#never gonna pearl clutch over things like this i promise you it's not that deep | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

spoiler1001 · 4 years ago

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Lucien laid next to Caleb, his tail waving in the air. Caleb was sleeping, his breath shaking. The air smelled of cinnamon and hazelnut. It was comforting. The fireplace was lit and warm. Yasha sat on the couch nearby, keeping watch and making sure Caleb was ok. Lucien played with Caleb's hair, musing. Lucien had a thought: a blue comb or pin would look dazzling on him.

Caleb still held the bead in his hands. He was clutching the bead so hard, his knuckles were white.

Lucien felt something to his side and liked up, instinctively leaning over Caleb to protect him.

"You look tired." Yasha's voice was soft. "You aren't taking care of yourself."

"There are more important things at the moment. I'm no longer…unbound by my responsibility." Lucien relaxed and looked up. "That freedom was your friend, so…"

"So you don't think you can be that person again." Yasha took a step towards Lucien. "We could promise you things like before but-"

"Empty promises. I thought about using that little bead." Lucien ran his thumb against Caleb's cheek. "But I still have this….everything. It would just be an extra piece that I can't worry about."

"Are you scared?" Yasha asked.

Lucien laughed. "Fear was something that left me years ago."

"Do you trust your teachers?"

"I trust my family."

Caleb stirred in his sleep. Lucien looked at Caleb's face. He was relaxed. Lucien started to purr softly, just to soothe him.

"Did you want us here? When you realized?" Yasha leaned towards him.

"I don't know. The only reason you are here is that your employer was hoping I would go through you all to get to her."

"And she was right. At the time." Lucien looked at the glowing bead. "Now… I find myself being pulled to all of you. If things were different, I would have left everything and ran with you."

"You still can."

"And live like Fjord? He got attacked just for being on a boat. I can't just look over my shoulder for however long I live." Lucien ran his fingers through his hair. "I will do this. I have to."

"No, you don't." Yasha shook her head.

"Whatever your plan is, I don't want to know. I just want this done." Lucien smiled. "I earned my place as the nonagon. I earned this power. I suffered through every lesson to get here."

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

Caleb woke up pressed into Lucien's chest. Caleb could feel a thick scar under his shirt. His hands were still clean, holding the bead. Looking around. It was just the two of them. He jumped a bit. The memory of the night before clashing with-

"You're ok. I didn't hurt you." Lucien pulled away.

Caleb looked at him. "Why did you stay with me? Cree-"

"Cree went behind my back. I wanted my new travel companions safe." Lucien cupped Caleb's cheek.

"But you aren't Mollymauk. You have no loyalty to me." Caleb tucked the pearl into a hidden chest pocket.

"I have loyalties to you, with the fact that you are traveling with me and that you want to travel with me." Lucien pulled away. "We should be heading to Aeor soon."

"Lucien… I heard you with Yasha last night. If we could see to it that responsibility was taken care of, would you be interested in traveling with us?"

"What would you be planning if I said yes." Lucien raised an eyebrow.

"You would just have to trust me." Caleb wrapped his arms around himself. His eyes were bright, full of ideas, and plans. It made Lucien's mood light up.

Lucien chuckled and patted Caleb on the chest. "I trust that your plan won't be boring." He stepped out of Caleb's room.

Caleb just smiled. "Life with us never is."

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

Lucien hummed an old show tune, waiting by the exit, with the other Tombtakers. His tail was moving throughout the air in a slow, easy-going way. He had his back to the wall, eyes closed. The other group was talking about something quite intently. Lucien wanted to know what they were talking about, but he wasn't a part of the group anymore.

Eventually, the group walked out to the main room, one by one.

"Are you ready to go to get this started?" Lucien asked.

Caleb looked Lucien in the eyes. "We would rather not do this but we understand what must be done."

"Wonderful." Lucien smiled. Caleb clenched his jaw.

Jester frowned, whispering a prayer that sounded familiar. Lucien picked some words in infernal, but it wasn't his business. The group was overall serious. Air seemed to freeze around them despite the tower being warm. Lucien grabbed Caleb's arm and pulled him towards the door.

"We don't have a moment to lose." Lucien hummed. Caleb adjusted his straps and went outside.

Outside was cold. Lucien shivered and felt anxiety fall into his stomach. It wouldn't leave him. He wanted to turn around and go someplace warmer. The tower was extremely tempting until Caleb called it back. Lucien was facing his destiny. He was…

He was scared. It was cold and he had no idea what he was doing. All of his lessons from the deities that taught him from birth was coming to a close. There was one more lesson. One more trial. His magic rang out and his nerves were on fire. He was tempted to take his heavy coat off, but it was still cold, so that was a bad idea. Caleb watched him with empty eyes.

The chamber that he was needed in was hollow. There were icicles and stones from the ceiling. Everyone's breath was visible. Cold pressed down on Lucien. He was getting squeezed. Yasha stood by the entrance, Beau with her. They gripped their weapons, ready for a fight. The tombtakers stood towards the back, giving their Nonagon space. Lucien's tail was swinging back and forth, nearly missing Caleb's hand. Caleb's hair was easily tied back, chunks of coming to the front of his face. Ice crystals were forming in the corner of his eyes, before vanishing.

Whispers of the wills of his teachers filled Lucien's ears. He took a deep breath, followed by another one.

"Place the crystals. Opposite ends of the room. We should start now." Lucien dropped his coat to lessen the restrictions of his spell. He was wearing a white silk vest, unbuttoned all the way down to his belly button, and tucked into high waisted pants. Caleb took a sharp breath. Lucien almost smiled. His hair was untied, dipping loosely down to his shoulder blades. Caleb just grabbed a strap at his waist, his knuckles turning white. Caleb shouldn't be there, but Lucien's tail found its way around Caleb's wrist. Caduceus stood by the Tombtakers. Jester had something shiny in her hands, and she stood by Fjord, her tail wrapping around his leg and tears in her eyes. Lucien hummed and began his spell. Caleb's pulse quickened.

One of his eyes flashed. Then another, then the rest. Lucien was glowing bright red. Even Mollymauk's tattoos seemed to shimmer.

Caleb pulled a small dragger out of his waist scabbard.

Lucien was pulled inward. A caring but monotone voice spoke to him.

Lucien. Of all the lessons, this might be the one that stuck the hardest. The other Nonagons never let love be their power. You have loyalties. Your final lesson, the source of all of your power:

The chamber grew hot with the near-black ooze of old blood seeping through the walls. There were screams of anguish and blissful laughter. Lucien made a noise that was a mixture of both. His eyes turned jet black, the color leaking into the veins around the eyes. The scar on his chest opened a bit. Lucien expected an attack from his teachers but they hesitated.

"Sacrifice…" Lucien whispered. The words echoed between the Tombtakers.

He turned to look at Caleb. Caleb had tears in his eyes. His hands were clasped around a dagger, shaking.

"Look at you, Mr. Caleb… moving on from failing to break into a hospital." Lucien chuckled. Caleb let out a choked sob. The blade sunk into his heart. Right on target. Lucien pulled Caleb into an embrace, pulling the blade deeper. "It's ok. You always knew the way to my heart. It will get better." Lucien whispered. His tail squeezing Caleb's hand before going slack. One eye went out. Then another, then the rest. The tombtakers watched as the ooze burned and the oppressive aura faded.

Caleb sank to his knees, pulling Lucien closer to him, keeping him warm. Jester ran up, summoning the diamond. The Tombtakers took a step forward, but Caleb stabbed the wand into the ground. And Caduceus cast something, making them all freeze. Caleb summoned the tower around them. Jester ran to the door and took a step forward.

Caleb was just, cradling Lucien. Caleb pulled out a bead. It was no longer glowing.

"Is that-" Jester asked.

Caleb nodded. "He remembered."

"We can bring him back in one piece." Jester nodded.

Caleb nodded and Yasha knelt next to him. Caleb stepped away. "I'm...I have to leave."

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

Lucien opened his eyes. Yasha had his head in her lap. "...Yasha, you look radiant as ever."

"You remember us. But who are you?" Yasha brushed the hair out of Lucien's face.

"I- you saved me. I am your friend and ally." Lucien sat up, looking around. "Where's Caleb."

"He's… not ok." Jester wiped the tears from her eyes. "He had to-"

"I was going to die anyway, but because you came along, I succeeded. I'm free to be Mollymauk again." Lucien pulled off his shirt. And brushed off the dried blood. "I'm gonna check on him."

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

Caleb laid on his couch, a familiar tapestry wrapped around him. He stared at his fireplace in thought.

"I should thank you. Because of what you did, I could be brought back." Lucien's smooth voice filled the room. Caleb didn't react. Lucien took a step closer. "Is it ok if I sleep here tonight?"

"Do you still sleep naked?" Caleb sat up straight, still clinging to the tapestry.

"Only if you want me to." Lucien smiled and placed a kiss on Caleb's forehead. "But there's time for that later. Sleep now."

Caleb slept clinging to Lucien, his head on the other's chest. Lucien slept in Caleb's robe with his tail wrapped around Caleb's foot.

#critical role #caleb widogast #widomauk #lucien critical role #cr spoilers #just assume that the fey cats got Cree

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sheabuttahwrites · 4 years ago

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[I Know]

. five : two and a possible

four

I finished up my ‘morning’ routine and walked back over to sit next to him, finally ready to eat something. “I'm hungry. What we having?”

“Oh shit!”

“What?”

“I forgot to get food.”

I tilted my head, my features overtaken by displeasure. “You’ve been eating hella takeout, huh? You know that’s not good.” We’d had this conversation a couple times before. He was generally a healthy guy, but his diet could be so trash at times.

“I mean, I was. But I’ve been at my mom’s house eating Thanksgiving leftovers the past few days.”

I snorted. “You are such a man,” I playfully huffed, shaking my head.

“I’ma do better,” he mumbled listlessly with a laugh. “You can order something, though. I’ll pick some stuff up tomorrow after my last meeting.”

“Ok. We can just get pizza. That cool?”

“Yeah. ”

“You got dessert at least?”

He stared at the wall in deep thought, his mouth doubtfully agape. “ …I think I have ice cream?”

“Ok.” I left my seat with the kitchen in mind solely because of the obvious lack of confidence he had just displayed. “Come look with me.”

“What?” The presence of a frown was more than apparent on his face.

“Come with me,” I insisted, unfazed.

“For what? You aren’t a guest anymore.”

“I am, too.” Now I was frowning.

“No, you're not. You know where the kitchen is, the pantry, the fridge; you know where everything is,” he listed candidly, but stood to his feet anyway.

“So. You don't have to be rude.” I rolled my eyes, turning to walk out with him in tow. I’d had to hide the smile trying to creep onto my face. I loved messing with him.

He smacked his lips, clearly agitated, and I couldn't hold my laughs. “I’m coming, woman.”

We stepped into his kitchen and I pulled the freezer drawer open, searching for the ice cream I had sort of been promised? Curious, I paused to look in the refrigerator. Other than a few bottles of water, a carton of eggs, a couple carryout plates and various condiments, there wasn’t much inside. “Damn, you weren't lying. Ain’t shit in here.”

“I told you.”

I laughed as I closed the doors and went back to the freezer. I moved a bag of broccoli to the side, then a bag of pineapple chunks. “Found it,” I gleefully announced, lifting the pint of vanilla Haagen Dazs. I removed the top and the seal was still there. Perfect. I turned to show him just as he was coming out of the pantry.

“Here’s some stuff my sister had.” He held up a box of fudge brownie mix in one hand and an unopened bottle of vegetable oil in the other.

“Oh, hell yeah,” I approved with a satisfied nod, before putting the ice cream away. That was right up my alley.

He chuckled, shaking his head, as he sat them both on the counter. I walked over and slid them closer to me. “I swear you a junkie.”

“Glucose gang ‘til I die, cuz.”

“You bangin’ sugar?” I looked up at him and we fell out almost immediately. I leaned over onto the marble in front of me, cracking all the way up while he stood beside me doing the same. “You got a problem.”

“Nah, that’s why I’m so sweet.” I winked and stuck my tongue out before laughing a little harder. He just grinned at me, his eyes slightly narrowed. “Now, go order the pizza,” I snappily instructed, waving him off and pulling out one of the chairs at the island.

“That wasn't sweet at all.”

I took a seat and pompously crossed my legs, clutching my knee with laced hands and being sure to keep my eyes away from him, even as I spoke. “This is just payback for making me spend the day by myself tomorrow.”

He smacked his lips. “Girl, hush.” He was so serious I couldn't help but laugh, but also don’t be telling me to hush. He went to leave and I reached out to push him. The joke was on me, though, because he had gotten too far. All I had done was push air and almost fallen out of my chair. “Look at you. So sweet I don’t know what I’ma do with you.”

I snorted. “Shut up.”

“You feel like baking for real, though? I need one of them fire ass strawberry cheesecakes.”

“I got you, babe. You know I always feel like baking.”

“Bet. Text me a list so I can get the stuff tomorrow.”

“Ok.”

He came back with his laptop and credit card, settling in the seat next to mine. Normally this part would take a while, because one of us—me—would have a time trying to figure out what they wanted. But that wasn’t the case today. I was starving and my pizza order didn't usually get too complicated anyway. I quickly decided on pepperoni and green peppers, and he went with chicken and spinach. I couldn't wait to eat some of mine and his.

“So… how has it been? How are you?”

I shrugged my shoulder, taking my focus to my hands down on the counter. I really didn't want to talk about this. Honestly, it was the furthest thing from my mind. But I knew he was probably worried. “…Ok, I guess. I’ve been good.”

“Have things gotten any better? Be honest.”

I looked up, seeing the care and concern that I always saw in his eyes. And that shit made it extremely hard for me to lie to him. I wasn’t a good liar either. So, I shook my head. It had actually gotten much worse since the last time he and I saw each other. But, that part, I had to keep to myself. “Not really. Just the same ol’, same ol’.”

His gaze never left me, but he didn’t speak another word. Probably just didn’t have anything to say. I could definitely understand.

At this point my only concern was her wellbeing. I couldn't give anymore advice, because I had long tapped out. It had all been falling on deaf ears anyway. We’d known each other for about a year and a half now, and nothing had changed. I didn't mean to judge her, but she seemed content just where she was. Content with disarray. In my eyes, her reasons for staying were bullshit. Because love damn sure wasn't keeping her. Love wouldn't be doing half the shit she was enduring. It certainly wouldn't have her going into another man’s home just to get away.

Nah.

Love is what had me making accommodations every sixty days for a woman who wasn't mine. It’s what had me turning down the advances of other women when I didn't have to. It’s the five hundred dollar mixer and numerous other baking supplies in my kitchen that I don't even use. It’s what kept me up at night asking myself what the fuck I was doing, and actually attempting to justify it. Love is me throwing everything reasonable, and everything sensible, and everything rational, and everything logical out the window when I knew better.

I felt like it was time for me to make a choice. For my own good if nothing else. Without question, things just weren't gonna work themselves out. I needed to start using my better judgment. It was on me, because she wasn't moving. I needed to take myself out of the picture. I knew this, but it was hard as hell to even think about. A sign from God is what I really needed. Soon. Because I felt that my next move was about to be a mistake no matter what. I hated to admit it, but I was getting tired of going to pick her up every time that ungrateful ass nigga left, having so much fun with her, and then taking her back to him. I wanted her. So fucking bad. And I knew the feeling was mutual. But being on the sidelines of her life was slowly breaking me. I had to accept that whatever I was to her now was likely all I would ever be. Equally, I couldn't stand seeing her allow someone to treat her so poorly when she was worth so much more. I just wish that I had been able to make her understand that. I wish all of it could've gone differently.

“So, what you been up to?” she quietly asked, breaking the silence.

“Not much. Just working, the occasional event, linking with my boys. You know, the usual.”

“Any new possibles?” She couldn't even get it out before her lips started to form a grin. This was what she had really meant by her previous question. She always found a way to work it into the conversation. And each time was less cunning than the last, even though she was for sure trying to be slick.

“Oh, of course.”

“Ewww,” she drawled, simultaneously smiling and scrunching her face in disgust. I chuckled.

“What?”

“‘Oh, of course’!”

I dropped my head, laughing at her exaggerated imitation of me. I did not sound like that. “I'm just saying. Women love the king.”

“Oooh. You weren't this cocky the last time I saw you,” I teased lightheartedly, clutching my imaginary pearls. He was so tickled.

“I’m joking.”

“Nah, you're serious.”

“I know what I bring to the table, but I'm not over feeling myself.”

“I hear you, homie.”

He cut his eyes at me as I kept up my production of faux amazement. “You get on my nerves so bad, Jay.”

I grabbed his shoulder and leaned over on him, laughing too hard. Yeah, I was picking, but I couldn’t be mad. He was telling the truth. Women did indeed love his ass. Whenever we were out, I would catch them staring constantly. A couple of them had even had the gumption to approach him. But seeing him interact with the women who actually knew him, the women in his family, I could just feel it. They really loved him. His mom, his best friend’s mom, his little sister and a cousin were the ones I’d had the opportunity to witness him in conversation with. The adoration was practically radiating from the screen during their Facetime calls. He even had an aunt who would send him care packages from time to time. I understood fully. I absolutely adored him myself. He just had this light about himself and it was fiercely captivating. Even if I’d wanted to let go, I don't believe I could. His place in my heart had been solidified. I couldn't imagine my life without Omari. I didn't even like to think of the possibility.

“So, these possibles,” I continued, a smile still lingering. “Is there looove in the air?”

“Nah.” He reclined in his seat and propped his elbow on the back. In a matter of seconds, all enthusiasm had left his body. “I’m not really on that right now.”

I frowned. He wasn't usually so dry with me. “Did something happen?”

“Nah, not really.”

“So, what’s up? You don't have your eye on anybody?” I found that very hard to believe.

“I mean…” The sly smirk that made its way onto his face caused me to drop my concern like a hot potato. I knew he was holding out.

“Mhmm. Spill, bruh.”

He reached up to rub the back of his neck, laughing a little as he leaned toward the island again. “I didn't say that, I just been chillin’.”

“Nah, something’s going on. We tell each other everything, now cat got your tongue.”

“It’s not even like that. To be completely honest with you, it just feels like nobody is genuine anymore. Now, these women either just out here on the come up or they're only interested for superficial reasons. They don’t really like you. I can’t mess with none of that.”

“Well, I can definitely understand not being able to trust.”

“You know? It’s hard. And I do want that special something with someone, someone I can do life with, but I don't know. Risking your heart like that is just…”

“Yeah. I get it.”

“So, yeah. That’s all it is.”

“Maybe you can start looking in some different places than usual. Where you be?”

“I'm not looking for anything currently.”

“Why do you sound so sad when you say that, though?”

He glanced over at me and laughed, but I didn't return his supposed joy. I can’t lie, it was a bit troubling. We had spoken on this kind of stuff before, but he had never seemed so affected by it. “I’m not sad. I’m good, I promise.”

“Ok, so what qualities would your ideal lady have?” I switched to a lighter, more giddy tone, in hopes of making his mood follow.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I wanna know. Maybe I can help you out a lil bit.”

#original fiction #original characters #black characters #black fiction #black fic #black writer #black reader #i know #SheaButtahWrites

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artificialqueens · 4 years ago

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Galactica, Chapter 41 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Halloween

This Chapter: Things look up for Violet but turn iffy for Adore.

***

Pearl swayed a little in her heels as Adore’s lips trailed down her neck. They were half-dressed at this point, making their way to Adore’s bedroom. Adore’s jacket and shirt had been discarded, leaving her in just a thin undershirt, suspenders dangling around her waist. Pearl’s skirt was around her ankles, sweater somewhere on the floor.

She stepped out of the skirt, a sharp inhale leaving her as Adore shoved her roughly up against a wall. Her hands threaded into Adore’s hair, which was up in a tight bun, and immediately began pulling it apart. She loved the whole butch look that Adore was rocking tonight, but she loved it even more when she got to unravel it. Pearl’s hand traveled along the wall, reaching for the door handle, finally pushing it open and pulling Adore into the bedroom.

“God, you’re so fucking hot,” Adore breathed, pushing Pearl onto the bed.

Pearl smirked, enjoying the desperate edge in her voice as her hands groped for her bra clasp, the unrefined way she clawed at her panties to yank them down. She spread her thighs, head falling backward, hand tangled into Adore’s hair to guide her along.

“I love your pussy,” Adore continued, lapping her up vigorously, fingers digging into her thighs. “You’re perfect, so perfect…”

Adore kept lavishing praise on her, and Pearl could feel her muscles tense. She tried to squeeze her eyes shut, to close it out and focus on the way her body was responding, but it quickly became impossible. She took a deep breath and rolled Adore over onto her back, thighs straddling her face.

“Stop talking.”

Adore panted up at her, surprise all over her face as her eyes went dark. “Are you gonna punish me?”

The way she just immediately folded, immediately ceded all power to Pearl, was even more intoxicating than if she’d been submissive all along.

“I should,” Pearl said hoarsely. She ran a finger along Adore’s bottom lip. “I should show you who’s boss.”

“Do it.” Adore trembled beneath her, gripping her thighs for dear life.

Pearl took hold of the headboard and lowered herself until her pussy was pressed up against Adore’s face, riding her slowly, dictating the pressure and pace, all the while watching the blissed-out expression in Adore’s eyes. By the time Pearl came with a satisfied groan, Adore’s panties, her usual boy-cut cotton briefs, were soaked through.

It was hard not to laugh. This was the same girl who, just hours earlier, had been manhandling her on the dance floor as if she were the king of the world. And now, all it took was a few swipes of Pearl’s thumb to reduce her to a whimpering, shaking mess.

“You like that?”

“B-baby, please,” Adore begged, pupils fully dilated, hands clutching at Pearl’s hair and shoulders. “I need to come, I need-”

“Shh, shhhh…” Pearl silenced her with a kiss, finally plunging her fingers inside to give her what she so desperately wanted, stroking her g-spot until she cried out, then continuing to play with her until she was wrung out, too weak to even lift her head.

Afterwards, Pearl sucked her fingers into her mouth with a satisfied grin, letting Adore curl against her as usual, wrapping her warm body into a sweaty embrace.

***

Sutan woke to the ever familiar scent of lavender, and the sensation of Violet’s hair up his nose.

He huffed, moving his face away, only to smile when Violet groaned, her hand coming up to grab his arm and pull him back down, forcing him to mold himself back against her back, the bed creaking underneath them.

Last night, they hadn’t returned to Sutan’s place as he had originally expected, instead, they had ended up in Violet’s apartment because Violet had insisted that she would die if she didn’t get pizza from a specific pizzeria near her building, and who was Sutan to argue with that?

“Morning gorgeous.” Sutan smiled, pressing a kiss against Violet’s shoulder, but the action only earned him another deep groan, Violet for once very clearly hungover. “Where is your bed frame?”

“Only rich people have bed frames.”

“Sure.” Sutan snorted, burrowing his face in Violet’s hair, pulling her against him.

It was strange to be in Violet’s bedroom, Sutan realizing last night with a flash of embarrassment that this was the first time he had been inside Violet’s apartment. He had picked her up from her building countless times, but they had always stayed at his, Sutan not even entertaining the idea that he should come up.

“Is there any leftover pizza?” Violet looked over her shoulder, a little bit of the mascara she hadn’t managed to get off smudged under her eye.

“You only had two slices.” Sutan had bought a pepperoni pizza for himself, Violet for some godforsaken reason going straight for pineapple and only pineapple. “I put it in your fridge.”

Sutan had never expected Violet to be someone who enjoyed cooking, but he had been shocked when he had opened her refrigerator last night, a bottle of carrot juice, a carton of almond milk and a half eaten takeaway salad all he had spotted in there.

“I’ll go get it.” Violet slipped out of bed, and Sutan couldn’t help but smile as she was wearing the tiniest pair of panties, her Hepburn jewels still around her neck since Sutan hadn’t been able to figure out the lock with a drunk and sleepy Violet in his arms.

Sutan sat up, running his hand through his hair as he looked around the bedroom, a tower of brown moving boxes in the corner. Violet’s clothes were all put away, two clothing racks holding dresses Sutan immediately recognized, but beyond the wardrobe, the room was strangely bare and devoid of personal touches.

“Huh.” Sutan bit his lip, getting out of bed. He grabbed his undershirt from the floor, cursing to himself when he realized that he didn’t have his reading glasses, using his phone without them a surefire way to feel like shit after a night out.

“Do you want coffee?” Sutan turned his head to see Violet standing in the door, now wrapped in a robe, a plate and a slice of pizza with missing bites in her hand. “I’m afraid I only have instant.”

“Instant is fine.” It wasn’t really, not when he was used to his top of the line espresso machine, but he wasn’t going to create a fuss. “Do you have anything that isn’t pineapple pizza?”

“I can make oatmeal?” Violet smiled, and he guessed that somewhat explained the strange lack of food in her fridge.

“How about I take us out for breakfast?”

***

“Raaaaaaaj,” Raven whispered, her lips right next to her fiancée's ear. “Wake up.”

They had come home from the party last night, Raja helping her out of her costume, the two of them falling into bed, drunk sex always a fucking treat, the feeling of Raja’s fake mustache against her inner thighs so strange they had both been hiccuping from laughter.

“Mmmh?”

“I’m hungry.” Raven smirked as she felt Raja’s hand travel up her back, the other woman finally awake.

“Make breakfast then.”

“I wanna go out.” Raven nuzzled her nose against Raja’s neck.

“You can starve for all that I care.”

Raven laughed. Grumpy Raja was one of her favorites, the whine in her voice one that never came out anywhere else, being allowed to see her like this, a treasure Raven guarded with her life.

“Please-” Raven nuzzled her face even closer against Raja’s neck, pressing kisses to the warm skin. “I want buttered croissants.”

“Mmh-” Raja hummed, her fingers finding the ends of her hair. Raven knew she wasn’t actually tempted by the promise of bread, Raja beyond annoying with how easy it was for her to not give in to culinary temptations.

“If you put some pants on, I can call for a car-”

“No can do buttercup.” Raja started petting her hair. “The moment I leave this bed, I have to work.”

“Seriously?” Raven sat up on her elbows, Raja actually opening her eyes now, a bit of glue still on her top lip. “Don’t look at my tits.”

“Sorry,” Raja smirked, her eyes still focused on Raven’s chest.

“You have to work? Again?” Raven wanted to throw a fit. It wasn’t a new thing that Raja worked on the weekends, it wasn't a new thing that she was constantly fighting for her attention, but this, this was a new low, both of them naked and hung over. “It’s Sunday?”

“The preparations for the Spring collection are right around the corner. You know people depend on me and Fame has unfortunately handed me a mug.”

Raven huffed, throwing herself back down on the bed, turning her back to Raja as she pulled the duvet under her chin.

“Princess-” Raven felt Raja curl around her back. “Don’t be upset.”

“And what about me? I depend on you too,” Raven grumbled, the words caught by the duvet, but Raja somehow still heard them.

“I know.” Raja peeled the duvet down, pressing a kiss against Raven’s shoulder blade. “How about we order in, eat in bed-”

“Hm?” Raven turned her head.

“And when I’m done with my very important job,” Raja smiled, her hand sneaking under the covers and settling on Raven’s hip. “I spend the very important money I make on buying very important things for our trip to Aspen?”

“Mmh,” Raven chewed her lip to keep the smile off of her face. “I guess that’s acceptable.”

***

“Ah, that hits the spot.”

Violet smiled to herself as she watched Sutan take the first sip of the double espresso he had ordered. They were sitting at a small cafe, Sutan actually cleaning up surprisingly nicely for the fact that he had only had his costume from last night at her place.

