t enough. Grabbing the half-empty bottle of whiskey off the bar, he staggered towards the first bathroom he saw off the main floor. Panting with eyes wide, Five trudged to the old, grimy sink and stared into the mirror.
“Fuck you,” Five hissed to the skinny little shithead that was staring back at him. “You’re useless.”
He took a long swig from the bottle, his hand shaking on the way. As two small rivers of brown liquid seeped out of the corners of his mouth and down his chin, he lowered the bottle clumsily, hitting the side of the sink and smashing it into pieces. As shards of glass rained down onto the tiled floor, the pleasant tinkling sound echoing around him, Five laughed. It was a dangerous, demonic laugh that frightened even himself. He stopped abruptly, his hands clutching the sides of the sink, palms digging into the slivers of glass that had fallen there.
“You stupid asshole,” he snarled at the kid-version of himself. “You absolute piece of shit. Look what you’ve done. You’ve ruined everything.” He looked down sadly, then back up again. This time, instead of hate in his eyes there was only bottomless sorrow. “You don’t deserve that life. That’s why you ended up here, looking like this. Because you are the version that shouldn’t exist. You are the version that does not get happiness.”
Five’s cold eyes flitted down to the ground. There, lying next to his polished dress shoes that he had been so excited to complement his tailored suit, was a large piece of the broken bottle. The shard was long and tapered at the end to form a jagged dagger shape. Perfect for stabbing. Or slicing into a main artery so that someone, or yourself, would bleed out in a matter of seconds. Five stared at that piece of glass for far too long before slowly lifting his head again, facing himself in the mirror.
“I know. Don’t worry, Dolores…it was just a thought. Besides, that would be like drinking bleach while your car is flying off a cliff into a ravine. Why bother? Either way it ends the same.”
A few hours later, after cleaning the bathroom of any evidence, and composing himself back into a man in full control, Five found his siblings. It was clear that Klaus had filled them in on his discovery, and they all hushed as Five neared the group, although he noticed Klaus himself was missing. Pausing to grab himself a tumbler of scotch on the way, Five joined them. After stopping to take a casual drink, one hand in the pocket of his suit pants, Five gestured with his glass in hand.
“Alright, let’s hear it. I know Klaus told you, so let’s get this over with.”
“Five, you have a family! That’s wonderful!” Luther gushed.
“I guess I was wrong, maybe you do have a bit of domesticity in you,” Lila snorted.
Viktor shrugged with a smile and Allison rolled her eyes, neither of them saying a word.
Diego nonchalantly flipped a knife in his hand while eyeing Five up. “So now what? We have to deal with two of you? Because I can barely stand one of you.”
Five smiled his usual, acerbic smile. “Well, Diego, the feeling is mutual. But fear not; neither you nor I will be coming anywhere near my other self.”
“Why not? Klaus said the other you seemed perfectly nice after you stopped slamming him against a wall,” Luther said innocently.
Five sighed heavily, wishing for the umpteenth time that he didn’t have the sole responsibility of critical thinking skills in this family. “Because…” he began slowly, to make sure they were understanding, “Not only does it have the possibility of creating even more havoc to this timeline, there’s also the little matter of –”
“Oh!” Luther interrupted animatedly. “I remember! The paradox psychosis!” He turned to the rest of the family. “You guys missed it, but he kind of went a little…” He lowered his voice to a whisper even though Five could hear everything. “…psycho, if you know what I mean.”
“Jesus, Luther, I’m right here!” Five closed his eyes to try and regroup. “But, yes, paradox psychosis is the real deal. And there’s no way around that. So, let’s just focus on the task at hand, which is trying to get out of here before the world implodes with us in it.”
Five’s gaze landed on Lila, and he immediately knew she was up to something. “What the hell are you smirking at?”
She shrugged while sticking her hand up her short skirt and pulling out a small item. Five made a disgusted groaning noise. “God, please, whatever that is, I do not want it.”
“Oh, shut up, you little perv. Here,” she said with an eye roll, shoving the item into Five’s hand and forcing him to take it. “While you were having your little heart to heart with your freshly deceased corpse back at the Commission, I found this.”
