#like i could ask my dad and my sister and they'd probably be willing to help

[orcelito]

is it pride preventing me from trying to ask people for monetary help?

probably.

[cr1mson5returns]

Personal under the cut. I'm just feeling many Things.

I had an appointment today at a charity/non-profit health clinic. I've been struggling to get my medical and psychiatric needs met for several months, since I'm currently uninsured. Since it was my first appointment there, I had to fill out some new patient paperwork - demographic information and contact information, the works, including an emergency contact.

And I hesitated, because...traditionally I've always put my dad in that space as my emergency contact. When I was a kid, he traveled a lot for work, and so it was smarter to put down my mom because she was more likely to be in town. But as I got older, I started putting down my dad, because he was more likely to have a level head about the situation, especially if it was anything self-inflicted. But today, sitting in that clinic, I couldn't bring myself to put down my dad's information. I just didn't feel comfortable with the idea. So I put in a friend's instead, even though I hadn't asked him beforehand if I could, because he's one of the few people I have local anymore who could reasonably show up in case of an emergency.

I'll concede that if it was life or death and truly very serious, I'd at least want my parents to know where I was, if not what happened to me. But anything less than "your daughter will literally die in 24 hours or less" I don't really want them to know about. I stopped allowing them access to my medical records when I moved out, because things had gotten so toxic as a result of me coming out. I didn't want them to have information they could potentially use against me. I just didn't have the strength to unpack that revelation back then.

It felt really strange to make that choice after so long of hearing "they're your parents, they deserve to know" on loop in my head. But the reality is that biological proximity to me doesn't mean they deserve anything from me. Not after the way they treated me, not after everything that happened to me. I didn't want my dad to walk me down the aisle at my wedding in 2020 because I felt like he would do it out of a sense of obligation, not because he loved me. I disinvited them because of how awful they were about everything leading up to the wedding. When I found out a relative had given them the livestream link, I was outraged. I hadn't wanted them to have access to that moment they didn't really care about. That they never even publicly acknowledged after it happened.

There's a part of me that feels like I'm giving up on my family by maintaining this no-contact state of being. Many different people have emphasized their feeling that I should be open to the idea of reinstating contact one day. But the thing is...I don't think my family deserves it. I don't think it'll ever be worth the anxiety of wondering if they've really changed, or the anticipation of the terrible treatment happening again. I don't think I could handle the idea that I'd fold back in just to have to exit once more. I can't imagine a world where they're willing to change their behavior. They loved the idea of who I was more than who I actually was, let alone who I am now. Sometimes I'm crippled with this fear that they'll mail me something to my old address, and it'll get forwarded to where I currently live. But then I remember that they never recalled my address the same way they did my oldest sister's, and they'd have to actually miss me to mail me something. Even if they did mail me something, I'd probably just throw it away. I can't hurt myself like that anymore. I can't go back to those places and mental spaces and all the things that kept me under that abuse for years.

Still, there's a part of me that craves that chaotic feeling of wondering if I'll ever be good enough for them, so I might as well try again because it might change this time! They might actually love me and be proud of me for who I am this time! But it never changes. I was always hurting myself with those efforts. It has to stop. Even when it's new and scary.

So I have a new emergency contact for the first time in my life.

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 8: I MAKE A DANGEROUS PROMISE

"Define dangerous?" Alex tapped critically upon her chin, not noticing Nico's uneasy wince as she studied Magnus reading the new chapter title. "A swear upon the river stakes? A dare? You don't have to bathe a cat do you?"

"Her mind went from life or death, truth or dare, to cats." Percy gestured like they'd missed this. "Why are my thoughts being analyzed here?"

"If we could switch points of view we would," Thalia sighed.

"I've always been more partial to charades as far as games," Rachel grinned back.

"Oh, I own that game!" Alex beamed and was clearly only a breath away from challenging her now.

As much fun as that would be for all of them to see, Magnus reluctantly turned to the book when Jason pressed his palms together and begged him to keep reading.

Will didn't disagree, but he was getting worried about Nico again as he had his eyes trained on the ever-growing cracks on the ground. They could easily fit a shoe in one now, any larger and they were all in danger of falling into the unknown surface below anytime they got up to get a snack or use the bathroom.

If Percy lost it one more time, Nico might risk shadow traveling down one of those. This was probably the longest he'd been anywhere, since those first days at camp.

This would be the day he'd said goodbye to his sister, if he had at all.

And there was nothing in the world Will could do about it to make that better. Especially if Nico didn't want anybody to be there for him.

Blackjack gave me a ride down the beach, and I have to admit it was cool. Being on a flying horse, skimming over the waves at a hundred miles an hour with the wind in my hair and the sea spray in my face—hey, it beats waterskiing any day.

"You get to do the coolest things!" Jason was wiggling in his seat like a kid about to ride his first roller coaster. Thalia looked a little green, he looked so like that toddler... but they imagined it was because she didn't go near the ocean much, considering her dad.

"I'll be happy to race you when we get back," Percy proudly agreed, "but be warned, Blackjack's pretty unbeatable."

Jason's face lit with challenge, there was the smallest moment where the ocean breeze ruffled up his straight blonde hair that made Percy look at his own hands in confusion if he'd done that before Magnus cut in, "I call winner!" Then grandly kept reading so they didn't have to wait a whole year to get to that.

Here. Blackjack slowed and turned in a circle. Straight down.

"Thanks." I tumbled off his back and plunged into the icy sea.

I'd gotten more comfortable doing stunts like that the past couple of years. I could pretty much move however I wanted to underwater,

Percy glowered at the water surrounding him now in betrayal. Whatever Oceanus had done to take that way, he clearly took it personally.

The others sort of did too, because it would have been nice if he'd taken all, or nothing.

just by willing the ocean currents to change around me and propel me along, I could breathe underwater, no problem, and my clothes never got wet unless I wanted them to.

I shot down into the darkness.

Twenty, thirty, forty feet. The pressure wasn't uncomfortable. I'd never tried to push it—to see if there was a limit to how deep I could dive. I knew most regular humans couldn't go past two hundred feet without crumpling like an aluminum can. I should've been blind, too, this deep in the water at night, but I could see the heat from living forms, and the cold of the currents. It's hard to describe. It wasn't like regular seeing, but I could tell where everything was.

As I got closer to the bottom, I saw three hippocampi—

"Is Rainbow and the gang back?" Magnus asked brightly, looking all around the room as if still hoping one would pop up now.

"Did they bring Tyson?" Alex asked just as eagerly, though she well knew he probably wouldn't sneak out of the forges. Man she needed to meet that guy and instill a little fun in him as they swapped design techniques.

"I don't think it's the exact same ones as before, and no," Percy seemed just as disappointed as them. As miserable as he was around camp, it would have been nice to see a familiar face like his brother around if he just dipped into Long Island sound.

fish-tailed horses—swimming in a circle around an overturned boat. The hippocampi were beautiful to watch. Their fish tails shimmered in rainbow colors, glowing phosphorescent. Their manes were white, and they were galloping through the water the way nervous horses do in a thunderstorm.

Magnus's voice was pure longing as he read that. It was something that no matter how many times it was described, he knew he'd still have his breath taken away when he saw them in person.

Something was upsetting them.

I got closer and saw the problem. A dark shape—some kind of animal—was wedged halfway under the boat and tangled in a fishing net, one of those big nets they use on trawlers to catch everything at once. I hated those things. It was bad enough they drowned porpoises and dolphins, but they also occasionally caught mythological animals. When the nets got tangled, some lazy fishermen would just cut them loose and let the trapped animals die.

"Where's Artemis when you need her," Percy scowled, "I bet these fishermen wouldn't pull any more stunts like these if they were jackalopes."

"Poseidon doesn't take kindly to them either, they never give proper sacrifices before being so awful to his creatures," Thalia agreed.

Apparently this poor creature had been mucking around on the bottom of Long Island Sound and had somehow gotten itself tangled in the net of this sunken fishing boat. It had tried to get out and managed to get even more hopelessly stuck, shifting the boat in the process. Now the wreckage of the hull, which was resting against a big rock, was teetering and threatening to collapse on top of the tangled animal.

"I've never heard a better reason to get up at 5 am, not even donuts," Percy said without regret now.

"Baby animals, water skiing at sunrise, you sound like you're living a millionaires life," Will grinned.

The hippocampi were swimming around frantically, wanting to help but not sure how.

One was trying to chew the net, but hippocampi teeth just aren't meant for cutting rope.

"Is there a specific set of animal teeth for that?" Jason grinned.

"My money wouldn't be on a herbivore," Alex shrugged.

Hippocampi are really strong, but they don't have hands, and they're not (shhh) all that smart.

"We'll take your secret to the grave Percy," Rachel chuckled.

Free it, lord! A hippocampus said when it saw me. The others joined in, asking the same thing.

I swam in for a closer look at the tangled creature. At first I thought it was a young hippocampus. I'd rescued several of them before. But then I heard a strange sound, something that did not belong underwater:

"Mooooooo!"

"The cow?" Alex did a double take, once again leaning closer than ever over Magnus's shoulder, obscuring the book with her green hair to get a look.

"Well I didn't say mew, did I?" Magnus agreed as he spat a bit out and nudged her playfully back away. She just leaned right back in and he kept going with a smile for this strange habit of hers.

I got next to the thing and saw that it was a cow.

"Ten points, to Alex learning her animal noises," Jason agreed with the same strange look on his face.

Even those in the know Percy had just stumbled across the ophiotaurus like this were slightly taken aback at the randomness of it all and looked appropriately confused.

I mean... I'd heard of sea cows, like manatees and stuff, but this really was a cow with the back end of a serpent. The front half was a calf—a baby, with black fur and big, sad brown eyes and a white muzzle—and its back half was a black-and-brown snaky tail with fins running down the top and bottom, like an enormous eel.

"Naww," Will couldn't help but coo. So long as the snake half didn't wiggle about to much, he liked to think he'd give Bessie a little scratch on the ears.

"Was Poseidon having fun with his doodles and one came to life?" Rachel grinned at the little baby she'd never seen. It was a great description to start her own outline.

"The first cow Percy's met who hasn't tried to kill him," Alex helpfully reminded as she mentally sculpted the cutie.

"Whoa, little one," I said. "Where did you come from?"

The creature looked at me sadly. "Moooo!"

But I couldn't understand its thoughts. I only speak horse.

"I'm sure there's an app for that," Thalia chuckled, "maybe your dad can download the rest of the sea life if you ask nicely."

"I'll hold off on that until I get a sample of what dolphins are actually saying about me," Percy grinned. "My mom would kill me if I came home learning new cuss words from them, she'd take back her custody agreement."

We don't know what it is, lord, one of the hippocampi said. Many strange things are stirring.