“Glad to see your craving could be satisfied.”

“Oh?” Sutan grinned, tapping his foot against hers underneath the table. “Do you really think you have room to be snarky, Miss Pineapple?”

Violet bit her lip, her cheeks heating up. She couldn’t exactly remember the entirety of last night after bumping into Courtney, Raven talking her into yet another round of shots, but she did remember Sutan’s hand on her back, did remember unlocking her door and whining when she couldn’t get her necklace off.

“Concentrate on your breakfast.”

Sutan laughed, trapping her foot between his own before he dug into his cinnamon French toast. Violet herself had opted for a sunnyside egg and a smoothie, the pizza slice she had devoured before Sutan was ready to leave sitting heavy in her stomach.

Sutan was chatting about last night, telling her a story about Detox, the two men surprisingly close for how different they were. Violet wasn’t truly listening, but it didn’t seem to matter, Sutan more than happy to just up the space.

“Lovely eyes-” Violet was pulled out of her thoughts, the man watching her with his brown eyes. “You’re tapping along with the music.”

Sutan was pointing with his fork, and Violet looked down at her fingers, her almond-shaped nails tapping on table.

“Huh…” Violet hadn’t even noticed, hadn’t even listened to the music, but now that she was aware, she could hear the notes of Waltz of the Flowers, the cafe for some reason playing Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. The music was such an ingrained part of who she was, the ballet one she had danced every December since she was 6 years old. “I’m sorry.”

“Bringing back memories?” Sutan smirked, a kind look in his eyes, but Violet felt her entire body run cold.

“Yes.” It did bring back memories, the sensation of leg warmers and sitting on hard dance floors, of chewy protein bars and being soaked in sweat, of the unbelievable satisfaction when a move was finally executed just right and she could collapse in exhaustion. “But how-”

“Did I know?” Sutan put his fork down, clearly beyond pleased with himself.

“Yes.”

Violet hadn’t told anyone in her new life that her first career had been as a dancer at the New York City Ballet, that she had been a soloist on the track for principal before her life had changed forever at 17.

“I’m a modeling agent, lovely eyes.” Sutan took his coffee cup. “I can spot a dancer from a mile away, and everything about your posture tells me that you have done ballet at some point.”

“Ah.” Violet nodded, a rush of relief coursing through her. Sutan didn’t know, hadn’t truly guessed who she used to be. “You got me.”

“What can I say,” Sutan grinned, putting his cup to his lips. “I’m the best.”

She’d tell him one day, tell him her entire story, but that day wasn’t going to be today.

***

When Violet had first started in design, she had wondered why they had several couches scattered around the room. It had started to make sense as she had seen just how social her new coworkers were, the furniture often taken up by people talking, working or even napping.

Violet had never used the couches before today, her desk and her desk chair all she needed, but while Trixie was upstairs for the department head meeting discussing the Spring line, she had figured that it was time to test out if Trixie was actually serious about wanting them to relax.

Which was why she was on the couch, attempting to pass the time while she waited anxiously for Trixie to return.

It felt incredibly weird not to be in the boardroom, to not be standing against the wall taking notes as Fame and Raja presented the new concepts for the collections, Violet’s spine itching with annoyance over the fact that she wasn’t there.

She had considered texting Courtney, but she wasn’t sure Courtney could actually tell her anything interesting, the blonde incredibly talented at hearing but not listening, so instead, Violet had brought her backlog of magazines with her to work.

Violet had started collecting fashion magazines at 17. At first, she had only read American Vogue, but as she had started to get more and more into fashion, her monthly collection had started to grow.

Now, she bought American Vogue, British Vogue, French Vogue, Italian Vogue, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar and French and American Elle, her preferred newsstand knowing her by sight.

Violet knew that she could look online for fashion inspiration, knew that it was what everyone around her did, but she had always preferred either print or watching the real people of New York walk by.

Violet wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but as she flipped through the pages, she knew she’d find it sooner or later, at least one of the spots in the Spring collection belonging to her, even if she had to fight for it. Violet almost rolled her eyes as she revealed yet another page of british street style, the fabrics and cuts absolutely horrendous.

Every time the door opened, she would sit up straighter, thinking it was Trixie back with news. After 3 or 4 excruciating false alarms, he finally returned, smiling at the designers, knowing they were all on pins and needles at this point.

“Attention Team! This is not a drill!” Trixie joked. “Everyone meet me in the conference room in 5 minutes for an update on the Spring collection!”

Violet stood up immediately, hurrying directly to the conference room with her notebook, excited to hear the news. Trixie was busy sticking a handful of reference photos onto the whiteboard: A ceramic cup, an egret, a skyline of what looked to be a coastal village somewhere in Turkey, a wheat field at sunrise, a collection of fabric samples stapled together into little booklets the designers could take with them to their desks.

Apparently, this year, Fame wanted a light and breezy Spring collection. Functional and elegant with a touch of whimsy. The color palette was true Galactica: dove grey, cream, straw, ivory flecked with gold, very sparing accents of delicate pink and dusty lilac.

Violet’s mind raced with ideas of ways to manipulate silk so that it rustled and and fluttered beautifully on the runway. Of clean, beautiful lines: crisp linens and soft, feathery edges. Her fingers itched with excitement to get started as she carefully wrote down their deadlines: Thursday to turn in sketches for the in-store prêt-à-porter collection, and the following Thursday for the opening and closing runway pieces.

She knew, of course, that Alexis, Jovan, Gia, April and Maxwell had guaranteed spots in the collection, that group of designers the defining factors in the current Galactica style. She was also well aware that as a new designer, she would be doing foundation pieces.

She would be expected to pay her dues and make sure her collection pieces supported whatever final direction the senior staff chose, but Violet had never been a settler, and she was going to give being in the collection her best shot.

***

Adore sighed happily, swaying to the pounding bass of the house music, surrounded by a sea of sweaty club goers. She and her band had just played an electrifying late-night gig and she was still high on the adrenaline.

She loved being out, loved showing people why her and her band were the next big thing, but the best part of the night was that Pearl was there, had been right there in the front of the crowd cheering her on.

“Hey…” Aja came up to her, a look of concern creasing their brow, Aja’s outfit for the night a light blue latex number.

“What’s up, baby?” Adore asked, pressing a kiss to Aja’s cheek, wrapping her arms around their waist. They’d known each other since Adore first moved to New York to live with Bianca, almost 10 years ago, had been classmates at the performing arts high school along with the rest of her bandmates.

“Uh, it’s just… Dahlia is being a bit of a thot and Pearl looks… Into it…” Aja bit their lip.

Adore turned to look where Aja was gesturing, saw her friend and bass player sitting perched on a stool, back arched, plaid shirt almost entirely unbuttoned and slipping off one shoulder. Pearl stood close to her… Maybe a little closer than needed, a beer in her hand as she chatted her up. There was a bored, almost challenging look on Dahlia’s face as Pearl spoke, and the whole thing set Adore’s teeth on edge.

“Well…” Adore swallowed, fighting her impulse to march over and pull them apart, fixing a nonchalant expression on her face as she turned back to Aja, “They’re both big flirts. So what?”

“So, I don’t know if I’d be cool with it. I’m shocked you are.”

“There’s no reason for me to be a jealous bitch. I knew that Pearl was like that when we got together, so how could expect her to change? And anyway, she’s coming home with me, not Dahlia,” Adore said.

“You sure about that?” Aja asked.

Adore’s eyes narrowed, shooting a nasty look at her long-time friend, who laughed.

“Alright, alright. I didn’t realize that you were so chill.”

“I’m the chillest,” Adore said, taking a sip of her cocktail. But whether she was trying to convince herself or Aja, she wasn’t totally sure.

“So can I buy you a drink?”

“You can fuck off,” came the sneering reply.

“Oof,” Pearl smiled, resting her head on her hand, her elbow placed on the bar. “Kitty got claws. What got you in such a mood?”

“The company.”

There was something strangely familiar about Dahlia, but Pearl was 99% sure she hadn’t had sex with her before. She’d given up trying to place her, instead just enjoying her ice queen vibe. “I don’t think you mind my company all.”

“Don’t I?” Dahlia raised an eyebrow, her plump lips pursed, her beautiful face the picture of disinterest, but Pearl had caught her eyes flickering to her arm, had seen her notice exactly how strong Pearl was in the places where it was needed.

“I know women.”

Dahlia was hot as sin, everything about her soft and delicate, her dark hair styled in careful silky curls, the freckles on her shoulder the most delicious tease, the garterbelt that poked out from under her denim shorts promising Pearl that she’d find mouth-watering lingerie underneath Dahlia’s clothes if she ever got that far.

“I’m sure you do.”

“I could show you?”

“No.”

Pearl had to bite her lip to swallow a moan. There was something about her hyper femininity, something about how she was just a little bit mean, Dahlia radiating a promise of pink pillows, cherry chapstick and fruit scented shampoo that Pearl hadn’t even realized she was missing so fiercely it made her nipples tighten.

“Also,” Dahlia looked over her shoulder. “Your girlfriend is right over there.”

Shit.

***

Violet walked out of the elevator, a cup of steaming hot coffee and a banana in her hand. It was a little after 8--security had finally realized that her company card opened every door and locked her out, but she could still make her way to the design floor without a hitch.

Violet had come directly from the gym, her hair in a ponytail and still damp from her shower, the shoes on her feet running shoes instead of the heels she normally wore. She’d had this routine for awhile now--getting to the office early to do her makeup and hair in the big, clean Galactica bathrooms where, unlike the gym, she didn’t have to fight for mirror space, smile at strangers, or pretend to be interested in small talk. She’d have time to finish her routine and settle in to work just as the other designers began trickling in.

Today though, as she opened the big double doors to the design department, she was surprised at the sight that met her. It wasn’t one lone designer who’d arrived earlier than normal, or two people finishing a project, but rather, at least five of her colleagues sitting at their desks, busily working away already.

Violet had no idea why they were there, seeing so many of her coworkers this early honestly shocking. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like they had noticed her, so she made a beeline for the bathroom, vowing to herself that she’d get fully ready before coming into the office from now on, the risk of her coworkers seeing her as anything less than perfectly put together not one she was willing to take yet.

***

Maxwell stood by the printer, waiting for the sketches he had done on his iPad to come out. For years now, he’d been almost solely responsible for all of the business separates in the Galactica line, and it suited him just fine.

Over the years, he’d perfected the kind of crisply tailored and yet graceful and feminine lines that Miss Fame preferred, which had earned him her favor again and again and again.

When he’d seen the inspiration for the Spring collection, he was immediately flooded with ideas, and after almost 2 days of working, he was quite pleased with the sheer volume and range of choices he was going to present at the meeting, already imagining the pleased nod he’d get from the head of the company.

Violet appeared in the little printing alcove, doing a jump of surprise when she saw someone else in there. “Max, hi-”

“Sorry to scare you,” Maxwell smiled. “My job’s almost done,”

“Thanks,” Violet said, taking a step in, their elbow almost bumping against each other as she snug a peak at the printer. “Wow,” Violet turned her head, looking at Maxwell. “Are these your sketches? There’s so many already.”

“Well, you know Fame and Raja. They like to have options. ” Maxwell grinned, knowing that if anyone did know, it’d be Violet. “My technique with prêt-à-porter is to give them as many choices as possible, with lots of variation. Kind of ‘throw all the spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks’ approach, you know?”

Violet nodded, a very serious expression on her face as she listened.

“I started with a bunch of different suit options, and then I’ll use these to whip up all the other coordinating separates.”

“I just can’t believe that you’ve done so many in only 2 days,” Violet said, looking quite uncertain.

“You’re pretty fast yourself, so I wouldn’t worry.” Maxwell picked his sketches up. “Are you working on any for this week, or straight for the couture spots?”

“Yes.” Violet moved up, pressing on the printer to make it spit out her own sketches before she apparently realized that just yes wasn’t actually an answer to his question. “Prêt-à-porter isn’t my strength-“ Violet bit her lip, “But I’m not a one trick pony, and I want to play ball.”

“My advice? Be ambitious. This isn’t the time to hold back,” Maxwell said, smiling kindly. In spite of his initial reservations, he’d found himself quite charmed by the newest designer. And if he could help her get a leg up, he definitely wanted to do that, adding, “Let me know if you want me to review anything before Thursday!”

“Thanks,” Violet smiled. “I appreciate that.”

***

Courtney rushed down the street in the chilly air, in a desperate hurry to get to Broadway Dance Center in time for her class to start.

She hadn’t really given her personal dreams much thought since beginning at Galactica. But recently, when Adore was telling her all about a series of gig she’d gotten--ones Courtney couldn’t attend because they were all super late at night, mid-week, and all the way in Brooklyn--a rush of envy over Adore’s ability to focus on her music completely had overtaken her, immediately followed by guilt over such an ugly emotion.

Just because Adore had someone supporting her didn’t give Courtney any excuse to be jealous of her friend’s good fortune. Maybe things would be harder for her--that didn’t mean that she shouldn’t try. Instead of worrying about what she didn’t have, she decided to instead look to Adore’s achievements as inspiration.

She’d found an 8 pm class, figuring that it was late enough not to interfere with her work responsibilities. After all, taking an hour for herself one evening a week seemed like the kind of thing she should be able to do without a problem, right?

However, today had been even crazier than usual, with the holiday collection now being finalized, the Spring collection underway, and Fame working on a deal to expand Galactica’s flagship stores in Europe. Fame herself hadn’t even left until just before 7.

Courtney had finally managed to get away, currently sprinting the 15 blocks to BDC--she’d even had the foresight to bring sneakers. If she was fast enough, there was a chance she’d make it in time for her class.

With less than 2 blocks to go, Courtney realized that her work phone was buzzing in her hand. She paused at the corner, trying to manifest some positive energy before she answered. This will be something small. Something I already took care of. This call will end with Miss Fame pleased and happy...

“Hello?”

“Why are the Berlin contracts not in my bag?” Fame demanded.

“You...wanted to take those home?” Courtney asked, though she already knew the answer. Why would Fame be calling her otherwise? She cringed at her own carelessness, stupidly assuming that she’d review them the next day at her meeting with Patrick.

Fame seemed to be just as annoyed with Courtney as she was with herself, sighing and saying, “Deliver them now. This stress is not good for my skin,” and then hanging up even before Courtney’s “Yes, Miss.”

Courtney stood on the corner for a few moments, catching her breath, before turning around and trudging back towards the Galactica offices, shoulders slumped in defeat.

So much for dance class.

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xparadisexlostx · 4 years ago

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So Idk what possessed me to write this. I wrote it all in one go and it is in desperate need of a proof read and probably and edit... but I doubt I’ll ever do that lol. I’m tired and I’m getting a headache and I still have drafts to work on, so I’m just gonna post it before I lose confidence and hide it like the many, many other drabbles I’ve never posted.

I don’t know why I wanted to write this in first person. That usually annoys me, but for some reason it just sounded right in this case.

So this drabble is primarily about Beck and Cora, how they meet, and the relationship they have. Obviously I did a LOT, if not too much, condensing because otherwise this never would have ended.

For context, Cora is Beck’s sort of adopted mom. She his a centuries old witch who was possessed, years ago by a spirit of hospitality. Over time the two merged into one being and that is why she’s pretty much immortal. Because of what she was she was made an outcast by her own people, the clan of the Grey Owls. Here is her face claim.

_____________________________________________

A long life makes you accustomed to loss. You learn people are better at a distance. Far enough away that you can’t really make out their faces, and their voices turn to echoes by the time they’re in your ears. Any closer than that and you risk the pain that comes with a proper meeting. I found that out the hard way when Hattie passed.

It was agonizingly slow. At first she just needed a bit of help with getting up after a long day in the garden. And then she couldn’t go as far on our evening walks. Eventually she couldn’t make it out to tend the flowers that she loved so dearly, and she forgot the names of the dairy goats we’d raised by hand and bottle. And when I saw Death come peacefully across the border of the Living Dream, shimmering in the late afternoon sunlight and invisible to my love, I lifted her up in my arms and carried her out to the fields of flowers. She didn’t remember my name, but she held me close to her with what dwindling strength remained in her arms, and laid her head on my heart while I whispered a silent goodbye.

We had never had any children. Back then we only escaped the scandal of being together by living on my family’s land and growing or making most of what we needed. People in the towns whispered, but they let us be so long as we didn’t make too much noise. That wouldn’t have been any life for a child. Children need community, friends, and more love than just two mothers could bring them. The mortals would have never accepted a child of ours, and the witches had cast me out years before on account of what I was---what I am.

I buried Hattie in the flowerbed, and I left my home after that. The place I had been made, where I had settled for three centuries, had nothing to give me but pain. Even England reminded me all too much of what I had lost. I was alone, and I imagined that somewhere else I could find a place where I was content with that once again.

And I did. In a cottage deep in the Sierra Nevada mountains, I found the peace that had evaded me for so long. People stopped by in the occasional way: lost travelers, rapscallion youths, the occasional farmer looking for good dairy stock. That was the way for well over a hundred years. It wasn’t until the storm of ‘01 that it all changed, that I noticed the pie I was cooling on the windowsill was gone, and there was only a small muddy handprint in its place.

In the afterglow of a lightning strike I saw him there. A great, hulking bear, tall as the horizon, pale as a fresh pressed bedsheet, illuminated against the black sky. On his head were horns made of trees, and his claws were gnarled roots. On his back he carried a forest with a heart-tree that glowed gold. My brother, older than me by millenia, scarcely seen but ever familiar, always present. He looked from me to the barn, and stared, transfixed, by whatever he saw, and then he was gone.

I pulled on a raincoat and stepped into my boots, and raced across the yard to the shelter of the barn. The goats stirred in their pen, and the chickens let out a low squawk of protest as the building flooded with light. I found my pie in the back stall and a trail of blueberry pawprints leading away from it and into a pile of hay, where I found a small, trembling kit, little enough to fit in my one hand.

She shook like a leaf, whining up a terrible storm, as I tucked her beneath my coat and took her into the house. The promise of a proper meal convinced her to turn back into the girl I already knew she was, but she still shook so hard that she lost half of every bite she tried to take. I might have scolded anyone else for stealing, but she was so slight, too small and slender for a girl her age, and she was covered in mud and briars and sticks that matted in her golden hair. And when I put her in the tub to scrub her clean I saw the bruises and the cuts that no branch had inflicted.

Looking back on that night I never had the chance to hold her at arm’s length. From the moment I plucked her out of the hay and pressed her to my heart, she was mine. I couldn’t keep her. The Fox Bitch wouldn’t allow it. And no one would listen to me when I told them of the heinous crimes Elea Tandy was committing against her own kin. No one cared when I complained of the local coven teachers casting her out.

I made myself content with what I could have, and I taught her what an old witch could when she escaped that awful house and made her way through the forest to me. I showed her how to sew up a skirt as well as a wound, and taught her what the woods had to offer when her mother denied her supper. When she couldn’t read my spellbooks I taught her songs and rhythms to help her remember words and order. How to milk a goat, how to shear a sheep, how to tie a good and proper knot, and how to cook anything you found or caught. Our time together didn’t always last long, and when she left I felt it like a stab to the heart, but she was mine. The baby Hattie and I never got to have, filled with more kindness and curiosity and life than anyone else I had ever met.

And I ought to have known by the sight of my Brother what she was, and that she could not belong to me, or to anyone forever, but it wasn’t until months later, when I saw him again, watching her ride through the woods with a wild abandon, that I understood.

Feral. A term that makes every parent clutch her pearls and shiver in fear, even though they barely know what it means. Feral witches are born to leave. They are only a brief bridge between the Dream Realm and the physical, destined to merge once more with the Nature Spirit from which they came.

She was not mine to keep, but I held on.

I held on in agony as she ran off, desperate for freedom and adventure and a respite from the violence of her home. I smothered her in loving arms every time she came back. But she came back less and less. It was too dangerous, and every time she risked us both. I told her I didn’t care, and that I wasn’t afraid of Elea Tandy… but I knew that she was.

She was right to be.

Even I had never imagined Elea could be so vile and twisted as to kill a familiar. And to make a child watch… It turns my gut even to think of it now. I thought it would be the death of her, and it likely would have been if her brother hadn’t turned on their mother himself. He tried to bring her back to life, and so did I. But there was nothing but fathomless despair behind those blue eyes. I finally had her safe beneath my roof, and she was dying in my arms just like Hattie had. No amount of love could ever replace what she had lost when Dawnbreaker had been hanged before her eyes.

After ages of lifelessness, she eventually became restless in her grief, and I imagined I was witnessing her end. I put her in my car and drove her as deep into the wilderness as I could, and when I wrapped my arms around her I said that same silent goodbye. I barely made it home before my own sorrow and anger threatened to drown me. She was too young, I thought, and how unfair it was that she should die having tasted so little happiness, having felt so few kind touches. Brother would care for her upon her return, but why had he ever allowed her to come from the womb of that wretched woman? I had gifted her all the love that I could, and it didn’t feel like nearly enough in the face of all the pain she had been put through.

I hated him for that. Perhaps I still do.

I left California the same way I left England, distraught, and purchased new land on the secluded shores of Lake Erie. I told no one where I went, and no one would have ever asked.

When I saw the golden horse upon my lawn some years later I thought it was a reflection in the Living Dream, a spirit of what once was lingering, but the girl upon its back was no longer a child. Even at a distance, even after all those years, I knew her face, and when she ran into my arms I held her tighter than I ever had before.

She was alive and more vibrant than I’d ever seen her---all golden curls and smiles and a wild glint in her eye. We rode horses on the shoreline and sang foolish songs around a campfire. She told me stories of where she had been and everything she’d seen as she wove crowns from wildflowers. The next evening she showed me the scars where the mountain lion had nearly ripped her life away, and then demonstrated her new form with such ease that I felt my knees go weak. Even at such a young age the power swelled around her.

Feral. The very thing that had made other witches reject her had allowed her to thrive. In the wilds she had found the peace and happiness that others had so cruelly robbed her of. And I felt a pride blossom in me that I’d never felt before.

She left me again, as I knew she would, as was her nature, but this time I didn’t feel grief. For as long as she was on this Earth, she would return to me. That much I was certain. And that much has always been proven true.

Now, without the fear of her mother’s viciousness, she comes to me more frequently, and she can linger in my house as long as her wild spirit will allow. Our time together isn’t so rare… and yet I know that it is still brief.

Each visit I see the spirit grow within her, each year the magic grows stronger. It pulls in more animals, and it bends nature around her without her even noticing it.

She doesn’t see my Brother when she is sitting upon her golden stallion, basking in the sun as it cuts through the forest branches, but I think she feels him. As the animals gather all around her and play like newborn lambs, as she feels the embrace of the woods around her, I think she feels him watching. Her eyes glisten and she smiles with a fondness that breaks my heart. I think that if she just takes one step she will be lost to me forever.

I call her name when she raises her hand to touch what she cannot see, and with the slowness of a drunkard she blinks her eyes. When she looks back at me in those moments I know she can see across the centuries. She knows what I am.

Again I call her name. It’s selfish, maybe, to want to hold onto her. Perhaps I do nothing but hold her back. But she smiles at me, and the mist evaporates from her eyes to reveal that mischievous sparkle.

“Come away from there, girl.” I say, beaconing her back toward the house with a wave of my hand and I watch my Brother’s eyes with unbecoming smugness as she presses her golden stallion forward and exclaims “‘Race ya!’” as she charges back home.

#my drabbles #post type: unformatted

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hobbitsnapes · 4 years ago

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The Red Hoods Protègè chapter 16

Older Damian Wayne x ofc

(Photo made by my lovely friend @tyuuniverse)

Summary:Red hood has taken a young vigilante under his wing and subsequently changes Damians life forever.

Tags: @comic-nerd-dc @comic-brew @psychovigilantewrites @psych0crybaby

Days go by, and each one sandy feels more comfortable being here. Now coming out each day of her room. No longer staying in feeling as though she’s trapped inside the room like the rest of the manor was hell. Most of her days she’d frequent the garden, walking around and taking in the beautiful flowers and trees.

But the majority of her time was spent in tims room. Having grown a friendship with the insomniac. But she couldn’t really say anything, due to usually coming in at the wea hours of the night to the earliest of the day.

And that’s where she found herself, at the early hour of 3:57 AM hanging upside down on tims bed with him beside her.

“why do they make decaffeinated coffee? Who does that help?” He asks. The pair hadn’t said a word in minutes. “People who like coffee but not the caffeine. Or Constipated people.” She replies. Tim nodding his reddening face due to the blood flow from being upside down. “Do you think the ocean is so salty because of whale sperm?” She asks, making him laugh. “Where in the fuck do you think of these things?” He asks, still laughing. Sandy pulls herself up, Tim following in suit. “I could ask you the same question.” She asks. They both lay back on the bed this time, heads fitting comfortably against the plush blankets. “Wanna play a game?” He asks, she tunes to him, “I want to play a game.” She says in a deep voice. This causes Tim to roll his eyes. “Okay jiggy. Let’s play 20 questions.”

“Most embarrassing story?” She asks. “The time everyone went out and I popped a hard on and the thug laughed thinking it was because of him. When in reality it was cause I was young and couldn’t control them.” This caused sandy to let out a large laugh, dubling over clutching her stomach. “Alright alright alright, it’s my turn to ask.” Tim chuckles. Her eyes look up at him, nodding her head slightly. “Favorite memory?” He asks. Her brow furrows as she looks to the side. Eyes slightly squinted. “I have 2 that I can’t pick between.” She sighs. “Then tell me what they are.” Tim says.

She pauses for a moment, looking back over to him. Letting out a large breath. “My 8th birthday. My dad was always busy but would always make sure to come into my room each night, and if I wasn’t asleep, he'd take me out to our living room, and with my mom we’d all take a huge blanket and all the pillows and make a huge heap on our couch. Most nights we’d end up falling asleep together. Sometimes we’d watch a movie or they’d tell me a bedtime story. Each one was different from the last. Well that night my dad brought me out into our living room, he took the day off to spend it with me. And he said to sit there by myself and wait patiently. So o did, and after 10 minutes my mom and dad came out.” She starts laughing as she’s speaking, trying to calm herself down to tell the rest. “T-they both came out in what I think was an 80s rendition of the Renaissance. They then gave me a dress to put on, along with a crown. The dress was a ball gown that was white with light blue lace, it also had small pearls on it. The crown was beautiful, it almost looked real with the shine of the diamonds and sapphires. We then spent the rest of the night dancing, to anything that played. We then all got in my parents bed, and they held me until we all fell asleep.” A tear fell down her eye, wiping it away almost immediately after it cascaded down her face. An ache reasoned within her heart at the fond memory. “The next one had to be at the fair with Jaso. I hadn’t been there with him long. I don’t even think it was a month at that point. He, he really was trying. I saw every attempt he made to get closer with me, and each time I’d pretend I didn’t notice or not be interested and go to my room. God, my room. I hated it at first. It was originally the weapon room, he has removed all of them but it was almost completely bare.”

Both of them step into the small room, both silent apart from their breathing.

Jason had gotten all of the guns, the knives, anything out of the room when she took a shower. Both just meeting an hour prior.

She eyes around the mostly bare room. A small cot bed was nestled into the corner of the room, along with a small bedside table with a lamp on top of it. Apart from those, dark curtains cover the window. The floorboards were bare, cold on her feet. “I’m sorry about the bed. I-I can have you take mine if you’d like?” He asks her. She looks over at him, seeing the panic in his face. “No no, this is more than enough. Thank you.” She says, looking down at the large t-shirt that hung below to her boney knees. “Do you need anything? I have some books, I don’t have a tv here but-“ she looks up at him, his rambling stopping. “I’m honestly really tired right now.” She says. “Alright, get some rest.” He says.