Five peered down at his open hand. It was a syringe filled with a yellowish substance. On closer inspection, he could make out two words scrawled along the side, in what looked like his own handwriting. Paradox Juice.
“Paradox Juice?” he questioned out loud. He looked back up at Lila. “Is this what I think it is?”
She shrugged again. “Your guess is as good as mine. I assumed it was some sort of concoction to ward off psychosis should you ever have to meet with your doppelganger. The old, decrepit you probably made it during his time at the Commission.”
Five held the syringe up to the light and peered intently at the golden liquid inside. “Where did you find this?”
“On one of the tables in the bunker. When you so rudely had me leave during your existential crisis, I swiped them on the way out.”
“Them?”
“Oh yeah…” she reached up into her skirt again, revealing an identical syringe. “There were two.”
“How did you…where did you have those, because we just…I mean I’m pretty sure I would have found those when we were upstairs doing…what the hell?” Diego stammered; his dark eyes clouded with confusion.
“Don’t worry about it, honey,” Lila answered with a smile and a quick pat on his cheek. “Every girl has her secrets.”
“Well, regardless of this finding, there is no reason for me to make contact with my other self. I don’t see the benefit, and it could possibly do more harm, like speed the kugelblitz along,” Five explained while shoving both syringes into his inside suit coat pocket. He took another drink from his glass. “Let’s just forget it, ok?”
“Guys!” Klaus yelled as he rushed up to the group. “I have some bad news.”
***************************************************
Chapter Two: Homicidal Rage
As the seven of them trudged along the city streets, taking up the width of the sidewalk, and bumping into one another while grumbling and shoving each other in return, the sky began to darken. Another pulsing kugel wave washed over them and the surrounding buildings. They all watched in horror as every other living creature evaporated into ashes and blew away with the wind. In a matter of seconds, they were the only ones around.
“Fuck, this is not good,” Five groaned. “I really don’t see how finding my other self is going to help anything. Besides, for all we know, that wave right there just destroyed me.”
“We don’t know, but we have to try,” Viktor said. “Between the two of you, maybe you can figure out how to get the briefcase working again.”
Five looked dubiously down at the mangled black case in his hand. “I just don’t think my other self is going to welcome us into his home with open arms. I know I wouldn’t.”
“I’m telling you, Fivey, this you seemed much less ragey,” Klaus said. Five glared up at him. “See? That look right there, the one that means you want to rip my throat out? I didn’t get that from this other you.”
“Probably because that version is getting laid on a regular basis,” Diego murmured to Lila.
Ignoring his brothers, Five went back to his own thoughts as they continued down the street. When Klaus had told them Chet was kicking them out of the hotel due to “insufficient funds”, there was a moment of panic. They had no money and their only home was currently occupied by the world’s biggest assholes. Five glanced up at a giant billboard looming overhead featuring those same assholes, before looking back down at the ground. Fucking fuckers.
After a family meeting that involved more bickering and finger pointing, they had concluded that the only possibility, no matter how slim, of stopping the kugelblitz by returning to their correct timeline, was to track down the other Five and ask him for help.  Five had been the last hold-out in agreeing to the plan. He had no desire to find out what this other version was like. The one with the home and a wife and kids. Because he already knew the answer. He had everything and Five had nothing.
Allison, who had been leading the group, suddenly stopped, causing everyone behind her to cartoonishly crash into one another. She shoved Diego away from her with an irritated scowl, while continuing to look down at the piece of paper in her hand. She lifted her eyes to the building in front of them. It was a beautiful brownstone with magazine-worthy flowers and plants covering the front stoop; the gorgeous geraniums and petunias overflowing from their tasteful terracotta pots.
“I think this is it,” she noted.
“Damn, Five…nice digs. You must be doing well for yourself,” Diego commented after giving Allison a shove in return.
“Why do you assume Five is the breadwinner here? Maybe it’s his wife,” Viktor argued.
“I don’t. But Five is all smart and shit, I assume he’s probably some hot shot scientist or something.”