"And this one's taking it literally," Jason agreed, imagining the muck it was swilling around in, plus stirring two different animals into one.

"Yeah," I murmured. "So I've heard."

I uncapped Riptide, and the sword grew to full length in my hands, its bronze blade gleaming in the dark.

The cow serpent freaked out and started struggling against the net, its eyes full of terror.

"Whoa!" I said. "I'm not going to hurt you! Just let me cut the net."

But the cow serpent thrashed around and got even more tangled. The boat started to tilt, stirring up the muck on the sea bottom and threatening to topple onto the cow serpent. The hippocampi whinnied in a panic and thrashed in the water, which didn't help.

"I think I'll take the free trial of that app though," Percy said uneasily as he tried to figure out how to be everywhere at once. Soothing the hippocampi, freeing the calf quickly, and stopping the boat from coming down on them. Some great hero he was, couldn't even save a baby animal from a net without making it all worse.

"Okay, okay!" I said. I put away the sword and started speaking as calmly as I could so the hippocampi and the cow serpent would stop panicking. I didn't know if it was possible to get stampeded underwater, but I didn't really want to find out. "It's cool. No sword. See? No sword. Calm thoughts. Sea grass. Mama cows. Vegetarianism."

"Where is Grover when you need him," Percy chuckled along with them, it was just too precious an image not to.

I doubted the cow serpent understood what I was saying, but it responded to the tone of my voice. The hippocampi were still skittish, but they stopped swirling around me quite so fast.

Free it, lord! they pleaded.

"Yeah," I said. "I got that part. I'm thinking."

But how could I free the cow serpent when she (I decided it was probably a "she")

Percy gave Alex a winning smile, and she graciously nodded a potentially wrong guess was far better than calling the little one an it the entire time he was rescuing her.

panicked at the sight of a blade? It was like she'd seen swords before and knew how dangerous they were.

"I'm guessing people in ancient times didn't greet her with sea grass and vegetarianism," Magnus said in sympathy.

"Why is everything either a bad omen or food back then?" Thalia pouted.

"All right," I told the hippocampi. "I need all of you to push exactly the way I tell you."

First we started with the boat. It wasn't easy, but with the strength of three horsepower, we managed to shift the wreckage so it was no longer threatening to collapse on the baby cow serpent. Then I went to work on the net, untangling it section by section, getting lead weights and fishing hooks straightened out, yanking out knots around the cow serpent's hooves. It took forever—I mean, it was worse than the time I'd had to untangle all my video game controller wires. The whole time, I kept talking to the cow fish, telling her everything was okay while she mooed and moaned.

"It's okay, Bessie," I said. Don't ask me why I started calling her that. It just seemed like a good cow name.

"Duddett, that is the most cliché cow name in existence!" Alex laughed. "Are you going to name Cerberus Max too!"

"So says Alex," Percy shot right back. "The first common, gender-neutral name that comes to mind."

"I make unoriginal look new," she swept a hand through her green hair with a very proud smirk.

"Hey, curious," Magnus said quickly before anyone could ask him to keep reading, "if your name wasn't gender neutral, would you change it every time you switched? Or, like, would you just want to be a guy called Sally?"

"It depends per person," she forcefully reminded again, before smiling at him and answering, "I would be okay with being called Sal, but I've met some who would still go by whatever name they pick no matter what gender. I've met those who identify as male go by Alice and females named Tobias, they all have stories. It, it's hard to explain in a short amount of time..." Her mind hovered over Adrian and she quickly waved for Magnus to go on now.

"Good cow. Nice cow."

Finally, the net came off and the cow serpent zipped through the water and did a happy somersault.

The hippocampi whinnied with joy. Thank you, lord!

"Moooo!"The cow serpent nuzzled me and gave me the big brown eyes.

"Round three of pretending to be vegetarian for a week?" Thalia asked mildly.

"I'll get back to you on that," Percy didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in his smile.

"Yeah," I said. "That's okay. Nice cow. Well... stay out of trouble."

Which reminded me, I'd been underwater how long? An hour, at least. I had to get back to my cabin before Argus or the harpies discovered I was breaking curfew.

I shot to the surface and broke through. Immediately, Blackjack zoomed down and let me catch hold of his neck. He lifted me into the air and took me back toward the shore.

Success, boss?

"Yeah. We rescued a baby... something or other.

"Who wants to bet Percy is not going to actually go home and look it up," Jason almost made a longing moan at the deprivation.

"Not on your coin," Magnus agreed with the same disappointed frown.

Took forever. Almost got stampeded."

Good deeds are always dangerous, boss. You saved my sorry mane, didn't you?

I couldn't help thinking about my dream, with Annabeth crumpled and lifeless in Luke's arms. Here I was rescuing baby monsters, but I couldn't save my friend.

"No good deed goes unpunished," Nico repeated grimly. Annabeth had saved Percy and Thalia's life with that stunt and suffered greatly for it. His sister had died on this quest. The domino effect of that one action had rippled all over everybody's life.

As Blackjack flew back toward my cabin, I happened to glance at the dining pavilion. I saw a figure—a boy hunkered down behind a Greek column, like he was hiding from someone.

Nico felt a rattling breath pass his lips before he could smash them back shut and lock his jaw tight. Here it comes, he knew. This conversation he'd memorized by heart without the aid of the book. 'I'm not holding a grudge Bianca, I'm trying, I promise...'

It was Nico, but it wasn't even dawn yet. Nowhere near time for breakfast. What was he doing up there?

"Studying the architecture?" Alex asked innocently.

Nico didn't react, even to the joking comment about Annabeth that made Percy wince with longing.

I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was more time for Nico to tell me about his Mythomagic game.

Even now, in the midst of his stupid, childish pedestal he'd held Percy on for so long having its greatest weakness revealed in the aftermath of knowledge in this quest, some part of Nico still felt the rejection of that. He'd never been more than a nuisance to his hero.

But something was wrong. I could tell by the way he was crouching.

"Blackjack," I said, "set me down over there, will you? Behind that column."

Percy did care though, Nico knew. It wasn't the love, admiration, and attention he wanted from Percy, but many other campers wouldn't have stopped to ask the dumb kid what he was doing. The Stoll's had only rolled over in their sleep when he left the cabin and grumbled at him not to get lost in the forest.

I almost blew it.

I was coming up the steps behind Nico. He didn't see me at all. He was behind a column, peeking around the corner, all his attention focused on the dining area. I was five feet away from him, and I was about to say What are you doing? real loud, when it occurred to me that he was pulling a Grover: he was spying on the Hunters.

"I hope Grover's not somewhere around there gawking too, or Artemis might have to start filing restraining orders," but Rachel's light quip fell on deaf ears. Nico's eyes were vacant to all around him.

There were voices—two girls talking at one of the dining tables. At this ungodly hour of the morning? Well, unless you're the goddess of dawn, I guess.

"Another reason I couldn't make it there," Alex made a face, "I will not be contracted into a morning person."

"A minor fault of the gig," Thalia grinned with an exaggerated yawn, but no levity was stopping the darkness from seeming to grow around them, like the cracks Percy had made in the ground had awakened something. They'd swear the dim light that came from nowhere was fading.

I took Annabeth's magic cap out of my pocket and put it on.

I didn't feel any different, but when I raised my arms I couldn't see them. I was invisible.

I crept up to Nico and sneaked around him. I couldn't see the girls very well in the dark, but I knew their voices: Zoe and Bianca. It sounded like they were arguing.

"It cannot be cured," Zoe was saying. "Not quickly, at any rate."

"But how did it happen?" Bianca asked.

"A foolish prank," Zoe growled. "Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid. Everyone knows that. They sprayed the inside of that Artemis Hunting Tour T-shirt with it."

Magnus spluttered in concern and double-checked the print that looked like someone was flicking black paint on the letters, making them bolder by the word and impossible to miss. "That's terrible! They tried to kill her over a game."

"It would only maim or seriously injure," Alex batted her eyes as she said innocently.

Magnus snorted in surprise while Thalia winced and did actually answer, "err, yeah, mostly that. She wouldn't have died so long as she got treatment." Phoebe had sworn revenge on the Hermes cabin though and was no longer allowed back at camp after the last time she'd stolen all of their clothes and spread them in the forest.

"That's terrible!"

"She will live," Zoe said. "But she'll be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way she can go. It's up to me... and thee."

"But the prophecy," Bianca said. "If Phoebe can't go, we only have four. We'll have to pick another."

Percy glowered at this disastrous group already having its first hiccup and they hadn't even left camp, but he refused to turn his scowl on Thalia again. She hadn't been part of this conversation, of course Zoe wouldn't offer a hand to him next, and he had to stop blaming Thalia. It was unfair of him to even hope now Thalia would refuse to go without him along too just to fill in numbers.

"There is no time," Zoe said. "We must leave at first light. That's immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose one."

"In the land without rain," Bianca said, "but that can't be here."

Magnus was practically having to read with the book pressed against his nose now, the light in here wavering like someone was flicking with the switch. Will made a gentle, humming noise in the back of his throat as everyone glanced at Percy for being the cause, and Nico forced himself to keep breathing. It hurt, and was growing sharper like the oxygen was fighting him.

"It might be," Zoe said, though she didn't sound convinced. "The camp has magic borders. Nothing, not even weather, is allowed in without permission. It could be a land without rain."

"But—"

"Bianca, hear me." Zoe's voice was strained. "I... I can't explain, but I have a sense that we should not pick someone else. It would be too dangerous. They would meet an end worse than Phoebe's. I don't want Chiron choosing a camper as our fifth companion.

And... I don't want to risk another Hunter."

Bianca was silent.

Nobody would have let him go, Nico kept reminding himself over and over. Not any of them, he was too young, a useless child back then, she didn't want him to go. He could have done nothing to change this, and it wasn't Zoe's fault, it was Bianca's choice.

No matter what he kept telling himself, the hurt she hadn't even mentioned him didn't seem to be fading very well. 'Hard to not hold a grudge when you make it so easy sis,' he pressed his lips together painfully tight to stop himself snapping.

"You should tell Thalia the rest of your dream."

"No. It would not help."

"But if your suspicions are correct, about the General—"

"I have thy word not to talk about that," Zoe said. She sounded really anguished.

Zoe was right, Thalia kept her own bitter thought to herself. It wouldn't have helped to tell her. Thalia couldn't honestly tell herself what she would have done with the knowledge. Had a moment of empathy with Zoe as her dad wasn't the best either? Kept her mouth shut and kept it all to herself as she went out to save Annabeth and leaving Zoe's fate to herself? Been even more horrible to the frost princess of a girl for possibly leading them into a trap? It was an unknowable path, and one she didn't wish to dwell on.

"We will find out soon enough. Now come. Dawn is breaking."

Nico scooted out of their way. He was faster than me.