He walks to the door, but stops. “Thank you, um?” She says, her eyes scrunching slightly. “Jason. Jason Todd.”

A tear slipped down both her eyes, but was snapped out of it when she felt tims hand on her shoulder. She wipes both away and looked up at him, his face contorted in worry. “Sorry, but back to what I was saying. The fair was amazing, we had so much fun playing all the games, riding most of the rides, and the others I watched biting my nails as I watched him go on the extreme ones. God I, I felt like he was my actual dad, and that we were just normal father and daughter going to the fair for the first time. I finally felt like there was some normalcy in my life, that I could just be a kid again. I, I didn’t feel guilty. Each time he would try bonding with me, it killed me because I felt like I was replacing my parents with him. That I shouldn’t bond with another person because it’s not fair to my actual parents.” Small tracks of tears fell down her face, no longer trying to wipe them away. “But that day, I felt like my parents wanted me to. They wanted me to feel like a kid, to have fun again. I felt them with me that day, and that was also the day I started slowly seeing him as my dad.” Her tears had dried at this point, having been replaced with a smile. Fond memories of the day played through her mind. No longer a pain in her heart, but a warmth flooded through her as she remembers one of the best days of her life. “Alright, my turn. Why Red Robin? And why not add him to the end of it?” She asked, a smirk on her face. “Oh for fucks sake.” A large laughter reasoned throughout the room.

“Then when I came in to tell Bruce what happened he was balls deep blowing her back out on the-“ Tim was cut off from laughing so hard, both him and sandy laying on his bed clutching their chests due to the heavens of their laughter. It had been some time, the sun started creeping over the trees for a few minutes at that point.

They both lay there as their laughter started to die down, that is until footsteps were heard walking by. Sandy abruptly stopped laughing, turning to the door with wide eyes and tensed muscles. Her heart fell but Accelerated to the point of it being painful, until the door remained closed and the footsteps drifted away. She felt a hand on her shoulder, turning back to Tim. Worry overtook his face. “It’s alright, he doesn’t even come in here anyways.” A large sigh escaped her as she ducked her head down. “I know, I just can’t help but get worried whenever I hear him.” She says, a frown painted on her lips. Tim brought her in for a hug, wrapping her in his arms and rubbing his hands along her back. Her head rested on his shoulder as small tracks of tears fell down her cheeks.

“Alright, last question.” Tim says, looking over to her as she played with the strings on her jacket. She turns her head to him, looking into his eyes as her heart speeds up, the fear of the question but the Curiosity outwayung her fear. “Why does my dad not y’all to you guys? He told me he was robin, and that he was killed. But he never said what happened besides that?” She asks softly, her brows slightly furrowed. A sigh leaves Tim as he looks away. “It’s, complicated. It’s not my place to tell. But I will tell you, it came after what happened to him.”

Dick sighs as he puts his head in his hands. His brow furrowed as lips in a tight line. He pulls at his hair, meshing his hands into knots into it. “God what am I gonna do?” He whispers to himself.

He paces back and forth along the floor. Eying his feet as he bites at his nails. It’s a bad habit he developed as a child, but with the help of Alfred he stopped it for the most part. That is unless he’s very stressed. Sometimes he’ll chew them raw, pain coating the tips of his fingers for days. A knock at the door abruptly stopping him, looking over to it but seeing nothing. Could it have been another room? He wonders.

He walks over to it and opens it, and looking out and meeting sandy standing there. She was clad in a an oversized sweater and high waisted jeans. “Hey, you need anything?” He asks, curious as to why she had knocked at the door. “I heard you pacing when I was walking by. I got worried if you were alright is all.” She replies. Worry taking over her face. He sighs, and steps to the side to let her in.

“Yes and no. I, I’m planning on proposing to barabara in a few days. I’m so excited for it. But I have no idea how to do it.” He sighs. Head again in his hands as he stairs beside her. Dick had moved out long ago, but would still sometimes stay at the manor if he was needed. Him and sandy had bonded slightly over the past 2 weeks she had been there. While most of her time was spent with Tim, she did a few times come to spend time with the eldest of the brothers. They both would usually discus her father, his embarrassing stories when he was young. Or her love for ballet. Dick promising her that he’ll come by to practice with her sometime. “Alright, you want some advice?” She replies, raising her brow slightly at him. “Sure, whatcha got?”

“So you guys met on top of the police department?” She asks. Her brow raised as she asks. “Yes, it was one of my first nights as robin.” Memories flooding through his mind from the memory. She sells her hands together with a wide smile. “There you go! Ask her there!” She exclaims happily. A chuckle leaving dick. “Elaborate please?”

“Tell her to meet you up there. And have ready a small table with dinner, wine, and candles. The whole 9 yards. Then, ask her there. It is after all where you guys met. It’s a special place for the both of you. I promise she’ll love it.” She says with a smile. “What if she says no? We haven’t always been the model couple. What if she doesn’t want to marry me?” He asks. Fear and doubt eating heavy in his chest. She puts a hand on his shoulder, with a warm smile on her face. “How long have you guys been back together?” “The day I plan on asking her will make 5 years.” A smile taking over his face. “And how long in total has she been by you?” A laugh leaving him briefly at the question. “Well over a decade at this point.” A large smile taking over both their faces. “That’s your answer. She’s been by your side through everything. And to this day she stays and loves you. I see the way she looks at you. It’s the same look my mom looked at my dad with. She loves you so much, and I know that she’ll be so happy to marry you.” A small tear leaves his eye. He looks over to her, tears brimming her eyes. He pulls her into a large hug, her arms wrapping around his neck. “Thank you. You really are an angel.”

The small ticks of the computers, along with the heavy noise of the waterfall nearly drown out the sound of the tumbler. The chill in the room increasing tenfold due to the opening of the large cave to the cold outside. She turns away from the boxing bag, removing her gloves. She watches as dick exits first, following along with Tim in the back. A dull ache resins within her when Damian exits. Turning her head away before he saw her. Hearing his footsteps head for the showers.

She starts walking over to Tim, eying him over at the med table stripping the top of his suit off. A cut ran along his left peck. Only scraping the skin and no muscle, with the blood nearly gone and congealed slightly. It looked to not need any stitching, just s good clean and bandage.

A grunt was heard behind her, taking her focus away from Alfred cleaning up tims wound.

She turns around and spots Bruce, he was lugging boxes out of the tumbler over to the computer desks. She ran over and grabbed a box herself, bringing it over to the table and going back over to help him. “You don’t have to, I've got it.” Bruce replies, his voice strained slightly. Sweat poured down his ghostly white face. Worry struck her as she watched as he had a hard time taking the box in his arms. “I wanna help. I didn’t go out tonight so the least I can do is help bring in the information.” She replies back. Eying him closely the entire time.

A groan leaves him as he picks up another box, stumbling slightly and dropping the box. Worry floods her as she watches him. Dropping her box on the table and running over. “Hey hey hey. What’s going on?” She asks. She notices His hand clutching his side. She removes it to see blood covering his hand. “Hey it’s gonna be okay.” She says. Taking her jacket off and handing it to him. “Apply this to it and I’ll be right back.” She runs over to the end station, grabbing the first aid kit along with anything else she needs and runs back over. She kneels down to him, taking out the scissors and cutting the top of his suit off. She slips the top of his suit off, gently removing his hand from the wound. It didn’t look to be internally deep, no ripped muscles were shown and the blood looked external rather than coming internally. The skin was torn slightly, but overall it didn’t appear to be life threatening. She slips on a pair of gloves and grabs a bottle of saline solution “It doesn’t look that bad, but I am gonna do some stitches okay? Do you want me to numb it?” She asks. Her face no longer full of worry. “No need, I barely feel them now.” She nods her head to him. She soaks the wound in the saline, the water running down his side onto the floor. She dabs it slightly with gauze and soaks the area a couple more times until the water ran to a light pink. She applies the gauze to the area, having him hold it as she soaks the suture in alcohol. She pulls the skin together, and locates the center of the cut. Slowly pulling the needle through the first part of the skin to the other side, then out the wound, back through the wound on the other side and out the skin. She pulls the skin together again and ties it off with a double knot. She works back toward the edge placing a new suture halfway between the end of the gash and the closest stitch. “You’re doing a great job at this.” He says, eying her as she slowly makes the next stitch. “Thanks, if I had a penny for the amount of times I’ve had to stitch my dad up, I’d be richer than you in a year.” She jokes back. Causing a smile to grow on his face. “My actual dad was also a surgeon. I guess I got his doctor's hands.” She chuckles. Bruce’s brow furrows. “What was his name?” He asks. “Hal hawks. He was a surgeon here in Gotham.” A sad smile on her face when she said his name. “I remember him. I had gone to him for a shattered kneecap a few years ago. Doctors said I wouldn’t be able to walk again. But your dad did the surgery and I was walking in no time. He was a good man.” A tear slipped down from her eye at his reply. “They both are. Look, I don’t know what happened between you and my dad. But he’s a great father. With everything that’s happened to me in the last few years, I would give up my life for him for everything he’s done for me.” A sigh leave him as he looks at her, Tara brimming her eyes. “If I know one thing, it’s that Jason is a good man. And a good father. He’s exactly the kind of father for you. And I couldn’t be happier.”

The room was almost completely dark, the only light coming from the full moon shining in through the blinds. She tossed and turned, not being able to find a comfortable position to lay in. Her mind wouldn’t calm down, racing heavily on multiple things. Glancing over to her bedside table, and reading it was 4:26 in the morning. A sigh leaving her as she sits up in bed. She knew Tim would be up, this time usually being their time they go to each other’s rooms to either watch a movie, play a game, or sometimes paperwork.

Slipping out of bed and over to her closet, grabbing a robe and slipping it on. The silk inside felt warm to her exposed skin. Having only wearing a pair of underwear underneath.She wasn’t worried about wearing this around him. Having worn this before when he came to her room and he never once tried anything or even taken a glance. She suspected she knew the reason as to why, but not quite sure if it was true. Her room would get quite hot in the night. With the cold weather outside the heat would be cranked up higher during the night. This causing her to strip almost to the nude as to not sweat all night. Walking out of her door she was met with the chilled air of the hallway. A shiver ran up her spine. Her feet almost feeling painful against the cold wood.

She starts her way over to his room down the other end of the hallway. But stopping abruptly at the door opening to her side. Her stomach dropping as she’s met with damian towering over her. Shock takes over both their faces briefly as they just stand there. They were frozen in place, hearts beating so heavily they were sure the other could hear it. Their eyes just locked into one another’s. They both tear their eyes away as she looks down from his gaze. Another shiver ran through her. He was shirtless. His tan skin glistening with a fine layer of sweat, probably due to the heating. Clad in only sweatpants that stopped at just above his v line. His chest rose and fell fast due to his heavy breathing. His hair was messy. No longer slicked back and straight. Now a mass of soft curls that puffed slightly. She’d almost say he looked cute. But pain shoots through her heart when the thought played in her mind. His eyes were locked on her. Her hair had grown ever slightly since the last time he saw it. The blank locks soft curls around her face. A feeling of electricity flowed through him along with warmth when he looked at what she was wearing. Or lack thereof. She wore a thin ivory colored robe. The thinness of the silk laid against her soft skin. His heart sped up when he noticed she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Her breasts were framed against the silk. Her skin looking as soft as a petal. From the cold of the hallway, he could clearly see her nipples poking out of the fabric. His body now hot as he fought with himself as to not grab a hold of her to feel her skin against his again. A fire slightly burning inside him as he looks at her.

His mouth was slightly open, as if he was about to speak but couldn’t.“I was just going-“ “to drakes room. I know.” He cuts her off. His usual hard voice sounding tired and deadpan. She looked up at him again. His face was blank, but his eyes showed a slight strain in them. “Can’t sleep?” She asks. Her voice an almost whisper. He closes his eyes and nods. “Yeah.” He whispers. His eyes slightly crinkled. “Do, do you need anything? Are you alright?” She asks. Her voice slightly wavering. Her heart aching as she looks up at him. Tears wanting to spill from her eyes. His eyes shut tighter. “I’m good. Goodnight.” He whispers. His face in pain as she shuts the door. A tear slipping down her face.

A quietness filled the large room as everyone finished their plates, all of them apart from her and Alfred bid their goodnights and thank yous to the butler before walking to their rooms. She watches as he stacked some of the plates, his hands shaking slightly under the weight. “Hey, why don’t you let me do the washing up tonight.” She asks. Her eyes hopeful as she eyes the elderly butler. “Oh it’s perfectly fine miss-“ “please, you always do it for us. And I know it’s your job but, I wanna do it and help around here.” She says. She puts her hand against his shoulder. A warm smile on her face. “Alright miss Todd. Thank you.” A soft smile on his face when he hands her the plates. “No problem Alfey.”

Plates clinked together as she scrubbed them. The water hot against her hands as she removed the sticky sauce from the plate. Humming a song in her head as she did them.

She turns around to put the dish on the rack. Having not noticed before that Damian has walked in to grab some water from the fridge. She gasped and dropped the plate, letting out a small yell when it shattered on the floor. He put his hands out in front of him to her. The crash startling her and not seeing it was Damian due to the low light in the room and his hand out. She let out another tell as she quickly spun around, grabbing a small knife and throwing it at him.

He caught in just before it hit his face, his heart beating out of his chest as he watched her heaving for air. “What the fuck was that!” He yelled out. Anger flowing through him. “I didn’t see it was you! And you put your hands out like that, what was I supposed to do! Don’t get fuckin mad at ME that you jumped me!” She yelled at him. Her fists in balls are her sides. “NOT THROW A FUCKING KNIFE AT ME! GOD WHO THE FUCK DOES THAT!” He screams out. His whole body tensed up as anger overtook his face. “Why don’t you ask yourself that.” She snaps back. Her arms folded on her chest. “I fuckin ask myself a lot of questions about you.” He snarls back. A pain shoots through her heart at the venom in his voice. “Oh and what’s that supposed to mean.” She bites back. “How I didn’t see it. How I didn’t realize who you actually were. I’m not even mad about what you and Todd do. I’m mad that you act like you’re this perfect little thing that’s so kind to everyone. And then you just waltz right in here and get all buddy buddy with everyone! And I’m angry that I fell for you. I’m angry that the first time I have feelings for someone it was you. I’m not even angry like I was. I’m angry because it still hurts me every time I look at you because you weren’t who I thought you were!” He yelled out. Tears streaming down his face. A vain popping out of his temple as he yelled. Her eyes flowing out tears as her heart broke for the forth time. A deep pain shooting through her as tears rolled out like a waterfall down her face and chest. “What you’re not getting is THIS IS ME! I showed you who I truly am that entire time Damian! I let myself for the first time bare my heart for someone besides my dad. You just think I’m 2 different people when IM NOT! AND HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL! IT KILLS ME THAT YOU LOOK AT ME WITH DISGUST BECAUSE I WAS FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU! HOW IS IT FAIR THAT YOU TAKE YOUR ANGER OUT ON ME WHEN I'M HURTING TOO! GOD IT FUCKING HIRTS SO BAD!” She screams out, her voice breaking due to the heavy tears. Her heart now nothing but filled with hard pain that squeezed her chest and throat. She beat her hands against his chest, tears streaming down her face as she lets out yells. He grabs a hold of her wrists, trying not to be hard as to got hurt her. Tears falling down his face as his heart broke as he watched her. Her face was contorted in pain as sobs wrecked her body. “WHY! WHY DID I HAVE TO FALL FOR YOU!” She sobbed out. Her head liply laying against his chest. She keeps whispering why as she soaked his shirt. “Why do you keep doing this to me?” She weakly whispers out. Tears fall even harder down his face. He laid his head in her hair, soaking her scalp. “I-I can’t do this.” She says. She rips her wrists from his hands, looking away as she runs out of the room. Her sobs being heard until she gets far enough away. Sobs overtaking his body as he falls to his knees. His head in his hands as he sobs violently. His heart breaking again.

Dick runs down the hallway towards her room, his heart beating heavily in his chest. He had heard everything, tears brimming his eyes the entire time he heard the level of pain in their voices. His heart falling when he heard her running towards her room.

He walked in and saw the window was open. The blinds shielding the outside view. But he heard her quiet sobs from her door. He walked out onto the balcony, seeing her looking over the ledge with her head in her arms. The puddle of tears soaking the floor. He wrapped his arms around her. Holding her tight as she turned around into his chest and sobbed even harder. Tears now escaping his eyes as he watches as she shakes with how violent she’s sobbing. “Shhh it’s okay. Everything’s gonna be okay.” He whispers, rubbing his hand on the middle of her back. Avoiding her shoulders. “W-why is he doing this?” She sobs out. Her voice quiet due to her throat being raw. “Damians never had feelings for someone. He’s always had anger problems and doesn’t know how to handle his emotions well. And whenever he’s scared or hurt, he lashes out. I’m gonna have a talk with him. I’m sorry I haven’t sooner.” He says, her sobs slowing down as he talked. “It’s okay. I understand. I just wish I had my dad with me right now.” Tears fell down her face at the end. Pain shooting through her as she misses her father being with her. Having grown used to his hold and presence whenever she was sad or hurt. “I know, and I promise you’ll see him soon. Want me to stay out here with you till you feel better?” He asks. Looking down at her. Her sapphire eyes brimmed red. “Please.”

“That was the best prank we did on Bruce, god he couldn’t figure out how to stop the ghostbusters theme playing over the coms for a month!” He laughed out. Both of them laughing hard at the story. “Sounds like you and my dad were his worst nightmare kids.” Age laughed out. A fond smile grew on his face. “You have no idea. Him and I were really close when he was robin. He was the little brother I had dreamed of having my whole life.” He replied. His face slightly falling at the end. Her eyes squinted slightly as she watched as his face fell a bit more. “Dick, can I ask you something?” He looks over at her, her face painted in concern. “Sure.” He replies. She takes in a deep breath, her heart beating fast again against her rib cage. “What, happened? Nobody’s told me why he didn’t speak to all of you for so long.” A sigh leave him at her question. Pain in his chest creeping up his neck when he thought about it. “Alright, I’ll tell you. But please, understand we love him and didn’t do this to hurt him.” Her eyes widen slightly. “Okay.”

“He, told you about joker right?” He asked. Both now lying on her bed. “Yeah, he killed him but he came back.” She replies. Her eyes watching as his face fell again. “That’s, not entirely what happened. Joker didn’t just kill him. He held him in an abandoned building near Arkham asylum. He Tortured him for over 6 months. None of us could find them because whenever we thought we did, he’d switch buildings. Until he brought him to an abandoned wing of the asylum. There he, did things to him. Things that he hasn’t even spoken about. And one day, Bruce got a video. It was Jason tied to a wheelchair. He was hurt so badly. His suit was torn and almost completely red from blood. He was slumped over. And, out walked joker from behind him. And he, he shot him in the head.” Tears fell down both their faces as he says the last part. “We, found his body. We took him back here and buried him. Well, damians mom talia took his body for some reason. And she put him in this thing called the lazarus pit. Its able to heal all wounds, and some can bring back someone’s life. Well, it worked. But not exactly. It changes people, what was once a kind, sane person, can go mad and angry from it. Jason lashes out, and ran away from the league. He ended up back in Gotham. And he, because of his anger, started killing criminals. He was eventually found by Barbara’s dad Jim. And he’s known about ya since I was robin. And he called Bruce. Jason couldn’t speak. He didn’t look the same as he used to and he was dubbed a John Doe. But jim knew. Bruce, he didn’t know what to do. So, he had Jason admitted to Arkham. The place had cleaned up a lot in the last year. Now actually helping people. Bruce paid off the doctors for Jason not to let the word out that he was there. And he made all of us promise, not to speak or let him see us. He didn’t know if he’d handle it well and lash out again. So we didn’t. For 3 years we watched as he was there. And he was doing amazing. He grew to be massive, and his hair grew out and was bright reddish blonde. He even grew a beard that was firey ginger. You literally couldn’t recognize him if you knew him when he was robin. And, we all thought he had forgotten us. He never once mentioned us, his life at the manor, being robin, joker, nothing. We thought that entire time was wiped from his memory. And it killed me. God the amount of times I’d go there to bring back someone like croc or pyg, I’d always fight with myself not to go to his room to see my little brother.”

Pain shot through dicks chest when he walked down the hallway, knowing he was behind that door. He stopped at it, tears threatening to spill over his mask as he looked at the door. Hands shaking at his sides, until he reaches up and skids the window of the door, looking in. There sat Jason on his bed, his hair had grown long, even longer than his own and was a light red. His firey bead covered his face. His body was massive, you wouldn’t believe he was only 21 due to the size of his body. No longer the scrawny street kid he once was. Now he was large with bulging muscles and towering height. He looked, calm. And happy. He was at ease in the room. Reading his book and sipping some water. Tears fell down dicks eyes as he watched, his little brother not seeing him, and wouldn’t recognize who he was.

“He did so amazing, so amazing that he was being let out. We knew the date he was, and Bruce, Alfred and I prepared ourselves for how bad it’d hurt. Knowing he wouldn’t come back. Never remembering who we are. At this point Damian has become robin. He was about 15 at the time. Him and Tim has never met him before. So it wouldn’t hurt them to watch as he built his life without us. But we were wrong. The day he was let out, all 3 of us had cried a little. But, that night, Alfred cane to the door, and he fainted. Because there at the door, was Jason. Turns out, he remembered everything. But the doctors did such a good job, he forgave us. He came in and, I don’t think I had ever hugged someone for so long. We both were crying, eventually Bruce and Alfred joined in and we all stayed in the living room for hours catching up. And things were perfect, he stayed here in his room and wouldn’t really leave the manor. He, even grew close to Tim and a little bit with Damian. He actually was our computer guy, you wouldn’t know it but damn he knows his way around a computer and tracking. And it was like this for about a year. Them that night, he had come into the cave and told us he wanted to go back out with us. It was gonna be a really difficult night and he wanted to go back out to help. But Damian said he couldn’t. They got into a huge fight, and, Damian let it out that Bruce had him admitted to Arkham. Jason he, he thought we didn’t know he was alive. He never knew, and that’s when he, he lost it on us, and he left. It kills me that I never went to see him. I wish I had, maybe he wouldn’t hate-“ “stop it dick.” She cuts him off, hand on his shoulder. Tears falling from his eyes. He looks into hers, no longer red with tears. “He doesn’t hate you. You were doing what you were told for the safety of your brother. You did nothing wrong. I’m not mad at what you did or didn’t do. No, who I’m mad at, is Bruce.”

#damian wayne x reader #damian wayne fanfiction #damian wayne imagine #damian wayne #older!damian wayne #Batman #batfam x reader #batfamily #Jason Todd #red hood #dick grayson #Tim drake #dc #dc imagine #dceu

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concealeddarkness13 · 4 years ago

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WHG Post Games Boat Heist Part 5

Last boat heist piece! And then just post heists and we’re done! Tagging: @ratracechronicler (also thanks for Elvira and Rebecca!), @maple-writes (also thanks for Cirrus and Asher!), and @pen-of-roses (also thanks for Lynn and Rowan!)!

Triel (this is the next day)

Elvira and I met up with Nora, Chaudhary, and the rest of the assistants near a bar. I grinned at Mirabel and Sidney, since I hadn’t seen them yesterday, and we exchanged greetings. It was almost time, so we toasted each other, downed our drinks and headed for the dear president.

And he was actually where he was supposed to be! Last night must have spooked him. I grinned and walked up to him with arms wide as if I was expecting a hug. “And the dear president remembered! Thank you so much!” He eyed my assistants, and he raised his eyebrows. I laughed. “Oh, I thought I would need assistants for the interview. There are so many questions to ask, so I wanted them to write it out as well.”

Elvira stood behind me, looking Very Serious and holding a Very Convincing Clipboard. The others would fall behind and take care of the Peacekeepers.

I steered him over toward the right side of the boat, and I smiled my best smile at him. “So, let’s start with an easy one. Who was the tribute you were most cheering for in this year’s Hunger Games?”

He laughed. So fake. “Of course, I cheered for Poli. I always knew he was going to win.”

I knew you’d say that, you lying bastard. I laughed and wrote insults down on my clipboard. I could only imagine what Elvira was scrawling behind me. “I totally believe that. Now, which was the most gruesome death?”

He looked a little unnerved by the question. Good. Out of the corner of my eye, Nora and the others were working on Operation Dunk the Peacekeepers. He frowned. “I…don’t see the relevance of the question?”

I laughed. “Oh, it’s entirely relevant. I mean, you perform this charade year after year, and you celebrate all the deaths as if they don’t matter. As if that isn’t a precious life expiring right before your eyes. They’re children, my dear president, and you don’t care, do you?”

He glared at me and turned around to see all of his Peacekeepers were gone. Nora and Chaudhary waved at him as his eyes landed on them.

Elvira smiled sweetly. “Ah, President Snow? I’m afraid you won’t be able to summon your lackeys to do away with the uncomfortable questions. Not this time. Rather, we’ve done away with them. One by one. Until one remains in the spotlight.”

He glared at us, and his hand reached for his pocket, but I was faster. I activated my magic, and multi-colored light danced on my skin like fire. I transformed the small amount of water I always kept on hand into a sharp crystal and aimed it right at his heart. I smirked as he stared at it with horror in his eyes. “Not so fast, my dear president. If you try to call any back-up, they’ll find your body bleeding out on this deck, and we’ll be long gone. So, let’s play by the rules, yeah?” I laughed as he moved his hands away from his pockets, up in the air. “So, next question, all these children’s deaths are on your hands. How many people would love to see your corpse on national television?”

Sid raised a hand, and the others in the background did the same. I smirked at the dear president. “Unfortunately, I’m not in the mood to have president-cide added to the list of crimes I’ve committed. Too many people chasing me.” I nodded at the others. Nora walked over with a smirk and emptied his pockets, and Elvira sneaked around while he was glaring at Nora and pulled him by the shirt toward the rail, and I did the honors (after deactivating my magic) of giving enough upward force to send him toppling, screaming, into the water.

I smiled over at Elvira and held out a fist to fistbump. “Well, that went smoother than I expected.” Elvira reciprocated the fistbump.

I tipped my hat to Nora. “Thank you. Anything I can do to help after you so graciously helped me?”

“I think the publicity’s helped me enough, Sparrow,” she said, adjusting one of her braids before she turned to address the crowd that had gathered on the bottom deck after the dear president drank lake water. “Ladies, gentlemen, and spectators galore, today you bear witness to the turning of the tides of history. Far from the harbingers of good news and angelic messengers of old, I am here to tell you to be afraid. Be very afraid.” I had to stop myself from laughing. So serious. “I can’t promise your way of life is coming to an end, but I can assure you it will never again go unchallenged by those you’ve scorned and reviled. So clutch your precious pearls. This world is still our oyster. And when the real pirates come to tear apart your charade, you can always count on Captain Eleanor Skeates to bear a hand.”

My phone buzzed, and I glanced at it. Shine was ready. I gave a thumbs up to Nora, and she nodded. Elvira was singing “What Shall We Do With a Wicked Tyrant” with the rest of the crew as they waited for their ride. Nora’s tender had been invisible before this, but it appeared on the starboard side. She gave me a look that invited me for drinks later, but before she could leave, I dashed forward and snatched at her hat, and she let me, she just casually took my hat. We put the hats on in sync with flourishes and shared a meaningful look no one else would understand. Nora and the others swung ropes over the water and got to their ship.

