#ma'am this is a volunteer place if people want to leave they have a right to (I like you but this was very frustrating)

[moongoddesskiana]

I want to scream about how none of this movie makes sense especially putting in with the rest of the canon universe

[raribella]

Epiphany | CL16

Summary: Based on Epiphany by Taylor Swift (if you want to listen while reading it would add a nice gloom). Charles Leclerc's girlfriend works for the Ferrari F1 Team and faces the other end of having a driver boyfriend in motorsport after he gets in a horrific crash.

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x reader

Genre: angst, fluff in the end if you squint.

Involves: A car accident, descriptions of injury, descriptions of a panic attack, crying, fainting, mentions of medical urgency and care, motorsport terms, hospital, blood.

Word count: 2,2k

This is a work of fiction. Any celebrity mentioned does not behave as written and I do not know them in real life. I am writing this story solely for my own entertainment and the marvel or comfort of any readers.

As this is placed in the Formula 1 universe, this does not refer to any real race, event or tragedy, nor do I want any incidents to happen in real life.

Her laugh echoed in his head along with the loud, piercing "beep" coming from his ears, every race y/n would knock on his helmet, asking for him to keep it safe. The team hadn't locked the Hans device to his helmet before the race, and his neck went way forward with the collision - but it wasn't the worst thing caused by it. The crimson F1-75 was slammed against the wall, the front wing was absolutely scrunched and missing some scattered pieces along the track. It was a red flag. The whole paddock went silent. His thigh was making him want to grunt in pain, but he couldn't make himself turn on his radio mic and voice what had happened, his vision was a bit blurry and he didn't want to make the injury real by saying it out loud.

Y/n felt paralyzed. Her whole body felt cold on the inside and it felt like her throat was slowly parting. She looked slowly at some engineers at the Ferrari pit wall and Binotto was already looking at her, half apologetically, half giving her permission to leave her work. Being a strategic engineer for the Ferrari team while dating their main driver felt like a dream until about a minute ago. While running rapidly in the track limits, she didn't realize what she was doing until some volunteers and the medical team stopped her, not far from the car. Her legs were now hot and her feet burning a little, she was panting, the huffs of air causing tiny vapor clouds to leave her mouth.

"Ma'am, please calm down, will you be the one accompanying him to the hospital?" Y/n listened to the question, her brain took some time to put the words together coherently, and she couldn't really answer anything right now. "I- I... I don't know, I need to see him," there it was, the ripping throat. It kind of burned. Her voice was heavy and breaking. "please."

An old lady was on his left, wearing the same red cross printed under the neon vest. She seemed a little more emphatic and put her arm around the distressed girl to take her closer. It wasn't right, what she was doing. But there was too much panic in her eyes for her to be able to proceed whithout seeing Charles.

Y/n was still a couple feet away from the car when the lady stopped her. The team was preparing to take the driver out of his seat via airlift, he had passed out. She frowned a little. Her eyes kept traveling fast through the whole scene; some people were already taking tiny pieces from the track, the medical car was stopped close by, already opened, the front wing was scrunched against the wall, and... his legs were accommodated by the front wing, there was too much of the car into the wall, what had happened? Her gaze flew over in his direction again, and, there was a vivid red by his thighs, staining the suit. Her breath started to feel and sound too fast, and that one old lady was already prompting her arms out in order to distance her again. Y/n turned to that first man from before "Si- Sir, I think he's bleeding out" Her eyes were completely wide, paralyzation hitting her again as she was basically being pushed to the side of the medical car. While the man lingered a firm gaze with her for a while, she tried to plea with a look. She couldn't cause any more fuss or delay Charles from getting the needed attention. The reality was suddenly hitting her too loudly, everyone was still there, everything was still expectantly quiet, attentive eyes, curious mouths, and a bunch of cameras filled the paddock. There was a whole Grand Prix taking place, this was her job as well, no place no scream or cry, even though she desperately needed to.

After that, everything seemed to go by in some sort of haze. Her mouth agape in a slight "o" while the driver - boyfriend - was taken out and put in a rescue board, everything happening too slowly inside her head. Y/n bit her whole lower lip in an attempt to keep tears at bay. It took a while to notice the man inside the medical car signaling with his hand for her to enter. After blinking her eyes strongly and shaking her head, in an attempt to clear both her thoughts and her vision of the whole scene going by, she went inside.

Though she was relieved she could be with Charles at that moment, by his side while he got medical attention, y/n thought she was internally falling down at the side of the man laid down, slowly breathing in and out, while a limited, few-people team was taking emergency care of him. His thigh was, indeed, bleeding, since there was a piece of the car that cut his skin in a deep flesh wound after being creased from the inside. One young lady in the car was setting some IV up but had her attention on the way y/n held Charles' hand through her safety latex gloves - med school did not ever cover being apathetic to the expression of fear in someone's face like that; the raw feeling of the woman on the other side of the car, making her reflect on how was the couple's life.

"Doc, I think he... How can we avoid more blood loss? I'm afraid he could crash out." She tried to say it calmly, in a low voice - if the woman couldn't possibly avoid for y/n to hear the team handling the trauma, she wanted to at least keep her from being startled. Y/n looked to her right, the man who was avoiding her to come closer before was in fact the doctor operating most of the damage control they could before getting to the hospital. Her eyes kept going wide, she looked from the man to the injury and avoided it turning her gaze to the door, she sniffed, hoping they could arrive soon.

Charles' situation was not bad after all, the surroundings after the crash, the dust, the unconsciousness, and the blood might have scared everyone along with the memory and the knowledge of how crashes can be dangerous in the fastest modality of motorsport. He needed a CT scan on account of the fainting, and after having his thigh cleansed and stitched, he was in a private room with his left leg up and a cervical collar, with the promise that Binotto would arrive as soon as possible after the race.

Y/n's scare, however, was barely minimized; although she had the news that all the procedures went fine and Charles himself was not further harmed, she had yet to get to see him awake. With only 20 minutes of her own body shutting down into some sleep after she was sent with him to a room, she dreamt of seeing his eyes, his smile, or even listening to his voice, though only in a bare grunt, thirsty for water - that, and only that, would give her the glimpse of relief she needed to end that day, to compensate, make sense of everything she saw, from the car starting to fail on a tiny screen to an unconscious injured boyfriend being carried around.

She was warned about the pain-meds Charles had taken before, and the scary IV was still there by his side, but still, y/n couldn't take her body away from the hospital bed, watching him closely, drawing every detail in her mind. She had decided to get away from the phone as soon as the important information was sent to those who mattered, desperately needing to get away from the drama.

Minutes after, when her chin was rested on the bed and her eyes were starting to give up on the promise of being there when he woke up, needing to surrender in rest after the agitated day, y/n felt a hand caressing her hair ever so slightly. Energy jolted back to her veins and she looked up quickly to find his semi-open eyes, that blue and green mixture barely visible yet and a weak smile forming on his lips. She giggled, reaching some sort of high before actually getting up and helping Charles to a sip of water.

"Sorry for the scare, little one" it came a little raspy, but she couldn't help letting out a huge sigh, and while her body relaxed, a natural "I love you" left her lips without any supervision. "What are you feeling?" she was worried about making him think or talk too much and had the knowledge that he needed to rest, but he was there, and she just couldn't help herself. "I'm... well, good, thinking of the circumstances, thinking a lot about what this means to the championship, though... It was an ugly crash and I got a DNF-" He stopped when seeing her expression, it seemed all involuntary, but she was frowning and lightly shaking her head "Okay, no, I'm sorry we're not gonna- we won't talk about the accident." He had fallen used to be very technical in conversations, mainly from interviews after races, but he knew y/n wasn't being technical and was probably overstressed to have witnessed the crash. He wasn't feeling all good about it himself, he got scared, but it was his job - to be there taking the high-speed risk.

"I asked Pierre to bring your favorite blanket," She said, chuckling through her nose a little. "the blankets here suck, and I thought you'd like it when you woke up..." She sighed again, it would probably not be the last time, she needed to let the fear out of her system and she was also too relieved for him to be there. "He's coming with Binotto after the race, but we'll need it back at home, so I need you to get up and going, okay?" They both smiled with the optimistic plea.

Y/n took a sip of water herself, before getting him some more. Processing the shock and the fear and the tears were no good, and now that they were subsiding, it left room for her mind to go back to the workplace and bring a little anxiety. She should be analyzing if there was something wrong with the car if it was a mistake or mainly if someone else had hit him, but she knew the team was making a good job at that. Charles reached his hand to her leg when he noticed it was bouncing. "You know, the painkillers are working fine, but having this beau in front of me is probably making it all even better." He stated in a foolish way of getting her in the moment again.

She laughed soundly. Thank God. Y/n placed both hands over his, caressing it a bit. "You're on morphine, amore. But thanks for the generous compliment. I probably look a mess..." Another sigh, they were both smiling now, exchanging glances.

They still probably had a while before everyone arrived, and Charles probably needed to sleep, but he refused to waste this moment with y/n, he refused not to show her that he was here and he was fine. He would hopefully be with her for a long time still; 3 summers was already feeling like so little when weighed out with how much they have lived together. Some would say that it took a scare in life for you to realize you need to take some things a step further, and, though he was basically on drugs right now, the ferrari driver wouldn't deny giving your future some thought.

"You scared me so bad... what would I do without you," she vented, at last getting rid of the final bad thoughts, clueless to the ones on his mind until the last bit, when they seemed to have gotten in sync. "I would not be alright, you know, I can't imagine a life without you." Charles shook any decisions off, sticking to the simple for now. "When I get out of here we're gonna do everything, we're gonna go for a walk, see the stars, and I'm gonna hold your hand... like this. We'll go to the little market you like, and buy something silly. I'll get you pain au chocolat from that little shop down there, and we could sit on the benches outside while we watch the fountain... people going by... and I'm gonna kiss you like I kissed you on our birthday."

She smiled, relaxed. At that moment y/n wanted to daydream with him for the rest of the day. "And where are you going to get the time to do all that, stronzo?" Another round of chuckles filled the room at the sound of his loud "I will!". "Yeah, but you need to rest, okay?" she offered, and he was about to insist for a while, but the girl beat him to it "I'll be right here, trust me I'll not leave your side. They would have to drag me away from your bed like in the movies." With that, and another wave of medicine effects hitting him, Charles relaxed offering her a last smile before closing his eyes again, and right there some sort of epiphany hit y/n about the essential meaning of it all. Him, being there, and the love they shared and the fun they had sharing jobs in the same universe. Just the sense of relief she needed before dozing off again, even if only for another twenty minutes, before everyone else arrived.

[elucien22904]

honestly, ic sometimes is not it.. they're placed on this pedestal and they do alot of questionable shit like yes they do care abt each other but anyone that's beyond their little circle isn't treated right. and that includes elain and boe and even eris to an extent. I feel like they can be very judgemental and toxic. they'll treat someone within their circle who's had trauma with so much care and space but if someone else outside their grp has the same trauma none of them would give a shit. biggest eg. is feyre and lucien. y'all literally fought tooth and nail to get feyre her freedom, but send lucien back to his abuser. he's been abused physically, verbally and sexually, and none of y'all gave a shit.

elain needs to get the hell outta there. ma'am pack a bag, grab your mate and leave, don't even say goodbye, trust me ur better off.

YES I AGREE BEAUTIFUL!!!! i think that it’s actually pretty realistic how the ic can be hypocritical n contradict the statements they make. to build off what u said above, how they pride feyre n mor for being strong enough to leave their abusers but then send lucien right back to his bc it helps them sleep at night. don’t get me wrong, i love feyre n the ic… but they’re not perfect n i have my moments (literally all of acofas) where i can’t stand them. i just saw a post by @darklove9314-blog w additions by @whereisvaughan that reminded me of even more of their hypocrisy especially when it comes to armen. like in what world would using one sister to manipulate another is okay?? n then saying “well sometimes you need to do bad things for the greater good 🥺” like shut up elain literally volunteered n y’all (azriel) shut her down.

they also have no problems using eluciens mating bond against them.

“perhaps lucien being elains mate would help-somehow. i’d find a way.” -pg.621 acowar

like i love rhys but after he said that i wanted to punch him. like u value ur mating bond sm but literally moments after lucien n elain see each other for the first time ur already plotting how to manipulate elain against lucien?? u n i r speaking the same language- elain needs to leave. i hate when ppl say that “sjm isn’t just gonna uproot her from the night court she loves the night court!!!” that may be right- but feyre thought she was going to spend her life in spring n it took her like two months to leave. (also ppl act like sjm cant make major changes to her plot….. have y’all read throne of glass it took like two paragraphs to change celaena to aelin)

this got a lil long lol but to sum it up- there’s no way elain can stay in the night court while living her life in a healthy way. i like to make jokes abt it but it’s not good that she just genuinely doesn’t do anything, n it’s even worse when the people around her only value her when they need someone else to do their bidding. they don’t see her as an individual they see her as a means to an end. the ic isn’t her family n i don’t even think she’s good friends w any of them. you can still love ppl n live far away. her leaving doesn’t have to be the result of an awful falling out…. she can just realize that she needs a little distance to grow n live her own life (w lucien) happily.

[kpop-cakepops]

Hii, I hope you are doing great!

First I wanted to say that I love all of your works, I'm so in love with the damaged and snuggle donation series! You melted my heart with those😭

Well, I was wondering if I can ask for a similar concept but with johnny or junhui, pure fluff to melt my heart

Thank you and have a nice week ❤

Hi! Since I've never written about Jun before, I'm gonna go for it this time! Thank you for requesting and hope you enjoy ♡ (ALSO I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER BUT IT WAS DELETED AND THEN I WAS ALL UPSET THAT I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE WILL TO RE-WRITE IT UNTIL TODAY)

Warnings: none

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 2,229

On The Dancefloor// Moon Junhui X Fem!Reader

"... and over there we keep the towels because, you know, we're some sweaty boys " Vernon, your younger best friend, told you as you stepped inside the dance practice room.

You had never been there before. Being a science major yourself, you didn't exactly have a reason to, but Vernon had been asking you to drop by since the start of the semester. Especially since you'd be graduating soon.

"Well... that is very nice, Vernon." You mentioned as you looked around the place trying to hold in a grimace at the mention of sweat.

Loud laughs interrupted from behind you two as two young guys entered the room. "Oh! You guys came!"

"Vernonie!" One of them, the one that had been loudly laughing pounced on the younger boy and ruffled his hair. "We had no idea you'd be here."

"Oh, I promised Y/N a tour of the performing arts facility" he grinned. You waved your hand out at them in shy greeting. "Y/N, this is Soonyoung, Soonyoung this is Y/N, and that's Junhui, Junhui this is Y/N, she's my best friend."

"Nice to meet you! Any friend of Vernon's is our friend, am I right, Jun?"

Junhui quietly nodded, his big catlike eyes avoiding Y/N's curious ones. "I'll have to agree with that... you guys also dancers?"

"They're my seniors. They graduated last year, Soonyoung was our club's president and Junhui was one of the officers..."

Your gaze dropped upon the taller man and suddenly the thought of sweaty dancers didn't seem to appear as disgusting as it had just moments before. "You guys still dance?"

The question was meant to be aimed at the two men but your eyes seemed to be trained on Junhui alone. His face flushed as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Yeah, I volunteer as a dance instructor on the weekends at an arts center for kids of low income" the tall man replied making your heart nearly burst with admiration. A part of you was convinced he was an angel.

"I run a dance academy, but I don't think you care too much about that" added Soonyoung with a little smirk. His mischievous eyes bouncing between Jun and yourself.

"Oh, that's really cool. What do you do during the week?" you asked curiously.

"He helps run his-"

"I HAVE A REGULAR OFFICE JOB" Jun cut his friend off loudly your brows jumping in confusion. "I um, I just, have a regular office job, at a regular office place."

"That's cool. Have you two had dinner yet?" you asked.

"I did, but Jun hasn't. Weren't you saying you were really hungry Jun?" Soonyoung nudged his friend with his elbow and wiggled his brows.

"I- yeah, but you said you'd come with me-"

"I actually just remembered I have to drop something off with Dino, you know, since he's starting his run as the club's president next semester, now that Minghao is graduating... anyways, don't worry about me and Vernon. I drove here, so I can get the both of us back home safely." Soonyoung quickly grabbed the clueless Vernon and started to walk him out of the room, leaving both you and Jun alone and awkwardly standing in the silent studio.

"What... just happened?" You asked.

Jun was internally freaking out. Soonyoung, better than anyone, knew how socially awkward he could get around people he didn't know, BUT LEAVING HIM ALONE WITH A GIRL?! A PRETTY ONE AT THAT?!

"Welcome to Top 10 anime betrayals" he blurted in a daze.

"Huh?"

Junhui snapped out of it and looked over at you. "Huh?"

You wanted to laugh, but the anguish in Jun's face seemed pretty real. "So, do you feel comfortable having dinner with me or would you rather just go off by yourself? I'm absolutely fine either way" You assured not wanting him to feel pressured into doing something he wasn't comfortable with.

Jun stared at you as he weighed down his options. He could go to dinner with you, oh so pretty you, and fight through his awkwardness. Or he could go eat alone and look like a sad, friendless idiot... which he wasn't because he had friends... but everyone watching him wouldn't know that. "Uh, we can go have dinner together," he said softly.

"Are you sure?" You asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I just don't know what I want to eat" he admitted.

"I know a place if you're up for it."

The man nodded shyly and stuck his hands deep in his pockets. "Okay... my car's out front, come on"

The car wasn't exactly what you'd expected from a simple office worker that volunteered at a dance center for kids. Did you expect a Honda at best? Yes. But an expensive, brand new Audi? NO. "I'm scared of even stepping foot in this thing. Oh my god... is it yours?"

Jun's face was flushed as he became flustered. "Yeah" that's all he was willing to offer at the moment. The last thing he wanted to talk about was how rich his family was and how he was running the Korean branch of his father's Chinese company. That would only serve to either push you far far away or have you chasing him down for his money.

"Damn... well that's pretty cool." You told him as you fixed your seatbelt on. "I guess I'll show you the way to my friend's restaurant. I promise he's a really good cook."

He was also a very nosy cook because the moment you stepped into the small restaurant, Mingyu's eyes were wide and on the tall man that walked in with you. Jun was oblivious as he took in the small place, almost as if he had never seen such a place.

"Welcome!" The small part-timer he had hired greeted, but your friend was quick to snatch the menus from her hands and walked over to you and Jun.

"Hi there, table for two? I'll have you seated" he greeted politely making you snort as he really only had 3 tables in total and one was already being occupied by another couple.

"Oh, thank you. You have great service" Jun complimented making you want to squish his cheeks.

"We're often told that! Chaeyoung, bring in some dumplings for the couple, it's on the house!" Mingyu called out. The tiny girl huffing something under her breath as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"I thought this was your friend's restaurant," Jun said.

"It is, this is my friend Mingyu. He just likes to pretend he doesn't know me sometimes" you clarified.

"I have no idea what she's talking about. I'm not her friend, matter of fact, she has no guy friends, so if you want to shoot your shot as the cool kids like to say, you're totally free to do so" he said.

Jun cleared his throat and you swore if he wasn't there you would have kicked Mingyu's ass in a heartbeat. "Where is your restroom?" Asked Jun.

God bless his soul.

Mingyu showed him there before coming back over to the table with a loud smirk. "You, where the hell did you get THAT man? He's wearing Armani slacks, Y/N!"

"First of all shut up you're embarrassing me, and second of all, he's Vernon's friend so don't even try to mess this up between us. I just want to be his friend." You said as you stuffed a dumpling in your mouth.

"Yeah and I'm the queen of England. I am not blind, ma'am, I saw the sexual tension between you two-"

"Are you sure that wasn't the raging social anxiety between us?" You questioned with a little eye roll. Mingyu loved to think he was some sort of love expert when his love life was deader than the dead sea.

Mingyu grabbed the plate of dumplings and moved it out of your reach, "I said drop the act"

"Okay so he's cute and I wouldn't mind him breaking my back on the dancefloor... but I don't think he's interested in a boring biology major like me." You snatched the plate away from Mingyu again. "Plus. I'm pretty sure I've seen him on the news. He's like rich RICH, so he's probably got an arranged marriage going or something"

Jun was listening. He had been standing behind the wall listening into the conversation and couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that you knew who he was.

"You watch too much TV. Plus, isn't it a good thing that he's rich? Secure that bag!" Mingyu patted you on the shoulder.

"Do I look like a gold digger to you?" You asked. "Do you actually want to get your ass kicked? Jun's a nice guy... Vernon wouldn't be friends with him if he wasn't, so I'm just looking to be his friend"

"For now?" He asked.

"Kim Mingyu..." your tone was direct and your eyes alone told him it was time to drop the conversation.

Unbeknownst to you, Junhui was still standing behind the wall of the hallway that led to the bathroom. He was torn on what to make of the conversation. He wasn't sure if he liked Mingyu, but there was probably a reason both you and Vernon kept him around, right? Then there was that whole other issue... you knew who he was but for some reason, you weren't running away but neither were you chasing after him for his money. It made his heart flutter a bit, and yes, he was aware that the bar was set very low. After a few deep breaths, he stepped back out, causing Mingyu to jump out of his seat and smile at Junhui with a knowing smile.

"I'll go ahead and bring you today's special. Excuse me"

You watched as your crazy friend walked back into the kitchen, you could see Chaeyoung snapping at him for leaving her to do the work alone. She sometimes made you wonder who was the boss among the two of them.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Asked Junhui as he looked at the drinks the small part-timer had brought over.

"Just stuff" you smiled. "He's an idiot, but he's a good guy, I guess."

"Are you guys close?"

You nodded in response, "we met through Vernon. They used to be under the same modeling agency as kids."

"Ah, no wonder he's so handsome." He mumbled looking over at the man at the counter. Jun couldn't help but compare himself to him.

"Don't worry, you have a nicer nose than him" you joked and leaned back on your chair, your hair dropping back, leaving your new friend to admire you.

She still hasn't asked.

"I think it's funny" he finally built up the courage to say. "That you know who I am but haven't asked about it yet"

His words came to you as a surprise but you shrugged your shoulders, "It's only my business if you want it to be. You seemed to not want to talk about it earlier, so why should I put you in a tough spot?"

"Are you always this nice?" He asked with a little smile.

"Only around people that I like" you grinned in response. Your lips pursing around your straw.

It seemed that Jun was now hyper-aware of every movement you were making. From the way your eyes impatiently dropped on Mingyu, urging him to hurry with your food, to the way you tapped your fingernails on the tabletop.

"My parents aren't arranging a marriage for me" he broke the silence suddenly.

The news making you choke on your drink. "Sorry?"

Crap. He hadn't meant to say that out loud, it was a habit Jun had been working on ridding himself of. "I- I mean-"

Your ear burned in embarrassment and you dropped your gaze, "please tell me you didn't hear all that?!"

"I didn't mean to-"

"Oh my god, Junhui, I'm so sorry! I promise you we weren't gossiping about you-" you were cut off by Mingyu placing your food down on the table.

"Yeah, we were." He stated nonchalantly. "She also thinks you're good-looking and would really love for you to, and I quote, 'break her back on the dancefloor' just in case you missed it."

"Kim ming-"

The bell of the front door jingled giving your friend the perfect excuse to leave you both alone again. "Welcome!" And he was gone.

"Oh my god, I swear I just-" you didn't even know what to say. All you could do was wish that all of it were a nightmare and that you'd jostle awake any second.

"I mean, I won't break your back, but I could teach you some dancing if you want" Junhui, who was just as embarrassed as you were, was avoiding your eyes entirely as he spoke.

"What?" You squeaked.

"At the center with the kids, this Saturday. I can pick you up" he managed to speak the full sentence without choking.

You couldn't believe that was how you scored your very first date with the Wen Junhui. Over hotpot at your idiot friend's tiny restaurant. IN THE MOST EMBARRASSING WAY POSSIBLE.

"By the way... I think smart girls that like biology are cute" there he went again, blurting the first thing that came to his mind.

I really need to stop doing that.

[slytherinbarnes]

Sub Rosa [57]

xii. the chosen

Pairing: Bellamy Blake x reader

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: violence, hitting people with vehicles, fighting, death, coughing up blood, language.

Summary: with praimfaya less than 24 hours away, the countdown is officially on. in the meantime, a rescue team is assembled to retrieve one of youw own, and things don’t go according to plan.

a/n: BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE WILL BE FINISHING SEASON 4 ON MONDAY AHHHHHH!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT I AM SO EXCITED BUT SO NERVOUS TO SHARE THE NEXT FEW SEASONS!!! the taglist for this series is open! I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think!!!

previous chapter // season masterlist // series masterlist

March 30th, 2150; the Second Dawn Bunker; 24 hours until Praimfaya

Ultimately, the decision on how to get the Arkadians out of the bunker is made. 

Since nearly all of your people are sleeping, everyone agrees that it’s best to use some of the warriors from the Grounder clans to gather everyone in the atrium. Then the Grounders will close the doors and lock Skaikru out of the bunker until the 100 survivors are chosen.

Of course, the process doesn't go as smoothly as you’d all hoped. 

Instead, over 400 people are dragged from their beds, confused, and forced into the hallways, creating a thick stampede of people being funneled into the atrium. You, Bellamy, Clarke, and Jaha watch the chaos, as your mother and Kane stay inside the office, talking to Raven on the radio. It’s a tight squeeze getting everyone inside of the space, but eventually it’s done, and the Grounders close the doors behind them. This creates a collective cry of dissent, and throughout the crowd you can hear people yelling and questioning what’s happening. 

Jaha is still visibly upset, and he turns to you and Bellamy, trying to make you both feel guilty. “Three out of four of these people are going to die tonight. You still think you made the right choice?”

“Yes. Regardless of what you think, this isn't just about our people, Jaha, it’s about the survival of the human race. You and Clarke say that’s what you care about, but your actions tell me otherwise.” You find no joy or comfort in being responsible for the deaths in this room, but that doesn't matter. All 13 clans agreed to hold a Final Conclave for the bunker, winner takes all. Except when Octavia won, she chose to share the bunker. As the victor, you all have to honor her wishes. Besides, when this all began, Clarke wanted to save everyone, not just Skaikru. She may have lost sight of that, but you haven't. This may not save every person from every clan, but it gives the remaining 12 clans the chance to survive the death wave, and maybe your role in enforcing this decision will ease the death you have brought into the Grounder’s lives.

Bellamy nods towards the door to the office, and you follow him inside, Jaha and Clarke behind you. You and Bellamy come to a stop on the other side of the desk from your mom and Kane, and Clarke lingers near the door, aware that you want your space from her. Jaha steps into the room, getting close to the other adults, turning his sights on Kane. “Our people are scared, Marcus. We need to tell them something.”

“We just spoke with Raven. When she gets here, we'll have all our essential personnel.”

Clarke speaks up from her place near the door. “How many spots does that leave us with?”

“Including the essential personnel and the places that we're holding for the children under 16,” your mom pauses, looking between all of you, conveying the gravity of the situation. “That leaves us with 80.”

Jaha looks between all of you in disbelief. “I can't believe we're talking about sending 364 of our own people to their deaths.” 

Kane levels a look at the former Chancellor. “Look, I don't like it any more than you do.”

“Then let's fight this.”

“No. Any sort of resistance will cost us all our lives. Our best course of action is to hold a lottery for the remaining spots.”

Jaha shakes his head. “It's not going to work, Marcus.”

“It was your idea.”

“That was for the chance to survive.”

Your mom turns to Jaha, giving him a confused look. “And how is this any different?”

“Until 20 minutes ago, our people believed they were safe. They let down their guard, they picked their bunks, they unpacked their bags, they imagined their futures. You try to rip that from them now, and, believe me, they will fight.”

You turn on him, growing angrier with each passing second. “And whose fault is that, Jaha? Oh, that's right, it’s yours.”

Bellamy puts a comforting hand on your arm, and you turn to look at him. He gives you a small shake of his head, letting you know it’s not worth it to waste time arguing with Jaha, and you sigh. When he’s sure you’re letting it go, he turns to Kane and your mom. “Someone still needs to get Raven, I'd like to volunteer.”

You nod your head, “Me too.”

From behind you, Clarke reminds you of her presence for the first time in a few minutes. “And I'll join the two of you.”

As soon as your mom sees that both of you want to go, she shakes her head. “No. Someone else can go with him.”

You roll your eyes, not believing in the vision she’s so convinced is going to come true. “Mom, Raven needs our help and I know the way to the island. I’m going.”

Clarke’s agreement is quieter, her voice sounding slightly broken. “I need to do this.”

Kane steps closer to you and Bellamy, but his gaze bounces between all three of you. “Well, you be safe. There'll be a place for all three of you when you get back.”

You nod, and start to walk away, as your mom calls after you, “I'll meet you in the airlock.”

All three of you head to the airlock, stopping beside the wall of suits, looking for which one will fit you the best. Clarke keeps to herself, and once her suit is chosen, she goes to pull it on in the corner, leaving you and Bellamy to pull on your suits on the other side of the room. When your mom walks in, your pack is in her hand, and she passes it to you. You peek inside, most of your belongings now emptied out, only a few small items stuck inside. “That’s all we can spare you for your trip. The radiation levels will be too high when you get back, so you’ll have to leave your pack outside when you return.”

You nod and she hands you your knife and thigh strap, taken from you when they locked you up the day before. “The only weapon we can spare too.”

“Thank you.”

You start to pull the strap of the knife to the outside of your suit and she nods. She passes you and Bellamy watches with a countdown on them, along with the radiation levels, before she then walks over to Clarke. As you pull the countdown on and secure it to your wrist, she explains to all three of you. “At these radiation levels, any amount of exposure is harmful. Keep the suit sealed at all times. You have 23 hours until the death wave hits. On a good day, it takes 10 hours to get to the island and 10 hours to get back. That doesn't leave you much room for error.”

Clarke nods, “Mom, we know, okay? We'll be careful.”

She motions for you to walk over to her, and you do, coming to stand beside your twin. She lifts a hand to each of your faces and whispers, “I love you, my stars and my moon. Don't ever forget that.”

“This isn't goodbye. Mom, I know what you saw in that vision, but we’re Nightbloods now.”

She seems unconvinced, but she doesn't press any further, she just pulls each of you into a hug and whispers, “Take care of each other.”

You nod, and she turns to look at Bellamy. “Take care of my girls.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Behind you, the door opens, and Murphy and Emori step inside, looking at your gathered group. “You got room for two more?”

Bellamy is clearly still angry at Murphy for not releasing the two of you when you were locked up because he snaps, “Murphy, what are you doing here?”

“We heard you were going after Raven, we just want to help.”

Emori adds, “I've been to that island dozens of times. No one knows the water better than me.”

You walk over to Bellamy, nodding at him, letting him know you should take her. You’re confident that between you and Clarke you can get back to Becca’s Island with no problems, but it doesn't hurt to have Emori’s guidance as well. He sighs and then nods, relenting. 

“Maybe it'll help our chances if we bring home the chosen ones.” 

Your mom looks at him, answering his quip with the reality of the situation. “There's a lottery. I'll make sure that your name is in it.”

“And Emori?”

“I'll do the best I can.” Your mom hugs Clarke one last time, then hugs you, before she turns and leaves the room. You help get Murphy and Emori suited up, and once you’re all ready, you grab your pack and follow Bellamy out of the bunker, your small group in tow. Once on the surface, Clarke nods towards the tunnel entrance. “This way.”

Clarke takes the lead and Emori follows her first, Murphy right behind her. Bellamy grabs his arm as he tries to walk off and pulls him to a stop. “What are you really up to, Murphy?”