As the girls sprinted down the steps, Zoe almost ran into me. She froze, her eyes narrowing. Her hand crept toward her bow, but then Bianca said, "The lights of the Big House are on. Hurry!"

And Zoe followed her out of the pavilion.

I could tell what Nico was thinking. He took a deep breath and was about to run after his sister when I took off the invisibility cap and said, "Wait."

Like an angel and a devil over his shoulder at once, Nico morbidly thought to himself. His knight in shining armor appearing out of the gloom, making his heart leap at the sight of him before Nico had enveloped himself in shadows to escape the sight of him.

He almost slipped on the icy steps as he spun around to find me. "Where did you come from?"

"I've been here the whole time. Invisible."

He mouthed the word invisible. "Wow. Cool."

Will tried to give him an encouraging smile and wanted to ask him anything to keep his attention right now, but Nico's dark eyes were glowing an almost concerning purple, backlit in the iris's as the shadows on the wall twisted and shaped into pavilions and tables.

All Nico could see was that cold winter morning, smell the salt and feel the warmth coming off of Percy. How was it possible he could do any wrong when he could be everywhere at once in this world?

"How did you know Zoe and your sister were here?"

He blushed. "I heard them walk by the Hermes cabin. I don't... I don't sleep too well at camp.

Will gave up trying to distract him, he had a really bad feeling where this conversation was going coupled with the chapter title, but he did file that question away for later. Was it still true? The dark bags under Nico's eyes proved it was, and yet he hadn't slept at camp in months.

The others were watching Nico with their own concern, especially Percy as he kept nervously looking from him and away like a bad tick. Nobody else ever seemed to want to, or were able to gaze at him long enough to see such things for themselves.

So I heard footsteps, and them whispering. And so I kind of followed."

"And now you're thinking about following them on the quest," I guessed.

"How did you know that?"

The first of many times Nico had thought Percy knew the answer to everything. He knew better now, that Percy was fumbling along on these adventures as much as anybody in the god's world. Still brave, still a hero, still a good person who would likely stop and ask some dumb kid what was going on, but Percy couldn't do everything.

"Because if it was my sister, I'd probably be thinking the same thing. But you can't."

He looked defiant. "Because I'm too young?"

"Because they won't let you. They'll catch you and send you back here. And... yeah, because you're too young. You remember the manticore? There will be lots more like that. More dangerous. Some of the heroes will die."

He shoulders sagged. He shifted from foot to foot. "Maybe you're right. But, but you can go for me."

"Say what?"

"As if you needed him to tell you that," Thalia muttered, half surprised Percy hadn't already packed his bag to do it himself and sneak onto the bus.

"I really was going to go see my mom first," Percy tried to say that like he meant it, but even to his own ears it felt like a lie. Once he'd heard Phoebe was out, he would have kept the impulse to follow them until they all met in that dark cavern with Annabeth and Artemis.

"You can turn invisible. You can go!"

"The Hunters don't like boys," I reminded him. "If they find out—"

"Don't let them find out. Follow them invisibly. Keep an eye on my sister! You have to. Please?"

"Nico—"

"You're planning to go anyway, aren't you?"

I wanted to say no. But he looked me in the eyes, and I somehow couldn't lie to him.

...those sea-green eyes that had lied to him.

"That famous actor parent must be awesome," Alex muttered as she tried to grin at Nico, but it was like looking at a shape in a dark room, the kind of thing that made your heart skip a beat even as you scolded your brain it was just some clothes on a chair. He looked like he was being shrouded in darkness.

"Yeah," I said. "I have to find Annabeth. I have to help, even if they don't want me to."

"I won't tell on you," he said. "But you have to promise to keep my sister safe."

"I... that's a big thing to promise, Nico, on a trip like this. Besides, she's got Zoe, Grover, and Thalia—"

"Promise," he insisted.

"I'll do my best. I promise that."

A black energy crackled in the room that sent everyone's hair standing on end, a sizzling, dangerous power that blasted an icy chill down each of their spines, except Nico.

He didn't seem to realize anything had happened, still sitting stoically, eyes vacant and pushing so hard at nonchalance as the others shivered while blaming it on Percy's continued sense of foreboding on this quest, even himself.

The lights had gone back to their normal vision like nothing had happened. Jason swallowed uneasily as he glanced at Percy and back to the book that didn't have any new dents on it. Percy was rubbing at his temple, his eyes closed.

Will was watching Nico with sad blue eyes, as the Son of Hades stirred and looked around as if just remembering where he was.

"Get going, then!" he said. "Good luck!"

It was crazy. I wasn't packed. I had nothing but the cap and the sword and the clothes I was wearing. I was supposed to be going home to Manhattan this morning. "Tell Chiron—"

"I'll make something up." Nico smiled crookedly. "I'm good at that. Go on!"

I ran, putting on Annabeth's cap. As the sun came up, I turned invisible. I hit the top of Half-Blood Hill in time to see the camp's van disappearing down the farm road, probably Argus taking the quest group into the city. After that they would be on their own.

I felt a twinge of guilt, and stupidity, too. How was I supposed to keep up with them.

Run?

"Hijack another bus?" Jason managed an uneasy laugh, almost wishing for the nearly inky black space around them now. There was a comfort in the dark, not having to see the pain this was causing everyone. Nobody laughed to light the room a little more.

Then I heard the beating of huge wings. Blackjack landed next to me. He began casually nuzzling a few tufts of grass that stuck through the ice.

If I was guessing, boss, I'd say you need a getaway horse. You interested?

A lump of gratitude stuck in my throat, but I managed to say, "Yeah. Let's fly."

Magnus uneasily lowered the book and passed it to Alex as he looked at Percy. If messing with the lights down here was his new resolution to all of this, he couldn't complain, but the way he was studying Nico left a sense of forbidding in them all it might not be Annabeth he'd been so worried about this time. Hopefully the kid hadn't snuck out with Percy anyways and gotten hurt.

[buckysboobs]

Damaged Finds Damaged

chapter 1

warnings: none

There was tension building up in the room, with alarmed eyes and nervous smiles being exchanged. Damon was stood towards the back, arms crossed, the flames lighting up in the fireplace casting yellowish hues over the side of his face.

"No." he stated, hinting at it being the end of the conversation.

"What do you mean 'no'? Bonnie's still stuck there with some guy who tried to kill you guys and apparently sucks the magic out of people, we can't just leave her there!" Jeremy stood up to make a move towards the older Salvatore.

Stefan held him back, "That won't be necessary. We'll find a way."

"This doesn't feel right guys," Elena cried, shaking her head. "We need to get her out of there, who knows what kind of a person Kai is, what if he kills her before we can—"

"Quick to judge people, are we?" Sarah, (who had always been on the receiving side of the gang's poor judgement) decided to butt in, raising an eyebrow at her. She glanced at Damon. "From the sounds of it, he had many opportunities to kill you and Bonnie when you two were stuck in that prison but he didn't, so I think she'll be fine. She's smart. And if he's been all alone, he wouldn't want to lose the only company he has."

"Stubborn ol' Sarah coming to the rescue with her condescending remarks." Damon commented, gulping down a glass of Bourbon. "We don't need advice from a hybrid."

"Oh really?" Sarah snapped, getting up from the couch and turning to the door. "Well in that case i'll just take myself and my advice somewhere else-"

Stefan blinked tiredly and looked at Elena for help. They'd be luckier if they had Sarah as an ally rather than an enemy.

"Sarah please!" Elena called out.

The hybrid stopped, chuckled and went back to her seat on the couch, but not before throwing Damon a dirty look, receiving an eye roll in return.

"So what is this Gemini Coven thing? It can help us, right?" Jeremy asked hopefully, awaiting answers. Before Damon could open his mouth, Stefan spoke up, exasperated.

"It's nothing, guys. It does not exist. I searched all over Portland for it but all I came across was empty land."

"Let's try again, then." said Sarah.

"It's not that simple." Stefan replied.

"Guys—" Elena tried to interfere. Jeremy looked back at forth along with the conversation when Damon decided to speak up.

"Yes it is." He said. "Now that Elena mentioned it, I don't want to leave Bon-Bon with that maniac." Damon was the kind of person who would do anything against what Sarah had to say because he's petty, and he doesn't like her that much. If Sarah thought Bonnie will be fine, he believed she'll be the opposite. He pointed at Sarah, "You, me, Stefan and Alaric. We're going to Portland."

"Where we'll find nothing." Stefan sighed.

"Don't be so negative, Stefan." Elena said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

|||

They found nothing.

They walked into the empty, green land, Damon's hopeful eyes turning slightly hopeless again as Sarah walked past him and gazed across the ground.

"Like I said 3000 miles ago, it's not here." Stefan said, walking right up to her. "Can we go home now, please."

Damon dropped the bag he was carrying and Alaric spoke up, "You know what, check the GPS again. Just because we don't see anything doesn't mean it does not exist."

Damon's coping mechanism was sarcasm, which is why he tried to tease Stefan to ease the tension.

"Not unlike Caroline's feelings for Stefan." he said.

Sarah, who had been quiet for the majority of the time they spent together, snorted at his comment.

Stefan sighed, done with those remarks. "Hilarious, keep 'em coming."

Damon pulled out Miss Cuddles and did a passable imitation of a high pitched voice, wringing the teddy's stuffed arms. "Oh no, is Stefan feeling sensitive for ruining his friendship with Caroline?"

Stefan glared at him as he continued, "She really liked him and he broke her heart."

Sarah was thinking when she heard Alaric add "See, Stefan? Even the bear knew."

She held back a chuckle when Damon went on in his squeaky voice, "I saw that coming from a mile away and my brain is made of cotton—"

A thought crossed her mind "Guys I think something's—"

"Gimme that." Stefan snapped at the same time, grabbing the Miss Cuddles from him and kicking it hard. It flew across the sky and before they knew it, there was a house right before them.

"—cloaked." Sarah finished, shrugging as she looked back at them. "Well atleast we're not going back empty handed."

Damon happily skipped past her and stood on the porch as he picked up the teddy bear. "Miss Cuddles, one. Invisible creepy mansion, zero."

Alaric, Stefan and Sarah exchanged shocked glances and made their way towards the door.

"Did Miss Cuddles just help us reveal something that I missed?" Stefan asked, looking down at the teddy bear in Damon's possession.

Sarah clicks her tongue, "I should have known." When they responded with a puzzled expression, she gestured towards the teddy again, "She sent this back with her magic in it."

"Wait, Jo did tell me something about how she stored away her magic in some object." Alaric mused, snatching Miss Cuddles from Damon.

"But why would she send it back?" Stefan wondered.

Damon looked at them with a grim expression, "To prevent Kai from getting out."

"Damn. He must be really brutal, huh." Sarah commented, trying to get past the door when she was blocked by an invisible barrier.