Elvira and I headed off to where we would meet with the others to escape to the airship. The Peacekeepers would be too busy with saving the dear president from the lake to bother with us. Elvira looked over at me with a Meaningful Look. “Nice hat.”

I smirked. “Thanks. I acquired it recently.” We shared a smile and continued to the airship.

Nesri

After Shine completed the new and improved disablers, I volunteered to go disable Lynne’s shocker, and also disable Alastair’s shocker. I kept glancing at Cirrus as we waited for the right time. Had we really kissed last night? I just flushed as I leaned against him. There were more pressing things to think about, but my thoughts kept wandering back to the kiss.

It was finally time to head out. Triel headed out first, and we all filed out after her. I made my way, casually, over to where Lynne’s room was. I knocked on her door and adopted the same stance Zenith always had. It seemed right for a pretend Peacekeeper.

She opened the door and eyed me suspiciously. “What do you want?”

I grinned. “I’m gonna help you out!” I pushed past her and put my hands on my hips.

Lynne breathed in deep and slow. “Are you here just to torment me? I know the Capitol is controlling you.”

I wagged a finger at her, still smiling. “That’s where you’re wrong, my friend! The Capitol is actually controlling you by making you believe what they want you to. I’m sorry Zenith decided to be a stick in the mud and pretend. He wanted to get you back quickly, since we weren’t prepared to bust you out yet.”

She grit her teeth and shook her head. “I—I can’t believe you. Not when you’re wearing that.”

I cracked my knuckles. “Well, that won’t be for very long.” I rushed her, but she sidestepped, her expression hardening and all vulnerability disappearing. I rushed at her again and managed to snag her arm. I held on for dear life. “I know how the Shades can be. They fuck with your head, make you think the way they want you to. But whatever they say is a lie.” She whirled around with a snarl and punched me in the stomach repeatedly. She wasn’t that practiced at it, so it wasn’t too bad, but still. “I promise. Don’t listen to them. Or the Capitol. I’m here to help.”

She hesitated, tears welling in her eyes, and I whirled around behind her, took off the bandage, and placed the New and Improved Disabler to her shocker, and it did its disabling with a satisfying fizzle.

Lynne blinked and turned to me and frowned. “You weren’t wearing that just a second ago.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to wear that Peacekeeper trash anyway. Not flattering enough.” I grinned at her. “We disabled the shocker and the machine that was making you see us in Peacekeeper uniforms. Now, we just need to grab Alastair, disable the shocker he has, and head over to the rescue zone.”

She sucked in a breath, and tears streaked down her cheeks. She flung her arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder. “I was so scared. The—the Shades gave me their magic. And I’m still in pain. And I thought you were trapped and I had to find a way to save you. And I’m not as competent as I thought, so what choice did I have? And…I’m just so glad they were lying.”

I hugged her tightly with a laugh. “Me too. Let’s get going.”

The airship was invisible, but I could still feel the hum of the engines as we approached it. A ladder fell, looking like it was connected to nothing, and everyone was here. No one looked hurt either. I grinned at everyone as we waited in line to climb up. No one in the crowd did anything. They were too busy watching the president, and the Peacekeepers were too busy rescuing the president. We were doing great!

When I put my feet on the deck of the airship, Shine’s awesome machine allowed for me to see the airship, even though it was still invisible to anyone not touching it. Triel went to check with Shine, and the rest of us crowded into the same room we had when we escaped from the arena.

The airship took off, and everyone stayed quiet. Rebecca watched the windows, probably to check and see if anyone was following us. Elvira was looking around at everyone over and over. Lynn was hugging Rowan, and Laurel hurried over to both of them. Zenith was checking Lynne and Lynn’s wounds. Where had he even found the first aid kit? Lynne was leaning up against Alastair. Asher didn’t seem to be doing good. Cirrus was having to wrestle him down, and Amy, the Avox Cirrus had helped, was waving around a weapon she must have stolen from a Peacekeeper. Good for her!

Triel walked in with a grin. Her clothes were wet, as if it had started raining, but the sky had just been clear a second ago. She clapped her hands. “Congratulations on a successful heist! I couldn’t have done it without you!”

“We did it,” Rebecca whispered, a smile tugging at her lips. “So, we’re really getting away with it? There’s not, like, a squadron after us?”

Elvira looked over at Amy. “Ah…You must be Amy?”

She nodded eagerly, ignoring Cirrus’s request to put the weapon away. I liked her. She was awesome.

Lynn looked up. “This is real, right? You’re all really here, this is really happening?”

Rebecca nodded. “We are. You don’t still think we’re Peacekeepers, do you?”

Triel shook her head about Rebecca’s previous question about the squadron. “The winds were favoring us today. No one was able to come after us.” Asher grinned at that, looking out of it but proud about something.

Lynn shook his head about Rebecca’s other question. “No, not Peacekeepers, not a dream, real. You. The you from the Games at least.” Rowan hugged both him and Laurel.

Lynne frowned. “So, what’s going to happen now? Will we be running from the Capitol the rest of our lives?”

Triel smirked. “It just so happens that a mansion that was built specifically to evade the Capitol’s eyes was bought with some totally legal money. It’s a few hours away from most of the Districts and equipped with anti-Capitol machines. You can stay there. It’s a safe haven for us.”

Cirrus turned to face her. “How long until we can tell people we aren’t dead?”

“You can tell them now. I think it should be okay to stop by your Districts so you can talk to your loved ones. If you think you could be safe staying there, you can, or you can come to the safe haven. It’s your choice.”

“Also, we got a train,” Rebecca said. “We’re kinda on the run from the Capitol, anyway. But I’m definitely down at crashing at your mansion. You?” she asked Elvira, who nodded in agreement.

Lynn, Rowan, and Laurel shared a look before Lynn spoke. “Rowan and I will stay at the mansion, we don’t have much else, but Laurel has to visit her family first and tell them.”

Triel nodded and headed off, probably to tell Shine to stop in the Districts. I grinned at the newcomers. “But you missed something spectacular! I totally kicked Cirrus’s ass in a spar.”

“Liar.” I grinned over at Cirrus as he crossed his arms. “We have witnesses you know.”

Zenith shrugged noncommittally, eyeing me. I laughed. “Well then, what about when I hit you in the face with a piece of popcorn?”

He rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t count.”

I grinned. “Rebecca one-upped you. She caught her piece.”

“And ate it,” Rebecca added smugly.

“Maybe you should spar her too.” Cirrus was trying to sound irritated, but it was more like a joke. “I bet she’d kick your ass too.”

I pretended to think about it. “I agree. She’s much more intimidating than you.”

Asher laughed, and Cirrus huffed to himself. Ha. I won.

Rebecca punched her palm. “I forfeit immediately.”

Triel came back in, eyeing me. “And who’s the one who dumped a whole popcorn bowl on your head?”

Lynn eyed us with confusion. “Just what did you all get up to while we were there?”

“Very time-sensitive and important things,” Elvira said, face in one hand. “There were unbearable spans of killing time waiting for necessary information. It was either death by boredom, despair of your fate, or commit popcorn warfare.”

Zenith grumbled, but lightheartedly. “Too much.”

And I said at the same time, “Shenanigans, tomfoolery, etcetera.” I crossed my arms at Zenith with a smile. “Who’s the one that walked into the apartment in the middle of the night, cursed with magic, and had to beg Asher to knock you unconscious?”

“That was Zenith!” Asher laughed, throwing his head back. “Got himself cursed!”

Zenith sighed, but a smile was tugging at his lips. “Who’s the one who had me and Elvira swap bodies and then race?”

He grinned, teeth a little sharper than I thought they usually were. “Are you just mad you lost?”

Zenith grumbled something about toenails, but he didn’t decide to comment.

Triel smirked. “I’m sure we’re all looking forward to swapping stories; I just have one more bit of information to give you. Even at the mansion, we’ll still have our airship. If, at any time, you want to go somewhere, or go to the mansion from somewhere else, just let me know. Shine’s already hacked into your phones and put in a good number to reach us at for instant communication.” She winked.

Rebecca whipped out her phone and texted something, maybe to Shine? They were buddies now, after all.

We kept talking as Raian showed up with warm drinks for everyone. It was so calm and peaceful. We had finally escaped from the Capitol.

#writeblr hunger games #whg #writeblr

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starscheme · 5 years ago

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Only You

Chapter Eight: A Surprise for Steven

Once they arrived back at the Temple, Steven and Spinel split off to get ready. Steven went to his room and packed his things, while Spinel ran off to complete her secret errand. They may have been leaving earlier than planned, but this didn't change anything in Stevens mind. He had planned the perfect trip and he was determined to make sure it all went well. He wanted to forget all about what happened with Lars and he wanted Spinel to forget it too.

While Steven was busy stuffing his bag, Pearl and Amethyst came peeking into his room from the top of the stairs. They had heard him come home, but noticed that his mood seemed rather sour. "Steven," Pearl began with a smile, "are you going somewhere?"

The young man flinched a bit, quickly hiding what he currently held in his hands behind his back. "Huh? Oh-well...I told you guys that Spinel and I were gonna go on a trip, right? It's a little sudden, but I wanted to leave sooner than we planned."

Amethyst preemptively placed her hand on Pearls shoulder to keep the svelte Gem from immediately panicking.

"Oh-oh? Is that right," asked Pearl, fooling no one with her nervous smile. "How long will this trip be?"

"Maybe a few days," answered Steven honestly. He had expected Pearl to freak out, but he was pleasantly surprised to see how hard she was trying. "We'll call and check in though, okay?"

That seemed to relieve Pearls anxiety a little, but it didn't calm her completely. Still, she didn't want to drive them further away from her. "Well, don't forget to bring sunscreen and make sure that Spinel doesn't break anything. Oh, and if you two get into any trouble, don't hesitate to call, we'll be there right away! Also, don't let Spinel have too much sugar. Let's not forget what happened at Funland."

Steven sighed a bit, but he smiled at Pearl now. "Don't worry so much. We aren't kids anymore." He knew Pearl saw Spinel and Himself as children. She'd practically raised them both after all.

"So, where are you guys going?" Amethyst asked with a curious grin. She was just happy that this hadn't turned into another argument.

"Actually...I thought I would keep that a secret," he began awkwardly. "You know...given how all of our dates have gone so far..."

Pearls gaze dropped to the floor shamefully. They didn't trust her not to follow them. Not that she blamed them right now. If she did know where they were going, the urge to tag along secretly would be too great. Forcing a smile once again, Pearl anxiously tried to keep herself from asking too much. "Th-that's okay. As long as you call and let us know everything is okay."

Steven and Amethyst both glanced at one another in surprise. Pearl was really making an effort here. Though Amethyst worried Pearl might crack if she kept this up too long.

"I promise we will call you every day," Steven offered happily. Even if he knew Pearl wasn't really okay with this, it meant a lot to him that she was actually taking their words to heart. It made all the difference in his mood right now.

"Call for what?" Asked Spinel as she popped up behind the Gems on the stairs, causing them both to jump in alarm.

"Oh Spinel," Pearl exclaimed as she calmed her startled heart. "Steven was just talking about your trip. ...which you know—o think is a great idea. After all, a trip is always nice and even though I don't know where you're going, I'm totally fine with it. Absolutely fine!" Pearl rambled anxiously.

Spinel couldn't help but notice that Pearls voice kept getting higher as she spoke. Which always meant that she was panicking internally and it was leaking out. However, she knew better than to address it and make things worse. After more than six thousand years with Pearl, she had finally learned not to poke her when she was ready to pop. "Well...good..." replied Spinel cautiously.

Steven blushed a bit, even more aware of what he was hiding behind his back now. "O-okay, why don't you all let me finish packing," he insisted quickly.

Amethyst couldn't help noticing how fidgety Steven had become. She wanted so badly to ask what he was trying to keep out of sight, but unfortunately, her curiosity would have to continue. If she forced him to reveal it and it happened to be some sort of surprise for Spinel, she didn't want to ruin it. The three Gems reluctantly piled down the stairs, leaving Steven alone in his bedroom once again.

Finally, Steven swiftly stuffed the item into his bag and breathed a sigh of relief once it was safely tucked away. It was embarrassing enough just buying something like that, if Pearl and Amethyst had seemed it, he'd never live it down. He was also certain that Pearl would have snapped at once if she caught him trying to pack away a box of condoms.

With his bag packed, Steven carried it downstairs where all the other Gems were waiting now. Pearl was pacing the floor, but at least she wasn't upsetting Spinel, who seemed to be searching the kitchen cupboards for marshmallows.

"So you two are leaving tonight," Garnet commented as Steven reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry it's a little sudden, but I...I guess I just figured..." his voice trailed off a bit. The real reason for this abrupt vacation was not a pleasant one and he didn't really want to explain it.

"It's fine. Just have a good time," stated Garnet with a smile.

"Thanks Garnet. Come on, Spinel. Let's get going."

Though she wasn't able to find where Pearl had hidden her sugary treats, Spinel turned to Steven with smile and rushed to his side. "Okay! Bye everybody!"

Saying their goodbyes was easier than they thought it would be. Especially with Pearl. Even if she kept shouting from the porch as they left to remind them to call her. The couple found lion down near the shore and though Steven still wouldn't tell Spinel where they were going, he whispered their destination in the pink feline’s ear. With Steven and Spinel now settled on his back, Lion roared and set off through the portal.

Spinel gasped once she saw where they had ended up. They were now in the middle of a large city, outside the gates of the biggest amusement park she had ever seen. Rose and the others had always avoided crowded places like this and stayed near the temple. They only traveled for missions and even then, it didn't involve places like these.

"Wow! There are so many people!" Spinel exclaimed.

Steven was happy to see that Spinel was excited, but he now realized that traveling by Lion may not have been the best idea. The people walking by were either terrified or taking pictures. He hopped down and offered a hand for Spinel. "Maybe we should hurry and get to our room."

"Our room?" Repeated Spinel, a little confused.

Steven nodded and pointed to the tall building just across the street. The two gave Lion a hug, allowing the beast to go back home. Steven didn’t want him to have to linger around while all these people gawked at him. Now, he took Spinel’s hand and led her towards the hotel. With all the money his dad had forced on him, Steven was able to get a nice room that would finally assure them so privacy for once.

All of this reminded Spinel of the Palace on Home World. The technology was still centuries behind, but everything was so shiny and when they got to their room, it was practically the size of the beach house back home. It was as if they had a whole floor all to themselves. There was even a small pool inside. “Oh my gosh! It’s like a small playground!” Spinel exclaimed happily as she ran around the large suite to examine everything.

Steven was glad that Spinel was so excited, but he couldn’t help being nervous. He just couldn’t seem to calm down. Though he had steeled himself for this trip and thought he was mentally prepared, packing those condoms just reminded him of the next step he and Spinel were planning on taking and his heart had been pounding nonstop since they left the house. He wanted everything to be perfect and flow naturally, so it was important that he calmed down, but he wasn’t sure how to do that.

“Steven?” Spinel called out, waving her hand in front of his face with concern. “Do you not like the room?”

“Huh?!” Steven flinched, “Wh-oh, no! I do! I was just…uh…thinking.”

Spinel frowned as she stared up at Steven’s troubled expression. She though that once they got here he would be back to his old self, but clearly he was still upset about what happened earlier today. She had really messed up hadn’t she? Perhaps now was a good time to reveal the surprise that she had prepared.

“Hey, um…could you wait here for a second,” asked Spinel as she turned towards the double doors that led to the bedroom.

Steven was confused and though he wanted to ask why, Spinel had already rushed into the bedroom and shut the doors behind her. “…I need to relax…” he mumbled to himself as he followed after Spinel and knocked on the door. “Spinel, I’m sorry if I made you think—“

Before he could finish, the doors opened, revealing a red faced Spinel as she clutched the heavy blanket from the bed around herself.

“Spinel? What are you—“

“—J-just hold on,” Spinel pleaded bashfully, finding it difficult to look him in the eye. “I know you’re still mad about this morning and I know it’s the reason you didn’t kiss me earlier. So I…did a little research on my own and I asked what I could do to cheer up my boyfriend. There were…a lot of options, but I thought it would be better if you chose what you liked best.” Spinel took a deep breath and before she lost her nerve, forced herself to drop the blanket.

As the blanket fell to the ground and crumbled around Spinel’s feet, Steven felt as if someone had knocked the wind out of him. The pigtailed Gem was standing in front of him, wearing only black laced panties and thigh high tights. Steven wasn’t even sure he was breathing as he stared wide eyed at her slender frame.

Spinel took a chance and glanced over at Steven. He hadn’t said a word and she worried that this was the wrong choice. “I-I don’t like wearing things that cover my Gem, so I…decided to leave out that bra thing. ..b-but if you don’t like this one, I can---“

Steven slapped one hand over his eyes and held out the other to stop her from continuing. “W-Wait. Just—just give me—I need a second…”

This only worried Spinel further, “It looks weird, right?”

“Not at all,” Steven replied quickly, “You’re beautiful.”

“…but…you won’t look at me…” Spinel began, tugging at her pigtails anxiously. “…is it still because of Lars?” Perhaps it wasn’t just that he couldn’t kiss her, maybe Steven even looked at her differently since what happened.

“No! That has nothing to do with this,” he insisted, lowering his hand and turning his gaze back to the bashful Gem. With all his worry about making this trip perfect, he didn’t realize how pressured this was making Spinel feel. He had to wait a moment before he walked over to her and picked up the blanket, draping it over her shoulders to cover her body. “…I’m so sorry, Spinel. I didn’t mean to make you go this far.”

“Wha? No, I wanted to do this for you,” she insisted, holding the blanket over herself. “I made a mistake and I wanted to fix it.”

Steven shook his head and wrapped his arms around her, hugging the gentle Gem flush against his chest. He was grateful she was covered by the blanket now or he wouldn’t be able to think straight. “But that’s the thing. I don’t want you to think that you have to do things like this because I got a little mad. Don’t get me wrong, I…I like it. I really like it,” he admitted with a blush, “but you didn’t do anything wrong and I’m not mad at you. Please don’t misunderstand. I was angry at myself for the way I acted. I was never angry at you.”

“…but then…why didn’t you kiss me?”

“…I’m sorry. I just…I didn’t want to kiss you while I was upset. A kiss between us…should only happen because we love each other, not because I’m jealous. I should have just talked to you about it. I didn’t think it would make you feel like it was because I was upset with you.”

Spinel felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She smiled a little and snuggled herself into Steven’s embrace. “You know…it feels a little nice knowing I’m not the only one that doesn’t know what to do…”

“You think I know what I’m doing,” asked Steven incredulously as he pulled back to see her face, his cheeks still completely flushed over her appearance. Even with the blanket covering her, he knew what was waiting beneath it. “…I-I am constantly worried about what to do when we’re alone. I’m still worried that I’m too childish around you and I want to be mature about all this, but even when you’re not dressed like this…all I want to do is touch you and I’m scared that I’ll hurt you or scare by losing control.”

Spinel smiled up at Steven. It really calmed her nerves now that she saw how embarrassed Steven was. She took another breath and slipped the blanket from her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor once more. She witnessed his entire body turn pink and quickly leaned in to hug his chest, listening to the rapid beat of his heart. “I love you,” she began softly. “Everything else aside…I just want to be with you…and make you happy. Dressing like this…was embarrassing, but if you really want me to change, you’ll have to help me take it off.”

#steven universe #stevinel #stevinel fanfic #only you #chapter 8 #su fanfic #fanfiction

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psychicscavenger · 6 years ago

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Beach-Cute(Shance)

Another Shance Mermay prompt inspired by @justshance ‘s Shance Mermay 2019 prompt list. Tagging @shancemermay as well.

Tags: comedy, fluff, fluff and crack, first meetings, meet-cute, AU, Fairytale elements, Little Mermaid elements,

This one is a bit longer than my first one(i got too inspired apparently) Enjoy~

The sounds of the waves crashing as they hit the shore partnered with the sounds of the strange flappy birds scavenging for something to eat were very soothing, helping Lance to further relax as he reclined along a protruded rock, barely hidden from public view if someone were to stroll upon the beach then.

He kinda didn't care though, if he was being truthful. Yes, he should be more aware of keeping a "low-profile" around the humans, but Lance was curious okay? He was tired of being stuck underwater, not when there was new things to discover and explore above shore!

He could barely make out the little town in the distance next to the big seaside palace. Even from across the distance, he could smell all sorts of enticing scents wafting over to him that always stirred his appetite, even his second stomach would grumble for food despite his successful hunting trips beforehand. At night, there were magical lights that lit up across the town, matching the bright, beaming ones coming from the castle that held Lance in a trance as he lounged, watching the magical lights as some faded in and out, the bright yellow standing out against the dark violet sky above them. He wanted to see them up close, see what they were and how they shone so bright like that.

And he would.

Absentmindedly, Lance pulled out the little trinket, a locket, Lotor had given him earlier after Lance went skulking around the Dark Abysmal Zone, an appropriate nickname for the area where shady no good mers dwelled. Lance had been repeatedly warned by his Mama to never go down there ever, mostly because the sea witch, a notorious cecaelia known for her dark magic, lurked there, ready to trick any young mer that crossed her path. Rumor has it that her witchcraft had once been good, previously thought to be a wonderful healer, but now she was focusing towards the dark arts, which is what banished her from the mers kingdom many seasons ago.

And yet, Lance had seeked her out despite the warnings of his family and his friends. He only made it about a mile into the abysmal zone when Lotor had popped up in front of him and gave him a bargain deal instead. Lance would get to be a human for a week in return he owed Lotor one small favor. It was very vague and incredibly shifty to openly accept but then Lotor had to bring up how the handsome human he'd seen Lance ogling had been returning to the shore with another handsome man which had Lance agreeing to the deal immediately.

Hey at least, he still had his voice!

Lance hummed as his fingers traced the design of the necklace, the magic he needed to switch was contained in the locket Lotor had given him, whenever he wanted to become human, all he had to do was go to shore, think of what his heart most wanted and the spell should work. So now Lance waited, wondering when he should use the locket if he should wait until he sees the handsome man again or simply do it now. As he pondered what to do, he heard familiar machine splashes of two mers surfacing and rolled his eyes, knowing immediately who they were.

"Hunk! Pidge! I told you not to follow me!" Lance shook his fist, looking every bit like an angry spinster fish as Pidge, the youngest of the three mers rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, like we were gonna listen to you. We've been following you since you went to the Dark Abysmal Zone, we know all about that deal with Prince Fish Whore." Lance huffed, closing his arms as he glanced away, refusing to engage in the argument he knew was about to start brewing.

"Pidge is right Lance, remember how that guy has literally been after you to court and stuff? Making a deal with him doesn't seem like the best idea buddy." Hunk pointed out as Lance made an angry noise, leaning closer towards the water to scowl at his 'so-called friends.'

"Screw you guys! I'm gonna be a human whether you support me or not! I have to meet him again, he's so dreamy and the way his eyes are like, so deep, like the abysmal zone and his strong, tall stature, those muscles, and that deep voice. Ugh, he's prince material and I bet he doesn't even know it!" Lance whined. Why couldn't Hottie McHuman court him instead of Creepy Lotor?

"Ew, you sound like a teenage girl." Pidge spat disgusted as Lance rounded on her, practically seething.

"You sound like a teenage girl!"

"Oooooh-kay. Let's have a timeout here." Hunk intervened, knowing this was going to get ugly really fast. Before Pidge could retort, something just as snarky, they recognized movement in the corner of their eye and immediately ducked lower into the water.

"Guys, its the humans!" They whisper shouted causing both Hunk and Lance to spin around, obviously checking out the humans instead of ducking to hide like any normal mermaid much to Pidge's exasperation.

"Don't let them see you, dinguses!"

"Noted." Hunk stated before quietly submerging next to his angry tiny friend. "Lance you coming?" He asked but paled as he saw the look on his friend's face.

"Oh no. Lance, don't do this please, your family is gonna be pissed." Hunk warned as Pidge's eyes widened watching as Lance, with that silly besotted look on his face turned to grasp the locket around his neck before shutting his eyes tight and wishing, focused on the man who captured his attention, possibly his heart, since the first time he spotted him.

"No, Lance-"

"Hoe don't do it!"

But it was too late.

A soft blue shimmering overtook Lance's body as he curled up tight into a ball, eyes shut tight from the needle prickling sensation all over his body took place. He sincerely hoped Lotor hadn't tricked him, not that he would put it past the fish to do something like this, but it would suck if all this unpleasant tingling was merely a prank. The tingling across his body soon focused towards his tail and lower body, he gasped as a tight uncomfortable pull began to spread from his fins to his abdomen. Lance fell into the water, clutching his lower half as his friends scrambled to hold onto him, making sure he wouldn't drown because what he wasn't seeing, they were and they could see the slow changes to his body that were shifting and changing.

His gills, or lack of them which is why they were holding his head above water now, knowing humans couldn't breathe the same way they did, were now gone, the rifts smoothed down as the scales along Lance's cheeks, neck and shoulders were flickering away slowly one by one. Lance's webbed fins on his hands and around his ears were gone, the ridges smoothing themselves down into a rounded curve like a humans. His dorsal fin was also gone, leaving behind a long gash that looked to be bleeding but what had Hunk and Pidge gasping and flinching away from shock the most, was the change to Lance's tail.

Sure enough, like Lotor had promised and Lance wished, his tail began to stretch, almost grotesquely, before breaking apart and rounding themselves into two tails that stretched and formed to create two legs as well as feet. The fins along Lance's new legs disappeared, matching the one on his back forming bleeding gashes here and there where the fins once were. His feet sprouted tiny unusual fins that were curved and similar to his fingers, Pidge was gasping in delight, enamored with the process of it all as Hunk merely held a hand to his mouth, looking like he was about to puke.

"Oh god this is so weird and gross to watch, but I can't stop." Hunk commented, peering through his webbed fins as Pidge began poking the toes, curious if they were sensitive. They got their answer when suddenly Lance's foot shot out nearly kicking them back, a quick laugh escaping his mouth from his friend tickling his foot.

"Guys stop, I'm ticklish remember!" Lance pouted but brightened considerably as he gazed at his new legs, gripping them and bringing them closer to inspect. "Whoa! Check out this gam, I mean, these gams!" Lance stated excitedly waving his legs and feet around similar to a toddler much to Hunk's mortification as he accidentally caught a glance down.

"Ew gross dude, what is that on your tai-legs I mean?" Hunk stated, face dropping into the water to inspect closer as Lance followed suit, only to spasm before coming back up to breathe, coughing up salt water.

"I forgot, humans don't breathe that way." He sputtered as Pidge ducked their head down to inspect as well. Lance waited awkwardly as his friends inspected the weird tail thing on his brand new legs when he felt something prod at it, making him squeal and jump away from the source as his friends came back up, done with their ogling.

"I think its your genitals Lance. Human males probably have something similar to what you've got now." Pidge stated as Hunk bent down to look again out of curiosity. Lance shoved his hands down to cover his privates, nearly kicking away as he screamed, "Stop looking at my junk pervert!" as Pidge merely laughed while Hunk came back up about to apologize when the trio stopped, paling at the sudden voices heading their way.

"Is somebody there?"

"Do you need help?" Lance froze, wondering what to do in this situation as he glanced at his friends helpless.

'What do we do?' He mouthed to them but watched as the two glanced at each other before merely ducking under the water and swimming away much to Lance's bitterness as he kicked his feet hard, hoping at least one of the weird fins at the end would land a hit. 'So much for friends til the end,' he thought annoyed.