“Maybe his wife is a hot shot scientist,” Viktor shot back.
As the conversation quickly devolved into an argument among the entire group, Five remained silent. He peered up at the house in question. The one where the supposedly more successful version of himself resided. He stared at the flowers and the set of brick stairs that led to the front door with the cheerful looking wreath. He thought back on a time during the apocalypse when he and Dolores were scavenging for supplies. They had come across a destroyed row of brownstones just like this one, and he remembered finding broken shards of terracotta intermixed with the crumbling bricks. The odds that it had been this exact same house were pretty slim, but not impossible. Talk about fucking irony.
Five wiped the sweat from his brow and absent-mindedly scratched at his shoulder. Luther noticed and pointed his big meaty finger at Five.
“Dude! I saw that. You just scratched yourself.”
“Yeah, and you’re starting to sweat again,” Lila added, wrinkling her nose.
“I just walked several miles in a three-piece suit, of course I’m sweating. And people itch, Luther. Stop being dumb.”
“Denial,” Luther said, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding wisely. “Stage one.”
“God damn it! I am not…” Five started before scratching at his ass cheek, “…In denial, ok?”
“You do look a little weird,” Diego said, leaning in closer to Five in curiosity.
Five stuck his hand out, pushing his brother away with a palm to his face. “I do not look weird. Fuck, I need to take a piss.”
There were multiple grumblings around him, and Five was starting to suspect that maybe they had a point. He didn’t feel great. But…
“Hang on,” he said, glancing around and above him, looking crazier by the second. “This could be a trap.”
“How could it be a trap? He doesn’t even know we’re coming,” Allison reasoned.
Five whipped his head in her direction, eyes wide and manic. She took a small step backwards. “Because, dear sister…I am a fucking genius, remember?” He tapped his temple with his finger. “And I would anticipate our arrival. Probably set up some trip wires or something,” he mumbled, looking frantically around him.
“Ok, this is not going to get any better,” Luther told everyone.
Klaus nodded. “Yeah, Five, I think you need to take that shot of paradox juice.”
Remembering he had the two syringes in his jacket, Five took them out and held them up for everyone to see. “I’m not taking this, are you crazy? HE probably made these and poisoned them just to try and get rid of me,” he raged, pointing up at the house. “Paradox juice? You expect me to believe that I would come up with that lame ass name?” He turned to yell up at the windows facing the street. “I’m on to you, asshole!”
“Oh, for fucks sake,” Lila groaned. Mimicking Five’s powers, she blinked over to him, catching him off guard as she grabbed the syringes out of his hands. As Five began to protest, she looked over at Luther. “Hold him still, big guy.”
No stranger to taking orders, Luther immediately complied. Holding Five in place by pinning his arms to his side, he tried to reason with his struggling, smaller brother that it was for his own good. But that was like trying to reason with a cocaine-fueled raccoon, and Five snarled and hissed while trying to get away.
“Get your giant ape hands off of me! You tried to kill me before, I know you’ll do it again! LET ME G—OW! SON OF A BITCH!”
Lila sunk the needle of the syringe directly into the side of Five’s neck, pushing the plunger down and smiling gleefully while he writhed in pain.
“FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK…” Five screamed as Luther continued to keep him trapped.
“How long do you think it takes to work?” Viktor asked worriedly.
Lila shook her head. “No idea. Might not even work at all. Or I just killed him. But, you win some, you lose some, am I right?”
Everyone watched in fascination as Five slowly started to relax in Luther’s grip. His jaw unclenched and he stopped swearing. After about two minutes, the crazed look in his eyes left and he gazed at the concerned faces around him like a man waking from a dream.
“I think…I think I’m ok now,” he said weakly.
Luther leaned down, studying his face up close. “Are you sure? Because if I let you go and you kick me in the balls again, I am not going to be happy.”
Five shook his head. “No, really. I think that shit actually worked.”
Luther looked around for confirmation, and receiving nods of approval from everyone else, he let go of Five’s arms. Stepping back, he shielded his crotch from any unexpected backlash.