"We gotta be invited in." Damon said, banging his hand against the barrier. "Which means the owner of this house is still alive."

Sarah looked at Alaric, "Looks like it's your time to shine."

With a sigh, Alaric walked in.

|||

"Jo lived here." He stated, passing them a couple of photographs and newspaper articles. "We have baby pictures, pictures of Jo as a kid, as a teenager.." Alaric shuffled through them one by one with trembling hands.

"Hold on a second." Damon jumped in all of a sudden, "Rewind." He grabbed a photograph from the pile and held it in front of them, "This is Kai from planet 1994."

It was a picture of the said boy and Jo together wearing red christmas sweaters, their faces beaming at the camera.

"He's cute." Sarah commented, earning an eye roll from Damon.

"Does this mean Jo is Kai's sister?" Stefan asked, and Alaric examined the rest of the photographs, looking for more evidence.

"Either that or they both have a thing for Cosby sweaters." Damon replied.

They heard a voice call out "Didn't realize I had guests."

They all turned back to see a skinny man with grey hair and stubble walking towards them. "You've met Kai?"

Damon's mouth twisted, "Met him? Watched him die. Watched him come back to life. Why, you know him?"

The man looked at them one by one, his gaze on Sarah lingering longer. He chuckled, "He's my son."

He extended his hand out, "I'm Joshua Parker."

Damon shook his hand without a moment of hesitation. "Damon Salvatore."

Joshua nodded, "Invisique."

"What the hell just happened?" Damon heard Stefan cry, and he turned around to see his companions shuffling around.

"What's up with you guys?"

"They can't see you anymore, Damon." Joshua said and Damon gave him a questioning look, "Which means they also can't see this."

Next thing Damon knew, he had earned himself an aneurysm and was crying out in pain before things went black.

|||

Around half an hour passed by and they still couldn't see another sign of the house. Stefan was on the call with Elena and Alaric was questioning Jo about Kai. Sarah was listening to both their conversations with vamp hearing.

From what she had gathered, Elena was trying to tell some random guy that she was a vampire, and Alaric was asking Jo about the ascendant which she actually had with her all along. Her dad was a coven leader who couldn't let Kai out no matter what, and was willing to 'retaliate' if things went south. Her evil twin is a murderer who killed almost his whole family, and was stuck in the prison world 1994 as punishment. They really had travelled 3000 miles for nothing, and Damon's life was probably in danger. Which she didn't worry about much, if she was honest.

She jumped slightly when she heard Jo let out a yelp, followed by a few thumps and bangs. Alaric asked what was going on, worry striking his voice. Stefan and Sarah both walked up to him.

"Jo? Jo what's going on?!"

Next thing they heard was Elena's voice on the other side of the phone, "It's her dad, he—he's trying to kill her!"

"What do we do?!" Alaric said, "How do we stop him?"

"We can't see the house and i'm not invited in," Stefan added, "Jo invite us in—"

"Come in! Come in!" She cried in pain, followed by more coughs. She sounded like she was choking.

"We still can't see the house!" Sarah said. Elena carried the message and she heard Jo's throaty voice respond, "Ask them if they see an old tree stump in the yard!"

It was right there and they ran towards it, shuffling through the pile of dried leaves before Alaric pulled out a knife.

"What's this?" Sarah wondered.

"This is probably Jo's version of Miss Cuddles." Alaric replied.

Stefan grabbed it and shot it right across the empty land, where it stabbed into the wooden porch pillar.

Next thing they know, Stefan was saving Damon from the grasp of Mr. Joshua Parker who thought it was incredibly normal to vanish into thin air.

"I did not sign up for this."

|||

"So Papa Kai just tried scrambling my brain like an egg and you three are looking like someone shoved a stick up your ass?" Damon said, walking towards the car. "I did not get undressed at the airport for this."

"Jo had the ascendant all along." Stefan told him.

"It was 5 minutes away from home. And we travelled 3000 miles. How fun." Sarah wailed, walking up behind them. "This was so useless."

"Stop complaining." Damon said, rolling his eyes at her again.

Jesus Christ, she thought. "You were literally complaining 30 seconds ago."

"Stop fighting, you two." Alaric jumped in, "Now there is obviously no way we're getting the ascendant or letting her brother out—"

"We could just kill him if he escapes!" Damon argued.

"No, Damon." Alaric snapped, "I'm not letting another maniac kill my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend? You've been on like, 3 dates—"

"Shut up, Damon." Sarah and Stefan said in unison.

Damon however, didn't listen and decided to compel Alaric into stealing the ascendant.

"It's gonna come bite you in the ass." Sarah had told him, and he had flipped her off. Stefan had let him go with a disappointed shake of his head and that thing he did where his lips squeezed into a thin line to portray his disapproval.

Little did they know Kai was already out.

____________________

some of you really liked the prologue so here's the first chapter! please let me know if you like it heheheh.

[tkc-info]

Valentine's Day headcanons

I was going to write something about Aaliyah and Odhran but I guess there was a change of plans (read: writer's block + me getting kinda personal) so brief headcanons about them

Aaliyah/Odhran

Before figuring out his sexual/romantic orientation, let me tell you Odhran *despised* valentine's, especially because he was both confused about love, and because Caleb is a hopeless romantic and lives for st. Valentine's

Aaliyah just didn't care. If anything, she would ponder on what love meant for her and think how she can't sympathise with her parents and (allo) friends, but nothing too excessive (?)

Now that their aroace-ness is all figured out, though, damn

Odhran is, after all, Caleb's son. He is a hopeless romantic in a platonic way

Long story short: he's got all dressed up and prepared an outing to a bistro in Mirror France and has bought Aaliyah multiple gifts (aka books, clothes, etc) and roses

Aaliyah was a bit overwhelmed by it all. Cue necessary example:

Aaliyah could feel her parents's eyes trained on her. Their gazes made the skin at her nape prickle, but still she couldn't bring herself to turn to them and tell them to stop. Her eyes were set on the boxes and flowers laid on the kitchen isle.

"Have you suddenly decided to be all romantic now?" Aaliyah asked her parents from the threshold.

"We are romantic," Dad protested "Only that our romance is different from anyone else's."

A snort escaped Aaliyah's mouth at that. Today was Saint Valentine's Day, and her parents had told her they'd planned to have a date somewhere humans thought was cursed.

"Sure, Dad," Aaliyah said, finally riping her eyes off the gifts to smile at him.

As Dad ruffled her hair affectionately, Mum slipped past her to the kitchen isle, whereupon she inspected the bundle of gifts and fished out a letter from between two of them. "Aaliyah," Mum called out; voice tinged with excitement.

"Yes?"

"This is for you."

Aaliyah frowned. "Why?"

Saint Valentine's Day was just a day for her. Aaliyah didn't have a partner, and certainly didn't want one. She had her friend --well, technically Luoyang was her crazy cousin-- and her friends were enough.

And of course, there was Odhran, who was not her boyfriend, but a very special kind of friend.

The remainder of what her relationship with Odhran was lighted up a metaphorical bulb over Aaliyah's head. Of course, Odhran wasn't much for romance himself, but his father was and Odhran took after Uncle Caleb greatly.

A smile split Aaliyah's face in two, and she practically shoved her father aside to get to the kitchen isle. "I'm going to kill him," she swore as she snatched the letter from Mum's hand.

It read as follows:

Aaliyah,

I've always hated Valentine's Day, but now that I've come to terms with my sexual and romantic orientations, I can't wait to celebrate today with you. As you see, I might have got a bit carried away with the presents but, see, I bought them with Papa (he was buying my other father's own gifts), and you know how my father is: Caleb Verninac-Whitaker is willing to spend a fortune for the sake of love, and earnestly pushed his son to save his year's savings to do the same.

That being said, Aaliyah, I hope you like the flowers, the boxes of heart-shaped chocolate (roll your eyes all you want to at that, it is Valentine's; besides, praline tastes good in any way, shape or form), and these new dresses.

As you read this, I'll probably be having an argument with my odious older sister because she can't get her shit together and ask Adelaide out but I'll drop by at around 15:00. Please be ready by then?

Love,

Odhran

PS: I know we usually hang out with Luoyang and Shun, but yesterday I told them to go do something romantic or whatever so they'll leave us alone :)

PPS: I forgot to tell you I have a surprise for today. I'll do it now: Aaliyah, while we were on the hunt for presents, Papa gave me a great idea of where to go this St. Valentine's with you, so, definitely get prepared for some fancy stuff

"Odhran is the best, isn't he?" Mum asked Aaliyah "Oliver raised him so well. I'm happy you're in a QPR with him."

Aaliyah snorted. Mum and Uncle Oliver had been more excited about Odhran and Aaliyah than Odhran and Aaliyah themselves. Mum must be elated.

"What do you think his surprise is?" Aaliyah asked her mother, though it was Dad who replied.

"Caleb was involved, so who knows," he shrugged.

Aaliyah's smile widened.

[kaiparker-avengerssmut]

CURSED: CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Knocking on Heaven’s Door”

Kai Parker x OC!Mack Grace

Series synopsis: "We're both cursed, in a way."

We all know the story of Kai Parker, but he once lived in a very different life. Do you ever wonder what that life looked like?

Chapter summary: Kai realised he fucked, Mack isn’t so willing to forgive him, Joshua is a shading little shit

Warnings: swearing, slight violence, arguing, mention of drug use (or misuse I guess)

Masterlist | series Masterlist

Kai’s affection didn't last long, the second the announcement was over he released Mack's hand with such haste you'd think it'd burnt him. Kai was quick to ignore his girlfriend - looking straight ahead and following the Police with his eyes as they made their way out of the room - but not before announcing they would be questioning certain individuals.

This put Mack's stress on overdrive, knowing that they'd find out that she killed him and that Kai helped destroy the body and they'd both go to prison. The girl shuddered at the thought of the cold, dingy cells; the cool metal bars that would not doubt be lathered in a layer of thick rust; the grumpy, disgruntled guards; and lastly, the inmates - the ones who had done awful things, much more so than she had than her, or even worse, the ones she outdid.

Mack visibly shook, a chill tickling along her spine as the thoughts encased her mind in a state of anxiousness. She hardly noticed the police had left until the jabbing of the bell pierced her ears, bringing Mack back to her senses as she scrambled to her feet. What she'd also failed to notice was that Kai was no longer in the class, having snuck out when he'd let go of her shaking hand.

...

"Who the fuck are you?" Kai hissed, approaching Shawn, shoulders squared and jaw locked. Shawn smirked, leaning away from the wall and closing the distance between them. Both boys were around the same height - neither of them having an advantage of dominance due to being tall.

"None of your damn business." He smirked, winding Kai up even further.