"Hey are you okay?" Lance stopped immediately gulping as he slowly turned to look at the voice above him and almost fainting from shock at seeing the handsome man he'd been giving seashells and pearls to for the past two weeks, now standing behind him from the other side of the rock. He was covered in strange cloths that somehow still showed off his built figure with his broad shoulders and narrow waist. Lance was even more smitten upon seeing the handsome face up close, blushing at the concerned dark eyes boring holes into his blues, making Lance feel hot all over despite the fact he was sitting in cool water.

'Oh no, he's too handsome, quick say something sexy,' Lance's brain supplied making Lance gulp as he tried to open his mouth only he couldn't think of anything to say. Flushing, Lance looked away embarrassed now and wondered if this was such a good idea after all when the man knelt closer, putting a gentle hand on Lance's bare shoulder, offering a supportive smile.

"Hey, it's going to be okay I promise. My friend Keith is looking for the pervert right now, they won't hurt you again, I swear." Lance blinked confused. What was he talking about? He racked his brain trying to figure out what the man was saying and it must have shown on his face as the man raised an eyebrow.

"You were screaming about a pervert looking at you indecently. My friend and I were walking along the shore when we heard your cry for help, it was a cry for help right?" The man asked now suddenly unsure and goddess it was such a cute expression Lance nearly flopped over and squealed right then.

But that probably wouldn't be a good idea. Lance coughed, nodding his head a little as he gave the other a grateful smile that hopefully didn't show how nervous he felt staring back into those gorgeous dark eyes.

"Oh that, haha yes! I'm fine! The pervert left right away! He wasn't too interested to begin with so," Lance supplied hoping his lie was believable as the man before him raised a brow uncertain.

"Are you sure? You sounded very distressed and I wouldn't want any of my citizens to be in danger if some pervert is skulking around terrorizing innocent beachgoers." The man stated as Lance nodded his head quickly, a little voice in his head screaming about the 'my citizens' part.

"No, it's fine I swear, he ran off once I yelled at him! He probably won't do it again. My name's Lance, thanks for coming to my rescue." Lance held his hand out having seen a few other humans do this in greeting as the man smiled gladly accepting it and giving it a gentle shake.

"I'm Shiro, but you've probably heard about me already from the townspeople I'm sure." He stated shaking his head as Lance shook his head a little too eagerly.

"No, I haven't actually." He stated smiling innocently as Shiro gave him a curious look.

"Really? Are you from out of town?" He asked as Lance merely blinked back at him unsure how to tell him where he was from.

"Umm, something like that." Lance admitted. It was technically the truth, wasn't it?

"Are you staying with anybody?" Shiro asked curious as in the distance another man, the same one from earlier walked over to them looking disgruntled at the fact he couldn't find anyone.

"Well, either the pervert left or he sprouted wings and flew away. So much for getting to use my new sword." The man Shiro referred to as Keith grumbled before pausing and staring down at Lance, confused raising an eyebrow as Lance simply covered his chest with us hands suddenly like he was indecent.

"Who is this?" Keith asked looking to Shiro who was about to answer when said man huffed, pouting a little as he turned towards Keith.

"I'm right here seaweed head! It's rude to ignore new acquaintances." Lance chastised as Keith rolled his eyes in return.

"Yeah, thanks for the Kindergarten lesson."

"Whats a Kindergarten?"

Both Shiro and Keith looked at the man curious as he sat there smiling innocently, wary if the man had been hurt by the ordeal at all.

"Um hey Lance, were you hurt in any way from the incident?" Shiro asked, now leaning forward to gently poke and prod Lance, particularly around his head which had the younger man giggling and flushing from embarrassment.

"No why?" He asked brightly, curious to keep talking to these two humans before him.

"You seem a little out of sorts. Tell you what, I have plenty of space at my home, would it be alright if you came back with me to have the palace doctor check you out just in case?" Shiro asked as Lance's eye widened at the thought of getting to be with Shiro even longer. He never dreamed this would happen! He actually never thought this would happen!

"Sure, I'd love to! Seaweed head can come too I guess." Lance rolled his eyes earning a deep chuckle of amusement from Shiro as Keith glowered.

"Are you talking about my hair?"

"Keith is my second in command so he has to come too. Don't worry though, my home isn't too far." Shiro promised as he held out a hand for Lance to take who eagerly took it, letting himself be yanked up by the others grip and nearly face planting back into the ocean considering he's never actually stood on legs before!

He felt as if he were moving in slow motion at first, he became aware that he wasn't wearing any clothing over his genitals unlike the other two men at his side, which he guesses is why both Shiro and Keith, immediately embarrassed, try to look away from the southern region of his body. Next came Lance's sudden realization he didn't know how to stand and then screamed internally as he nearly face planted in the sand in front of Shiro.

Talk about an embarrassing first meeting.

Lance almost tried to stand again when he was distracted upon a fabric of cloth being draped around his shoulders, the fabric long and covering his naked body from view. He watched curiously as Keith took off his belt and wove it around Lance's waist, knotting it so it sit tight, keeping the first fabric to his body and concealing any revealing bits.

"Sorry about that, are you okay?" Shiro asked, holding out his hands again and carefully helping Lance up at a time, watching as Lance made slow progress getting up.

"I'm fine, I'm usually very graceful I promise!" Lance stated his cheeks flushing as Shiro smiled when of course Keith had to jump in with his opinions and dumb hair.

"What I want to know is why are you naked? This is a public beach weirdo!" Keith hissed as Lance merely flushed unsure what to say.

"Oh uh, well the uh pervert from earlier..he took them! That's why I was screaming, he took my clothes and ran off with them! Like the pervert he is!" Lance lied, beaming with pride at how great a story that was as Shiro and Keith gazed at him shocked.

"In that case you should definetly come with me to the palace then." Shiro stated as Lance brightened instantly.

"Oh I'll go wherever you want me to go." Lance mumbled eyes hungry as they raked over Shiro's incredibly muscular body, ugh it was even better up close.

"Once you're checked over we can begin a search for this pervert and have him arrested for assault." Lance stopped, mostly because he had barely took a step and was nearly falling again and two, he couldn't keep up with that lie for that long. What if he blurted out where he was really from? Immediately he began to shake his head, a refusal upon his lips when he fell backwards. His eyes closed, ready for the impact fo the water but it never came, curious, lance opened his eyes only to gasp as he gazed back at Shiro's worried expression, his strong arms encircled Lace's waist, keeping him up and dangling inches from the water.

"Are you sure you're okay, you've been stumbling and having difficulty walking." Shiro noted as Keith crossed his arms, giving Lance a narrowed frown of suspicion.

"Uh yeah, it appears so. I must be more injured than I thought. I can't even feel my legs right now, honestly." Lance replied which had Shiro tsking before he pulled Lance closer and ducked, wrapping an arm around Lance's waist and keeping one under the bend of his knees drawing a surprised breath from Lance as he found himself being held in Shiro's arms. Like a princess in one of his old storybooks. Lance blinked, wondering if he had actually died during that transformation spell and that this was actually paradise before blinking up at Shiro who gave him a gentle smile in return.

"Don't worry we'll help you as much as you need." Shiro stated confidantly as Lance smiled back at him shyly.

"Thank you Shiro." Lance breathed. He dreamed of this moment for so long, sure their meeting was a bit different in his head, but being held in Shiro's arms like this, getting to feel the power and strength in those biceps and rippling muscles of his chest underneath him, Lance was definetly going to have to start praying to the godess again because this was surely a miracle!

Lance happily settled against Shiro, beginning his usual conversation starters for flirting, which was mostly just complimenting the person outright which he did and knew he was successful as Shiro blushed at each complement. Keith trailed along behind them, annoyed as the other man kept on talking, knowing right then and there this Lance was going to be a pain in his ass.

Also his hair was not ridiculous.

****

Unaware to the three slowly trekking on the pathway back to the castle, another creature popped its head above the water surface, his glowing yellow eyes showing a wrathful mirth in them, finding the whole scene just amusing and content.

Everything was going according to plan and soon, both kingdoms, humans and mermaids, would be his to rule.

With a dark chuckle, the creature oozed back into the water, it's slithering dark purple and black tentacles flashing briefly above the water before disappearing into its depth, melding back in with the shadows where it's known to roam.

#shance #shance mermay 2019 #psychic writes #justshance #shancemermay #i dont remember what else i need to tag this

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novantinuum · 6 years ago

Link

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: General Audiences

Words: 4.6K~

Summary: In another world, he doesn’t have his mother’s sword or shield to hide behind when Bismuth lands her strike. The bubble pops.

Steven falls apart.

Chapter summary: In which Greg receives some answers, Bismuth faces her consequences, and Steven really needs to go to bed.

First | Last chapter

While I’m cross posting all of these to tumblr, I’d love to have your support over on AO3 too! Plus, it’s easier to subscribe there. A win-win, I’d say. Excitingly, this is the longest chapter yet.

Chapter 5: Onward

“So… hold on,” Greg says slowly, raising his hand to cut off the others’ incessant yammering. “Just lemme- let me take a moment to see if I can properly wrap my head around everything. So you’re saying that—“

He turns on the one they identified as Bismuth, pointing at her with such ferocity that his finger might as well be a— what did they call it again? Oh, yes!— a ‘breaking point’ itself.

“—that she tried to kill my son by smashing his gem?”

“Mmmhmm,” Garnet nods.

As usual her eyes are entirely hidden behind her opaque visor, something that always made getting to know the Gem particularly daunting in those early days, but by now he’s close enough to infer her full disposition from her body language and tone alone. And as far as he can tell from the clipped words and stiff movements, she’s pissed. The full brunt of her anger is thankfully restrained… he imagines for Steven’s sake. He hugs his son closer, the boy currently nestled against his midsection and sitting on the fountain’s rim. Garnet sits on his other side, with Amethyst next to Steven. Pearl, meanwhile, kneels on the ground holding a surprisingly deep-cut gemstone in her lap, the very gemstone that by all rights should be embedded in his son’s navel but currently isn’t. He frowns and tugs at his hair (a bad habit of his, over the decades), finding his thoughts growing more and more fragmented over this by the second.

“But she only tried to kill him because she thought he was Rose… who bubbled her thousands of years ago because she wanted her to shatter Pink Diamond. But then Rose actually was Pink Diamond… all along? And somehow fake shattered herself?”

“Yup, that’s pretty much it,” Steven says with a faint laugh, no amount of falsified cheer able to conceal the conflict brewing within him. Greg watches him clutch at the bottom hem of his shirt, and his heart nearly shatters right there on its own. His boy’s grown worryingly savvy as of late, plastering on a brave face whenever he thinks the others can’t handle the full burden of a child’s stress. He probably assumes he’s getting away with it, too. His mistake. One of the many things fathers grow attuned to over the years is the habits and facial tics of their children. All that said, if this is troubling for him, he can’t begin to imagine how traumatic and confusing this upheaval is for Steven.

God, and he’s only fourteen! He shouldn’t have to deal with any of Rose’s war fallout.

“And then,” Greg continues, gesturing between his son and the pink gem Pearl holds, “before she could actually kill him he split in two?”

“It was almost like he abruptly unfused,” Bismuth supplies, maintaining a healthy distance from the rest of the group.

“But it didn’t feel like fusion at all,” Steven says, and shudders. “It hurt, it hurt really bad.”

“He was unconscious for at least a minute. The half with the gem, the pink one, started screaming and tried to fight me away from him but I knew I had to get him off the forge’s surface so he didn’t burn.” The rainbow haired Gem hangs her head in shame. “I was so worried he wouldn’t wake up ‘coz of me.”

“Yeah, sure ya’ were,” Amethyst spits, and crosses her arms.

Pearl’s eyes narrow with a precise intensity. “Amethyst, please. Not now.”

Contrary to whatever assumptions on her he held before, Bismuth shows no inclination to argue in any vain hope of saving face. Instead she stands stiff before the group, appearing just as haunted by the consequences of her actions as Steven is. While the back-and-forth between her and the Crystal Gems continues, her fingers twitch, desperately yearning for something to tinker with. As someone who frequently seeks out the reliable comfort of strumming improvised chords on his guitar in times of stress, he can relate. Of course, far be it for him to excuse this new Gem’s actions when they almost cost him his only son, but at least she has the decency to express remorse over it. He’s furious at her, he truly is, and yet… He also can’t help but feel a twinge of pity lighten his heart upon hearing her side of the story. Huh, funny. Normally he’s more apt to harbor a stone cold grudge over this sort of stuff. He blames his kid’s influence.

“I was angry at Rose, not Steven,” Bismuth says as he tunes back in to the conversation. “I was so sure that this was all just another one of her lies that I— well, you all know. But when I saw what I’d done…. When they split apart and he fell to the ground, I—!”

Her voice cracks, and he watches her nearly crumble like chalk.

“I- I made a terrible mistake, and I’m genuinely sorry,” she finishes.

“‘Kay, so you’re super sorry and promise never to hurt him again, we get it,” Amethyst says, blunt sarcasm oozing from her words. “But seriously, is no one gonna address the ginormous cluster hangin’ over our heads? Y’guys! New headline! We just found out Rose was a total sham!”

Steven holds up a finger as he interjects. “Actually, we don’t know anything except that she was apparently Pink Diamond, but…”

“Yeah, and Pink D’s like, the bad guy, Steven! She’s the reason they had to fight this whole stupid war in the first place! And then, what? She creates you just so she doesn’t have to deal with the fact she’s a liar?”

The young teen shrinks away from her anger, a lump forming in his throat. Greg’s jaw clenches. His hand tightens around his son’s midsection.

“None of this is Steven’s fault,” Garnet says quietly, firmly placing her sapphire laden hand on the purple Gem’s shoulder to quiet her down. She shrugs away at her touch, lips jutting into a pout.

“Or any of yours’," Pearl says.

Greg’s eyes lock on the slender Gem at her abrupt comment, and he watches with apt attention as her thumb glides across the largest facet of the diamond in her lap. Hearing her voice comes as a surprise, as she’s been unusually absent from this conversation thus far. It seems none of the others want to talk about it in depth right now, but apparently she’s forbidden from mentioning anything about Pink Diamond. It’s yet another betrayal, yet another reason why the sight of the rose blossoms growing wild around them and the delicately carved curly-haired statue at the fountain’s center leaves him with uncertainty gnawing at the pit of his stomach.

And yet… and yet.

What if he’s being a hypocrite about all of this? It’s not like he told Rose everything about his past, either. Rose was a diamond, sure, but— he’s a DeMayo. There’s a number of dark days attached to that name he’d rather let die in the past too. Are they really entitled to the full narrative of the life she left behind? Is anyone?

He scratches at his scalp. “Listen, Amethyst. I understand all of you are upset, and rightfully so. I can’t exactly say I’m thrilled to hear all of this either. But the bottom line is… I know the woman I loved. Maybe not for long, but I grew to know her in ways far more intimate than even some of you. And if there’s one thing I can say for absolute certainty, it’s that… despite her mistakes, despite everything else she probably lied about, her love and respect for all of you was not a sham.”

Pearl nods. “I almost can’t believe I’m agreeing with Greg of all people, but he’s right.”

“And you’re entitled to believe that,” Garnet says evenly. “But no matter what we believe, I still think it’s wise to try not to make assumptions about her in the first place. Either good, or bad. At this point, what we know is what we know, and I can’t see any easy way of changing that in the near future.”

“So, what are we supposed to do about all this now?” Amethyst asks, all her earlier anger dissipated in her exhaustion.

She considers this for a second, visor glinting in the glow of sunrise.

“Nothing.”

“What?”

The fusion doesn’t budge an inch. “We don’t change our tactics.”

“But- but if she was our leader, and we always just blindly followed what she wanted, then—“

“No matter her original intentions, the Crystal Gems, as a movement, is far bigger than one diamond,” she says. “We move onward. We thrive. Never mind Rose.”

Steven squirms in his embrace, and in a small, timid voice— a jarring reminder of the child he still is despite his recent leap in emotional maturity— asks the question he’s sure has been weighing on him ever since he got split apart in the first place.

“What about me, and my—“ he tries and fails to stifle a yawn— “my gem? What am I supposed to do now?”

“We’ll deal with your Gem half when he reforms, and he will,” Garnet says gently. “But right now, you need your rest. We all do. Pearl, Amethyst, help him to the temple and get him tucked into bed. Bismuth, Greg. I need to speak to both of you.”

Everyone nods at the Crystal Gem leader’s directions, and they all act accordingly. His eyes drooping just as much as his son’s despite the pink tinted skies and chirping meadowlarks, Greg helps him stand to his feet. Steven’s knees still quiver but thankfully this time he doesn’t crumple. Pearl loops one of her arms through his, still holding his gem in her opposing hand, and together they begin to plod towards the warp pad they arrived earlier. Amethyst follows them but notably lags behind, guilt written across her face clear as day. She delivers one final glance at Bismuth, razor sharp and flaring with hurt, and then disappears in the orchard’s shadow.

A palpable silence brews between the two remaining Gems then, uncomfortable enough that he’s almost left with sweat beading on his brow just watching them. Eventually doing so becomes too stressful, and he moves to retrieve the downy comforter that’s long since been forgotten on the stone midway to the fountain. He folds the bedding as compact as he can, and drapes it over his non dominant arm, distantly acknowledging that it’ll have to go in the wash. He wishes he could’ve gone home with Steven too. What does she need a human like him for right now, anyways? He’s no fighter, or mediator. The cool grey one blows a nervous puff of air from between her lips and wraps her hands around a few strands of her rainbow dreads. Garnet‘s expression twists into a frown. Stepping towards her, she crosses her arms.

“Bismuth…”

“If you’re going to bubble me away again, just say it,” she blurts out, hanging her head in resignation.

Ever so subtly, Garnet tilts her head as if caught off guard by the visceral hurt pooling in the other Gem's words. In any case, her tone remains steady.

“We’re not bubbling you.”

“What? You’re—?”

“It was avoidable miscommunication that led to that the first time. I won’t let that happen again, especially not to a friend. However,” she says, holding up a finger before the other Gem can interject, “as consequence for striking a fellow Crystal Gem in cold blood, until further notice you are no longer welcome in the temple. You will not seek us out. You will in no circumstance find yourself alone with Steven. If we require your help and you are willing, we’ll call for it. But for now, until we’re ready to begin to forgive, you’re on your own.”

Bismuth’s gaze turns up towards her once more, sober in silent acceptance. She blinks rapidly to stave away the tears, and her lips press together tight. Greg’s unsure if the emotion she’s desperately barring away is remorse about her exile or shell shocked relief that she won’t be bubbled away for another five millennia.

“I encourage you to explore this planet as you reflect upon your actions,” Garnet continues. “I think you’ll find a lot has changed since the rebellion… and I think that with time, so can we all.”

“Am I relieved now?” she asks, voice thick and wavering.

She regards her with a long, searching look as she deliberates. “Yes. You may go.”

At first Bismuth spins on her heels, making to leave, but apparently something else stirs on her soul because she pauses. Taking a deep breath, she whirls back around to face the fusion.

“I know this probably doesn’t count for much after all that happened, but. I truly am sorry, for everything.” She turns to regard him directly, her gaze piercing but sincere. “Tell Steven that I hope he can forgive me one day.” And, to the other Gem: “And tell Pearl I’m sorry for what she had to go through, with Pink.”

“I will.”

“Take care of them, would you? Yourself, too.”

Garnet nods. Perhaps as a final sign of goodwill between old war comrades, she offers her hand. The way she does leaves the sapphire on her palm fully exposed. Greg bets it’s a powerful and evocative gesture to a Gem who is being punished for almost shattering another. It’s a salve, an acknowledgement that you can become better, and I trust that you already are.

Bismuth links her broad fingers between hers, and exhales shakily. “Goodbye, old friend. I hope I’ll see you again one day. And hey, if any of you ever… bismuth me,” she jokes with a weak laugh, “you know where I’ll be.”

She gives her hand a gentle squeeze, and then breaks away. Her eyes can’t quite meet theirs.

“Go in peace,” Garnet says.

Greg and her watch in quiet respect as the rainbow haired Gem turns on a dime and departs from them, leaving both the fountain and the ranks of the Crystal Gems behind as she fades beyond the shadow of the grove. They wait. Not too long after, a bar of pure cyan light shoots to the sky, accompanied by that resonant bell like tone he’s long associated with the warp pads. At the sound some of the tension in his companion’s form finally eases. She reaches to wipe under her visor. Geeze, tonight’s really been a high emotion day for her as well, huh? First she’s reunited with an old friend she hasn’t seen face to face in millennia, and then later that evening she’s met with the terrifying threat of Steven’s mortality…wherein she learns that this same old friend is the reason he’s cleaved apart and cracked to begin with. And then there’s all of Rose’s lies, which— as much as he loved her— he’s sure he’ll also have to wrestle with in the coming season.

She sighs, and turns to him.

“And as for you...”

He scratches at his scalp. “Heh heh, am I in trouble too?”

She chuckles briefly, lips turning up in a soft smile. “No, of course not. The truth is, I need your help. I can’t always… be here, to look after Steven.”

His brow creases. Such oddly specific words from such an articulate person. ‘Be here?’ What does she mean, that she’s leaving the other Gems? That she’s going on some extended mission? And why now, of all times?

“What do you mean?”

“My future vision is clouded, incomplete, but I can sense we’re approaching a crossroads.” She lays both gems on his shoulders, and suddenly her visor flashes away, her three eyes intensely pouring into his, searching, beseeching. It’s the single most vulnerable expression he’s ever seen her convey.

“Greg. He trusts you with matters he doesn’t always trust us with. I know you’ve mostly kept your distance from Gem activities up to this point, but the time is coming when you won’t be able to separate these worlds anymore. I need you to keep a close watch on him. For me. Promise me you’ll do that.”

“O- of course,” he says, mind nervously whirring with an infinitude of uncertain futures based on this new information, and oh golly, does this even lay a finger to what she experiences every moment of every day? “But if you don’t mind me asking, what’s coming? What crossroads?”

“I don’t know,” she admits, her gaze falling wayward. “I can barely see the shape of our future anymore, only faint impressions. And… and that terrifies me. So much has changed so quickly.”

She’s nearly quivering, eyes blown wide, and Greg only now realizes the degree to which he took her unyielding strength for granted all this time. He rocks back and forth on the balls of his bare feet, reaching for an answer on what to do, what to say to support a person who until now, has never been in need of that support.

“Are… you handling things okay?”

Garnet clamps her lips together, taking a moment to ground herself once more. Then with a intentional flick of her fingers, her visor shimmers back into place.

“No,” she says evenly. “No, I’m afraid I’m not.”

He exhales with a prolonged, meandering sigh when the two of them finally reach the temple, solid crystal phasing into existence under his feet in a bright flash of cyan. Despite how long he’s known the Gems, a trip through the warp stream is a rarity for him. In the beginning that was mostly Pearl’s doing— with her staunch refusal of allowing humans anywhere near Gem structures vocal enough to convince Rose to leave him behind. Thankfully Pearl began to tolerate him enough in the later years of the relationship that she lifted the ban. After that he and Rose would occasionally steal away on dates in exotic locations only accessible by warp pad, and while he has many fond memories of his time with her in these breathtaking places he must admit he’s never been a big fan of this form of travel in the first place. He’s not keen on flying for similar reasons— it’s simply too disorientating. What can he say, he’s a wheels to the ground sort of guy.

He carefully steps down from the raised platform. In the loft, bundled under fresh bedding, Steven stirs awake and lifts his head upon hearing their arrival. Dark bags emphasize his puffy, reddened eyes. Greg’s heart seizes at the realization that he’s been crying all on his own, when no one can see him, in the dark.

“Dad, Garnet!” he whispers, forcing a weak grin. “You’re back!”

He tosses the dirty comforter on the floor next to the warp pad, and bounds across the room to him as fast as his weary joints possibly can.

“Hey, buddy,” he says, climbing up the stairs to the loft. He plops himself down at the foot of the mattress. “You all cozy now?”

His son snuggles even deeper under the sheets, clutching one of his stuffed bears to his chest. “Yup, all tucked in.”

“Good, good. I, uh- I’m really glad you’re okay.”

And at these words, exhaustion weighs Steven down like a twenty pound barbell, shattering his brave facade. He visibly deflates, his eyelids drooping.

“Yeah,” he sighs, blankly staring off into the distance.

Upon following the path of his glance, however, Greg realizes that he’s actually not staring at nothing. He’s watching Garnet first and foremost, who’s leaning against the fridge, but more importantly… Sitting smack dab in the middle of the kitchen counter is his inert gemstone, nestled within the cottony folds of a bath towel. Of course. He needn't a second guess of what has him so glum. He leans in to embrace him and Steven immediately reciprocates, flinging his arms around his neck so tight that given the option of comforting his kid or constant, steady airflow he’d choose to forgo the breathing every time.

“Can you sleep here tonight?” he asks, voice brimming with a vulnerability he hasn’t heard from him for a few years.

“Of course. I’ll never say no to a good couch, heh heh.”

“No, I mean— with me, up here. Please. I really, really don’t wanna be alone right now.”

His son pulls away, and peers at him with the most doleful, starry eyes one could muster. He can’t help but chuckle.

“You do know you ain’t gotta pull out the puppy dog eyes on me, right?”

“Yeah, but was it working?”

“All right,” Garnet interrupts, leisurely making her way up the steps to the loft. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

He nods in full agreement. It’s super late, and the kid desperately needs some rest after all the trauma of this evening. Working together, parent and guardian, they help tuck him back, snug and secure. Heeding to Steven’s request, he crawls under the covers as well, leaning against the far wall. Distantly, he notes that he left his van unlocked when Amethyst whisked him away to the fountain, but by this point he’s too comfortable here on this mattress to dream of making the trek across town to fix that. He’ll just have to trust it’ll be fine. Beach City is a small, secluded place, after all. Most residents barely lock their doors at night.

“Garnet, am I even able to fuse with my gem again?” Steven asks meekly, before she can turn to leave them to rest.

She pauses, balling her fist against her mouth as she considers.

“I can’t see everything, but I do know you’ll be alright,” she promises, and reaches down to brush through his dark curls. Delicately, she presses a kiss to his forehead. Steven’s eyes light up instantly. This time, he grins for real.

“Wow, homemade waffles? And we’re all sharing them as a family! Well, except Pearl, of course. But she’s still there with us.”

“That’s right. It’s together breakfast.”

The tension wound through Greg's spine eases at hope’s return to the atmosphere of this household. With a relieved smile, he rubs his hands together. “Guess I’m breaking out the ol’ waffle iron tomorrow, then!”

Steven throws his arms around the taller Gem. “Thank you,” he says, clinging tight. “I really needed that. Can you… maybe stay out here with us too?”

The puppy dog eyes return in force. Any weaker individual (himself included) would surely be powerless to resist this maelstrom of pure Universe charm, but Garnet’s no brittle Gem. From what little she confided to him back at the fountain, he bets she's in want of some alone time right now. True to his predictions, she smiles apologetically.

“I wish I could, but I have some delicate matters that need to be attended to in the temple.”

“Awwwww, man!”

“But I’ll see you at breakfast,” she adds before his burgeoning pout can fully reach his eyes.

This promise seems to placate the boy enough for him to relax into his pillow. His eyes droop as he watches Garnet amble down the stairs. He’s not the only one— Greg’s own eyes are beginning to ache from sheer exhaustion as well. A sudden spike of jealousy overtakes him, upon remembering how the rest of the Gems don’t get tired, and don’t require sleep. If only, if only. Oh boy, tomorrow’s going to be rough, isn’t it? It’s what… at least one in the morning by now? Squinting, he cranes his neck to catch a glimpse of Steven’s alarm clock.