“You killed us when you opened that door. You know that, right? Did you think our people are gonna waste a spot on Emori, on me? We were safe, and you screwed us. You want to know what we're up to? It's called surviving. There's a bunker on that island, you're our ride. That's it.”

You shake your head, “That bunker's not stocked, Murphy. You won't last 5 months, let alone 5 years in there.” 

“No, we probably won't. At least we'll survive the death wave.” He starts to step away, and then turns to look back at the two of you. “We can't all be essential personnel, or have a sister who's queen of the Grounders.”

He stalks off, following the rest of your group, and you and Belllamy exchange a look. You can see the guilt weighing on him, the deaths of all those that will be cast out weighing on his conscience. You reach out and squeeze his hand the best you can with the thick gloves, giving him a small smile. “We did the right thing, Bellamy. It might not feel like it, but we did.”

He nods, and then starts to follow the others. “C’mon. We don't want to get left behind.”

-

When you reach the large truck that once held hydrazine intended for a space mission, Emori and Murphy jump into the back and get themselves comfortable. You, Bellamy, and Clarke sit in the front, with Bellamy behind the wheel, you in the middle, and Clarke in the passenger seat. The sky outside is more golden than usual, looking more like sunset than the middle of the day, and that’s what you focus on as Bellamy drives you towards the island. You try to keep your mind off the awkward tension in the vehicle, and the anger that you feel for Clarke, but eventually, it’s all you can think about. You turn towards her, deciding to take a page from Bellamy’s book, and question her motives. “Why did you come on this mission, Clarke?”

“Raven's my friend.”

You snort, “Yesterday, you were fine leaving your friend out to die, Octavia and Kane too.”

Her jaw clenches and she turns towards you, glaring. “I wasn't fine with it, and you know that. I never meant to hurt you.”

“Aiming a gun at me and the love of my life is a strange way of showing it.”

“I didn't pull the trigger.”

You let out a short laugh, not quite sure what she’s trying to imply. “Is that supposed to make it okay?”

“Nothing is okay. Whatever choice I make, somebody always dies.”

You can hear the guilt in her voice, and you know that she means it. And though you’re still annoyed at her, you can't help but offer comfort to your twin, your other half. “Well, not shooting us, that was the right choice.”

She turns to look at you, hearing the lighter tone in your voice, catching onto your dissipating anger. She smiles at you, and you feel Bellamy turn towards the two of you, watching the exchange, before you see movement out of the corner of your eye. You look back towards the windshield, out in front of the vehicle, and see a man jumping into your path, and you yell, “Look out!”

Bellamy turns the wheel and tries to avoid him, but the vehicle hits him anyways, before sliding along on the snowy road, out of control. Bellamy yells, “Hold on!”

He tries to hit the brakes to slow you down, and it helps a little to decrease your momentum before the vehicle crashes into a tree, lurching all of you forwards. All three of you are panting, nerves running high, and Bellamy turns to you, completely worried. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

He glances over your shoulder. “Clarke?”

“I’m okay.”

You look out the front, staring at the blood splattered on the hood and windshield, and you feel a wave of nausea. “He just jumped right out in front of us. It's like he wanted to die.”

Bellamy squeezes your hand, and starts to reach for the door handle. “Stay here. I'm gonna check the damage.”

He gets the door open and as soon as he does, he is yanked out of the truck and pulled to the ground. “Bellamy!” 

You have a flash of a memory, stuck in a rover in Azgeda territory, looking for Clarke, and you can only hope this Grounder is alone. But a second later you confirm that he isn't, because a second Grounder runs at Clarke’s door, and both of you scramble towards the open one, trying to get out and get away. You can hear Murphy yelling as your feet hit the snow, and you know this must be a small group attacking you for whatever reason. 

The man that pulled Bellamy out is pinning him down, and your boyfriend struggles against him, unable to fight as well in the clunky radiation suit. You run at him and knock him off Bellamy, both of you flying to the ground, and rolling away. You hear Clarke yell and then a thud, and you know someone’s got her. You turn and scramble to your feet and see that there are at least 6 Grounders surrounding you, fighting everyone in your group. They manage to pull Murphy and Emori from the back and they’re struggling nearby, but you don't have time to help them because the man that you knocked off Bellamy is now running towards you. 

He swings a punch at you as he approaches and you dodge it before punching back, the impact softened by your gloves. He’s able to recover from the blow much faster than usual. The man grabs you and pushes you backwards into a tree, and you feel your feet lift off the ground as he tries to choke you. You panic, your feet flailing, and the man drops you when he’s suddenly knocked away by Bellamy. You don't have time to thank him because two more men are now approaching the two of you and you yell out, “Bellamy!”

He turns just in time as one of the men reaches him, and you start to fight the other, your punches and kicks feeling clunkier than normal. The man you’re fighting manages to get you on the ground and starts to choke you, this one more successful than the other man’s attempts, and nearby you hear Emori scream, “They want our suits!”

You feel the air stutter in your throat, and panic sets in again, not wanting to die from radiation exposure or choking. You fumble around for a weapon, until you remember the knife strapped to the outside of your thigh, forgotten in the initial chaos of the fight. It’s harder to grab with your thick gloves, but you manage to get a good grip on it as you pull it out from your holster and plunge it into his neck. You pull the knife out just as fast, and the man falls to the side, holding his neck, and you scramble to your feet again. You see an arrow whiz past you, and you think it’s about to hit you, but instead it lands in someone behind you. You turn and see another Grounder, inches from you, now falling to the ground, dead. You run over to Bellamy, pulling the man he’s fighting away, before stabbing the Grounder twice in the chest, killing him. Bellamy doubles over, trying to catch his breath, and you turn around again, looking for others to kill. Instead, they are all dead, arrows sticking out of their backs, no longer a threat to you and your group. Clarke runs over to you and Bellamy, checking you over, and you mutter, “We’re okay.”

She nods and you shove your knife back in its holster as you all turn to look at your savior, watching in shock as they lower their bow and tug down the scarf covering their face. As soon as you see the Ice Nation spy, you feel a flare of anger, and you ask, “Echo, what are you doing here?”

“I know about your bunker on the island. I just saved your lives, I'm hoping you will return the favor.”

You turn to look at Bellamy, both of you shaking your head, not wanting to save her, but she’s right. She did just save all of your lives, whether you like it or not. Bellamy turns to look at the truck, wrecked beyond repair. “Unless we can get another ride, no one's making it to that island.”

You all think for a minute, trying to figure out your plans, when an idea hits you. “Monty. We left the rover at Arkadia.”

Bellamy nods, “You’re right. I’ll try to radio him.”

He jumps into the truck and grabs his radio, and you turn to look at Echo again, now seeing the patches of red that are starting to appear on her cheeks. You move closer to her, reaching up to tip back her hood, and she backs away. You give her a scolding look. “If I was going to kill you, I would have done it already.”

She grows still and you reach up again, pushing her hood back to reveal more of her face, small patches of radiation exposure darkening her porcelain skin. You turn back to Clarke. “She’s already getting  sick.”

“We have an extra suit in the back. I’ll go get it.”

When she returns with the suit, you and Clarke help her to get into it, securing it and making sure it’s put on correctly to keep her from getting any worse. You say as much as you help her pull the helmet on. “This suit will prevent you from getting worse. It's the best we can do right now.”

She nods, fidgeting in it, and Clarke adds, “You'll get used to it.”

Once she’s suited up, you nod at her, now realizing that you just helped to further save someone who has tried to kill you and the people you love multiple times. But maybe stuff like that doesn't matter at the end of the world, especially when you’re now stuck in the woods, too far from both Polis and the Island to walk and make it to safety. 

You go over to the door of the truck and stand with Bellamy as he calls Monty on the walkie talkie, sending out a message for help every few minutes. He calls for hours, the sun slowly setting in the sky and leaving all of you in darkness, guided by nothing other than the lights in the helmets of your suits. Finally, just as you’re starting to give up hope, Monty’s voice comes through the radio. “Bellamy, come in. Do you read me?”

“Yes, Monty, I read you. Where are you?”

You all gather around in a small circle, listening in on the radio call as Monty answers, “Two clicks outside Polis. Almost there.”

You all sigh, knowing that anything you ask at this point will put Monty at risk too. Monty must sense that something is wrong because he comes back on the radio. “Everything okay?”

Bellamy looks at you, silently asking if you should endanger him too, and you think on it for a second. Six of you abandoned in the woods, Raven still stuck on the Island, nuclear death wave on its way in less than 24 hours. And maybe it’s wrong to endanger Monty to save you, but maybe there are no other choices to be made. You nod and he lifts the radio. “Not exactly. Look Monty, I hate to ask you this, but we broke down on the way to the island to get Raven. We need you to come reel us in.”

Monty’s reaction is delayed, leaving all of you sitting on pins and needles, anxious for his answer. “We're on our way. Tell us exactly where you are.”

Bellamy lifts the radio to answer, but pauses when Emori starts violently coughing, forcing all of you to look her way. When you do, you catch the tinge of red inside her helmet, and you run over to her just as Murphy rushes to her side. You look her over, eyes falling on a red patch on her cheek, similar to the ones covering Echo’s face, and you look over at Clarke, who is walking your way. “She’s been exposed.”

Murphy starts to panic, looking between you and his girlfriend. “How's that possible? She's wearing a suit!”

You check her over, trying to find a point of exposure, your heart dropping when you see a tear in the fabric near her helmet. “The seal of her helmet's torn.”

Emori turns to look at you in a panic. “Can you fix it?”

You turn to your twin, “Clarke, go get my pack! Mom might have included something to help.”

She nods and turns to the back of the truck, grabbing your pack and digging through it frantically as she walks back towards you. “There’s nothing here! Just a first aid kit, but no tape or anything to help!”

“Shit.”

Murphy snaps, “We give her the extra suit, then.”

“We don't have another suit.” 

“Yes, we do!” Murphy yells the words at Bellamy, not happy with his answer, before he turns his sights on Echo. “Take it off now.”

She glares at him, “I saved your life.”

“What were you gonna do if we didn't get attacked, huh? I mean, you guys seriously think she was following us out of the kindness of her own heart? No. She was gonna attack us the second that we stopped.” He dives at Echo, ready to attack and tear the suit off her the same way the Grounders tried to do to all of you. “Give me the suit!”

Bellamy jumps in between them, defending Echo, and Clarke yells, “You cut that suit, and it saves no one.”

He turns to look at Clarke, then at Emori, who is starting to look worse with every passing second. “I'm not letting her die.”

You think of Murphy’s panic over Emori’s near death experience in the lab, the fear that he would lose the only family he has left. Your promise to him then was that you wouldn't let them kill her, and you kept that promise by injecting yourself with Nightblood instead. You make the decision before you even realize there’s a decision to be made, and you tug off your helmet, telling him, “Neither am I.”

Bellamy runs towards you, now looking just as panicked as Murphy did, trying to push the helmet back onto your head. “What are you doing? Put your helmet on!”

“I’m making the tough decisions, Bell. I have Nightblood.”

“Untested Nightblood!” He pushes your helmet back towards you, completely uncaring that this could save Emori, unwilling to risk your life to do it.

“We're testing it now.” 

He gives you an exasperated look and turns to Clarke, looking to her for support. She starts to say something, but you shake your head. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Her mouth snaps shut, and Bellamy sighs, watching you closely. You turn to Murphy. “Take off her helmet.”

Murphy pulls off Emori’s helmet and switches it with yours as fast as he can, securing it on her head, keeping her safe again. They both turn to look at you, thankful, and you nod at them. The cool night air feels good on your face, cooling you down from the humidity inside your helmet, and though it’s possibly killing you slowly, you’re not sure how much you care. Bellamy is still staring at you in shock, unsure what to say, when Monty calls over the radio again. “Bellamy, you there? Come in.”

“Yeah, we're here. Head northeast from Polis, and, Monty,” He looks your way, watching your body pull in the poisonous air, worry etching deeper into the lines of his face. “Drive fast.”

As soon as Bellamy puts the radio down he ushers you over to the truck, muttering something about getting you inside and away from the radiation filled air the best he can. You don't bother to argue, knowing it won't help. You just allow him to usher you inside the vehicle and guide you into the driver's seat. There you sit, for hours, waiting for Monty’s arrival, the timer on your wrists counting down minute by minute, hour by hour, until eventually, there’s not enough time to make it to the Island and back. Clarke walks over to where you and Bellamy are when that happens, lifting her wrist, showing off the less than 12 hours that remain. “We have to talk about it.”

Bellamy looks back at you, and then over to her. “We missed the window, continue on to the island, we won't make it back.”

You nod towards Murphy and Emori, sitting together in the snow. “What about them? Do we just save ourselves? Because if we go back to Polis, there likely isn't a spot for them in that bunker.”

Clarke turns to look at you, watching you carefully, looking for any signs of radiation poisoning. Bellamy does the same, his worry still present, and Clarke glances over at him. “If Nightblood works, we need to get her to Polis. Them, too. We pull in as many people as we can before the death wave hits. If our mom can make us all Nightbloods, we only need to stay down there until it passes. We can still save everyone.”

You deadpan, “Just not Raven.”

The conversation ends when the rover pulls up, finally arriving to take you to your next destination. Monty and Harper jump out, and you wait to see Jasper, hoping that he changed his mind too. But he never appears, and you don't get the chance to contemplate what that means, because Monty makes a beeline for you, Bellamy, and Clarke. “We got here as fast as we could.”

It takes a second for him to register the lack of helmet on your head, but as soon as he does, he’s reaching out for you, trying to pull you to the rover. “You're exposed. Come on, let's get you into the rover.”

You wave him off, “No, Monty. I'm fine.”

Harper turns back towards the rover and yells, “I'll grab the extra helmet.”

You watch her leave, and Murphy suddenly walks past, half carrying, half guiding Emori to the back of the rover. “Guys, come on. Planet ain't getting any less irradiated.”

Echo starts to stumble past, following the couple, and Bellamy reaches out for her, catching her as she nearly falls. You feel a tinge of jealousy as she wraps her arm around him, but the moment is interrupted by Harper running back towards you. “The helmets don't match, I brought the whole suit.”

Monty takes the case from her hands, and nods over to Echo. “I got this, help the others into the Rover.”

You’re thankful for him breaking apart Echo and Bellamy, as irrational as it is, and you open your mouth to say something to him, surprised when a cough pulls to the surface instead. You cough hard, eyes widening in alarm when you feel liquid move up your throat, and you cough and spit into the snow, looking at the black liquid staining the bright landscape. You look up at Bellamy in alarm, and you see him panic a little, reaching out towards you. Clarke appears on your other side, grabbing your hand in comfort, and Monty holds the suit out towards you. “You need to put on the suit. It was for Jasper, at least now it'll do some good. Jasper would want you to. If we're still gonna make it to the island, we better-”

Bellamy cuts him off, “We're not going to the island.”

You turn to look at him, already making the decision in your head. “Yes, we are.”

He turns to look at you, surprised, ready to argue. “Natshana…”

“Nightblood doesn't work.”

His worry deepens, and he looks at you like he’s ready to convince you, and himself, of something. “We don't know that yet. Luna got sick before she got better.”

You shake your head, “Even if you're right, they won't let us all into the bunker if I'm still sick. It took days for Luna's resistance to kick in, and by that time, the death wave will already be here, and all our friends will be dead. Are you okay with that?”

His expression softens, “You know I'm not. But, unless I am missing something, there is no other way for all of us to survive.”

Clarke, always one step ahead of the rest of you, asks, “What if there is?”

You all turn to look at her, not understanding. “What are you talking about?”

“Space.”

As soon as she says it, you’re all in agreement, and you take off towards the rover, jumping inside, the time crunch ever present. You explain the plan to the others along the way, and they seem more than okay with it, given the unlikely fact any of them would be allowed in the bunker. 

It doesn't take long before you reach the boat, and ride it over to the island, struggling slightly from the clunky suits. As promised, Emori leads all of you through the woods, in the dark, straight to the lab without any problems, any hesitations, any missteps. You all file inside, one by one, stopping on the platform at the top of the stairs, looking down at a solitary figure in the middle of the lab. Her back is to you, staring at the Praimfaya countdown on the large screens in front of her. When she hears movement behind her, she turns around, looking up at all of you in shock. 

You all pull your helmets off in unison, looking down at Raven, as she shakes her head and starts to question, “What are you doing here?”

You smile at her, “We're not leaving you behind.”

Bellamy leads the way down the stairs, with you right behind him, followed by Clarke, then the others. When he reaches the bottom, he hugs her, but she barely hugs him back, still in shock. He steps away, and you hug her next, stepping back as she asks, “But there's no time to get back.”

You smirk at her, “We're not going back.” 

She looks at you, still confused, and Clarke finishes for you. “We're going up.”

Her confusion turns to shock, and Murphy jokes, “Oh, don't look so surprised. It was all your crazy idea to begin with.” 

“Space?” The rest of your group makes it down the stairs, spreading out slightly as she looks between all of you. “Uh, we don't have enough fuel to get down.”

Harper shrugs, “Sounds like a 5 year problem to me.” 

“You're talking about the ring.”

Bellamy glances over at the rocket, before turning back to your genius friend. “Seems like a shame to let a good rocket go to waste.”

“How do we live?”

Clarke, already prepared for the question, launches into the same speech she gave the rest of you in the rover. “They left a water reclamator there, and we know that Go-Sci has an algae farm. We just get those two things up and running, and we have food and water.”

“Algae salads and recycled urine, Sign me up.”

Emori flashes a look at her boyfriend. “Better than dying.”

“Yeah, you say that now.” 

“All right, slow down.” Raven waves her hand at them, stopping their banter. “Breathing's important, too. What's the plan for oxygen?”

Monty takes over for this one. “Based on what Murphy says about the lighthouse bunker, I'm guessing, make that praying, there's an oxygenator there. We take it with us, you hook it up. Bob's your uncle.”

Raven stares at him, brain still running through the plan, poking holes in it. “You're an engineer, Monty. You do know there's about a thousand things that could go wrong with that plan, right?”

“Yes, and every one of them kills us. Of course, staying here will kill us, too, so…”

He trails off, not sure what else to say to convince her to join you. Because you all know that without Raven, you’ll never get the rocket off the ground, let alone survive in space. Bellamy turns to her, almost pleading. “Raven, we need you to get us off the ground before the death wave hits. What do you say? Can you do it?” 

“What do I say?” She turns to look at the countdown for Praimfaya again, and then over to the rocket. You all wait with bated breath, unsure of her response, until she turns around with a smirk. “I say that the death wave can kiss my ass.”

Clarke smiles and then announces, “Good, it's settled, then. We're going back to the Ark.”

Words you’d never thought you'd hear in your lifetime, but words you’re thankful for, regardless. Maybe this time, things will be better. Maybe this time, everything will work out.

-

next chapter

[aoyama-division]

Jet Set Trio Drama Track 1 - Another Day, Another Dollar

Pt. 2

-- Chōten Residence --

[Evening had long since set it by the time the Matriarch of the family, Okawa Chōten, had made her way through the front door of the family mansion. One could take one look at the middle-aged woman and easily see the fatigue that was on her face. And they would not be wrong. It would not be an understatement to say that the woman was exhausted. She was used to long days at her place of work, used to being assigned unfair and demanding missions that she was expected to complete, and used to the amount of hate mail that she and the rest of the Party of Words often received from anonymous emailers who had less than kind things to say about the government, and the way they were running things.]

[But if given the choice, she would gladly have taken all of those options combined over what the Prime Minister had assigned her to do, as she stood in the entranceway carrying a large gray metal suitcase. She struggled as she held it up to keep it from sliding out of her right hand, which was slowly becoming perspired. Truthfully, the suitcase, itself, wasn't heavy. But what was inside of it seemed to add extra weight to the bulky luggage.]

Hino: *standing by the entrance, bowing* Good evening, Lady Chōten.

Okawa: *Nods to Hino* Good evening, Hino-san. *Looks up at the staircase* Has my son arrived home yet?

Hino: *Shakes his head 'no' as he takes the Matriarch's overcoat* I'm afraid he is still attending the soirée at the Aoyama Park Tower, milady.

Okawa: I see. *sighs, before looking back at Hino* When he returns, please tell him to come to see me. I need to speak with him urgently.

Hino: *Bows* As you wish, milady. *Raises back up and frowns as he sees the fatigue and nervousness in his Lady's features* Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but are you alright, Madam?

Okawa: *Sighs, once more* I'm fine, Hino. Just a long day. ...Much longer than usual.

Hino: Shall I prepare a cup of hot tea, Madam?

Okawa: Yes please, Hino. Bring it to my bedroom when it is done.

Hino: *Bows once more* Yes ma'am.

[As the head butler of the family left towards the kitchen, the Matriarch headed for her and her husband's bedroom on the first floor. Upon entering the room, she saw that it was empty, though it was obvious that the room had been cleaned as there was not a speck of dust anywhere to be seen. Sitting down on her bed, she placed the heavy gray suitcase down on the floor and looked at it, remembering her discussion with the Prime Minister many hours ago. Just thinking about it was enough to make her gnash her teeth together...]

-- Earlier, Prime Minister's Office, Chuohku Ward --

[To say that Okawa was surprised that the Prime Minister had ordered her to her office would be an understatement. She was shocked and scared, more like. She had only been into the Prime Minister's office once in her life, and that was just for an interview for her to become a spokesperson for the Party of Words. After that meeting, the middle-aged woman tried her hardest to avoid ever returning to that room again, and for good reason. Being told to report to your boss's office was rarely a good thing. Many people in the Party of Words did their best to avoid being recognized by the people in charge. If they spotted you or recognized your face, it usually meant that you were on their radar, or line of sight.]

[Okawa, despite being proud to work for the government as one of their many spokespersons didn't exactly have a real liking for them. She didn't dislike them, of course, but she didn't care for them either. Really, she only worked for them because of their money. Half the crap that she said during her speeches was mostly a lie that someone had written for her to say. She had always tried to appear professional and cheerful for the cameras, less someone takes it the wrong way and figure out her true feelings.]

[She let loose the air she was unknowingly holding as the elevator she was riding on finally arrived at the top floor where the Prime Minister's office was. Taking a brief second to make sure she looked presentable, she approached the door to the office and looked as they automatically opened in front of her. The woman's eyes took in everything she saw; most importantly, the figures of the two of the most powerful women in Japan.]

Okawa: *Bows her head in respect to Otome and Ichijiku* You summoned me, Prime Minister?

[Truthfully, Okawa hated bowing her head to someone else. She was of the upper class. People were meant to bow their heads in respect to her, not the other way around.]

Otome: Yes. Come in and have a seat. We have much to talk about.

[Obeying, the middle-aged woman walked further into the Prime Minister's office as the door to the room slowly slid shut behind her. Taking a seat in the lone chair in front of the Otome's desk, Okawa patiently waited for the Prime Minister to begin explaining the reason for her summoning.]

Otome: *Puts her hands together and stares at Okawa* Tell me, Chōten-san, off the top of your head, can you recall exactly what divisions are taking part in the Division Rap Battle that will take place in just a few short weeks?

[Startled by the sudden question, the spokeswoman, nonetheless, closed her eyes and tried her hardest to remember exactly which divisions had been sent invites and microphones, cementing their participation into the D.R.B. After about 10 seconds of thinking, the spokeswoman opened her eyes and looked back at her boss.]

Okawa: If I'm not mistaken, they are: Kyoto, Harajuku, Ueno, Shinagawa, Saitama, Ahikabara, Chiyoda, as well as several others. And that is not including the divisions of: Ikebukuro, Yokohama, Shibuya, and Shinjuku.

Otome: Hmm. *The Prime Minister smiled and closed her eyes, before nodding* Exactly. As expected from one of the most hardworking people the Party of Words has working for them.

Okawa: *Her eyes grow wide and large, before bowing her head* T-thank you, Prime Minister! I-I'm not worthy of such kind words.

[Though she was truly thankful for the compliment, Okawa had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.]

Okawa: Yeah right. I bet you say that to all of your workers. Just spare me the false kindness and get to the point already.

Otome: *Opens her eyes again, frowning* However...

Okawa: *Raises her head in a hurry* I-is there a problem, Prime Minister?

Otome: …It is not enough.

Okawa: *confused* Not enough, Prime Minister?

Otome: *Leans backs in her seat, putting her hands together on her lap* The number of divisions is still not enough. To expand the influence of the PoW, we need more divisions to take part in the D.R.B.

Okawa: I... see. *Mentally* Okay, so why are you telling me this? Just do what you always do- send some mics to a bunch of people, and force them to join.

Otome: To that end, we are considering adding Aoyama Division to the D.R.B.

[To say that Okawa was shocked would be putting it lightly, as her eyes grew big and wide after processing what it was the Prime Minister had just said.]

Okawa: A-Aoyama Division, ma'am?!

Otome: That is correct. I feel that adding one of the richest divisions in Japan would make for an interesting tournament.

Okawa: I-I see. *Clears her throat* …And you asked me here because you wanted my opinion on who we should have Aoyama represent?

[Okawa looked as the Prime Minister shook her head, 'no', a sly grin on her face.]

Otome: We actually already have someone in mind for the tournament. We simply need you to deliver their letter of introduction, as well as their Hypnosis Microphones.

Okawa: *Nods* Of course. And who will I be delivering them to?

Otome: To your son, Tomi Chōten.

-- Present Time --

[The Matriarch of the family sighed once more as she took another look at the briefcase where the three Hypnosis Microphones were placed. When Otome had informed her that her son would be entering the tournament, it took all her willpower not to scream. She had tried to dissuade the PoW leader, as there were plenty of other people in Aoyama who could take her son's place. Okawa even volunteered to search for someone else. However, the Prime Minister would not be deterred.]

Okawa: *Mentally* Damn you, Prime Minister. I bet you're feeling really good about this.

[She took another look at the gray, metal briefcase temporarily housing three powerful weapons. One of them would obviously be for her son, though she knew not who the other two would belong to. She hoped he'd get home soon we could get this out of the way. She knew he was not going to be happy about this. And she wouldn't blame him. There was nothing to gain by joining the Division Rap Battles.]

Okawa: *Mentally* I swear, one day, you will pay for this, Otome.

Hino: Lady Chōten?

[Surprised, Okawa looked as standing in the doorway was the head butler, holding onto a white plate, which a white cup of hot tea was placed on.]

Okawa: Sorry, Hino-san.

Hino: *Nods* No apologies are necessary, milady.

[The family butler walks into the Matriarch's room, placing the cup of hot tea on her nightstand. Picking it up, Okawa softly blows on it before taking a small sip, the liquid instantly warming her insides.]

Okawa: *Nods to Hino* Nicely done as always, Hino-san.

Hino: *Bows in respect* My pleasure, milady. *He raises back up and looks at her once more* Is there anything else you require, Lady Chōten?

Okawa: *Shakes her head 'no'* No thank you, but please don't forget to tell Tino to come see me once he arrives back home.

Hino: *Bows once more* Yes milady. I believe he is due to arrive home very soon. I shall inform him as soon as he arrives.

Okawa: *Nods* Good. Thank you, Hino.

[The head butler nods his head once more before departing the room, returning to his normal duties around the mansion, leaving the middle-aged woman alone with her thoughts, which were already heavy; perhaps even more so than the suitcase that was still sitting on the floor a few feet away...]

-- An hour later, Chōten Mansion --

[Pulling up into his mansion's garage, the socialite, Tomi Chōten, parked one of many of his family's vehicles in the various spaces in the large open space. Getting out and locking the car, he walked out of the garage, which automatically closed on its own, and up the the steps of the front porch to the entrance.]

Tomi: *Mentally* What a boring event. Hardly anyone important was there, and those beverages they served couldn't even give off a proper buzz.

[Sighing, the socialite unlocked the front door and stepped inside the mansion. Despite it still being late, there was still activity going on as various maids and butlers went to and fro, doing their various duties. Not paying them any mind, Tomi made his way towards the stairs prepared to retire for the night.]

Hino: *Coming from another room and spots Tomi* Ah, Master Tomi. Glad to see you have returned home safely.

Tomi: *Turns around to Hino* Thanks, Hino-san.

Hino: *Nods his head* And how was the soirée?

Tomi: *Rolls eyes* Let's just say, I think I would have been better off spending the evening doing something else.

Hino: *Laughs* Wasn't to your liking, Young Master?

Tomi: *Rolls his eyes again* Understatement of the Year. *Turns back around* If you don't mind, I think I'm going to head off to bed now.

Hino: Just a moment, Young Master. *Tomi turns back around, facing the butler* Your mother stated that she wished to speak with you when you returned home, sir.

Tomi: *Surprised* My mom? Usually she's fast asleep at this time.

Hino: Yes, but she seemed rather anxious upon returning from work, sir. I think something happened today at Chuohku that put her on edge.

Tomi: Chuohku? *Scoffs* Well, when she has to deal with all those uptight government officials all day long, who can blame her? I'm more surprised she isn't anxious every day.

[Walking back down the stairs, the socialite headed for his parents' room on the far end of the house. Knocking on the door, he waited for confirmation before opening it. He looked as his mother was seated on the bed in her long, gray nightgown, typing something on her slim, gray laptop on her lap.]

Tomi: Mother?

Okawa: Tomi-kun.

[Closing her laptop, the woman sat it to the side and swung her legs around to speak with her son, who sat in a large green lounge chair close to the bed.]

Tomi: How are you? Hino-san said that you were anxious upon coming from work.

Okawa: *Sighs* He wasn't wrong. But we'll get to that in a bit. First off, how was your party?

Tomi: *Sighs and rolls his eyes* I'll tell you like I told our dear, old butler: my evening would have been put to better use doing something else.

Okawa: *Frowns* Tomi-kun.

Tomi: What? It's true. There was no one important there, the food and drinks were of piss-poor quality, and everyone there was just interested in trying to strike a deal with me in one form or another.

Okawa: I know you don't care for these events, Tomi. I don't blame you, neither do I. But you have to remember, they...

Tomi: …serve their purpose. *Rolls his eyes as he finishes his mother's statement* I know.

Tomi: But what's the point? Everyone in Aoyama already knows us. If we're not the richest family in Japan, then we are, at least, in one of the top five spots. What good does it do to try to communicate with people who are only after us for our wealth and status?

Okawa: There will always be people who want something from us, Tomi-kun. That is, unfortunately, our ordeal us upper-class. And that is perfectly fine.

Tomi: *confused* Why?

Okawa: Because my child, having people turn to us shows that we are above them. Remember, they need you, not the other way around. If their goal is to strike a deal with you, then by all means, let them. But let them know that because they have relied on you, their lives are now in your hands.

Tomi: *Smiles, understanding* Of course, mother.

Okawa: *Smiles* Good. *Then frowns* Now then, on to the reason why I called you here.

Tomi: *Turns serious* What is it?

[Tomi looked as his mother sighed and pulled something from the top drawer of her nightstand. He looked as it was a white envelope, but what really drew his attention to it was the fact that there was a Party of Words seal on the back, keeping the envelope intact.]

Okawa: Before I hand this to you, I want you to promise me that you won't overact or do anything drastic.

Tomi: *Looks at his mother, suspicious* What do you mean?

Okawa: *Sighs as she struggles to say the next few words* Chuohku... is forcing Aoyama to join the D.R.B.

Tomi: *Eyes grow wide* What?!

Okawa: And... they want you to represent it.

The next day...

-- Chōten Mansion --

[Sitting in one of the dens on the first floor of the mansion, the young socialite, Tomi Chōten, was struggling to keep his emotions in check. After the sudden announcement last night that he was being forced into joining the D.R.B., it took Hino-san and his mother's begging to stop him from driving up to Chuohku and giving them all a piece of his mind.]