"Oh, you're right - it's none of my damn business that your asking my girlfriend to kiss you in front of me, is it?" Kai mused, a sinister looking smirk reaching his own lips. Shane's didn't falter either.

"Mmm, girlfriend? She looked more like a slut to me." Shawn pondered and Kai's jaw clenched uncomfortably, hands balling into tight fists at his sides.

"What did you just call her?" Kai spat through gritted teeth and Shawn chuckled, looking back at the group of friends stood behind him with amused expressions.

"What? That's what she is, isn't it? I mean you only called her your girlfriend when you pissed off your sister so bad and her ex went missing." Shawn smirked, his friends laughing and egging him on with cheers. "I bet she's the one who killed him, right? Then ever the hero you swoop in, claiming to be her boyfriend so any motive she may hold becomes futile." Shawn declared, before turning back to his friends with outstretched arms. "Am I right, boys?" He called loudly, met with hoots of agreement that made Kai's anger bubble, their laughter creating a scowl on Kai's brows.

"I mean, nice catch though dude - a bet she's a real freak in bed, probably hard to keep up with her, huh?" Shawn taunted.

Shawn only stopped at the impact of Kai's fist colliding with his jaw, snapping the boy's head to the side as Kai's ring caught the soft skin of his cheek, a slither of crimson breaking the surface. Shawn's jaw clenched tight lung, his thumb swiping the blood from his cheek as his dangerous glare met Kai's.

"You son of a fucking bitch!" Shawn growled, grabbing Kai by his jacket and shoving him into the wall behind him. "Don't you dare fucking touch me again!"

"Or you'll what?" Kai smirked, Shawn's nostrils now flared and his breathing heavy. He was clearly bothered by how unaffected Kai was, this frustration showing clearly when he moved to punch Kai.

But Kai got there first.

No one was really sure how I'd happened, including Kai, but next thing either of them new a teacher was peeling Kai off of Shawn as he straddled the boy, landing punch after punch to his bartered and bruised face.

...

And yet weeks went by and neither Mack nor Kai said a word to each other.

Awkward silences became more awkward, uncomfortable moments became more uncomfortable, wistful gazes became more wistful.

It was getting too much, and Mack was dying for Kai just to say something to her, yet she was too stubborn to say anything first. She sighed heavily, slamming the front door behind her and dumping her bag on the floor. Mack quickly chucked the car keys onto the table before walking into the kitchen for a glass of water. For the past month Mack has been borrowing her dad's car to get to school.

"Hey dad!" She called and Ian soon walked round the corner, joining her in the kitchen.

"Hey, kiddo." He smiled, "how was school?" But before Mack got a chance to answer Kim called from the other room.

"Mack! Kai's here!" The colour instantly drained from Mack's face, her smile falling and her thought spiralling into dread.

Why was Kai there? And why had he now decided to talk to her?

Mack quickly shook off the thoughts, pulling on a hard stare and calling as emotionlessly as she could to Kim,

"I don't want to talk to him. Tell him to leave!" Kim merely shrugged, giving Kai a half-ass apologetic look before letting the slab of wood slam shut in his face, the tiny draft the force created combined with the monotone drawl of Mack's words felt like it hit Kai's face almost as hard as if the girl had charged outside and slapped him across the face herself. He took a deep swallow, choking down the lump in his throat as he stared blankly at the door, fist twitching as he tried to make up his mind.

Another hollow knock on the door. Kim's hand still remained on the handle, so she simply yanked it open before giving Kai a bored look, Amber eyes rolling dramatically.

"Look, lover boy, give it a rest. She doesn't want to talk to you." Mack's sister deadpanned, before letting the door smack shut with an even louder thud than the first time. Kai took a deep breath, his chest rising greatly as he rose his hand another time.

Another hollow knock on the door. Kim scoffed, turning to open the door once again - figuring it could be another person as the pause between knocks had been much longer this time. The second Kai's face met hers Kim huffed out an exasperated sigh, not even bothering to speak before letting the door close dully in Kai's face. A wince escaped him when the last thud met his ears, shoulders slumped as he slowly made his way back to his jeep.

He'd just have to wait Mack out.

10pm. Perfect. Kai claimed out his car hastily, limbs aching after being cooped in his jeep for the last five or so hours. He crept as quietly as possible past her front windows, letting out a small sigh of relief when he noticed that the curtains were already closed so he wasn't in trouble of being seen. Only one light beacons out from the house, the yellow hue of Mack's lamp echoing into the crisp night air. Even though it was already February, the weather was still as harsh as it had been throughout the bitter January.

Kai grabbed onto the bricks, suddenly much more appreciative to the fact he had a small magical boost as he scaled the side of the small building.

Mack nearly jumped three foot in the air, her heart beating so fast she thought it jump out of her chest. The unexpected, unwelcome and unnecessary rattle of Kai's knuckles against her old window bounced off her bedroom walks, filling her ears with anxiety as she turned to see her ex-boyfriend's concerned face looking into her room. Mack inhaled sharply, biting her lips to hold back her grimace as she realised what he'd seen.

The window climbed upwards, Kai's hands sliding the glass up enough to stumble through until he was awkwardly stood in Mack's room, both teens staring at each other uncomfortably.

"That's how you've been coping?" Mack's gaze dropped to her bed, guilt washing over her at the sight of the half-rolled joint. "Weed? Really?" Kai scoffed and Mack's guilt soon rolled into anger, rage.

"That's none of your business." She said with an unturned nose, scooping the mess into a bag and shoving it in the little drawer in her desk which held a small lock. The sound Kai made resembled one of mocking laughter, short and bitter.

"None of my business, huh? I think you doing drugs is damn well my fucking business!" Kai demanded, shaking his head at her in disbelief.

"It stopped being your business the second you decided to dump me!" Mack was raising her voice now, her enmity melting into her face in a deep red hue. Kai's jaw clenched and unclenched, his eyes burning holes through the little wooden drawer shed just stuffed the weed into.

"That was a mistake." He muttered and Mack's eyes lit up with fury.

"A mistake? Kai you've made hundreds of mistakes!" Mack said harshly, voice cracking. Kai wiped his hand over his jaw, hiding his pout. "No. That wasn't a mistake, Kai. That was your shitty past making you doubt me as much as you doubt your shitty father and your shitty coven!" Mack shouted, eyes shellacked with tears.

And awkward silence fell over them, but Kai's stung expression told Mack everything she needed to know.

"Kenz..."

"Why are you here, Kai?!" Mack spat.

"Ben, he's uh- he's been confirmed dead." Kai murmured meekly, pressing his lips together. Mack's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"What?!" She whispered-shouted. Kai nodded.

"The police- they confirmed it, earlier. It was on the news." A somber mood had undertaken the room, a mutual air of what-do-we-do-now becoming the two teens.

"How-?"

"They found the ashes in the woods. And Kim talked." Kai admitted and Mack's face quickly morphed back into one of acrimony.

"That bitch-" Kai's hand quickly caught her wrist, pulling Mack back into him before she could get any further. He quickly backed her up into the door, a finger hovering over her lips.

"Shhhh. I have a sneaking suspicion that your name wouldn't have come up." He whispered calmly, but the fear and anger in his blue eyes were evident.

"What are you going to do?" She asked, a hint of concern creeping into her eyes.

"Well, I was thinking we could run away. You and me." Kai suggested, a hopeful glint to his voice that made Mack scoff.

"You haven't spoken to me in weeks," she emphasised the word heavily, "and you just expect me to run away with you? Not a chance." Mack dismissed, pulling away from Kai and quickly slipping out of her room - feet padding down the stairs swiftly. But Kai's heavy footsteps could be heard behind her.

"Come on, Kenz, you know you want to-" at that Mack turned harshly on her heal to face him

"What makes you think I'd want to go anywhere with you?" She hissed and Kai was taken aback.

"I thought you loved me.." he mumbled and Mack rolled her eyes, but really she was only trying to hide the siege of tears persisting at her bottom eyelids. She continued her path out, pulling the front door open harshly. "Where are you going?" Kai called, before coming to a stop a few feet behind Mack outside the small house.

"I'm just asking myself, why do I," Mack took a pause, inhaling a deep breath, "pick people who treat me like...nothing..." she exhaled deeply, turning around to face him and Kai's bottom lip began to quiver. Tears pooled in his deep blue eyes and he shook his head slightly.

"That's not true." He murmured, head still shaking as Mack kept her eyes trained to the floor. She gave him no response.

Kai's lips smashed to hers, his hands cupping her face and his eyes closed. Mack balled her fists by her sides, trying with all her strength to not kiss back. She finally pulled away, her hand making a hard connection with Kai's cheek.

"No! You don't get to do that, Kai!" She screamed, tears running down Mack's red cheeks. "You don't get to screw everything up and expect to kiss me and make it better!" The tears stung his eyes too now, an expression of sadness over coming him.

"I'm sorry." The words were mumbled, directed at the floor.

"Sorry?! You thought so little of me that I'd throw away what we had for some - some guy I'd just met! I can't be with you if all you can do is think of me as some lying, manipulative bitch like you do you coven! I can't, Kai. God, I can't believe I actually fell in love with someone as- as immature as you!" Mack seethed, but Kai was crying silently now, shaking his head no as she spoke even though deep down he knew every word she spoke was true.

"Please don't leave me." Kai begged, his desperation lacing his deep blue eyes with a rim of sadness, eyes finally making contact with Mack's. "Please, Kenz, I can't live without you."

"Kenz? Oh we are so not at nicknames right now Malachai." Mack spat out his name like is tasted bad, as if the word held a lingering bitter taste on her tongue. It stung Kai, Mack using his full name.

"I love you." Was all Kai suggested and Mack let out a heavy sigh through her tears.

"If you truly loved me, you would have trusted me. I can't be with someone who I have to tread on eggshells around, Kai. I can't do that." Mack cried, biting down on her lower lip to hide a sob. She looked at her feet, then back up again and put on a brave face as her eyes bored into Kai's blue orbs. "We're done." She whispered and Kai's eyes widened.

"No..." he muttered, shaking his head slowly in protest as Mack sorrowfully nodded.

"Yes, we're done. For good. I'm sorry." Mack said authoritatively, wiping the tears away quickly before turning back around and walking over to her dad's car.

"Kenz!" He shouted after her, but Mack pretended to ignore him - a new wave of tears threatening to drip down her chin now. The lights on the car flashed orange, the button on the keys clicked and the door now open. Mack slipped in, seating herself in the car and pushing the keys into the ignition, starting the car with a small sob.

As Mack attempted to shut the door, a strong hand caught it, Kai's wrecked face looking down at her with a pleading beg.

"Please don't leave, don't you get it? I love you Kenz." Kai begged. Mack shook her head.

"Let me go, Kai." He shook his head back, pressing his lips together to stop himself choking over a sob.

"I can't."