Five took in a deep breath of air and wiped away the last few drops of sweat that had been trickling down the back of his neck. Then he ran a shaky hand through his hair before straightening his suit coat and tie with as much dignity as he could manage.
“Sorry about that,” he told everyone, trying to regain his composure again. “If I said anything rude, I apologize. I was clearly not in my right mind.”
“So, no different than any other day,” Diego muttered under his breath.
Five shot him an irritated look, but said nothing. He turned to Lila. “Even though it was entirely unnecessary to stab me directly in the neck, you lunatic, thank you.”
“Happy to do it,” Lila grinned, slapping him hard on the back.
“Alright, then,” Five stated, rolling his shoulders back. “Let’s do this.”
As he took one step forward, the front door of the house swung wide open, revealing an older, and very sweaty and harried looking, version of himself. In his other self’s hands was a rifle that was trained directly at Five’s head.
“Don’t fucking move,” the other Five warned through gritted teeth.
Five paused, taking in the clearly psychotic version of himself before quipping. “Hey, asshole…the safety’s still on.”
As the alternate version lowered the weapon to check the safety, Five and Lila exchanged knowing glances with one another, before simultaneously blinking onto the porch. Appearing directly in front of himself, Five grabbed the rifle out of his doppelganger’s hands, while at the same time Lila stabbed the needle of the second syringe into his neck.
“AH! MOTHERFUCKER!” the other Five screamed, falling to his knees as he slapped a hand over the pinprick of blood that had started to seep out of the small puncture wound. “WHAT THE FUCK, YOU PSYCHO?”
Five threw the rifle down to Luther, who caught it in one hand, before turning to Lila. “Really? In the neck again? What is wrong with you?”
“I live for your pain.”
With a shake of his head, Five looked down at the panting, cursing version of himself. “Stop being a pussy. It’s not that bad.”
His alternate glared up at him. “Fuck you, Blue’s Clues.”
Lila laughed loudly. “Nice!” She held out her hand for a high five, but when she only received an icy glare from both men, she shrugged. “You’re too close to the situation, but trust me, that was hilarious.”
************************************************************************
“You have a lovely home, ma’am,” Luther said with an awkward smile as he sat scrunched on the couch between Klaus and Viktor.
The seven siblings, plus the older looking, alternate Five and his wife were gathered in the small living room. Five’s wife, who was introduced as Marie, sat perched on the arm of her husband’s chair, rubbing his back while he stared down his younger looking self.
“Thank you, Luther, that’s very kind.”
There was more awkward silence until finally Allison spoke up.
“Ok, so we obviously did not come here just for a friendly visit, although it is lovely meeting you two. However, we have a big problem. Our being in this timeline has caused a rift, so to speak, in the universe and now it’s trying to kill us.” She looked over at her smaller brother, who was standing with his hands shoved in his pockets, glowering angrily at his other self. “Five? Care to explain?”
Snapping reluctantly out of his stupor, Five faced his sister. “Right.” Then he addressed the other Five and his wife again. “So, as I’m sure you’ve noticed there are large energy waves pulsing over the city, erasing dogs and lobsters and now people.”
“Yeah, I have noticed. And I also happened to notice they started when Klaus here decided to follow me.”
Klaus started to protest, but Diego bumped him with his elbow, telling him to shut up. Five continued.
“Well, you are right about that. But it’s not Klaus’s fault, at least not solely. It’s all of ours. I thought we’d be able to remain here, just keeping a low profile, and live out our lives here. But, it seems the universe has other plans. So, we have accidentally created a kugelblitz and in a few short days it will destroy the entire universe.”
“Like a prolapsing rectum,” Lila added helpfully.
Both Fives looked at her with a frown and then turned back toward one another. The alternate Five set his elbows on his knees, leaning forward and steepling his hands under his chin. “So, you’re telling me that you group of assholes are the reason my family is going to be wiped out?”
Five nodded, actually looking a little sad. “I’m afraid so.”
“And you just came here to let me know, why? Just to give me a heads up? Mighty kind of you, thanks.”