It’s twelve forty-six. Close enough. With any luck he’ll drift off to sleep within the next fifteen or so minutes.

“I love you,” Garnet says from downstairs, directed at Steven. She shapes her fingers into a heart. His lips curve into a smile as he watches this. While he’s never doubted the depth of her affection for him, she isn't often this transparent about it. Perhaps she thought his son could use the reminder in the wake of a terrifying near-death experience.

“Love you too,” Steven chimes. “Goodnight!”

With that, the Gem retreats across the room to the temple door. She holds her palms up to the star insignia. The matching gems light up, glowing a vibrant blue and red, and the magical doorway slides open— almost as if dissolving from the middle— to reveal the private chamber held within. She steps forward and disappears into the bowels of the temple, leaving the two Universe boys bundled under the covers in an uneasy silence. Steven sighs under his breath. Greg can tell without looking at him that something is gnawing away at his son's heart, bubbling up within him like soda fizz.

“Dad?" he eventually asks, flopping onto his side to face him. "Where’s Bismuth? Did she leave from the fountain?”

Yup, there it is. He feared this was coming.

“She’s—“ he pauses, trying to determine how best to phrase this— “Garnet had a discussion with her. She’s not welcome here in the temple until further notice. As punishment.”

Understanding dawns on his face. “Ohhh, so she basically reverse grounded her."

“Exiled, yes.”

“Huh." Steven hugs his plush bear in the crook of his arm even tighter, and stares up at the ceiling beams with a concerningly numb expression. "Well... I guess that’s fair.”

Greg frowns.

“What’s eatin’ you up there, bud?”

“It’s just…" He tussles at the top hem of the sheets, his knuckles turning white. "Even though she tried to shatter me, and that was terrifying and all... I could tell she felt really guilty about it right after. And besides that, she was actually super kind. I hope she’ll be alright on her own.”

“You’re the one who’s super kind,” he says with a soft smile, and reaches out to ruffle his son’s hair. Steven playfully bats his hands away, cheeks flushing at the compliment. “Not everyone your age would ever stop to think about the people who harmed them in that way. Heck, not many adults would, either. I’m not sure I could.”

"But I've also been thinking... Peridot and Lapis tried to kill us when we first met them, too. And now we’re all friends, and it’s fine, right?"

Greg considers this, stroking at his beard. As much as Steven defends their oft-erratic behavior, he's not sure he personally considers those the ex-Homeworld Gems who are bunking in his family's old barn friends yet. The first time he met Lapis, she attempted to steal the ocean and broke his leg. And as for Peridot, she once pushed him off a roof with next to no warning. (God, he would've broken his leg again if it weren't for Garnet's future vision, huh?) But despite his current opinions on them, it's true that they both have a amicable rapport going with Steven (and for the most part, the rest of the Gems) these days. They've made an effort to learn, to grow with the lush Earth around them. Against the very unmovable nature of their kind, they've succeeded in the impossible. They've changed.

"So what if we’re being a little too hard on her?" Steven continues, eyes glistening. "What if it pushes her away forever?”

“Mmm. I understand where you’re coming from, but she didn’t just try to kill you. She almost succeeded. Sometimes there’s such a thing as being too compassionate, you know?” He chuckles, and props himself up on his elbow. “Heh. You really are like your mother, in that way. Y’see, once she told me about the first time she came across a pigeon, and apparently she—“

“Can we please not talk about her right now?” he interrupts, his voice strained.

“S-sure thing,” Greg stutters, mentally smacking himself for not considering the stress the topic of Rose has become for his son before he foolishly ran his mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t think.“

Closing his eyes, Steven snuggles closer to him, scooting under the covers into his arms. “It’s okay,” he whispers, and yawns. “We’re okay.”

Notes:

-Amethyst reacts with more vocalized anger to the Pink Diamond bomb here because she has not yet crossed an integral moment of identity building character development- re: Beta/Earthlings. In canon, she tells Steven after A Single Pale Rose that none of the PD/rebellion stuff should even be their problem, and she’s absolutely right, but here I imagine she’s still at the point where she’s internally making it her problem when it doesn’t need to be. So she lashes out. Wrongfully.

-Meanwhile, Steven’s Gem self hasn’t reformed yet because he was only just healed from being cracked. I figure that takes a lot outta a Gem. He’ll need a bit more time before he’s ready.

Finally, when it comes to the long term plot, I’m very excited to say that I now have this one fully planned out. It’s gonna be a sort of alternate s4, with some original “episodes” and an arc forming the framework of the story. Should be fun. But anyways, your readership and support is so appreciated! From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

#su #steven universe #su fanfic #su fanfiction #garnet #pearl #amethyst #bismuth #greg universe #my writing stuff #crack the paragon

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artificialqueens · 5 years ago

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Échappé / Chapter 10 (Branjie) - DenDenMonMon

A/N: All through this story I have thanked svpermodel for the prompt, and every single one of you for taking the time, not only to read, but also to comment on this story. Yet, there is one person who I have purposely left till the very end. Bernice, thank you for being the amazing beta that you are, for always cheering me on, for calling me out when needed, and for understanding my poor, Mexican, Spanish speaking ass and never judging my million typos, spelling errors, or invented words. This story wouldn’t be half of what it is today if it weren’t because of you. Now, here’s the final installment of the amazing journey that Échappé has been. Thanks for riding it with me and hopefully you will join me on the next adventure. -Monkey.

AO3 Link

Chapter 10

Vanessa wiped her hands on the apron tied to her waist.

Instrumental music filled the air around her.

All the dishes had been washed and the leftovers had been wrapped and put in the fridge. She looked around the vast kitchen, making sure that not one thing was left out of place.

A content smile took over her face. She never imagined, not even in her wildest dreams, that this would be her life, that this would be her house, her kitchen. Her eyes travelled across the many utensils and cooking devices, from the complex coffee maker to the state of the art oven that she still couldn’t fully understand. And the kitchen was not the only impressive room. When she walked through the hallways of the place she got to call home, it felt almost unreal. If someone had told her years ago, that she was going to be living in a mansion-like house, she would have laughed in their face. She never expected to have such an amazing life, and she made sure to be thankful for it every single day. The little girl in her, the one that made the arduous trip from Puerto Rico, always reminded her that things shouldn’t be taken for granted.

The sound of high heels echoed through the wide corridors, breaking her out of her bubble of gratitude. Craning her neck, she managed to see the shadow trying to tip-toe past the kitchen entrance.

“Elena?” Vanessa called out.

The figure stopped, hunched at the realization of being caught, then stood straight. “Vanessa, hi,” Elena said as casually as she could, purposely staying away from the light cast from the many bulbs in the kitchen. “I was just heading out.”

Vanessa removed the apron and threw it on the island. “Well, come here, baby girl. Lemme give you my blessing. I’m praying to all the saints and angels that you have a good night.”

“Geez, thanks, really. I just… don’t wanna be late. Lemme–”

“Nonsense!” Vanessa insisted, her hands motioning for Elena to move closer.

Reluctantly, the girl listened. She walked towards Vanessa with slow steps. She wasn’t even in the room yet when Vanessa realized why she had put some distance between them.

“Oh, no! You ain’t going nowhere dressed like that!” Vanessa exclaimed, her eyes rapidly registering the short dress, the tight waist, the deep cleavage, the spaghetti straps.

Elena’s shoulders dropped dramatically as she sighed deeply. “Vanessa, come on.”

“No,” she stated firmly. “Don’t you be getting no ideas. You listen to me and go change into something decent.”

Crossing her arms on top of her chest, Elena squared her shoulders up. “You can’t make me. I’m going to be twenty one next month. I can drink, I can vote, I can wear whatever I want.”

“Not while you are living under my roof, mija.”

Elena stomped her feet on the floor, one at a time, just like she had subconsciously learned from Vanessa. “You mean Brooke’s roof.”

She finally understood. Vanessa had heard the saying many times, but words had never hit her like a ton of bricks before. If she were wearing any pearls, she would have been clutching them right then and there. Instead, she had to settle with wrapping her fingers around the pendant of her favorite necklace; the one that Brooke gave her on their first anniversary. It was a golden plate that spelled Toes. The capital T and the artistic tail of the letter s dug into her skin, still, the pain on her palm didn’t come close to the one in her heart.

“I-I can’t believe… the level of… disrespect!” Vanessa heard the spirit of her mom putting words in her mouth. She had heard the same words coming from her mother when she was a rebellious teen, and now she was the one pronouncing them. “My mom warned me,” she thought out loud. “You are gonna pay once you have your own kids, she said. I never thought I would get my punishment from you; not after everything I’ve given you.”

Elena rolled her eyes, unaffected by the Hispanic guilt that Vanessa was trying to play on her. “Okay, okay. My bad. I didn’t mean to be rude, okay? I’m sorry,” she apologized, extending her arm across the breakfast bar, knowing fully well Vanessa was too far to reach. “Just… I need to make a good impression.”

Vanessa lifted her hands in the air, her brown colorized curls caressed her spine as she threw her head back. “Your brain is all you need, mama. That head of yours is so fucking smart, they are gonna be blown away by your intelligence.”

Suddenly, Elena was eleven again, smiling shyly and blushing at the compliment. Vanessa had always believed in her, she was there for Elena, pushing her to be better. Ever since that rainy day, almost ten years back, when Elena’s life had been turned upside down, Vanessa promised to always be there, no matter what, and she had kept that promise. The girl said goodbye to her biological mom that day, but she welcomed a best friend, a guardian angel, to take over that empty spot. Vanessa had fought for her, had done so much to stay in her life, all because of the endless love she had for the girl.

It took months. The trial for Elena’s custody had been long, hard, and expensive. They were not blood related, and the law said the orphan kids should stay with the immediate family. Elena had her grandmother, even an aunt from out of town offered to house her. Vanessa wouldn’t have it. That was her baby, she had helped her grow up; she wanted to adopt her and continue doing so. Above everything, Vanessa loved Elena as her own daughter already, and she made sure that Elena never forgot that. Not even ten years later, when Elena was getting ready for a Christmas dinner, trying to impress all the important partners of the law firm she worked for.

“Yeah, I guess,” Elena agreeing with her landed Vanessa in the present of their argument. “When they talk to me, they will know how smart I am. With this,” she said pointing to her outfit. “They can look at me and see that I’m not just a boring nerd, that I can also be fun.” She shook her shoulders, trying to make the conversation take a lighter tone. “Plus, this shows off my dancer’s legs. You know how hard we have worked for them.”

For a moment, it almost looked like Vanessa was considering the arguments. Almost.

“No,” Vanessa repeated. “That’s a slutty dress.”

“It’s yours,” Elena stated, annoyed.

Vanessa didn’t miss a beat, she shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, just because Imma slut it don’t mean you have to be one too.” And that was it, that was the end of the conversation. “Go up, change, and check with me before you leave.”

With a loud huff, Elena turned around and marched down the hallway.

“Count to twenty-five, cause ten ain’t gon’ be enough,” Vanessa shouted after her, then continued to herself, knowing fully well the girl could no longer hear her. “My ass had to count to forty the other night. That didn’t lead me nowhere. Blame your mommy Brooklyn for being so damn irritating.”

She didn’t wait, Vanessa trusted Elena enough to have a better judgment, and went up the stairs to get ready herself. She turned off the lights as she went. It didn’t matter how much money they had now, there was no way she was going to let the power bill run up. She was constantly reminded that there was no need for her to worry about things like that. Even if she had all the money in the world - and Vanessa was pretty sure they did - there was no way she was going to change her ways.

During a heated argument, Brooke had accused her of keeping a poor mentality. ‘You were taken out of poverty, but poverty will never be taken out of you,’ had been Brooke’s exact words. She had been right, Vanessa proudly agreed with her, disarming Brooke and forcing her to drop the subject.

Over the last decade, Vanessa and Brooke had had many ups and downs. Their love life had been one hell of a roller coaster of emotions, but they wouldn’t have had it any other way. Brooke, asking Vanessa to direct the center with her, had been a decisive point for them. Accepting to work together secretly meant admitting their feelings for the other, which they openly did a few weeks later. There was nothing to hide, they were in love and wanted to be part of each other’s lives. By the time the center was fully rebuilt they were already living together; and when Vanessa signed as a partner of the ballet company, an engagement ring waited for her on the last page of the contract. Their lives were joint professionally, personally, spiritually.

Spending so much time together only ensured that their big personalities were meant to crash more often than not. They were both stubborn and had very clear visions of what they wanted, which caused trouble at every creative meeting they had together. If things got really bad, they wouldn’t even talk to each other. Then a business trip would come along. Vanessa would travel to Miami, or Brooke would go back to Canada for a few days, and they would miss each other so much that the stupid dress color was no longer important.

It had been a long time since they last had an actual fight. They had learned to read each other, and finding common ground came easier with time.

Vanessa stopped at the top of the staircase, where a big painting of the family adorned the wall. Elena sat on a chair in the middle of the canvas, her eyes were cast down, as she read the book on her lap. To her right, with her hands placed on the back of the chair, and a leg extended behind her, Brooke was painted dressed in ballerina attire, head to literal toe. On the other side, striking a pose, Vanessa stood with her chin up high. Her sweet expression had been perfectly captured by the artist, who painted in extreme detail the sparkling fabric of her dress, the toned leg she had fully exposed, even the color on her toenails looked flawless.

She remembered how fun that session had been. Elena hadn’t had a problem, she only needed to sit down and pretend to read. Vanessa didn’t have an issue with posing, not even in the high heel sandals she was wearing. Brooke, who had insisted they all posed together for the painting, was the only one struggling. She constantly fell off the relevé, her back leg would get tired, the tiara slipped down and blinded her every other minute. They laughed and joked about how frustrated Brooke got. Ultimately, they decided to take a picture and let the painter do his magic on his own.

That was just an example of how beautiful their life was as a family.

As Vanessa made her way to the master bedroom, she look at all the pictures hanging on the walls. The hallways were decorated with the most important days of each of them. There were images of their wedding, Vanessa and Brooke looked into each other’s eyes, filled with love, smiles nailed to their faces. Both of them captured signing Elena’s adoption papers, came right after. The next one was at Vanessa’s graduation, when she received her bachelor’s degree in business administration. All the girls from the center and most of the ballerinas had been there, celebrating with her. The timeline of their lives continued with the photos of Madam Charles retiring, and Brooke becoming head of the ballet company. There hadn’t been a better option to direct the well-oiled machine that RuPaul had created than Brooke.

Vanessa pushed the door to their room with a smile on her face. She had really made lemonade out of lemons. And then, she spotted the tallest glass of lemonade that, up to that day, still quenched her thirst.

Brooke stood in front of the mirror. She had nothing but her underwear on, the black lace highlighting her pale Canadian skin. The strapless bra dug into her back, right where her muscles have gone soft and small rolls had taken place. The round ass was fully exposed, it may not have been as firm as before, but it still made Vanessa’s mouth water. The tiny thong disappeared right in the middle of her butt, covering only a portion of Brooke’s crotch. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun, small pearls went around it, making the hairdo look even more elegant.

“You are never gonna believe what that daughter of yours tried to pull off with me?” said Vanessa in way of a greeting.

Without removing her eyes from her own reflection, Brooke smile. “I knew you were not going to approve that dress.”

Shocked filled Vanessa’s expression, who tried to talk to Brooke through the mirror. “Oh, oh! You saw it and didn’t say nothin’?”

“I did see it,” Brooke stated, matter-of-factly. “I told her to either change or walk really fast. Guess she wasn’t fast enough.”

“Ah, so this’ your fault then?” Vanessa crossed her arms, clearly upset, but Brooke simple shook her head.

“I did nothing wrong.”

“You are giving our daughter permission to be a hoe,” Vanessa pointed out.

Brooke chuckled, a can of hairspray travelling to cover the back of her head. “I’m not gonna apologize because I’m not in the wrong. Sorry.”

It was Vanessa’s turn to laugh. “Bitch, you just did.”

“Did what?” Brooke asked confused, not really following the conversation when her attention was mostly on herself.

“You said you were not gonna apologize then said so– You know what? Never mind, you are not even paying attention.”

“Of course I am.” Brooke spoke as she bent over, trying to grab her lipstick from the vanity. Her position only gave Vanessa full access to her butt, earning her a playful slap. “Hey!” She yelped as she rapidly turned around, facing a smiling Vanessa.

Their eyes met and it was as if time had stopped all together. It didn’t matter if they were just meeting each other for the first time or if they had been together for ten years, the admiration for the other still filled their eyes and warmed their hearts. Vanessa closed the gap between them, ducking her head as she wrapped her arms around Brooke’s waist. They didn’t move, even their breathing slowed down. Vanessa felt the heat exuding Brooke’s chest, and pressed her cheek even more firmly against her skin.

Brooke caressed her hair, pushing it back a little. “Hi, baby,” she whispered before pressing a kiss on the crown of her head.

“Hi, Mami,” Vanessa replied looking up, the smile still pasted to her lips. “I’m happy you didn’t put that lipstick on yet.”

“Huh?”

“Now I don’t feel bad about doing this.”

With a stretch of her neck, Vanessa connected her lips with Brooke’s. Smiles crashed with each other a couple of times, but soon the playfulness turned into real kissing. They both closed their eyes and allowed the moment to carry them away. There was no need for fight for dominance, and tongues didn’t battle for power anymore. It was all a well rehearsed dance that they had learned over time. Heads moved side to side in perfect synchrony as passion took over and the air around them became hotter.

Brooke took a step back, then another, Vanessa took the chance and pushed her against the wall. A loud huff left her lips, probably at the feeling of cold concrete against her hot skin.

Vanessa pushed her knee between Brooke’s opened legs. The height difference had never represented a problem for them, and it wouldn’t be this time either. Brooke bent her legs slightly and pressed her core against Vanessa’s knee. She rocked back and forth with her eyes closed and her mouth opened. Vanessa watched Brooke pleasure herself with her body, feeling her own underwear getting soaked by the image alone. She needed more, she needed to be an active participant of Brooke’s moment of ecstasy. Each of her hands went up to cup Brooke’s breasts. The hard wiring of the bra made it difficult for her to reach her goal. It took one desperate move, accompanied by a grunt, for Vanessa to pull down the garment, forcing it to hang loosely around Brooke’s waist. She opened her eyes in surprise, both at the sudden movement and at Vanessa’s groan.

She wanted to say something, it looked like Brooke was about to object, but any coherent thought flew out the window when the first finger went in. Brooke didn’t even register when Vanessa moved the thong to the side, but every nerve ending stood at attention when the second finger penetrated her.

The feeling of Brooke, tight around her fingers, her wetness dripping to her palm, was enough to make Vanessa shake with want.

“Baby, we can’t do this,” Brooke reminded her.

Vanessa knew, still didn’t stop. She slowly moved in and out, taking her time to explore a body that she knew by heart.

“We are going to be late,” Brooke insisted.

“I don’t care.” Wrapping her lips around a nipple, Vanessa tried to reply. “We can do as we want.” She sucked hard, at the same time that she pushed a third finger in. “They can’t tell us nothing.”

In the midst of moaning and panting for air, Brooke tried yet again to find her voice. “Bu-but Trixie and Katya–”

Nothing more needed to be said, Vanessa dropped her shoulders and released the breast from her mouth. “The fuck you had to bring up those hoes for?” Carefully, she moved her hand away, cleaning her fingers on a towel sitting next to them. “Talk about a mood killer.”

Even when she tried to pronounce those words in an angry tone, Vanessa knew Brooke was right. It was the opening night of the Nutcracker, a show that they both had been working very hard on. Once again, like a tsunami, the changes she had experienced in the last few years, hit Vanessa. She would have never imagined herself being the creative producer of a play of that magnitude, yet, there she was, getting ready to see it come to life, along with her wife. Her wife. She was married to the woman she had learned to love, because it came as a learning process. It hadn’t been love at first sight, or any other bullshit used in the movies. They had known each other to the very core, stripped the good, the bad, and everything in between, before they could see that they were meant to be together.

The memories of all those times Vanessa rejected Brooke flooded her mind. She hadn’t been easy, she had put up a fight, a pointless, useless fight; because Brooke had always wanted the best for her. Falling in love had come as a plus, an extra that made every other struggle worth it, an addition that changed her life only for the better.

Fully dressed, and with her makeup finished, Brooke went around and pulled Vanessa’s zipper up. “What are you thinking about, baby?”

“You know that step, that dance move,” Vanessa said, turning around. “You have your feet together, then you, like, slide them open.” She used her hands to explain the movement, hoping Brooke could follow her thought process. “You know which one, you do it a couple of times. Open, close, open, close.”

Brooke grabbed their coats, placing Vanessa’s around her shoulders. “Yeah, I know which one. Why?”

“Because that’s us, bitch. Before we knew we loved each other. We went like that when we first met; open and close, open and close. That was us! What’s the name of that step?”

Brooke laughed openly, pulling Vanessa closer to her as they made their way downstairs.

“That’s échappé, darling.”

“That’s us!” Vanessa repeated with a smile. “Échappé.”

The End

End Notes

Written 20190615 - 20191120

#rpdr fanfiction #branjie #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #smut #lesbian au #dance au #echappe #completed #dendenmonmon #submission

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binary5tar1117 · 5 years ago

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Paint the Roses White - Ch. 3

Written by: @i-live-so-i-love and @kimlinebiased

AO3 Link Here!

Relationships: main VMin, side NamJinGi, side HopeKook 

Genres: fantasy, angst, smut

Tags: Alice in Wonderland AU, smut, fluff, angst, alternate universe, bottom!Taehyung, top!Jimin, violence, abusive parents, shapeshifter!Taehyung, barebacking, alcohol use, side HopeKook, sideNamJinGi, implied drug use, more tags added as necessary

Summary: Jimin’s life sucks. He’s miserable, beat down, and tired. That is, until a mysterious boy with purple hair and a dangerous smile slides into his life and turns it upside down. The White Queen is ruling and drinks are on the house in the Hat Trick Lounge. Caterpillar is missing and the Prince of Hearts is ready for a war, if only he could figure out where his damn rabbit ran off to again…

Word Count: ~10.1k+ (updated biweekly)

A/N: If you’d like to be tagged in chapters, please send either @kimlinebiased or myself a message or DM off anon - we will add you to a tag list so you never miss an update! Alternately, you can subscribe on AO3 for an email when a chapter is posted!

A/N2: We are anticipating a biweekly upload schedule! This may vary on the day week to week due to just general real life things, and if anything big changes we’ll try to let you know.

Jimin woke up face first in the dirt. He groaned. There was a sharp sting in his upper arm and his muscles ached like he’d run a marathon. Memories of the last few hours flooded his mind. He shot up, looking around. He was on a dirt road through a forest, it stretched on in either direction as far as he could see. Off in the distance he could just make out a blonde figure disappearing over the horizon.

“Hey!” Jimin called after him.

Panic clutched at Jimin’s throat. He had no idea where he was or how he got here because what just happened couldn’t possibly have happened. He had no idea how to get back home. There wasn’t even anyone around to ask for help. Tears burned behind his eyes. Worst of all, he had let Taehyung down. He’d lost the drive.

He wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand. He didn’t have time to cry over it right now.

He poked at the hole in his dress shirt. The red stain spreading looked worse than it was. The bullet had only grazed him and not even that deeply. Since it was ripped and stained anyway he tore the sleeve off and tied it around the wound. It was the best he could do for now.

He took a deep breath and stared down the road to his left where Rabbit had disappeared. He could see a smoky haze in the sky; the other way was nothing. He shrugged. Something was better than nothing.

As he walked along the path he took in the trees around him. They were different than he was used to. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint why. The leaves were a little too green and the branches never quite angled the way he expected. Still, they were pretty and it let Jimin relax a little.

An odd crunch under Jimin’s foot made him pause and look down. He lifted his foot and underneath were shards of the dark pearl Rabbit used to bring them here. Jimin’s stomach dropped. Would he be able to get home without it? He crouched to pick up the pieces. Maybe it could be fixed.

As he stood up a woman’s voice behind him made him turn.

“Oh Oyster! Come and walk with us!” She stood in the middle of the road, closer than he would have expected. She was dressed head to toe in black, her black and purple hair pulled into a high tight ponytail. Her wide set eyes glittered, a cruel smile curving her red lips.

Before Jimin could respond another voice spoke from the direction he had been facing a moment ago.

“A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk.” She was dressed the same at the other woman in all black, the same smile across her face.

“We’ll talk of many things,” the first woman said. She had gotten closer, nearly in arms reach away now. Jimin could see a collection of knives along her waist.

“Of shoes and ships and sealing wax.”

“Of cabbages and kings.”

They circled him threateningly. Jimin crouched, prepared to defend himself but not liking his odds against their knives.

“Of why the sea--” The second woman dropped her stance and put her hands on her hips. “Hyuna, can we just kill him and be done now? I’m bored of this already,” she whined.

“You’re bored of everything, Jiwoo. There’s a reason you’re called a walrus.” The one named Hyuna clapped her hands and made a barking noise.

“That’s a seal, you fool. I still want to kill him.” She drew a long ivory dagger from behind her, raising it threateningly.

“Whoa! Kill me?” Jimin squeaked, raising his hands in a weak defense. “For what?”

“Don’t play dumb. We know what you are.”

“I’m Jimin! Park Jimin. Please! I just want to go home.”

Jiwoo hesitated. She glanced at Hyuna.

“You can’t be. It’s impossible.”

“Please!” Jimin tried again. “I didn’t mean to come! I just wanted the drive. See?” He held out the broken pearl. Hyuna swore, yanking the shards from his palm.

“You fool!” She hissed, her eyes glinting dangerously. It reminded Jimin of Taehyung. “Why would you break this! It was the last we had!”

“You know why he broke it,” Jiwoo said, wiggling the dagger. “He’s an Oyster.”

“I’m not! I’m just a guy!” Jimin cried.

“His hair,” Hyuna said softly, her dark eyes searching Jimin up and down. Her nose twitched, catlike. “And he doesn’t smell like the Oysters.”

“Could be a disguise. They know about us.”

Hyuna stepped closer to Jimin. She tilted her head, her eyes widening a little as she searched his face. Jimin couldn’t hide the gasp that slipped from his mouth when her eyes shifted in front of him, tiny, catlike slits taking the place of her previously round pupils. She blinked, her eyes returning to normal. “I can’t figure out what he is.”

“I’m just a guy. Park Jimin. I was born in Busan, I-- I live alone with my dad, I work in a call center for Christ’s sake. I just want to go home. I didn’t mean to get tangled up in all this! Taehyung gave me--”

“Taehyung!” Jiwoo cried. “What of Taehyung?”

“I-- We--” Jimin’s cheeks burned hot. “I met him,” he mumbled, not wanting to risk outing Taehyung by accident to these two women.

“We shouldn’t kill him,” Hyuna said. Jimin sighed in relief. “Yet,” she added, smirking at him. Jiwoo pouted, a strikingly innocent expression on her beautifully deadly face. “Why?”

“There’s something wrong here. I can smell it. We should take him to the Hat Trick.”

“Then can we kill him?”

“As soon as the Prince gets a good look at him, yeah, we’ll open him up and take out the pretty pearls.”

Jimin’s stomach twisted painfully at the delightful noise Jiwoo made at Hyuna’s promise. Much to his relief, she sheathed the dagger, but withdrew a set of handcuffs. Jimin stepped back, wondering if he had a shot in hell of escaping.