"And you've lost the right to call me anything but Mackenzie." She whispered, finally out manning Kai and slamming the door shut, not even hesitating before driving off.

...

The words buzzed through Mack's mind, her eyes trained on the road ahead of her as she desperately drove further away from home. She couldn't put her family through this, not right now, couldn't face him. She had to get away, go somewhere to think.

Mack tapped her foot restlessly, chewing on her bottom lips as she drove down the secluded road. As she approached a corner, she turned around it to see a car parked up at the side of the road, lights flashing.

As she drove closer, she realised it was Kai's father's car, so she made to pull over. Even thought she was avoiding Kai, Joshua hadn't done anything wrong and he could be in serious trouble. Once parked at the side of the road, Mack quickly climbed out her car, locking it behind her and walking over to Joshua - who was stood by his tyre, bent down to examine it.

"Hey, Mr Parker!" She called, arms crossed over her chest, and he looked up.

"Ah, Mackenzie! What are you doing out here alone?" He asked with a small frown.

"Well I was just driving to clear my head and I saw your car...are you okay? Do you need help?" She asked worriedly, stepping back slightly as Joshua rose to stand.

"Actually," he spoke rather menacingly, "there is something you could help with." He continued walking until Mack was backed into a tree and she let out a sharp gasp. Joshua raised his hand. "Phasmatos Somnus!" he spoke, and Mack's body fell limp, eyes closed as she fell unconscious.

[mtngirlforever]

Tyler Kennedy

Alright guys so here is my 1st Tarlos one shot. I haven't written anything in 2 years so I felt really rusty, but I couldn't quit writing. Please leave me your thoughts! I'll get it up on Ao3 in just a bit! 😘 I haven't posted in so long I no longer know how to do the keep reading line so someone wanna shoot a girl a line and help her out?? Until then sorry guys!

TK was a little pissy when his dad put Judd in charge of the call. Sure the dude was from Texas and was probably the most qualified for this, but he rubbed TK the wrong way most of the time. However, he was going to suck it up with some attitude until Marjan went down. No way was he losing a team member when he could reach her. He heard Judd's screams of no, but he didn't care. And really if he went down would it really matter? 

The rush he felt when he unclipped and reached for Marjan was the high he'd been missing. The adrenaline rush was powerful and left him feeling high like only the pills could. The corn was like quicksand, and by the time he had a good grip on Marjan, he was going down too. He sucked in a deep breath as he felt himself get separated from Marjan. The pressure around his chest was unbearable, but it was the first thing he'd really truly felt since the night Alex ruined his life. 

When he stumbled out into the light and took his first deep breath, it hurt but he was more worried about finding Marjan. It could've ended much worse, but they were all in one piece when they returned to the station. What he wasn't expecting was for Judd to blindside him when they got out of the rig. His chest was hurting and he was pretty sure it was just bruises, but he wasn't backing down from this confrontation. 

He didn't appreciate Judd's tone or the fact that he was insinuating TK only had a job because his dad was captain. Shoving Judd was his first instinct to let his anger out, and thankfully Judd was willing to fight back. It wasn't helping his ribs any, but at that moment he didn't care. 

After Paul separated them, he decided it was finally time to see Michelle. His chest was hurting with each really deep breath he took and he was sure it was just from the dive down the corn. He knocked on her office door glad to see his dad wasn't across the way. When he heard her call come in he opened and closed the door quietly. 

"TK what can I do for you?" Michelle asked giving him her full attention. 

"Just… uh.. needed to see if you got a second?" 

"Of course what's up?" 

TK made sure his dad hadn't come up before turning back to Michelle. "I think maybe the pressure in the silo was too much after all. It hurts with really deep breaths but I don't think anything's broke. And I… I don't wanna tell dad, and I can't…. I won't go to the hospital because I can't take anything they'd give me so can ya… can you just make sure its bruises?" 

"Yea come on. We can go to my bunk side. No one will know. And whatever you tell me will be in confidence." 

TK gave her a nod of thanks before following her out. Michelle gave him a quick once over and confirmed what he knew that it was just some bruising. She told him to take Tylenol if it was too painful since he appeared not to want anything stronger. He gave her a thanks before going out. Luckily shift was almost over and the rest of his shift was quite. 

That night despite still being angry at Judd, TK decided to stay in and rest. Across town, Carlos and Michelle were meeting up for beers at Carlos’s house. While he would love to help her find her sister, he was starting to lose hope. It had been three years, and no serious leads. He did think he’d gotten his point across by giving her the list of blue pickup trucks, and pointing out that Dustin did not own a blue truck. 

What he wasn’t fully prepared for was to spill his guts about TK. While he had missed their two-way street friendship, he’d initially been teasing. Until she turned serious and really wanted to know about his latest hookup. And truthfully, he didn’t know what to say because he really didn’t know anything about the guy. 

“I met someone, we hooked up, and then it got weird,” he said with a shrug. 

“Doesn’t it always,” she laughed. 

“No Michelle, it doesn’t always get weird,” he said exasperated. 

“So? Tell me about this boy," she relented. 

“You know him actually,” he said with a dramatic pause as she looked at him to continue. “TK Strand,” he said as she gasped at him. 

“Nice!” 

“Yea. He’s a ten and now I kinda can’t get him out of my head.” 

“So why don’t you ask him out?” 

“Oh no! He’d probably ghost me. I just hate being the one doing the chasing.” 

“Why? You’re the one with the handcuffs,” she joked as he rolled his eyes at her. “But speaking of, TK had an interesting day.” 

“Oh yea? How?” Carlos asked suddenly intrigued.

“You hear about the silo call?” At his nod Michelle continued; “Well, he decided to ignore Judd’s warnings and unclipped his line thinking he could save Marjan. They had to cut the side of the silo because he and Marjan got sucked down. So they went for a tumble. The pressure was too much for him and bruised his ribs. He came to me in confidence so I shouldn’t even be telling you, but just thought you’d wanna know, “ she winked. She could tell it was more than a hookup for Carlos and she had an idea TK needed someone in his corner so she didn't mind spilling what she knew.

Carlos let it roll over in his mind. TK ignored a direct order, and could’ve died had they not got the side cut soon enough. That did not sound promising after his freak out over a dinner. He let his thoughts tumble over each other as Michelle finished her beer and headed out for the night. Carlos ended up crashing on his couch, just managing to get enough sleep before his shift the next day. 

He was pulling a twelve hour shift starting at noon, and by the time it was getting late and getting close to him being off, he saw the one person he was not ready to see being lead into the station. Despite knowing he should distance himself, he couldn’t help it. He had to see what TK had done to be brought in in cuffs. 

He managed to get the officer that brought him in to leave him at Carlos’s desk, while Carlos went to find out what happened. When the other two wouldn’t talk and TK’s breathalyzer test was a 0.0, he decided he would be the one to cut him loose. He wanted to know why the guy he couldn’t get out of his head was suddenly on a suicide mission two days in a row. He saw TK hunched over his desk holding an ice pack to his eye. Had his hands been free, Carlos would bet his arm would be wrapped around his ribs. He knew they had to be killing him from the information Michelle had disclosed. 

The look on TK’s face when he sat down was honestly priceless. “Seriously?” he said with as much attitude as possible.

Carlos acted like it didn’t bother him; “Austin’s a small town TK; or should I say Tyler Kennedy.” TK grunted in response without looking up. “Bummer about getting arrested, people might find out your real name. Which marks the first actual thing I’ve learned about you.” 

Finally the ice pack drops, but the attitude doesn’t. “Isn’t you processing me like a conflict of interest or something?” 

“The good news is, neither of your new friends want to talk about that little scuffle tonight, and since you blew a 0.0, we’re not even giving you a drunk and disorderly. You’re free to go,” he says all this as he unlocks the cuffs. 

“What’s the bad news?” TK asks hesitantly. The no reaction and no questions from Carlos was making him nervous. 

“The bad news is that means you did this with a clear head.” TK won’t meet his eyes so he decides to push on. “I’m not trying to be your boyfriend or even your friend if you’re not into it,” he says while trying to catch TK’s eyes. He wants to make sure his point is getting across because he wants TK to know someone does care about him. “But you should talk to someone about why you felt compelled to do something so suicidal,” he pauses as TK finally meets his eyes; “two days in a row.” 

They have a brief stare down before TK reaches for the bag with his things. Carlos backs off, knowing he probably pushed too far, but he wants TK to know he’s not alone. When TK is still sitting there, he drops the box of tissues in front of him and goes back to the not bothered attitude. He’s not sure he wants TK to see how much he affects him. “Got a little crud by the way,” he says while pointing at his lip. 

He dropped the cuffs on his desk trying not to think about what Michelle had said. He tries to appear busy, but he can’t help but watch TK out of the corner of his eye. He's nowhere close to getting the dried blood off his lip. “Other side,” he said giving himself away and getting a look and a huff from TK. 

TK moves to the middle and sort of the other side, but he’s still not getting it. “Stop,” Carlos says exasperated. “Just let me.” He grabs a tissue and reaches over when TK moves back just a touch before his head stills. Carlos holds in his sigh and waits. When TK is still he reaches over and wipes the blood. It’s intimate and he shouldn’t get used to it because he knows TK will eventually bolt, but he can’t help but wish they could have more intimate moments. He can’t take his eyes off TK and thankfully TK is looking back. 

He’s almost positive his face is an open book of hurt and curiosity and desire, but he can’t seem to mask it. The things TK does to him is unbelievable. He gets a quiet “Thanks,” as he appears to go back to paperwork. He tries to stay focused and not move when TK leans in closer so just Carlos can hear him. And what comes next is definitely not what Carlos was expecting. 

“I’m sorry I went crazy on you the other night,” he says, and he sounds so sincere and upset about it. Carlos doesn’t want to let him know just how much it’d stung when he walked out the door so he decided to play it cool. 

“I’m a cop; I’m used to crazy.” He keeps working, but deep inside he’s absorbing everything and his stupid heart is doing flips. 

He sees TK try to find the words to go on when Carlos won’t look at him. He’s really trying here, trying like he hasn’t in a while. He’s not sure why he is, but that spark he had with Carlos was the most he’d felt until he dived down the silo and got in the fight. He didn’t want to give that up even if he’d acted like an ass the other night.

“Look I just went through a really bad breakup, like nuclear bad. And then I relapsed,” he says all the while never taking his eyes off Carlos. He wants Carlos to know he’s being as open as possible at the moment, and why he is the way he is. 

“You mean with me?” Carlos says again without even looking at TK.

“No,” TK says dropping his eyes at the same time Carlos cuts his eyes to look at him. TK finally has his attention, and he’s not sure how to handle it. He’s ashamed and embarrassed, and he really doesn’t want the hot cop he was hooking up with to know how bad he really is. He knows he’s a fuck up and his dad knows it, but he’s still not gotten comfortable with everyone else knowing just how much of a fuck up he really is. And that’s another reason Judd’s words hit close to home. At this point it really is because of his dad that he’s still a firefighter and still working, still here even. 