[The next morning, he ordered Hino to contact Karada and Luis to meet him at his mansion, immediately. Now he was currently waiting for them both to show up, whilst he tried to calm himself down with a nice cold glass of whiskey on the rocks. Bringing the alcoholic beverage to his lips, he sighed as it wasn't doing a very good job, though it did taste damn good. Taking another drink, he looked as the door to the den opened, revealing Hino.]

Hino: *Nods his head* Masters Kessaku and Kōkyū have both arrived, sir.

Tomi: *Waves his hand towards him* Send them in.

Hino: *Nods his head, again* At once, sir.

[Leaving the room, Tomi waited till his friends arrived, pouring himself more whiskey from the nearby bottle into his cup. Taking another drink, he looked as the door to the room opened, revealing Hino holding the door open for his friends. He looked as his friends looked rather irritated; Luis, especially.]

Luis: *Taking a seat in one of the empty chairs in the room* Okay, so can you explain what was so damn important you had to call us here before noon? Some of us still have a restaurant to open up.

Karada: Yeah, and I had to cancel an appointment with one of my clients. What the heck, Tomi?

[The young socialite ignored his friends' petty griping, and instead reached the left pocket of his pants and took out something, slamming it on the table, shocking the two other young men. After calming down, the two looked as it was a white envelope.]

Karada: What is that?

Tomi: A letter. *Takes a drink of his whiskey*

Luis: *Frowns* Obviously. We're more interested in who it's from, smartass.

Tomi: *Sighs* It's from Chuohku.

[At this, both other young men looked up from the letter at their friend, shocked.]

Karada: Chuohku?

Tomi: *Sighs again* Yes.

Karada: *Still shocked* As in the 'government Chuohku'?

Tomi: Yes.

Karada: As in the same Chuohku where your mom works?

Tomi: *Irritated* Yes.

Karada: As in...

Tomi: Yes, Karada! The same Chuohku that controls all of Japan. That Chuohku!

Karada: *Still shocked* Oh shit...

Luis: What the hell would they be sending you a letter for?

[Remembering the reason for why they sent the letter, Tomi found himself becoming upset as he subconsciously began clenching the glass he was holding in his fist.]

Karada: *Notices what Tomi's doing* Dude!

[Noticing what he was doing, Tomi released his grip on the glass. Sighing, he took one last look at the drink before downing the rest of the liquid in his glass, slamming the glass down on the table, which somehow still remained intact.]

Tomi: *Breathes in a bit of air before exhaling* Sorry.

Karada: *Still a bit scared* I-it's cool.

Tomi: *Sighs, leaning back into his chair* Those bitches are forcing me to join the Division Rap Battle.

[Again, Karada and Luis looked at their friend, shocked.]

Tomi: Just read the letter. *Points to the envelope, still on the table*

[Picking the envelope up, the two men could see that there was a Party of Words seal on it earlier before it had been ripped open. Opening it, Luis pulled the letter on and began reading alongside Karada.]

Luis: Dear Mr. Chōten, as you probably are aware, in just a few short weeks, the upcoming Division Rap Battle Tournament will commence. To ensure that the tournament will be an entertaining one, I've decided to include Aoyama Division in the tournament and have chosen you to be the one to represent it. Your current opponent(s) is unknown at this time, but information regarding them, as well as the other teams, will be sent out to you in the upcoming weeks.

Luis: As stated, you and two other members of your choice will be representing Aoyama in the tournament. Therefore, you have up to a week from now to find two members for your team. After you've done so, you will register your team so that they can be added to the roster. Along with this letter are three Hypnosis Microphones for you and your team to use.

Karada: *Looks up from the letter at Tomi* Wait, they actually sent you the microphones?

Tomi: Just keep reading.

Luis: The decision to add you to this tournament came from your mother's recommendations of you. She speaks highly of your intellect, charisma, and your way of getting things done. You are widely known throughout Aoyama. So it should not be difficult for you to locate two members to assist you. I am looking forward to a good tournament. Do not disappoint me. Sincerely, Otome Tohoten, the Prime Minister of Japan.

Luis: P.S. As your mother probably already told you, refusing to participate in this tournament is not an option. Failure to register in time for the tournament, or failure to show up will be seen as insubordination, and you, your family, and your Division will be punished accordingly. And just as a reminder, your family includes everyone, even those who may or may not be living with you. Do keep that in mind.

Karada: *After Luis finishes reading* Oh shit...

Luis: *Is shocked* Fuck...

Tomi: *Sighs* Took the words right out of my mouth.

Karada: T-they can't do that! They can't do that! *Looks to his friends for confirmation* …Can they?

Luis: They're the fucking government, Karada. They can do pretty much anything they want.

Karada: But they can't threaten someone into joining their tournament!

Luis: Well obviously they can since that's what they did to Tomi here.

Tomi: *Sighs* Unfortunately...

Karada: Oh man, Tomi. I'm so sorry, dude.

Tomi: *Waves him off* It's not your fault.

Karada: I know, but... what are you gonna do?

Luis: More importantly, why did you call us?

[Sighing, Tomi reached from behind his chair and pulled out a familiar large, gray suitcase. Opening it, the other two men looked as inside laid three plain-looking microphones.]

Karada: *Looking at them* …Are those...?

Tomi: *Nods* Yes.

Luis: *Confused* Okay, why show them to us? *Looks at Tomi before realization sinks in*

Luis: Wait, you're not thinking...?

Tomi: *Smiles* Yes.

Karada: *Confused* What?

Tomi: You two are my partners for the D.R.B.

*To be continued*

[ayu-shiridara]

Fall pt.5 (George Weasley X Reader)

Another terrible thing to read.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

After your marriage, you and George stayed at the Burrow with Molly, since Ginny and Harry are living somewhere as well as Ron and Hermione you two decided to live with Molly for the meantime. After Fred's death, everything changed. George's mood is not always good. You can hear his sobs in the middle of the night. You don't know what to do.

"Am I not good enough to cheer him up?" You asked Molly while crying in her arms in the lounge.

"It's not like that dear, he's still grieving to his twin's death, " Molly said comforting you.

She wiped your tears and kissed your forehead.

"Let's make something that can make both of you feel better, " Molly said.

You nodded and both of you headed to the kitchen. She cooked your favourite food and gave you some tea.

"Eat and we will visit Fred's and Levi's graveyard after this, " Mrs Weasley said.

After lunch, you decided to go upstairs and

"Georgie?" You said and walked to him.

"(Y/N), " George said and he extended his arms asking for a hug.

"We're going to visit Fred and Levi, are you coming with us?" You asked in your softest tone.

"Sure, I'm just going to get ready, wait for me, " he said and released you from the hug.

You nodded and head downstairs to help Molly arrange the flowers you're going to bring on Fred and Levi's graveyard. After a minute Arthur arrives from work. All of you left the Burrow and walk to the graveyard. You holding the flowers while George's arms wrapped around your waist walking silently. When you arrive at their graveyard, Molly cleaned the gravestone and George placed the flowers on it.

"Freddie we missed you, both you and Levi missed a lot of things. I'm going to re-open the shop next week. A lot of customers want to explore the shop again. Isn't it great? I just wished you're still here with us, " George said.

He stands up and you buried your face in his chest while hugging him. After an hour you all went back to the Burrow.

--

The following week you and George went back to the shop. You helped him with restoring some stuff.

"Come on Georgie let's go and grab some lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, " you said.

He became more silent after Fred's death. He barely speaks or laughs. Both you and George walk to the Leaky Cauldron and order some food. While both you and George are having your lunch someone cleared her throat from the back. You and George turn around to look who is it.

"George!" The girl exclaimed.

"Angelina?" George asked.

"Yes, you still remember me, " Angelina exclaimed and hugged George.

You cleared your throat making them broke the hug.

"Who is she?" Angelina asked.

"I'm (Y/N) Weasley, George's wife, " you said proudly.

Her actions are different, you can sense that she wants George for herself.

"Oh, you're Harry's friend, (Y/N)(L/N)?" She said.

"Not only Harry's friend but also my wife, " George said and grabbed your waist.

Since both of you are done eating, George pays for the bills and both of you immediately exited the Leaky Cauldron leaving Angelina. You went back to the shop and both you and George finished doing your business. It's dinner and you're sitting on the dining table while waiting for your husband to finish the meal.

"I was surprised to see Angelina, I haven't heard anything about her since we dropped out of Hogwarts, " George said.

You didn't say a word because you hate hearing Angelina's name. It's obvious that she liked your husband.

"We're going to reopen the shop tomorrow right?" You asked, changing the topic.

"Yeah, I'm excited to meet new customers again. And a bit sad because it's only you and me, just missing Freddie, " George said and sighed.

"Everything is going to be fine, I missed him too Georgie, " you said and hold George's hand.

"Love, can you promise me one thing?" George said.

"Anything, " you replied.

"Please don't leave me like everyone I love did, " He said.

You smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Never, " you said.

The following day you reopened the shop. A lot of customers excitedly purchased George's products. It was a successful reopening. The day went well not until a woman entered the shop wearing seductive clothes.

"Georgie, can you tell me how this works?" She said in her flirty tone of voice.

"I can tell you how, " You said and frowned at her.

"Can't a customer request who's going to assist her?" Angelina asked.

You sighed and just watched how an old schoolmate flirts with our husband which is too annoying.

--

Days passed and Angelina always visits the shop. Which annoyed you the most. One night you're sitting on the armchair reading a book waiting for him to arrive. He came home drunk.

"Where have you been?" You asked worriedly.

He didn't say a word and pressed his lips on yours harshly. His hands toured around your body.

"Love, I want you tonight, " he whispered to your ear.

"George you're drunk, " you said.

But that didn't stop him. You did it both of you had a long night.

--

After that night George becomes more affectionate to you. You felt more relieved that he won't cheat on you. He will never look at other girls. Today Ron volunteered to help George at the shop because you're going to visit Molly to the Burrow.

"I'll be leaving, I will come back tonight, " You said.

"Be safe love, " George said and before you leave he kissed you.

When you arrive at the Burrow, Molly welcomed you with a hug as well as Arthur.

"(Y/N) dear, how are you?" Molly said.

"We're doing great, we reopened the shop and it was successful, " you said.

"That's good to hear, " Arthur said.

You're in the middle of the conversation but suddenly you felt weird. You felt like throwing up. You ran to the sink and threw up.

"(Y/N) are you okay?" Arthur asked.

You nodded and wiped your mouth. Molly handed you a glass of water.

"Let's bring her to St. Mungos, " Molly said.

"I'm fine, " you said.

"No dear, I have a feeling that nevermind, come on, " Molly said bringing you to St. Mungo.

The healer checked you and you waited for hours for the results to come.

"Congratulations Mrs Weasley, " the healer said.

"Why are you congratulating me?" You asked confusedly.

"You're having a baby, " The healer said and left.

You don't know what to say. You and George are having a baby. Finally having a proper family. The best news you ever heard. You can't wait for the day to end and tell George everything. It's like a dream come true.

"We're happy for you, " Molly said.

--

The day went stressing for George. You're not around so he can't control his emotions. He went outside, it's hot outside he felt dehydrated when an Angelina showed up giving him a bottle of water.

"Thanks, " George said and drank it.

Not knowing that Angelina put an Amortentia in it. The day ended and Ron bid a goodbye. George was waiting for you in the shop when a Lady entered.

"Sorry ma'am but the store is closed already you can come back tomorrow, " George said.

But the woman didn't listen.

"Georgie, " Angelina said flirtily.

Then pressed his lip onto George's. George who was under a love potion doesn't understand, he thinks that the woman who's snogging him was you.

--

"I transfigured this letter to a ring, I'm sure George will figure out what's in this ring. I'm excited to tell him about our unborn child, " you said happily.

You put your wedding ring to a chain and wear it as a necklace and place the transfigured ring to your ring finger. Arthur sent you back to the flat and before you leave the burrow you gave Molly a hug.

"I can't wait to meet my grandchild, " she said.

When you arrive at the flat you thanked Arthur before he went back to the burrow.

"Thank you, Dad, " you said.

"Say hi to George for me, " Arthur said.

You smiled at him. You notice that the lights in the shop are still on.

"Perhaps George is still waiting for me," you said to your self.

You opened the shop and called for George but no one answered. You notice a familiar figure of two people on the counter. You walked nearer to the counter. You burst into tears. You can't believe it. George was snogging Angelina.

"How could you?" You cried.

They broke the kiss and looked at you. Your heart shattered into pieces. It feels like thousands of knives are stabbing your heart. You remove the fake ring and throw it to the floor and walk away from the shop. You ran as far as you could. You don't want to see their faces anymore. Your feet dragged you to Levi and Fred's graveyard. You cried you screamed.

"Why? Why do I have to suffer like this, " you screamed

You wish Levi was here. You wish Fred was here. Or you wish you died with them.

You knelt down and hugged yourself.

"I wish they're still alive too," a familiar voice said.

You stopped crying and you turned around and saw Draco.

"Why are you crying? Are you okay?" He said.

Once again you burst into tears and Draco hugged you.

"Go on, cry, cry until you feel better. This is what Levi used to do when I don't feel good, " he said and rubbed your back.

After an hour you finally stopped crying.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

You nodded. You don't know that Draco is nice. It shocked you but you're thankful that he is here to comfort you.

"I always visit these two every night. I love to talk to them. About what happened to me the whole day, " he said.

You didn't say a word and you rested your head to his shoulder. You're tired and don't know where to go. You don't want to see George or Angelina. You don't want to go home.

"Come on it's getting cold, I know a cosy place to stay for the night, you can tell me what happens when you're ready, trust me," Draco said.

Draco leads you a familiar forest. He opened a small cabin with a trapdoor only.

"Alohamora, " Draco said and the trap door opened.

The trapdoor revealed stairs. You walk down and Draco followed you. He's telling the truth this place is cosy. You looked around and saw a lot of pictures.

"This is Levi's home, before the battle of Hogwarts she brought me here and told me that I'm always welcome here, " Draco said.

It's unusual that Draco us being talkative and soft. But at least he made you feel better.

--

George stood there confused. Angelina soon left the shop. He picked up that ring and placed it inside his pocket. The next morning Ron visited the shop.

"Where's (Y/N)?" Ron asked.

"She cried and ran away yesterday, " George said.

"What happened? You didn't run after her?" Ron asked.

George didn't reply.

"What is wrong with you?" Ron asked.

George didn't answer. Ron just sighed.

"I have to go now, I'm going to visit mum," Ron said and exited the shop.

--

Months passed and Angelina is still flirting with George. George who has no idea was still trying to recall and think why you cried and ran. Your friendship with Draco is growing. He helped you a lot. He helped you and your unborn children. You just found out that you're carrying twins. You and Malfoy became the best of friends. But still, you can't change the fact that you want to see George. You want to feel his touch. You longed for everything about him. One day when you were cleaning Levi's home you notice a picture of you, her, George, Fred and Lee. The photo of the Yule Ball. You missed them so much. Then an owl arrives with a letter on its beak. It's a letter from your parents asking you to go to North America to spend time with them.

"Draco do you think I should go to North America?" You asked.

"Why not? Maybe your parents will help you clear your thoughts. Have time for yourself, " Draco said.

"Yeah, " you said.

Before you left you sent a letter to Molly. Draco promised that he will follow you to America on the day of your labour because you made him your children's godfather.

--

Today Molly told Ron and Ginny that you already went to America. So Ron and Ginny went to the shop to see if George went to America with you. The shop was closed but they still entered and went to the flat. When they opened the door he was shocked by what they saw. George was with Angelina cuddling on the couch.

"George? What is she doing here?" Ron asked furiously

"She's my girlfriend, " George said.

"Girlfriend? You have a wife! You're cheating on your wife!" Ginny said.

"I have what?" George asked.

"You better get out of here, " Ginny said angrily to Angelina.

"Do you think Fred will be happy if he sees you cheating with your wife," Ron said.

"Wait I don't understand, " George said.

"We better take you to mum, " Ginny said and glared at Angelina.

Angelina soon left and Ron, Ginny and George went to the Burrow.

"What brings you here? I thought you're with (Y/N)," Molly asked.

"(Y/N) ran away a few months ago, " George said.

"Is that the reason why (Y/N) is not visiting us, " Molly asked.

"She wouldn't run away if you don't cheat at her, " Ron said.

"If Fred was still here I'm sure he'd be disappointed, " Ginny said.

Molly stood silently went to the kitchen and made something. When she went back she made George drink what she made. After George take it he finally comes back into his senses.

"What happened?" George asked.

"You can't blame him, he's under love potion, " Molly said.

"You mean Angelina gave him love potion?" Ginny asked.

"The same thing happened to me when I was in Year 6?" Ron asked.

"Where's (Y/N)? Where's my wife?" George asked

Molly, Ron and Ginny stood silent. Molly handed him your letter.

Mrs Weasley

I'm happy to be part of your family but now is my time to leave. I'm going to America to live with my parents. Don't worry I'm doing fine. I guess we will see you after years. I always love your son. And our secret let's wait for him to find out.

-(Y/N)(L/N)

"She's gone?" George asked.

"Yo-you cheated on her, " Ron said.

Tears stream down on George's face. He lost his love one again. Without you, his world was nothing. You promised him that you will never leave but he can't blame you.

--

The following day Angelina visited the shop again. She walked to George and attempted to hug him but George pushed her away. He was furious.

"You ruined everything, I don't love you, I only love (Y/N), leave, I don't want to see your face again!" George yelled at her.

Angelina looked frightened it was the first time she saw George like that so she immediately left the shop. George pulled the ring you throw when you ran away. He kissed it and he cried.

"I'm so sorry (Y/N), I love you too, always, " George said.

[elejahfanfic]

Fanfiction

And so it is Christmas

Part 2

Elijah Mikaelson x reader

ft. Klaroline and tvd lot

_human_no vampires

a/n:There  will be great mad Mikaelson chaos and lots of love…

absolute christmas fluff... ho-ho-ho

_also this just blew into such a long ch_ thanks for reading. xoxo

❄

A day after

Mikaelson Mansion

"I am so happy that you came a few days earlier. Ever since you moved to New York, I hardly see you."  Rebekah said cheerfully.

"I am sorry, but my workload doesn't allow me to be here as often as I wish to." Elijah said.

"I thought that since we moved back to Mystic Falls, it would be closer and you could be here nearly every weekend. It's only an hour by plane."

"It is, but, you forget that I need to get to the airport and then from Richmond here- and that is three extra hours." Elijah said.

"I really don't get why you have to stay there. You can open a practice here. People will need a good lawyer here, too. It's like you don't want to be with us anymore. Ever since father died you - shut down" the blonde complained.

"I have not shut down. We speak every day." Elijah said surprised that Rebekah was giving him a hard time as if he neglected them completely.

"Yes, but it is not the same. Klaus is always somewhere. Kol is impossible to - talk to. You know what he is like. It's lucky I got Stefan."

"You have Stefan and soon you will be Mrs Salvatore and your own home and you will not need any of us." Elijah said.

"Yes, but - still - I know it is terrible to say it, but you are my favourite brother. And I miss you being here."

"I know. I miss all of you, too." Elijah said.

"You would not say this if you are with her everyday, forever blocking the drive way," Kol now got in the dining room, "boring us with her wedding planning yada yada"

"I see nothing has changed here" Elijah said.

"No. Same old." Klaus now said entering the dinning room with his daughter Hope followed by Esther.

"Hope is more mature in her ways than you two, and she is only 12" Esther said directing her look at Kol and Rebekah.

They all sat down now at the big table. Esther looked happy to see  her children and her grandchild together at the table. It was rare that they sat down like this. Only twice a year she would be able to have the pleasure.

"Even though it is not Thanksgiving yet, I would like to give thanks for - having you here, all together. And soon we will have one addition to the family."

Kol now cut in looking at Rebekah, "You're pregnant, that is why you are getting married in a rush."

"I am not," Rebekah replied briskly, "we are getting married because we love each other. What would you know"

"What would I know?" Kol now shot back at his sister obviously pained by the remark."I loved Davina- " 

Klaus, who was sitting next to his younger brother, put his hand on his shoulder, as Kol was about to get up in his strop.

Elijah gave his sister a look that said- this was really uncalled for.

"I am sorry." Rebekah now said looking at Kol tearfully,"I am really sorry."

"You should be." Kol said.

"Enough!" Esther now raised her voice. 

"I am sorry, mother." Kol apologized.

"You two will sit down and find a way to work your behaviour. You are not little children anymore. I will not want to have this repeated again. Am I clear?" Esther now looked at Kol and Rebekah,"Am I clear?"

Both Kol and Rebekah now nodded, apologizing once again.

"Good. Now - let's have breakfast." Esther said turning her look to Klaus, "What times is your plane?"

"Noon." Klaus replied, "We will be back tomorrow at two."

"Can you please put some flowers down to your father's grave as well, for me?"

"Of course"

"Thank you."  Esther curled a tiny warm smile at her son.

The Mikaelsons, same as some of the others, had loads of happy and good times, but they also had their share of tragedy. They were also not perfect. But then again who was.

As everyone left, she took a moment to herself, pulling out an old album.

Are you all right, Mrs Mikaelson?" the butler asked the woman.

"Yes. There will always be a hole in my heart, but seeing everyone happy and getting on so wonderfully in their lives gives me strength. Right. I am going over to the Historical Society to meet the mayor.  I have also asked Elijah to take the boxes to the homeless shelter when he returns from the town. Can you just help him with it?"

"Yes, Ma'am" the butler said and then left her to her memories.

*

A while later

Whitmore Homeless shelter

Y/N finished with her pro bono medical help there, and now spoke to the manager of the shelter about setting up a more permanent medical Centre close by.

"We will not get the funding for it from the City Council" the man replied.

"Ok. Then we will have to do a fundraiser." Y/N said.

"I really haven't got time to organize this."

"I will be more than ready to help." Y/N offered.

"I will help, too." a voice now came from the door, that was left open.

Both the shelter manager and Y/N turned to the man standing at the door.

"I am so sorry that I barged in like that. But I would like to help. I - and my mother had great experience in doing fundraisers like these."

"And you are?" the manager asked.

"Elijah Mikaelson." Y/N replied instead of the

"Yes- I am sorry, but ahm- yesterday I didn't quite catch your name" Elijah fibbed a little.

"Y/N, Dr Y/L/N”

"Nice to meet you, Dr Y/L/N" Elijah extended his hand now.

"Nice to meet you, too." Y/N said still holding his warm hand. As she moved her hand out of his, she felt strange butterflies ruffling up in her stomach. "So, I can really count on you?

"Yes. I don't leave things on empty promise. I am a man of my word." Elijah said."I will leave all my details and you can send me all your proposal ideas."

"All right. I will keep you to your - word." Y/N said thinking how very old- fashioned it sounded.

The manager's assistant now got in and thanked Elijah for the great donation in clothing as well as the check.

"Yes, this is why I came to the office. Here is the check." Elijah presented it to the shelter manager.

"Thank you so much, Mr Mikaelson. Please give your mother my regards."

"I sure will. Thank you." Elijah said."Well, if there is anything else you will need please do not hesitate to ask."

"You can help as at the kitchen then? We are about to serve the early supper. We need a volunteer." Y/N turned to Elijah.

Elijah was caught in the moment, but then nodded."Gladly."

And he followed Y/N to the shelter kitchen.

"So, you are running errands for you mom?"

"Yes, she is very busy. Tomorrow is the big Thanksgiving Ball at Historical Society Rooms and she has a lot still to sort out." Elijah replied."I hope you found a gown?"

"I have." Y/N said."I presume you will be there, too?"

"I will. This is why I came down for. And also to spend some quality time with my family." Elijah replied.

The other two volunteers now came in, one of them being Bonnie, she introduced Elijah to her friend and the other woman, who was one of the cooks.

There was no time to waste on chatting and they now got plating the food and soon serving it as the people started coming in.

"That's Elijah? Kol and Klaus' brother?" Bonnie asked as Elijah went to the tables with some plates.

"Yes. He is so - different" Y/N said looking over with the corner of her eye at Elijah, who in his Armani shirt with his sleeves up talking and joking a bit with some of the guys.

"Klaus always said that he is so serious. The lawyer!" Y/N said.

Seeing a twinkle in her friend's eyes, Bonnie couldn't stop herself and said now teasingly, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you like what you are seeing. More than like?!"

"Shush" Y/N said as she now saw Elijah returning.

Not long after, Kol appeared, as  Bonnie had sent him a message that she would be at the Whitmore homeless shelter. Both brothers looked stunned at one another. To see Elijah with an apron was something he never thought he would see. But it was the same for Elijah, as he thought that Kol wouldn't care about any kind of charitable work. And although Elijah didn't say anything, but the way he looked at his brother surprised to see him there, Kol now burst at his brother. "All of you think that I am some kind of selfish immature loser. But you don't really know who I am. Not really."

"Kol - it is not true. I know that you are good hearted caring person," Elijah said, "why are you snapping at me like that? What is going on?"

Kol went quiet now looking at Bonnie and then at his brother. Apologizing, he now went out. Elijah wanted to go after him, but Bonnie said to let it be and she went after Kol.

Elijah looked at Y/N somewhat clueless.

"I think I know what is going on" Y/N now said.

"You do?"

Y/N nodded, "Let's take 5 minutes break."

They went to the back of the kitchen.

“Coffee?” Y/N offered, to which Elijah nodded as in yes.

"I know it is not my place to say, but - they have been seeing each other for a while now-" she said as she handed him a mug of coffee.

"Your friend Bonnie - is seeing Kol?"

"Yes. Last night, she kind of told him that they should - cool it. And I think your brother is in love."

"Oh," Elijah exclaimed taking a sip of coffee,"now that explains his behaviour earlier today."

"I think she is also in love with him, but - he got this special award for his comics series and they offered him to finish his term in Hunter College in New York."

"He won't go if she tells him that she feels so much more than-?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know he got this award." Elijah said.

"I don't think he told anyone." Y/N said.

"Huh- Kol"

"Love is - not easy." Y/N said and finished her coffee.

"No, it is not"  Elijah looked at Y/N in a sweet mellow way. She felt like every ounce of her breath was taken from her lungs. Her stomach flipped unexpectedly again, and she didn't understand where this was coming from. It was like he’d cast some kind of compelling spell on her. Elijah also didn't quite get what was happening to him as well. It has been a long while since a woman had stirred everything inside of him. Lost in the gaze, he didn't hear his phone ring, until Y/N said, "Are you going to take that call?"

"Ha? Yes" Elijah snapped quickly out of the sweet haze, took his phone out and swiping the call open- said, "Caroline"

Y/N left him to talk and went to the dining area, trying to steady the butterflies in her stomach.

to be continued

[guigz1-coldwar]

'California Dreamin'' : New chapter for "Always for the greater cause..." is out !

Chapter Summary: Now with Wraith leading the team while Stitch is going back to Europe with Naga & Jackal, Bell & the others are moving to their new destination: Los Angeles

To read it on AO3, click here!

Taglist: @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart

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

27th February 1981, 12h50

Yirina 'Bell' Grigoriev, Ex-KGB, Perseus

Perseus safehouse "Wolf's Den" in Colorado Springs, preparing to leave

At looking at myself, I could have said that I was in great shape but that would be a lie since my right shoulder was mostly hurting me with all the bandages, and having felt that bullet inside of it, that ain't the best feeling to experiment but anyway, I was able to get up from the bed, taking care of not making any bad moves with my right arm, knowing that I could hurt myself more than the bullet did. Dressing up was a bit of a challenge but it was good to do.

However, at the moment that I came out of the bedroom to join the others in the main room of the place that they were already preparing to leave, gathering around what they needed and even in my state, I managed to give a little bit of help, putting some files in the boxes that they were going to put in the car that, according to what Wraith...Uhm, Freya said to me when I propose to help, we were going to use to reach Los Angeles, a big road trip to the city of angels.

This Aldrich that I didn't speak with a lot since I'm here was already gone, having taken a part of our intel with me to prepare a safe house near Los Angeles and it took us at least 30 minutes, adding to the fact that we ate to fill up the car with our work and our equipment in the trunk before we were free to go.

"Finally, I'm sure that the West Coast is going to be better than here," Bellamy said as we were walking out of the safehouse, Freya staying behind us as she was going to close down the place until some Perseus take it for their own purposes.

"Yeah, we'll see that," Knight mumbled at him, walking to reach the car.

"We have at least 15 hours of driving to reach Los Angeles and I will take the hardest part of the job," Freya spoke up, getting her hand up to close down the garage door of the warehouse. "I'll be driving," She revealed, having volunteered to be the one driving us to our destination.

"You're sure about it?" I asked, giving a little concern about that.

"Well sure, Bell," She responded, going back up on her feet to look at me as I was having my hand on the door of the front passenger seat. "Can't let some...people take over," She added, his eyes drifting towards Bellamy & Knight. "I'm talking about you two,"

"Come on, we didn't do anything," Bellamy protested against her, stopping to enter the car behind the driver seat as Freya passed through him to reach her door.

"Yet...anything yet," Freya whispered to herself but loud enough for us to hear it perfectly and not taking care of it before we all got inside the car: Freya driving the car, me on the front passenger seat, Knight right behind me while Bellamy was next to him and behind Freya.

"Do I need to move my seat?" I demanded to Knight, turning my head around to look at him, knowing that he was a tough guy.

"No, it's good, Bell, thanks for asking," He answered, giving me a smile as I turned around again to put my seatbelt on.

"Of course she had to ask that," Bellamy scoffed, using a joking voice and Freya's reaction was to roll her eyes around. "Tough Irish guy," He added.

"And you, don't have any problem being like me, it seems," Knight joked, Freya, letting out a sigh at this remark and me laughing inside of me at that funny situation.

"Oh my god, I didn't even turn the keys that you already start your usual things, you two," Freya decided to speak up about it and she was true, the car didn't even move one inch that their argument began...that's going to be a hell of a road trip. "If you two continue, you're going to Los Angeles by walk," She warned the two with a voice that I couldn't know if it was serious, funny, or threatening, she was hard to understand here.

"Yes, ma'am," Bellamy sighed, turning his head to look outside, his hands on his lap.

"Good, we can go now," Freya then could turn the keys to start the car engine and to finally move the car away, driving out of the place before reaching the main road, engaging the car on it, and starting our road trip to California.

The first hour of the driving was pretty calm for me and the others too, no one was actually willing to talk or launching any topics and it was sure that I wasn't going to be the one doing that because I couldn't know what I could talk about: me & my past? Can't remember because of gasps in my memories, only remembering what happening in Rebirth Island. No, I should maybe stay silent, maybe think freely while the music on the radio was on....that was good music to hear, changing from the one that we heard back at the safehouse in East-Berlin from Bellamy's radio.

"You're alright, Bell?" Freya's voice broke me out of my thoughts, making me move on my seat to be better on it.

"Uhm, yeah, I'm good," I replied, shaking my head a bit and scratching my jaw with my left hand. "Just been daydreaming," I clarified myself, only giving me a smile while staying focused on the road.

"Good, you should take some rest, the road will be long," She advised me in a good voice but I don't know if taking a rest was a good idea for me.

"You're sure? I just slept for half a day and you want me to sleep again?" I asked her, looking outside the car to see a signpost saying that we were soon going to arrive in Denver. "No, I should get some sleep only when we'll arrive in California," I told her, passing my hand through my red hair, removing the part of it in front of my face as it wasn't looking great today.

"And now, it's time for a song for every big dreamer..." The voice of a woman on the radio spoke up, announcing something on it. "It's time for a little...'California Dreamin'," She announced in a happy voice before I start to hear some guitars, beginning an unknown song for me.