“It’s gonna be best if you just come with us, Oyster,” Hyuna warned. Jimin felt the prick of a knife along his side. He tensed. “We’re not the untrained kittens you’re used to dealing with.”

Jimin swallowed audibly. “Just put the knife away. I’ll come,” he whispered.

“Knife?” Hyuna chuckled. She raised her hand, revealing sharp claws in place of her previously blood red manicured nails. “The knives are just for show… My paws work so much better.”

Jimin cried out in surprise, stumbling away from Hyuna, and directly into Jiwoo’s arms. “Gotcha!” She teased, laughing as she slapped the cuffs on his wrists. She grabbed the center metal links and began to walk, all but dragging Jimin along behind her.

Hyuna followed along behind them, her steps so silent that Jimin could scarcely hear them. As they walked toward the hazy end of the road that Rabbit had disappeared from, Jimin couldn’t help but wonder if he was being led to his salvation… Or his doom.

Jimin wasn't sure how long or far they walked. The road seemed to never change. At first he had tried asking questions but Jiwoo snapped at him. He may need his tongue to answer questions, but he didn't need all his fingers. He didn't think it was worth risking whether she was bluffing since they weren’t answering them anyway. So he remained silent.

Jiwoo and Hyuna occasionally chatted as they walked. Jimin guessed they were close, sisters maybe from the undertone of bickering.

At no sign Jimin could see, Jiwoo turned and hauled him into the bushes. Jimin dug in his heels, suddenly terrified they were dragging him into the woods to kill him. “Wait- I thought you were taking me to someone? To answer questions.”

“We are, stupid Oyster. Didn't you see the sign?” Jiwoo gestured impatiently behind him.

Jimin turned and there was now an incongruous neon sign reading “Hatter & Hare’s Hat Trick Lounge”.

Further down Jimin could see other signs: “Mock Turtle’s Fashion Boutique”, “Lobster Quadrille Dance Studio”, “Golden Nile Crocodile Spa”. When he looked back the way they had been going there was still nothing.

“Let’s go.” Hyuna pricked him in the back to get him moving.

Jimin stumbled through the brush until they landed on a path narrower but parallel to the one they’d left. This one wound through the trees in loops and branched. Some paths continued further into the woods and some ended abruptly. His guards led him down the closest path. As they approached a wooden door popped into existence, light brown and inviting. Jimin blinked. He could see around it to the other side but Hyuna knocked, clearly expecting an answer.

“Why is a raven like a writing desk?” a voice called through the keyhole.

“Jae, if you don’t let me in, I swear to god I will cut your fucking balls off.”

The door opened and a heavy drum beat poured out. A tall man with round glasses leaned against the door. Behind him was a dark room with distant flashing lights. Definitely not the woods Jimin was standing in. “What’s the point of a secret entrance if you don’t have a secret code?” Jae said, exasperated.

Jiwoo dragged Jimin through the door and shut it. The woods disappeared and Jimin was now in what was clearly a storage room of some kind. Wine barrels lined one wall there were rows of shelves with boxes of varying sizes.

“Who’s this? New recruit?” Jae nodded at Jimin.

“An Oyster Hyuna wouldn’t let me kill.”

Jae’s eyes widened.

“I’m not an Oyster. I don’t even know what that is. I’m just a guy!” Jimin tried to insist. The others ignored him.

Jae looked him over. “But his hair.”

“And what about yours?” Jiwoo cocked her head, annoyed.

Jae ran a hand through his fading pink hair. He opened his mouth to retort but Hyuna cut him off.

“Enough. Go get Jin so we can sort this out and be done? Grab Taehyung if he’s around too.”

Jae nodded and left with a backwards glance at Jimin.

The beat of the music from the other room was almost hypnotic, a rhythm that Jimin could feel in his bones. He took the opportunity to look around the room, searching for any clue as to where he might be. The wine barrels were stamped with varying numbers that Jimin couldn’t make heads nor tails of. There was a strawberry sweet scent all around them, implying at least some of the alcohol was fruit flavored. The boxes on the shelves were labeled with various words, glasses, bottles, corks, labels, etcetera. What was clearly the name of the place, the Hat Trick Lounge, was emblazoned on the high wall above the barrels.

Jae returned, a bottle of light pink liquid with a label of a jumping rabbit in his grip. “Jin wants you to take him to the lounge. He and the rest are there.”

“Who are the rest?” Hyuna asked.

“Hatter and Rabbit. Taehyung’s off chasing mice or whatever the hell you Cheshires hunt.”

Jiwoo swiped the air in front of Jae’s face with her claws. “Come a little closer and I’ll show you what we hunt.”

Jae rolled his eyes, smiling good naturedly. Jimin wasn’t sure how he wasn’t wetting himself in the presence of these two.

“Hush your hissing, Jiwoo. Doesn’t become you. Go on.” He nodded toward a door Jimin hadn’t seen before. As they passed, Jimin looked at him pleadingly. Jae smiled and shrugged helplessly. He knocked back another sip of his drink and wandered into the darkness on the other side of the room as Jimin was pulled through the door.

Jimin found himself in the middle of a room with no door and no windows, save for a rose colored glass roof that allowed sunshine to filter through. The centerpiece of the room was a rich cherrywood table, littered with the same rabbit labeled bottles that Jae had been holding, as well as a few half full bowls of brightly colored cookies and sweets. There were two leather loveseats and an easy chair surrounding the table, broken in and worn to the point that stuffing was sticking out in some places. On one of the easy chairs was occupied by a tall, slender man. He wore a hot pink baseball cap, bright orange hair sticking out wildly. The sides of the cap pushed his ears down so they folded over, adding to the overall crazy appearance that his flashy, patched and stitched together clothing already implied.

The love seat next to him was occupied by a strikingly beautiful redhead. He wore a leather jacket and a pair of jeans ripped in various areas to show his knees and thighs. Jimin’s eyes widened when he realized the man’s hair matched his own in vibrance and shade. He paid Jimin and his captors no attention, his focus on Rabbit, who had his head in the redhead’s lap. He was stroking his fingers through Rabbit’s soft white hair, his plush lips curled up into a quiet smile.

“You!” Jimin cried.

The two men on the couch looked up and Rabbit’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

“You! What are you doing here?” Rabbit asked, sitting up.

Jimin scowled. “What do you mean what am I doing here? I followed you.” He took a step toward the couch but a hand wrapped around his injured arm painfully tight, claws digging into his skin. “Give me back the pen drive and send me home!”

Rabbit looked more confused than ever. “Followed me? How?”

Jimin opened his mouth to retort but the redhead cut him off.

“Namjoon, who is he?” He spoke calmly and quietly but there was an air of command to his voice.

Rabbit, who’s real name must have been Namjoon, turned back to the redhead. “Park Jimin,” he answered with a significant look. “Taehyung’s boyfriend.”

Jimin blushed. “I’m not- we’re not-”

The redhead stood up and stuck out his hand. “A friend of Taehyung’s is a friend of mine...usually.” His full lips curved into a smile. “I’m Kim Seokjin. Most people around here just call me Jin.” Jimin shook his hand awkwardly in the handcuffs, slightly bewildered.

”Oh, we can take those off.” Jin gestured for Hyuna to uncuff him.

Jiwoo pouted. “He’s really Taehyung’s boyfriend? We don’t get to kill him?”

Jimin blushed again at her phrasing. It had only been one night.

“He had the drive with all the information on it and he was trying to protect it with his life.” Namjoon smiled at Jimin. “He’s on our side.”

Jiwoo made an unhappy hissing noise.

“Sorry, you’ll have to find someone else to sharpen your claws on. Rook and Bishop might still be out there,” Jin suggested.

Once Hyuna was done uncuffing Jimin, she grabbed Jiwoo by the shoulders and steered her out a door that appeared as they turned. “Come on. Let’s go find Solbi-unnie and Adora-unnie for a drink before we head out.”

“Sorry about them.” Jin said once the door disappeared again. “They, uh, enjoy their job a little too much. Especially Jiwoo. But they are good at it.” He gestured for Jimin to take a seat.

Jimin hesitated. “How do I know I can trust you? If you’re friends with Taehyung, where is he? Can I talk to him?”

“I’m sorry Jimin. He didn’t realize how close he was being followed when he gave you that thumb drive. He’s still in hiding trying to shake of a couple Oysters.” Jin hurried to add when he saw Jimin expression, “he’s okay. He’s let us know that he’s safe. He just doesn’t want to risk coming back to the hideout and giving us away until he’s sure it’s safe. Sit please.”

Jimin finally did.

“You look like you need a drink.” The orange haired man leaned forward to pour some of the pink liquid into a clean glass and hand it to Jimin. “I’m Jung Hoseok, the uh,” he flicked the brim of his cap and grinned, “hatter of Hatter and Hare’s Hat Trick Lounge.”

Jimin peered into the glass considering whether it was safe to drink. It smelled sweet and refreshing. “So he’s hare then?” Jimin nodded at Namjoon.

All three burst into laughter.

“He wishes,” Hoseok muttered, shoving Namjoon playfully. “No. Hare is-”

“Hoseokie-hyung! Why did you miss my dance?” A tall half clothed young man with pink hair and fake pink bunny ears on his head appeared behind Jimin. There was still no door so Jimin wasn’t sure where he came from.

The man marched across the room and climbed into Hoseok’s lap, straddling him. “You said you’d be there,” he pouted, wrapping his arms around Hoseok’s neck. “You never miss a dance.”

Hoseok rubbed over the man’s bare thighs and shiny pink shorts. “I’m know baby. I’m sorry.”

“Jungkook.” Jin’s voice cut into their not so private moment. “We have a guest.”

Jungkook turned, cocking his head at Jimin. His eyes narrowed, his nose scrunching. The action lifted his top lip enough to reveal the peek of his front teeth, giving him a very bunny like expression. Jimin couldn’t hide the smile that slid onto his face despite everything. The guy was cute, he had to admit.

“Who’re you?” Jungkook asked.

“I-- Park Jimin.”

“I’m Jeon Jungkook. JK.”

“Or the March Hare,” Namjoon added, jutting his thumb toward the wall. Jimin spotted a calendar hanging. It was open to March’s image, which just so happened to be Jungkook in his bunny ears and nothing else. A basket full of goodies was the only thing hiding his goods from view.

“March. Got it,” Jimin said.

“Is he why you missed my dance?” Jungkook asked, turning his attention back to Hoseok.

“Unfortunately no. I wish it was that simple. Some business to discuss with Jin-hyung.”

The pouting smile disappeared from Jungkook’s face. “Resistance information?”

Hoseok nodded.

“Fill me in?”

“Of course. Entertain our patrons?”

“Always. Jae-hyung is cracking bad jokes for now, it’ll only be so long before the guests start throwing fruit at his head.”

“Ah, well, better go soothe the crowd then. Keep those ears cocked for any Queen news, yes?” Hoseok stroked one of the ears playfully. Jungkook nodded, his strikingly innocent smile returning.

He slid off Hoseok’s lap and leaned over, pressing a kiss to his mouth. He turned and bowed to Jimin. As he darted out of the door that disappeared in the blink of an eye, Jimin couldn’t help but notice the way the young man had stared at his hair. Even in this world, he seemed to stick out. With one exception.

“Is your hair real?” Jimin asked, turning his attention toward Jin.

The air in the room seemed to thicken a little. “Yes,” Jin answered after a moment.

“I’ve never seen another person with hair like mine unless it’s been dyed. Even then…”

“Well,” Jin smiled a little, glancing over at Namjoon. “That’s likely because I’m not a human. Not really.”

Jimin snorted. “Very funny. What is this stuff?” He asked, tilting his glass a little.

“Wine. We make it ourselves. Strawberry flavor.” Hoseok said. Jin reached out, snagging his own glass and taking a sip.

“We’ve no reason to poison you, Jimin. You weren’t meant to get involved, but you aren’t in danger.”

“Well your hitmen out there made it pretty clear that wasn’t the case.”

Jin shrugged. “As I said, they’re just… Excitable. They have a lot of justice to seek. Unfortunately, their revenge tends to come at… Inopportune moments. They won’t harm you, not without my approval.”

“What’s so big shot about you?” Jimin asked.

“Hey.” Namjoon’s tone was sharp and warning. Jin smiled still, setting a hand on Namjoon’s thigh and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Relax, baby. He doesn’t know. Taehyung told him nothing. For good reason. He likes you - he clearly wanted you protected… He’ll be disappointed that you ended up here.”

“Easy fix,” Jimin said, “send me home.”

“We can arrange that. Not right away though. The Oysters may still be looking for you and I don’t want to risk sending you, or any scout I send with you, falling into their hands. Please. For your own protection. You saw what they were like.”

Jimin touched his injured shoulder. “I did.”

“Then stay with us tonight at least. We’ll send you home tomorrow. My word is everything in this room.”

“That… Might not be so easy,” Namoon said softly.

Jin glanced over at him. “Why not?”

“I… Lost the pearl.” Namjoon’s voice was soft, his head hung.

“Namjoonie,” Jin whined, putting his hand on his forehead. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“No. I was in such a rush. I thought the Oysters were coming and I just took off, I-- I’m sorry, Jin-hyung.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s still on the path. It’s relatively unused except by our troupe. We’ll just go find it. Send Hyuna - she’s got a bloodhound’s nose.”

“The pearl?” Jimin squeaked. “Small… Shiny… Black?”

“Yes.” Jin said hesitantly.

“It’s… Those girls already have it. I had it when they found me.”

“Excellent.”

“Not so much,” Jimin said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I sorta… Stepped on it. It’s shattered.”

“No.”

Jimin winced. “Can it be fixed?”

Jin slumped down, burying his face in his hands. He made a small noise of frustration. Namjoon’s shoulders slumped, his entire body seeming to sink in on itself. “We’re fucked,” he mumbled.

Jimin glanced around, panic rising in his throat. “What’s going on? What’s so important about the pearl? Someone, please--”

Hoseok sighed softly. He rose and paced to the other side of the room. He took off his pink cap and donned a black fedora with various colored feathers.

“The pearl is the key to your world, Jimin-ssi. Without it, we can’t get there.”

“Well, can we get another one?”

Hoseok turned back to Jimin. “No. They are in limited supply… And the royals that we are at war with have them. The Rook and the Bishop, the Oysters you met… They’re assassins of the Royal Army. We are their enemies.”

“The Royal Army? The-- Where am I?” Jimin asked softly, almost dreading the answer.

Hoseok smiled, broad and bright as sunshine.

“Oh, rude of us, accept my apologies. Welcome to Wonderland.”

#kwritersworldnet #bangtanarmynet #vmin #ptrw

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blackcatkita · 6 years ago

Text

Love and Honor

Liam x MC (Jennifer)

Set in Italy during Liam and Madeleine’s engagement tour, this one shot covers a few requests. “Who unintentionally rips the other’s heart apart?” from an OTP asks list, some lines (in bold) from an angst prompt list, requested by @endlessly-searching-for-you and also serves as my (very late) submission for @choices-september-challenge day 16- Heartbreak. Word Count- 3678. My masterlist can be found in my bio.

Obligatory Disclaimer- I do not own these characters, that honor belongs to Pixelberry Studios, I’m just playing with them.

Warning: Story contains unwanted advances of a sexual nature and sexual assault. It doesn’t go further than lewd comments and groping, but it may be difficult for some readers.

My perma tag list is at the end, if you would like to be added (or removed) all you have to do is let me know! I hope you enjoy this look into Jennifer and Liam’s past and if you do, like, comment or reblog! I appreciate every single note!

____________________

Love and Honor

Inside the Italian hotel’s ballroom, Jennifer sat with her friends at their designated table with her hands in her lap, gently rolling the pearl Liam gave her the night before between her fingers, her gaze trained on the front of the room where Madeleine was leaning in to kiss Liam on the cheek. Unable to stomach seeing that again, Jennifer quickly averted her eyes to the untouched bowl of vanilla gelato in front of her as her hands balled into fists under the table, her nails pressing half moon indentations into her palms. It should be me… she thought as morbid curiosity made her look at them again, just in time to see the shadow of a grimace dust Liam’s features before he forced himself to grin. At least she hoped it was forced, sometimes it was hard to tell.

Stolen time and dreams of a happy life together were the only things getting them through this damn engagement. Every moment they spent together made them fall deeper in love, made them that much more determined to fight for each other and she believed Liam when he said he loved her and only her, when he promised they would root out their enemies and live happily ever after. But that didn’t make it any easier to watch him with her. It was never going to get easier, she had been delusional to think otherwise.

His engagement to Madeleine was all pretend, she knew that, just a show to buy them time, but every time she saw that bitch with her paws on Liam it was like a slap in the face. Jennifer wanted to scream, or cry, or run up to the front of the room and grab Madeleine by her stupid blond hair while she shouted to the room that they were in love. But she couldn’t, she was the court whore after all. The one who broke the beloved King’s heart by having an illicit affair. It didn’t matter that Liam and their friends knew the truth, as far as the rest of the country was concerned she was Hester Prynne. Might as well paint a big red “A" on her chest and call it a day.

“Lady Jennifer, compose yourself.” Bertrand scolded sharply from across the table while Jennifer glowered at Madeleine feeding Liam a spoonful of her gelato at the front of the room. He didn’t even like strawberry. “Lady Jennifer!” Bertrand repeated a little more loudly.

“What?” She asked, whipping her head around to face him.

“If you continue to glare at the King and Countess Madeleine, people will begin to notice. You need to control your emotions.” Bertrand instructed. “And for the love of God, if someone asks you to dance you would do well to accept this time. We need to keep up appearances.”

“Are you gonna eat that?” Maxwell asked, gesturing at Jennifer’s gelato. “Cause it’s melting and if you’re not...”

“Take it.” Jennifer rolled her eyes and pushed the bowl toward Maxwell, who immediately began shoveling it into his mouth. “I’ve lost my appetite anyway. And my emotions are perfectly controlled, thank you very much.”

“Uh…” Drake hummed, glancing between Jennifer and Bertrand. “I’m gonna have to go with Bertrand on this one. You were practically shaking, and you didn’t hear a word any of us said.”

“You guys were talking?” Jennifer’s widened eyes moved around the table and each of them nodded in response. “Sorry… I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s alright Jennifer.” Hana smiled sweetly. At the front of the room, Liam stood up, bowing to Madeleine before he led her to the dance floor as the orchestra began playing a waltz. “We understand how upsetting this is for you. For all of us.”

“Yes, yes, quite upsetting.” Bertrand scowled. “But that doesn’t give you leave to act like a…”

“I’m getting a drink.” Jennifer stood from the table abruptly, cutting off Bertrand’s words. Whatever insult he was going to say, she didn’t want to hear it, not today. Turning away, she navigated through the crowd, reaching the far edge of the dance floor when she found herself face to face with Neville, Rashad, and an older man who, aside from his salt and pepper hair, looked almost exactly like Neville.

“Ah! Lady Jennifer!” Neville exclaimed a bit too loudly, his arms open in welcome. “I had hoped I would run into you. May I present my father, Lord Richard Van Couer, Earl of Cormery Isle.”

Placing her hand into Lord Richard’s outstretched one, Jennifer dropped into a short curtsey. “Your Excellency, I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Lord Richard bowed, his eyes never leaving hers and brought her hand to his lips to press a lingering kiss to her knuckles. “I assure you my lady, the pleasure is all mine. It is not everyday that I am introduced to such an alluring creature.” Still holding tightly to Jennifer’s hand, he winked, licking his lips as he stood up straight. “Would you honor me with a dance?” He smirked arrogantly and led her onto the dance floor, not bothering to wait for an answer. “That is, if you know how to waltz…”

“I do.” She replied harshly as he looped his arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. “Though I don’t recall saying I would Lord Richard.”

“Ah but your reputation precedes you kitten.” Licking his lips again, he grasped her hand and clutched it to his chest. “Any woman willing to spread her legs for that Tariq fellow would jump at the chance of a more favorable arrangement.”

“I beg your pardon?” Her heart raced, cheeks flushed hot with anger and embarrassment and she stepped back as his hold on her waist tightened, pulling her back to him.

“No need to be coy Jennifer, I applaud the use of your… assets.” Leaning back slightly with his hips pressed to hers, his eyes travelled down her body and up again. “And what assets they are. You would make a dead man’s dick rise.”

“How dare you?!” She gasped, pressing her palms against his shoulders to no avail. “I am in no way interested in any ‘arrangement’ with you, sexual or otherwise!”

“Come now Lady Jennifer, you and I both know a woman of your character should hardly be refusing the favor of her betters. But I understand you wanting something in return…” He sneered and bit his lip, trailing his finger across her collarbone before leaning down to whisper in her ear. “What can I do to make you sleep with me?” His hand slid slowly down her back and over her ass before stopping to cup her cheek, making her yelp in shock when he squeezed it roughly. “I promise I can make you scream.”

Panicked, Jennifer’s gaze fell to Liam, staring at her and the Earl from less than ten feet away while Madeleine spoke to staff member beside him. He stood at the edge of the dance floor quivering in anger with his hands balled tightly into fists and his face contorted in barely contained rage. Jennifer stared back, her pleading eyes begging him to do something, anything, but he just stood there, watching. She shot him a venomous look before turning away and she reached back, gripping Richard’s wrist as tightly as she could to pull his hand off her backside. “Touch me again and I’ll cut your bloody balls off.” She seethed, stepping back.

“Playing hard to get, are we?” Lord Richard winked, reaching for her again as Rashad approached from the crowd.

“May I cut in?” Rashad asked with a warm smile.

“By all means, everyone should get a turn.” Lord Richard laughed, releasing his hold on Jennifer before taking her hand. “Think about what I said, I can make it worth your while.”

“Never.” She seethed through clenched teeth as she tore her hand from his grasp.

“I do like them feisty.” Richard chuckled, winking at Rashad before walking away.

Rashad watched the Earl abscond through the crowd before turning to Jennifer, his shoulders rising and falling in a heavy sigh. “We don’t have to dance, you just looked like you needed an assist.”

“I did.” Jennifer nodded. “I can’t thank you enough Lord Rashad, he was… quite aggressive.”

“Please, just Rashad is fine.” He smiled softly. “Lady Jennifer, I apologize for the Earl’s behavior, no woman should have to endure such things. Unfortunately, he has quite the reputation in regard to his treatment of women.” Reputation… there was that word again. Wrapping her arms around herself, her lip quivered, and she quickly tucked it between her teeth as her eyes began to water. She read the papers, she knew what people were whispering behind her back and it was only a matter of time before some asshole took liberties with her again. It was surprising this was the first time, and even if they found Tariq, would that change people’s minds? “Will you be alright?” Rashad asked, placing his hand on her forearm. “You’re trembling.”

“Yes, I think so…” She nodded, sniffling as she turned to look at Liam again. His eyes softened as they locked with hers, both sets of blue glistening with unshed tears and he took a deep shaky breath, his shoulders sagging as he let it out slowly, “He didn’t do anything about it…” Jennifer whispered, her vision becoming more blurry as she watched Liam. She could see the conflict waring on his face and she knew he wanted to run to her, wanted to wrap her in his arms and carry her out of there, but he wouldn’t… she knew that too. “If you would excuse me Rashad, I need some air.” Not waiting for a response from her unexpected rescuer, Jennifer tore her gaze from Liam as tears spilled over and rolled down her cheeks.

She kept her head down as she moved through the crowd, as quickly as she could without drawing attention, desperate to escape before anyone saw she was crying. As she passed the table where her friends still sat, she saw Drake, concern written all over his face as he jumped up from his seat, calling her name and telling her to stop.

Not wanting them to see her cry, she ran the last few feet out of the ballroom and through the winding halls of the hotel with no idea where she was going. She needed to get out of there, away from the judging stares, away from Liam and his apologetic looks, away from all of it. She slowed her pace as she turned the corner, then quickened it again as her eyes fell on a set of glass double doors with the words ‘Giardino Privato’ displayed above. Night had fallen, but she could see the garden through the glass, softly lit by lanterns and she stepped out onto the stone promenade, inhaling the sweet, woodsy scent of the cypress and evergreen topiaries that lined the path.

The large fountain in front of her with horses spitting water around the base and the customary naked man on the top pedestal did little to calm her thundering heart and she continued past it further into the garden. Rounding a corner, she found a narrower path and followed it to a pergola, draped in vines and fairy lights. Wicker benches, complete with pillows sat beneath, each one flanked by lemon trees in stone pots. Hana had told her ‘secret areas’ were common in Italian gardens, this must be what she was talking about.

Parts of the incident flashed in her mind as she paced, her heels clicking loudly against the stone floor… the Earl’s sneering face, the way he bit his lip as he grabbed her ass, Liam’s jaw clenched so tight the muscle in his cheek was twitching but still not standing up for her… it made her blood boil. It wasn’t the first time in her life some douchebag groped her, but it was the first time she was made to feel like less than a person, like an object only good enough to spread her legs. Fury bubbled up inside her as heat flushed through her body and with her eyes shut tight, she drew in a huge breath, looked up at the sky and screamed in frustration to the heavens. It didn’t help in the slightest.

“Jennifer!” Drake shouted, running up out of breath, his eyes darting across the area frantically. His shoulders relaxed as he realized she was alone, and he crooked an eyebrow at her. “What the fuck Reilly? Why are you out here screaming like a banshee?”

“Not a good time Drake!” Jennifer shouted as her brows shot up and she raised her arms in indignation. “Just… leave me alone.” She added, turning away. Of course, Drake was the one to follow her when the only person she wanted to chase after her was Liam. Drake was probably at her heels the whole time, but she had been too pissed off to notice.

“You know I can’t do that… You’re obviously upset about something. One minute you were going for a drink and the next you were running out of the ballroom in tears… What happened?”

“Nothing.” She spat as she continued to pace. She couldn’t tell Drake what happened. If she did he would run back in there and kick Lord Richard Van Couer’s ass and she couldn’t let that happen. Despite being best friends with the King, Drake was already looked down on as the rough around the edges commoner and Earl Asshole was definitely the type who would ruin Drake’s life if he assaulted him. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Reilly…”

“It doesn’t concern you Drake!” She whirled around to face him, immediately regretting yelling at him when she saw the hurt in his eyes. “Look… I just wanted a moment where someone wasn’t breathing down my neck. None of this is your fault and I’m sorry I snapped at you, but I really do want to be alone… just for a little while okay?”

“Hey, I get it. But you know you can talk to me… I’ll always be here for you.” Jennifer nodded in response, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat as Drake looked away. “So, uh… yeah” He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll see you inside.” He added before walking away.

Jennifer watched him go, waiting until he was out of sight before slumping into one of the wicker benches. She knew how Drake felt about her, he loved her, or so it seemed. He was one of her best friends and she cared about him deeply, but she didn’t love him, she never would, not like she loved Liam. Her life would be so much easier if she did.

Leaning forward, she groaned as she hung her head in her hands, her long brown hair becoming curtains hiding her face. The last thing she wanted to do was go back in that ballroom and she didn’t want to go back to the train where she was sure to be cornered by someone, but she couldn’t stay here all night. Maybe she should get a room in the hotel and lock herself away until the court moved on to Paris. No, she couldn’t do that either, she had to go to Madeleine’s bachelorette party tomorrow. Talk about the world’s shittiest way to spend a Saturday night.

Moments later, she heard the click of dress shoes approaching tentatively, “When I said I wanted to be alone I meant for longer than five minutes Drake.”

“It’s… It’s not Drake.”