His eyes stay on the ground as he admits the truth. He’s come this far, he might as well lay it out there and let Carlos run free. No way he’s going to want anything to do with him after he knows most of the truth. “I mean with substances,” he says carefully. He can’t admit more than that at the moment, but he knows if Carlos was ever to stick around, he’d admit the full truth. But he knows that’s never a possibility. He’s debating running when Carlos finally speaks. 

“Right. Which explains your reaction to the champagne. I’m such an idiot. I’m-”

“No,” TK starts to interrupt, but Carlos continues, “I’m sorry,” he says as TK finishes his thought; “It’s fine okay?” He finally makes eye contact again before he continues not exactly sure where the word vomit is coming from. “I mean ever since I’ve gotten here it’s just…. It’s just gray, and I just feel numb all the time.” He pauses to decide how else to word it because he knows it’s going to sound bad, but he doesn’t have the words when he’s flayed open and raw. “I guess I just…. I wanted to feel something.” 

When Carlos just stares at him, he quickly grabs his things out of the bag and stands to make a run for it. He knew this was a bad idea opening himself up to someone else. No one could put up with his bratty attitude and fears and failures. As he turns the corner of the desk, Carlos speaks again, and it’s the last thing TK expected. 

“Judging by that lip, I’d say mission accomplished.” 

TK’s hand falls on the desk to prop himself up. His ribs are really killing him, his head is starting to pound, and he just laid most of his vulnerabilities out there and Carlos wants to bust his balls. He gives him his best go to hell look before speaking. “You really busting my balls right now?” he says in disbelief. 

“Yea suppose I am,” Carlos says with enough of a smirk that TK can’t stop his own smile from forming. TK goes to leave and Carlos lets him get a few steps down the hallway before he stops him. “I know you’re in pain, do you want to go to the hospital? My shift is over in another hour, but I could cut out early,” he says with a hand on TK’s arm. 

“Na. Don’t want what they’d give me anyways. Michelle told me to just take Tylenol.” While he’d love to give in to the offer and he knows it’d make him feel immensely better, he’s not going to disappoint his dad again. But it’s more than that now. He doesn’t want to let Carlos down, now that he knows the truth. 

“At least let me drive you home. You don’t have a car Tiger,” he says with a smirk. 

TK looks around before leaning into Carlos a little. “Yea… Yea that’d be fine. Long as you can leave.” He doesn’t want Carlos getting in trouble for him. 

“Yea. Just give me a few,” he says tossing TK’s jacket around his shoulders and leading him back to his desk. TK sits down wrapping an arm around his ribs as he hunched over a little. He couldn’t wait to get home and fall face first into bed. 

“Here,” Carlos said handing him two extra strength Tylenol and a bottle of water. “I’ll be ready in five. Just let me get my stuff.” TK offered him a nod and a smile before downing the pills. 

The ride through town was quiet. “Where to?” Carlos finally asked when he needed to turn one way or another. 

TK was biting his abused lip in thought. He didn’t want to go home and his dad see him this way, but he didn’t want to assume anything about going to Carlos’s. He’d caused him enough trouble tonight and laid way too much out there. A soft hand on his arm stopped the abuse his teeth were inflicting on his already abused lip. 

“You can come home with me if you want…. Tyler,” Carlos said quietly. His actual name rolling off those sexy lips sent a shiver down his spine. No one had called him that in a really long time.

“Don’t want to put you out or cause you more trouble,” TK said quietly. 

Carlos reached over and grabbed his chin, turning TK to look at him. “I meant it when I said I wouldn’t be anything you’re not comfortable with, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t gladly be whatever you wanted or needed.”

“Just to sleep. Got shift in the morning,” TK said after a small pause. He wasn't up to anything more tonight, not with the pain he was in.

“Just to sleep,” Carlos smiled before turning for home. 

Once home, Carlos went to shower, after laying out a pair of sweats and clean shirt for TK. TK settled in bed while Carlos was in the shower. He was suddenly so exhausted and he knew he needed as much sleep as possible before shift. He wasn’t sure how he’d explain away the black eye and split lip to his dad just yet, but he’d figure something out. Carlos’s bed was so comfortable that he was asleep before Carlos was out of the shower. 

The next morning when his alarm went off, TK let out a groan. “There’s a shirt on the dresser. Keep the sweats,” Carlos mumbled sleepily. 

“Thanks,” TK whispered before rolling over and giving Carlos a searing kiss. His ribs protested the held breath, but he couldn’t resist kissing the hottest guy that made him feel something other than numb and that had taken care of him when he needed it.

“Go out with me tonight?” Carlos mumbled sleepily. Stupid Michelle and her stupid advice he thought, when TK paused getting up. “Just darts at the bar,” Carlos said as an afterthought. “Nothing fancy.. Just whatever…” 

“Yea,” TK interrupted. “Yea. Sure. Shift’s over at eight. It’s a date.” 

“It’s a date Tyler Kennedy,” Carlos smiled before shutting his eyes again at TK’s groan. He had a feeling Carlos would not be letting the full name go anytime soon now that he knew it.

Shift drug by, and his anger with Judd returned tenfold when he saw him again. By the time he was off shift, he wasn’t sure he would be much fun, but he wasn’t bailing. He downed two more Tylenol before heading to the bar where Carlos was already waiting. After ordering his mineral water, he joined Carlos over at the dart board. 

It wasn’t but a few minutes and Judd and Grace joined the crowd at the bar, and TK’s mood soured. He started ranting about Judd and where he got off on his high horse for a solid twenty minutes. His aim is off because he’s letting his anger fuel his throws. Carlos throws as he keeps ranting, and TK turns to get the darts. 

“You know if I was a less secure man, I might be bothered by the fact that I worked up the nerve to ask you out, and you’ve spent the entire night talking about another guy,” Carlos teases. And it’s clear in his voice he’s giving TK a hard time. 

“Well it pisses me off,” TK says as if it’s not obvious. 

“I noticed,” Carlos smirks thinking of all the ways they could work his anger out of him. TK hands the darts back to him, and Carlos can’t help but call him out on his brattiness. “Guess he hit a nerve,” he says before throwing again. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” TK asks as if he doesn't know. 

“Nothing,” Carlos says before going one step further. “Just seems like nobody’s ever spoken to you that way before.”

“You think he’s right?” TK asks disbelieving.

Carlos finishes throwing the darts before answering him, letting TK work it out for himself. “Do you?” he asks TK when TK pulls the darts out of the board. 

TK lets out a deep breath deciding on what to say. Instead of continuing the argument, he decides to go with something he hopes is threatening enough to get Carlos to drop it. “You know I’m holding a dart.” 

“And I’m packing a piece,” Carlos says with a straight face and without missing a beat. 

TK thinks of something smart to say back, but the only thing coming to mind is how hot Carlos looks in that moment. “That’s hot,” he finally spits out.  Needless to say that was the last round of darts and they were leaving. TK’s ribs were still sore enough that anything more than cuddling and making out in bed was out of the question. But for once, TK was ok with it. Carlos cared; he was still there even though he knew TK was a fuck up; he didn’t put up with his shit, and he let him just be. Since moving to Austin, he finally felt like he was truly going to be ok and wouldn’t be numb forever. 

“Sleep Tyler Kennedy,” he heard whispered in his hair as he drifted off feeling safe and truly cared for. 

[secret-engima]

Daywan has spent her whole life knowing she was going to be a Second. It was rare, but they happened sometimes, a Second soulmate after the first died, or if something fundamental changed about a person. (The Glaive had a lot of Second Words.) What else could her Words indicate? "Thank you for taking care of my son, but why didn't you say he was here?" She'd fought against those Words for years, they'd been the center of her teen angst. Daywan had avoided children and childcare like the plague.1

Anonymous said: 2 And then came the Nifs came. They'd been in a little town, straddling the border of Lucis and Tenebrae, neutral for centuries, but the Empire hadn't cared. She'd snatched a baby out of a dying woman's arms and never looked back. As she'd begun the terrifying march that would ultimately take her to Insomnia, she'd collected children and dragged them with her. She'd bitterly regretted her adamant ignorance of childcare, but she could no more leave them to die than she could stop walking.

Anonymous said: 3 "Thank you" was waiting for her. Somehow, arguing with the guards at the gates of Insomnia with her gaggle of children clinging to her legs, climbing her back to tug on her hair, (trying to put braids in with stubborn tenacity) it didn't seem so bad now, to be Second. Not after what she'd seen. She had someone who was waiting for her, maybe he'd be the father of one of her kids. It just made sense when she found a job as a childcare worker, a little less when it turned out to be in the Citadel

Anonymous said: 4 And then there was the sweetest little boy in the daycare, probably a smuggled in relative. She got more then most, given her willingness to look the other way. And then the King came into her room, as the last straggler of the day, the new boy helping her wipe the table down as she talked about some fun foods she'd eaten (trekking cross country with demons and Nifs hunting you cut down on your food prejudices) and then, "Thank you for looking after my son, but what is he doing here?”

Anonymous said: 5 Daywan isn't even sure what she stutters in response. The warmth in her Words let her know exactly who the King was to her. Hopefully something suitably innocuous, she needed to get home and have a breakdown as she dealt with this revelation.

Anonymous said: Actually, let me change my suggested name for the daycare worker to Daywren. It flows better I think, Daywren Silverblade.

Me: This is SO stupidly adorable I love it. Gonna expand on this backstory but I really like this idea (especially of her being non-Galahdian but totally adopted because of all the kiddos she kept rescuing). Ummmm, don’t think that name will work? FFXV has it’s Naming Theme and all. Think I’m gonna call her .... Lucina. The kiddos just call her Nina because it’s easier to say.

And just-

Lucina has always been an odd child, avoiding childcare and kids like the plague after learning what the swooping scrawl on her forearm MEANT, always more willing to learn to fight and hunt and fish than most little girls her age. Always more stealthy than she should be, always more precise in action than she needed to be. The other townsfolk nod sagely to themselves and say that she’ll be sent off to the city academy once she’s old enough, become a career woman for sure. Possibly even a military woman. Lucina doesn’t mind the thought of it. Can’t get much farther from childcare than being a soldier.

But then Niflheim comes. Niflheim comes and there is a child screaming in the arms of the woman who just got shot at least a dozen times and there is no saving the woman, but she holds out her child with crazed eyes as Lucina runs by and she takes without thinking. And then she is alone in the wilderness. With a baby.

Oh no.