"What's that song?" I demanded at Freya, sounding very curious about it as the lyrics were...nice to hear.

"You didn't hear it, Bell?" Bellamy scoffed again, hearing his voice after one hour of silence from him. "It's 'California Dreamin'" He revealed to me after I turned my head around to look at him, seeing him stretch his arm in front of him. "You should turn it off, Wraith, people are sleeping here," He suggested.

"No, let it on," I said, stopping Freya that was going to comply with his demands as the song was a bit intriguing to me, liking the lyrics and having a little feeling of having heard it before. "I like it,"

"Maybe that you like it but I want to close my eyes and sleep," Bellamy protested, hearing a little click from his seat before seeing his left hand moving between mine & Freya's seat.

"Hey, back off, Bellamy," Freya suddenly move her right hand to tip it over his hand, making him go back on his seat and putting his seatbelt on. "If Bell wants to keep it on, I'll keep it on," She affirmed clearly to him, causing me to smile about it as I was enjoying the song as if it was making myself free to dream and think. "Just sleep with it, end of the argument," She told him, getting her hand back on the steering wheel.

"Thanks, Freya," I whispered to her, having turned my head to her a bit and immediately seeing her blush on her cheeks at hearing her name before I put my head against my seat to look outside, seeing the landscape and the city in the horizon, the song on the radio making me want to sleep and dream about being free and our destination in California...If I was in LA...If I was in LA...

California dreaming...On such a winter's day...

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

27th February 1981, 15h35

Vikhor 'Stitch' Kuzmin, Perseus

In a Perseus C-130 Hercules cargo plane over the Atlantic Ocean

Been asked to Solovetsky...that was new from Perseus himself, the first time he's been doing that with me. It's always by a phone call that we were discussing and the last time I talked to him personally, it was the day our asset opened its eyes. Since that day, I focused on working my ass with my team to do what we needed to do while he was waiting for us to do the dirty job...I hope that the reason that he wants to see him is very important.

Right now, I was trying to take some rest but having Naga & Jackal talking and playing again with their cards at the other side of the plane, the latter looking rather happy to be going to the Yamantau despite been at first confused about it when Jackal proposed him & Naga for that while at my feet near me, there were none other than Krypto themselves, still alive but crying, hopefully having a tape over their mouth but even with that, it wasn't going to let me have a bit of rest, adding to that, the plane engines making noises & the turbulences.

"Boom, bullshit, Kapano," Jackal exclaimed in a loud voice as he raised his own pack of cards in his hands, I who was watching them with a blank stare to get on sleep but hearing him didn't help. "Told you that I could beat you," He added.

"How it's possible that you beat me in every game, dammit?" Naga protested, making gestures with his hands towards Jackal. "Arm wrestling, poker, and now that stupid 'Bullshit' game?" He then throw his own pack of cards in the space separating the two as they were on the same bench.

"Come on, that's just a friendly game," Jackal said, sliding slightly behind him on the bench.

"Oh yeah? You're beating me on every game, that ain't very friendly from you," Naga argued, crossing his arms as I could see his eyes narrow in Jackal's direction.

"Are you a bad loser, Naga?" Jackal asked him, a questioning tone in his voice.

"Hey, you two!" I called out the two, taking a higher voice than them, annoyed by that stupid argument. "I'm not on that plane to see another duo like Bellamy & Knight to shout & bark at each other," I told them, keeping a serious voice. "So, you either keep your voice down that I can't even hear them or you shut your mouths completely," I ordered, feeling the angriness in my voice against them as the two were confused at me.

"What's got into you?" Naga demanded, raising his left eyebrow at me. "Are you not into the plane type or...not just in the mood?" He added.

"It happens that I'm a bit on the nerves actually," I replied, putting my hands on the side of the bench, starting to hold it firmly with them. "Having you both acting like a child every day, playing your little games, and talking about non-senses isn't really helping the Collective," I continued my vent against them, having enough of the two behaviors. "I didn't choose you two because one of you is always winning games and the other is always complaining,"

"Of course..." Naga muttered, still sounding trying to understand why I was like that.

"Listen, I have enough of seeing people that aren't focused on the mission," I clarified.

"Hey, you know that even if we're mercenaries working for Perseus, we don't have to be having a finger on the trigger every day," Jackal spoke up, turning his body around to face me, seeing his eyes behind his red mask going wide...a deadly glare meeting mine, scary for the others but not for me. "I ain't going to have my hands on a gun every second of my life so if we want to have a little distraction, so be it!" He affirmed, pointing at me with his left finger before I could feel something touching my feet and I peeked my eyes slightly to see Krypto trying to struggle with their links, hands & legs tied up as they were on the floor, looking at the two other mercenaries direction.

"Mmmhmm...mmhmm..." That's all we could hear from them, their muffling sounds through their tape coming from their mouth interrupting the argument as everyone got their eyes on them.

"Seems that they want to talk," Naga mumbled, gesturing with his left hand towards Zasha.

"What do they fucking want?" I sighed, rolling my eye around before I moved away from my seat to reach them, kneeling on my right knee at their face level to remove by force the tape on their mouth. "I hope that you got something interesting to say," I started, taking a serious breath at their face, looking terrified at my sight.

"Where...where...where are you taking me?" They asked me but my reaction was to get my right hand on their neck, finding them already worth killing, not wanting to let that pleasure to our agents in London.

"Sending you in a diplomatic bag to your little Crown," I responded, seeing their blue eyes starting to cry, my hand enforcing the hold on their neck to make sure that their actions were marked and not forgotten. "You see, we have enough of seeing you around, always been useless since the start," I observed them cry slowly, tears falling down their eyes.

"I...please...Stitch..." They tried to say but my hand was avoiding them to speak normally so I decided to let them breathe freely for a little second before they took the bad decision to spit right on my face, getting me angry on the inside for a bit and keeping my calm, their spit landing right on my cheeks. "Fuck...you!" They cursed.

"Fuck me?" I repeated before I put my hand on their neck, holding their head against the ground. "You want me to go fuck myself, Krypto?" I asked but I didn't want any response from them as I took my combat knife strapped at my vest after I dressed back into my former military clothes. "See that?" I showed them the knife in my left hand before the other hand move near their right eye. "That's for your Crown:" I then do what I always wanted to do with them.

I didn't let them think for one second that I planted the end of the knife into their right eye, hearing a loud & painfully scream inside the whole plane as I was turning the knife around the eye, wanting to make them scream even further before I stop by myself, seeing them with only one eye left and still crying loudly as I moved back on my seat, Jackal & Naga speechless at my actions, their eyes looking towards Zasha.

"What? Something's wrong with you?" I asked the two, cleaning up the end of the knife from the blood on the bench.

"We should help them for the moment," Naga proposed, slowly pointing at Zasha who was trying to move their hands from their back to hold their head.

"Yes, why don't you get on it now?" I said, gesturing towards the first aid kit that was on their side of the plane, not wanting to get my own hands dirty with their blood and Jackal was the first to react, going up from his seat to grab the kit and move to join Zasha, taking out some bandages and disinfectant as Naga moved to help him to heal Krypto while I continued to watch them...

"Now, I hope that's a clear message for you two & everyone else: cross me...and it will be a big mistake from you!"

[sigcy]

We dabble in writing fics, as well! Here’s a slowburn sigcy fic (it’s still a WIP, first posted on AO3) that Mod Cricket and I worked on together. (CW for violence.) Part Four.

[ Part One ] | [ Next Part (coming soon!)]

Overwatch’s Recall had been in operation for nearly a year. Supported by the League of Nations-- the community of city states that had united post-crisis-- Gibraltar, Hong Kong, The Vatican, Singapore, and others, Overwatch managed to squeak by. They had supplies needed, personnel in roles filled, and the Watchpoints around the world began to fill with agents and recruits alike. Their numbers weren’t like they were in their golden days, but they got things done. They were striking blows against Talon everywhere they went-- Teams taking out supplies, intel runners doing their best keeping tabs on the organization. Talon was seeking to start another Crisis-- potentially ending the human race as they knew it.

And so they had to be stopped before they reached their goal.

But it was difficult--easier said than done-- Whatever they did, it seemed that Talon always seemed to be one step ahead of them. Where Overwatch stopped an incident in one location, Talon would succeed in another. Civilian casualties-- Human and Omnic alike. With each passing day, they teetered further and further toward the cliffs of war.

Angela Ziegler was one of them-- having joined back up as soon as she could. She immediately took her place as head of medical sciences-- spearheading the organization and along with Winston, and the newly rescued Mei-Ling Zhou, hoped to point this new Overwatch down a better path. They adamantly insisted they were not a Mercenary group, nor did they have any semblance of a Blackwatch organization in their ranks. Jesse McCree and Genji Shimada served just as much as the rest of them. Reinhardt, Brigitte and Torbjorn all returned of their own volition. Miss Fareeha volunteered her time, as well. With a daring rescue to Rio, they even had Lucio Correia dos Santos and Satya Vaswani-- a Vishkar defector. Even Hanzo-- Genji’s older brother-- had joined their ranks. Lena was present, her girlfriend in toe. The little family they had all been once before seemed to come together once again. More had joined them, over time.

Thursday, November 18th, 2077.

0319.

Angela didn’t know the specifics on how the mission went down. Nor, did she entirely care at the moment. She’d been bogged down with work at base-- requisition orders, several video conferences with UN officials, and her usual filing and medical paperwork-- and had been ultimately unable to tag along on the mission. and so when she’d been awoken by Athena requesting urgent assistance to the returning team, she didn’t waste a moment getting ready. A pair of flats, her usual black-on-black, her hair thrown up into a quick, messy bun. She looked tired, but still threw on her usual bit of makeup to hide that fact.

The prisoner—patient— asset-- had been 'captured', on her request. Athena believed the man to be rather important in Talon’s ranks— one of their scientists, judging by biometric scan and matching reports alone. Siebren de Kuiper, an astrophysicist that had been institutionalized following an accident that left many people dead. He’d gone missing following another incident involving Talon agents seemingly breaking him out— and now... here he was. Working with Talon? Or for them? Her colleagues wanted to know. They all needed to know. This could severely hurt Talon as they knew it. Baptiste had been sent; their only agent who had enough know how of Talon's Fulcrum to free Dr. de Kuiper.

“Angie, You gotta be careful with that guy. His file weirds me out. Story doesn't add up.” Jesse crossed his arms in front of his chest, the American furrowing his brow at the medic as she checked over the man’s file that Athena had prepared for her. He’d taken off his hat, a gesture of respect to Angela in her wing. “Guy took a couple’a bullets and still came comin’. He’s not to be messed with, darlin’.”

“Yes, Dr. Ziegler. McCree is right.” Genji insisted, the cyborg taking a similar stance as the two of them urged Angela to be careful. “He has a power unlike anything we have ever seen. It would be best if you didn’t go in alone--”

“I will be fine, gentlemen.” She responded, giving a warm, appreciative smile to them both. She appreciated their concern-- but she had handled all sorts of patients. “If he is as unstable as you insist, It would be best not to overcrowd him. Plus-- I wasn’t there, and so he likely won’t recognize me as easily. Perhaps from the old posters... But... he will hopefully not equate me with violence. It will be okay.” She reached out and patted at them both, to which Jesse simply sighed and shook his head.

“Ya really are a handful, doc. Yer gonna getch’yerself hurt, yannow that?”

“I am aware, Jesse. Thank you.” She reached up and tapped the man’s nose with a fingertip, scanning over the datapad with her eyes one last time before she turned to the door in question.

“The prisoner has been sedated to keep him still. He is also cuffed to the bed as per procedure.” Athena’s voice piped up from the nearby wall interface-- the insignia lighting up and catching her attention. They couldn't take any chances after what had happened with Amelie and Gerard all those years ago, she supposed.

Angela was to stabilize his condition, and hopefully get any information she could out of him. She was used to strange patient cases— just look at Genji, and Reinhardt, and even McCree. First, though… She had to stop the sedative and get him coherent.

The medic dismissed the armed guards outside the door to the room— who both insisted she leave the restraints on the man, and that he was incredibly dangerous. They insisted to stay nearby— but she retorted and demanded to have at least the room’s privacy. She was sure she could handle the man herself. There was no patient that she had been unable to deal with before-- and she had almost a lifetime of experience.

And so... she stepped into the room, spying the behemoth of a man where he lay. Sedated, injured, hooked to a caduceus IV that had been slowly fixing his injuries. Returning him to the peak of health. His file claimed that he was unpredictable and dangerous, yet she entered the room unarmed-- confident. Baptiste sat nearby, arms crossed over his chest as he slept in his chair. Angela couldn't help but smile at them both. A tap to his shoulder was enough to wake Baptiste, and the other medic only straightened in his chair before looking to Dr. de Kuiper.

"He knows you, Ma'am." Baptiste mused, leaning forward in his chair.

"A lot of people know me, Jean." Her shoes tapped on the tile as she approached, quietly pinching off the sedative stream into Dr. de Kuiper's IV, and ultimately removing the needle from the injection point. It would take several minutes for him to come to, and so she simply looked over his file on a datapad--committing things to memory-- until the man began to stir, his eyes opening and his mouth curling into a confused frown. He was tall-- akin to that of Reinhardt, she supposed. He’d been given basic pants after his gear had been stripped, and was tucked in to the bed with a hardlight cuff keeping his IV arm in place, secured to the bed. Another hardlight strip crossed his hips, holding him down. His face was scarred, and his mouth curled down in a frown line-- this man had certainly led a rough life-- just looking at his face alone. His frown turned into a grimace as he shifted slightly, obviously still sore.

“Can you hear me, Dr. Kuiper?” She asked, her voice soft and as comforting as she could manage as the man furrowed his brow and blinked away the bright lights of the hospital room. His eyes focused first on the ceiling, then drifted over to her as she repeated her question-- taking the little medic in and looking her up and down--sizing her up.

In all but a moment, he was awake and coherent, snapping to attention as he seemed to realize his situation-- his face twisting in anger as he yanked his arm up at the cuff, letting out a furious growl at the restraint. His breath hitched, anger and panic setting in as he pulled again, and again, and again. He looked to Baptiste, and to Angela, and he let out another furious grunt.

“Dr. Kuiper, I need you to calm down--” She started, her hands reaching out to try and steady him-- only to have a lashing hand grasp roughly at her chest with a tightened fist, drawing her up and in close by the shirt as he half-sat up.

“Release me!” He bellowed, and at that moment the woman was lifted from the ground ever so slightly-- not by force alone, however. The room almost felt lighter, the floor rumbling as though he caused it to shift and shake. “I will be a prisoner no longer! I was promised!” The medic kicked her legs, her mouth curling into a grimace and her brows furrowing in almost fear.

“Dr. Kuiper, I--!!” She started, before Baptiste intervened.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's alright." Dark hands touched at Dr. de Kuiper's shoulders, pulling the man's attention away from his commander. "Let's talk. It's alright. No one here aims to hurt you." A pause, and Baptiste tilted his head to the side, gesturing to the glowing gold caduceus IV above his head, its line trailing into his arm. "You were at that convention, right? When she told the world about her thesis? You told me you met her then. You know her, she sent me for you!"

Sigma paused, periwinkle eyes flicking to the caduceus IV as it hung above him. There was a moment of silence, a moment of shaking breath. After a few seconds, his eyes turned back to Angela-- the spectre of a woman who had haunted him all these years, and his fist was clenched in the fabric of her shirt. She weighed so little, and he could barely tell if it was his own strength or his mind that lifted her and several other objects in the room. Bright blue eyes looked at him, surprised far more than afraid.

"Put her down, big guy. Neither of us mean you any harm." Baptiste said, and it was as though he suddenly came to. He snapped to attention, gently returning the acting-commander to the floor as though she were made of glass. Movements slow, deliberate, delicate.

"I..." Dr. de Kuiper started, slowly pulling his hand he'd used in rage back to his side. "I am so sorry."

Angela dusted herself off, nodding in thanks to Baptiste as the medic's hands moved away from Sigma's shoulders. "You are forgiven, Dr. de Kuiper." She smiled, righting her clothing as though he hadn't touched her at all.

The smile made him hate the fact he even breathed the same air as her. It was warm, kind, and genuine. Like the first light after a terrible storm. An offer of grace. His gut twisted in anxiety as she turned to retrieve a datapad that had been dropped, looking to his vitals screen and scribbling on the datapad's surface for a few moments, and throwing a knowing look to Baptiste.

"I apologize for this whole situation, Dr. de Kuiper." Baptiste murmured, moving to sit back down. "For the record, they had to cuff me as well when I first arrived here."

"It isn't the first time we have... acquired operatives from Talon. Once, one of our informants ended up killed because of our carelessness." Angela's voice was blunt, still writing on her datapad.

"Amelie La'Croix." Siebren looked down at his lap, cupping at his forehead.

Blue eyes flicked down at Siebren where he sat, mouth pressed into a line. "You know her, I presume?"

Siebren sat quietly for many moments, before nodding. "She was... A shell. Emotionless, cold. I thought that that was just how she was... I--I'd never met her prior to... what happened, but--"

"Let's not talk about her." Baptiste offered a smile, standing up and undoing the man's hardlight restraints fully. "You're at Overwatch's base of Operations, in Gibraltar. You've been asleep for a few hours."

"I don't remember going to sleep."

"The water I gave you on the ship. It--" Baptiste started to explain, but Siebren only huffed.

"You could have told me."

"That was the point, my friend. I hope you'll forgive me."

"He was only following protocol, Dr. de Kuiper." Angela mused, a gentle hand placing itself on Siebren's shoulder as she sat on the edge of his bed. Her hand was warm, and it made his heart skip a beat, periwinkle eyes looking to her searchingly.

There was a knock at the door, and Angela's attention was pulled away as the door opened to an omnic nurse bringing in a tray of food, setting it on the side table next to Siebren's bed.

"Thank you, Sybil." Angela smiled at the nurse, until she caught two more peering faces from the door frame. Jesse and Genji. Jesse's face was twisted into a distrusting almost anger, while Genji's was always unreadable. Protective, furious. She only smiled reassuringly at them both, and Jesse crossed his arms in front of his chest before the door closed, the omnic nurse leaving the room once more.

"I am sure you're hungry, friend." Baptiste mused, and Angela stood, reaching to the side table to deliver the food to Siebren's lap. Toast, an unopened bottle of Orange Juice, an apple and some yogurt-- staples in hospital cuisine.

"If this isn't enough, feel free to ask for more." Angela added, looking to Baptiste with a nod. "I will let you rest, for now. Baptiste, why don't you go back to your quarters? You deserve rest, as well." Information that was needed would have to come later.

Siebren's heart panged as he realized he'd be left alone again, and he looked up to her, and then up to Baptiste. Frantic, almost. Don't leave him alone again, he was fit for work, he was--

"No, no, I'm fine, I--"

"Dr. Ziegler, why not leave him with at least something to keep him busy?" Baptiste's tone was gentle, knowing, as he gathered his jacket from the back of the chair he'd settled into. She had no idea what he'd been through-- but Baptiste had an inkling.

Angela paused for a moment, before nodding. "My apologies, of course. I will be right back." Angela took a step back, collecting herself and disappearing through the door within a few seconds. The room fell into silence, before Baptiste only turned on his heel and laughed lightly.

"Now it makes sense, doctor." He laughed, shaking his head.

"E-Excuse me?" Siebren furrowed his brow, collecting his orange juice and cracking the bottle open.

"You love her, don't you?" He turned to Siebren, nodding, a knowing smile across his face as though he were teasing an old friend. "You love Commander Ziegler!"

[ohkiyo]

pairing: Semi Eita x Reader

warnings: slight manga spoiler, mentions of the characters' future occupation, alcohol consumption.

word count: 5.2k

a/n: This story was inspired by this picture I found on Pinterest. Also, try to see which part of the story my vocabulary decided to fail me.

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    shiratorizawa navigation || main navigation

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Pushing the glass door open, your heels click behind you as you walk through the hallway, your bag hanging on your shoulder, a cup of steaming hot coffee on one hand and your coat on the other. Greeting the workers who have arrived early and some of the utility workers you walk pass as they clean the office to prepare for the day.

Entering your office, you sat down on your desk placing your bag on one of the empty chairs beside you and arranging the papers on your desk as you finish your coffee. Swinging in your swivel chair side to side, watching through the glass divider as people walk past, chatting amongst each other as they ready themselves for another day at the office. 

You watch as your friend, Utsumi Himari, enters and sat herself down on her own desk, a sigh leaving her lips as she brushes her hair out of her eyes. Her hair looking disheveled, her face bare of any make-up she usually wore for work, and her blouse tucked halfway in.

"Did you slept in?" you ask, motioning to her state as she pulls out a brush from her bag. You stood up, walking over to her and taking the brush and combing her hair while she does her make-up.

"Sleep through all three of my alarms" she answered applying a red lipstick and topping it with some gloss then finishing her look by spritzing herself with her perfume as you tie her hair into a neat bun. Giving it a pat once you have finish tying it.

"Maybe we should really do buy that travelwey home LED digital alarm clock we saw on Amazon" you walk back to your desk, grab the remote and turned on the air conditioner “Let’s see if you’ll still sleep in then”

Your friend just laughs as she fully tucks in her blouse and slipping in her coat and turning on her computer.

"What were you even doing last night anyway?" you leaned back in your chair, clasping your hands together and resting it on your stomach. She types her password in her computer before she turned to you fully, a knowing look on her face and somehow you know what she's going to answer.

"Talking to some guys on my DMs" she grinned at you as you try to resist the groan from leaving your lips. Picking up a crumpled piece of paper and throwing it at her, only for her to catch it easily. "...and speaking of guys, I want you to meet some of them, they're really nice"

You let out a sigh, tuning her out as she starts rambling on about the men she had been talking to in the dead of the night, choosing to focus on your computer. She had been trying to set you up with some guys for the last couple of months, saying how you should be dating already now that you’re in your mid-twenties. 

You don't mind it really, she means well and you appreciate her effort because even you yourself couldn't deny the fact that you wanted to have a boyfriend as well. Unfortunately, the men she introduces to you weren't really clicking, there was just no spark, as what they would call it.

"Hey, (Y/n) are you listening?"

You straighten up in your chair and you nodded your head "Y-yeah" you didn't even realize you were just mindlessly refreshing your emails while your friend was talking earlier.

The door to your office opened, as one of your supervisors entered "Utsumi, do you have the reports Umeda sent?"

Himari nodded her head, pushing back her chair as she opens one of the drawers beside her desk and pulled out a thick banded paper and giving it to your superior.

"Thank you" she sat down on one of the chairs placed in front of the desk as she skimmed through the papers, humming once in a while when she sees something she likes and frowning when she reads something questionable or wrong.

"Oh right, our bonds are scheduled for renewal in two days and our usual representative is on leave" she looks up from the papers she was reading "Is there anyone you know that's available right now?"

"I'll go" you volunteered "I can go to the Finance Bureau right now. I've finished all my work yesterday, so I'm free"

"Thank you so much (L/n), the folder with all the requirements is in my office" she stood up from the chair walking out of your office as you followed after her. Waving your friend goodbye as she continues doing her work alone.

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The big white building came into view as the Japanese Flag hanging from the flag pole waves along with the wind. You parked your car, checking your appearance one last time before grabbing your needed things, and stepping out of the vehicle. Walking up the ramp and entering the air-conditioned building, soft instrumental music playing in one of the speakers, installed in the building's lobby.

There were two offices one on the right and one on the left, and since it was your first time you don’t really know which one to go, you could’ve asked the receptionist as the front desk but you could see that no one was there. Following your instinct, you chose the one on the left as it was the one with people going in and out with folders, envelopes, and some other documents in hand.

An intern greets you, a student intern to be exact, flashing you a smile as she gestured for you to take a seat at one of the chairs.

“Is this for the bonding?” you inquired, just to make sure you were in the right department.

"Yes ma'am, new or renewal?"

"Renewal" she gave you a pink-colored paper and your priority number, filling in the information needed while waiting for the man who you assume was the one in charge for bonding finish talking to his current client, once he was done. He called onto the next one and you stood up, walk over to his desk, and sat down on the chair the previous was occupying.

"From what agency ma'am?" he looked up from the paper he was reading and you were finally able to have a clear look at him. Your breath hitch in your throat as you stared at the beautiful man in front of you.

You cleared your throat, adjusting yourself in your seat "Japan National Bank"

He looks down on his paper again and started flipping through it, not noticing the barely noticeable blush on his cheeks as well. You look around the room for a moment, distracting yourself from this handsome man in front of you. He has ash-blond hair, neatly arranged on his head and piercing brown eyes, his facial features were sharp, a bit intense if you might say, but there’s just some sort of gentleness underneath it, and it was very attractive in your opinion.

"May I see your requirements" you pulled out all the papers from your folder and gave it to him. Watching as he laid them in front of him, checking everything especially the signatures. He returned them to you and started writing on the pink paper you gave him as you neatly place your documents back inside your folder.

"Kurokawa" he called and the student you were talking to a while ago stood up and walk over "Can you please look for Ma'am Takeuchi and have her signed these two" he gestured to the two spaces reserve for signatures with his pen as the girl nodded her head and went to do her task.

As you move to another chair, you notice that they have a lot of student interns here. In the department alone where you are right now, they have at least five, probably because they're always busy entertaining clients, and you saw at least three more walk pass.

You were confused at first but then you realize that this branch of the Finance Bureau was smaller. From what you remembered before when you came here for a meeting, there were only 20 employees working, and with it being a government agency, they are always busy and always processing documents, meaning paperwork after paperwork, so they need all the help they need.

Moments later the girl came back telling something to him as he called you over once again "The persons for the last two signatures are not here right now” he gave to you the paper as you look at the two names with no signatures “They're currently in Miyagi for a meeting. Can you come back again on Monday?"

You nodded your head, inwardly feeling happy at the fact that you have a valid reason to come back and see him again "Of course, so after I pay for this at the bank I can keep the paper?" you wave the pink paper in your hand.

"Yes, bring it again on Monday when you come back so we can have it signed"

He smiled at you, it was small, just a simple close lip smile but you felt your heart skip a beat. You had to will yourself to stand up and walk out, but the fact that there were no more clients in waiting were proving it very hard. However, you still have to go back and report to your supervisor, thanking him you walk out of the door.  

You look over your shoulder, just to have a look at him one last time but what you did not expect was for him to already be looking. His smile still on his face, he lifts his hand for a wave as you returned the gesture not noticing the glass door and accidentally hitting it with your whole body. Embarrass, you didn't even look up to see their reaction as you push the door open and sprint towards your car, heels be damned, you just want to hide yourself.

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“We’re still going to that newly opened bar tonight right?” you ask as both you and Himari walk towards your car, swinging your keys on your index finger.

“Yep” she chirp, a skip on her step as you opened your car “Remember that band I’ve been talking about?” 

You nodded, starting the engine and going out into the road “They’ll be performing at that bar tonight and I wanted to come see them live. Oh (Y/n) you’re going to love them, their frontman has a really good voice. Not to mention they’re all good looking too”

She pokes you on the arm while lifting her eyebrows up and down, you smiled shrugging your shoulders in response. Silently challenging her, now that it was Friday you were more than willing to indulge in your friend’s shenanigans, and who knows, you might find someone in that bar tonight. But you can still never forgot of the man you met this morning, his appearance etch into your mind.

You drove through the traffic back to your apartment, taking a shower and dressing yourselves up before going to the bar to start your Friday night escapades.

"It's nice" you commented, walking across the wooden floor and taking a seat on the table just in front of the stage. The waiter taking your orders as the staff prepares the stage for the night's performers. 

"Right? This might be my new favorite" she took her phone and snap a few photos and posting it on her socials. The tables being slowly filled up by people, tables filled with bottles or buckets of alcohol, and a plate of hot steaming food accompanying the cold drinks. 

"It's starting" you turned your chair so you could look at the stage properly, the lights going low as you can see silhouettes of the performers standing on stage.

Karadajuu no saibou ni hi wo okosu you ni Meippai ni kuuki wo suikonda

Your ears perked at the voice, it was smooth, a bit deep but it goes so well with the tune of the song.

Chi to ase wo nie ni  akogare wo seika ni FURU BORYUUMU de sakebe yo

You were familiar with the song; it was one of the many classics you play in your room during your college days while cleaning up, doing your chores, or studying.

Hikare are!

All the lights turned on and you were finally able to have a proper look at who was the frontman, and you have to say, he was pretty good looking. His hair was tousled, strands sticking out front each side. His choice of attire was a bit unusual, a long fur coat, black jeans, and blacks boots and you could even see a cross necklace hanging from his neck, but who were you to judge? It looks good on him anyway.

Himari pulled you from your seat and towards the open space in front of the stage where the other customers in the bar were already jamming to the song. Jumping and singing along, the both of you weave through the crowd. Standing at the very front and screaming along to the lyrics of the song.

One of the guitarists kneeled down at the area where your friend was standing and blew her a kiss, laughing at her dumbstruck reaction, you just pat her back as she slowly turns to you, mouth agape, her hands clutching her dress. Your eyes move to focus on the singer once again, to see that he was looking at you already. You two shared eye contact him singing the lyrics before he shot you a smile and a wink.

You grinned back at him, getting even more hyped up jumping along with the crowd, screaming the lyrics from the top of your lungs. You downed the last bit of your drink, you don’t even care anymore, it’s Friday, you were going to enjoy the night and no one was stopping you.

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You were now sitting in the bar counter, another drink in hand. You were feeling a bit tipsy now, but you can still think straight, you have no idea where your friend went though. You hum along to the song that another band was now performing; you took a sip of your drink, the cold drink going down smoothly in your throat.

You felt someone slid down in the seat beside you “Enjoying yourself?” the person asks as you turn your head to see the same guy that was just rocking it at the stage a while ago. 

“Yes” you smiled at him, turning your body to face him properly and sticking out your hand “I’m (L/n) Y/n) by the way”

He took your hand and giving it a firm shake “Semi Eita"

"That was a really good performance you know, your voice is really good"

"Really? Thank you" he smiled at you, now that you have a closer look at him, you could see that the tips if his hair were dyed black, which you find cool by the way since you could never pull it off. However, what really caught your attention was how he looks eerily similar to the guy you saw earlier, you can never be too sure, it was just probably the alcohol messing with you.

"You know, I feel like I've seen you from somewhere" you point your finger at him, racking your brain for anything.

"A look-alike probably" he offered as you nod your head in agreement.

After that, both of you just keep talking to each other, sharing some stories from when both of you were still students, and becoming quite surprised at some of the things you learned from each other.

"Wait, wait. So you're telling me you went to Shiratorizawa in high school? And was a part of the school's volleyball club?"

“Yeah”

"What was I doing in high school?" you whispered as you run a hand through your hair and tugging on it "We were literally schoolmates and I've never heard of you? Members of the boys' VBC is famous around school!"

He snorts, waving his hand in dismissal "Shiratorizawa's a pretty big school, not everyone knows us"

"But still..." you trailed off, as you scrunch up your face thoughtfully. If only you were a bit more socially active back in high school, attending events, and whatnot, you would have probably met him years ago. You shook your head, finishing your final drink and placing the glass back on the counter.

"Hey..." he taps your arm then pointing to a table just at the corner; far away from other people "Is that your friend?"

He was referring to the couple making out at a table on a dimly lit part of the bar, you could not really see their face properly but the dress the girl was wearing and the hairstyle gave it away that it was your friend. Your jaw drops, watching as she sits on the guy's lap, his hand wrap around her waist, shamelessly sucking at each other’s faces at a crowded bar.