A quiet gasp escaped her lips and her head snapped up at the sound of his voice. Longing whispered through her as she gazed up at him, so handsome in his suit, his blond hair shining under the fairy lights. No matter how angry she was, she ached for him… to have his arms around her, to feel his lips on hers. Liam stepped closer, making her cheeks flush and her pulse quicken before she remembered she was angry, hurt, humiliated, and he abandoned her when she looked to him for help. Stopping in front of her, he reached out his hand to pull her to her feet and she narrowed her eyes at him, “What are you doing out here Liam? Shouldn’t you be with your fiancé?”

“I…” He gulped, dropping his hand as he took a step back. “I wanted to make sure you were alright.” Jennifer raised her eyebrow, her expression asking a question she didn’t speak. “You’re right… it was a foolish question. May I sit?” He asked, gesturing at the bench.

“Go ahead. I was just leaving.” She snapped as she stood and began to move past him. Liam quickly side-stepped, blocking her path. “Move.” She ordered, glaring up at him.

He drew himself up to his full height, straightening his spine and squaring his shoulders to become an immovable force. Jaw set, his eyes locked with hers in an intense stare down. “No.”

“So… this is it huh? You’re the King and I’m the subject who must do what the King wants?”

“You have never been my subject Jennifer and I have never treated you as such.”

“Then get out of my way.” Jennifer stepped to the side and Liam followed suit, continuing to block her path. “Dammit Liam! Let me go!”

“Not until we talk about this.”

“What is there to talk about? You made it quite clear that you are not willing to stand up for me. First at the coronation…” Liam’s nostrils flared as his brows drew together, forming a deep crease between them and she knew she hit a nerve, but she continued, unrelenting, unable to stop the words flowing from her mouth. “…and again tonight. You just stood there and watched while that wretched man had his hands all over me. While he said vile things to me about spreading my legs and making his dick rise. But, where were you? Standing only a few feet away with your fiancé, pretending to be the happy fucking couple while Rashad, a guy I barely know stepped in.”

“You act as though this is enjoyable for me!” Liam roared, raising his arms in frustration. “I assure you Jennifer, it is not. When I saw that… that worthless son of a bitch touch you, I felt nothing but rage. I wanted to beat him within an inch of his life, so badly even his mother wouldn’t recognize him. But I couldn’t, and it makes me sick!” Startled by his outburst, Jennifer gasped softly, and Liam took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He stayed that way, breathing steadily to compose himself before opening his eyes again, much calmer than he had been moments ago. “We have enemies Jennifer, powerful enemies and if they had seen me act on that rage it would have put you in danger. Everything I do, everything I say, is with your safety in mind. I will do whatever I must to keep you safe.” With a dejected sigh, Jennifer broke her gaze from his and looked down at the stone floor, chewing on her lower lip as tears filled her eyes. Liam reached up, his fingers trembling slightly as he tucked them beneath her chin, gently raising her face back to his. “Please my love… please try to understand.”

She looked into his bright blue eyes, soft and pleading, glittering with unshed tears as her own spilled down her cheeks. “I do understand Liam. I’m in love with an honorable man, who can’t defend my honor.” Liam drew in a slow breath as she stepped back, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Averting her gaze, her eyes fell on a rose bush just outside the pergola, reminding her of the one he gave her in the conservatory during the social season. They had been so naïve back then. Already in love, talking about the adorable children they would have and thinking they could have a future together, not knowing the plot against them was already in motion. “Do you ever think of me?” She asked, turning back to him. “At Applewood you told me you pictured me when you were with Madeleine, but do you ever think of me? Do you ever wonder what I’m doing or how it feels to see you with her?”

“There hasn’t been a day I didn’t think about you… about us.” Pausing to gather his thoughts, Liam took her hands in his, smiling softly when she didn’t pull away. “I know how difficult it is for you to see her and I together. But she means nothing to me, you know that. You are the woman I love. It’s always been you. It will always be you. I want to give you everything you desire, I want to place the world at your feet. I would give my very life for you Jennifer.”

“Just not your ring.” A snort sounded in the back of her throat as she shook her head.

Liam placed her arms around his neck before wrapping his around her waist, pulling her tight to his chest. “Don’t say that Love… we’re going to find Tariq and get our happily ever after.”

All of her worries and fears melted away as she snuggled into his embrace. Liam was her home, and nothing would change that… they belonged together, two separate souls that became one the moment they met. “I’ve heard the speech Liam you don’t need to repeat it.” She chuckled softly, looking into his eyes. He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips before resting his forehead against hers.

“Please don’t give up on us Jennifer, even if I have to leave everything behind, we will be together. I promise you.”

“I’m just tired of everything working against us, but I won’t stop fighting for you. I promise.”

Perma Tag

@kinkykingliam @umccall71 @writtenbycandy @darley1101 @theroyalweisme @starstruckzonkoperatorbat @srta-give-me-my-jax-rl @katurrade @mfackenthal @debramcg1106 @trr-fangirl @alicars @eileendannie @3pawandme @tanyaschoices @flyawayblue56 @josieschoices @alwaysthebestchoice @kennaxval @meeraaverywalker @penguininapinktuxedo @mrsnazario1223 @endlessly-searching-for-you @sstee1 @speedyoperarascalparty @barbaravalentino @bella-ca @heatherfilliez @mitalijoshi @chiarace @never-ending-choices @drakelover78 @scarlettedragon @hdcathcart @annekebbphotography @flowerpowell @hhiggs @hopefulmoonobject @queenodysseia @gardeningourmet @purpleenigma7 @lodberg @perfectprofessorherokid @queencatherynerhys

#liam x mc #mc x liam #liam x jennifer #trrfanfic #choicestrr #choicesfanfic #king liam #choicesseptemberchallenge

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lovixcore · 6 years ago

Text

Too Close (Amedot Fic)

One-Shot

Summary: Peridot and Amethyst talk about their feelings

Notes: I rewrote this. I’m planning on rewriting a majority of my shit on AO3 but here’s the first. I hope it’s better then the original, it’s actually longer.

Word Count: 2285 words

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15431358

She had been looking for Amethyst for at least 10 minutes, and then she arrived at the top of the hill, the hill that overlooked the Crystal Gem temple, she found her sitting on the edge, staring at the sky, which was painted with different shades of red and pink. "..Amethyst?" Peridot asked, softly, and somewhat cautiously.

Amethyst turned around, rather suprised that Peridot was here. Her eyes were wide, gleaming, with her mouth slightly open. She didn't know the reason she was suprised that Peridot was here with her, but she was. "Peridot?" She asked. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your best friend right now?" She teased.

"Well. I am here with her right now," Peridot commented, confused, not really getting Amethyst's little sarcastic comment about her friendship with Lapis.

"That's fair," Amethyst laughed. She patted down a spot next to her to indicate that she wanted Peridot to come sit with her, "Here. Come sit."

"Oh - uh - okay!" Peridot walked over, and then sat down next to the purple gem.

"I think I probably already said this but.. I like your new regenration, Peri," Amethyst enthused. "It really suits you!"

"Oh! Wow! Thanks!" Peridot blushed, slightly smiling at Amethyst, flattered.

Amethyst smiled back at her. "Sooo.. how were things without us?"

"Things without you and everyone else were.. boring.. persay."

"Really? Was it because I wasn't here?" Amethyst asked, jokingly.

"Oh yes! It was sooo boring because my great, funny, and strong purple quartz wasn't here," Peridot teased, almost flirtatiously.

"Hehe," Amethyst giggled. "Man.. Homeworld was insane."

"What do you mean?" Peridot asked, slightly confused.

"It's just.. I've never been to Homeworld before. There were so many gems.. Like a million.. And I saw era one Peridots! But.. they weren't exactly as cool as you," Amethyst rambled, putting her hand on Peridot's shoulder, something Peridot was used to. Peridot's cheeks flushed, becoming a light shade of blue. "We saw White Diamond! And her pearl! Man. They were so creepy. And there's so much else, but it's just a lot to explain, and I'm too exhausted from it right now to explain everything else."

"Yea.. I remember White Diamond and her pearl both being creepy while I served for Homeworld."

"Peri..?" Amethyst asked.

"Hm?"

"Okay.. Well.. you really actually scared me when were fighting the diamonds," Amethyst admitted.

"Really? How so?" Peridot asked, confused.

"You thought that it was an awesome idea to run up to Yellow Diamond and call her a clod," Amethyst explained what she had meant. "Per.. She could've shattered you... She could've took your gem and crushed it.. I could've lost you... and for good.."

"I'm sorry! .. It's just.. I was.. uh.. I wasn't thinking.. What I did was in the heat of the moment..," Peridot apologised. "I-I don't know... Maybe I just wanted to be cool.. Everyone else is.. You guys are amazing!" She paused and then blushed, taking Amethyst's hand, "You were amazing, Amethyst."

Amethyst's cheeks were a dark purple, "What? No! Peridot! You were just as cool as us! You are just as cool as us!"

"Um! No! I'm not just as cool as you guys!" Peridot argued. "All of you have your own awesome abilities! For clods sake, Amethyst, Steven was able to knock Blue Diamond down within just one hit! One!"

"Uh! Dude! You have metal powers! Metal. Powers." Amethyst cried.

"And what good is that?" Peridot asked.

"Um! ALOT!" Amethyst yelled, out of frustration. She face palmed and then clutched her bangs, that covered one of her eyes, "Ugh. Listen. Per. You are amazing! I know you personally don't believe that! But guess what? I do! And so does Garnet! So does Pearl! So does Steven! So does Bismuth! And so does everyone else! So stop thinking about what you could be when you already are so amazing! Stop comparing yourself to others dude."

"You really think that?" Peridot asked, blushing.

"Oh my - Yes. I thought that I was being perfectly clear on that!" Amethyst answered. She sighed, "Dude. I care about you, so much. You're my best friend, Peridot! And maybe.. Maybe you're even more then that.."

"Amethyst.. I feel the same way, about you," Peridot admitted, flushed.

Amethyst lightly smiled at Peridot. And then sighed, "I don't want things to go back to how they used to be."

"What do you mean?" Peridot asked, confused by what Amethyst said.

"Lapis."

"What?"

"Peridot.. she was practically your world.. She made you so happy! You guys did everything together! You guys had everything together! You had your own farm, your dumb show, your meep morps, Pumpkin! You were always with her.. and I guess.. that.. it made me so crazy.. and so jealous.. because you were always with her.. and you never had time for me.. Ugh.. that's sounds so selfish of me to say.."

"I guess.. but.. we weren't the perfect relationship.. and even though it seemed like everything was perfect.. it wasn't.. She was controlling, I lied to her. What we had wasn't exactly healthy," Peridot sighed.

"Yea.. I noticed something was off.. you were too peppy.. Like as soon as you guys moved in together, every time I was with you and she was there, you were different, but every time she wasn't there, you were still same old Peridot after you betrayed Homeworld, and before she moved in.. And maybe I thought it was my jealousy but I was right.. she really was bad for you," Amethyst explained. "That's also why I never want you guys to get as close ever again. Because you'll get your heart shattered again, and you'll be too peppy and bubbly just for her sake."

"I'm glad you noticed that," Peridot said. ".. Can you make sure of that? That I never get that attached to her again? Like.. I want to be her friend again, but we can never get that close again.. not until she gets better."

"Of course Peridot. I was gonna do it anyways."

"Thank you, Amethyst," Peridot smiled.

"Anytime 'Dot."

"I'm glad she's back though, and I'm glad she's here.. But I'm still hurt, and I don't think things will ever go back to how they used to be.. I don't want them to.. and that's why I asked you to make sure I don't get too attached to her. And Amethyst, I'm sorry I made you feel that way.. I did want to hangout with you but I felt like Lapis needed me, she only had me, and I thought you never had time for me either.. and truth is.. everytime we did it made me so happy to see you again.."

"Aww Peridot, you're makin' me blush, I loved hanging out with you too, and I still do," Amethyst blushed. "And don't apologize. It's okay Peridot."

"So you were jealous?" Peridot asked.

"Yep. Suprising, right?"

"Yeah but... You're important to me, Amethyst. I care about you a lot. And even though I don't show it sometimes, I do. And the thought of you leaving me, in some form, terrifies me..," Peridot said, as she got closer to Amethyst.

"Per.. you'll never ever lose me.. I promise..," Amethyst promised, taking Peridot's hand and holding it to asure her she would never abandon her.

"Wow.. Thanks," Peridot blushed, smiling at Amethyst. Amethyst smiled back. "The wedding was.. beautiful. I find it fascinating how earthlings celebrate romantic love."

"Yea.. Ruby and Sapphire are so in love with each other, it's amazing," Amethyst pointed out the obvious. "Even after they got into that huge fight, they still found their way back to each other."

"The concept of love is really.. interesting, and beautiful, and as you said, amazing," Peridot said. "On Homeworld, we weren't taught what love is, we weren't taught what romance is."

"Of course you weren't, silly. Those guys hate happiness, love, romance, and even fun. Like Yellow Pearl didn't even know what fun was until we went to Homeworld."

"Yea.." After moments of silence, Peridot finally spoke. "Have you ever felt love for anyone else, ever?" Peridot asked.

"I mean.. I love you guys.. You guys are m'a family."

"I meant a romantic attraction for anyone else."

"Welll.. I've kissed humans.. I've done stuff.. I've experimented.. I've had relationships but they weren't exactly long-term," Amethyst admitted.

"You've.. kissed someone?" Peridot asked.

"Why? You wanna kiss me or somethin? Or ya jealous that someone else has had the satisfication of laying their lips on mine?" Amethyst teased. Peridot's posture slumped, clenching her bottom lip, with her cheeks turning blue. "Dude, I was joking, but if you want to, I'm down for it."

"Oh. No thank you."

"You're a rookie at lying," Amethyst pointed out. "So what's up?"

"I don't know," Peridot said. "How do you.. Can you.. describe the feeling of a romantic attraction to me?"

"Well.. for me.. personally.. When I want someone, it's like my chest is pounding, or it's super tingly. And when I'm around the person who I have feelings for, it's hard for me to stop smiling, because they make me so happy, and I love being around them. And seeing them sad or upset, it makes me feel horrible too, because it hurts me when they are in pain. And when I see them, I just have this urge to pick them up, or hug them, or hold their hand, or kiss them, or do something to show them how much I like them," Amethyst gushed. Her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks were a deep purple, with her lips parted.

Peridot blushed and quietly said, "I.. think.. I think I have that feeling."

"For who? Lapis?" Amethyst joked. "Or have you been hanging out with Pearl?"

"No. Uh. You," Peridot admitted. Amethyst's face turned deep purple. She didn't respond, all she did was just stare at Peridot. "Did I do something? Amethyst?"

"No! No! You didn't!" Amethyst finally responded. "It's just.. I've liked you for so long.. like forever.. I've had this stupid huge crush on you forever, and I've never been able to get rid of it because you make me so happy."

"You have?" Peridot asked.

"Yea! Ever since you apologized for being a jerk to me at the Kindergarten, and gave me that little dorky smile I've liked you, and at first it was just a small crush and some flirting, but I really didn't start liking you until we started hanging out again, and it got to the point where I thought it was obvious, because Garnet and Pearl would notice me staring at you sometimes," Amethyst admitted, rambling again.

"I thought it was pretty obvious that I had a romantic attraction towards you," Peridot commented.

"Well it wasn't obvious enough."

"Why would you feel that way about me?" Peridot asked.

"Because... why wouldn't I? You're funny, you're sassy, you're pretty, you're my best friend, you're smart, and I love being around you!" Amethyst explained. "But, why would you like me? I'm the quartz soldier who came out wrong!"

"Amethyst, you may not be well made. But I don't care. I like you for you. I love your personality, I love your appearance, and I love everything about you. Defective or not. You're amazing."

"Aww thanks. You're making me blush even more, and super mushy," Amethyst smiled, ignoring Peridot's comment about her not being well made.

"So you call the act where someone presses their lips on someone else's, kissing? Correct?" Peridot asked.

"Yep. Why?"

"I'm down for it."

"Down for what?"

"Kissing you."

"Uh - listen like I know we just confessed our feelings for each other and all.. but you don't have to kiss me if you don't want to like.. I don't want you to feel pressured to kiss me. Okay?"

"I want to."

"You sure?" Amethyst asked.

Peridot nodded.

"Okay first, we gotta get closer." Amethyst pulled Peridot in, face to face. "Okay." She could notice Peridot squirming a little bit, she then put her hand on Peridot's hand. "Relax.."

"Sorry.. I'm just nervous.. I've never done this before and I don't want to mess it up."

"It's ok Peridot..." Amethyst then slowly leaned in. She noticed Peridot's cheeks turn blue, and her eyes half-lidded. She gently, and slowly placed her lips on hers. She then wrapped her arms around Peridot's shoulders, and Peridot wrapped her arms around Amethyst's wait. The kiss was held for at least a minute, and then they let go. All Amethyst saw was the green gem looking up at her, with her pupils enlarged, sparkling, her cheeks blue, her lips shimmering and parted.

"Holy smokes..," Peridot stammered, wowed by her first kiss. She felt so many new strange feelings, she didn't know what they were. She could feel her chest tingling, and her stomach felt like butterflies were swirling. It wasn't a bad feeling. She wanted more, she wanted to do it again. She cupped Amethyst's cheek, and leaned in, and kissed her again. They both smiled at each other, and giggled.

Amethyst kissed Peridot's cheek, and then kissed her lips again. She then laid down on the grass, staring up at the sky. Peridot joined her too. Amethyst smiled, and then gently grabbed Peridot's hand, holdin gonto it. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah." Peridot held it. She couldn't believe how fast things happened today, she went from talking to Amethyst about Homeworld to getting poofed to romance to confessing her feelings, and now she was holding hands with her, and she had just shared her first kiss with her. She knew this was real, but it still felt like a dream. Then they just laid there, not questioning anything, but hand holding, and blushing, and smiling, staring at the sky.

#amedot #perithyst #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #evie writes

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flydotnet · 6 years ago

Text

Impromptu Nursing

VRAINS Rarepair Weeks 2018-2019 - Day 12: Pets/Sickfic

Summary: Kiku and Takeru have planned on seeing each other after weeks and months of not doing so because of the distance. There is, however, kind of a knack with it: he doesn't show up at their meeting point. Instead, she goes to his place and decides that he needs to be taken care of instead of apologizing to her.

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Ships: Entrustshipping (Takeru/Kiku)

Wordcount: 1.9K words

Notes: Justice for Shoichi, the best wingman ever. YOOOOOO BEST PROMPT IS HERE You gotta have to thank Michevalier for the sudden Entrust inspiration. I'm writing almost the opposite as she does (with my floof and all), so make sure to check her fic too, xoxo, Fly. It's very fluffy for once, considering I slapped a thing from a Cardcaptor Sakura special manga chapter on there for good measure.

Event hosted by @vrainsrarepairweeks

AO3 version available here.

Winter break’s cold winds blows through Den City as Kiku steps down from her train. Still very little used to the city’s busier atmosphere compared to her countryside hometown, she made sure to plan where she had to meet up with Takeru: a park downtown, in front of a hotdog truck named Café Nagi. He also accompanied the explanation with a picture of some of his friends from the city: on it, Takeru was smiling, arm wrapped around the shoulder of a blue-haired boy around their age named Yusaku. Right behind them was an older, purple-haired man named Kusanagi who couldn’t be that much older than them.

Takeru has almost insisted for her to meet them and not just with him. He has told her countless stories about them, how they had all met. His eyes were shimmering whenever he talked about Aoi’s exploits, how they saved Miyu, how Yusaku was a great friend to have, how Kusanagi’s advice was either fantastic or hilariously terrible, and then there was this little guy in his Duel Disk that’d say something witty and she’d giggle. He was so excited for it, how could she not be as excited herself?

And then it turns out he wasn’t at their meeting point.

She does see Yusaku eating a hotdog and Kusanagi asking what she wants to get for herself, but there is no Takeru to be seen. She has to apologize: she’s sorry, she isn’t here to order anything. At first, the man looks confused, and she wonders if she hasn’t stumbled upon very coincidental identical people. That would be very unfortunate, because she’d have bothered people who have nothing to do with whomever she is searching for. Soon after, however, he remembers what Takeru has told him and greets her with a great smile.

“Oh, you’re Takeru’s childhood friend, ain’t ya? Sorry to tell ya this, but he isn’t here today!”

The astonishment is full on her part.

“Ex… Excuse me?”

“Yeah, he just… didn’t come here, for some reason… He isn’t responding to neither Yusaku or me.”

“Oh, I see…”

Kusanagi seems down from having to tell her this as her mind starts racing. If Takeru isn’t here, it may be because he’s slipping back into his shut-un lifestyle, and she doesn’t want that to happen again. This is bad…

She’s starting to panic when the hotdog seller’s voice breaks her away from her thoughts and brings her back to reality.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea! Why don’t you go pay him a visit? I’m sure he’d be very happy to see ya!”

“Ah, I’d love to, but I don’t know where Takeru lives here. He hasn’t given me his address…”

“That’s nothing! Gimme two sec’, I’m gonna grab ya a piece of paper and write it there, you can use your phone’s GPS to get there! Don’t forget to give us some news when you’ll be there, okay?”

Kusanagi doesn’t fail to deliver. Barely minutes later, she’s back on her feet, phone in one and the piece of paper in the other in case her map app bugs on her and she has to input the address again. What a resourceful man… She can perfectly see why Takeru was so happy to introduce him to her. Yusaku didn’t say much, but his little thumb-up to her was very charming to see anyway. They do seem like very nice people, she’s glad Takeru is their friend, that he can count on them when he’d be otherwise isolated in a busy, bustling city. It means he has people to rely on whenever he needs help.

On the other hand, Kiku feels a great deal of anxiety when she notices Takeru still isn’t responding to her text messages. She has attempted to call him several times since arriving in Den City, sometimes even if just to ask where to go (and have an excuse to hear his voice yet again, goodness she loves hearing his voice so much), but he has never picked up either. At first, she thought he was busy with his friends at the café, and considering how forgetful he was, it was totally plausible. However, knowing he wasn’t there and has never been, she felt shivers going down her spine. It sounds like an ominous recipe for disaster, if you ask her.

She clutches her phone in her hands whenever she isn’t looking at map instructions, hoping it’s just because he’s too busy and is late, but the worried glance Yusaku and Kusanagi exchanged earlier didn’t indicate it was any better than that. Maybe he’ll call her back or respond to her message, so she keeps the vibrator turned on.

Please be alright, Takeru, she often finds herself whispering under her breath as to feel less alone.

After feels like too much time spent in unknown streets, she finally finds the apartment complex where Takeru lives. Her phone not being able to track his exact position down, she instead relies on instincts and following number logic. His mailbox seems to indicate a floor and a flat number: that hads to be where she’s headed. Even climbing the stairs, as the elevator is broken and out of commission as a result, doesn’t feel like a chore and more like a time loss. She senses that something’s wrong, a feeling that is fogging her mind to the point all she can think about is reaching his flat and know what was wrong. Once facing the door, which she almost misses because her attention has been hindered, her hit isn’t a miss: his name is indeed on the small nameplate next to the door and right over the ringbill.

There is no immediate response, and she’s very much tempted to ring again, until the door opens and she gets faced by her precious Takeru and his… sickly appearance, to say the least.

She has known him for long enough to know it when his skin is paler, and even then, it’s obvious enough for anyone to see it. A thick red hue covers his otherwise cadaveric face, his glasses are covered in fog (she’s surprised he’s even wearing those…) and there are deep dark rings under his eyes. Sweat is pearling down his temples and his half-opened pyjama top can only mean he’s feeling very hot in early spring.

“Ah, h-hi, Kiku…” he exhales as he realizes it’s her, a tiny smile appearing on his face.

“Takeru, are you okay?” she immediately asks, not waiting for any answer. “You look terrible!”

He looks on the side, embarrassed, and coughs in his elbow.

“C’mon in… Sorry, I slept through my alarm and…”

“It’s all fine, don’t worry, let’s get you to bed again,” she puts her hands on his shoulders and tries to get him to his room by relying on her instincts alone, but in the end, he still indicates her where to go. The flat itself is small, truly sized for one person, so it doesn’t take her more than a few coughs from him too much to find the bedroom.

Once she has made sure Takeru was back in bed and propped against pillows, she noticed a little red creature rising from his Duel Disk. It soon disappears back into it, however, and she is left wondering if it was her or it was real. Oh well, it’s not important.

“Have you eaten something yet?” she asks as she mentally makes a list of what she could have to be going out to buy.

“Well, not really, I just got out of bed… And Flame can’t make breakfast…”

Oh, so this was probably the little guy inside his Duel Disk! Takeru has described Flame as before!

“I’ll make you something with what you have then, okay? Your grandparents once told me about what they’d make for you when you were sick!”

She ran to the kitchen, which seems to be a hybrid with the theorical dining room, and takes a look through the fridge and other places to find a way to make something quickly. She settles for a cup of honey milk, not too big in case he isn’t hungry and warm enough to feel good on the throat, and a moderate bowl of oatmeal. She doesn’t really know why he had this in here, but she’s grateful for it: it’ll be just fine for her sick friend. There is no proper tray to put these on: instead, she just uses something similar found nearby. She isn’t sure what it is, but it can hold a bowl, a mug and the pills she found in his pharmacy.

Takeru gives her a smile as she puts it on his lap, making sure it isn’t burning to hold.

“Thank you very much, but you really didn’t have to…” he tells her, but she dismisses it quickly.

“Who else was going to take care of you? Your friends had no idea you were missing because you were sick… You should tell them, so they can take care of you when I’ll be back in our hometown…”

He looks at the red mug with blue stripes, holds it in his hands and, after taking a sip, looks back at her and smiles again.

“You remember this mug, Kiku?”

“Of course I do! It’s the one I gave you before you left for Den City!”

Ah, she’s so proud of him too for moving on from the Incident and rebuilding himself!

This is only for her to get restless again.

“Wait, Takeru, I don’t think you have medicine…”

“I don’t think it’s much more than a cold… Plus, I’m not gonna make you pay for this, seriously, Kiku…”

“I was only able to find fever reducers, but maybe you want cough pills?”

“I’ll be fine, I promise…”

She stares at him with the intensity of a thousand doctors and the legendary force of a hundred grandma’s remedies.

“You’re really sure about that? I saw a convenience store and a pharmacy around the corner, they’re not too far for me to get there…”

The little laugh she hears from Takeru, slightly soured down by his congested throat but still adorable to hear, almost innocent. She puts a hand on his forehead meanwhile, and sure enough, he has a fever running. It doesn’t seem to bad, however, so she just quickly grabs a washcloth in his bathroom (which is right next to the bedroom, how convenient). Once filled with cold water, she can go back to the bedroom and put it on his forehead.

“Ah, that’s annoying… I’ll have to pay you back again for this too…”

She giggles.

“You don’t owe me anything, silly! I’m glad to make sure you’ll be fine!”

“Can I ask you a last favour, Kiku…?”

His voice sounds more hesitant. Is there something wrong?

“Of course you can.”

“Can you stay with me for the day? Flame is a nice company to have, but you’re even better to have around…”

Her heart skips a beat and her cheeks heat up.

“I’ll stay here as long as I can then!”

As if synchronized, they take each other’s hand in theirs, fingers sometimes detaching so they can do other stuff on the side, like daling with the tray. They, however, enlace each other almost right afterwards, and she cannot help but feel like a guardian angel at the moment.

Takeru’s grandparents have told her before she was his guardian angel, after all, but never had she pictured that idea so much than now.

#vrains #entrustshipping #vrainsrarepairweeks #my writing

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