She picks up more of them as she goes on, other children of various ages, some small, some less small, all of them lost and scared and in need of someone to care. She steals or trades for milk to feed the littlest ones, thanks the one bit of forethought she had in taking her bow and arrows with her when she ran as she hunts down food for the ones that are too old for milk.

She isn’t quite sure HOW she makes it to Lucis without losing any of the five children she picked up, just that she did.

And then she learns of Galahd’s sudden, dramatic fall. Finds out when she stumbles on a tight-knit trio of children with ratty braids in their hair and wild eyes and she can’t help but take them too.

She picks up a Galahdian pre-teen somewhere in between the toddlers and adolescents she keeps stumbling on and she could cry from relief in having help minding, caring, and feeding.

By the time she makes it to the gates of Insomnia at age 25, exhausted and underweight and triumphant, she has fifty whole kids and three pre-teens straggling along behind her. She is NOT in the mood for the gate guard’s pomp and circumstance, and the gate guard is not prepared for Lucina’s near feral protective instincts of the kids clinging to her legs and crawling on her back adding braids to her hair (she has so many Clan braids without knowing what they are it isn’t even funny). She gets let in and Little Galahd hears about her somehow so by the time she’s finally in the gates, there’s a hoard of excited, tearful Galahdians ready to reclaim their kiddos and then claim the new kiddos AND their keeper because this woman just returned like- 40+ of their missing kids. There are literal brawls (later and in private) to determine who gets to formally adopt her into their Clan.

Lucina is too tired for the first two weeks to care. Barely bats an eye when a man approaches and introduces himself as Sonitus and asks if he can take out all but one of the braids in her hair. She tells him that if he’s willing to face the screaming hoard of kiddos that will descend upon his soul, then by all means.

It’s only later someone thinks to sit her down and explain Galahdian adoption, but she has no family now so ... being the adopted sister of a Bellum is alright she guesses. Better than being alone and homeless.

Lucina ends up getting a job in childcare. Despite never having wanted to do things with children before and not having any professional schooling in the caring of kids, apparently everyone has heard of her fifty kid entourage and assumed she was some kind of childcare person who lost her papers. Since nothing is as terrifying as keeping fifty kids (several of whom are infants) alive in the wilderness, when she is offered a daycare job by one of the Galahdians who Knows Somebody With An Opening, she takes it.

She did not expect the Knows Somebody would actually be “the guy who hires Citadel people owes me a major favor” and the Opening to be the CITADEL DAYCARE.

Okay fine whatever. Better than being jobless and at least the kids in there are healthy, well fed little scamps and food is just a microwave or oven away rather than a mile into the wilderness and ready to run if it catches her scent.

For all Lucina claims to not have a way with kids, she is Good With Kids. She had no idea why kids seem magnetically attracted to her but they are and the other workers quickly learn to yeet the problem children her way.

Which is why when she finds a newcomer smuggled in on the day she is alone in her shift (the other worker meant to work the shift with her called in sick) she doesn’t bat an eyelash and is just grateful he’s such a sweetheart. He calls her Nina without hesitation (the nickname the other daycare kiddos gave her, apparently Lucina is hard to pronounce for tiny tongues) and trundles after her in all his five year old glory, trying dutifully to help her with things so she doesn’t force him to go interact with the other kids (she does not force him, what’s the point of forcing a shy child into a situation where they don’t feel safe? It will only end in tears, let him get used to watching the others before encouraging interaction).

She doesn’t notice the Citadel’s slow descent into madness or the way two of the five Crownsguard that lurk on the outskirts of the daycare are repurposed for some other task. Well. She does notice. It’s just that she doesn’t care. As long as nothing tries to enter the daycare unauthorized it’s not her problem (and if something DOES, well, she’s got about five freshly sharpened knives hidden on her person where kiddos can’t reach and adults can’t see and the long looped cord holding back her ponytail has a steel center just GREAT for strangling someone who tries something. These kids are in her care, she’s not going to just leave it up to Crownsguard to protect them if someone so much as lays a finger on them with ill intent).

The servants and the spouses of the Crownsguard, who are apparently all working overtime today for some reason, come to pick up their kids and Lucina herds everyone into neat lines for retrieval while keeping an eye out for imposter adults or strangers (it’s happened before, she ruined her favorite top putting a stop to it before a Crownsguard managed to take care of the issue). One of the maids who works on the royal levels spots Lucina’s tiny shadow (he calls himself Noct, it’s clearly short for something but Lucina thinks it’s cute) and her eyes grow to the size of plates, “That’s-!”

Lucina blinks and idly pets the boy’s hair when he hides behind her leg, “Oh, you know him? He says his dad works upstairs. I know something is going on today but can you call his dad down here? The daycare is closing in an hour.”

The woman nods dumbly, looking shocked for reasons Lucina doesn’t get and wanders off with her own child, who is the last one other than Noct to be picked up. Lucina and Noct hang out for the next ten minutes or so as the father steadily does not come by, and Lucina is hiding her worry well over what to do with Noct as the boy busily helps her clean off the table and put away the last of the toys when the doors to the daycare slam open.

Lucina puts herself in front of Noct on instinct, hands dropping to the knife sheathed in the small of her back and ready to fight before she registers.

The Shield of the King is standing in the daycare.

The King of Lucis is standing in the daycare.

“Dad!” Chirps Noct as he buzzes past her and flings himself into the arms of the monarchy who has that distinctly crazed, frazzled look that only comes from being worried sick over one’s child.

Oh.

Oh dear.

Noct’s dad “works upstairs”.

Noct. Noctis

Oh dear.

Lucina tries to discreetly lower her hands away from the (still sheathed thank goodness) knife but is pretty sure the Shield knows exactly what she was doing. The king is still busy fussing over his son, half-lecturing until Noct starts going on about “Nina” and how much fun he had with her down here.

The King looks up, “Thank you,” he rumbles, “for looking after my son. But why did you not tell anyone he was here?”

The words on her forearm, hidden under a soulmate sleeve, burn like liquid fire and her heart stops.

She thinks- she thinks she says something in return, but her mind is screaming because-

This is her soulmate.

28 years old and she has finally met her soulmate.

And it’s REGIS LUCIS CAELUM. KING OF LUCIS.

From the shocked expression on the king’s face and the way one hand suddenly clamps on his right ribcage, she’s pretty sure he just realized it too.

[stardewvalleymatchups-blog]

Most to least likely to want children. (Maybe how they'd react to their s/o bringing it up?)

Thank you for the great ask! I can’t say that any spouse wouldn’t want kids, so instead of a normal most to least I’m kind of going off a “most excited to most nervous” list. This also started to get incredibly long, but I didn’t want to split it up between bachelors and bachelorettes like I tend to do, since it was an ask. I also feel like I got off track and went from “how they’d react to their s/o bringing it up” to “how they’d react to having a kid in general” whOOPs. I really hope you’re okay with how it turned out! ^U^Most Excited / Ready- Penny - She loves kids! She’d be overjoyed if her s/o brought it up! “Kids? Oh! I’d love to have a one!” Honestly this sweetheart has probably been ready for kids on the farm for a while! One of her favorite things would be introducing their future child/children to Vincent and Jas! “Vincent, Jas, this is ______. Be careful, they’re very young…” Presumably Vincent will want to hold your child, and Jas too!- Elliot - He’d be so happy! He’d love reading to the kid, playing piano for it, teaching piano to it and so many more bonding exercises he’s already thought up! “Oh my, a child? Hmm.. Of course I would love to have one someday!” He’d get a little day-dreamy about it after his s/o mentions it the first time, what a big sweetie this guy is!- Emily - Emily is one eager beaver to have a kid around! She wont rush her sweet s/o, but if she knows her s/o is thinking about it she will certainly bring it up more often. “A kid would be nice to have, wouldn’t it?” and “It would be fun teaching them how to make clothes- Oooh I could make little hats for them!” are some things she’d say. Nervousness is not something she’d really feel on the subject, she’s just all for it!- Haley - Like her sister, Haley is eager to start a family! Unlike Emily, however, she does get a little nervous about the idea. “Do you think we’re ready for one, s/o?” She may need a confidence boost here and there, but she would adore her child or children to bits! Expect her to go crazy with baby photos.- Harvey - While Harvey is certainly excited to have kids, he’s also incredibly nervous! Like Penny, he’s been thinking about kids longer than his s/o may know, but kept it to himself he’s a worry wart over rushing his s/o! He can’t help but be so happy when his s/o brings it up!- Alex - Nervous? A little, but excitement is his dominant feeling over the subject. He’d love to have a kid that he could run around with and play sports with on the farm. He’d also love bringing the child to see their great grandparents; Evelyn would adore and spoil that child so much!- Leah - A kid to do art with? Leah would love that! However she may get pretty nervous, as she’s not sure if she and her s/o will be able to put so much time to something so big, as both of them do very time consuming work. Sacrifices would have to be made in schedules, and that may stress her out a little, but she is more than willing to do so!- Maru - Like Leah, Maru has an interest that takes up quite a lot of time, and so she’d be very nervous over having a child or children~ to look after. She’d be very surprised when her s/o brings it up, as she thought her and her s/o were on a mutual understanding about their work. But don’t take that the wrong way! Underneath the anxiety, Maru does want to have a kid or two+ with her s/o!- Sam - Oh baby! He’d have an initial rush of happiness, but then get SUPER nervous! The typical and understandable “What if I’m not a good dad/parent!?” fear. He’ll need lots of reassurance that he’ll be a great dad, and despite it all he would love having a kid. He, when the time comes, may even try to name it Sam Jr. Watch out!- Abigail - “Us, having a kid? Hmmm…” Abigail isn’t too sure how to feel. On one hand she would love to start a family, but on the other she is used to being more of a free spirit type, and is worried about what will have to change. However, the more she begins to realize that she’ll be able to teach the kid all the wonderful kinda spooky things she likes, she’ll warm up to it very quickly!- Sebastian - “Wait, what?” Surprised and anxious, Sebastian is definitely hesitant to start a family. There’s a lot this boy will think about before giving his s/o a definite answer, so be prepared for a few weeks of him not saying a word on the subject. But, he will come around, realizing how cute it would be to raise a kid. And how cute it would be to see his s/o take care of one lol.- Shane - Nervous. Nervous nervous nervous!!! This baby though proven to be a good parental figure when he gets his stuff together is terrified of having a kid! Honestly even if his s/o just said “Hey, what are your thoughts on having a kid?” it would set him off into panic mode. If his s/o is female, he’d would immediately start questioning if they’re pregnant. He really needs to be eased into it.. Like.. REALLY eased. That aside, he wouldn’t actually mind raising kids and Jas would love it too.

Most Hesitant / Nervous

Also side note - lord this is a big post - I try to leave these as open as possible for everyone to enjoy, if I somehow offended anyone with the pregnancy comment in Shane’s section; I’m very sorry!