Five gritted his teeth. “No, jacka—” He stopped mid-insult when Luther cleared his throat and gave him a look that said “Behave”. “No, that’s not why we came. We came…” He pushed a hand through his hair and he saw Marie bite back a smile as she recognized the same mannerisms as her husband. “We came to ask for help.”
“How am I supposed to help you? In case you forgot, James Bond, Jr., I AM you!” Marie gave him a pinch under his arm and the older Five jumped before looking just a tiny bit guilty. “Sorry.”
Five turned to his siblings, throwing his hands in the air. “See? I told you coming here was useless.” He turned to his doppelganger, leaning in with a caustic glare. “And just to remind you, shithead, I’m 28 years older than you, so watch your mouth.”
“Ok!” Luther jumped in, trying to salvage the conversation. “The thing is, Five,” he said, addressing the older version that was currently looking like he was considering punching his smaller self in the mouth. “We really do need your help. And you need his help. The two of you together are the only chance we have to stop this thing and get back to our correct timeline. Then you and your family, and the rest of the world, will be safe.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” the other Five said, tearing his eyes away from himself and turning to Luther. “My time travel math is just as shaky as his. I’ve been studying it my whole life, so it’s gotten better, but I still wouldn’t trust it. I certainly wouldn’t trust it with my wife and kids’ lives in question.” He placed a hand on his wife’s knee and squeezed it gently.
“Well, luckily, we won’t have to rely on just our powers,” Five explained, picking the black briefcase off the floor and holding it up for the other version to see.
“What the hell is that?”
Klaus piped up. “Remember I told you about the magical briefcase?”
The alternate Five nodded. “Yeah, I remember. So, how does it work?”
“Well, currently it doesn’t. Which is why we need you,” Five said.
The other Five took a skeptical look at the battered case. “How am I supposed to help? I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Five sighed. “As it turns out, another version of ourselves created it, using our powers as its basic design. It’s one-hundred-percent reliable, unlike our blinks. That is, when the universe isn’t collapsing. Now, it’s a hunk of junk. That’s where you come in.”
“What makes you think I know how to fix it?”
Five’s mouth turned up at the corner with a smug smile. “Because, I know us. And I am willing to bet that you work in some sort of scientific field.” When he received no denial, he continued. “I am also willing to bet you have some sort of lab right here in your home where you’ve been working on time travel over the years, trying to perfect it.”
Marie laughed. “Wow, you are dead on with that. He’s made it his life’s work figuring out how to accurately time travel. Even when he was a teen, his mom said he was constantly in their basement working on it. She showed me pictures of him slumped over his desk, looking just like you actually, having fallen asleep while running his numbers. It was very cute.”
Five paused, thrown for a second by that comment. “His mom?”
The other Five nodded. “I was adopted after I jumped here,” he explained offhandedly. “So, what you’re telling me is that if we can get this briefcase up and running again, you can return to your rightful timeline, the universe will correct itself, and my family will be safe?”
Still dwelling on the fact that his other self had been adopted by different people, Five nodded slowly before collecting himself again. “Theoretically.”
The alt Five turned to look at his wife. “What do you think, darling?”
“Five, they’re your family, even if they aren’t from your same timeline. You told me how much you’ve missed them over the years, and now here they are! They need your help, and I know you can give it to them.” She brushed a piece of hair out of his eye with a sweet smile. “This is what you’ve been working towards. To use your powers for something good and big.” She kissed him, placing a hand on his cheek and he closed his eyes for a moment. “You can do this.”
He nodded and then turned back toward the group. “Ok, I will do what I can to help.”
“Thank you,” Allison breathed out with a sigh of relief. “Thank you, so much.”
“Better go show him your lab,” Marie told her Five. “In the meantime, you must all be starving. The kids were just next door playing, but I’ll have them come back and I’ll make dinner. Sound good?”
“I know I could eat,” Luther said excitedly while Viktor rolled his eyes at him.
“That would be lovely, Marie, thank you. Can we help?” Viktor asked.