"...and that's your bandmate" you realize that it was the guitarist guy who blew her a kiss during their performance. 

Turning away from the scene, you stood up, collecting your bag and letting out a sheepish chuckle "Guess I'll be going home alone tonight then"

He stood up as well, pocketing his hands "I'll walk you out"

Both of you exited the bar, walking out into the crowded streets, maneuvering through the people walking by.

"I really enjoyed myself tonight, thank you" you smiled at him taking a piece of paper and a pen from your bag and writing down your number "Text me when you can?"

He took the paper, folding it neatly and pocketing it "Definitely"

Stepping back as a taxi pulled up in front of the both of you. You went in, waving him goodbye as the taxi drove back to your apartment.

You pulled out your phone from your bag, sending your friend a quick text before a message from an unknown number entered.

From: Unknown

Be safe, text me when you get home :)

-Semi

You grinned, sending him a quick reply, and saving his number under the name Mr. Punk Rockstar

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Semi stared at the picture on his phone, a picture of him in his get-up when doing his gig before swiping to another picture of him at work. He kept swiping left and right, taking a proper look at each picture to see the difference.

'Do I really look that different?' he thought taking one last look before closing his phone and placing it on the table. His friends told him so many times before how he was like a completely different person when he’s at the office working and when he’s out doing his gigs.

He took out a mug from the lower drawers on his desk and a Tupperware from his bag before standing up and walking towards the pantry. The good thing though, both of you exchange many messages during the weekend, and you even sent him a good morning text moments after he woke up, which was a good way to start the day.

"Good morning Semi-san" he smiled at the students sitting at the table, greeting them back as he continued preparing his coffee before taking a seat.

"You guys are early" he said, opening the Tupperware he was carrying to reveal a very delicious stack of fried dumplings "Help yourselves"

"We didn't want to get caught in the morning rush" Kurokawa replied, as she took a dumpling and bit on it.

"It was already packed when we got to the station, it was so crowded" 

"It’s a good thing I have a car then" they laugh before he asks them again "So how's school?"

They all collective groan and he could only smile at them, listening as they rant about the stress they were currently experiencing, from their thesis, to their other academics, and to their other requirements. Just by listening to them he could feel just how exhausting it was, he was a student before and he knows just how demanding school can be.

'I wonder how Tsutomu's doing' he thought biting into a piece of dumpling 'Kenjirou and Taichi too, I told them to update me when they can'

He gave himself a mental note to call his three juniors later, even though they're not in the same school anymore nor playing in the same team. They still manage to keep their friendship going strong, they were a tight-knit group, after all the things they went through back in high school, and when everyone was free, they'd have a get-together and check how everyone's doing, giving each other updates on what’s happening in their lives.

They continued conversing with amongst themselves as more employees arrive and when it was near 8, they stood up, cleaned their mess, wash the mugs, and went to their respective departments, all ready to tackle the day.

It took his spot in his desk, calling the clients that were already waiting.

"Good morning" he smiled, as you took a seat.

"Good morning"

"I'm here to give this back for the signatures, and the receipt from the payment is also there" he nodded his head taking the paper from your hand.

"Okay, I'll give this to Ma'am Takeuchi. I'll be back"

With that he left, disappearing into the back where the table for the department’s head was placed. It was a good thing you decided to come in early because you were the only client there so far.

You notice that there was an organizational chart on the wall just above his computer, their pictures, names, and position displayed for everyone to see. You search for his picture, immediately reading his name.

Semi Eita it read and you remembered that you had met a person that is in a band with the same name. Your eyebrows furrowed, as you fish your phone from your bag and opened a photo you took with him last Friday. You leaned to the side, so you could have a proper look at him standing beside his superior’s table while she signed the papers. He had his back turned to you back you can clearly see the dyed tips, similar to the ones the guy on the picture has. 

The hair color was the same the only difference was the way they styled it. Their height was the same and body build, and when he turned around was when you finally realize.

It really was him.

"Okay here you go" he gave it back to you as you place it inside the folder you were carrying. Thanking him and walking out but not before sending him a quick text.

Semi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket,

From: (Y/n)

Imagine my surprise when I found out that this was you.

It read with a picture of him in his band get up attach below. Semi chuckled typing in his reply before going back to work.

Let's talk about it later, want to have dinner with me?

From: (Y/n)

I'd love to. :)

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You sat there an amused smile on your face, your eyes twinkling with mirth as Semi just stared back at you. 

"What?”

You just shook your head, placing your elbow on the table and resting your chin on your palm "Now that I have a proper look at you, your face does look different. Like…" you gestured to his whole face "…just a few tweaks with your hair and you're already a completely different person"

"Oh really?" Semi cocks an eyebrow at you.

"Yes!" you exclaimed "I never realize I was actually talking to the same person" you chuckled, leaning back on your chair and crossing your legs.

Semi runs a hand through his hair, messing up its neat and arrange style as it goes back to its usual messy state "Still different?"

"Now you just look like a punk rockstar trying hard to look like a common salaryman" You leaned forward taking a lock of his hair and twirling it on your finger "Maybe I should start calling you Mr. Punk Rockstar"

Semi groaned, palming his face as he shook his head "God please no, my friend use to call me punk team mom"

"Well, now mom had an upgrade" You grinned at him watching as the server arrives with a tray filled with your order and carefully placing it on the table.

After that dinner date, both of you fell in the routine of having dinner together at least once a week, which later turned into twice a week, until he was coming over to your house and eating your homecooked meals. 

Staying over the night when the weekend comes and accompanying him to his gigs when he has any. It was safe to say that both of you were mutually attracted to each other.

Even your friend says so.

"He's definitely in love with you, he's just taking things slow to make sure you're comfortable" was what she had said one time when you talk to her about your relationship standing with Semi "It's hard to find guys like him these days, so don't let him get away"

So you headed her advice and waited.

Right now, both of you were in a bar. One that was in between a university and some corporate buildings. Walking towards the bar counter, both of you sat down, looking at the menu for the drinks they serve, some music playing in the background as the tables in the middle were already packed with stressed-out office workers concluding their week with numerous bottles of alcohol.

"Good evening, what can I get you?"

Semi almost wants to slap himself when he saw the bartender on duty 'I forgot Taichi works part-time here'

He took a glance at Kawanishi, who was already side-eyeing him his lips curling up into a smile as he waited for you to place your order.

"I'd like the margarita please" Kawanishi wrote it down on a notepad he’s holding as he turned his attention to Semi.

"The piña colada for me"

The ginger-haired boy nodded his head and started gathering the ingredients for the drinks.

"I'll be right back, I need to go the comfort room" Semi nodded his head as you walk away, disappearing into a corner.

"So..." Kawanishi started "Is she your girlfriend or just a friend?" pouring the drink into a glass and sliding it over to him before he starts preparing your drink.

Semi pause for a moment, realizing just now, what really is your relationship with him? Both of you were obviously beyond the territory of friendship, those countless nights of you two making out on his couch and in his bed, was definitely one of the many reasons "Honestly, I don't even know anymore"

"Well better put a label on it then before someone snatch her away"

Semi cocked an eyebrow at him, sipping his drink "Since when were you giving love advice?"

"It comes with the job apparently" Kawanishi place your drink in front of your seat, taking a clean rug and wiping his hand on it. Semi chuckled, finding it ironic how the most aloof member of the club, who refuses to talk to anyone aside from the first string members is working in a bar. A place where entertaining customers and talking to them is part of the job description.

College really did change them for the better from what he had noticed, Kawanishi's becoming more open with everyone, a bit more talkative in his opinion, Shirabu got a little nicer and Goshiki wasn't that overexcited, oblivious kouhai he used to remember. He was grown now and more mature, more aware of the things happening in the world.

"By the way, do you know where's Kenjirou?"

"I'm here" they snap there head to see the mentioned boy standing there, bags under his eyes, and his hair a mess.

"I thought you passed out in a coffee shop somewhere" Kawanishi teased "The usual?"

Shirabu nodded his head, letting out a yawn as he situated himself on the seat beside yours "I'm drinking all my problems away tonight" then he pointed at Semi "and since you're here you're paying"

He was wrong, Shirabu definitely did not become nicer.

"I’m back sorry I took long" you sat back down on your seat and taking a sip of your drink as Shirabu cock an eyebrow, tired eyes observing your interactions with his former teammate before turning his attention to Kawanishi for an explanation who only shook his head and passing him his drink.

So he stayed silent, he can ask for the details later opting to watch the both of you slowly get drunk, and hoping that something entertaining might happen. Drinks after drinks were ordered, some were alcoholic, some were not, and the funny thing is, you were the one mostly drinking it all. While Semi had settled himself with his second glass of piña colada.

"I think it's time we go home" you giggled, letting out a hiccup as you slowly stood up from your seat. Grabbing Semi’s hand for support as he took out his wallet and paid for the both of your drinks and Shirabus then leaving a hefty tip for Kawanishi, who was more than grateful with the extra income, whispering to himself "Finally, I can buy real food"

He waves them goodbye, as he escorts you out of the establishment. A hand on your waist as he carries your bag for you.

"Semi" you slurred, catching his attention as you stop walking. Turning your body to face him, holding both of his hands and giving it a squeeze "What are we? Like what do we call this?”

He frowned, biting his lip as he removes his hand from your hold and cupping your cheek, remembering what Kawanishi said to him a while ago “To be honest, I wanted to ask you the same thing but I’m scared you’ll run away” he rests his forehead on yours “So let me ask you”

He looks at you in the eye “Will you be my girlfriend?”

You smiled at him “Yes”

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»

The next morning you woke to your head pounding, a groan leaving your lips as the sunlight peeking through the curtains hurting your eyes. You sat up looking around the room and noticing that you were in Semi’s bedroom.

"Good morning" Semi greeted, walking into the room with a glass of water and a pill in hand. He sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping at his weight “How are you feeling?”

“I feel like I got hit by a truck” you massage your temple, taking the water and pill from him. Hoping that it would at least alleviate your headache.

“Well, you did drink a lot last night” he reminded you, walking to the window and adjusting the curtains. The room becoming a bit darker as you let out a sigh of relief.

“Did I do something stupid?”

“Unfortunately, no”

 You punch him on the shoulder pulling his hand as you laid back down under the covers, too lazy to get out of bed and do something productive.

“Did you remember what happened last night?” he asks, looking at you as he rests his hand on your cheek caressing his with his thumb “Before we went home?”

“Of course” you scooted forward, pressing a kiss to his lips “I’m more than happy to call you my boyfriend”

He drops his hand to your waist, pulling you even closer as he captures your lips into a kiss.

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»

a/n: This one took a lot longer than expected, everytime I sat down so I could finish it. I always find myself getting distracted.

[newobsessioneveryweek]

Sleep

I had LOADS of fun writing this 10k masterpiece with @jinmukangwrites. She’s an amazing writer and if you haven’t heard of her I suggest you check out her blog.

Inspired by a post made on @linkeduniversetweets (asked by @toschiworlds) 

Brief spoiler-free summary: The Links spend a few days at Lon Lon Ranch during which Time manages to get himself concussed.

Enjoy

The Links had endured countless battles, vicious monsters, cascades of blood, and cold, unforgiving nights in the wilderness for several months but what laid before them offered the heroes a vital reprieve.

Blue skies and a gentle breeze greeted the Hero of Time when he climbed the small hill leading to his home in the early afternoon. The sun shone brightly upon him, almost unbearably warm, but a comforting feeling nonetheless. The smell of hay perfumed the air and left a lingering sweetness. But the sight of the woman that greeted him made the experience one hundred times sweeter. Time swung Malon once before leaning in and leaving a gentle kiss on her lips, relishing the bliss the reunion brought. The pair embraced and the remaining heroes either coed over the joyous moment or turned away to give the couple their privacy.

“I’ve missed you,” Time whispered into Malon’s shoulder. Malon could only barely stop herself from tearing up at her elation at hearing her husband’s voice.

“I missed you too,” she responded, her voice cracking slightly.

Lon Lon Ranch had become a haven for the travelling band of heroes and, though their job was far from finished, the Links felt that their abundant efforts could be rewarded with the few days they were able to spend in safety behind the walls of the ranch. But that luxury didn’t come without its small price.

***

“Chores!” Malon slammed a metal pail on the kitchen table, causing the Links who were having breakfast to jump in surprise. A beaming smile adorned her bright face as she looked around the room at each individual face.

Wild nearly dropped his sausage and Wind gasped the water he was drinking down the wrong pipe at the sudden raucous noise, causing him to cough excessively. “Who’s milking the cows and who’s feeding the cuccos,” Malon asked.

The Links around the table glanced at each other before quickly responding. “I’ll milk the cows,” They volunteered in unison. Malon laughed and took the bucket back. “If you can’t decide I’ll dish out the work myself. Wild, you can stay with me and wash dishes-”

“Lucky bastard,” Legend said.

“Language young man,” Malon chided. Legend immediately shut his mouth and listened. Malon tapped her chin before she turned to Legend. “Legend, you’re on cucco duty.”

“What? Why?”

“Because of that potty mouth of yours.” Beside Legend Warrior snickered. Malon huffed. “Alright Warrior, you can help him.”

“Oh, come on,” Warrior complained, which prompted a laugh from Legend in return.

“WInd, you can feed the pigs.”

“Yes,” Wind cheered. He liked the pigs.

“Twilight, you and Sky are on shovel duty,”

“What’s shovel- oh,” Sky then realised the odd job he’d been given and cringed.

“Yeah,” Twilight said.

“Hyrule and Four, hmm, you two are on milking duty with me.”

“Aw, yeah! I love milking duty,” Hyrule exclaimed.

“I don’t. The milk always gets on me,” Four grumbled.

“Well, maybe you should get a higher stool,” Legend joked.

Four stuck his tongue out at the remark and took the offered bucket from Malon once he cleared his plate.

“What about Time?”

“What about Time- I mean Link?”

“What’s his job?”

 “Oh! I sent him to fix up one of the stables in the old barn. We’re planning on breeding the horses so we need more space.”

 “Cool! Epona needs more friends,” Wind said excitedly. “Can I name the babies, please?” Wind practically begged her, and Malon easily granted his wish.

“Of course,” Malon said simply, smiling widely. “There’ll be plenty of names to give next time you happen to roll around our neck of the woods.”

***

“Let’s see,” Time muttered to himself as he took inventory of the tools on the shelf in front of him. “Wrench, saw. What’s that called again?” Time snapped his fingers, trying to remember the name of the strangle apparatus. “Gimlet,” he exclaimed. Time had long since finished his repair job, but he decided to make a list of their belongings while he was busy. He liked order and he knew Malon would appreciate the extra effort. Just knowing what you had made missing items easier to identify.

After he was done counting the hand tools he moved on to the gardening section of the barn where the heavier instruments were kept. Hoes and shovels, rakes and spades, pickaxes and regular axes hung neatly on hooks right above the Hero of Time, making it easy for him to see each individual item. “Okay, what do we have here?” Time took note of all the different items hung on the wall, jotting them down on his bulleted list as he went along the row.

“Alright, that seems to be- huh?” Time whirled around just in Time to see Epona barreling towards him at top speed. Her eyes held a spark of panic, she moved frantically as if trying to escape something. It all happened in a split second.

Epona charged, ramming straight into the startled hero and carrying him into the wall, causing the tools hung on the short, narrow hooks to fall on top of him. Epona whinnied in surprise and ran away from the scene, leaving the Hero of Time crumpled on the floor.

Time was faintly aware of the serious head wound he had sustained as a result of multiple sharp, heavy objects landing on his head. It took him approximately two seconds to realise how weak he felt and that if he moved his head even slightly overwhelming nausea would wash over him. His ears were ringing, his head ached and he felt absolutely helpless.

Sleepiness slowly began to creep upon him but Time fought the feeling with his entire being. He would spend his energy trying to avoid the inevitability of sleep. He had to fight it! If he didn’t… he would not be the same when he woke up.

In his stupor, he hadn’t realised the day’s coming to an end and so the feeble hero laid helpless on the floor of the old barn, desperately trying to stay awake. 

-o-o-o-o-

"This brings me back," Twilight said, shoving the shovel down in his hands for the dozenth time that evening. He dug the blade of the shovel under a particularly large pile of manure and lifted it so he can dump in an ever pulling wheelbarrow graciously provided by Malon.

Beside him, Sky grunted as he too worked a shovel into the ground. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand and then continued. "This brings you back?" 

"Oh yeah. Growing up, I didn't have parents. I had to get money to fend for myself by doing odd jobs for the people of the village I lived in" Twilight explained, "one of those jobs was mucking up the fields. Didn't enjoy it at the time, but it was good and honest work for a child. Now that I'm older, I help out with herding and taking care of the animals. We have the younger kids cleaning the fields now."

"Odd jobs where I came from normally included carrying books," Sky said somewhat bitterly as he unloaded his shovel into the wheelbarrow, "or cleaning blackboards."

Twilight let out a chuckle and stuck his shovel into the ground, looking around the field to admire their work. Malon did a fantastic job with caring for the ranch herself, but she was probably overworked with her husband gone off on another adventure, and seeing her field all clean-looking filled Twilight's chest with pride. 

"So, what now?" Sky asked, looking at the pile of manure with a wrinkled nose. Twilight shrugged and grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow. 

"I'm sure Malon has a place for us to put this so we can let it decompose."

"Oh," Sky hummed. "How long does that take?"

Twilight shrugged. "Depends. We can see if Malon wants us to throw any unused crops in there to help the process, but, either way, it should be fine to use as fertilizer by the time fields are ready-"

"Wait, did you say fertilizer?" Sky squawked and Twilight grinned. 

"Oh yeah, city boy. Every farmer does it."

"U-uses poo to-"

"There you boys are," a new voice chimed in and Twilight turned to find Malon walking towards them, a smile on her face. "All done?"

"Yes ma'am," Twilight nodded while Sky stood there gaping. "Was just wanderin' where you wanted us to put this?"

"Oh, we have a spot for it by the mill, that way it doesn't stink up the house while it bakes," Malon said with a wink.

"I think I'm going to barf," Sky said, clutching his stomach and both Twilight and Malon burst into fits of laughter. "This isn't funny! I'm never going to be able to eat a vegetable ever again!" 

"Oh honey, wait until you hear what we feed the pigs," Malon joked, and Twilight would have laughed along as Sky cried out in horror, covering his ears, but a different sound met Twilight's ears that took every drop of his attention away. 

As a goat herder, there are sounds that he was trained to recognize. One of those was the sound of frantic, escaping hooves. 

He turned his eyes away from Malon who was punching Sky's shoulder jokingly and looked towards the sound, only to see a horse raging right towards them. 

Epona. 

Instinctively—ditching the wheelbarrow—he rushed away from Malon—who at this point had noticed the startled horse as well—and threw his hands up, calling out. She was barreling right towards them, ears pinned back in panic and mouth loudly panting, until she reared up and cried out right before she could run into him. 

Something scared Epona, if the way she remained agitated until Malon pushed her way through and began to sing a song, something scared her badly. 

"Is she okay?" Sky asked hesitantly. 

"I don't know," Malon said softly, rubbing Epona's mane with gentle movements. "What scared ya, girl?"

"If Epona is anything like my horse, nothing small," Twilight mused, he too joining in to stroke Epona's neck. 

"We should find the others," Sky mumbled, pulling out his sword. Twilight agreed with a nod and unsheathed his own, the joking and good mood a mere fading memory now.

"If you don't mind, ma'am," Twilight said and gave his most assuring smile towards Malon, "you should head inside. I'll take care of Epona."

Malon looked like she was about to argue but then her shoulders sagged. "Bring everyone back safe. I'm sure it's just a wild animal."

-o-o-o-o-

"That'a'gal," Twilight hummed, leading Epona closer towards the stable, one hand still with his sword. Epona seemed to have calmed down some, but he's still worried about her. What could scare a horse that has been through so much?

He sighed and took another step towards the stable, and then he was knocked painfully off his feet by something appearing out from the ground. He landed harshly on his back with a grunt, just managing to avoid biting his tongue, but the sound of Epona's loud neigh was enough to get him quickly back onto his feet. He's back on solid ground just in time to jump to the side to avoid a fleshy, slug-like body and it's sharp pincers. 

A leaver. An almost true constant between worlds. Annoying, fast, and persistent. However, they are normally found in the desert. 

Twilight would wonder why this leaver was here if it wasn't for the disgusting inky tone to its body. 

Infected. 

Twilight jumped into battle without another second to lose. He didn't even have time to regret sending Sky to the opposite side of the field to search for the others before the leaver burrowed its strong body into the ground. Epona stomped the dirt with her hooves, whinnying loudly and angrily and he understood why she was so startled now. Any horse would be startled by something popping up from below them. 

A section of ground popped up a bit and Twilight was on it in a heartbeat, jumping forward and sending his sword down. He could hear an agonized gurgle come from the creature but it wasn't done yet. It shifted and pushed forward, knocking him back. He lost grip of his sword and with a startled yell he was once again on his back. He just barely had enough time to look up for the creature but didn't have any more to spend on defending himself when it raced toward him. 

Then, four raging hooves stomped on it and kept stomping on it until it was a gross pile of mush. 

Twilight relaxed against the ground, forcing his heart to calm down. 

Well, that happened. 

He shoved himself once again to his feet and grabbed his sword, glaring at the creature now turned pudding. Epona didn't look like she'd calm down again anytime soon if the way she was huffing and snarling and stomping her feet indicated anything. So, he decided he'd let her be and go inside the stable, remembering that the old man should be in there. He could calm her down better.

He walked towards the door, gave a small knock, and opened it. "Hey, Time?" He called, the smell of horse meeting his nose. There was no answer, so he went all the way in, eyebrows furrowed by the silence. 

Then, a groan. 

He turned his neck, and his blood froze. "Oh Hylia. Time!'

Time laid miserably on his spot on the floor, tools strewn on and around him. Twilight sprinted towards his mentor, desperate to see what had caused the strong hero to look so vulnerable. Upon closer inspection, Twilight noticed the blood coating Time’s hair and face. “Goddesses, Time what happened to you?”

Time could only reach up and touch his forehead, wincing at the pain the simple action brought on.

Twilight was quick to sling Time’s arm around his shoulder but couldn’t manage to haul him up. If only the hero had removed his armour he would have been easier to lift. “Holy Hylia, Time, you weigh a ton.” Twilight sighed. “Okay, I’m going to get help. I’ll be right back.” Twilight ran as quickly as he could from the stable as Time groaned again and slumped back against the wall. It wasn’t long before he ran into Warrior and Legend who were busy tending the cucoos.

“Always remember,” Legend said beside Warrior who was holding a bag of feed at arm’s length, a cucoo standing innocently in front of him. “They can smell fear.”

“I’ve fought cucoo wars, my friend,” Warrior said eliciting a snicker from Legend, “I am not afraid of feeding these little punks.” As if on cue the cucoo crowed and Warrior visibly startled. Legend began cackling at his side, doubling over at the hilarity. “Shut up. I just got a fright.”

“Guys,” Twilight called, catching the pair’s attention. They turned to Twilight, seeing the weary look in his eyes.

“What’s wrong,” Warrior asked, concern in his voice.

“Time’s hurt. I can’t carry him alone. I need your help to take him to the house.”

“Say no more. I’ll come with you.” Warrior stepped over the fence keeping the cucoos and joined Twilight’s side.

“Me too,” Legend said, making his way over when Twilight stopped him.

“No, Legend. I need you to tell Malon what happened. She should be in the house.”

“O-okay. I’m on it.” Legend dashed off to the house and while Warrior and Twilight made their way hastily to the barn.

“How bad is it,” Warrior huffed as they ran across the field.

“I don’t know. He was pretty out of it when I got there but I hope he’s doing okay. He might have a concussion.”

Warrior hummed in thought. “What exactly happened?“

“I don’t know, but by the looks of it, some tools fell on top of him. He was lying under a bunch of gardening equipment.”

“Shit,” Warrior cursed. “I think you might be right about that concussion. How did that even happen?”

“I don’t know. He can tell us when we get him inside.”

They came to a stop in front of the red and white wooden building and pushed open the large wide doors.

“Old man,” Warrior called, peering inside, “You okay?”

Time was still on the floor, covered in blood and moaning. His eyes were glazed over but they held a note of fear behind them.

“Time, we’re going to help you. We just need to-” Twilight began as he knelt next to the man and slung his arm over his shoulder for the second time when he was interrupted by a sudden outcry.

“Get away from me,” Time yelled as loudly as he could in the state he was in. Twilight startled at his mentor’s harsh words, but he continued to lift him with Warrior’s help. “No, NO! Leave me,” Time continued to shout, fighting to free himself from Twilight and Warrior’s firm grip.

“Time, calm down, we’re just trying to take you home-”

“No, please,” Twilight spared a glance at the old man and his heart sank. Was Time crying? “Not again. I beg of you.”

“Time,” Twilight said gently, “It’s going to be fine.”

Just then Legend burst through the door. He doubled over, breathing heavily. “Fuck,” more breathing, “Okay,” he straightened and looked at the trio, Time’s teary-eyed visage and blood-soaked hair catching his notice above everything else. “Goddesses, Time, what happened?”

“We don’t know, but we need your help getting him to the house.”

Legend needed no more instruction and jogged over to help Twilight and Warrior carry the injured man. He took hold of Time’s legs but got kicked in the face for his efforts. “Ow! What-”

“Let go of me!” Time was frantic. He began kicking and flailing his arms to try and get away, but his efforts were weak despite his dedication.

“Time, we need you to cooperate,” Warrior scolded. “Malon’s probably worried sick.” Legend tried again to take hold of Time’s legs, but Time wouldn’t relent. He kept thrashing. “Time please-”

Time began wailing out of nowhere. He stopped fighting and fell to his knees, escaping from their grips but making no move to run. “I can’t. Don’t take me back there. The sacred realm,” Time sobbed, “I don’t want to go back.” Twilight froze. The sacred realm? Time had been there? Could that mean he was imprisoned with Ganondorf? And if that was the case, could that be why Time had been fighting them so relentlessly only a moment ago? Maybe his head wound was more serious than Twilight originally thought if Time was freaking out about events from that long ago. Twilight moved to pick him up again and this time his mentor didn’t flinch, probably having spent all of his energy trying to keep them away.

Soon the three heroes managed to get Time to the house without too much trouble. But the whole scene was still on Twilight’s mind. Why did Time think that they were going to take him to the sacred realm? What had traumatised the hero so much that he showed such vulnerability; such helplessness, and fear?

Before Twilight could ponder any longer Malon rushed to help her husband. She shouldered the weight Warrior had been carrying and they both managed to nearly drag Time upstairs to bed. All the while Time muttered words of protest, though he was unable to fight back effectively.

 He seemed so lifeless. Boneless even. So unlike himself that it had Twilight swallowing something stuck in his throat. Something that felt like a seed of panic. Yet he knew he couldn't panic, not yet, because if he turned around he'd see the others looking at him, looking for some sort of direction, something to do. 

Twilight didn't have anything for them to do. He barely knew what to do himself. 

So he swallowed that seed and turned, keeping his face as neutral as he could manage, and looked at each hero in the eye. Legend, of course, was there, but until now Twilight hadn't noticed Wild and Four were there as well. Sky must have still been looking for the others.

Well, he supposed there was something to do. 

"Head out, find the others, and bring your swords," he said calmly, a stark difference from what he was actually feeling. "I ran into an infected Leaver out there. They travel in packs, there could be more."

"Alright," Wild mumbled, grabbing his sword and walking out the door even though Twilight didn't think Wild knew what a leaver was. Legend shared a look with Twilight before nodding and running out to follow the champion.

"I'll go check on the traveler," Four said, "he's cleaning up the cow pen. The pig parlor is near there too, so I'll see if Wind is still there." And then he was out the door.

Then, Twilight was alone, looking at the empty house and feeling almost… lost on what to do. He supposed he could head out and search for Sky, but his feet didn't seem to want to move from their spot. 

Then, the sound of creaking floorboards made themselves known behind Twilight. He turned around to see Warrior standing there.

Warrior gave Twilight a small smile and Twilight found himself smiling a tad bit back. Worry was a knot in his chest, but he was sure with the help of the others, this would just be a bump in the road. 

"While they're finding the others," Warrior offered, "you and I can check the perimeter for more monsters."

Twilight was about to respond that it sounded like a plan, but then Malon made her appearance as well. "Actually, I need one of you boys to help me a little more," she said softly. Twilight glanced at Warrior and he shrugged, fixing his scarf around his neck so it wrapped a little around his chin. 

"Why don't you help the lady," Warrior said, "I want to see these leavers for myself."

Twilight nodded, making a mental note to thank Warrior later, and then turned towards Malon as the other hero took his leave. Malon gave him a kind look before she stepped forward and brushed her finger across his cheek. "Look at you," she said, "you need a hose down more than the pigs."

Twilight released a breath and stepped away, folding his arms across his chest. "How is he?"

A grimace passed over Malon's features. "Tired. Confused. Scared. Nothing I haven't tackled before."

Twilight knew nightmares were not exclusive. Anyone could have them. Someone with a perfect life. Someone who've seen more war-torn days that simple days. Nightmares crept up on the cowardly. Pounced on the brave. It shouldn't surprise him that things like this had happened to Time before. 

"Thankfully, he's keeping himself awake," Malon continued, beginning to head towards the front door. Twilight quickly followed along. "I don't know if he's conscious enough to purposely keep himself awake, or if… if he's subconsciously doing it. But either way, it gives us time to find help."

She walked out of the house with Twilight at her heels, and eventually, she stopped by a small garden of berry bushes. She worked her way past them and revealed a small birdbath.

Well, a fairy bath actually. 

"Drat," Malon cussed, "there's only one."

"You collect them?"

"You boys and your collecting," Malon mumbled, walking forward to where a small ball of light hovered over the water in the bowl, dropping every so often to perhaps take a sip. "We're looking for one." She reached forward and gently cupped the fairy in her hands, mumbling a soft plea for help that they both knew the fairy would oblige without a single hesitation. 

"Navi," Twilight whispered in reverence. Malon slowly pulled her hands to her chest, the fairie's light glowing through her fingers. 

"How… how much do you know about my husband?" She asked.

Twilight swallowed. "Um, more than the others. B-but less than you, I'm sure."

She shook her head and began to head back to the house. "There's not a single thing I don't know about him. Do you know about the true nature of his adventures? Why he had been given the title of Hero of Time?" 

"I, uh," Twilight stumbled, placing his hand on the back of his neck and rubbing sheepishly. "Not really. I know he… traveled a few times. Back and forth into the future and the past."

"That doesn't just happen you know," Malon said as they walked back into the house. They stopped right in front of the master bedroom and she sighed, looking older than what he had ever seen her before. "He tells me that when he was a boy, he went to obtain a sacred sword. But his body… was too young and weak to wield a sword like that. Against his will and knowledge, he was locked away in the sacred realm… for seven years, only to wake up in a body that was older than his mind. To a world torn apart by power.

"He… he tells me he does not remember those years locked away, but sometimes he wakes up screaming to let him go. Let him leave. That he's afraid and he doesn't want to be there anymore. I think… I think the memories of that place are somewhere in his head, and when he's asleep or things like this happen, they're unlocked."

Twilight nodded somberly in sympathy for Time’s circumstances. Time had endured much more than any normal Hylian could even fathom, though Malon seemed uninterested in Time’s heroics and more in tune with the man he was inside. She would know what to say to snap him out of his state of anxiety. If anyone could bring him back to reality it was her.