************************************************************************
As the two Fives made their way down the basement steps, neither of them said a word. Five was still reeling from the brief bit of information he had just received about his 30 year-old self. This other Five had been adopted by someone other than Reginald. And from the sounds of it, they were nice, normal people. He swallowed down the lump in his throat, trying to clear his head and focus on what he needed to do. But it was extremely difficult when all he kept thinking about was how this alternate version of himself had been given the chance for a normal life while he just kept getting shit on over and over again. It was maddening to think about, and if he let it fester in his mind, he was going to go crazy.
Fuck, he needed a drink.
As his other self flipped the light switch on at the end of the stairs, the overhead lights flickered on with a quiet hum. Five stopped on the bottom stair and took everything in. The space wasn’t huge, but every single usable square inch was filled with something. Long work tables scattered with tools and notebooks, empty coffee cups and paper plates filled with crumbs. The walls were lined with white boards; each one crammed with lines and lines of familiar equations and scribblings. It was surreal to see his own handwriting and obvious work in a place he’d never set foot in before.
As he scanned over the jam-packed computer desk against the far wall, his eyes fell to the framed picture sitting amongst the clutter. It was the other version of himself, with Marie and his two kids. It must not have been taken that long ago, because the two adults looked the same. The kids in the picture looked to be about four and six. A girl and a boy. The four of the them were on a beach somewhere, the sun shining down and making the water behind them sparkle. The girl was perched on her dad’s shoulders, a pink sunhat on her head. The boy was standing in front of Marie, grinning widely with a plastic bucket and shovel in his hand. The other him was smiling directly at the camera, while his pretty wife looked lovingly over at him. Five had never seen himself smile like that before. He had no idea that’s what he looked like when genuinely happy. It was off-putting, to say the least.
“You ok?” the other Five asked gruffly when he realized his older yet smaller self seemed frozen to the spot.
 Five cleared his throat. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. So what is all this stuff?”
“Well, I’m sure you recognize the equations and proofs,” he said, pointing to the white boards. He gestured to the tables. “I’ve been working on developing a type of time travel system, much like that briefcase. Some sort of object that could be programmed specifically to a certain date and time, so we don’t have to rely solely on our powers. Like—”
“A watch,” Five finished for him.
The other Five nodded. “Exactly.”
“I never did understand the briefcase,” Five mused. “It’s so bulky.”
“I assume it’s bulletproof, though?”
Five scoffed. “Don’t get me started.”
“Well, anyways, have a look around. Maybe something here can help, I don’t know. I’ve never really tried it in practical application before. It’s always been theoretical.”
“That’s ok,” Five said, setting the briefcase on top of one of the tables. “We have this as a guide. We can see if the inner workings of the case make sense in comparison to your work here. Then maybe we can piece things together to create a working timepiece.”
The alternate Five nodded thoughtfully again, studying his other self. “Hang on,” he said before striding over to the desk and opening the bottom drawer. He pulled out a bottle of single malt scotch and two glass tumblers. After filling each one halfway, he handed one over to Five.
“I recognize the need for a drink,” he explained with a tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Five accepted the glass, trying to disguise the fact that he was practically salivating at the sight. Needing a drink was an understatement. He wanted the whole damn bottle. But he didn’t need to be getting drunk at a time like this. And he also didn’t need to be showcasing his shortcomings to this clearly sober, well-adjusted, life-is-just-peachy-keen version of him, either. The fact that he was a raging alcoholic with unhealthy coping mechanisms didn’t seem pertinent to the current situation. Instead, he lifted the glass in a toast and took as generous of a swallow as he dared. The whiskey was smooth and it tasted so fucking good, Five had to silently tell himself to not slug the whole thing back in one gulp. He watched as the other him took a leisurely sip from his own glass. He probably goes to church every Sunday, too. Fucking Mother Theresa over here.
“So, where do you work?” Five asked, trying to change the subject.
“Over at the university.”
“Physics department?”
“Naturally.”
Five nodded. “That’s where I always figured I’d end up, too. Just…didn’t work out for me.”
“Yeah, what happened? Klaus said something about a different apocalypse?”
Five paused, staring into his glass. “Let’s just get to work, ok?”
The other version shrugged. “Sure thing.”
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