The door creaked loudly as Malon opened it hesitantly. She tiptoed over to the bed on which Time was lying with his back against the headboard. His head faced the window across the bed. He kept muttering unintelligibly under his breath, his eyes would dart across the room, and he would jump at the slightest noise. The hero turned his head at their approaching footsteps.

“Dear,” Malon said, causing her husband to turn towards her completely. He looked exhausted as if he’d pass out any second, but they couldn’t risk him falling into any terrible consequences of a concussion. Time smiled at her, and, for the first time since the incident, he looked as if he felt truly safe. “I brought something that might help you.” Malon released the fairy from her hands, watching it whisk away and flutter over Time’s shaking form. Almost instantly he relaxed, though slightly. His pupils contracted, the dazed look in his eyes faded and he stopped shaking. He stopped muttering to himself and looked up at Twilight who had made his way over to the bed. Time, for the briefest moment, looked as if he recognised Twilight before he shot up and scooted back on the bed, shouting, “No!” and “Get away from me!”

“Not again, NOT AGAIN!”

“Link, sweetheart, it’s just Twilight,” Malon said, reaching out and trying to placate him. “Please, try to remember. He’s not going to take you back. I-I promise,” Malon choked out. Tears pricked at her eyes as she watched her husband agonise over the cruelty that had been done to him as a child. She didn’t think she could bear to see him crumble under the weight of all his years of torture and vulnerability.

Time saw this- her tears- and stopped. He drew closer to her and placed a rough but gentle hand on her cheek.

“Twilight, will you just-” she paused and took a calm, shaky breath, looking deeply into Time’s scared eyes. “Will you please give me a moment?”

Twilight respectfully nodded and left the room. He heard voices coming from the kitchen and made his way there to find that all of the Links had returned. They all wore worried expression, presumably having all heard the news about Time’s accident.

Twilight cleared his throat and addressed the room at their expectant glances. “He’ll be alright,” he said simply.

“Alright? That’s it? No ‘he’s responding to treatment’, or ‘we know how to heal him’?” Four asked bluntly

“What kind of treatment, dumbass? We have no potions, no fairies, and no doctor,” Legend declared, flailing his arms wildly. “And how are we supposed to know how to heal him if we don’t know what’s wrong?”

“We actually had one fairy,” Twilight answered, “and we might know what’s wrong with him.”

All heads turned to Twilight at the new information. “Well? Spill it. How do we fix him,” Legend demanded, tapping his foot impatiently. He tried to look nonchalant but the look in his eyes betrayed his concern.

“He might have sustained a serious concussion, but, with the fairy, we were able to lessen the injury, but we’ll still need to take shifts waking him up. We have to make sure he doesn’t bear any permanent damage.”

The group fell silent after that, worry casting its dark cloud over them. Twilight shifted and played with his fingers, revealing his nerves.

“There’s something you’re not telling us,” WIld pointed out suddenly, catching the group’s attention. Twilight paused. Even though he knew it was necessary to tell them and they would find out even without his help, he didn’t want to spread worry over a handleable situation. Despite these thoughts, he decided he needed to tell them the truth.

“There is… one problem. I don’t think the old man remembers any of us or trusts us. And more than that it seems like he’s trying to keep himself awake because of some past trauma.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it,” WInd asked hopefully.

“Not exactly. Concussed patients need sleep. They just can’t be asleep for too long periods at a time.”

“That’s sure to make things difficult, but it’s just a small setback. We can still get him to sleep and help him remember us,” Sky added cheerfully.

The rest of the Links didn’t look so sure, but they didn’t argue with Sky either. His optimism was welcome in their time of panic. They were willing to give anything a shot if it meant helping their friend.

“I think it’s best if we take shifts. Too many people at once will just overwhelm him.

“If that’s the case I’ll take the first shift,” said Warrior, standing. “I mean, we were pretty close. Maybe there’s a chance he’ll remember me.”

Twilight thought about that. Of course, there was a chance, but if the old man didn’t even remember Twilight he didn’t think he’d remember Warrior, even if they were close. “Okay, go for it,” Twilight said wearily.

Warrior nodded and left for Time and Malon’s room, leaving the rest to ponder the endless possibilities that might come of this.

"Oh good, you all have a plan," Molon said, walking into the room with the other Links'. She gave them a tired yet enthusiastic smile. " That means I can trust you all to hold down the fort while I head to Castle Town."

"Alone?" Sky asked, only to hiss out in pain when Wind elbowed him in the side.

"She can handle herself," Wind warned but Malon just chuckled good-naturedly. 

"I appreciate the concern, sky child, but it's just to the castle. My husband needs more medicine and the sun is still up for a little while longer. I'll be back by morning, just keep waking him up every so often to make sure he's not getting worse," she said, tugging a shawl around her shoulders.

"If you wish for one of us to accompany you," Wild offered smally, "I'd be happy to tag along."

Really, Twilight would almost like for Wild to join Malon. He looked out of his element, and he probably felt like the last one capable to help someone with memory loss and confusion. But Malon simply shook her head and walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling kindly at him. "Thank you for offering, but I'll be fine. My husband needs you all. You're all very important to him. Besides, I won't be alone, I'll have Epona with me."

"You're important to him too," Hyrule said quietly. 

Malon just beamed at him before she walked over to the door. "I'll be back by morning. Earlier if the gates don't lock me in. Take care!"

"Good luck," seven voices all chimed in. Then, Malon was gone, and the boys were all left to their own devices. 

And there weren't a whole lot of devices, so Twilight took a page from Time and Malon's book and set the boys to work. Wild returned to the kitchen, finishing up dinner while Legend and Hyrule went to clean up and prepare the guest room. To Sky, he assigned sweeping the floors and Four and Wild worked together to dust various cabinets. All the while, the door to the master bedroom remained silent, a boding forewarning of what the future had to bring. 

-o-o-o-o-

His head hurt. That was the simple truth of everything. His head hurt. Enough so that he would be quite content doing nothing. He was pretty sure he was asleep, but he couldn't really recall why. If he tried to remember, then the headache would just grow and he would rather it went away. 

Unfortunately for him, he had little choice in many things, one of those things was the over creeping sense of wakefulness forcing himself to become aware of his body, the sounds around him, and the gross taste lingering in his mouth. Something on his shoulder.

He would have preferred to keep his eyes shut, but they opened anyway, bringing a sharp ping of pain through his skull.

Blinking, he looked ahead of him, only to find a wooden ceiling above his head and not much else. He moaned as his headache smarted, but he quickly stilled as he realized that the pressure on his shoulder that he felt earlier was still there. 

He turned his head and his eyes widened. There was a man in the room with him, leaning towards him from a wooden chair set next to the bed, arm stretched out and hand resting on him. Face screwed up with concern.

“Hey, old man, you up?”

Instantly, panic washed over him.

He jerked away from the man, slamming his hands next to his side to perhaps find a weapon. “Get away,” he snarled and the man snapped back as if stung. It was now that he realized that he didn’t know where he was. There was a small inkling at the back of his head that promised that he might have been here, but the hysteria from waking up with a stranger next to him was blurring his vision, making it even harder to concentrate when combined with his aching head. 

“Time, it’s me,” the man said, his voice stern but a little rushed like he was nervous, and that certainly did nothing to make Link trust him any more than what he initially did. “Captain?”

“Where am I?” Link snarled, his voice sounding wrong in his own throat. He tried to shift up in the bed he was lying in, but his body felt wrong and the hurt in his head was traveling down his spine with the movement. A flash of familiarity ricocheted across his skull and he couldn’t help but whimper at it. He had felt like this before. Like his body was wrong and everything was different and wrong and that only made him want to panic more.

Yet everything hurt, he could hardly even think about moving without some sort of pain. He could just lie there and struggle to make sense of what’s going on, hoping his muddled mind would clear.

“You’re at your home,” the man (captain?) said slowly, making an effort to raise his hands and show he was weaponless. Not that Link believed him for a second. People can be crafty when they want to be. “What do you remember?”

“I-” Link swallowed, trying to grasp onto anything that was more clear than the rapid beating of his heart. He was so confused, and scared, and lost, and what was the last thing he remembered? He can hardly remember a single thing. Then, something calming washed over him with the soothing voice of a woman singing softly in his hair, her soft hands running through his hair. 

Safe, she said, you’re safe my love.

And just like that, her face appeared in his mind’s eye, and he was overcome with comfort and safety and finally, his heart calmed just a bit. He didn’t remember these walls, but he recognizes them now.

Home, they say. Safe.

He looked at the man again, trying to see him in a different light, try to puzzle together something he’s missing most the pieces to. 

A name flashed across the tip of his tongue, and he spoke it before he could question it. “You’re Link,” he said softly.

The man smiled and relaxed ever so slightly, and Link can feel the energy inside of him whither as well. He can barely keep his eyes open anymore, the adrenaline fading like a wistful song. “I’m Link too,” the man said kindly.

“Oh,” was all Link could say to that. His eyes are heavy now, almost like something unseen was wrapping itself around him, trying to drag him back into unconsciousness, and he almost fell into it if it weren’t for the hand replacing itself back onto his shoulder. 

“Hey, not yet, old man,” the other Link said. “We have to keep you awake just a bit longer, just to make sure your memory loss isn’t the only damage the concussion did.”

“Concussion…?”

The man simply nodded with a gentle, reassuring smile plastered on his face. “Yeah, you wouldn’t remember that. We found you out in the barn. You were lying under a bunch of gardening equipment with blood running from a wound on your head. Malon, your wife,” Link confirmed, “patched you up with a fairy-”

“Fairy,” Time interrupted, a flash of hope sparking in his eyes. “Navi?”

The other Link’s face fell as he shook his head. “No, old man. I’m sorry.” The pair were silent for a minute. Link kept his gaze on the floor as if it was more interesting than their conversation. The man ran a hand down his face before he spoke again. “Even though your wound is healed the effects are still there. You’ll be out of commission for a couple of days so don’t even think about getting out of bed.”

Link didn’t argue. He felt positively shitty to put it lightly. His head felt like a blacksmith’s anvil… blacksmith… somehow that word felt important as if it stirred the fog enshrouding his mind, trying to reveal a secret that would rather stay hidden. He grasped at it, but it evaded him.

Then a thought occurred to him out of the blue.

Link stared blankly at the man and blinked.

“What,” the other Link asked.

“Why are you in my house?” The question came out of nowhere, unprompted by anything, and yet, this was his house? Why was this man here?

The man blanched. “I’m sorry, what?”

“This is my house, is it not? I remember… that I know who you are, but why are you here? Does my wife know? Are there others? When did you even find me?”

“We found you earlier today and, yeah, there are others Twilight was here-”

“Twilight,” Link said slowly. “Yes, he was in here.“

“He’s one of us,” the other said. He paused as if realising something. “Do you remember him?”

Link shook his head. “No, I- I thought… I didn’t trust him. I thought he was going to take me back. I sense his magic... He can’t be trusted.” Link spoke frantically, trying to get his nerves across so the other Link would listen. He couldn’t go back to that place, no, he wouldn’t!

“Time, nobody here is going to hurt you. We’re your friends.” The man said then he sighed. “Malon left to get you some medicine,” he said and Link wanted to panic, but he could tell that the other was sure of his words, that Link wouldn’t be hurt. “In the meantime, I’m just going to ask you a few questions to make sure you’re doing okay.”

“All right.” Link did not feel fine, but he guessed that the other man meant something else.

The man cleared his throat before he began. “Are you feeling particularly irritable at the moment?”

Link quirked an eyebrow. “What sort of question is that?”

“Just answer me,” the man said, eliciting a small giggle from Link.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said, coming out of his laughter. He still wasn’t sure of this man’s intentions, but a vague recollection at the back of his mind told him that he was familiar and therefore trustworthy.

“Good. Now, tell me everything you remember starting from when you met me.”

Odd question, Link thought. “Okay, I remember… I remember this-this portal of sorts.” Link tried to bring up the memories from his foggy mind and managed to recount his meeting with the man in front of him.

“We walked through another portal and,” Link gasped. He froze as the next memory came to him. “We were in the sky, on a floating island.” His eyes were wide. It was as if he was experiencing something supernatural, but, somehow, all of this felt like he was eating seconds from the same dish. “How is that possible.”

“Keep going,” the man cajoled.

“I remember we met someone, someone who always wore some sort of cape. It was mostly white- Link! His name was also Link.”

The man nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, keep going.”

Link’s face scrunched up as he thought, but every card he drew after that was blank. “That’s it.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. Also, why are all our names Link?”

“We share the name of the hero’s spirit. You remember that much, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Link replied slowly.

“Okay, moving on,” the other Link said, waving his hand in the air. “What are your symptoms.”

***

Twilight was biting his nails. He couldn’t shake the thought of having Time distrust him so much that he perceived him as a threat.

Twilight paced back and forth across the kitchen as Wild finished up supper. “Your fingernails are down to stubs. If you go any further you’ll bleed,” Wild cautioned, sparing a glance at his mentor from his spot at the counter.

“What if he doesn’t remember any of us Wild? What if he sees us as dangerous? We can’t defeat Dark Link without him.” Twilight felt utterly defeated, but he wouldn’t let the others know that. He needed to be strong, but it was so much more difficult being a leader than Time made it out to be. The whole facade that he put up in front of the others was starting to crumble with every minute Time was struggling to remember.

“Twi, just be patient. He’ll come to his senses soon enough. In the meantime, you just need to put a little faith in him. Help him remember.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “You’re right. This isn’t going to fix itself.”

Twilight heard footsteps descending the stairs and swiftly turned around to see Warrior making his way toward them. “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

“What’s the bad news,” Wild asked instead of Twilight.

“The bad news: Time doesn’t remember you,” Warrior said, addressing Twilight.

Twilight groaned. Of course, he knew as much, but he was hoping Warrior could get a different result despite his doubts. “What’s the good news then?”

“He remembers me and Sky. Meaning I was able to get him to trust that the rest of you won’t hurt him. He’s willing to speak to you. Also, there doesn't seem to be any  long-lasting side effects.”

Twilight released a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. It was a start, Time was willing to see him. If there was any chance of Twilight getting Time to recover, he’d take it. “Alright. I’ll go talk to him.” Twilight rushed forward but he was stopped as Warrior put a hand out in front of him, keeping him in place.

“Ah ah ah, not yet. Time’s resting. You should wake him up in about two hours to check if he’s okay. Do. Not. Force it. If he doesn’t remember you, it’s okay. Be patient.”

Twilight nodded sadly. He didn’t want to wait, but, for Time’s safety, he supposed he had no choice. “Thanks, Warrior.”

Warrior flashed Twilight a warm, reassuring smile before he turned to Wild. “I’m absolutely famished.”

“Well and grand. Supper is just about done. Mind setting up the table?”

“Sure.” Warrior set off to find the crockery and cutlery and Twilight stood, staring out the window, into the distance. “Something on your mind?” Wild inquired.

“What isn’t on my mind?”

“Fair. Go take a seat. I’ll save Time a plate.”

Twilight grudgingly obeyed and took a seat at the dining table. He folded his arms and rested his head on them. It had been a rough day for everyone and the fact that Time remembered Warrior and not him made him feel just a tad jealous.

The others had arrived and conversations were going over their meal, but Twilight was part of them. His focus was drawn to their most pressing issue and, as a result, he felt perpetually stressed.

Twilight didn’t notice Wild come up to him when everyone had left the table. “It’s been two hours-”

Twilight didn’t even let Wild finish his sentence before he sprang out of his chair and dashed to the stairs.

“Wait,” Wild called. “Take this.” In Wild’s hands was a plate of food. Twilight took the offered food with a knife and fork. “He might be hungry when he wakes up.”

“Thanks.” Twilight gave a wan smile and headed up to the master bedroom.

Once Twilight reached the door he knocked before he could think better of it. Twilight facepalmed. “Dammit, Link. Of course, he’s not going to answer the door.” But Twilight gave a surprised yelp when his mentor swung the door open. “Y-you’re supposed to be in bed,” Twilight chided.

Time looked, in every sense of the word, like a crook caught in the lamplight. His eyes were round and surprised and he simply stood there, staring at Twilight like he didn't quite know what to do next. 

"But I suppose that's a good sign, isn't it?" Twilight asked nervously, uncomfortable under the elder man's stare. "You waking up yourself? I don't really know the fine details of concussions but-"

He's cut off as the door is suddenly slammed shut and he's left of the other side gaping, the plate of food left uselessly in his hand. 

It took him a moment to find his voice. He reached up and knocked again. "Old man? It's me, Twilight, I just came to check up on you and give you some dinner!"

There's no answer and a spark of annoyance ignited in Twilight's chest. 

"I'm not going to hurt you," he called, knocking again, "I'm your friend. Warrior said you remembered him and Sky; I'm their friend too!" 

"Go away, please!" Time suddenly called on the other side of the door. 

Twilight rolled his eyes. "Sorry, buddy, can't do that. We have to make sure you're doing alright. The sun is setting and I don't think Malon will be back until morning, so you have to work with us for a little while longer." He reached forward and placed his hand on the doorknob, feeling a little like he's about to breach his mentor's privacy, but at the same time his mentor is acting very childish and Twilight can't just leave him be. 

The doorknob jiggled but did not open. Twilight scowled and huffed. "Very mature," he said, "unlock the door. Look, I know you're very hard-headed, but you have to let us help you. You have to let somebody in."

"Send someone else!" Time called. 

And that blow was almost physical. 

It definitely had him stumbling back like it. 

Deep breaths Twi. Deep breaths. "Look! I don't know why you don't like me all of a sudden, but I mean nothing but goodwill! Plus, Warrior said that you'd be willing to talk with me?"

"... I changed my mind."

"Old man," Twilight said in exasperation. "Time. Open the door." He jiggled the doorknob. "C'mon, I'm not going to bite you or whatever. Time! Please?" 

Nothing. 

Twilight had to step away to restrain himself from kicking the door down. 

"Fine! You win! But you will let someone in!"

He turned with a huff and walked back to the kitchen where the others were helping Wild clean up the kitchen but they all stopped when he entered the area, food going cold on the plate in his hand and face probably red. 

"That didn't take long," Hyrule said slowly. "Is he alright?" 

Twilight huffed and strides over to the younger hero, shoving the plate in his hands and then storming towards the front door. "He won't talk to me. It's your turn."

And then he was out the door before anyone could say a single thing. He stood in the cool evening air for a few seconds, panting like a wolfos. 

If Time wanted to act like a child, then that's fine by him. He took off walking, nowhere in particular, just in a random direction. He was sure though, that if anyone looked at him through the windows of the ranch, they'd see steam coming from his ears. 

-o-o-o-o-

Hyrule could only stand there a little dumbfounded by what had happened. It seemed Twilight’s behavior was a shock to the rest of them too because it took a good few beats of silence bore someone cleared their throat and attempted to make some semblance of a plan. 

“Hyrule… do you want to give Time his food?”

Hyrule looked at Legend, the one who had spoken, feeling like he was a trapped animal. There’s no way Time would react friendly with Hyrule. Not if he didn’t with Twilight. Hyrule barely even knew the guy. He respected him sure but it wasn’t like they had any kind of relationship or anything. 

His internal panic must have shown on his face because Sky gave a kind smile. “How about,” he said, taking the plate from Hyrule’s hands and setting it down on the kitchen table. “You invite him down to eat.”

“I don’t think he can handle a large company, Sky,” Warrior said, “he’s probably very tired still.”

“I think that for whatever reason he can’t handle our rancher’s company,” Sky retorted and everyone silenced. “And while Twilight is out blowing steam we can get him down here to talk to us as a group.”

Warrior bit his lip in thought before he sighed. “I see your logic. But we mustn't crowd him.”

“Maybe we can help him remember Twilight,” Wind offered.

“So by the time Twilight comes back, everything will be fine again,” Wild put in as well.

“Fine,” Warrior muttered, throwing his hands in the air. “Fine. But if we break him more, I won't take the fall with you all when Malon decides our lives are forfeit.”

It was meant to be a joke, but if the way the entire group stilled and became somber was an indication of anything, it certainly fell flat.

“Hyrule?” Four suddenly asked and Hyrule almost jumped a foot in the air, not expecting to be addressed.

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to get the old man?”

Heat flooded his face. “Y-yeah.”

He left the room before he could make a bigger fool of himself and practically scrambled up the stairs. He wondered what made Twilight so irritable. Did Time say something rude? And why was Time so insistent about not wanting to talk to Twilight? He wished he knew, that way he’d be more prepared with Time inevitably shut him down too. 

There was no way this would work, and he chanted it in his head like a mantra until he worked up the courage to knock on the door. There was silence for a few solid seconds, and then a voice called out in a more awake tone than what he had been expecting.

“Who is it?” 

Hyrule swallowed. “Um, Hyrule. Um- well, not Hyrule Hyrule. I- I’m the hero of Hyrule? So that’s what everyone calls me. It gets confusing sometimes and-”

The door was suddenly opened and he shut his jaw with a click.

Time stood there on the other side of the doorway, his single eye critically narrowed, almost like he was looking into Hyrule’s very soul. Hyrule squirmed under the gaze, but whatever Time was looking for seemed to be found because he stepped slowly out of the way to invite Hyrule in. Hyrule swallowed and stepped back. “Actually, we were wondering if you felt well enough to join us downstairs for some dinner?”

Time stilled and then he sighed. “I’m… not sure that is a good idea.”

“Twilight isn’t there,” Hyrule rushed out and Time’s eyebrows rose in slight surprise. “He went out. For a run or something, I think. The other’s all want to talk to you.”

Time remained silent for a second before he released a breath. “Did I hurt his feelings?”

“Who? Twilight?”

Time nodded and Hyrule swallowed. “Oh. Um. He’ll be fine.”

“I… I don’t recognize anyone, but each of you gives me a… sense of peace and safety. But Twilight… I don’t know why but I can’t bring myself to open up to him. I know I care about him, I can feel it in my bones that I care for each of you, but I… I can’t talk to him right now. I just hope I didn’t hurt his feelings.”

“I… yeah, he’ll get over it,” Hyrule repeated because he didn’t quite know what else to say. “He’s… strong. And whatever is off about him that you don’t like I’m sure will all make sense when you’re better.”

“When I’m better.”

“Yeah… so do you want to come down and eat or should I bring food up-”

“I’ll… come down. I feel trapped in this room, and some kind faces I think will help me feel better.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Hyrule stood there awkwardly as Time practically shuffled out of the doorway, his eyebrows drawn together with a tightness that could only be described as pain. His head must still be bothering him. Hyrule swallowed and took a step forward, ducking under one of his arms and grabbing onto Time’s side. Time made a thankful hum and wrapped his arm around Hyrule’s shoulders. 

“What is for dinner?” Time asked as Hyrule helped him down the first step. Hyrule grunted with his weight but was thankfully able to keep his balance for a few more steps. 

“Wild made Hearty Salmon Meuniere. It’s really good,” Hyrule grunted. 

They finally made it down onto the first floor and Hyrule almost bent over gasping, but he was stopped when Time squeezed his shoulder. 

“I don’t remember who you are,” Time mumbled, “but I have the sense that you’ve been through much. You are incredibly brave, little one.”

Hyrule swallowed, not really prepared for a revelation like that. “Everyone here is brave. You’ll see that I’m at the bottom of the ladder. It’s you who everyone looks up to. Everyone is taking this memory loss hard. Especially Twilight. I… I appreciate it though.”

“If the me without memories can tell how courageous you are, I’m sure the me with memories thinks even higher of you.”

Hyrule almost choked on his spit as his ears began to feel like they were on fire. 

“L-lets go. I’m sure the others all want to see you.”

-o-o-o-o-

The other’s all consisted of seven young men who for the life of him Link… or Time could not remember. He knew the faces. After they tell him their names he’s almost hitting his head against the wall in anger because how could he have possibly forgotten these young men?

Wind was a charming lad, and he gave Time the sense or recklessness and adventure. Curiosity. He smiled the widest when Time entered the room and talked the most like it wasn’t awkward at all. Time appreciated his energy. His kindness. It reminded him almost of himself before… before everything. Except, this young man somehow managed to keep that innocent part of him alive after his adventure. 

Legend was much on the opposite side of the scale. He can see the sadness in his eyes, but he can also see a spark of flame. The need for adventure still calls him, even though Time is quite confident that Legend has been through more than what he says. There had been many obstacles in his way, and he lost many parts of himself, but he still retains a kindness and carefulness that often goes unnoticed by his prickly exterior. He says things as they are, and Time can’t help but feel a large deal of respect towards the younger man.

Sky was… well, Sky was himself. Time’s impressions of him were that he was kind and positive and perhaps the happiest of the group. But he also has a righteous aura about him that Time isn’t particularly fond of. The sword on his back is confirmation of that. Yet, Time also knows that he would trust his life in Sky’s hands. 

Four was as blunt as a tree branch being used for swordplay. He didn’t dance around his words, and when Time asked for his story, he flatly said that Time had no business knowing. Time can respect that. Clearly, whatever relationship he had with Four was purely made out of trust. Neither knew that much about each other, but it didn’t matter. The boy had a quick mind and sharp tongue, and while he kept his secrets to himself, he still didn’t mind very much being around the others. 

Warrior, Time can’t help but feel a special bond with him. Besides himself, Warrior was clearly the eldest of the group. Time knew that this man has suffered much, and has seen much more, and yet he still went out of his way to be honorable. To be kind.

Wild was a special soul. Time instantly felt the need to pay special attention to how he acted. Searching for little signs that he was uncomfortable or happy or content. Time didn’t think Wild has had that much time to be himself. In fact, it almost felt like Wild was constantly watching himself to live up to someone else. Yet, despite all of that, Time could tell his smiles were genuine, his enthusiasm heartfelt. 

And of course, there was Hyrule. Insecure to a fault, yet his heart is bigger than that. He has a lot of heart. He might say he’s not that brave, but Time knew better. He knew that Hyrule has perhaps seen just as much hell as Time himself has.

The boys were all unique. Loud. Different. And even though the headache in his skull pulsed and his eyes felt heavier and heavier the night wore on, he wanted nothing more than to continue being in their company.

They told him stories. Tried their best to help him remember some of them. He couldn’t recall them all, like the one about how Legend apparently single-handedly fought off a hoard of moblins. He suspected that was just an attempt to butter himself up and trick Time’s memory. But the story Warrior told of the great Goron spice incident came almost immediately back to him with just a small bit of fuzz around the details. Wild looked scandalized at the mention of that story, seeing as it involved a piece of women’s clothing being found in his bad, but when Time started laughing, saying that he remembered that, all of the boys became eager to tell more silly stories about the rest of them.

Wild pulled out his strange slate and began a slide show of pictures, and quite some time passed and he hardly even felt his headache anymore.

Then, the slideshow stopped on a picture of a young man with dirty hair and markings on his forehead.

The mood instantly sunk, and Time couldn’t help but feel responsible for it. 

“He looks up to you a lot,” Four mumbled, “you’re… almost like a dad to him.”

And Time knew this. He knew this the moment he saw the picture down on the slate of that young man. Twilight… feels almost like a son to him too.

Now that some time has passed with the others, he can almost see how silly he was. Sure, he was out of it, memories shattered in his head like a mirror, and Twilight simply had the misfortune of being the one to find him. The misfortune of having dark magic within him that Time didn’t recognize. How foolish of him to make that mistake. How foolish of him to judge Twilight off of that simple misunderstanding.

Almost like a sign from the goddesses, Twilight chose that time to walk in the front door. His skin around his eyes, cheeks, and ears were red from perhaps the cold, perhaps something else. He stopped in his tracks as everyone turned to look at him but his eyes instantly locked with Time. 

There was something desperate in them, so instead of saying anything, Time smiled and scooted a little on the chair he was sitting on, making room for one more to join them at the kitchen table. Twilight smiled like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders and quickly grabbed a chair and made his spot next to Time like it was the most natural thing in the entire world to do.

Laughter filled the rest of the night, and as they told yet another story Time hardly even noticed his head drooping with tiredness until an arm wound itself around his middle and hefted him upward. He did his best to cooperate with his feet, but it clearly wasn’t much help. He was eventually laid down on a soft sofa, a throw placed over his body, and before the calming embrace of sleep could take him he looked at the boy above him. How foolish of himself indeed to think this boy could ever hurt a fly.

-o-o-o-o-

Malon returned in the morning, a stash of red potions in her hands and an irritating story to tell about her next-door neighbors in the castle town inn. Though, her irritation quickly faded when she saw her husband happily resting on the downstairs sofa with a smile on his face. The boys tell her that they helped him remember most everything the night before and gave him much-needed company. When she was able to give him a red potion, the most it did was un-fog some of the trickier bits of his memory and rid him of his headache.

She didn’t complain when he pulled her close, dragging her into a love-filled kiss.

Wind made a gagging sound but Malon didn’t mind a single bit. Clearly, there was no need to worry. Her boy’s always pull through, one way or another. 

[sardonicnihilism]

A Biography of the Woman Who Never Was

Part 4 The Adult

Chapter 6

It was right after Christmas when everything went to Hell. Of course no one knew that this was the beginning of a seven year long nightmare, but you never do. In fiction, horrible things are always forecasted by visions, signs, and omens; always take place on dark and stormy nights. In real life, shit just happens independent of the time of day or weather.

It was a Sunday and Mary was spending the day at Shannon's. Usually, Shannon and her family went to Mary's, but about once a month, she went to their's. They had the usual big lunch and then sat in the living room, watching TV, talking, and Mary indulging in the presence of her grandchildren.

This Sunday, however; something was different. Shannon watched as her mother became gradually more quiet, less interactive with the kids. Her face started to become distorted in a mask of discomfort. Her palor became increasingly white.

"Mom, you ok?" Shannon asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Just feeling a bit under the weather. Probably got that stomach bug that's been going around. It's no big deal. Although, I do think I'll go home now."

"You sure? You want me to follow you up?" Shannon was concerned. For Mary to cut a visit with her grandchildren short, something had to be wrong.

Mary waived her hand dismissively. "No, no. I'm fine. I'll see ya tomorrow."

Sam had taken vacation for the time between Christmas and New Year, so there was no need for Mary to come over and babysit, but she wanted to come over anyway. Shannon gave her a quick hug bye and watched as she left.

The next day, when Shannon was on lunch, she called home to see how Mary was doing. Sam told her that she had called and told him that she still wasn't feeling good and was going to stay home. Shannon knew immediately that something was wrong.

After work, she went to her mom's house. When she opened the door, she could hear her mother vomiting from upstairs. She ran upstairs and saw Mary kneeling over the toilet. She helped her mother up and into bed.

"How long have you been vomiting?" Shannon asked, concerned and also angry that her mother hadn't reached out for help.

"Since . . . since. . . I got home yesterday," Mary panted, trying to catch her breath but at the same time, trying not to vomit anymore.

"MOM!" Shannon yelled in frustration. "You should have called, said something. Sam would have come up, taken you to the doctors."

"I'll be fine. He has the babies to look after. It's just a stomach bug."

"You don't know that. No offense Mom, but you're don't exactly have the best health record here. You're also in your seventies."

The two argued back and forth until Shannon threatened to take the children away. Mary surrendered and agreed to go to the emergency room. Shannon called Sam to let him know and he said they would meet them there.

Mary was admitted to the hospital with extreme dehydration and a potential stomach virus. After some tests were done, it was revealed she had a blockage in her small intestines. She was stabilized and then operated on to remove the it. Mary remained in the hospital for about a week before coming home. At first, everything seemed fine and life returned to normal for a few days.

Then, the Monday morning when Sam was to go back to work, Mary called, frantic. She had been vomiting all night and couldn't come up to watch the kids. Sam told her it wasn't important. Then Shannon took the phone and told her she was calling off work and taking her to the hospital.

At the emergency room, they told Mary and Shannon that apparently, after they did her surgery, and put her intestines back in, they put them "wrong", and they had developed a kink which was preventing the digested food from passing through, and she would need another operation.

Shannon scrambled to find daycare for the kids until Mary would be released. It was always assumed Mary would be and life would go back to what it had been.

Except it didn't.

While in the hospital, they found the early stages of rectal cancer. Another operation would be needed. By this time it was almost March and Shannon and her family had booked a trip last year to visit Sam's family in Australia at this time. The doctor said that Mary should be able to be released at that time but she would be in no condition to look after herself for a while.

At first, several members of their family had volunteered to help look after Mary and the pets while they were away. So it was decided that Mary would just stay at Shannon's house and the family would take turns looking after her. Unfortunately, the day she was to be released, all the family members who had previously volunteered said they couldn't do it. One of Shannon's uncles even yelled at her for being selfish for going away on the trip. With only a week to go, they found a nursing home that would take Mary in until they returned.

Once again, it did not work out that way.

While overseas, Shannon was constantly bombarded by messages on Facebook from her neighbor that no one was looking after her dog, that all it did was bark and whine, and if she didn't do something about, she was going to call the cops. Shannon asked the relatives that had said that they would at least check in on the pets what was going on and they all said everything was fine and got mad at her for asking.

Sam called one of his work friends to check it out and he found the dog with an infected stab wound. He rushed the dog to the vet, and afterward check it into a pet hotel his wife worked at.

The biggest blow came week later when at 3 am, Australian time, Shannon got a phone call from the nursing home. Mary had been rushed to the hospital. She had developed a large, infected bed sore and needed emergency treatment. While in the hospital, Mary contracted C-dif, an extremely contagious disease that strips the gut of it's bacteria.

When Shannon got back, she immediately went to see her mother who was now back at the nursing home. Going back to visit was a nightmare in of itself. The place reeked of piss. The psyche patients were housed at the front of the facility. To visit anyone else, you had to walk through it first. From various rooms you could hear people screaming. The hallway was choked by residents left to sit drugged up in wheelchairs. A woman who looked to be in her fifties grabbed Shannon's arm, and looked up at her with an almost supernaturally wide smile and big, dead eyes.

"Guess what?" she asked.

"What?" Shannon answered back, scared, not knowing what to do.

"Today's my birthday," the woman said in a parody of what joy was supposed to sound like.

"Oh. Well, happy birthday." Shannon was starting to feel somewhat relieved.

"I turn ten thousand years old today," the woman said, her already impossibly wide grin becoming even wider.

"Alright Helen, leave the nice lady alone," an orderly said as he came up and released Helen's grip on Shannon's arm.

"Sorry about that Ma'am. Old Helen here is a grabber, but she doesn't mean any harm," he said to Shannon.

"That's ok," Shannon lied and continued back to her mother's room.

[har-rison-s]

heaven: 2

everything

request: Stan x Reader where they were together back in Derry and kind of forgot about each other after moving away but they always had a void in their lives. And then when Stan is just about to do it after Mikes call his phone rings and it’s you and you’re crying after just getting off the phone with Mike to come to Derry. You both end up going back and seeing each other at the restaurant and you guys just catch up after all these years that passed and old feelings come back. A/N: Hello. This is part two, as promised. Quick, I know. I'll try to write more cause I really want to, and I like this story. I even have ideas for the plot, yay! But I wanna write other requests, too, especially for Bill and Eddie. Don't know why them specifically, but I guess I wanna explore writing all the Losers at some point. I hope you guys like this. Happy reading!

main masterlist

IT masterlist

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warnings: None! :) I suggest you listen to “Losers Reunited” from the IT2 soundtrack.

word count: 2.1k

gif credit goes to owner, which is not me!

Derry is dark. It is summer, and yet the night here falls quicker than in other towns. And it was more gruesome here. The night hid more in Derry than what appears to the eyes of someone passing by. Y/N knows that well.

The Jade At Orient Express neon entrance lights shine bright in the dark night and almost make Y/N squint her eyes at the brightness. She sighs as she stands before the entrance door. This won't be easy. But she will see her friends. More memories will come back. Good and bad. God, she'll probably remember things she doesn't want to and has happily forgotten. She hesitates to pull the door open, standing just half a foot away from the handle. Her friends will be there with her. It will be okay.

Her chance of opening the door is stolen by someone else's hand. They pull the door open before Y/N can even step closer to it and hold it open for her. She has to thank this stranger, so she turns towards them with a grateful smile. Her eyes first see the dark jeans the person is wearing, the sweater and then the shirt collar peaking out of the sweater. Then, dark curls that cast shadows on the frail chin, the round cheeks, the pointed, small nose and the brown, dark eyes. She sees thin eyebrows, dark roots of the curly hair. Looks awfully familiar. Could it be…

When their eyes meet, both pairs widen in shock and freeze. They realise who they're both looking at. Y/N's lips change into a widely-opened o-shape and all she lets out is a squeal. To Stanley, it still sounds the same as her child-like squeals did back in the day.

His face breaks out into a wide smile and he even chuckles. “Hello there.” He greets her finally. Y/N smiles, too, and immediately goes to embrace him. The restaurant entrance door is long forgotten.

“Don't you “hello there” me, mister Uris.” She tells him when she feels his arms sliding around her back to hug her. Y/N sighs and closes her eyes. She feels somehow peaceful in this little moment in time. “I didn't even know how much I missed you.” She admits upon opening her eyes. “Until I… Until Mike said your name.” Y/N tells him.

That's when they pull apart and look into each other's eyes again. Wow. Stanley sure has grown to be taller, Y/N thinks to herself. But his eyes… They're the same, only older. They look exactly the same. They hold the same soul, the same big world inside of them.

Everything about Y/N is the same, Stanley observes. She's only aged, that's all. She's the same little Y/N who'd run around after bubbles and birds and chase the bugs she found beautiful. Same little girl who always had a trick up her sleeve. The same girl who was once his girlfriend. Stanley smiles.

“I hate to have forgotten you.” He tells her, and Y/N's eyes show agreement. “We should go inside, right?” He asks, then, and Y/N nods.

“I don't know if we're late or early, but I don't see anyone I could recognise inside just yet.” She admits, and Stanley again swings the door open and they both go inside.

“Actually, I don't think we'd know how our friends look right off-the-bat.” Stanley speaks. They both look around the lobby. No one really stands out here.

“We were best friends.” Y/N says. “It didn't take us too long to recognise each other.” She points out when she looks at Stanley again. He agrees. They spent the much more time together than with their other friends, they remember that. They were a couple, after all. 

Stanley and Y/N both look at each other with questioning eyes, as if not sure that they're really here, that they do see each other and are, in fact, back together in their hometown. The sight still seems like dreams to them both. An illusion. One of them is more suspicious that it might be an actual illusion created by IT.

They don't have time to think, their names are called by a familiar voice. And that voice belongs to Eddie Kaspbrak. They could recognise his intonation any place, any time. Y/N and Stanley turn towards the man with welcoming smiles and watch him walk closer to them.

“Stanley? Y/N? Is that really you two?” He asks. There's a glad smile on Eddie's face and his eyes keep a guessing glance on the two in front of him. Mischief is in them, too.

“It's us.” Y/N tells him, nodding. Eddie breaks out into a laugh. “My God, how you've grown.” She tells Eddie, looking him up and down. She would like to give him a hug, but she knows Eddie too well and that she shouldn't even try.

“He hasn't.” Stanley says and Eddie gives him an annoyed glance. “You haven't changed a bit.” He tells his friend and even dares to pat his shoulder, at which Eddie flinches a little.

“Okay, okay,” Eddie brings his hands up, “now that we're done laughing at me--did you guys come together?” He asks and sticks his hands into his jean pockets.

“Oh, no, no.” Stanley shakes his head. Y/N hides her little smile and blush of the thought Eddie's question brought.

“We just met outside.” Y/N explains.

“Wait, you're not, like, together, you're not married to each other?!” Eddie raises his voice. His eyes widen in big surprise. “How is that--”

“Keep your voice down!” Stanley shushes his friend, worried of the heads already turning in their direction. Y/N feels puzzled, and embarrassed, by Eddie's question. Maybe in another life they would be married. A life that isn't changed by a killer clown demon that lives in the Derry sewers… “Where are we all dining?” Stanley asks Eddie, then.

“I'll ask the waitress.” Y/N volunteers and leaves both men standing by the entrance. She approaches a girl that looks as if dressed in a uniform and speaks. “I'm sorry,” she starts.

“Hello, ma'am, how can I help you?” The girl asks her, a nice smile on her face.

“We're supposed to meet our friends tonight. There could be a reservation for eight under the name of Hanlon?” Y/N guesses. “Mike Hanlon?”

The waitress nods. “Come with me.” She tells her and Y/N looks over her shoulder to wave at Stanley and Eddie. They understand her message and all three start following the waitress.

She leads them to a room just around the corner which has a big table in the middle of it, fish tanks around it and two people already standing beside the table. Well, that is Mike, and the other man must be…

“Bill!” Y/N cheers. She can't keep her excitement to herself and she walks over to the grown man without a stutter. Bill Denbrough turns around to greet the happy face of Y/N and can only hug her back when she embraces him.

Bill was the first Loser she became friends with, and they clicked right off the first moment. They were almost as close as Y/N was with Stanley, but not quite the same. Bill smiles. “Y/N.” He finally says. “So good to see you. And Stanley! Eddie!” Y/N succeeds to grant Bill a kiss on the cheek before he runs to his other friends. And she turns to Mike Hanlon.

“Hi, Mikey.” Y/N greets him, and Mike smiles at her before they both embrace.

“Y/N. I'm glad you came.” He says to her, holding her tight. “Was afraid you wouldn't.” Y/N sighs at that. She was, too. She closes her eyes and pulls herself back. She gives Mike a smile.

“I had to come back.” She tells him. “I remember everything now, Mike. And I had to come back.” She nods, and Mike responds with the same gesture.

“I thank you for it. I know it's not easy.” Mike says. Y/N nods. It's certainly hard. She feels a lot of things coming back all the time, and when she felt like she remembers everything there is to, more comes back. Including her feelings for Stanley. It's hard to even look at him now that they're back, hard to talk to him.

They sat down at the table once Richie, Ben and Beverly arrived. Y/N was between Eddie and Stanley, Richie sat next to Stanley and Beverly, Bill next to Mike and Beverly, and Ben between Mike and Eddie. Y/N felt at peace finally, now that she was with her childhood best friends. She could smile and laugh freely, she could drink as much as she wanted to, eat as much as she wanted to, say anything she wanted to when she wanted to. No judgement from any of the people around her.

The Losers Club recounted memories shared, recalled people they used to know, guessed where they were now. They told each other what had happened in their lives during the twenty-seven year pause. And what good lives they are all leading.

Ben's on top of the world with his architecture, Beverly has become a fashion designer, Richie is a famous comedian, Bill is a writer. Eddie drives famous people around, Mike has spent all this time researching the history of Derry and of IT--and done a great job of it, too--, and Stanley has an accountancy business to his own name. Well, that's as far as career.

None of the Losers would willingly uncover how un-great their personal lives are and have been since the incident in 1989. They each know the others' weaknesses, but they have yet to remember them and realise exactly what is wrong in their friends' lives. There's a door they have to unlock in their memory files.

The door in Y/N's mind is opened a slit already. She feels exactly like a teenager. The way she did all those years ago. She's completely sure her feelings for Stanley have come back. She loves what they feel like. But God, it's wrong. Y/N noticed the wedding ring on his left hand. Stanley's married. And Y/N's feelings are wrong. But oh, how she hopes that he feels the same now.

He does, and it feels strange. But the feelings are familiar. They feel like home. Y/N feels like home to him. He was stealing glances at her through the whole dinner. Stanley wanted to see what had changed, what her smile was like now. If her eyes gleam the way they used to when she talks about something she likes. Or, rather, he was testing himself to see if he can actually take his eyes off Y/N. He can't.

She returned these longing stares once in a while. Y/N was inquiring something with her eyes only. There was a question she didn't want to ask out loud. Stanley's responsive hazy look lets her know that the answer is 'yes'. He knew what she was asking.

It was dangerous to even think of the question, and its answer. The situation they were in, Stanley's relationship status, their friends' company. If they could be alone… Y/N's afraid to think of what would happen if they were. But she'd love nothing more.

Y/N knew of Mike's true intention of calling his old friends back to their hometown. So she wasn't as surprised and pissed off as her friends were. Neither was Stanley. He was scared, yes, terrified more than he had ever been, but he knows of what he was afraid, and he knows they have to do what they promised to.

Neither of them were cowards, and they were on Mike's side of the situation. Y/N tried to convince Richie and Eddie, and Ben and Beverly, too, tried to convince them to stay. But they went back to the hotel, anyway. Richie and Eddie were scared shitless, she understood that. But they need to take action.

When Stanley felt his horrid fear again, he grabbed onto the closest thing next to him. That was Y/N's right hand. She glanced down at it, and then their eyes met, but Stanley didn't withdraw. And she didn't want him to.

Stanley told Mike and Bill he was going back to the hotel to get the Losers back on track, get their minds straight. So they can all work like a team. So that they can all stay and finish the demon clown once and for all. Y/N told him she'll go with him and got her bag out of her own car.

They got into Stanley's car and silence surrounded them instantly. Silence full of tension and things longing to be said out-loud. They looked at each other and sighed a deep breath. There's a conversation going back and forth between their eyes. Frantic, quick, questioning, afraid, doubtful. Neither of them are certain of anything. But they know of one thing. They go back to the hotel and clear everything out. Everything.

Permanent taglist: @gabiatthedisco @v0idbella @inlovewithmiddleagedcelebs @works-of-fanfiction @destiel-stucky4ever-loki-queen @stfxlou @ur-gunna-h8-ths @empressdreams @betweenloveandfire @but-legendsneverdie @deardeacy @thewinchesterchronicles @mavieesttriste16 @mrsmazzello @benhardyseyes @langdonzvoid @intrrverted @the-freak-cassie-131 @sunshine-stan-uris @radiantrichie

Stanley Uris tag-list: @nightbu-g @sadhwstudent @shawni-h@gothackedalready @seasidecrowbar @starred-river @raspberryacid @facelessbish @tozierskaspb @plum-duels @whereyoustand

@happy-at-home

If you want to be in any of these lists, don’t hesitate to let me know!

[ill-skillsgard]

The Crimson Cross - Bill Skarsgard

Title: The Crimson Cross

Characters: Bill Skarsgard x ambiguous fem OC

Warning: 18+ horror themes/religious themes

Note: Happy October! I have lots of fun Halloween events planned this year! I wrote this last year as part of my Halloween Special Fic Prompt Challenge. I have since rewritten it and here it is once more! This was based on a few great reader prompts sent in last year! Patreon subscribers got early access to this fic during the month of Smutember! Enjoy!

"I'll stay. I'll stay. You'll be safe. I promise. I'll keep you safe."

"What's this camera for?" I asked.

I watched him set up one last camera on the granite island in the middle of my kitchen. He fastened it to a small, bendable tripod and pointed the lens right at where I was sitting on an Ikea barstool.

"This one is going to be your journal camera, see?" He pointed to a label on the side of it that said journal cam #1. "I would like for you to record some entries with this. Feel free to take it into another room if you want to, although there is good lighting in here. It's just so I can keep a log of everything; including how you feel each day at any given time. You don't have to be thorough with it. Even just a minute or two each day to say how you feel and if you experience any changes. Anything at all. Even if you just want to vent. Whatever you like."

 He turned on the camera and circled to where I was seated. "This is case number seventy-five. The day is October third, two-thousand eighteen. Day one of recording. Now, please state your name and age, and if you could confirm that today is October the third."

 I did as I was told and spoke directly into the camera. I felt a crack of nervousness erupt over my face, but Bill assured me that once I got used to the cameras, it would become second nature. He brought several bags of equipment including a small black leather briefcase that contained various religious relics pressed neatly into red velour slots. There was a place for a small glass decanter of holy water, a crucifix, a rosary, and a bible. When I gazed upon the items in his briefcase, the reality seemed far too stark again.

 "You don't look like a priest," I commented.

 "That's because I'm not a priest. I'm a demonologist."

 "But the church sent you."

 "Yes. I work very closely with the church in town."

 "That must be an interesting career choice. Demonologist? Did you always aspire to become one?"

 Bill's lips pressed together like he was withholding a dark confession and then, with a sigh, he gave voice to what he needed to say to satiate my curiosity. "I wouldn't say I volunteered for this job. It's not something I dreamed of as a kid or anything- exorcising demons and whatnot. I'd say I was chosen for it by a higher power."

 "So you are religious?"

 His eyes settled on me gravely. For a moment, I thought maybe I had offended him, but he sighed and shook his head slowly. "I know there's good in the world and evil. I want to be on the right side when the day of reckoning comes, you know? I'm not a devout Christian, but ma'am, I have seen some things that would make you think twice about what exists beyond this Earthly realm."

 Then it was my turn to grimace with displeasure, for I knew far too well that there were forces of malicious intent. Of course, nobody believed me when I told them that I was being tormented by a spirit that seemed to harbour an abhorrence for me. Several anomalies had occurred that I could not give an explanation to and when I told my close friends and relatives they all had their different theories at the ready, none of them comforting.

 "You must have been sleep-walking."

 "There's always some explanation for those types of things."

 "Maybe it was somebody just playing a prank?"

 "I don't believe in ghosts. I especially don't believe in demons! Come on... It could have been a tremor. They're more common than you'd think!"

 I knew it was none of those things. Not when every mirror in my house had been smashed out, including the tiny circular mirror in my makeup compact. Any reflective surface that I had ever looked at myself in had shattered. At first, I thought maybe it was a slight earthquake overnight, but the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. Why would every mirror break and not every glass picture frame? Why would the china teacups in my kitchen remain unscathed? How could it be that the windows remained intact?

 Then one night I heard the voice. It started as a low hum that barely roused me from my slumber but soon climbed octaves until it pierced my eardrums and violently ripped me from sleep. I sat up in bed and listened hard. My friends blamed the sound on Tinnitus, but I had thwarted that theory by going to see a doctor who told me that my hearing was just fine. The sound grew and grew until I couldn't take it, and the moment I covered my ears and closed my eyes, my new bedroom mirror shattered like thin ice.

 Something was angry with me, and I didn't know what to do. That was when I sought help from the church. I hadn't set foot inside a church for nearly two decades, but I was desperate for answers. So desperate that I set aside my morals, bit the bullet and admitted that a spirit was tormenting me. The priest I spoke to didn't question me or suggest that perhaps I needed to see a psychologist. He believed me immediately and referred me directly to Bill; the resident demonologist who lived in the outskirts of town.

 The entire process seemed too easy, and before I knew it, Bill had come to my house to survey the scene, set up cameras and to smear every room with holy water while I waited outside for him to finish up. I stood on the front lawn in my boots and a denim jacket to keep me warm in the brisk morning of early Autumn. He was in there for nearly an hour after setting everything up and came out with all of his bags and the small briefcase containing his religious talismans. 

 He grinned politely at me as he approached, trudging through the damp grass and newly fallen leaves to where I was standing with my arms crossed over my chest.

 "I left my card next to the journal camera in case you need to call me. I'm usually available at any time but if you miss me, leave me a message, and I'll get back to you."

 "All right. Well, I'm very grateful for everything. I wasn't expecting to find help so easily."

 "I understand what it's like to be in this type of situation. Most people try to rationalize or tack on any number of explanations until it becomes too late."

 "Too late?"

 Bill shifted uncomfortably from side to side. He wore a long black wool coat and leather gloves that squeaked when he adjusted his grip on the briefcase handle. "There's a reason why the church has hired me. Cases like these have reached an all-time high. I don't want to scare you though so I'll spare you the details."

 "No... Please. I want to know," I urged.

 "Let's say the last case I had, number seventy-four... They waited too long to contact anybody. There was," Bill sighed, his breath turning to vapour in the fresh air. "There was an accident. It's still under investigation. I can't exactly say what it was because I still don't know myself. All I can say is that it was good of you to reach out as soon as you did. The success rate of banishment is higher in the early stages."

 "Early stages?"

 "I could talk for hours about each case and how it differs from the last. No two have been the same, so I don't want to worry you. Honestly. You will be fine."

 "No offence, but nothing you are saying to me is providing any comfort. Am I going to die? Does this spirit want me dead?"

 "This is why I don't like answering too many questions. It's like looking up your symptoms online. You're going to settle on the first drastic theory that you are in danger and it will consume you. I want you to maintain a clear head. This always works better if you're able to stay level. It's harder to penetrate a strong mind than a weak one, and you don't strike me as weak-minded."

 The strange compliment made me smirk, but I remained shaken to the core from everything that had transpired. Bill set down the duffle bag he had brought that housed his camera equipment and stuck out his gloved hand for me to shake.

 "Like I said... If you need anything at all, my card is on your counter. You can call text or e-mail me. Whatever you like. I'll be back in a week to go over the footage and to assess the house again. Oh. Also, don't be alarmed when you see your bedroom door. It's just a precaution."

 Bill nodded curtly, picked up the duffle bag and left after loading it all into the trunk of his car. I saw him off with a wave, and once he pulled out and drove away, I made my way back inside.

 There was a camera installed in each room of the house and one��pointing down the hallway. When I went upstairs, I stopped abruptly and gazed down the hall at a crude red cross painted on my bedroom door. I scoffed as I approached it, shocked but not entirely surprised to see it. Bill had painted a huge red cross on my door. The closer I got, the quicker it became evident that he hadn't used regular paint to mark it. The cross drawn in blood dribbled down towards the floor, drying in some spots and still wet in others. With the tip of my index finger, I touched the right arm of the cross and rubbed it over my thumb. When I smelled it, my gut churned from the acrid stench of some pitiful beast's blood.

 ~*~

 "So this is the first morning that I am recording... I guess this is my journal. Bill told me to say how I'm feeling, how the night went, whether I experienced any changes or not and I have to say that despite there being a huge, bloody red cross on my bedroom door, I slept like a baby! No noises. No broken glass or windows. Just nightmares of Bill slathering God knows whose blood on my newly painted door. So thank you for that, Bill. That is truly disgusting," I laughed.

 "Today I'm going out for a while into town to pick up some groceries and things, probably going to go to the gym. Just boring everyday stuff, I guess I'll let you know about it tomorrow when I make my next entry. Um, goodbye, I guess?"

 The day went on as normal as any other day. I completed all of my errands, and when I got home, I made myself dinner and sat down to watch TV. After all of the stress, I tried to take my mind off the cameras pointed at me. It was strange to know but easy to forget after a while.

 A soft dusting of fuzz came over the TV screen and then flickered back to normal. I waited for it to happen again and when it didn't, I shook my head. Then it happened again, quicker this time. The interference skewed the image of the popular talk-show host, and the sound blipped.

 "Goodbye, I guess?"

 I put down my phone and looked behind me. 

 "Goodbye, I guess?" It repeated.

 Whipping around, I looked back into the kitchen instinctively to see if something was amiss. The television went grey and fuzzy, but I could still see the images from the show I was watching only the sound was off, and I swore I heard my voice.

 "Huge, bloody red cross. Goodbye."

 The plunge my heart took nearly stole my breath, and I jumped up on the couch as though the ground was going to swallow me whole.

 "Is this a joke?" I called out.

 Scrambling from the couch, I went to the corner of the living room to peer at the camera mounted to the ceiling. "If this is some joke, I am seriously not laughing! Why would you fuck with me like this?"

 I knew that nobody was playing a joke on me, and the ringing of terror shook my insides and threatened to make bile rise from my stomach. 

 "Huge, bloody red cross. Huge, bloody red cross. HUGE BLOODY RED CROSS!" The words boomed through the speakers of my surround sound system until the television turned itself off with an electric crackle, leaving me in a silence that was just as horrific as the words that screamed at me.

 I ran to the kitchen and found Bill's card to dial his number as quickly as my fingers would allow. I had to backspace several times because I couldn't type the numbers correctly with hands shaking. When I finally had it, I pressed send and held the phone up to my ear, quietly begging for Bill to answer. It was late, and I half expected to get his voicemail, but he picked up, and I let out the breath clenched up in my lungs.

 "Hello?"

 "Bill! It's me. Please. Something is happening. I'm scared."

 "What? What is happening?"

 "I don't know! I don't know!" I yelled. "My voice... My voice started playing on the TV!"

 "What do you mean?"

 "I don't know! Please! I don't know. I can't be here. Please, you have to fix this."

 "No, don't leave. Do not leave the house. Don't bend to its will. You have to remain there."

 "I can't!" I began to cry. "I'm scared. It was yelling... Shrieking! I don't know how it had my voice, but it was my voice, and it was repeating what I said this morning!"

 Bill grunted tiredly. Any other time I would have felt terrible for calling somebody so late, but I was terrified of what would happen if I remained alone in my house.

 "Listen to me. Stay where you are. Do not leave! I'm on my way over right now. I'll be there in a few minutes."

 He hung up the phone, and I stared blankly at the screen until it timed out and went black. As I waited, I turned on every light in the house and stood in the middle of my kitchen with a chef's knife in hand. I knew it was silly but having a weapon with me made me feel slightly safer, especially when the kitchen lights started flickering.

 "Get out of my house, whatever you are! Spirit... Demon... You are not welcome here!" I yelled.

 The light fixture above the kitchen island quivered with protest, and I cowered up against a wall, shielding my face with my arm, knife still poised in my hand. 

 "Get out! You don't belong here! Go fuck with somebody else!"

 The television turned on again only it didn't come back to the channel I had been watching. Instead, it was a feed of me sitting at the kitchen island, looking into the journal camera with a stupid grin on my bare face.

 "Huge, bloody red cross... Just nightmares. Goodbye, I guess. Just nightmares. Nightmares. Bloody red cross. Blood. Goodbye."

 "STOP! STOP IT!" I screamed.

 "Bloody red. Nightmares. Goodbye. Goodbye. Bloody red cross."

 The video played over on a loop until the screen went grey and sparkled with fuzz-- the image of me distorting and the sound of my voice coming out lower and louder than before.

 "BLOODY RED, BLOODY RED, BLOODY RED!"

 I couldn't take the torture anymore. I ran into the living room, dropped to my knees hard enough to burn against the carpet and pulled the entire power bar from the outlet, effectively silencing the TV and all of the speakers it played through. Tears boiled in my eyes and I cried on the floor clutching the chef's knife in one hand and my chest with the other.

 The knock on my door made me yelp, and I swivelled my body around as Bill barged in through the front door. He was white as a ghost in the face, and when he found me on my knees next to the TV, he turned even paler.

 "Are you okay?" He approached, kneeling to grasp my shoulders.

 "I can't stay here," I blubbered through tears and snot.

 "Listen to me... Listen to me! Please. I know you're scared, but you have to stay right here."

 "I don't want to! Don't make me!"

 "I'll stay here with you if that's what it takes. However, you cannot flee."

 "I'm losing my mind."

 "You're not losing your mind. I promise. Hey... Hey! Look at me," Bill tipped my chin up and gazed upon my wet, contorted face.

 He wiped the tears from my cheeks with two thumbs but as soon as he did more salty hot liquid ran down to replace what he had just cleared away. Bill looked upon my face with pity and hugged me close. I whimpered into the collar of his shirt as he hushed me and began to rock me back and forth.

 "I'll stay. I'll stay. You'll be safe. I promise. I'll keep you safe."

 ~*~

 Bill tried to insist that I sleep in my bedroom and that he would sleep on the living room couch, but I could not be convinced to stay the night without the presence of another person in the house. After some arguing, we reached a verdict. I would sleep on the couch, and Bill would stay near me on the floor on top of a sleeping bag. I felt silly to have made a fully grown man sleep on the floor beside me, but without someone there, I would have never been able to close my eyes for more than what it took to blink.

 The next morning I woke up to the smell of coffee and cooking. I rose from the couch, no doubt looking frightful with my hair mussed and a night's worth of crust built up in the corners of my eyes.

 "Good morning," Bill said as he approached with a mug of steaming coffee.

 I accepted the mug with a gracious nod though I said nothing. Bill stood tall above me and watched as I took a small sip of the piping hot liquid, grimacing when I realized it was still far too warm to consume.

 "Easy there. I just made it," he warned after the fact.

 I went to set the mug down on the coffee table, but I soon realized that we had moved it to the other side of the room so that Bill could sleep parallel to me on the carpet. He watched as I struggled to keep hold of the scalding cup and simpered softly before taking it from my hands again. 

 "Here, I'll just put this back over here, and you can have it in a minute. Hope you don't mind I've taken the liberty of making breakfast. I'm one of those people that needs to eat right after waking up, and I didn't want to leave you. I also didn't want to wake you either."

 "That's okay," my voice cracked.

 "How are you feeling this morning?" He asked as though reminding me of the night's events was the last thing he wanted to do.

 I shrugged my shoulders, and one strap of my tank top came down with it. Bill's lips cocked for a moment, and he reached, plucked the strap and shifted it back into place. 

 "Well, why don't you go hop in the shower or do whatever it is you need to do in the morning, and by the time you finish up, breakfast should be ready."

 "Okay. Thanks," I whispered before clearing my throat. "Thanks for coming. I know you didn't have to."

 "Well... You're kind of my problem. You're my case. And I told you that you could call me at any time."

 "I know but... I don't know. I feel stupid."

 "Don't feel stupid. I'm here for you. As of right now, you're my main priority."

 I washed, dressed and towelled my damp hair before joining Bill in the kitchen again. He set down a plate of eggs, potatoes, and toast for me and I thanked him as genuinely as possible. It had been a long time since somebody had made me a meal, and when I watched him bustle around my kitchen, I felt ten times safer. Maybe it was his height or the positive way he walked, but I somehow felt like Bill was more than qualified enough to protect me. I didn't know hardly a thing about him except that his voice was comforting and having him there made me almost forget about the horrible night I'd had.

 After we finished eating and he took the dishes away, Bill turned on the journal camera much to my dismay.

 "Please... I don't want to. Not after last night," I shied away.

 "I need a log for my records. It's okay. You don't have to look into the lens. Just look at me instead. Pretend you're telling me. Pretend I'm your journal. Just ignore the camera."

 With a sigh, I relented and began to tell him how I felt about what had transpired the night before.

 "So last night, something freaky happened. I was watching TV, and suddenly a voice came over that didn't belong. It was my voice, but it sounded. I don't know. I can't quite describe it. All I can say is that it sounded off. It kept repeating to me what I had said in the morning during my first log. It kept saying bloody, red cross like it was angry with me or something. The TV started going fuzzy, and then the words just started booming over all the speakers. That's when I called Bill," I paused to nod at the man standing behind the camera. "He came over and, of course, as soon as he entered everything stopped. So I made him stay the night because I was scared as hell. Now here we are. Bill just made breakfast, and now we're sitting here enjoying our coffee."

 "Good, that's good," Bill said with a smile. "Anything else?"

 "Oh... Yeah, and I guess I feel a little bit better only because Bill is here. Honestly, If it weren't for him, I would have been ten counties over by now."

 "But we're going to stay here and fight on, aren't we?" Bill asked.

 I nodded before sipping my coffee again. "We're going to stay here and fight."

 "Because you promised me that you would stay, right?"

 Rolling my eyes, I laughed, "because I promised Bill that I wouldn't leave."

 When he powered down the camera, he looked at me with an uneasy smile. "Well, I guess I should get going. I have some things I need to do today-"

 "You're leaving?" I asked incredulously before shaking my head.

 Of course, he was leaving. It would have been foolish for me to think that he would drop everything to accompany me, but when I looked at him again, I didn't want to spend another night alone. The fear that I had felt so potently in my chest returned, and tears threatened to make another appearance down my cheeks.

 "Well, yeah. I don't have any clean clothes here, and I have some work to do."

 He saw how I bit my lip and worried with my fingers picking at the underside of my nails. 

 "I can come back after," he offered.

 "Would you? Oh. No. I shouldn't. I guess I shouldn't bother you again. Sorry. I know it's dumb of me to think-"

 "How about I come back later tonight to check up on you?"

 I nodded, relieved as could be. "Okay. That's... Good. That's fine."

 Bill smirked at me. "I'll bring an air mattress."

 Then it was my turn to smirk.

 ~*~

 Bill kept his promise and showed up at the door with a gym bag and a rolled-up air mattress. Greeting him at the door felt like the beginning of a fun sleepover, but I couldn't kid myself for long. He was there solely for my protection; even if we only make popcorn and chatted about things that were irrelevant to my case. We blew up the mattress, but it remained untouched as Bill sat beside me on the couch with a laptop open, going over some of the footage from the night before. I told him that I didn't want to look, but every once in awhile, I would peer over to see what he was doing.

 When he finished with his work, he folded his small laptop and stowed it away in the bag brought with him. I saw that he had a change of clothes and a couple of pairs of socks in the gym bag and suddenly felt terrible again for insisting he stay with me. After all, he was an adult with his own life and priorities, and I was nearly a stranger to him.

 "You don't have to stay the night again. I know it's not necessary."

 "Don't be silly. I told you a hundred times. It's fine. Plus, I would rather stay to make sure that you don't flee the country or something."

 "I won't."

 "I know but... Trust me. If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be. You're my top priority."

 "Do you even get paid to do this?" I asked him.

 "The church pays me, but like I said before... I didn't exactly volunteer myself to this cause. It's more of an obligation."

 "That doesn't sound pleasant at all," I said with a grimace.

 Bill sighed deeply and reached out to touch the back of my palm softly, "I can at least find solace in knowing I've helped those that cannot help themselves."

 When I thought that he would take his hand away, I was mistaken. Bill only moved closer to me on the couch and grasped my hand a tighter. I spread my fingers out, and he threaded his own through the spaces created. 

 "I know what it's like to be so afraid that you can't think straight," he said in a voice that bordered a whisper. "I want to keep you safe."

 "Thank you," I murmured.

 "You were put on my path for a reason. I know it. I was meant to protect you."

 "How do you know that?" I inquired.

 "Last night, before you called me... I was dreaming about you. I couldn't escape the feeling that I was meant to meet you. It was as though something was trying to tell me that you were in trouble and that I needed to go to you. Then you called, and that was all I needed to be convinced. I'm supposed to be here with you."

 Bill lifted my hand and brought the back of my palm to his lips. I shivered when he pressed a kiss to my skin, but I had never felt safer in my life.

 "We're going to battle this together."

  @dreamtherapy​ @reinamysterio​ @skarswhat​ @mightbelindsey​ @sexual-rendezvous-blog​ @billskarsgardx​ @michaeliskindahot​ @mycrimsonsparrow​ @tigers-pat​ @rainbowmoosie​ @tinygayfungi​ @pancake-blonde​ @bskarsgardlove92​ @sarah2057​ @ohcaptains​ @jamierdr @loveforbillskasgard​ @vikingsmania​ @billdreamy69​ @lordeofther1ngs​ @theredheadsbookcorner​ @1-800-imagines​ @readsalot73​ @nicolehoran-maybe​ @weirdlilwitch​ @enchantedreadersworld​ @allkundsofwrong​ @loey-bae​ @bill-istvan​ @army-crawl-andersen​ @ohtheangst​ @beyond-the-ashes​ @whoplansthese​ @evaolii​ @frappylou​ @alylanaeblack​ @creepshowzombae​ @billullabies​ @bohemianfortunes​ @moondustmemories​ @terry2227​ @ivarlcthbrok​ @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla​ @alltimesamantha​ @amelia-in-w0nderland​ @thestonerosas​ @skrsgvrd​ @sorryimviolet​ @tweakersqueaker​ @inforapound​ @eff1ngqueen​ @skrsgrd-my-boi​ @rekdreams-fandom​ @b-afterhours​ @anastasiaskarsgard​ @ainatirb-j​ @voodoo-queen​ @quiche-pocket​ @awkward-haux​ @thorins-queen-of-erebor​ @originalclodmakergarden​ @skrsgardspams​ @tumblingdwntherabbithole​ @xbuckxnastyx​ @lauraaan182​ @justlira @skadithegoddess​ @whiskeyxinxaxteacup @calumculia0​ @micheallangdons​

(If you would like to be tagged or have your tag removed, please let me know!)

[fal-carrington]

Just The Two Of Us Pt.4

Pairing: Kamilah x Mc x Adrian

Disclaimer: The Characters are NOT mine

(Part 1) (Part2) (Part 3)

Prompt: After the last night fighting against Gaius, before his fall, he puts his plan into execution, changing the lives of Adrian, Kamilah and Mia forever. Friendships may end, a heart may be broken and a new love may arise. In the end who will win the girl's heart? 

Tag List: @galaxyside-0 @zoe6111 @rocket-scientist07 @scarlet-letter-a0114 @gavryllo @loveshamelessly @thecleveridiot09 @jen825 @zerozone-80 @whoinvitedalx @kamilahspet @ilovekamilahsayeed @sleeping-with-her06 @rubyheartjane @incorrectbloodboundquotes @bucket-harrington @desiree-0816 @kamilahspet @riyalovestaylor @iam-the-fuckin-queen @thepotatobleh @pizzapyjamas @deereboy97 @justejuste727 @jellymonster @tigerbryn11 @awesome-maxs-stuff

2 months later

Ahmanet Financial, Wednesday, 22h44pm

Mia sighed, breathing deeply a few times before entering Kamilah's building. She needed to talk to Kamilah, urgently. The two of them had not been on the same page for months... Actually, they never had been on the same page. Now more than ever, she needed for the very first time to Kamilah give in. But how could she? Kamilah only saw her as troublemaker, an irresponsible and stubborn child. Mia always thought about the day that her wife would take her seriously. There was no possible situation where Kamilah would agree to do this for her, but she needed to try.

She glanced around the large elegant hall of the building, encountering several well dressed men and women, seated in black armchairs, at the counter. The black lettering "Ahmanet Financial" intimidated her. Only 23 years old and she was the wife of the owner. Soon, the feeling that she did not belong to that place, invaded her chest. She bit her own lips impatiently, and with steady steps marched to the counter. Three men in suits were sitting typing on computers.

"Good night. Hi, I—" She tried to say, but the guy interrupted her.

"Deliveries are made in the back." The guy said without even looking at her.

Mia opened her mouth, shock and surprise took her.

"Excuse me? I'm not a deliverer,” she said, leaning against the counter.

"What do you want?" The guy asked impatiently.

"I came here to talk with Kamilah," she clarified. The guy in response let out a wry smile, as if he were mocking her. Mia frowned.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Uh... No. I don’t need one.”

"Mrs Sayeed does not receive nobody without an appointment, in fact, she hates to receive someone who is not on her agenda. She is not available to receive anyone who wants to come and talk to her.” The guy said without looking up, typing quickly.

“This guy is serious?” Mia thought to herself. "Anyone?" Mia laughed, running a hand through her blond hair. "Do you know who I am?"

"No. And honestly, I do not care to figure it out.” The guy looked up for the first time, directly into the girl's green eyes, scanning her clothes from top to bottom, which made her uncomfortable. "Look, you're very pretty. If you want to speak to Mrs Sayeed you will have to come back another day and set the time in advance. Or if you'd prefer to give me your name, so I can put it on the list, if do not mind waiting in one of the chairs... Even though there's no chance she'll see you today.” He typed again on his keyboard, indifferent.

“Alright.” Mia smirked. "The name’s Miranda."

"Miranda..." He typed.

"... Sayeed." At the mention of the surname, the three of them looked at her. The dimpled smile grew on her face, her brow furrowed with irony.

"...And I'm Lady Gaga." Another commented, laughing, as the other three did the same, Mia rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious, you idiots." She sighed, starting to get angry. “I need to see Kamilah. And if I do not see my wife right away, I'll be happy to see your butts get fired”

"Get out before I call the security guards." The first one told her.

"Are you kidding me? Do you know who you're talking to you fucking whore?” Mia raised her voice. At the same instant, a familiar figure emerged from Kamilah's personal elevator. Karen. Her personal assistant. Karen carried her tablet in her hands, walked with the same elegance and grace as ever. A smile flashed across her face as her eyes met Mia's.

Mia's smile could not get wider when she saw Kamilah’s assistant

"You guys are all fucked up," she whispered to the three of them.

"Mrs Sayeed, what a pleasant surprise! You’re back!." She approached. Mia turned to her with a huge grin on her face, laughing inwardly at the three who froze with Karen's presence, and the words she'd let go before she even approached.

"Hi Karen, how are you?" Mia crossed her arms.

"I’m great. Mrs Sayeed did not mention that you would come today.”

"Oh, I wanted to make a surprise. I hope Kamilah is not busy.”

"She just left a meeting. She has an hour to spare. How was your trip? I hope it was good."

"It was amazing! thank you for asking, Karen. So I guess I'll see Kamilah... My wife. Anytime I want and without an appointment, because I don’t need one!” She shrugged, laughing exaggeratedly, out of the corner of her eye she could see the red color on the faces of the three of them. When Karen stepped forward, Mia took one last look back, before lifting her middle finger to them and followed her.

“I don’t understand.” Mia said after a few minutes of silence between her and Karen in the elevator.

“What?” She asked.

“Why nobody believes that Kamilah got married?”

“I believe it is because Kamilah is not very… Open.” Karen took a deep breath, contemplating to respond in a kind manner. “She just... Don’t care about getting closer to people, obviously she has more important matters to deal with.”

Mia sighed. Karen left her in Kamilah's huge, elegant office, which was empty at the moment. Mia looked around, she’s only been there three times in her entire life, it was strange to stay in that environment without Kamilah.

"Make yourself at home, Kamilah will return to her office at any moment. I'll let her know that you're here.” Karen smiled sympathetically. Mia smiled back, awkwardly.

"Karen?" Mia called her before she walked out the door.

"Yes, ma'am?" Karen stopped.

"Do you... Do you think Kamilah will be happy when she finds out I'm here?" She asked uncertainly. Karen paused for a moment, as if reflecting how to answer to that, her intense gaze slightly annoying Mia.

"I think she'll be delighted with your presence," she replied, Mia knew it was a lie, but she smiled back, anyway. Karen left.

Kamilah’s pov

"...It's not about the money, they've been our clients for years, I'm not going to lose this contract for Mannon Financial, maybe we should think of a better strategy to close this deal." Kamilah said contemptuously as she walked the halls of Ahmanet Financial with her assistant. The last winter weeks had been pleasantly quiet for the CEO, since Mia had discovered an ONG which the main project was building houses for the unfortunates, and had the idea of ​​going to do volunteer work in Colômbia, Kamilah could not support her any more, the idea of her getting rid of her wife for weeks or maybe months, it never seemed so attractive.

Months married, months of drama with Adrian and a childish rivalry between the two. She just had a lot of work to do, and getting involved with Mia was not on her mind. Now she had her penthouse and her bed only for herself and no kind of family stress.

"...Maybe we should go back with the idea of ​​end of the year gifts? Whiskey and cigars, as usual” Karen proposed.

"It's not a bad idea, they're traditional men and like every year, they'll appreciate that," Kamilah said patiently. "Let’s think about this. Well, in the meantime, send me the reports in my office, I do not want to be disturbed."

"Uh, ma'am... Maybe you should know—”

"I do not want distractions, Karen. I do not want anyone in my office today." Kamilah said opening the door, and faced the last person she hoped for and wanted to see. Mia. The CEO stopped at once, a tempestuous expression forming on her face, at first confusion, shock, and then anger, as she came across that little blonde creature with cheeks and tanned skin sitting in her leather chair and with the boots on top of her desk, playing with a pen of more than five thousand dollars between her nails done.

"I was about to tell you that your wife was waiting for you in your office a few minutes ago," Karen said quietly behind Kamilah.

"I noticed," Kamilah muttered. Mia smirked, flicking her dimples between her cheeks.

"Well, I'll give you privacy," Karen said, trying to pull away.

"You stay." Kamilah told her assistant without taking her eyes off Mia, closing the door behind her. "My wife was already leaving. Get out off my chair, Miranda."

"Ugh, I hate it when you call me like that." Mia rolled her eyes. "Is that the way you talk to your wife? Did you not missed me?"

Kamilah crossed her arms, her perfect eyebrows arching as they always did when she was angry.

"Someone is in a bad mood today," Mia snapped without moving.

"You should be in Colômbia." Kamilah pointed at her.

"I was and it was wonderful, thank you for asking." Mia stood up. "Despite your unsuccessful attempt to get rid of me, I'm back."

"I do not have the patience for your little games today, I have a lot of work to do and I'm busy, as you can see," Kamilah said angrily.

“You know what would be cool? a picture of us on the table, as most couples usually use at their desks.” Mia pointed to Kamilah's desk. Kamilah rolled her eyes in response, Mia seeing the unimpressed look that Kamilah gave to her, she continued. “Oh, come on, you know your life is boring without me” She gave a charming smile to Kamilah.

"Why can not you be a normal wife and spend the credit card I gave to you?" Kamilah touched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, you mean the limitless credit card you gave me as a form of bribe not to disturb you? No thanks, I will not spend your money.” Mia walked around the table and sat on the edge, her fingers squeezing the wood from Kamilah's table. “... And what’s wrong with my clothes, anyway?” She looked at them.

"You dress like a hipster who's about to run away with a band." Kamilah gestured to Mia's torn black jeans. "You're the wife of a CEO, you should dress like one." Mia rolled her eyes impatiently.

"I do not see anything wrong with my style, maybe that's why your receptionists treated me like crap earlier." She said in a lower tone, Kamilah frowned.

"They did what?" Kamilah asked.

"Doesn’t matter.” She shrugged trying to hide the hurt in her eyes, which was evident to Kamilah. "You know, while I was away, I did a lot of things in Colômbia, a lot of good things for many people, I did not regret it in the last few weeks, but then I realized that you just wanted to get rid of me and I was making it so much easier for you.” Kamilah rolled her eyes impatiently. "I kept in touch with my parents since I left, they were very curious about you and why I would leave the country since I’m married for such little time."

"So that's why you're back," Kamilah concluded with a small smile forming on her lips. "To keep the facade for your parents." Mia moistened her lips, moving away from the table and approaching Kamilah in slow steps with the pen swinging in her fingers.

"They mean the world to me, I'd hate to disappoint them. They are already hurt because they were not invited to our wedding and I did not tell anyone we were getting married. I'm back because my Nana's birthday will be this weekend, and I can not lose this.” A sarcastic smile formed on Kamilah's lips. Well, she would have another free weekend from Mia before she resolved to return to the penthouse.

"Well, may god be with you on this trip. You can get the jet and go.” Kamilah smiled satisfied. Mia let out a laugh.

"I don’t know what you're saying, you're going with me." Mia folded her arms, Kamilah's smile widened on her face.

"No, absolutely not. I will not waste my time on this, I have to work."

"Seriously? Jokes on you, you are going Kamilah.” Mia leaned close enough to face her wife in the eyes.

"Is that a threat?" Kamilah frowned, her brown eyes slowly shifting to red. Mia shrugged.

"You can consider what you want, I would say... This is a warning”

"Karen?" Kamilah called to her without taking her eyes off Mia. "Follow my wife out of my office, I have a lot of work to do." Kamilah took a deep breath, trying to control the anger, her eyes returning to the usual brown.

"Karen, I'm not going anywhere. Not until Kamilah gives me her word that she will go with me to Michigan. It's the least you can do for sending me away for two months, Kamilah.” She approached Kamilah, staring at the CEO in the eyes, no matter how tall Kamilah was or how terrifying she was, Mia would not give up

"Well, my efforts does not seem to work because you're back." Kamilah approached her in response, both inches apart.

"I promised I would not make things easy for you," Mia snapped.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with." Kamilah touched the girl's chin, lifting her face with her finger, bringing her face closer to Mia's until she could look closely at the iris of her green eyes.

"I'll take my chances," Mia said in response. “Do you know what I think, Kamilah? I think you're afraid, afraid of it, afraid of us. You're afraid of being in a relationship, that's why you try to push me away, that's why you act like you don't care!”

“You’re ridiculous.” Kamilah snapped back.

"I am? because every time I approach you about your feelings, you run away. You're scared, scared of feeling something, afraid of your own feelings.”

"You're my brother's ex girlfriend, he loves you, he's in love with you, you have twenty-three years old, you're the forbidden fruit, a fetus." Kamilah said angrily.

“Yeah? That’s why you can’t keep your eyes off me?” Mia snapped watching closely the look in Kamilah’s eyes. Kamilah paused in the middle of her sentence as her brown eyes lowered to admire the girl's rosy lips, the thought of how beautiful she had become with her skin sun-tanned had taken over the mind of the CEO. They both backed away as Karen cleared her throat behind them, Kamilah shaking her head, lost for that moment... That was just the effect the girl had on her.

"You're taking my time. And I'm busy." She turned around and sat down in her leather chair. "What is this?" She pointed to the package on the table. Mia sighed and turned to face her.

"Your dinner. It’s vegetarian. I thought to bring it to you,” she said, noting the surprised look on Kamilah's face. “I will not appear alone on my grandmother's birthday, you go to Michigan with me, you are my wife and you will meet my family, we are in it together until the bitter end or you forgot? So if you want to keep your image that you value so much, you will do it, if not for me, do it for yourself. You will, and that's it." She said before leaving Kamilah behind.

"Did you see that? She acts like a teenager.” Kamilah said pointing where the girl was. "Of all the punishments that Gaius could do against me... He chose the worst," she said leaning back in her chair. Karen hid the smile, which was noticed by the CEO immediately. "Is there anything you may want to share with me, Karen?" Kamilah cocked her head to the side, looking directly into her eyes.

"Mia is... A force of nature, Kamilah. She does not think about the consequences before she does things, and she certainly knows how to let you on the edge.” Karen approached Kamilah's table. "But... She is gorgeous, those eyes really are something else. And it is obvious that you two are attracted to one another"

"This is insane." Kamilah rolled her eyes, standing and walking past Karen. "I'm not attracted to my wife."

"There's nothing wrong with admitting it." Karen rushed to catch up with her in Kamilah's private elevator.

"There's absolutely everything wrong with admitting it, my brother is in love with her and she's in love with him. It would be the greatest betrayal I could ever commit.” Kamilah admitted, as the elevator stopped in the lobby of Ahmanet Financial, she stepped forward to the balcony. Spotting the three guys there. She stopped bending to look at the three of them, laughing and chatting.

"I did not know I paid all three of you to play instead of work," she said quietly and softly, catching sight of the hairs on their necks rose.

"Mrs Sayeed!" The one at the left-hand end rose, stuttering.

"We were not expecting you."

"We were just... We were..."

"I do not give a damn what you all were doing, I just came here to say that it came to my ears that my wife was here earlier. And you all did not let her come up.” She raised her eyebrows, noticing the blood rise to the three men's heads and hearts racing.

"We did not know she was your wife!"

"Oh really? Now listen well and carefully, when my wife is here, she will be treated properly and with respect, if it gets to my ears again that any of you treated her inappropriately again, I will go after the three of you, I was clear?" Kamilah threatened, her fangs threatening to appear, but she held them back in time. The three shook their heads in affirmation. "Do you all know what? I changed my mind. You’re all fired. Immediately.” Kamilah walked away from the counter, her heels banging against the floor, Karen rushed to catch up. "Reopen the application process and tell them we're hiring and I'm open to interviews, Karen." She said before they both got into the elevator. Kamilah noticed the smile on her assistant's face. "Do not look at me like that."

"You like her." Karen smiled.

"No. I don’t.... And don’t even think about telling her that I fired them."

“What did they even say? Isn't the forbidden fruit always the best?” Karen said softly wearing a look from Kamilah.

Kamilah’s and Mia penthouse, Thursday, 23h30pm

As winter drew nearer from New York, making the nights cooler, Mia sighed in relief as the elevator doors swung open for her, after months living with Kamilah in that large apartment, she was beginning to get used. Get used to her little routine and to the house. Leaving the market bags on the kitchen counter, and the keys on the key chain, Mia took off her coat and stood to save the groceries. Shopping at the grocery store, making lunch and dinner, and handling some household chores were some of the few things she did and enjoyed doing. She smiled in satisfaction when her work was ready, deep in her mind the idea of taking a hot bath in that wonderful bathtub of her suite and Kamilah’s, invaded her mind.

Mia took off her shirt, her accessories, trousers and socks when she reached the room, she casually walked to the bathroom, but upon arriving there she came upon an unexpected sight. Kamilah. That god damn it woman. Her own demon which sent directly from her personal hell was there in the bathtub.

"OH FUCK!" Mia shouted at the sight of her. Kamilah turned her face to her, frowning. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I... I did not know you.... that you were home! Why did not you yell at me from here to tell me you were here!” Mia tried to cover her eyes.

"First, I don’t “yell” and second... This is still my house too, for what I know. Do I have to warn you every time I want to take a bath? "Kamilah asked calmly.

"A text message telling you're coming home would be cool!" Mia said taking her hand out of her eyes briefly, only to be rewarded with... That image which stolen her breath away.

There was little foam in the bathtub that hour, which told her that Kamilah had been there for some time, her absolutely gorgeous brown body was partially exposed, the other half hidden by the water, her brown hair glistening wet, fallen on her shoulders, her Egyptian gold necklace stood out on her tanned skin, besides her was a glass of wine. That perfect face, wet, stared at Mia with serenity. A goddess. When Mia realized, she was staring at her like a teenager who had just seen a porn movie for the first time. She closed her mouth and tried to avoid the CEO's hypnotizing brown eyes.

Kamilah took her eyes from those stubborn green eyes, and without noticing, scanned Mia's exposed body hidden behind that tight set of bra and black lace panties. That girl had a hell of a body. She had to admit it. Even though she was incredibly pretty with a flashy body, there was something else about that girl, the way she rolled her eyes and dared to defy Kamilah made her intrigued, interested and excited.

"Perfect legs," Kamilah thought to herself with a small smile forming on her lips. "...Well, it was you who invaded the bathroom first. So, I believe It’s your fault.” Kamilah said softly looking at that body, her brows furrowed. "Or... Maybe you just wanted to see me naked, so you made up an apology." Mia noticed the way the CEO looked at her, the burning desire in Kamilah’s eyes, she reached for a towel to hide her body behind, crashing the door and leaning against it.

"I ... if I knew you were in the bathroom, I would never!" Mia rolled her eyes in disgust, a laugh escaped from Kamilah lips. Mia stopped talking as she noticed the perfect smile on Kamilah's face. "You... You're smiling. You never smile.” She lowered her shoulders and let out a smirk full of dimples. But then she regained her consciousness and swayed. "Stop smiling like that at me." The grimace returned in her face.

"You are still here aren’t you?," Kamilah observed. “Stop acting like a teenager, we’re adults, you’re my wife, it’s normal to see each other naked.”

"I have no plans to see you naked and I will not let you see my body." Mia stared at her in horror as she squeezed the towel against her body, Kamilah laughed softly sinking into the water and closing her eyes. "So... why did you decide to go back home today?" Mia asked curiously.

"Today was a stressful day, I just wanted to relax, get home and take a bath," Kamilah said softly still with her eyes closed.

"Something happened?" Mia asked curiously, coming closer and leaning against the sink.

"Just... One more day of work," Kamilah replied, Mia kept her eyes on her, studying her features. Kamilah opened her eyes, surprising her, making her change her posture. "What?" Kamilah asked.

"Nothing." Mia shook her head, feeling her face turn red. "I don’t know... I'm just not used to seeing you at home. Are you going back to work? "

"Not today," Kamilah replied sipping her drink. At the same moment, the image of having to split the bed for the very first time, invaded Mia's head. Oh, boy.

"You drink a lot," Mia said quietly.

"...And you complain too much," Kamilah snapped. Mia opened her mouth to protest.

"True." Mia shrugged, taking an unexpected smile from Kamilah. In response, Kamilah prepared to get out of the tub, making the move, Mia turned her back to her, trying to avoid looking. "Oh, God, you're getting out of the bathtub, that's something you're doing," she stammered. Behind her, Kamilah smiled as she picked up a nearby towel and wrapped her body around it.

“For someone who don’t want to look, you seems very curious.” Mia peeked over her shoulder, being greeted by a flawless white smile.

"You... Can you rush this? You know, there are some people who want to bathe.” Mia said with her back to the sink, Kamilah came wiping her hair with a towel, facing her.

"For what I know, there are more than three bathrooms in this house, you're the only one standing here against your will." Kamilah moved closer to her, narrowing her eyes, being so close to Kamilah made her uneasy, she could feel that attraction again, the heat emanating from Kamilah's body, the CEO staring at her behind the wet strokes of her hair, somehow she become even more attractive. Kamilah placed both her hands against the sink, holding her there. Mia stared at those hot brown eyes, before she could stop them — images came into her mind, holding her in that trance, sand, a lot of sand. A marble palace erected against the sands. She saw Kamilah, how beautiful she was in her black hair with a fringe, noble egyptian clothes, that perfect smile on her face. The picture went as fast as it came. The same smile lingered on Kamilah's face, unchanged by time.

"Stop doing that, it's not working," Mia said crossly, folding her arms.

"What am I doing?" Kamilah asked staring at her lips.

"You're hitting on me. I do not know why, but if you think you're going to take advantage of me with that... If you think I'm going to fall for this, you're very much mistaken, Kamilah.” Mia said with conviction. "You think you can... You think you can come to me and smile like that... With that perfect face of yours and I’m going to fell for you?? You’re wrong." Kamilah grinned even more.

"Oh, so you think my face is perfect. I did not know you were attracted to me, Mia.” Kamilah raised her eyebrows, Mia's expression make her laugh.

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are."

"Oh, for gods sake." Mia rolled her eyes.

"I'm not hitting on you. But if I was... " Kamilah brought her face closer to Mia's, gluing her foreheads, her lips inches from hers, Mia's breath caught stuck, her whole body tingling, that cold in her belly were back so fast. — A part of her wanted, the selfish one, no matter how much she wanted to deny and push Kamilah away, a part of her wanted to kiss her desperately, there was something about Kamilah that drew her, but a sound in her head claimed that she still loved Adrian, Adrian was the man of her life, but if he was... Why did she want to kiss Kamilah so badly? "... If I was hitting you, you couldn’t take it..." Kamilah touched her chin, lifting him up to make her look at those hypnotizing brown eyes. "You could not stand a night with me, could not bear the pleasure, the desire..." her words were mere whispers against Mia's lips. “I would make you scream my name all night long, as if I were your holy grace, your salvation...”

"Kamilah..." Mia tried to say stuttering. She wanted to, only god knew how she wanted and craved that kiss. Even being... So wrong. At that moment, the image of Adrian dissipated. Any coherent thought was eliminated from her mind. Kamilah inclined her face, directing her lips to the girl's ear.

"That's exactly why nothing's going to happen between us." Mia shivered as she heard Kamilah's lips whisper in her ear, and received a small bite in her earlobe and a kiss on her cheek.”

"Great." Mia raised her nose defiantly, daring to look into Kamilah's eyes. Kamilah stood to look into her eyes. "I'll never sleep with you. I don’t have feelings for you and you don’t have for me."

"Great." Kamilah returned with a small, confident smile. "As you wish." Kamilah walked away so fast and left her alone in the bathroom before she could even think twice.

1h30am

Later that night, Mia flipped through her book patiently, amused by the story, enough to not hear the front door open and close, giving way to Kamilah, who entered the room with warm eyes on the girl.

"I didn't know you had a preference for the right side of the bed." Kamilah said softly with a playful smile on her face. Mia looked up from the book, and almost immediately her face turned red when she saw the CEO standing by the door, wearing nothing, but a black silk nightgown that valued her beautiful body and breasts. Mia had never seen so much skin before.

“Holy fuck.” She thought to herself. “I’m screwed. That’s it.”

"It's... I... It's near the bathroom," she stammered, drawing a smile from Kamilah. "I don't have to go around the bed."

“Hmmm. I see.” Kamilah raised her brow, letting Mia's face turn even more red. Mia looked at her clothes immediately, realizing that maybe those pajama shorts were maybe too short, and after the bathroom confrontation, she didn't know if she trusted herself or Kamilah, enough to spend the night with the vampire queen.

Kamilah approached with slow steps, as if calculating her every step, going to her side of the bed and pulling the covers towards her. At that moment, Mia felt that familiar warmth emanating from Kamilah's body, how hot that was. She swallowed, trying to focus on her book, but it was almost impossible with Kamilah so close.

“What are you reading?” She felt the hairs on her body shiver at the sound of Kamilah's voice so close to her ear, Mia looked over her shoulder and met Kamilah's brown eyes in her book.

"Uh... Hum... The sky is falling." She replied stuttering.

“And why is the sky falling?” Kamilah asked.

"Well... Uh—" Mia frowned trying to make the right words out, but she was unable to form them. “I think… I don't know yet. Uh... I haven't reached that part yet, I think it's a metaphor for —” Her eyes met Kamilah's, seeing that flawless smile so close to her face, the words faded from her mind.

“For?” Kamilah whispered, smiling approaching again. Mia stepped away noticing how close they were until...

"Ouch!" She faltered as she fell off the bed. Kamilah's laugh echoed around the room, Mia tried to get up with an ugly face. "That’s it!" She stood, marching around the room and going to an armchair, taking all the pillows there and carrying them to bed.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Kamilah asked without understanding.

“I think it's time we set some boundaries between us, don't you think?” She said forming a wall of pillows between her and Kamilah.

"You can't be serious." Kamilah said in disbelief looking at the girl and her job in separating both.

"Believe me I am." Mia smiled, pleased to see the result of her work.

“This... is definitely the most childish thing you've ever done,” Kamilah said watching her.

"Thanks." Mia smiled, settling herself on the side of the bed.

“What if I want to push the pillows away?” Kamilah raised an eyebrow.

“You will not do that. It wouldn't be nice and it would be disrespecting your bed limits.” Mia looked over her shoulder.

"I couldn't care less about my boundaries." Kamilah said. "That's not how two married people sleep."

"We're not like everyone else, we're a different kind of couple." Mia said sleepily.

"Still, this is ridiculous and you know it." Kamilah said grumpy.

“I didn't think you were the type that enjoy cuddling, Kamilah.” Mia smiled over her shoulder. Mia propped her face against the pillows that parted both, smiling at the vampire queen. Kamilah returned her an annoyed look. "What? let's talk, share things, tell secrets.” Mia said poking her. Kamilah rolled her eyes and turned to the opposite side of the bed.

"I do not share."

"Yes, you do." Mia laughed.

"Go to sleep Miranda, or I swear to god, I'll kick you out of this bed, and this time you won't be able to climb again."

“Awn, come on!”

“You don’t know nothing about me, so let’s keep this way. It’s better for the both of us.” Kamilah said impatiently.

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know, but I want to. That’s why we have this weekend with my parents, I’m looking forward to it. They are going to love you.” Mia said smiling leaning over the pillows and leaving a spontaneous kiss on Kamilah's cheek. What she didn’t saw was the shocked look on Kamilah’s face at the unexpected act of love.